Ever had one of those days where you’re folding laundry and once you finish, you walk to the closet to hang up the clothes and notice that there is a bunch of (scrapbooking) stuff you haven’t used forever taking up space on the floor so you get distracted and abandon the clothes and focus instead on sorting through the endless decorative brads and chipboard letters and glittery stickers? And then, in the depths of your cardstock collection you find a screwdriver that belongs in the garage on your husband’s work bench so you walk out to drop it off and on the way you notice that the lint has accumulated to sneeze-worthy levels atop your dryer so you stop to wipe it off. But to wipe it off you have to go grab the spray cleaner from the kitchen. And when you get to the kitchen you find that you forgot to put away the butter after breakfast and so you open the fridge to put it away and notice that the refrigerator is in desperate need of a clean sweep. And you can’t very well continue to look at moldy grapes so you whip out your rubber gloves and baking soda but before you can even sterilize the fruit drawer the phone rings and it’s your dentist calling back to schedule that tooth extraction for your oldest daughter. So you remove the rubber gloves and walk back to the bedroom in search of your appointment book and you look and look but you can’t find it so you end up telling the dentist you’ll have to call them back momentarily. So you hang up with the dentist and set out in search of the lost calendar. But immediately you are distracted by the piles of freshly laundered clothes on your bed so you decide to just get those put away zippity quick before calling the dentist back. And as you remove that last pair of jeans from the bed, lo and behold, there is that darned appointment book.
Yeah, um, that’s how my day went. In my efforts to clean one mess I made a boatload more. And now I have to go back and organize my organization attempts.
I’m temporarily a single parent so I don’t have a lot of time to blog. BUT. I wanted to share the top 5 reasons why I hate it when Jeff travels for work…
5. I’m stuck taking out the trash at the end of the day. Taking out the trash is never fun but when you have a baby who has yet to be potty-trained and you live in a place where temperatures usually rise above 100 degrees, well, you can imagine how completely NASTY our trash can smells. That, and the fact that I have to veture outside in the dark where one of these days I just know I’m going to be confronted by a coyote or a snake or something.
4. It’s hard enough cooking for, entertaining, cleaning up after, and just generally nurturing four children with a handy helper. It’s double trouble by myself.
3. Every time someone opens a door and the security system beeps (to let me know someone is either coming or going) Jayce thinks it’s his daddy coming home from work and he runs as fast as his little feet will carry him to the garage door yelling “daddy, daddy, daddy.” It breaks my heart.
2. There is nobody to talk to as I try to fall asleep at night so it really throws my sleep schedule off. And, for the record, I’m not a girl who likes to miss out on her sleep.
1. Things like this happen mere miles from where his business office is.
After I just spilled the beans in my 100 things about me post?! You might be wondering if one person really can have that many quirks.
Let me assure you that one person most certainly can. And I do.
1. I can’t bring myself to eat food meant for kids. Kraft mac’n'cheese, Smucker’s uncrustables, dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets. Not my thang. Purple ketchup, go-gurt, Push pops. Nope, no thanks. I have to pass. It may be that the total and complete lack of nutritional value in those empty foods is what repels me. But, along the same lines, I don’t drink from the plastic cups we keep in our cupboard for the kids to use. Nor can I eat cereal from the plastic bowls we keep on hand for them.
It’s okay. You can tell me. That’s weird isn’t it?
2. Clutter stresses me out, but only if it’s in my house. The sight of dishes in the sink, paperwork scattered about the counter, and random objects strewn across the floor will put me in a bad mood faster than you can say Calgon take me away. Perhaps that explains why the first hour after school is out, when the kids come home and almost instantly destroy any semblance of order that I’ve worked all day to establish, is one of my most tense hours of the day. However, clutter in someone else’s house doesn’t affect me at all. I guess it’s the knowledge that I don’t have to lift a finger, or find a place for all of it, that helps me keep my cool.
3. When people say “birfday” it affects me the same way that, say, the sound of nails on a chalkboard might affect you. My body instinctively stiffens and I have to fight off the urge to point out the differences in the words ‘birth day’ and ‘birfday’. The latter just reminds me of the word barf, which brings me to number 4.
4. I don’t use the word barf (click here for proof). Likewise, I hardly ever say ‘throw up’ or hurl or use any other slang in reference to vomiting. My husband and my children get seriously annoyed by the fact that, without fail, I say vomit or vomited. They think it makes me sound like an old lady.
5. At the grocery store, I never choose the item at the front of the shelf. If I’m buying shredded cheese from the dairy case, I remove the first two packages from the little hook thing before taking the third package and placing it into my cart (not buggy by the way, that’s another chalkboard word for me). The exception is for items sold in hard packaging like canned goods or cereal in boxes. I can take whatever is on the shelf when it comes to those things. If it’s sold in a bag or squish-able container of any kind though, I can’t buy from the front.
6. None of these last quirks seemed worthy of their own number, so I’m combining: I require at least two napkins to be within reach before I can eat. I need a straw when I drink because otherwise I make slurping sounds with my mouth. I’d rather starve than eat food prepared by someone I don’t know (potlucks are a nightmare). And yes, I realize that what I’ve just admitted to will leave you wondering what food related trauma I suffered in my childhood that clearly left me neurotic . The answer, is none that I can think of. Feel free to chime in on this one in the comments mom (or Me as she refers to herself).
Alrighty then. If you had any questions about my status as a high-maintenance type of gal then at least I’ve cleared that right up for you. I used to own a pair of pajamas that were pink with those “Hi, I’m __________” name-tags printed all over them. Only the ________ was filled in with the words ‘high maintenance.’
About three years ago my mom gave Cassidy a gift that proved to be priceless. It was a pair of shoes that I instantly fell head over heels for because they were the one and only pair she could both put on and remove all by herself. They were a Godsend, my friends, not so much for their appearance, but more in spite of it. These were the imitation Crocs that, at the time, weren’t as widely available as they are now. Plastic, fire engine red clogs with holes in them were really not my idea of a fashion statement, but purely for the convenience factor, I learned to love them.
Here we are three years (and a blue, black, pink camo, and white pair) later and those tiny little feet on that girl have finally begun to stretch out. Yes, Cassidy has worn the same size shoe for about three years. Many of you probably find that your kids grow out of their shoes before they wear them out, but we’ve never had that problem with Cass. She’s a teeny little thing and only now has she begun to really sprout up. The poor girl was walking through the mall and just plopped her little tush down in the middle of the aisle and refused to go a step further because her “toes hurt.” When I took off the aforementioned red shoes I found blisters on the second toe of each of her feet. I hadn’t even realized they were getting snug and I felt so bad.
Luckily, earlier in that same week I had received an adorable replacement in the mail. Take a look at these little babies.
Can you help but love them? It’s like those cute little green flowers are taunting you to do the love me not game. And love them I do.
They’re from the Eleven Collection (a sister company to See Kai Run) Spring/Summer line and they are as cute on Cassidy’s suddenly sprouting feet as they are in this picture. And they’re made to last with high quality leather and really durable soles. Take it from a mom of four who has done her fair share of shopping at Payless; these shoes are the real deal. I love the classic designs and rainbow of colors to choose from. I venture to guess that you will too.
And if so, you’re in luck because Eleven Collection has graciously offered to give away one pair to a lucky mom. These would be perfect to help send the little ones back to school in style don’t you think? To enter, just click your way over to Eleven Collection and have a look at the Spring/Summer line and then pop back over here and leave a comment letting me know (by name) which pair would put a skip in your step. I’ll announce a winner on Wednesday, July 30th.
I don’t know about you, but for me, when it comes to blog fodder, it’s feast or famine. In case you hadn’t noticed I’m sort of starving lately. But, not wanting to leave you hanging for even a moment, I journeyed to the nooks and crannies of my dusty old brain and scavenged for some items of interest. Whether these items are actually of interest or not is debatable, but a post is a post. So sue me.
- I’m having issues. Or rather, Cassidy is having issues with which I must take issue. She has taken to swallowing huge gulps of air. This I know because I hear her doing it. And as you might imagine, when air goes in, air must come out. Typically it comes back out from whence it came. Today, though, it was coming out both ends. Loudly. She has also discovered that she can talk through the belching. I can honestly say that few things are more disturbing than giant man burps befitting of Jim Belushi being dispelled from my sweet and innocent eight-year-old daughter. And I’m at a complete loss as to what I can do about it.
- We watched the first episode of Lost today. Yes, first episode as in the first episode of the first season. We got it on DVD from Netflix. I realize that we’re a tad behind the times here and I have no excuse.
- Jayce has a birthday coming up. He’ll be two. I’m looking for birthday gift ideas. I do realize that he will not care so much about the gifts but I figure it’s a good excuse to buy him some cool stuff. I want some input from the experts though. What do you buy for a two-year-old boy? My criteria is that it won’t break, melt, come apart, tear, unravel, stain, lose it’s cool factor, drive me crazy, or otherwise become useless after a couple of days. Yeah, so, um that leaves us with wooden blocks then right?
- If you’re reading this on Thursday, then it’s my Gram’s birthday. I’m not sure how she would feel about me posting her age, so I won’t but I can I just brag on her for a sec? Every year she celebrates with a margarita on her birthday. She is not a drinker by any means, but she makes it a point to go all out for the occasion. How cute is that? Birthday or not I gotta tell you that she is one amazing lady. A true hero in my eyes for many reasons. So Happy Birthday Gram XOXO, enjoy your massage and your margarita!
So there you have it. Hope you found at least a moment of entertainment tangled up in there somewhere.
I have a great giveaway to announce Friday. Don’t be hoping for cash or something crazy like that, but if you’re a mom to little ones, I think you’ll want to put on your dancing SHOES (hint hint) when you see this one.
Yes, this is how I spent one of my precious free hours this morning. Baking a fresh strawberry pie for my family to devour after dinner. This, and freshly laundered sheets on the beds that every single one of them will crawl into tonight. And they have the nerve to ask me what I did all day.
Okay, enough with the pity party. On to the recipe that will change the way you look at a strawberry. You can thank me after you’ve whipped up one of your own.
Crust:
1.5 c. crushed shortbread cookie crumbs
1.4 c. chopped blanched almonds
1.3 c. melted butter (don’t even think about using margarine).
Filling: 6 c. hulled strawberries
1 c. sugar
3 T. cornstarch
1.3 c. water
1.4 t. salt
1.2 t. almond extract (althoug vanilla will work in a pinch)
So you start by preheating the oven to 350. Mix the crust ingredients together in a bowl and then press on the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Bake for 8 minutes and then let it cool completely.
While that cools, mash enough strawberries to equal 1 cup. In a medium saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in mashed strawberries and water.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly (no cheating, the e-mail can wait), until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil. Boil one minute. Remove from heat. Let cool ten minutes. Then stir in salt and extract. While it cools, arrange remaining strawberries in cooled crust.
Once the strawberry/sugar mixture has cooled, pour it over the pretty strawberries in the crust. Stick the whole shebang in the fridge and let it chill for at least 3 hours. Garnish with whipped cream and you won’t. be. sorry. Promise.
I’m reading this book right now called The Girls by Lori Lansens. I’m not that far into it but I can’t get it off of my mind. It’s written from the perspective of conjoined twins. So far, one sister tells the majority of the story while the other rarely speaks up. They’re joined at the head, but they have two bodies necessiting two trips to the bathroom, etc., etc. I’ve barely cracked one hundred pages but I am so fascinated by this story. My imagination is running wild trying to conjure up just what it would be like to be one of those sisters. And every night when I put the book down I talk Jeff’s ear off asking if he can even fathom what it would be like to do this or that with a sibling constantly connected to you. It’s nearly impossible to consider such a thing but with each chapter I finish I’m left pondering all the situations that such a predicament would bring about.
It’s one of those books I can’t stop thinking about. Definitely an interesting read.
I recently also finished What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman and Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. Both were very good.
I still have quite a ways to go before I finish the one I’m reading now (seems it takes me much longer to finish a book these days), but I’m always up for suggestions. So tell me, have you read anything good lately?
Saturday was the big day. The big shopping day that is. I have to admit to being slightly neurotic the day before. I spent lots of time going over your comments about where to go and what to buy. I visited more online retail sites than I care to admit to. I even compiled a list detailing my goals.
Did I mention I’m not a great shopper?
Give me a wad of cash to spend and tell me I have to spend it on clothes for myself (not clothes for my family which would be easy or stuff for my house which would be even easier, um hello, Z Gallerie calling) and I freeze. I don’t know what it is about buying myself clothes that throws me into a tizzy but it totally does. I debate every detail, from how it contains my blueberry (muffin top) to how big a dent it’ll put in my budget. There is something wrong with me. Really and truly, there is.
All that said though, I think I came away pretty good.
Here’s where I shopped: Gap, Forever 21, a little shop in the mall called Mocha (it may be a regional thing, I’m not sure), Ann Taylor, Old Navy, and Buckle (thanks Soliloquy).
And here’s some of what I got. I’ll have to get more pictures of the other stuff later.
And in case you’re wondering…
Coral Shirt – 36.00 Ann Taylor
Jeans – 118.00 Lucky Brand
Cute little wooden beaded bracelet – 4.80 Forever 21
Green and White layered tanks 7.50 each Old Navy
Green and White Skirt - Forever 21 21.80 (isn’t that ironic)
The orange skirt – Gap 11.99
Brown and White layered camis – 7.50 each Old Navy
Jeans – 138.00 Lucky Brand
Black and White top – Ann Taylor 29.99
I also got THE MOST ADORABLE little black dress (I heard I needed one) at Mocha. I didn’t get a picture but I am going to have to because it was, HANDS DOWN, my favorite buy. And I got a second of the Old Navy skirts (cobalt blue) because I loved the orange one so much. Get this though, I had to go to a second Gap because the first didn’t have any more. Same skirt, different color. One was 12 bucks, the other 22. I had a hard time justifying spending more on the same exact skirt but I loved it so my hands were tied. I also got a really bright orange handbag (to go with my green outfit) and a cute black everyday sundress at Target. Oh, and a straw hat. I’ve always wanted one. It looks pretty cute with the sundress.
Okay, so I still have about one-fifth of my original budget left to get some more stuff. But, as for my purchases so far, whatdya think? Be gentle on me kay? I’m fragile when it comes to shopping…
*****Updated to announce that Susan is the winner of the Lemonsquare CD. Thanks for entering! *****
When Jayce was born, before we even left the hospital, Jeff made one demand as to our son’s upbringing: there would be no Barney. At first I wondered if it had anything to do with the questionable sexuality of the young males who “star” in that show alongside the big purple dinosaur. That wasn’t it though. It was the music that drove him crazy. As I’ve told you before he came into my life when I had already been blessed with three lovely little ladies of my own. And, he happened upon the scene at a time when Cassidy was engulfed in a long lived Barney infatuation. The phase in which she would gladly sit in awe in front of the tv for hours on end, had I allowed it. And admittedly, there were times when I did. Tsk. Tsk. I know. But sometimes a mom’s got to do what a moms got to do, know what I mean?
Anyway, having had his fill of Barney’s grating candiedness, Jeff set what he considered to be a reasonable limit on the raising of our newest little one. No point in starting something he wasn’t willing to endure. But a big part of Cassidy’s fascination with that prehistoric pansy – oops, did I really just type that – was the tunes he so obnoxiously endearingly delivered. And, as a mom, I certainly don’t want to deprive Jayce of some fun kid songs to rock out to while he chills out with his sippy cup.
Our differences in opinion here required that Jeff and I make compromises on this issue. We haven’t really allowed TV for Jayce just yet, but we do make exceptions for long car trips. We happen to have a plethora of Barney DVD’s on hand and we’ve found them to be mighty convenient to pop into the overhead DVD player in the Honda. But for the house, we have a variety of kid’s music CD’s to listen to. The newest one, Lemonsquare’s Music For Fun, has an interesting slogan: Children’s music that won’t drive parents insane. Considering my husband’s intolerance for kiddie tunes, I figured we could really put that to the test.
After having listened to these songs for a few weeks, I gotta give it to the Lemonsquare peeps: they can come up with some sticky tunes. You know what I’m talking about here right, those songs with lyrics that play over and over again in your head as you do the dishes, walk the dog, or make dinner. Unfortunately for me though, not only do they run through my head, but they also come out vocally. And because I care about you all, I’m going to pass along this little hint: proclaiming yourself (in song) to be “very very veggie” won’t exactly make a “cool” impression on your teenager daughter’s friends. Whatever.
Anyway, in spite of it’s cliche lyrics aimed to get kids to brush their teeth and eat their greens, this CD gives those old Barney tunes a run for their money. Jayce bops around the living room to it, his favorite (I’d venture to guess) being the 4th track, Bear Knows Best. The kid is big on animal sounds and this song incorporates lots of those in an upbeat way. I don’t expect that you’ll want to throw out your John Mayer CD’s just yet, but if you’re looking for something catchy and fun for the kids to groove to, you might want to give this one a try.
And…
I’m giving one away to one lucky mom who is ready to chuck Barney out the window. To win it, just leave a comment here telling me which of the Lemonsquare songs is music to your ears. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, July 22nd and must supply a US address for the CD to be shipped to.
