Mustache Demolition

Adam has officially been growing his mustache for 44 days. But today, being the 31st of December, marks the end of the bet. It will be a happy new year after all!

We thought you all might want to celebrate with me and experience the mustache demolition for yourselves.



I'll put up some Christmas pics tomorrow! Happy New Year!

Just to Clarify...

I'm in a little bit of trouble. Recently I recommended the movie Juno. To me it was utterly entertaining, it was cleverly written, the characters were endearing and it was unpredictable.

That being said - it was a bit crude, especially in the beginning. The movie deals with a teen pregnancy, so the context leads to a little crudity. Adam and I felt a little uncomfortable, but the movie had so much more to offer that the crudity was easy to overlook. I've already seen it twice and I would see it again.

It is rated PG-13, would I take a teenager to it? Definitely not. Would I take my former ecclesiastical leader to it and his family, including his 80 year-old mother? Definitely not. (Feel sorry for my sister Annie.)

Who is this movie for? Mature audiences- maybe 30 plus years. A bunch of girl friends perhaps. Someone who likes independent films and gets bored with the big Hollywood formulaic movie.

I can't say enough about the great writing, the story elements, the fun characters, and the magnificent acting of Ellen Page. It made me laugh and cry. Adam loved it too, but we are a little different, so this movie may not be for everyone.

I still give it 4 stars.

I will now retire as a movie critic.

Merry Christmas!

3 year-old's vocab

Mom: When we get home we need to clean the house.

Caroline: Lame, Lame, Lame.

Mom: Do you even know the word Lame?

Caroline: Yes, Lame, Lame, Lame.

Mom: What does Lame mean?

Caroline: Clean the house.

New Favorite

Great movie!
The mustache man and I went for our anniversary.
(Just know it is a little crude- so it is not for everyone)

We all knew it was coming.....

Caroline's first attempt at cutting her own hair. She pretty much cut off her "piggy" (as she calls it) and made herself some nice heavy bangs. Then she took a chunk out from behind her ear. Luckily, my friend Melissa (a fabulous hairdresser) was able to help me in the time of crisis. We took a good two inches off the back and cropped it a bit- we will have to wait for the chunk to grow back in. Hopefully it won't be too noticeable. There wasn't much we could do with the bangs except angle them and pull some back. Her final look is in the corner. It breaks my heart. We worked so hard to grow out her bangs, but every little girl has a picture in their scrapbook that immortalizes their 1st attempt as a beautician. (I think I actually cut my Sister Katie's hair.) For what it is worth, Caroline cut her bangs pretty straight- at least she wasn't cutting Samantha's hair. (It was my fault for leaving scissors on the dinning room table. I was helping Henry with a project this morning.)
We will miss the "Old Caroline." The "New Caroline" will be with us for the next 3-6 months. It's a good thing we already took the family pictures. Never a dull moment.

Happy Anniversary.....

...your husband has a mustache! After 8 nice years of marriage - he wouldn't even shave it for our special day.

Eveing Gown Bunco

Ladies- grab those boas and tiaras and join us for the most anticipated night of the year, "Evening Gown Bunco."

Yes, I'm for real. I'm in a Bunco group- a mindless dice game that is really an excuse to get together and have fun. We play once a month and I was signed up to host it in December (why I signed up for December is beyond me.) Just two weeks ago I had to dress up as an Indian chief for a cub scout pack meeting- and remembered how much fun dressing us is - so Evening Gown Bunco was born.

Here's how it went down:

Miss Texas and Miss Manners showed up

As did the Ladies in Red

Then came the Boa Sisters


Followed by the Starlettes

My long lost high school friend Kerinne Nickerson (Clark) came as Miss High School Acapella- FYI- she normally doesn't wear her bangs in the 80's/90's claw.


We knew someone spiked the Shirly Temples when the decorations became head wear.
The night was so much fun and honestly, I'm glad it is done- onto Christmas shopping, my anniversary, and so much more.

Tomrrow on the Darowski Dish:

"Adam's mustache day 28."

Super Cool Stockings by Aunt Beth

Living up to expectations, here is today's Darowski Dish:

I always get compliments on theses beautiful hand stitched stockings Adam's Aunt Beth made for us. Just months after Samantha was born Beth had already given us her stocking. Thanks Aunt Beth!

Coming Tomorrow: "Evening Gown Bunco" revealed.

Manthers is on the Move

In trying to be consistent with my new blog title and due to some pressure from our readers in Argentina, I am going to try to post a little something everyday. We will see. So here's the latest Darowski Dish:

Samantha- We have now entered the messy baby stage. She moves, she puts things from the floor in her mouth, she eats finger food in the high chair (always a mess- thank heavens for dustbusters), and she prefers sucking her index finger. This is the stage where the house is never clean and the mom can't let down on defense. Manthers is still always smiley and ever so sweet.

Today, when I took the kids to get their flu shots, we predicted that Samantha would cry the most, then Caroline, then Henry, because logically we thought the older would be the toughest. It was exactly opposite. It cracked me up. Samantha smiled at the nurse, put on a concerned look when the needle went into her thigh, and the went on to suck her finger. Not a peep! Blessed third child. Henry and I figured out that his hurt so bad because the more muscle you have the more it hurts. Henry's man ego was satisfied by this conclusion.

Caroline- Is becoming ever so sensitive to others. Today when I explained to her that her dad broke his watch and we were going to buy him a new one she began to cry. Then she asked, "Is he broken hearted?" Ever so sensitive.

Henry- Keep this a secret. Henry and two friends from school have a secret strategy that always helps them win connect four. He also tries to wear shorts everyday to school.

Adam- The mustache is hideously ugly, but he is sticking with it. He is ever so proud that his last post yielded 15 comments. He bet me he could get at least 15 comments. But some people commented twice and others only commented to encourage me to come up with another post.

Laurel- Went to four stores today trying to make a certain child's Christmas wish come true. Don't worry though, with the help of Adam, EBAY came through for us and someone made a hefty profit.

The Mustache Era

Guest Blogger: Adam Darowski

I attended Duke Law School. While Duke is largely known for the success of its men's basketball team, it is also famous for having a terrible football team. Notre Dame, on the other hand, is a school with an excellent football tradition. It was with great anticipation, therefore, that I looked forward to the Duke - Notre Dame football game a few weeks ago. Duke was having a typical season, and entered the game with a 1-9 record. Notre Dame was having a shockingly horrible season, and also had a 1-9 record, one of the worst in that school's history. I thought Duke had a decent chance of beating them.

I work with an attorney who graduated from Notre Dame law school this past May, and I could not pass up the opportunity to have some sort of friendly wager on the game. We settled on a mustache bet. The person who's school lost would have to grow a mustache until December 31. Notre Dame prevailed 28-7. I am now 15 days into the Mustache Era.

Other than for a brief experimentation period with a goatee in law school, I have never in my life had facial hair. While many men still wear beards and goatees with dignity, the mustache, for whatever reason, seems to have fallen out of style. As you can see from the attached photo, mine is not very attractive (Laurel has called it "hideous" and "an embarrassment"), but the kids like it. I still have about 29 days to go with it, so I have not reached the half way point. I have learned that a mustache really does not suit me, not that mine has amounted to much yet anyway. It will probably need the next four weeks to come in properly. But at least my colleagues at work are getting a kick out of it. In hindsight, I should have just agreed to a lunch bet.