tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21251162490463913092009-12-15T16:45:04.717-08:00Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.comBlogger264125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-63175299126211652412009-12-15T13:37:00.000-08:002009-12-15T13:45:03.415-08:002009-12-15T13:45:03.415-08:00

I’ve been duped by the internet before and it was embarrassing. I fell for the little baby April Rose (I think that was her name) story about the girl who was pregnant and her baby died shortly after birth. I also fell for the still born baby story (I think the ‘baby’s’ name was Aiden) where the mom actually had a fake picture of a fake baby on her blog. Nutjobs.I fell for those stories and I

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-51359073633016093262009-12-14T11:37:00.000-08:002009-12-14T11:37:48.522-08:002009-12-14T11:37:48.522-08:00

We had ourselves a little shin dig on Saturday night and some Foodies came, these are people that I wish to super glue myself to and it’s not just because of the amazing brie and party toast, I swear.The baked brie inside of the light and fluffy crust with scattered cranberries was enough to satisfy my sexual needs for a month. When I took that first bite I melted as the brie filled my mouth and

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-74461919193052766262009-12-14T08:14:00.000-08:002009-12-14T08:15:40.768-08:002009-12-14T08:15:40.768-08:00

Dudes, I have secrets to share.If you’re like me and the weather makes you cranky then you need to listen up!!We had a holiday party planned and I didn’t have a Christmas tree yet and it was raining. You peeps that deal with rain all the time might think I’m a wimp, but rain in Los Angeles is a weird thing, the city practically shuts down. It’s bogus. People flip out and forget how to drive when

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-37487376892622001572009-12-11T03:00:00.000-08:002009-12-11T03:00:09.959-08:002009-12-11T03:00:09.959-08:00

When my son was born, I remember calling my mom and saying, "How the heck am I supposed to wipe this thing? Do I do the frank or the beans first?"My mom giggled and I was all, "Seriously there’s poop everywhere and I don’t know where to start…"Poop, if only my life concerns were still about poop and whether or not I should clean the frank or the beans first.Times were easy when the kids were

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-84336181627883339192009-12-10T13:26:00.000-08:002009-12-10T13:27:11.169-08:002009-12-10T13:27:11.169-08:00

When my husband I got divorced it was chaotic. It was detrimental and confusing and downright pitiful. Not only was it emotionally draining, but it was physically exhausting as well. I worried when the kids were with him and I worried when they weren’t. I worried about everything. My kids didn’t want to go to their dad’s house, they felt ‘weird’ inside and couldn’t really articulate their

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-53450149167640063412009-12-09T16:03:00.000-08:002009-12-09T17:26:02.606-08:002009-12-09T17:26:02.606-08:00

I've been receiving all these letters inside of Holiday Cards, letters that recap the year. My sister's was particularly sweet and perfect as was my brother's. So I decided that if they can write one, so can I. So here it is, my 2009 Holiday Letter that I am sending out to everyone in my address book. Do you think my parents will be proud?? Dear Family and Friends,Wow, what a year huh? I don’t

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-10224337154985799022009-12-08T19:05:00.000-08:002009-12-08T21:21:05.190-08:002009-12-08T21:21:05.190-08:00

Dear self, You’re a royal pain in the ass and it’s a wonder your family hasn’t run down the street screaming at the top of their lungs when you do the things you do. When you get under the covers and cry and refuse to get up because ‘the planets aren’t aligned right’ you really look like an idiot. Remember that time when you were in fourth grade and pulled your friend’s hair until handfuls of

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-87256196141646333012009-12-07T20:30:00.000-08:002009-12-07T20:30:20.244-08:002009-12-07T20:30:20.244-08:00

Today’s the 7th right?? This month is going WAY TOO FAST and I almost forgot to pick a winner for my teenage themed giveaway. In my defense, my house is a freakin’ disaster and things are going on at warp speed over here. And we don’t have heat and by California standards it is FREEZING and I can’t type without wearing gloves. Seriously, I’m not kidding! I can see my breath inside of my

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-91882087972593263542009-12-07T03:00:00.000-08:002009-12-07T03:00:03.440-08:002009-12-07T03:00:03.440-08:00

Weird weekend.Friday.Some shit happened on Friday night that scared the living poop out of me and when it was finally resolved we ( Chris and I) celebrated by doing the horizontal love dance. I’m not pointing any fingers here, but one of us forgot to lock the bedroom door, and it wasn’t me. I ALWAYS lock the bedroom door.Saturday.Megan (13) wouldn’t look at me, or talk to me so I grabbed her

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-78968909070416924692009-12-04T03:00:00.000-08:002009-12-04T03:00:07.647-08:002009-12-04T03:00:07.647-08:00

This vacation rental thing has been, um…interesting. We had our cute gay guys, our homeless wanna be jewelry maker, cute half naked French girls, hilarious people from Scotland and Australia and some freaks from San Francisco.But these latest tenants? Dude, they totally take the cake…First of all, this rental unit is clean, I thoroughly clean it; I scrub the tile and grout with bleach and dust

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-1332007686736069482009-12-03T12:31:00.000-08:002009-12-03T12:31:57.773-08:002009-12-03T12:31:57.773-08:00

I'm having a meltdown... Almost like the meltdown I had last year when I couldn’t find my stupid headband and I was having a bad hair day and was really late for an appointment. That meltdown ended with me crying to the crossing guard on the corner for two hours as she stuck rusty needles in her ears. She quit working on our corner shortly after that and everyone blames me. Assholes.Health

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-2649596199317955792009-12-01T19:32:00.000-08:002009-12-01T19:35:06.095-08:002009-12-01T19:35:06.095-08:00

Texts from my kidsI text a lot but it’s mostly to and from my kids and it’s mostly goofy shit from Megan who is a fresh thirteen and thinks texting is a gift from God.I get things like:HAHA! Want 2 go 2 Pinkberry?? HAHAHA LOLI respond with:What is so funny? And NO, we are not going to Pinkberry get out of the bathroom stall and get back to class! Love Mom.Then she’ll text:WAAA HAHAHA LOLOLAUI

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-36220051925016408372009-11-30T20:20:00.000-08:002009-11-30T20:21:10.216-08:002009-11-30T20:21:10.216-08:00

Chris and I don’t usually offer up the fact that we met in an ‘institution,’ when people ask us how we met we usually lie and mumble something along the lines of ‘we met at a parenting workshop’ and then change the subject as soon as possible. Because blurting out to perfect strangers that we met in an ‘institution’ is a little weird and it permanently affixes a label to your forehead. Most

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-69661372217619718192009-11-30T00:01:00.000-08:002009-11-30T00:01:02.875-08:002009-11-30T00:01:02.875-08:00

Let the Lollapalooza love fest giveaway begin….Hello happy giveaway friends, I’m glad you’ve decided to join in on the fun. I had a hard time trying to figure out how to do this and since I have a very important piece of chocolate waiting for me, I’ve decided to host several different giveaways and bunch similar items together for your convenience.First up we have a great selection of gifts for

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-82315289097158648102009-11-28T14:47:00.000-08:002009-11-28T14:47:52.672-08:002009-11-28T14:47:52.672-08:00

I'm late on this, but in my defense, there was a giant turkey in my kitchen that needed my attention. So I'm sorry for the delay. Here are the winners for the book giveaway.Comment #10 from Swirl Girl!And comment # 4 from Tracy from Faerie CastlePlease contact me at manicmariah (at) gmail.com and I'll get these right out to you!

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-72762868801660803042009-11-26T04:27:00.000-08:002009-11-26T04:35:14.554-08:002009-11-26T04:35:14.554-08:00

Yea, that’s what happened.Day before Thanksgiving and I hear Chris yell my name from upstairs and he yelled mad and scared like a sheep getting violated for the first time. It was more of a shriek.Come to think of it… it was kinda girlie.So I ran upstairs thinking he had cut his genitals or something and I found him pointing at the floor.Him: There’s poop on the floor.Me: So pick it up.Him:

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-9278465587210869142009-11-24T10:43:00.000-08:002009-11-24T10:49:01.524-08:002009-11-24T10:49:01.524-08:00

I’m struggling with the lack of expectations and school. I push my kids hard, I freely admit that. My kids know that school is number one; they know that I will not tolerate goofing off when it comes to school work and school conduct. I must be doing something right, because I have four kids that have never had detention or a call home about disciplinary problems. They also have not missed

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-49654445889564164202009-11-23T19:04:00.000-08:002009-11-23T19:16:03.676-08:002009-11-23T19:16:03.676-08:00

Insect Eating at it's finest! from Insane Mama on Vimeo.I believe I may have posted this on my other blog, but it's worth re-posting.In this video my daughter eats a cricket to get out of kitchen duty--you can see it crawl down her throat at the end of the video.For Thanksgiving she's going to eat a worm to get out of washing the dishes.Is it odd that I am extremely proud??

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-57674088504327639152009-11-21T18:23:00.000-08:002009-11-21T18:33:40.220-08:002009-11-21T18:33:40.220-08:00

Introducing my niece Charlie, her middle name is Dawn, so is mine. I have a bit of a soft spot for Charlie and it's not just because she's named after me.It's because of her impeccable style.Last time I was watching her I said, "Hey Charlie go get ready, we're going to the park."She went into her room and returned several minutes later with EVERY SINGLE hair bow and clip that she could find.She

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-18532658186679715372009-11-19T15:39:00.000-08:002009-11-19T15:39:43.649-08:002009-11-19T15:39:43.649-08:00

Get the pickles out of your ears and listen up!! I’m having a love fest party; it’s going to be a lallapalooza type of party and it’s for you. All of you. When I first tried magical mushrooms it was at a party. I was 16 and I totally thought the flowers were singing to me and then my friend suggested I pick flowers and put them in my hair. She said I would look cute. So I picked the flowers and

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-25191988404707154492009-11-18T13:25:00.000-08:002009-11-18T14:49:04.384-08:002009-11-18T14:49:04.384-08:00

I never had the pleasure of meeting Anissa, but I've seen her happy smiling face around the internet and I've read her blogs and followed her on Twitter. Yesterday Anissa suffered a stroke and is in the ICU. People are pulling together to spread the word and help Anissa, her three children and her husband. Donations can be made through Paypal. Updates on Anissa and her family can be found at

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-23084474058611947102009-11-17T14:41:00.000-08:002009-11-17T14:41:47.612-08:002009-11-17T14:41:47.612-08:00

I think paprika is one of those weird spices that you don’t really need or use, I mean, it doesn’t have any fucking flavor. It’s useless and it stains your lips. My friend from elementary school and I have an on-going secret code. When she’s having a crappy day because her four kids won’t shut up and her husband has been smoking pot in the garage since noon she’ll text me saying : ‘I’m going

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-9358581950116377182009-11-16T17:00:00.000-08:002009-11-16T17:00:07.134-08:002009-11-16T17:00:07.134-08:00

Teenagers and sex, two words that I have a hard time talking about, two words that I was NOT prepared to talk about with my eldest daughter. Those are also the two words that she wished I talked more freely about (she told me that). Amanda, my eighteen year old, told me that she wished I had talked openly to her about sex. Fail on my part. Seriously, I must have missed the parent manual

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-56171775842610493712009-11-15T18:29:00.000-08:002009-11-15T18:31:03.864-08:002009-11-15T18:31:03.864-08:00

I’ve talked about my loser ex husband several times, I’ve talked about how he liked to rest his knuckles upon my nose and wrestle me to the ground with his angry words. What I didn’t mention was my temper and my tendency to throw plates and food. I didn’t mention that I was a nightmare to live with. I admit it, I was. Working with families in domestic violence situations has taught me a few

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2125116249046391309.post-80904475319454628662009-11-13T16:13:00.000-08:002009-11-13T16:14:35.353-08:002009-11-13T16:14:35.353-08:00

Megan Marie,I know turning thirteen on the thirteenth is a really big deal in your head, and trust me, keeping this surprise party a surprise has been really, really hard, especially when I saw the disappointment in your face when I said, ‘No party this year.’ Although you were upset you took it like a champ and never complained or argued. You, Miss Megan have no idea what you have given this

Mariahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12952616489949080213manicmariah@gmail.com5