Mountain Songs

Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?
Get up, get out, get out of the door
Your playin' cold music on the barroom floor
Drowned in your laughter and dead to the core.
There's a dragon with matches that's loose on the town
Takes a whole pail of water just to cool him down.
Fire! Fire on the mountain!
Almost ablaze still you don't feel the heat
It takes all you got just to stay on the beat.
You say it's a livin', we all gotta eat
But you're here alone, there's no one to compete.
If Mercy's a bus'ness, I wish it for you
More than just ashes when your dreams come true.
Fire! Fire on the mountain!
Long distance runner, what you holdin' out for?
Caught in slow motion in a dash for the door.
The flame from your stage has now spread to the floor
You gave all you had. Why you wanna give more?
The more that you give, the more it will take
To the thin line beyond which you really can't fake.
Fire! Fire on the mountain!

I was never a deadhead, but I have always liked this Grateful Dead song. I will have Eric download it to my MP3 player. And by the way, he has some 'splaining to do with a few of the choices he put on there. Celtic bar music? Tool? He keeps trying to get me to like Tool, not gonna happen.

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Miss's Ode To Middle

This what Miss wrote in school yesterday for her paper about using adjectives. I will translate for those of you who do not read eight -year- old.

1. My sister is very happy today, she is not mad.
2. Because tomorrow is kindergarten round-up.
3. She says she is going to look glamorous, she is alert.
4. She is going to be perfect.
5. My mom is so happy, she says I'm helpful.
6. She perfect so she is good.
7. I tell her she is going to be good- no great!
8. She will get good sleep tonight.
9. She is so excited she is nervous.
10. She might be a little shy, she will be friendly.

She did do well, she was friendly she did get good sleep last night and she did look a bit glamorous for a five year old.

I sat in the lobby chewing my nails wondering how I will make it through next year without her by my side.

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End Of The Rope

Blogger, for some inane reason, won't let me upload any pictures for this post. I have no idea why, but I have tried too many times and now I'm at the end of my patience with the computer for today. I am in pain, for the third day in a row and no pain relief is working. Yeah! My right hip is killing me and now I am off to lie down. The kids will follow me in because nothing is more magnetic to kids then a parent lying down. Then I will humor them for fifteen minutes and finally call to Eric to save me and he will evacuate our bedroom and I will feel guilty for it and eventually (hopefully) I will fall asleep. If that wasn't a run-on sentence, I don't know what is.

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It FaIls Flat...

...no matter how I twist and angle. The pictures are never any good. You cannot see the 'real' colors, or size or details. I bring it outside, I bring it back inside but to a different room. I close the blinds, open them, use a flash, turn off the flash, get super close, pull back...nothing works. I'm trying to go beyond the limits of my camera and my knowledge of photography. Or, my lack of knowledge I should say. Any way, the latest and greatest piece for your viewing.

Performing Two Jobs At Once

Kids have jobs. Several. To name a few- care about others, fetch the mail, play make-believe, eat vegetables, honesty and the list continues. Today I 'caught' my three performing two of the jobs all kids need to perfect: playing nicely and getting dirty.



I love watching the dynamic of the three of them 'working' together. It is very different from when just two of them are together or when they are in a bigger group of kids playing. Miss, of course, likes to be the boss and rule maker, while Middle just wants to play and Baby wants to do all of it- but on her terms. When the game starts to fall apart Miss is the one trying to keep it all together while still dictating. Middle will either get mad and leave or just announce it is time for a different game. Baby is oblivious but knows how to stir the pot. In the above picture they were making a moat until she wanted to sit in it. They quickly made a group decision to do some work on their tee-pee. Have I mentioned the tee-pee yet? It's construction started about two weeks ago, and was put on hold for a few reasons. (School always gets in the way of a good time.) I will have to get some pictures of the tee-pee on here. It is pretty impressive.

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That Time of Year

What a gorgeous day! Warm weather, bordering on hot, clear sky with a nice wind to blow through your hair. A day to open all the windows and air out the winter funk still lurking in the corners of your house. A day where you invite your family up to your place for the first 'official' grilling out dinner. (We grill out all winter as long as we can make it to the grill.) A day when kids break the skin when they fall off their bikes because shorts can't protect knees like pants can. A day where you search the depths of the hall closet looking for some of last years sunscreen. A day that you can get excited because you know you will soon be swimming. A day that just makes you smile, no matter how loud the voice in the back of your head wants you to think how your grandma would be asking your husband if he wouldn't mind putting her AC in some time this week - if he had the chance. A day where it is good to have a hammock swing and a good book. A day that is followed by a warm evening. An evening when bellies are full, and thirsts are satiated. Such an ideal day followed by such a satisfying evening just screams for some.......






LOUD GUNSHOTS! Whooo, hoooo!!

Yeah baby! I like it LOUD! I want to see that dirt FLY! Whoa!

Awesome. What power, what force. What an end to a perfect day.

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Damn.

Just when the weather was getting good, the end is coming!

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Fresh Strawberries

And another thing I like about Spring, fresh strawberries. Only two more months until we can pick our own, like we did two years ago.

Miss and Middle, 6-2007

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My Lofty Competition

After spending three quarters of my day making teddy bear shaped chocolate lollipops yesterday (using only one mold-crazy!), Middle looks at the finished arrangement and declares: "Mom! You are the best mom in the world!.....Even better then Mother Nature!"

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Is He Flipping Us Off?

The Ferris wheel in Toys R Us in Times Square.
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I am reading Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge for my book club right now, and wow, it is tough. It is his memoir of his life growing up in the foster care system and it makes me want to hug my kids all day long. And it makes me want to hug your kids, and her kids, and his kids and even the mean nasty kids that you hear your kids talk about after spending a day of school with them. It makes me realize why maybe those kids are so mean and even why maybe some adults are the way they are. Who knows what they grew up surrounded by, what evil they were witness to at a young age and most importantly, it makes me appreciate the very normal and steady parents I had growing up.

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Outside FAO

Our day in the city last week took us to three toy stores: American Girl Place, Toys R Us in Times Square, and FAO Schwartz. The girls were itching for me to buy them something, but I didn't, because I'm the meanest mommy in the world. (No, they didn't tell me that.) They have American Girl dolls, but we were just browsing and looking at the displays. The Toys R Us is just a regular Toys R Us, albeit with fancy Lego structures and a walk in Barbie castle. FAO was cool because they got to use the big piano, like in the movie Big, and they had a candy shop (and I did buy candy because, we only had about ten pounds of Easter candy waiting for us at home). This trip we spent money on doing things rather then on things. A carriage ride in Central Park, the Central Park Zoo, lunch at Planet Hollywood and a ride on the Ferris Wheel in Toys R Us. I feel like if we can buy it at home, I'm not buying it in NYC, or anywhere else we happen to visit. I would rather get something that shows where we were, like a t shirt or a cool poster of the city. As it was, we didn't go into the souvenir shops when we were near them, so they got a key chain from Grand Central. They asked for stuff, but didn't whine or give me a hard time when I kept saying no. I mean, looking back, that must have been a form of torture to the kids, going into the fancy toy stores, and not buying anything! But, they know the routine and are looking forward to going to the Bronx zoo in a few weeks because I told them we 'saved' money by not wasting it on other stuff.

More pictures on my Flickr.

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More NYC

The National Debt reminded me of all the bills that needed to be paid when I got home from our trip.





Feeding time at the zoo reminded me what dinner time looks like at home.

"Is it dinner yet? Is dinner ready? How much time until we eat? I'm really hungry! What's for dinner?'

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What The Hell HAVE I Been Reading?

I found this on Facebook and before I read through all the books listed, I thought for sure I would have read half of them. When I started going down the list, I started to wonder what the hell I've been reading, because although I've read more then the average of six, I'm no where near half. At least I have a list to work off of now, it should keep me busy for the next few years.


The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here.



1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible - parts and sections

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier This I should right away

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger and it is AWESOME

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll only the kids little version

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma - Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Inferno - Dante

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

N.Y.C.

The answer to the many inquires in my inbox.

We went down to my parents house with my friend and her daughter, then took the train into the city yesterday. Right now, I'm very tired from a combination of driving, walking Manhattan yesterday and only getting three hours of sleep last night. More stories and pictures tomorrow.

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I Wanted to Laugh In His Face. Instead I Bit My Tongue.

Overheard conversation.

Man: So, you went to the grocery store today. What did you get? Groceries, or...?

Girl: Nods head yes.

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It's Electric!

We're leaving tomorrow for a couple of days... don't miss us too much.

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Happy Easter

He Is Risen! Let's celebrate by eating bunny ears.



When Easter throws up in your living room:




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Our Day, Shown To You, In Pictures. A Buttload.

Today was the first day of Spring break, but you wouldn't have known it in this house. No, everyone was wide awake and hungry by 6:40 am. They want to stay up late, but their bodies won't allow them (or ME) to sleep in. I made a big o' batch of chocolate chip pancakes to start our day.






I enjoyed seeing all the buds forming on the trees and lilac bushes.




The kids enjoyed the outside. As I type this, they are still outside. Eric came home and took over stupidvising.

They started off around 10 am by riding their bikes and moved on to play a marathon game of hide-n-seek.

Baby Mouse loves, loves, loves being outside. If she is upset, ask her if she wants to go outside, and all her troubles disappear.

While she took a nap, I got the kids inside long enough to build our Bunny House. My mom found this kit a few weeks ago and I waited until now to make it, because if we did it back then, it never would have made it to Easter. I'm pretty sure there won't be too much of it left by tomorrow night.

Miss took this picture of my hands holding the house together while the glue, I mean frosting, hardened a bit. I looked like a smurf from the wrists down by the end of this thing.

They each got to decorate a bunny.

There was a lot of licking and lip smacking going on this afternoon.

Ta-Da! Our finished product. I think we did a pretty good job. It was fun, if nothing else.

The rest of the night will be filled with eating dinner, baths and watching our latest Netflix: Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. My favorite Adam Sandler movie is the Wedding Singer. Any time I see that playing on TV I start watching it and get lost. His best movie, IMO. Eric and I still quote one line from it 'Best guitar player in the woooorld! Self taught-no lessons!' The best! So if you ever overhear some other geeks saying that, you will know where they got it from. Peace out-

love, the Easter bunny house builder. hop hop

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Girly

Dressed in a 'pincess' dress, wearing 'pincess' shoes, watching her favorite 'pincess' on TV.

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Mountains of Mountains

Don't wish it away
Don't look at it like its forever
Between you and me I could honestly say
That things can only get better



And while I'm away
Dust out the demons inside
And it won't be long before you and me run
To the place in our hearts where we hide



Elton John


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Preschool Party

And to let you know, I only spent 50 cents today.

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Hello, My Name Is Rebecca, and I Spent Way Too Much Money On Easter For My Kids

Let me justify my overspending. (Isn't that just what addicts say? There is always a reason, but never their fault.) We don't buy 'stuff' for the kids on a day to day basis. They get presents on their birthday, Christmas of course, a trinket on Valentine's day, and Easter. If we go somewhere special, like to visit my mom or a day trip, I might get them a little something. If they earn money, they can spend it. If I have to take them to the mall or if we go there as a way to kill time, they each can pick something out at the dollar store. This is not to say they don't get 'stuff' at other times of the year from others. (Hearing me Novella? Mom and Dad?) Or if we stop by a yard sale I will get something if it is clean and priced right. By doing this, we have made the special days extra special because they appreciate and look forward to them. It is a lovely thing to listen to, and watch, as the kids countdown to a specific day and dream about what might arrive at their fingertips. Even for each others birthdays, the two oldest are excited for the other. Another plus is, when they go to a store, there is no tantrum throwing, or whining for whichever doodad is in front of them. It is a non-issue because they already know the answer will be NO if they ask for it.

Are you ready for this? I spent... almost $200 tonight on Easter for my three kids. YIKES! Stop looking at me like that! I know, I know! I am already having buyers remorse, but... here comes even more justifying, let me give some examples as to what I bought. They each got a new bathing suit to hang from the handle of their basket. (Yes, I've already envisioned where these things will be placed.) They need new bathing suits for this summer anyway, so I'm just lumping it into Easter. Bathing Suits: $35.00
Candy, of course, and a big bucket of spicy pretzel mix for Eric: $40.
Those junky toys that are a staple of every Easter (jump ropes, bubbles, bug catchers, butterfly nets, sidewalk chalk... you get the pic) $50
New flip flops for all five of us *2 pair for $5 at Old Navy*:13
BOOKS! I love buying children's books, and really how can they be a bad purchase? Broadening my kids minds: Priceless. Actually: $20
A few things for Miss because she has outgrown some of the cheesy Easter stuff (a set of bangles at Target, sunglasses that are a mini version of mine and a snazzy belt - which she needed anyway): $12
A group gift of a new octopus sprinkler for them run through this summer. Our previous one bit the dust after six seasons last year: $12

So, YES- I shouldn't have but- I did. They will gasp and grin in awe come Easter morning, and that is pretty much worth two hundred bucks to me. After all, it only happens a couple of times a year.


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The Day Before

The day before I got sick, that is. We had a Girl Scout badge earning outing at Home Depot. It was a woodworking project that would allow the girls to earn that badge without me doing it at our regular meeting where I'm sure all ten of them would have hit me at least once with their hammer. Instead they got to hit their parents. My dad came along to help Middle, but instead helped a girl whose mom was.... busy? She came with her two younger sons and helped them while her daughter was clear across the table on her own when we arrived. I asked my dad to help her and I set about helping my two. He did get to work with Miss at the end though.





The finished products:

I didn't know Home Depot had children's workshops the first Saturday of each month. They all got their own orange Home Depot apron and received a pin for the birdhouse project. Each time they complete a workshop they get another pin for their apron. A cute idea to get the parents in the store, and gives the kids something to do in the winter when we can't get outside. Plus it's free, and you know I'm all about the free.

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Quote of the Day, or Week

Middle: Mom, will you spank me?
Me: Why?!
Middle: So I can know what it feels like.


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You Know What They Say About The Best Laid Plans...

It was going to be a good day. A productive day. A day where, at the end of it, I would look back and be proud of the accomplishments. I was going to church with Miss and Middle and my mom was going to meet us there. It is Palm Sunday after all, and the kids missed Sunday school last week, so they had some make-up work to do. After that, the five of us were going to pick out a new washing machine. Did I tell you my washer broke? About a week and a half ago. That makes it the ....third one in the eight years we've lived here. I do a lot of laundry, did I ever mention that? I'm sure I did. Anyway, we had places to go and things to do.
What really happened:
We woke up and started getting ready. I fed the kids breakfast and got myself dressed. As I was doing my hair I felt...weird. I started to sweat lightly, and got a funny feeling in my stomach. I decided to lie down for a minute, until my equilibrium fixed itself. I got up slowly and felt fine. Back to the straightening iron. About two sections in I was sweating again, and had a watery mouth. I got the phone to call my mom and tell her I didn't think I should go to church. I dialed, and before she answered I was hightailing it to the toilet. I won't go into any more details. I ended up in bed all day, I slept and rolled around trying to get comfortable. I feel OK now, sort of drained but not queasy.
Oh, and in case you never heard, the saying goes:
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
Ha.


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Make That EXTRA Crispy

• My dad bought each of the kids a scratch off lottery ticket today, and the baby won....forty dollars!
• It snowed here today. That's all I'm going to say about that.
• Eric surprised us today by picking up Chinese food after work for our dinner. We sat in the living room to eat it and to watch our American Idol episodes that were on our DVR. He has to make sure to bring home three fortune cookies because the girls think that is the best part. Middle's was the best. It was funny and summed her up in a nutshell:

'You are the crispy noodle in the vegetarian salad of life.'

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My Best Gift, From My Best Friend

Well, yes today is my birthday-hurray. I got a great surprise this morning, a phone call from Novella. We usually talk to each other at night, so it was a great treat to hear her voice in the early hours. Part of our actual conversation:

Her: So, what are you doing today? Anything special?
Me: Yeah, well, I just cleaned the bathroom. So that is over with. Nothing else really except my first book club meeting.
Her: -Laughing- Yeah, I guess once we are in our thirties it's not really the same anymore. Do the kids know it's your birthday?
Me: Miss told me happy birthday, the Baby, well she has no clue and Middle has forgotten since we talked about it last night.
Her: more laughing...

And then, I check my email as I sit here with bleach foils on my hair, and receive this. Like I told her, I didn't know it was customary for Canadians to make their friends cry on their birthday!

Happy Birthday Rebecca:

Today is indeed a very special day. On this day, one of the most incredible women I have ever met was born.
From the moment I met Rebecca back in October 1991-I knew she was special. I remember being so envious, right from the get-go of her strength, and abilities in every aspect of her life.
If it was not for you Rebecca, The few months in high school together would have been torturous-I knew then we would be friends for life.

Over the years-no matter how much distance or time had passed-I always knew I could count on you. And to this day, you are always the first person I want to call when something important happens. Any milestone-good or bad that happens in life is shared with you-even if we can't physically be near, you are always on my mind and in my heart.

You are an incredible wife, Eric is very lucky to have you. You are one of the most devoted,loving, and caring mothers EVER. I hope your kids grow to appreciate everything you have done, and continue to do for them. I rely on your experience and knowledge to help me with my own son-and I always trust your advice. You are raising three beautiful, intelligent, happy children-and for that, you should be so so proud. I know there is alot in your life you have sacrificed-but never with a complaint, or with anger. I am so proud of you.

I love you like a sister, and I often hope maybe one day, we can live nearer to each other (or at least that I have enough money to afford to come and see you more often)!!! That is the only thing about our Friendship I hate-the physical distance between us.

You will always be my best friend-and I am forever grateful to have you in my life-I have no idea what I would do without you!!!!!
Happy Birthday :)

*************************************************************************
(picture me wiping tears away)

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What It Has Come To

With the cost of visiting the Easter Bunny mall employee up to $19.99 for a single picture,


I opted to do a replacement with the vintage store's costume on a mannequin instead. Seriously, twenty bucks?! Who would pay that?

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