Almost Spring

In a brief but needed respite from the kids, I treated my toes to some color. I think my neighbor could sense my desperation and took Lily for a couple hours this morning. Day 8 of Michael's trip, I think I can make it, just 56 hours to go. If I don't, I'll have the prettiest toes in the nut house.

The Devil Is In the Details

Today the plumber and the electrician had a few questions. I was making decisions right and left. There are a lot of details I'm not particular about or others that I angst about.

I needed to pick out a fan/light for the bathroom. I picked one and as soon as I walked out the door at Lowes I knew it was the wrong choice. I walked right back in and exchanged it for the one on the left. Much prettier.

It's nice to have choices, but sometimes there are too many choices.

Lost

Today was one of those days. I kept putting things down and forgetting where I put them. As I am about to head to bed, I try to find my book. I look upstairs, downstairs, kid's rooms,...everywhere. Can't find it. I was getting pretty annoyed because I knew I wouldn't be able to go to sleep until I found it.

I sat down at the computer to write a "I'm losing my mind" post. Why am I going to write a lame post about lost books?! As I sit down, I look to the left of the computer screen and see my book. Last place I looked.

I still think I'm getting oldtimers, but at least I'll be able to sleep tonight.

Chillax

At our house, the saying goes "Find your Chi."

chi 2 | ch ē| |kaɪ| |kiː| (also qi or ki)
noun
variant spelling of qi .
qi | ch ē| |kiː| (also chi or ki)
noun
the circulating life force whose existence and properties are the basis of much Chinese philosophy and medicine.
ORIGIN from Chinese ( Mandarin dialect) qì, literally ‘air, breath.’

When I get stressed out with the kids, Michael likes to say;"find your chi". Most of the time it makes me laugh, just because it is silly. It's the deep breath that gives me pause and helps me get through the moment.

Michael is gone on a trip for 10 days. Yikes. As he was leaving today he reminded me to "find my chi". I may hyperventilate by the time he comes home.

Switching Places

Michael cleaned up the garage this weekend and it looks great. We're kind of in limbo, we'd really like to organize it, but we need to decide what belongs in there and what doesn't.

In the midst of cleaning, we decided to switch where we park our cars. It's like switching sides of the bed. Once you have established "your" side, it remains yours. Once in a while I will switch sides of the bed just to mess with the kids. I strategically picked the side of the bed furthest from the door. Well, our sleepwalking kids know how to find me. Luckily, Michael has become a much lighter sleeper and will hear the kids before they even get to our door.

It'll be a while before I've retrained myself to park on the other side of the garage. I tend put things in a spot and leave it there. I thought long and hard where to put things in the kitchen cabinets before I committed to putting things there. Every once in a while I'd like to shake up my house (like a snowglobe), but I find that I'm really a creature of habit. Have you ever completely rearranged your kitchen after you'd lived in a house for a while?

Terribly Tired on Thursday

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I took the kids swimming for the sole purpose of wearing them out. Ok, I did have a hidden agenda, I wanted to sit in the hot tub for a few minutes. I'm hoping that the kids pass out at the dinner table and have no energy to fight with each other. All this under the guise of; "I'm the best Mom ever!"

Chocolate

I was invited to two chocolate parties last week. I narrowly avoided going to one, then I got sucked into the second. I love chocolate..perhaps a little too much. As much as I love chocolate, I dislike "home parties". Occasionally there is a glut on the market and one can get invited to a Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, etc. all at once. That's a lot of invites to go through. Do you see my dilemma? Do you go to support your "friends" or turn them down because you don't need the products?

Anyhow, back to the chocolate. Apparently Dove chocolate has a specialty line that they are now selling. I almost bought a tempering machine because the price was going up $100 the next day. I have never melted chocolate in my life...why did I suddenly need a tempering machine?!

To give the saleslady credit, she wasn't a hard sell and the chocolate was pretty good.

Laugh 'til It Hurts

Last night I went out with a group of women to dinner at Applebee's. Not my favorite restaurant, but for the sake of a "Girl's Night Out" I was willing to sacrifice culinary excellence. Michael knew I desperately needed to get out and got home from work in plenty of time.

There were seven women that showed up. I know most of them, but it's not like we hang out and chit chat when we normally see each other. We ended up sitting in the restaurant for 3+ hours. We didn't close the place, there was one other table that was still there when we left. At one point my cheeks started hurting because we were laughing so much. That's a good kind of problem to have.

I used to have a set night each month that I would go and scrapbook at a friend's house. I haven't found that group here, but it might motivate me to start one up. Babysteps.

Coolness factor

During our dinner conversation, my coolness factor went way up.

Jack and Emma had a singing concert this evening, luckily at the same place and same time. They were bouncing off the walls as soon as we got home from school from the excitement of having an evening activity. Emma ran in the house and found her "fancy" dress for the concert. I did have to remind them that they had several hours before we had to leave, we even had to eat dinner.

As we sit down for dinner, Jack asks me if I was ever in a band. As soon as I said yes, Jack asks; "What did you play and what was the name of your band?" Yup, I just hit "cool" with the kids.

Jack has been playing Rock Band with his friends and I can see in his mind that I must have been in a band like that. I thought that I was going to disappoint when I told him that I played the trumpet and that I was in the school band. Nope, just young enough to be impressed that his Mom played in several bands.

Mr. Postman

I had a pile of things to get in the mail and I've been putting it off as long as I could. For some reason I could never remember to get the padded envelopes when I was at the store. That was the first of many hurdles. I wanted to find cute funny cards to go with the packages...that didn't happen. Who wants to browse through the card section with a three year old?!

Finally I could put it off no longer. Birthday gifts were going to turn into Christmas presents, and I don't want to go there. Thankfully Michael had taken the day off. He must have known that staying home sick would mean that he'd get to watch Lily. Lucky him, lucky me.

I had a brief hour in which to go to the Library and the post office before I needed to pick kids up from school. The trip to the library was not for pleasure. I had turned in a movie case, but not the movie. Rookie mistake.

Then it was off to the post office. The long line didn't scare me, I had no kids to wrestle with. I was able to get three packages in the mail. As for the funny cards, nice wrapping, and perfect presents...well, that didn't happen. I hope everyone that gets the packages enjoys what's in them. I figure it's the thought that counts, right?

Sunday Dinner

I had the best of intentions for a nice EASY Sunday dinner. I figured that I would throw the ingredients in my bread machine and have hot fresh baked bread just about the time we came home from church. I know the bread baked in the machine isn't as pretty as it is when baked in the oven, but I was going for convenience.

When we got back from church I could smell the bread in the garage. Love that smell! When I went to check on it, it had a couple minutes left on the bake cycle. I looked through the tiny window and noticed the top had collapsed sometime during the baking cycle. Bummer. It tasted fine, but it looked like a square loaf of bread with a deformed top.

Not to be deterred, I went ahead and started soup to go with the bread. My mistake was walking away and forgetting to turn down the temperature. Who knew that soup could burn so quickly?! I was outside when I could smell soup, but when I walked in the door it was obvious that the soup would NOT be edible. The good news is I didn't ruin my pot, the bad news I totally ruined dinner.

Fall Colors

It was a long, hot Summer and my hair had the highlights to prove it. Now firmly in the Fall season, I wanted to shake up things a bit and color the blonde highlights. There may or may not have been a few gray hairs mixed in with the blonde, but let's not go there.

Staring at the entire aisle of hair dye is a bit daunting, but I wasn't about to let that deter me from a new me. I whittled my choices down by elimination, I knew I wasn't going to go blonde or black. Then it was a matter of what it looked like on the box. Remember when there were fake hair samples to show you what you hair "might" look like? It was a little creepy walking down the aisle with loops of hair on the shelves. My kids loved "picking" their favorite loop. Target doesn't have the loops anymore.

I finally decided on a color that looked a shade darker than what I normally have. I wanted a dark chestnut color. Does the name "Chocolate Caramel" sound close to that? You know that phrase "never shop hungry", it's a good creed to live by, because I didn't end up with chocolate caramel hair. There was some red in the dye and I have some Chocolate Cherry hair to prove it.
(I'd take a picture, but it late and I need to charge the camera, and I need to pack, and I forgot where I put the camera, and I might update my picture when my hair has faded just a bit)

Totally Awesome

So, it's Monday. Usually that means "a case of the Mondays", tears for spelling, and some kind of disciplinary action for Emma. I had a slight case of the Mondays when Emma didn't get a sticker today (it was an accident that she kicked the boy in the nose). But my day took a turn for the better.

My day started to pick up when I tried to book an airline ticket to see Debbie. I have been looking at flights since last week and just couldn't commit to buying it. Then I was waiting to see if Sherri would join in the reindeer games and join me in Seattle. (Come on Sherri, you know you want to) Well, I was all set to buy the ticket but I had to register through Expedia and lost the tentative itinerary that I had been looking at. I was frustrated, but excited to get tickets nonetheless. I looked up the same flights and low and behold I was able to get the same flight times (different airline) for $10 less. Paying ten dollars less totally made my day.

To top off my totally awesome day; I made bread that totally turned out good. We went swimming at the Rec Center for Family home evening.

Naps

I know what you're thinking. Why am I even trying to take a nap? Well, my allergies are killing me and I'm just loopy enough to need to lay down.

How is it possible to NOT get a nap with one child at home? "Hey Mom, Hey Mom" Tickles toes. Are you sick? It's the scary part (Madeline the Movie). I don't want you to go night night.

I am not usually a nap person, but when I need one, I REALLY need one. It's comical that as children we fight them, and as adults we sometimes crave them.

PJs

I have great hopes and ambitions today. I need to:

-get the lawn mowed
-trim a crazy bush
-drop off library books
-drop off movie at Blockbuster
-drop off dry cleaning (don't ask)
-do crazy amounts of laundry
-start moving craft stuff to the basement

I started off the day right. I drove the kids to school in my pajamas. Good thing I just open the door and gently nudge the kids out the door. No need to get dressed up for the occasion.

Being Brave

This week I decided to be brave and try new things. I decided to take a class at the Rec Center. I just renewed our membership and needed to feel like I am "getting my money's worth". Well, nothing like diving into the deep end and feeling like I might never take a class again.

The class I took is titled "Butts and Gutts". Very aptly named. Exactly the areas that I need to work. After the class I felt a little sore. That's a good thing, right? Well, it's been two days and it hurts when I sneeze. I guess that's a sad commentary on how out of shape I am. I think that I had deluded myself into thinking that I was doing a pretty good job of staying fit over the Summer by jogging. What a sad delusion.
Well, with school back in session I need to get back into "coconut" shape. Nothing like getting the endorphins moving to take the edge off of crazy homework days. Wish me luck. I may need it for the next couple weeks as I hobble around trying to work my butt and gutt.

Movies v. Books

I ran out of reading material this past weekend and I needed to head to the library to forage for some new material. I'm kinda in a thriller/mystery genre rut, but hey, that's what I like. While I was there I was desperately trying to think of a movie that is coming out soon based on a book. Darned if I couldn't think of the movie or the name of the book.

When I got home, I looked on Apple Trailers. Jackpot. I also discovered a sequel to the book when I did a little more sleuthing. The downer? Well, it's a "teen" book and it's only 270 pages. I'm not opposed to reading "teen" books, but it's such a small book that it might last a day or two if I'm lucky. Anyhow, I was able to place a hold on the books and go back to pick them up.

* Sherri, I think Connor would like these books. I liked the first one better. Tell me if he starts reading them.

Grocery Shopping

One of my least favorite household tasks is grocery shopping. Especially with children. It's a form of torture, usually self inflicted, which seems to make it even worse. The more children I take with me, the longer it takes and I usually end up forgetting half my list and spending more than I intend.

This morning when I opened my front door and brought in my milk, eggs, butter, and bread, it was like grocery shopping without even going. It was a beautiful thing to be able to make scrambled eggs and toast and not have to go to the grocery store to get the ingredients. Thank you Mr. Milkman!

The Surreal Life

I feel like I walked into the Twilight Zone and I may not want to go back to real life.

In an effort to keep Lily busy and satisfy a need for books we rode the bike to the library. The ride there isn't too bad, once I get up a small hill, the ride there is mostly flat or downhill. The way home is just the opposite. I tried to find as flat a way home as possible, but it still felt like I was biking up a mountain.

I purposely limited the number of books and how large the books were. Lily nearly insisted on a large irregularly shaped board book. It was a no go for that book. She was probably happy about my limits, she was the one holding the bag of books on the ride home. As it turns out, it was to my benefit for her to hold the books. They made the perfect headrest. She fell asleep five minutes from home.

So, I'm home with new books, a sleeping child, and not a thing that I "have" to do. The house has an eerie silence. I may have to start a load of laundry to break the surreal quality of silence.

Tagged

I've been tagged. I really should play along since I love reading other peoples' answers. I hate trying to come up with unique/funny/honest answers.

These are the rules: list 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 surprising facts and then tag 5 other people. Leave a comment for the people you tag so they know they have been tagged.

Joys
1. Quiet mornings
2. Hearing my children laugh
3. Reading a good book and looking at beautiful photographs

Fears
1. Extreme Heights/ standing on the edge of a cliff (thanks Dad!)
2. Getting in a car accident (I constantly look in my rear view mirror to make sure I'm not going to get rear ended)
3. Harm to my children

Current Obsessions/collections
1. Photography.
2. Reading (but that not really new, just ongoing)
3. Watching the Olympics. I have stayed up later than I like to admit and watched more tv than I care to admit, all in the name of sportsmanship.

Surprising Facts
1. I'm horrible at long distance relationships. For as much as we've moved, you'd think that I would keep in touch with friends better. Nope. Not very good at it. Thank goodness for blogs and cheap long distance phone plans, or my family wouldn't hear from me for months.
2. I exercise to eat. I love food a little too much to give it up. Now if only I could lose a few more lbs instead of maintaining the extra that I have.
3. I am a closet slob. No my closets aren't a mess, I could live like a slob if given the chance. I love the feeling of a clean house, but secretly I have my piles of stuff hidden away to make life more realistic.

I tag;
Keira
Debbie
Stephanie
Steve
Michael