29 years and a wagon ride

(Story published with permission.)

My sister and her husband just celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary. I heard about the way they celebrated through the family grapevine and decided this was one of those poignant stories you may be expecting on my blog.

Rose and Rob have lived in a rural town of 2,000 since they were married. Rob's family has lived and farmed and ranched in the area for generations. It's a rich history and they cherish it deeply.

However, that's not to say that Rose and Rob live in a cocoon. He is a respected small-business owner in our state and she's an elementary school teacher. They've vacationed out of state and country, their first two children are college-educated (and #3 is well on her way), and shut-my- mouth they even drive cars.

So on the day of their 29th wedding anniversary, you might expect a traditional dinner at a fancy restaurant or some other event away from home. Well, according to Rose, they've been out plenty lately. The dinners out have been frequent, albeit anything but fancy. Life has been hectic with school ending and other events. So dressing up and driving to Major City for a restaurant meal sounded more laborious than special.

So, at Rob's prodding, they hooked up their team of mules ("Ruby" and "Pearl" and I did not make that up) and prepared take a wagon ride. The kids were otherwise occupied so it was just the two of them. Rose was admittedly reluctant with many irons in the fire at home but thought it would be a nice break and after all, it was their anniversary.

They hooked up "the girls" and off they went, pulling the covered wagon behind them, on a mild June 10, 29 years after they were married. And for three hours they meandered the country roads of their town, talking to each other and whomever they met along the way.

And then they celebrated their 29 years together by having a beer.

Beer? Yep, a beer. See, in Smalltown, Oklahoma, there's a bar. It's not really even in town. Really it's not even a bar. More like a tavern. Like when someone they don't know walks in, everyone shifts their toothpicks to the other side of their mouths and tips back the bill of their John Deere hat and says "...you ain't from around here, are ya..."

But they knew Rob and his bride. And when the covered wagon with the oldy-weds pulled up in the parking lot (which didn't specify it was for cars only), they were warmly greeted. And Rose and Rob convinced the bar-owner to fix their order to go.

So this is the part where you think, noooo! Surely this story must be about someone's elderly parents. No, I'm telling you, their anniversary was six days ago.

They got their beer and they climbed back in their wagon, and they headed back home, click-clacking down the sometimes-paved, sometimes-not roads. And they talked some more. And Rose told me she would more than likely remember that anniversary celebration more than any other.

Hmmm, I believe I will, too.

I'm proud to say I scored a measly 40%!

Be prepared to think "now there's five minutes I'll never get back..." Yep, quiz time! Go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8985943/ to determine your "Entertainment IQ." It's not exactly the SAT but revealing nonetheless.

Leave a comment and let me know how much time you waste keeping up with the entertainment world, oh, I mean, let me know your score.

WFMW: New, easy storage!

Use a shoe organizer in your coat closet for storage.

I bought a shoe organizer (Target, $12.99) to use for storing much more than shoes in my downstairs closet. When I need to get out the door, even a minute to get up and down the stairs can be hard to come by. So this handy tool makes it so easy to grab shoes, hats, Little Swimmers, even sunglasses and sunscreen. I keep a couple of pairs of flip-flops in there for myself, and I've even allowed hubs a little real estate for his stuff.

Check it out:

For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

The fruits of my labor

A few weeks ago I entered a caption contest on abcnews.com for the Nightline program. Lo and behold, I won the darn thing. So for all my sweating over just the right 20-words-or-less, I have finally been rewarded with this beauty:


You will notice it sits atop my jewelry box. Yes, I do consider it a treasure. Go ahead, leave me a comment about how jealous you are.

It's a Carnival! And the story of my blog.

My buddy Chilihead is hosting a carnival! That's right, she's a nosy-rosy and wants to know everyone's story about how they started blogging. For me? It's a good way to get some linkage on a highly-traveled site! Woo-hoo!

So for the other nosy-rosies out there, knock yourself out:


How did you start blogging?

Chilihead was at my house one afternoon and she sheepishly mentioned she had a blog thing out here. Whaaattt! And didn't tell me about it!? I was so impressed with what she had done with her blog that it didn't take much of her prodding to get me started as well. I'm a writer at heart and blogging seemed a great outlet for me to be creative and have a little project going as well.

What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?

(Wow, if I didn't know better I think I'm sitting across from some HR rep at Big Company.)

Achieve? I have to achieve something? I haven't really thought about it much. I hope someday I will have visitors to my blog who look forward to reading a little humor, a little poignant story now and then, and get to know me a little. I like the idea of my family and friends visiting and staying caught up on things. As mundane as they seem sometimes, this is my life.

As for future plans, maybe I can figure out a way to make this blog earn me a little cash.

Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?

I didn't have a "focus" when I started so this really isn't relevant. I can say, though, I'm more comfortable writing now. My early posts were a little Niles-Cranish, now they're more Roz.

What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?

Hmmm, I'm still learning. I wish I was a little more technical.

Do you make money with your blog?

See above. Sadly, no.

Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?

My relatives are reading, I think. Most of them do not leave comments. If only they knew that comments are like manna from heaven. Or the "crack of life" as Chili says. Throw me a bone people!

Husband, on the other hand, is a big ol' skeptic about the whole thing. I don't think he reads it (do you hon?)

What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?

Write from the heart. And use humor. And brevity is beautiful. And you don't always have to play by the rules.

***************************
That's the whole story. Exciting huh. Well, you wanted to know!

For what are probably much more interesting blog histories, check out Chili's Carnival. And get me some cotton candy while you're there.

Sunday's a day for daydreaming...

http://www.imin.com/home

That's "I'm In." Have fun!

Words will never be enough

First, read my previous post about my last experience with a snake and get an idea of how little I ever want to see one again even in a picture. Even one as small as the one I wrestled...

Then, have a look at this picture and ask yourself how I was able to even look at it long enough to download.



Oh, my.

Thing is, this is not a picture I lifted from snopes.com or some other urban legend web site. This creature was sighted at the home of a lady my sister works with, who lives out in the country.

The picture was taken only a week or so ago, which means this little black snake is probably still slithering about somewhere. I do not know, nor do I care to know, how "Gail" freed up her door from the clutches of this creature. Good luck to you, Gail, and move to the freaking city, OK?

WFMW: Two from Mom of Five

Since I'm just getting started in the motherhood game (boys are 20 mo. and 3 years), I have not yet heard "mom, I'm bored." My boys still get a charge out of watching birds out the back window.

My sister, on the other hand, has five kids, the oldest now in college. She has homeschooled them all and I'm sure heard the dreaded phrase more than once. So I decided to ask her what to post for this week's WFMW:

(Edited for space, but pretty much verbatim. As if there's not enough space on the Internet for her entire answer...)

"First, when I read questions like that, I think what the person is really wanting to know is "What can I get my kid to do so that he will leave me alone?" 'Cause I can think of all kinds of things to do with my kids, but I didn't/don't always want to play along. Anyway, when one of my sweet cherubs would say they were bored, I'd tell them to stand in a corner until they thought of something to do. (And it could not be TV or computer.) It usually didn't take them too long to come up with something.

I did that because these kids I have should never, ever be bored! They have toys! They have books! They have a backyard! We gave them siblings! Enough to switch around even. Sheesh. The kid who comes to me and says he's bored better be prepared to pay the piper. Or clean something.

P.S. The disclaimer is that I know my kids and at what age I could expect this to work. I don't assume anything for anyone else. Also, the corners were always cobweb-free. Again, I don't assume anything for anyone else..."

So then I guess she started thinking about how a "kinder, gentler" idea might sound better to post for the masses, and she suggested getting the kids involved in the local library's Summer Reading Program.

Uh-huh, I bet there was a lot of worn corners in their house...

The beach in our front yard

Ahhhh, you're gonna get tired of reading this on my blog, but I LOVE SUMMER!

This evening we had a party in the front yard. We live in a nice-enough neighborhood, but until recently the boys were pretty much the lone kiddos on our street. But now they have a victim, uh, playmate, other than each other!

"Jason" is a little over two years old and lives two houses down. After dinner we invited him and his mom and dad to come over...the pool was coming out again!

So pretty soon here came Jason walking across yards with great purpose and clutching his beach towel. Cutest thing ever.

Then up filled the pool. And down splashed three boys (many, many times). And the water from the hose flew everywhere. And the moms and dads lifeguarded from lawn chairs a safe distance away. And I sat there and thought, what a perfect evening. Good friends, good kids, and a good deal of hope that we'd do this many times this summer...

Is my 3-year-old a brooding teenager already?

We've always pulled out all the "sleep aids" possible for Son 1: nightlight, lamp on, music CDs playing, books to look at after we leave, stories prior to leaving, etc. It's really a wonder he gets any sleep at all, now that I think about it. Nonetheless, we've always used some or all of these things to help the process.

Then two nights ago, he says in his tiny voice: "I don't need any books." Then, as I was leaving his room, "could you close the door? And turn off the lamp?"

Whaaaaaaa?!

"...and shut the door all the way."

Um, OK, I say. It pained me to leave him in a room with the only light coming from his little sailboat nightlight. With the door completely shut. What if he wimpered? Or breathed loudly? Or turned over? Or worse, called out for me and I couldn't hear him in my room a whole 10 feet away?

But I obliged, and hubs and I spent the next 30 minutes scratching our heads. Our son had grown up overnight. Or, in not so many words, told us he's learned to live without all the crutches for sleeping.

One of my sisters who is a veteran mom and I mean that in the nicest way, told me once that when one of my children is crying, the reason is not as important as helping him not cry. So stop analyzing, she would say, and start comforting.

So I suppose I should stop analyzing my son's sudden desire to be alone with his thoughts, and add this to my list of the mysteries of parenting. Which is growing by the minute.

Overheard: Lesson Learned

This morning over breakfast:

Son 1: "What is this cereal called?"

Me: "Cap'n Crunch"

Son 1: "Craptin' Crunch?"

Me: "Yes."

I'm back, but just to say I'm not posting.

We just returned from a rather spur-of-the-moment trip to the Dallas area for my niece's high school graduation. I'm tired.

We had a wonderful but busy Memorial Day. The $5.99 pool made its first appearance in our (shadeless!) front yard. I'm tired.

Mother's Day Out came to an end last week with a sweet school program during which I probably bruised a few other parents trying to position my camera to capture Son 1 onstage staring into space. I'm tired.

I tried really hard to reshape the poor cowboy hat in the pic below that has been residing at the bottom of the toybox since March. I'm tired.

So this post is all about not posting until I can get un-tired. Um, or until I can fake it really well. Until then, go here and realize that amazingly some people manage to walk the earth without a brain.

Wow, that was quick!

So apparently instead of posting a comment out here, all you very quiet readers went out and voted for me. Check it out!

I also got an email that said I was being sent a very "small" prize. Methinks I should make room in my cabinet for a Nightline coffee mug. And no, the email was not sent from Ted Koppel or whoever is the host these days. Rather, my theory is that "Eric" is a college intern who got the assignment back in September and it is just now getting through all the red tape that must surely be required to get a page on abcnews.com. I can hear it now:

ABC Bigwig: "We need more hits on our website."

ABC Sorta Bigwig: "I know, sir, we're having brainstorming sessions as we speak to figure out what we can do..."

ABC Bigwig: "How about a contest. People love contests. Contests are good. Look at that Idol show. Now that's a contest..."

ABC Sorta Bigwig: "Sir, that's a television show. Ours is a website."

ABC Bigwig: "Whatever. Jordin, wow, she's really good. Explain to me what beat-boxing is anyway."

ABC Sorta Bigwig: "Not-a-Bigwig just got a new intern: Eric Somebody. Maybe he can get him working on it."

ABC Bigwig: "Good, make it happen. And set me up with Paula Abdul...I hear she's single and looking."

ABC Sorta Bigwig: "Right, sir, I'm on it."


And thus, the Nightline Caption Contest is born... Thank you, fans!

Go to abcnews.com and vote for me!

The other day I posted about my friend who was a finalist in the abcnews.com photo caption contest (too bad he did not win). Well, yours truly has carved out a "bigtime" niche of her own. That's right, peoples, I'm a finalist.

So please, both of you Home Team fans go there now and vote for mine! Even if you don't think it's the funniest. Pretty please?! And if you do, leave a comment here, mmmmmm-kay?!

P.S. The caption entry has my entire true name and hometown out there, so if you know me only anonymously, vote for me and then forget you saw that and don't steal my identity or my children.

WFMW: 20 cent STYLISH greeting cards

1. Go to Michael's. Bring $9.99 plus tax.

2. Buy this.

3. Never be without a greeting card again. Need a closeup?

Here are the details:

-- There are 50 cards in the box. Those who know me know my extremely limited math skills, but I believe at $9.99 for the box, that's a mere 20 cents per card.

-- Envelopes are included.

-- The cards are textured with a matte finish. I think this makes them look "richer." Since they are from the crafty-craft store, I'm sure they can be embellished, stamped, punched, and whatever other craft wizardry you people do who have more time (and desire) on your hands than me.

-- The cards are blank inside so get thee some creativity and write your sentiment from the heart. No one ever reads the preprinted notes anyway!

-- I've not had an occasion yet that one of these cards didn't fit: birthday, graduations, new baby, etc. And there are designs that are masculine, as well.

-- If you are reading this and you receive one of these cards from me, you now know how excited I am to be sending you a card AND saving money.

For more very useful Works for Me tips, visit the WFMW queen herself at Rocks in My Dryer.

Flower Pics as Promised

This may not look like much but it is quite an accomplishment for the Home Team since we are not very landscape-inclined. I think I should have swept the sidewalk before taking this picture, but wait, what's that just in front of my husband's truck bumper?? That would be the broom, being swiped by Son 1.

These are what I'm calling my Iron Impatiens. They withstood several very unseasonable freezes when their siblings in the ground died and were thus replaced with the begonias in the picture above. Rock on II's! (And thank you Son 2 for your diligent watering!)

The Home Team's Week in Review

Guess I've been a bit of a slug this week as far as posting goes, so here's what's been going on at Home Team's house:

1. I got what I think is possibly the best haircut of my life. I won it at a silent auction at our church and "Damon" doesn't know it but I was the only bidder. I sat down in his chair and as he took the scrunchy out and my hair just sort of stayed up, he says "...oh, honey, the Lord sent you to me..." He proceeded to whack away ala Edward Scissorhands and I came away with a new hip 'do that I love. Despite the fact that he wondered aloud why all his clients have "problem hair," I will be going back to him in a few months.

2. Son 1 and Son 2 got through the week with no major injuries, but Son 2's head met with my brow which caused tears. From me.

3. My newly-planted hydrangea is still alive. This is news. I will post pics soon.

4. The scale says I lost 10 pounds! And, no, it is not broken.

5. I can't believe Melinda Doolittle isn't on AI anymore. And I got to watch about seven minutes of "The Office."

Yep, that's all the excitement here lately. Be sure to visit again for another riveting installment...

ABC News and a friend from high school

Please go here and vote for my high school friend, Russell Reid. He's a finalist in the ABC News caption contest. It's about time his wit made the bigtime (shush! Fictional captions are bigtime!).

Thanks!

Could I ask for a more devoted husband?

Last night as we walked through our neighborhood past our church, I noticed lots of cars in the parking lot. A lot for a Thursday evening, anyway:

Me: "What do you think's going on at the church?"
Hubs: "Don't know, funeral??
Me: "Either that or a wedding..."
Hubs: "Harrumph. Either way your life is over..."

The Interview Meme

My wonderful friend Chilihead has included me in the Interview Meme that I hear is going around, but since I've been rather extinct out here lately I wouldn't know. I'm taking her word for it. So here's my contribution:

1. What was your favorite outfit in 1987? The one you wore every time you could and made sure was washed for those nights out on the town?

I had an unlimited supply of shaker-knit sweaters in the mid- to late 80s so I could always fall back on one of those with my jeans and Huaraches. And I had a lavender long-sleeve shirt that had puffy sleeves, a la, Seinfeld but not as cute. Yeah, I thought I was original in that shirt, when really the reason I felt that way was because NO ONE ELSE HAD ONE. Didn’t get clued in on that mistake until about 1989.

2. Have you achieved three of your life goals?

Yes: graduated from college, married the man of my dreams, became a mom. I’m starting to let go of “...become an Olympic figure skater…” and I haven't given up on "...make money as a photographer..."

3. Do you ever fly in your dreams? If so, how do you take off ( e.g., jump, run & jump, lift up off the ground, etc.)?

I do fly in my dreams! It’s been a while; I wish I knew what life events triggered that dream because I always wake up invigorated. I tend to run and jump. Like a gazelle. A gazelle on steroids. A gazelle on steroids with the wind at his back. Oh…it’s a fun dream!

4. You have five minutes to pack up and leave. What stays and what goes?

What goes: contact case and solution, eye-makeup remover, eye glasses. Sight is an important thing to me. Son 1 and Son 2. One diaper. One sippy cup. Husband. If it is a permanent exit, husband gets to take a bottle of water and my 30-odd photo albums. Purse. ALWAYS my purse. And a cell phone charger. And my computer. And my calendar!!

What stays: who cares? As long as I have my calendar.

5. Your family is being transferred. You get to pick where you'd like to live, but it can't be in the United States. Where do you choose?

A tough one. I do not want to learn a new language. So I’m going to Mexico; when I get there they will change all their literature, signs, forms, and grocery items in the whole country to English.

Supermom sssstrikes again

I can't take much in the way of varmints. It was part of Husband's vows at our wedding "to love, honor, and remove all outside creatures to the outdoors or the trashcan, the latter of which can only occur if said creature is dead." Translation: I do NOT kill bugs or anything else. Ever.

Unless of course Husband is at work and unavailable to live up to his vow, like today. I can barely even type it since I get the willies every time I think about it. We...had...a...ss...uhhhh...sss....snake. In our garage. I say "we" but really it was me and the boys, and they were still strapped in their carseats when I noticed the intruder. Otherwise, the s. (I can't seem to type it again) would probably be running for its life from a stick.

Let me just say, I would have taken a pic of the s. but I was too horrified. All I could think about was the possibility of the s. chasing me as I leapt over it to the door to get a broom. Then I realized, I'm NOT using the same broom as I use to sweep our kitchen floor, so I had to leap over it again to get to the garage broom. Luckily we have about five garage brooms (somehow they seem to be multiplying) so I grabbed the biggest one I could find. Straw bristles, curved on the end from so much use...oh, yeah, this baby would work.

So I went back to the s. amid "what you doing, Mommy"s from the car and prepared to sweep it out of the garage. The s. curled up immediately (ewwwwww!!) and with one amazing swoop I launched him to the end of the driveway like a hockey puck on an icerink. Then another swoop into the street, then across the street to the office building's parking lot, then for good measure to the grassy area next to it.

Ahhhh, my work was done and now I'm happy to report I have not seen the s. again. I couldn't, however, bring myself to let the broom back into the garage so it is currently propped up outside. Where it will remain forever.

So after my heroics I walked back up to the car and Son 1 was all questions:

"What did you do Mommy?"

"I just showed a snake his new home."

"Whyyyy?"

"Because I don't like snakes."

"Oh. I like snakes."

You'll learn, my boy, you'll learn.

P.S. The size of the snake, I'm sure you want to know, wasn't much bigger than a large earthworm. But it was ferocious.

WFMW: Cheap, better giftwrap

Use discount fabric for wrapping gifts.

I wrapped this birthday gift (a puzzle in a box) for under $3. The three-year-old gets the gift and the mom gets a yard of fabric with a fun "boy print" to do with as she pleases: pajama pants for her son, placemats, blanket, etc. The fabric was $2 a yard and the ribbon was also from the clearance rack, for 50 cents. I didn't even use tape to wrap it.

For the mother of Works for Me Wednesday, visit Shannon.

Weightloss Inspiration

We all need it at one time or another: a little ditty about losing weight to make us feel not so miserable about having to deprive ourselves. Well, OK, maybe I'm the one that needs it right now. I've been struggling to lose my baby weight for, uh, let's see, my youngest son is saying words now. (How long, by the way, is it okay to call it "baby weight?")

And while I'm on my soapbox (what, you didn't see me climb up?) let me just say that if "breastfeeding makes post-baby weight loss happen faster" actually came true for me, I'd be borrowing clothes from Calista Flockhart. (Oh, how '90s of me: I meant Nicole Richey). I nursed both my boys every bit of 13 months each and yet I still struggle.

Anyway, I've been doing Weight Watchers lately, and our meeting leader bestowed this gem on us last week. Even if you don't do WW, you may find it inspiring enough to put down that Snickers...


SEVEN DAYS TO GO!
author unknown

Tuesday evening after Weight Watchers
That piece of cake I saved is near.
One big slice, I have no fear.
Besides, no pounds will even show.
I've got seven days to go.

Wednesday
Time for shopping, to the mall we go.
Have a pizza special, it’s cheaper you know.
I’ll walk it off, I’ll get in gear.
Six days to go, no weigh-in near.

Thursday
I think I’ll skip my tuna lunch.
A hamburger and fries is what I’ll munch.
Tuna’s getting expensive you know.
Besides, I’ve got five days to go.

Friday
For breakfast, one egg, toast and juice.
But the kids left their pancakes, what’s the use?
With inflation, to waste is a sin.
Besides, it’s four days until I weigh in.

Saturday
This weekend will be really rough.
Those restaurant menus are really tough.
I’ll work the steak off when I go to the gym.
I have three days until I weigh in.

Sunday
For breakfast, I’ll just have coffee today.
Maybe I’ll lose a little more that way.
At supper, a little bit I will eat.
In just two days that scale I meet.

Monday
Now my nerves are really a wreck.
I’m stressed, so I eat, what the heck.
I need to lose a pound tonight.
One day to go, will it be all right?

Tuesday
I don’t want to face that scale today.
Will a trip to the john save the day?
I gained two pounds, wouldn’t you know?
Guess I didn’t have seven days to go!

The greatest thing you have is the 24 hours directly in front of you. Today you can succeed.

Overheard: So that's how it's going to be...

Mommy: Do you love your mommy?

Son 1: Yes, but I don't like you.

Mommy: You don't?

Son 1: No, I like Daddy.

WFMW: Snack Trap

If ya'll have toddlers, you really need to check out the Snack Trap at One Step Ahead. I am not a baby-gadget person; I shun useless things like this with a vengeance. But the Snack Trap is well worth its five bucks: fill it with Cheerios and hand it to your little one and they can carry it around the living room without spilling. And it's great for traveling, too.

The Snack Trap works for me! For more great tips, visit Shannon.

"Judge not," etc., but at least writing isn't my JOB

Friday's edition of my local paper. Scary I paid for it.

YouTube Moment: Michael Jordan - I Believe I Can Fly

One of my very intuitive sisters sent this to me. Somehow she knows my passion for Michael Jordan's basketball talent AND this R. Kelly song. Hmmm, maybe she knows me a little better than I thought...

Patron Saint of Sweepstakes, Pray for Me

OK, I doubt there is such a saint, but if there were I would be a' praying right now. See, over at 5 Minutes for Mom they are GIVING away a shiny new Dyson SLIM. Now even if I could afford ~$400 for a vacuum cleaner, the other Dyson models are much to large for the designated vacuum cleaner spot in our home. But the Slim, oh, the Slim would fit mighty nicely.

So please, St. Sweepstakes, if you're out there, have a heart and make this happen. One time your buddy St. Anthony helped my mom find her car keys when they were lost, but that was around 30 years ago. Don't you think we're due for a little Saint help??

And the rest of you, head on over and enter the contest yourself. It's easy and you don't have to blog to win. And if you win the Slim maybe I can arrange visitation.

WFMW: Tide is worth $7.99

As you've seen in previous posts, my sons are recovering from a bout with a stomach bug (hubs and I were spared!). We had so many, uh, episodes, that for a few days it seemed our washer never stopped!

I usually buy the darn-near cheapest laundry detergent and it has served our family well. But before all this started (obviously in a fit of unbelieveable weakness) I bought Tide with Febreze for $7.99. Yes, I know, it is a crime to spend that much on detergent, but dang it, Febreze smells so good I couldn't resist. Well, kiddos, this time my momentary lapse of reason paid off.

You see, Son 2 had a bit of a relapse the other day. Without warning, lasagna and garlic bread (and yogurt, I think) were revisited all over the front of my brand-new Adidas t-shirt. A SOLID WHITE t-shirt. I figured, the shirt's ruined, what's the use in pre-treating? So I threw it in the washer with all the other assaulted clothes and figured it would make a very expensive dust-rag.

Would you believe the shirt came completely clean? Not a trace of anything anywhere. It could have come straight off the hanger at JC Penney. Unbelieveable. Hubs pretended to be impressed but I was so thrilled I sent Tide my testimonial. I'm fantasizing that a case of it will appear on my doorstep...

Splurging on Tide with Febreze...Works for me!

For more really cool Works for Me Wednesday tips, check out Shannon.

All better now

A lot has happened since my last post: Son 1 did end up getting sick, even more violently than Son 2 but I will spare you the details on that. He hasn't had any accidents in a day, so just maybe getting sick was somehow affecting his psyche.

I got nauseous for about 12 hours but thankfully it didn't materialize into a stomach bug like the boys'. I did lose two pounds from not eating; who can complain about that?!

The carseat that Son 1 christened when he began his stomach bug is still very dismantled, hindering our ability to go anywhere but outdoors. The weather has been nice so that's not been a problem. (...the weathermen in town predicted rain every day this spring break week, but they were WRO-ONG!)

Hubs and I have an evening out planned for Saturday night; here's praying that everyone's well or that I can talk their favorite aunt into wearing goggles for the night.

Smooth sailing, then iceberg, iceberg, and another iceberg...

So I didn't really update the progress of Son 1 and his efforts to shed diapers forever. He let them go bigtime, for like three weeks now. I never thought "Mommy I have to pee-pee" would sound like sweet music to my ears, but it did. And no accidents, even at night, and even at Mother's Day Out.

But that's where the sweet music comes to a screeching halt. For some reason he's had several accidents in the last few days, for no apparent reason. No major changes in our lives have occurred: we've not moved to a new house, brought home a newborn (!!), or gone on vacation. We do have a sick Son 2, throwing up here and there and everywhere. Could that type of event mess up Son 1's progress? He seemed so rock-solid with it. And really when Son 2 is sick, it's not like he's throwing up on Son 1, which would traumatize him (but not his mother, mind you).

If anyone has any insight to this please, please post a comment so I can understand what's happening. Spiderman, Diego, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Hanes can't take much more...

Macy's Thanksgiving

Thank you Macy's! Thank you for pricing your Ralph Lauren boys' shirts so high* that even Britney Spears wouldn't buy them, assuming she remembers how to shop after all that Coke. So since you priced them so high and no one bought them, you had to mark them down 75% so normal people could afford them. We po' folks shorely do 'preciate ya!

* $65.00 EACH. Polo horse not included.

Son 1: "MAMMA, I'M GOING TO READ [SON 2] A BOOK..."

"...but it's up to you to open them up, interpret the words, and turn the pages..."

Spring is here! And it's cheap!

That's right folks, the first pedicure of the season. So toes are ready for viewing! What better way to send you people who hate feet running from your computers screaming than to post a pic of mine?

The beauty of these beauties, however, isn't the "Clary Girl Pink" shade of polish. No, no, the beauty is that I got this look for a mere $18. That's right, instead of paying the usual $40 or more at my salon or a "day spa," I tried the new beauty school in town. The very nice woman who worked over my feet was very thorough and their facility had candles and music and everything. I couldn't think of one thing that was missing that I'd have gotten elsewhere. (License, schmicense!)

So check out the beauty school before you say you can't afford to dress up your feet for summer!

WFMW: Reading WFMW posts and keeping sane

Hi. My name is Christine and I'm a WFMW-a-holic. There, I said it. I'm an addict to Shannon's weekly collection of woman wisdom.

The bigger problem, however, is getting them all read before, say, the next week's installment. I was keeping the site up in a separate window to visit when I had a minute online, but then my eye would wander all over the page like a shopper without a list.

Then I discovered that the key to getting through them without missing something is simple: FOCUS.

So now, instead of hopping all over the page, I read and click them in order. Numerical order. It was the skipping around so much that was driving me crazy because I'd re-read them accidentally or miss one at the beginning. So now I go up and down all the aisles and I don't miss any bargains, and life is good. Try it, maybe your WFMW will be just that much sweeter.

So there you go: a tip you can try right NOW.

Welcome to my new home!

Christmas morning is here! Isn't it awesome!? Not really a new home, but newly decorated, and a blog home I hope to visit more often (maybe you will, too, since it's pretty now). I only hope my posts are worthy of the awesome new graphic graciously accomplished by Chilihead and Shannon. They are so kind to rescue me from template boredom.

Now if only they can throw some of their witty and interesting posts my way so I can use them for my own...

Back to normal, glorious normal

The husband returned yesterday from an nine-day business trip. Well, part of the "business" was to have fun on a guys' golf vacation, the rest he actually got paid for. It all added up to nine days and eight nights of single parenthood for me, which is something I would never sign up for in a bazillion years and I cannot understand the celebs or other getting-older women who choose to do it. But I digress...

Yes, it was a long week. Yes, I missed him desperately. And when we got to the airport to pick him up, my heart melted into a big ol' puddle when I saw him coming down the very wide hallway with several other passengers.

But, melted not at the sight of his very cute face, not at the thought of help with bathtime, but at the sight of Son 1's face when he spotted him. I don't think I could have contained those three-year-old legs for an instant from running down the hall toward him. They were like some freakish real-life Road Runner legs. They didn't stop spinning until he was scooped up by my husband and like a kid in a Kodak commercial he wrapped his arms around Daddy's neck and squeezed.

And then out of nowhere came tears in my eyes and I had to get contained, lest husband would think I didn't have everything under complete control while he was gone.

Then husband and Son 1 made it over to me and Son 2, who was sitting in his stroller. His efforts to leap out of his seat nearly turned the stroller over, and the squealing began. I don't think it has stopped yet...

His priorities will change, won't they?

Tonight Son 2 was in all his almost-18-month-old glory as he tried to slide a finger behind my genius obstacle to the TV buttons. He did not succeed, but thankfully Son 1 was hot on his trail to keep him from jacking with it:

Son 1: "Don't touch the buttons! The TV might fall down and...and...we won't have a TV to watch."

...let alone the fact that his brother will be under it.

Stay tuned for a design!!

I'm so excited I can't stand it. It's like Christmas in March for me. My two buddies, one old and one new, have offered to snazz up my blog, as in...drum roll, please: I'm getting an actual design! Not a canned-ham template anymore! I think New Buddy decided she could no longer sit back and see a poor beginning blogger like me suffer with the template any longer, and she has offered to perk it up a little (which will be a lot). She's wrangled the talent of Old Buddy and together they will breath new life into my blog.

So check back over the next few days. I don't know when Christmas morning is but I know the Santa Blogs are gonna be good to me!

WFMW: Easy-Traveling Cupcakes

Bringing cupcakes to a kids' party is a great idea, but if you're super particular about messes like me, you need to read on. Fully-frosted cupcakes are a mess to get in and out of a box and they can get crowded and the frosting mushed up and it's just messy all around. (OK, I know I need therapy about that but whatever...)

I got a large cake-decorating tip and swirled store-bought icing right in the center of a cake-mix cupcake, and topped it with a "Kissables" candy piece. So easy! I have NO experience with cake decorating and yet this was so easy to do. The kids love the big bite of icing and they are so much neater to get in and out of the box.

If you don't want the hassle of buying cake-decorating tips or bags, just use a quart-size Ziploc bag and fill it with frosting. Snip a large piece off a corner and go to town!

For more WFMW tips, go see Shannon.

WFMW: Protect TV Buttons from Toddlers

UPDATED to include a picture:

(Shush! Someone has to post the last tip!)

My tip tonight is something I read in a parenting magazine or maybe it was a blog, the point is it was a tip I actually read and used AND it WORKED.

To keep little fingers, the just-over-a-year-old kind, from punching the buttons on your TV, go to Walgreen's and buy a plexi-glass picture frame. One of the smaller ones will do. You know the kind I'm talking about: it's frameless and it props up by itself on a tabletop. OK, so you get one of those and...

...turn it on its back so the large part of it is face down flat. Slide this part under your TV as your husband is lifting it a millimeter or so high but acting like he is Hercules with The World on his back. Have Herc set it down so that the only thing showing is the short part of the frame, which is beautifully positioned in front of the buttons on your TV.

Yuck, I am thinking this WFMW is going to require a picture, which I don't have. And which would take me too long to accomplish at this late hour and I still need to waste some more time online and get this tip on Shannon's site before Thursday.

So visualize, people, and try it if your little ones like to turn off American Idol in the middle of Simon's latest barb or Ryan Seacrest's "out."

For more, and better and probably more useful tips, go to Shannon's and knock yourself out.

And Birthday Season Continues

You might think that title means there are several birthdays we are celebrating. Nope. Just one. Three times: at a restaurant on Saturday since that was his actual birthday, yesterday here at home with family, and tomorrow with his Mother's Day Out classmates. Ahhh, I love my son but he's starting to sing "Happy Birthday" in his sleep.

Yesterday, however, was the big shindig with the cake and candles. Lots of fun for him and since he's already gone through this twice, his third birthday was smooth sailing. It was nice, I have to say, to sit back and watch him open his presents instead of coaxing him, uh, more like screaming in his ear, to tear a sheet. Of course, his ever-doting Aunt R. was right there to do it for him lest he be in the least big perplexed about how to get through the paper to the bounty beneath.

So now the real, selfish reason for the post: the cake! Made by me! Without a plan or even a vision, I set about to make his cake and I think it was not too bad an effort:



(I know, I know, I have now divulged Son 1's real name. Just forget you read that and move on about your blogs...)



All in all, a great time for the birthday boy and his little bro, who really thought all the presents were for him. Hmmm, that could have something to do with the fact that BOTH sides' grandparents showed up with a gift for him, too.

Must be something one learns at Grandparents' School...

Son 1 the Birthday Boy!

Today is Son 1's third birthday. This little man has brought more joy to our lives than we could ever imagine, and daily he amazes me in some way.

We are having a small family party tomorrow and today we're taking him bowling for the first time. We don't really know what to expect: he could throw two balls and say he wants to go home. Or he'll throw Son 2 down the lane and say "let's do it again!"

Happy, happy birthday, Son 1, with many smothering mommy and daddy hugs.

Flying Without a Net

Son 1 is going to be THREE YEARS OLD tomorrow. (I will save my sappy birthday post for the actual day.) I have been wondering, hoping, listening with utter envy to my other mom friends who have 2-year-olds who have been trained for months, and waiting for my son to "get it" and lose the diapers. Today may have been the turning point.

We left the house with UNDERWEAR on, not a diaper. (Okay, you know what I mean when I say "we," it's the "we" that means "he." You know...right? Okay, I just needed to clarify that.)

Yep, we actually got in the car, backed out of the driveway, and went places. Public places. Now, I have backup supplies my diaper bag has not seen since the newborn days: extra clothes, plastic bags, extra diapers in case I, uh, he needs to revert, and of course a fresh pair of underwear. None of these things were needed today! I must have driven the poor kid cah-razy with my "do you need to pee-pee" every 15 minutes. He actually did in the potty at our playgroup place and when we got home all was dry. Ahhhhh, what a victory for me, uh, him!!

I figure I will be cleaning up a few accidents along the way for sure. But I think we are one step closer to a one-kid-in-a-diaper family. Woo-hoo!!

UPDATE: Well, we didn't quite make it the whole day without a little accident. But Mommy has new strategies up her sleeve so not to worry!

Dead. Winter.

It is winter. I understand that. But puh-leeze, Lord, can you throw in an unseasonably warm day for me and the boys? We in the south are known for such anomolies and we appreciate them.

Until He says yes to my request, there's this to keep us going, 'cause even the beach in winter is still the beach.

Hope it's warm today wherever you readers are. But if it is I don't want to hear about it...

WFMW: Kleenex Trash

If you have little kids, you have little kids with colds. And if you have more than one with a cold, the Kleenex trash can get a little overwhelming, not mention all those trips to the kitchen trash can (which I have to get to by undoing the child-proof lock...a real pain when you have to do it 57 times a day).

My WFMW tip is to use the old Kleenex box for used Kleenexes. I keep it on the counter with the new Kleenexes, CLEARLY labeled "trash" on each side of the box. When the new box of Kleenexes gets used up, it becomes the trash box and the old trash gets thrown away.

For more great Works for Me tips, visit Shannon.

It's Almost Valentine's Day! The Two for Togetherness Meme.

(If you are unfamiliar with what "meme" means, check this out.)

2 things you compliment your husband on while in his presence.

His ability to get Son 1 to go to bed on a night when Son 1 forgets who is mother is.
His generosity.


2 compliments you make about your spouse to your friends.

The way he is so protective of me and the boys.
When, at our wedding, his best man told me "nobody doesn't like your husband..."


2 traits you married him/her for.

He was so fun on dates. And he still is!
The way he talks to people: sincerely and with passion.


2 days you cherished the most with your husband being together. (Skip the obvious--wedding/birth of kids--and come up with something else.)

Aruba. And Aruba. Oh, and Aruba.
San Diego when I was pregnant with Son 1. I think of that trip every day.


2 material things you could give your husband if you just inherited a fortune.

Tickets to all major sporting events. And a golf game on the day before. And a spa day for his wife during the major sporting events.

Running boards for his truck. (He's been asking for them for four years.)


2 things you would miss the most if she/he left for two weeks.

His smile. His arms around me. His arms around our boys. His arms changing diapers.


2 thoughts that crossed your mind when you first met/saw your spouse.

"Is he always this happy?"
"I can't believe how easy this is."


2 favorite dates

Dancing at my friends' weddings!
Kansas City Chiefs game; we were so cold but we had hot chocolate.


2 funny or odd things you love about your spouse.

I can only think of one but it's a good one: He makes concoctions out of leftovers in the fridge. Bless him, he will eat leftovers that are a week old. He'll mix them up in a pan, Chinese, Mexican, whatever's in there, and happily grab a spoon. I've told him, that's fine but you're not feeding it to our sons.


2 places you have lived with your spouse.

Upstairs and downstairs.


2 favorite vacations

Mentioned above, also Panama City Beach with my family before we were married. Atlantis, California, all so much fun.

How to Ruin a Stranger's Day

(I should just title each blog entry "Sorry for the delay in posting..." and go from there.)

Today is one of two days every week when I don't have an activity planned for me and the boys. I decided to take them to one of those big gyms where they have huge inflatable toys. My little guys are 3 (next week, can you believe!) and 17 months: perfect ages for this kind of thing. But really, with the cold snap that doesn't seem to be ending, anyplace indoors they can get up speed enough to run would suffice!

Anyway, so Son 1 has a cold, the coughing kind of cold. I guess his running and hard breathing were what prompted a coughing fit in the middle of the (carpeted) gym, a fit so violent that it caused him to throw up. Twice. Or three times. They kind of ran together.

The place was kind of crowded with benches lining the walls, and we were, uh, lucky enough to be near one where there were three or four other moms happily chirping away. So I'm trying my best to keep a grip on Son 2 before he runs out the door or to the water fountain while trying to clean up after Son 1 and comfort him at the same time and struggling to decide which of the three tasks is most important.

I managed to flag down a staff member who brought some towels and a trash can and offered to take care of Son 2 while I worked on Son 1, who was really okay and had stopped coughing and wasn't crying, but did utter "you hold me" no less than three times.

Now here's where my hackles raise: the three moms on the bench??? They watched this all take place and continued to chirp the whole time. Three feet away. Not one of them offered any assistance to me whatsoever. Nothing. NO THING. One of them was pregnant but hey I've been pregnant twice and I was still darned agile and could have scooped up a toddler, if needed. Maybe these women were practicing their multi-tasking skills by exchanging babysitters' names and recipes while thinking to themselves "wow, glad that's not my kid..." I don't know, but I have never sat by and watched a stranger in need without helping. And absolutely not when there are kids involved. I gathered our stuff and headed to the restroom to wash the boys' hands, thoroughly disappointed in the behavior of my colleagues and vowing I would never make any other mom feel like I felt at that moment.

I've let the incident go, to be sure, I mean what else is there to do? People don't always have the same take on things as I do, I guess.

But I'm just sayin', those moms better hope they don't meet me in a dark alley without my kids.

Merry Christmas and all that stuff

Do any of you regular bloggers find that when you haven't posted anything for a long time, you tend to not read others' blogs? It is blogger guilt. You feel bad for not posting so you don't want to read anyone else's because you feel guilty for not posting something eloquent and witty and thought-provoking like theirs.

Well let's just say I haven't read ANY blogs in about two weeks. It is sad.

I am busy with the holidays and once again I am vowing to not "let this happen again next year." You know, waiting till the last minute to bake, wrap, pack, lose 10 pounds (three out of four ain't bad!).

So anyway, to show for my grogginess I've got a lots of wrapped gifts and baked goodies to share with all our loved ones. My tree is decorated with exactly six, non-breakable, ornaments. (You think I'm a scrooge for making ours a lights-only tree? I thought so, too, until the little guy in the pic below toppled it over on himself.) I'm giddy with excitement to see the looks on the boys' faces during all our Christmas celebrations, and once again I'm celebrating our happy home and families at Christmas time. It really just doesn't get any better...

I see, said the blind man...

...and one wonders why my Christmas decorations haven't made it out of the box.

A list I hope you'll never need

A wife can learn a lot when her DH is suddenly awarded a six-night, seven-day trip to a hospital. (And NOT an all-expenses paid trip, I might add.) It was a little different than, say, when I went in to have my babies: we weren't prepared at home with the kids, DH wasn't prepared to be absent from work for that long, and the obvious difference is that it was a very tense situation, not a happy occasion. So I feel compelled to post a list of things I learned when DH recently went on his little trip, and I hope you will never need to remember them:

1. Before you leave for the hospital or as soon as you get there, get a pad of paper and a pen and keep them with you all the time. I didn't do this, and I had six pieces of information written on a ragged 3x3 Post-It. Phone numbers, medical terms, room numbers, etc. You'll get all of this spewed at you in rapid succession and you'll want to remember it.

2. Have someone bring you a sack full of snacks and bottled water to keep in the hospital room, for you and/or the patient. Hospital food gets old very quickly and you won't want to leave his bedside for food anyway. Someone did this for me without my asking and it came in so handy.

3. Grab your cell phone charger.

4. Back to the pad of paper: jot down questions for the docs as you think of them. They talk fast and they spend limited time in your room so you need to make the most of it. It's also good to record any medications they are administering so you can Google them later or ask someone else to. And Google-ing doctors' names is interesting, too.

5. The more machines and/or cords involved in the patient's stay, the more important it is to be there with him all the time. The nurses, as compassionate as they might seem, will not hang around to help the patient get situated after getting up to use the restroom or if he needs to turn over. It's especially hard for them to get comfortable if they've had blood drawn or needle pokes in both arms.

6. You need to make sure you are there when the doctors visit. DH will think he is lucid, but ask him to repeat something the doctor said and you could get a blank stare.

7. Ask questions. The medical staff seemed a little robotic at times with all their procedures and such and soon you will find yourself wondering, "just what was that blood-draw for..."

8. Listen to the people who tell you: "you need to worry about DH and not your kids..." If you know the homefront is covered, allow yourself to focus on being at the hospital. It is hard to do but people really do want to help so you have to let them. It's really the only choice.

9. Speaking of the homefront: ask the people there to keep a phone log of calls so you and the patient can look at it later. Again, this was done without my asking but I so appreciated it.

10. I was wishing for one of those mini voice recorders for remembering what floor of the parking garage I had left my car. There were a few trips winding up and down on foot with my keys trying to follow the sound of my "beeper."

11. Pray with your DH, not just for him.

That's about it. I have been working on this post for awhile and now I'm ready to move on to funner things (shut-up, sometimes non-words work).

Overheard

DH, after ten inches of snow fell on our city: "We need to go get Son One some galoshes..."

Son One: "...what's good-goshes??"

Snowcology

Apparently my DH uses a psychological technique on himself. See, he believes if he hopes for snow based on the TV weather forecasts, he will be sorely disappointed. This happens a lot where we are in our state, since we seem to be on the deciding line between getting snow and rain or ice.

So anyway, yesterday he nay-sayed and nay-sayed ad nauseum, and apparently this time it worked. He opened the front door this morning and his face just spread into a big grin when he saw this:














I think he needs to write a book now!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

OK, just when I think things are going to get back to normal, we get hit with a big 'ol snowstorm. The weather guys say the storm is "vicious," DH says it's going to miss us and everyone will have bought large quanties of BME for nothing (bread, milk, eggs). We'll see...

The more important news is that DH is well on his way to recovery after seven days in the hospital with the evil pulmonary embolism. He will be headed back to work soon. Thanksgiving was a little weird since it was just us and we had a catered turkey dinner instead of all the homemade deliciousness. But people, if I ever had a Thanksgiving more special, I can't remember it. Not only did I have him being home and healthy to be thankful for, but I was once again reminded of the special families and friends we have. I needed to be at the hospital nearly all the time and have someone care for the boys, and I would have been lost if it hadn't been for all the help. You truly don't realize how much your family means until you sit by your husband in the hospital and know that you are exactly where you need to be.

Anyway, so I am back and ready to get back to posting, uh, sometimes!

Trying times at our house

What a pathetic title but I am not thinking too creatively right now. My DH has been fighting pulmonary embolism for the last three days (more if you count the days leading up to it when we thought he would somehow get his breath). He is fine at the moment but still in the hospital and there's no ETA for home.

I appreciate the outpouring of help with the boys and prayers.

Meme: Nine Weird Things About Me

My buddy Chilihead tagged me for this meme. I hope I live up to her level of weirdness.

1. How timely for this first one! I don't like sweet potatoes or cranberries or anything with pumpkin in it. Other than being un-American, not so weird. That I must see all three of them on my table at Thanksgiving: that's weird.

2. I do not like the Beatles' music. Or the Rolling Stones'. I like a lot of music, but the two most popular bands in the history of rock-and-roll make my stomach turn.

3. The canister set on my counter top is ALWAYS straight. And so are the towels hanging on my oven door. (No, I'm not "Sleeping with the Enemy." My husband, however, might be.)

4. I have clean coffee mugs in my cabinet that have lipstick on the edges. Even after they've been through the dishwasher. I don't bother to clean it off, I just grab one with lipstick and everyone's happy.

5. When I'm out and about with both my sons and one is in the stroller, we almost always use the doors for the handicapped that open automatically when you push a button. Not weird. Teaching my older son to hit the button with the BACK of his hand to avoid more germs? Weird.
6. Driving home I go out of my way so my older son can check the progress of a house in our neighborhood currently under construction. (He now says "...it's lookin' pretty good...")

7. I sing to the radio in the presence of adults.

8. (Some would say) I have a blog.

9. My favorite guilty pleasure in a movie? The closing number in "Dirty Dancing." Don't we all secretly want to be Baby at that moment?

Hair!

NOTE: Scroll down for WFMW!!


I had my hair chemically straightened on Monday night. Just for the record, it is WEDNESDAY and per the lady's instructions I cannot wash it till TOMORROW morning. The only other time in my entire life I have gone so long without washing my hair, I had just given birth to my first son and washing my hair was last on my list of things to do. Anyway, here are the before-and-afters. I don't think I need to identify which is which (sorry for the poor quality of the first one).



















Some of my friends were trying to discourage me from having it done, saying things like "oh, I wish I had your thick curly hair." Well, people, it was a blessing and a curse. Lately mostly a curse. With hair like mine, you have to be committed to "calming" it every day, or it looks like the photo on the left. That process takes about two hours, two hours I don't have and my little boys aren't quite willing to help me out there.

One of my sisters had the process done six months ago and it is still gorgeous. She said it has "changed her life." Her hair is more manageable, easier to make smooth, and the volume of it was drastically reduced.

I hope it has the same effect on my hair, but right now I cannot see past dumping a huge handful of shampoo over the top of it. Mmmmmmm!

P.S. For those who are interested, here is the product that was used.

Overheard Tonight

I'm tucking in Son One and reading him "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." (He's 2.75). We've read it enough that I like to cut the sentences short and let him say the last word or two. It's fun for everybody.

So I get to the long list of food that the caterpillar ate, and he's breezing through them "cake!" "sausage!" "cheese!" (struggled on the lollipop) Then I say, "a big piece of cherry..."

"Coke!"

And I thought my love affair with Sonic was private...

WFMW: Totally FREE Cookbook

Today's WFMW tip is a no-brainer and one that I hope you have already tried, because if you haven't you have been missing out on one of the best freebies ever.

For you impatient types, go here and sign up. Now.

If you need more info than that, read on.

Kraft publishes a totally free, no-strings-attached cookbook. All you have to do is sign up. No shipping, no one-time charge, just F-R-E-E. And every quarter (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) they send you a new issue. It's about 70 pages of recipes and cooking tips that are practical and don't contain 47 weird ingredients.

Now, since it is free and there is no obligation to the consumer, expect every recipe to have name-brand, Kraft company ingredients in it. We all know we can get around that!

So go there. Now. And order it up.

For more great WFMW tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

WFMW: Oatmeal Play Box for Toddlers

(I tried without success to upload the Works for Me Wednesday logo but Blogger keeps crapping out on me. Does anyone have any suggestions?)

I got today's idea from a book about entertaining toddlers. I got a larger-than-a-shoebox plastic bin with a lid and filled it about half-way up with oatmeal. I added a few measuring cups, bowls, and spoons. My boys absolutely love pouring and scooping, and if they happen to eat some, so much the better for my older french-fries-lovin' boy.

The book suggested you just put it in the middle of the kitchen floor and sweep up after each session, but this would make someone with my personality type implode. I prefer to keep it outside where the where the birds and squirrels can enjoy any messes and I don't have to sweep anything up or watch oatmeal dust float through my kitchen.

Enjoy! And for tons of other stuff that works, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

Halloween Open House!

Thanks Chilihead for tagging me for your Halloween Open House. I know you won't believe me but I DID try to upload pictures (all two of them) of my Halloween decorations, but Blogger is not cooperating. Ugh!! You will be happy to know that in addition to my 97-cent window clings from Wal-Mart I did get the boys pumpkins. And I put stickers on them. And I put them out on the front porch and looked at them for a long time.

If you haven't seen Chili's awesome decorations, go there now. Or she will haunt you!

I'm back...and with some very useful information!

Whew! I have, for one reason or another, been freaking busy lately. Oh, I've thought about pecking the keyboard a time or two, but a lot can happen in the 16 steps on the way upstairs.

One thing burning a hole in my pocket is this PSA: check your cabinet for expired spices! I ran across this ad in the Sunday circular a week ago:

"What?!?" I say to myself. "Who could possible allow a container of any spice reside in their cabinet for FIFTEEN YEARS before using it all??"

Uh, well, that would be me. Here's what lurked in the deepest recesses of my cabinet:

It's interesting to think this "valuable" item was worth packing up and moving from apartment to house to apartment, etc., about six times.

So please tell me I'm not the only one. Please go check your cabinet and let me know if you found any similar relics!

Bittersweet

My little boy didn't nurse today. He's two days from being 13 months old. I've been wanting to wean him since he turned 1 but somehow I just wasn't ready for it either. I think it's a little that I hope he still needs me as much, and a little that it just means he's growing up.

I don't have anything profound to write about this; maybe I just think it's a milestone that ought to be acknowledged. I'm proud of the fact I nursed both boys for a year. I do feel like there are precious few things I KNOW are right with my parenting skills, but breastfeeding is one thing I never doubted...

Foxed in?

Yes, I live in Oklahoma. No, I do not live in the country (or a teepee or a log cabin, if you're really clueless). I live in the middle of town, in a neighborhood, in a city with ordinances such as all dogs must be fenced in or on a leash.

Apparently the foxes of our city do not have to live by such rules.

This one has been roaming our neighborhood for the past several days. I caught a pic of him on the way out of our backyard. Isn't he nicely camouflaged in the first picture?

Now this little critter is about the size of a beagle, but for all I know he could have the personality of a tasmanian devil when provoked or tempted by the sight of a small toddler. Yikes. I think my little guys are going to be playing indoors for a while...

A would-be anniversary I'm not sad to miss.

Today would have been my 8th anniversary at my corporate job. The job I quit almost three years ago to stay home with my first son. The job that paid me quite handsomely then, and I probably would have gotten a couple of raises by now. And maybe I'd have gotten a promotion or two. And I'd probably have a better wardrobe.

Staying home pays me nothing. In fact, it cuts my husband's nice salary in half to support me. Eating out a lot and shopping on a whim are distant memories. My "promotion" was having another baby to raise. More diapers, less sleep, etc. And my wardrobe? Well, we just won't go there.

But I am not a bit disappointed I'm not celebrating today's would-be anniversary. Staying home with my boys has brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined. It is a gift I thank my husband for as often as I can. Every day one of the boys does something that makes me want to pick up a phone to call someone and tell them about it. And then I think, if Son One and Son Two were in daycare, I would have missed that moment. I know, I can't be with them to witness ALL their genius, but I want to drink in as much of them as I possibly can.

I'm an older mom, and I listen to a lot of my friends talk about their kids' early years so fondly. And they say things like "they're only little for such a short time..." and "it goes by so fast..." You know, almost like they didn't savor it enough. I don't want to look back and feel that way. I want to savor every delicious day of their little lives.

So anyway, today's the anniversary that wasn't, and I'm thrilled to not celebrate it. Maybe my two little bosses will give me big sloppy kisses instead...

WFMW: Buying fewer trash bags

I got tired of buying tall kitchen bags so often. Now, during every meal prep, I hang a plastic grocery store sack on the knob by my sink and use it until the meal is over. Then I trash it, full or not, at the end of the meal.

I used to take the tall trash bag out nearly every day but now it's about every third day. This little tip has really cut down on how often I buy the "real" trash bags.

One thing: I sometimes make them "paper only" bags, so if there's a hole in the bottom then I don't have to worry about leakage. It is surprising how much paper a family of four can collect in one day!

My First Meme!

My good friend Chilihead tagged me for this meme (somewhere there is a definition of the word, but the short meaning of "meme" is a bunch of get-to-know-you questions). Here goes:

1. Favorite memory of your mother? I remember how soft and warm she felt when she hugged me, which was all the time. And I remember rocking with her in the rocking chair, even after I was probably too big. And I remember how she would always tell me I was the "sweetest little girl in the whoooole world!!" (And I have 10 siblings!) In spite of our big family, my mom never didn't have time for me. I remember some of her sayings that she had me believing when I was a teenager: "he's not good enough to date my daughter..." which was usually true, and "your car runs better when it's clean..." Good one, mom.

2. Favorite memory of your father? That's hard because I only knew him a short time: he died from cancer when I was four (liver cancer, though he was a non-smoker and only a casual drinker). Anyway, I really just remember him lying down in bed. But if you listen to my mom talk about him, you would think he could walk on water.

3. Favorite memory of your sibling(s)? Wow, a lot there, too. Recently? Florida, Florida, Florida. Several of us and our families have made the trip to the panhandle every summer for ten years. Some of my happiest memories are about the beach. It has brought us closer in so many ways... And my nieces and nephews. They are glue when it comes to keeping the sibs together.

4. What one skill would you like to wake up tomorrow and be able to do (though you'd never learned it)? Figure skate. Olympic-quality. I figure if I have the skill for it I'll also have the body for it.

5. Which one of your dreams has come true? Marrying my husband. He makes me feel like I'm the only person that matters. And becoming a mother.

Burning Questions of the Day

Since I know no one else who can answer these questions, I'm stepping up on the podium of Blogville to ask them:

1. Why doesn't anyone ever say "wait...you have an EYEBROW on your cheek..." and then ever-so-gently brush it off for them? Everyone uses that pretty word "eyelash" when they really don't know where it came from. Is it because no one wants to think of one's eyebrows falling out. Wasn't that in "The Wall" or something?

2. Why do I have to pay a waiter a bigger tip for a $15 steak than I do for a $7 hamburger? Don't they come on the same kind of plate? Doesn't she still have to visit my table to bring it to me (and fill my Diet Coke glass at least twice)? Is it because the steak weighs more? Or maybe it's the risk factor: the steak is a more valuable item so she must take extra care to not drop it. If you're a current or ex-member of the restaurant world, please enlighten me!

OK, I feel better now. I might make this a regular feature since I tend to think these random thoughts a lot. I hope that now, answered or not, I can purge them from my brain and make room for something useful.

WFMW: Giving sippy cups to their proper owners

My tip today may be a no-brainer for some of you seasoned moms, but for some of us the lightbulb takes just a little longer to come on.

I have two sons currently "on" sippy cups. At the end of the day I find myself in sippy cup hell. I don't know whose is whose or what's in them. So I make new ones and before I know it I have six or seven cups in the fridge and I have no idea which one to grab. I tried assigning each son a color but I don't have enough different colors for that and I'm not buying more and besides I'd just have to remember who has what color.

So I came up two simple rules:

1. One cup per kid, per day. And they have to finish whatever's in it from breakfast before they get something different to drink.

2. I put a sticker on the top of Son One's cup; he's 2 and old enough to not try to eat it. I know at a glance which one to grab from the fridge, and he does, too. It only takes a small sticker and by the time it starts un-sticking, the day is nearly over anyway.

Like I said, it's simple, but when both of them are screaming for something to drink, every second counts. And one more nerve of mine is left intact.

For more WFMW tips, check out the queen.

"Mommy, my tummy hu..."

Yeah, that's about all the notice I got on Saturday before I got a second look at Son One's breakfast. All day Saturday I just stared at his face, trying to make out any change at all that would indicate "sick" was about to happen. Sometimes I was successful, sometimes not. It's our sons' first bout with a stomach virus, ever. Luckily the other symptom that usually accompanies it didn't happen for either of them, which I am ever so thankful for since husband left on a business trip Sunday.

Son Two only had one incident and I happened to be holding him and standing near the kitchen sink. Lucky me. Not lucky sink.

Husband and I tried not to panic when our little ones were surprising us like this, but we must have looked a little like Lucy and Ethel at the candy factory. The first time it happened we didn't talk about it until about two hours after everything and everyone was cleaned up. I think we were in shock.

Everyone's all well now, and the plan is to post more frequently my mundane little entries for all the world to see. Hope they don't make you sick.

Crafty, but I won't make you sick

My littlest turned the big O-N-E on Saturday. I wanted to post this pic for all you who think you have to buy a cake to have a decorated cake. This was so easy and it had good centerpiece presence. Unfortunately, I can't take credit for the design, but my best friend Betty Crocker can.

Also, the little bags on the right were favors filled with M&Ms. Yes, it was a bit of a theme. I bought the bags at my local craft store for $2 and the ribbon for $1 on the clearance rack. I didn't compute the cost-per but it was cheap and original and fun to make.

So yes, it's a little crafty, no it's not nauseating. I think the little guy will love the pics when he's old enough to not try to eat or tear them.

Overheard from Son One

(Son One is 2.5.) I love reading other people's "overheards" so here are Son One's contributions:

Me: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Son One: "A four-wheeler."

At Mother's Day Out:

Teacher Megan: "Who loves you?"
Son One: "Ms. Megan!"

(Apparently this statement melted Ms. Megan's heart...and mine, since he has been, uh, shall we say slightly apprehensive about MDO lately.)

What, do you blog like you brush your teeth?

I sure hope you do not have my blog first on your blogroll, like this poor woman, because I'm thinking about now you are regretting it. There are several reasons for my post deficiency:

1. I have two little kids.

2. I have two little kids.

3. I have nothing of worth to write about.

4. I have two little kids.

Yikes, I have really got to think of a better list of excuses, since, helllooooo...One of the major reasons I started this blog was all the neat MOM blogs I was reading.

So here's my assignment fooooorrrr YOU! (Sorry, my boys are at Mother's Day Out today but Elmo lives on). I need to know your tricks for finding time to blog. Do you have a list of go-to topics? How long do you spend on a post? Are you people night owls or early risers? My aforementioned friend up there has some posts worthy of college term paper material, people!! Where do you find time in your mom-days to do it?

Tips appreciated...the jar is on the table.

My day off yesterday and a movie review

I wish I could say I impersonated Abe Froman (sp.), The Sausage King of Chicago, but my day off yesterday wasn't quite so adventurous. The best way I knew to relax without spending $100 for a massage was to go to a movie. I can't actually remember the last movie I saw in a theatre, so even if it had been "To Justin from Kelly" I think I would have loved it.

I saw "World Trade Center" with Nicholas Cage and a host of unknown actors. I had a lump in my throat almost the whole time, but this movie wasn't nearly as moving as the actual news footage from that day, as I remember it. It told the story of two Port Authority cops who were trapped for many hours under many feet of rubble between the two towers. While the movie gave a great idea of what it must have been like to be buried like that, I didn't get a real sense of what was going on outside. I was prepared to see mass confusion and chaos, people running around screaming, tons of people exiting Lower Manhattan on foot...the movie showed none of that. Maybe they avoided that on purpose, I don't know. Anyway, Nick was awesome in it, does he ever really fail at a movie? It was very entertaining and I would recommend it as a rent or a matinee. (By the way, I saw it at 11:10 a.m. and paid $4.00!! I am thinking pretty soon they will start first-run movies at 8 a.m. and they will be $.50).

The rest of my day was spent at a real-live toy store shopping for my little boy who will be ONE in a couple of weeks. I am up to my ears in party planning and I cannot wait!