Looking Back before Looking Forward

As another year comes to an end I look back on all that's occurred and look toward what might be in the year ahead.

The holiday season has come to a close and the last of our company has gone-- we'll miss them but look forward to getting back to a normal routine and watching TV in our underwear. We're pretty sure our family appreciates the fact that we wait until they leave. As much as I enjoy Christmas, and really, all the holidays leading up to it, I am happy when we can un-deck the halls and put our home back together. For one thing, the Christmas tree occupies the spot where the little guy's play tent used to reside, so I'm sure he'll be happy to see it again. I am looking forward to all the extra dishes, serving ware, etc. going back into storage after over a month of being out. It took me awhile to figure out his diabolical plan, but the hubby cleverly avoided putting away said dishes after Thanksgiving and managed to leave them out all month long figuring that it would eventually come around to Christmas and why take them out just to bring them back in again. Yeah. Typical male thought process on that one. So now we can put things back in order around here.

It's this time of year that many of us start thinking about "New Year's Resolutions" and we seem to run the gamut from sternly declaring we are going to do certain things [that we never do] to forgetting the whole thing and resolving not to resolve to do anything. I'm thinking there has to be some middle ground in there somewhere. I mean, yes, I would love to lose 20 pounds, totally stick to my eating plan and get buns and thighs of steel in 2009 but at this point I'd probably be happy to not gain any more weight and get my buns and thighs to a little less resemble a hippopotamus. Does that sound realistic? I hope so. I can think of other examples but I'll leave it at that for now. What I'm really getting at here is that some of us (myself included) tend to get carried away with wanting things to be perfect and "great" [readers may recall this year's "motto"; "Life is Great in 2008"] that we lose sight of when things are, well, just "good" overall. So I think that instead of grandiose plans perhaps I need to scale it back a bit. This is something that seems fitting for my pre-selected motto for this coming year--"Everything's Fine in 2009". In other words, try not to worry so much, try not to get down because things aren't spectacular--sometimes "fine" is pretty darn good.

Christmas Un-Wrapped

Our family has been having a great holiday season. Christmas was spent with extended family and we enjoyed getting together with everyone for a traditional holiday dinner.  The boys were very happy with their gifts and I have to say that I think this is first time we don't have a single thing to exchange or return!  The little guy's big gift this year was a kitchen.

Frankly, I think it's nicer than my kitchen. This thing kept him busy for quite some time.

 

Despite the pre-Christmas accidental showing and our stated intention to return it, Teenager still received the guitar we bought him and was thrilled. Apparently, his best friend also got a guitar for Christmas and now they are talking about "starting a band". We got a chuckle when he told us about this. I think every teenage boy goes through this at some point in their life.  I also couldn't help but think of the band they started recently on Desperate Housewives with the adult males--it truly is a "guy thing". One of the cutest parts of Christmas was when the little guy also received a guitar.

 

He wants to join his brother's garage band.

The Classic Kids Christmas Shows

I fondly recall the holidays as a child watching all the great kid's Christmas specials. Those classics are so timeless thankfully they're now on DVD to show our own kids whenever we want to instead of having to wait for them to come on TV like back in the day. Our family has really been enjoying watching all these this season. We recently watched A Charlie Brown Christmas and I couldn’t help but think about so many of the things said and done that would never occur in today’s shows. The hubby and I got a kick out of discussing this. Take Pig Pen for example; besides the obvious issue of his nickname you won’t find kids shows condoning the good natured ribbing of a dirty little boy who walks around with the cloud of dirt following him. (But hey--that was funny stuff!) No longer are kids allowed to dole out psychiatric advice for .5 (but that Lucy was smart!) And we certainly can’t call anyone dumb, stupid, or a "Blockhead" like poor Charlie was often called--let alone make fun of his bald head. Poor Linus and his blanket and thumb sucking—you don't see that anymore. And Lucy socking it to Linus—can’t happen either. Of course there was also Peppermint Patty, TV’s first lesbian character in cartoon form (come on, you know it’s true!)
Another Christmas favorite is The Year Without a Santa Clause in which we see the adorable and unforgettable dance numbers by the Miser Brothers. Heat Miser is my personal favorite and his hair totally reminds me of the hubby when he wakes up in the morning.

It just doesn't get any cuter than little baby heat misers with their little straw hats doing the back-up dancing! For those of you who don’t own the video, I’ll leave you with the infamous dance number here.

Weight Loss and other Antics

Some of you may recall my post about those the little guy’s performance at my Weight Watcher’s meeting last week. This week, despite my best efforts he attempted to give an encore presentation. It has now been suggested that perhaps I might want to not come back next week . And when I say “suggested” I mean I’ve officially been thrown out of Weight Watcher’s—at least with my little darling anyway. I guess I knew it was only a matter of time before this weekly event with the little guy had to end. The really sad thing is how long I’ve been going and struggling to lose all the weight. I started attending when the little guy was only eight weeks old! During the time I’ve tried to lose all my baby weight I’ve seen other mom’s actually begin a new pregnancy and leave [you can’t attend WW meetings when pregnant], have the baby and come back all during the time I’ve been there. Things went well at first—back when I was nursing and got those extra points that made it so much easier. Now I look at my points allotment and really struggle with how to make it through the day and still feel like I’ve actually eaten. I know it is possible, I have certainly done it before, but staying with it takes a lot of focus and discipline. Since I know I need to find a way to attend I’m currently looking into some less than ideal but still potential options for going to my weekly meetings without the little guy. I also need to be better about staying on track with the program in general. Unfortunately, one of my own stumbling blocks is my “all or not at all” personality style. When I do something I do it all the way and am very exact about it, but if I’m not doing it, I tend to go to the opposite extreme. Basically, if something derails me I go off the program and go off BIG. So, what did I do this last week? Okay, I’ll tell you. Of course I made some not-so-great food choices, ate too large of portions, etc. but I also decided to make a ridiculously delicious Christmas treat. It’s that odd dessert with the saltines that you put a mixture of melted butter and brown sugar over and then chocolate chips melt on top and you have a toffee like thing with a layer of chocolate. It is often referred to as “Christmas Crack” due to its addictive quality. I can see why. Let’s just say that a generous portion was had by all (except the little guy) for the first and second night until I told the hubby to take the remainder to work. Apparently within seconds of hitting the break room it was gone and he got comments like “Hey, why didn’t you bring more?” It was at this point of course that the hubby shared his amusing tale about his wife on Weight Watcher’s who’d being going hog-wild with the stuff. (Side note: I think it’s a tie between which one of us looks forward to the daily life escapades in our household more; me so I can blog about it or hubby so he’s got great material for around the water cooler.) So I’m sure you can all see why the whole weight loss thing didn’t happen this week. In addition to the unfortunate Christmas Crack saga the hubby was hooked on making Egg Nog complete with rum and whipped cream. I don’t know what he was thinking but I had to tell him the one he made me was way too rum-y. “Honey, could you tone it down with the booze—it’s only Wednesday!” The end result is that not only did I not lose but of course I gained and gained pretty significantly. This always irritates me because now I have to “re-lose” what I gained before I can get back to loosing. It’s that old syndrome of losing the same five or ten pounds over and over again. Frankly, it amazes how easy it is to gain weight in just a week if you are not watching it! I can see how easy it is for folks who don’t follow any kind of “plan” to just keep gaining and gaining. The food choices we have today make it that much harder. Finding the healthier, lower calorie options is difficult. Eating out is especially difficult due to not knowing how food is prepared, exactly what’s in it and the portion size. Splitting things is a great way to go but near impossible for me since the food preferences of the hubs and I couldn’t be more opposite. So our meals out have to be our “splurge meals” on the weekend that we’ve saved up for calorie-wise by eating smart during the rest of the week. Which is why I can’t afford to have any more rummed-up Egg Nog or Christmas Crack around the house. Here’s hoping for better results next week.

Holiday Happenings & Family Traditions

This year we finally purchased a wooden Advent calendar to use each year and fill with our own little treats for the boys to count down the days to Christmas.

This is where I must give proper credit to my creative and handy hubby who spruced this up. Since we didn’t find one we liked that was “cute enough” we decided to embellish it ourselves. This meant hubby had to find a way to attach tiny little pieces of décor that were not flat on the back, requiring snipping, sanding, gluing and the removal of some skin off his fingertips.

Since the little guy has not had much in the way of sweets before, this is a whole new experience for him. Behold the "first time with chocolate" photo. This was a huge hit.

Each year we look forward to our town’s tradition of Santa riding down our street on his sleigh pulled by the Fire truck. It’s a fun event that’s been going on since Teenager was a little guy himself. We all bundled up and headed out when we heard the sirens signaling Santa’s arrival.

Having kids at totally different stages in life always proves to be entertaining. This year was significant in that Little Guy is just old enough to get excited to see Santa and Teenager was excited to see all the neighborhood girls. It doesn't hurt either that an adorable baby brother is a "chick magnet".

Two Year old Tantrums + Sensory Processing Disorder = Looney Tunes Character

My recent Weight Watchers meeting didn’t go so well. I seem to be stuck in one of those awful holding patterns where weight is concerned (note the ticker has not moved in quite some time—I know, you are all glued to following my weight loss just as closely as the milestones of your own children.) However my biggest struggle this week was not as much weight as dealing with my darling little one. Let me see how to describe his behavior accurately… I’d say it closely resembled the Tasmanian Devil being let loose in the room.

When we arrived, it was clear keeping him in his stroller was not going to work. For one thing, he spotted the other kids playing with some really cute little house sets and thankfully he was invited to join in and play with them. And by “invited” I mean I begged the other mommy to let my child join hers to play. This actually lasted for about 15 minutes which was remarkable for the little guy because his sensory issues usually keep him from focusing and playing with a toy as other kids his age do. I was really hoping that allowing him the freedom to get out of the stroller and play would keep him happy and occupied because Weight Watchers was going over the new changes to the program in this meeting and I really needed to pay attention. I should have known better. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the little guy approach the door and then open it and walk outside. I ran across the room and grabbed him as he was [thankfully] just standing there and not attempting to go anywhere. After bringing him in and telling him that he cannot go outside and needs to stay inside he proceeded to run amok wreaking sheer havoc. In the course of a very few minutes he attempted to level a display of cook books, weigh himself, try to get into any number of purses placed enticingly at his level, grab part of a snack out of a other child’s hand, weigh himself again this time taking the desktop display portion of the scale down by yanking on the cord and grab a handful of paper towels making a trail with them. I might add I was following him around trying to circumvent these activities, keep him quiet and out of trouble as best I could. It became increasingly clear that things were going downhill fast. I wish I had photos for you but I felt it might be considered bad form to whip out my camera and photograph my shrieking, squalling child while a roomful of people were trying to learn how to calculate their food choices. I tried to get his weighted vest on him thinking he might need more sensory input, but that proved impossible –I would have more luck putting doll clothes on a pig covered in baby oil. He started getting really upset and quite vocal about it the more I tried to contain him so I knew I had to make a break for it which would unfortunately involve getting back to the stroller and trying to wrestle him in. This is the part where every mom out there who’s ever experienced this can attest to the fact that it is the most frustrating, aggravating moment where you just want to scream. This part was so bad in fact, that they stopped the meeting—for me—so I could pack up my darling little angel and get the heck out because at this point no one could hear anything the leader was saying. I don’t even know how I got that kid in his stroller, he is very strong and when he has a tantrum it takes all the strength I’ve got, both physical and emotional to somehow deal with it. Amid much screaming we managed to get out of there and into the car. When we got home he went straight to bed. And then Daddy got a call at work. Yeah, one of those calls. Any husband and daddy out there knows the one I’m talking about—the one where your wife calls you and you can barely understand her while the words “your kid” are intermingled with some unfortunate language and shrieking. It’s the call where you wish you just been in the bathroom when it came in-- but no, you just had to be at your desk and answer it. And now you’re screwed.

When things calmed down the hubby reminded me that although times like this are tough, and this age makes it even tougher things could be very different. There could have been no Baby and would I really want things that way? No. The answer is no. Yes, I sometimes wonder how I deal with all of this—the baby later in life, the little guy who has special challenges and everything else that goes along with it. But yes, it is all worth it and I know I need to remind myself of that during times like these.

So, while I still need to learn what I missed in the meeting and get back on board with the rest of my weight loss I know that the missed meeting is only a temporary setback. Along with the pizza I ate last night.

The kid’s really are paying attention

The other night after dinner when baby was down for the night the hubby and teenager and I were all sitting on the sofa watching TV. Then during the middle of some show I made a request that is apparently fairly routine. I asked if the hubby would go to the kitchen to get us a little treat for dessert while I paused the TV. Teenager all of a sudden pipes up and says; “Oh no, do we have to do this again?” We ask him what the heck he’s talking about and he launches into this little monologue:

“Well, whenever you guys do this it always means a huge break right in the middle of the show. You ask Dad to get something, he doesn’t know what it is, you try to explain it, and you guys have a little argument about who should go get it. Then Dad finally lumbers out to the kitchen, looks for it, can’t find it, and you explain it again while you guys argue again about where it is and why he should be able to find it. He finally finds it and then lumbers back to living room and sits down when we finally get to start the show again.”

By this time, the hubby and I were laughing so hard we were in tears. There’s nothing like your kid doing a full-on skit of your behavior! Not since Tina Fey’s “Sarah Palin” has there been a more hilariously accurate spoof. We had no idea we had this little “routine” going, not to mention how much of a comedy routine it had become for the whole family.

A Sense of Humor: A Mommy's Most Important Asset

The following pictorial and narrative is provided to you courtesy of SAHM: Surviving Assorted Home Mayhem, and effectively illustrates the first rule of surviving the mayhem: Don't get mad - get your camera. These photos were also included in an e-mail to Daddy at work as part of a little feature I like to call "What Your Kid Did". Notice possession of said child reverts to the male parental unit in cases such as this.

Not only is this yogurt covered toddler proudly displaying his work, as soon as I grabbed the camera, and I kid you not, he said; "Cheese".

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

This weekend was our annual trip up to the mountains to the Christmas tree farms. We enjoyed a nice drive there, complete with our festive holiday Starbuck’s beverages and Christmas music on the car stereo. Although we’d intended to bring the baby jogger stroller we did manage to make do with the regular stroller in the car. Baby enjoyed walking part of the time and we all trekked through the woods looking at various Christmas trees. Hubby took full advantage of the beauty around us by getting some great photos. Like we do every year, we talked about how most of the trees seem to get cut when they reach around 8 feet not leaving any taller ones for families like us who need a taller tree. Like we do every year we also discussed that the trees that grow here are just not as nice as those in other areas such as Noble Fir which seems to be our favorite. Then, like we do every year, we ended the day by stopping by our local home improvement warehouse to purchase our Christmas tree. It’s tradition.

Musings and Misadventures: Thanksgiving '08 Edition

What would a blog be without an After Holiday Wrap-Up post?

Well, I don't have the traditional events to report: you know, like forgetting to take the rolls out of the oven (or put them in), there was no burned/uncooked turkey and no drunk Uncle so-and-so tipping over the gravy boat. I did however have an event take place involving the UPS guy, Teenager sent to answer the door and the very unfortunate occurrence of the unboxed delivery of his Christmas present! Teenager stood there awkwardly wondering what on earth to do as he looked at the guitar sitting on our front porch knowing it was meant for him. As you can imagine, I am one unhappy customer having ordered this on-line and not knowing it would arrive with no outer box to hide its contents. So, my Christmas shopping is not as complete as I'd thought--back to the drawing board on that one. Poor kid.

Barney's visit proved to be as entertaining as always. There was much yapping, growling and snarling all while he was being excessively coddled by his owners. We heard about how he was "the cleanest dog in the world" and therefore it was no problem to dangle him over the dinner table. We also heard about how he "wouldn't hurt a fly" right before he took a chomp out of the leg of hubby's pajama bottoms. Yeah, he's a charmer. And yes, to look at him one can't help but exclaim: "Awww, he's so cute!" But we know better. He's Satan in a teeny tiny poodle suit. Trust me.

All in all we had a great time with family and enjoyed a nice holiday. Which was vastly different than last year when we had no guests and decided to go out to dinner--until Baby got sick and threw up--on the table. Good times.

Let the Dysfunction Begin

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and with it arrives the family visitors. Among those visiting will be Barney. Yes, that yappy little rodent delightful little poodle we all know and love. I swear if I were just a little more technically inclined I would set up a live web cam for you...a “Barney cam” just so you could see what I’m talking about. Then you could all send me “sympathy twitters”. But hey, a little lively and ridiculous dysfunction is what the holidays are all about, especially Thanksgiving. Speaking of which, I am now second guessing my decision to have bought the hubby a pair of turkey boxers from The Gap. I may have actually underestimated his mischievously inclined nature as he’s now threatened to wear them on Thanksgiving—all day—without pants.

It's a Simple Thing!™ Kid's DVD Clutter

Awhile back we started allowing some TV watching for the little one. Since it primarily consisted of videos we started amassing quite a DVD collection. The TV viewing system we set up allowed him to watch a video while in his highchair during a meal or snack. This system meant having a small TV & DVD that we set on a built in shelf between the dining room and living room. This also allowed very little storage for the videos so this quickly became a clutter and organization challenge.

This is the collection of videos we generally use.

This is what we managed to get it down to.

We used a simple, inexpensive CD organizer from an office supply store which allowed us to store the covers elsewhere and safely house the DVD’s in a little slot compete with their own number and ability to label each if desired. I have used less than half the available space of this box! All the DVDs are separated according to "type" (Veggie Tales, Disney, Sesame Street, etc.) I have however discovered one flaw in my system: the daddy learning curve which basically means until he gets the hang of it he’ll stick the DVD back in any old slot and call it good. Nonetheless, it still saves a ton of space and is a pretty handy little system.

Politically Correct

You know, I’ve always thought I was relatively “PC” in my use of terms. Recently during Baby’s Speech therapy appointment his therapist was trying to get him to sit cross legged on the floor and used the term “criss-cross”. I piped up and said; “Oh, you mean Indian style!” She laughed, being around the same age I am and familiar with the old term. I guess we don’t say that anymore. And if we did refer to it in such a manner it would have to be “Native American style”. So I got to thinking about the various terms that we no longer use. When I was a kid, the term "Oriental food" was perfectly acceptable to use when going out to a Chinese or Japanese restaurant…now it’s “Asian”. Speaking of which, many years ago I recall a time when we were selling our house. Mom was giving a tour to a young couple and voiced her embarrassment over the current state of the bathroom due to the pantyhose and other delicates hung to dry over the shower rod. Without thinking she said: “Oh, please excuse my Chinese laundry!” The couple, naturally, were Asian. I’ve never let her live that one down.

Organizing & Simplifying

Around here the latest thing has been to re-examine our belongings along with our strategies and systems for daily living. As you saw in my prior post, we recently made the big decision to go office-less. This is one of many things we are doing in the process of making our home and life as simple as possible. I've spent years of coming up with these types of strategies for clients and recently I realized my own home and life needed some new strategies.

For those of you familiar with my current Operation Fit [back into my pants] you know that the hubby and I get up each morning at o’dark:30 to power walk the neighborhood complete with Baby in the Baby Jogger stroller. My organizational challenge with this is in easily locating my equipment without requiring a full scale search and rescue mission each morning to find the stuff; mainly my shoes, both parts of my heart rate monitor, pedometer, and yes, my pink fuzzy earmuffs. I have now solved that problem with this:

Now, I stick everything inside this handy see-through over-the-door shoe organizer inside the hall closet where I also put my sweatshirt & Baby’s stroller blanket. The hubby says this significantly cuts down on the early morning swearing.

It's a Simple Thing!™ "Office on Wheels"

I’m finally getting around to offering another It’s a Simple Thing!™ With any luck, I will be able to keep these coming for you.

For those who aren’t already aware, my past career was that of a residential organizer and this was born out of my own personal need for organization and not my innate ability to actually be organized. Over the years I learned how to develop natural systems and strategies for everyday actions and work within those systems. But you can’t just start using a system and be done, the system won’t necessarily always work. More often than not, systems need to change and evolve as your life changes as evolves. Take our office for example. We have an actual office right off our living room complete with a large desk that houses a computer, printer, supplies, etc. Back in the day, I needed this space to work as well as use it for personal family business. But along came baby #2 and holing up in a separate room to use the computer, pay a bill, make a phone call, etc. was no longer reasonable and ridiculously inconvenient. We found ourselves using the office less and less and eventually the only computer we used was a laptop. The only way I ever got to check e-mail or do anything on the computer in the year following Baby’s birth was by placing the laptop on a little folding table and going online while I was nursing! I became quite adept at e-mailing and web surfing one handed with a baby attached. Then eventually the laptop was used on the dining room table where I can fairly easily do computer work while the little guy happily plays nearby. But a computer is not the only office item I need to use on a regular basis as various supplies are necessary along with all the other fun “paperwork”. So, in case you’re not sure where I’m going with this the bottom line is that what used to have a place in the office was starting to pile up on the dining room table and suddenly our previous system became a non-system. Not to mention when papers would come in that required filing no one actually wanted to file them, let alone take the trip to the office to get to the filing cabinet. Receipts would pile up and other things that were being worked on simply sat in “piles”. Oh how I hate piles! So it became clear we needed a new system.

Enter this handy little item:

This is a rolling cabinet with a file drawer, two other drawers, racks on both sides, a removable caddy for the top with three small spaces and one large space, an open shelf and a pull out writing shelf. Basically it allows me to store my laptop when not in use, have a place for action items, pending, reference, files, receipts, and other items to be read. I’m currently keeping this in the kitchen/dining room area, but it’s easily tucked out of sight by simply rolling it into another room or even a closet. {Now, because I know I'll be asked I'll provide the info on this thing even though I'm not doing an official review or being compensated by the company. I hope they appreciate the free plug! If you're interested you can find this item here.}

This "office on wheels" cannot completely replace an entire office of course, but it comes close enough that the other items that are still needed (paper, supplies, etc.) can be stored elsewhere in a fairly small amount of space. We still have to go to the office to go pick up a print job, but we can at least print wirelessly through the laptop. I am loving this new system and I’m actually happy to not have an office because frankly, that just screams “work” and I’ve got plenty of that in various forms without an entire room taunting me with more!

You win some, you lose some

What an Election this has been. History has been made. I am quite hopeful that many of the much needed changes for this country will come about. It’s impressive to see this many Americans come together to elect someone who just might have what it takes to run this country and see beyond differences by not letting something like color get in the way. (Because apparently, Barack Obama is black, aka African American-- who knew?) Of course on the other side, as a Californian I am saddened that just enough other Californians were not able to see past “differences” and instead have most unfortunately passed Proposition 8, aka, Proposition Hate. I was afraid that all the outside money and strong armed influence thrown at this thing would bring this result and sure enough it did. It’s shameful and regrettable. Though I have no personal stake in this and my own rights are not affected, I cannot help but think of those Californian’s whose lives are very much affected and by the hands of those who had nothing to lose by simply allowing them to keep their rights and voting against this hateful measure. To those who had a hand in passing this, especially those who allowed themselves to be coerced and “told” how to vote, those who unwisely used their finances to further this measure and especially those who purposely misled the voters with all the lies I have but one thing to say to you: Karma.

No on Proposition 8 - Los Angeles Times

No on Proposition 8 - Los Angeles Times

I wanted to share this article from the LA Times. I found it particularly astute that the writer likened the tactics of the Yes on 8 proponents to that of a magic act and distraction technique. It also contains good (and accurate) information on all the lies and scare tactics that have been used and sets the record straight on what is really true. I hope California voters are not fooled by the magic act. Because frankly, when it all comes down to it, directing our attention to some other perceived "problem" instead of focusing on actual problems that truly require action is a very sneaky thing to do and a waste of time. It's been said before but certainly bears repeating; all the money (and time) that's been thrown at this ridiculous campaign to deny rights to people could have gone so far in helping the real problems we are currently facing. In all honesty folks, when families are losing their homes, their jobs, and struggling with health insurance and grocery costs is the fact that two people of the same gender can get married really something we need to worry about? I don't think it should even be on the list.

Here's a good video clip that just came out.

While stopped at a light...

An interesting thing occurred to me while I was out running some errands this morning. As I was stopped at a light I was treated to the charming sounds of the car stereo next to me...it went something like: “Boom, thump, swear, unintelligible garble, angry words, swear, boom, thump.” Like I said, charming. So much so in fact that I could have rolled down my window, leaned over and said; “Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?”. Yeah, it was classy. As I listened to the ridiculous, loud, ignorant noise coming from this vehicle with significant irritation I noticed the vehicles ahead of me in both lanes were sporting Yes On 8 bumper stickers. It was then it occurred to me that what the Yes on 8 campaign is saying is much the same as what was spewing forth from the car stereo next to me...basically it's loud, hateful and ridiculous noise. The Yes on 8 folks might not be swearing, but I can assure you that whatever language they are using, to those of us who just want to see folks treated fairly it evokes much the same feeling as listening to the garbage on that stereo. Nothing says “classy” like trying to take away someone’s rights while loudly proclaiming your own as more valid or deserving.

Grey Poupon, anyone?

Well, it is an Election Year!

So, I’m going to address this topic once again. It’s not only one of most controversial propositions but is also shaping up to be one of the costliest races in the nation (except for the presidential election). Yes folks, I’m talking about Prop 8. I was pleased to hear about the new No on Prop 8 commercials. In a first ever move, two YouTube videos originally produced by supporters completely independent of the campaign will be used. Ironically, I had already included one of them; "Constitution" (the original longer version) on SAHM: Surviving Assorted Home Mayhem in the post What Dooce and I Have in Common. The original version of the other video being used is below...a great little spot simply entitled “Moms”. As a Mom, I want my children to grow up in a world in which the values they learn are based on love, fairness, compassion and understanding. I do not want them to be taught that it’s okay to shun, hate or treat differently anyone just because they don’t think, look or act a certain way or that any one way is “better” than the other.

And as far as this election goes, I think humorist David Sedaris summed it up best when he said:

“I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat.

“Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of crap* with bits of broken glass in it?”

To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.”

*edited for language- just keeping it clean—well, you know, as clean as it can be, we are talking about politics here

It’s amazing it wasn’t me this time

Saturday morning as I was sitting in the dining room I heard a loud thud come from the back of the house. A few minutes later the hubby appeared around the corner to announce that I had managed to leave an usual amount of water on the bathroom floor after my shower. Apparently the loud thud was the hubby taking a fall. I felt horrible and immediately asked if he was okay to which he responded “not really”. I apologized for the water all over the floor (not sure how I did that) and spent the rest of the day feeling bad for hubby who was having some aches and pains especially in his tailbone. Of course, even with someone getting hurt we can’t seem to avoid finding the humor in most situations around here. We joked about how it’s generally me who falls or runs into something or otherwise injures myself in some stupid way. The poor hubby was unable to perform his usual Saturday night duties, you know…. taking out the garbage. The next morning I asked him how he was doing after his fall. His response was: “Not that great—I think I need a donut”. As you might expect my reply to that was: “Well Honey, I’d love a donut too, but you know we’re on a diet.”

Thank you and be sure to tip your waitresses… I’ll be here all week.

A "fad" I couldn't resist

Okay, I am not real big on trendy stuff and rarely go along with the latest fad. Most of the time I am pretty traditional, especially when it comes to clothing. (Frankly, it took me longer than I'd like to admit to stop wearing basic jeans; aka "mom jeans" and go with the more modern, lower waist/fuller leg style because I thought they were "too trendy".) In fact, last Easter I wrote about how I dressed baby in a very classic, traditional smocked romper despite the current "trend" for boys to wear ultra-casual clothing. So, when I heard of this item that you're about to see debuted below I was hesitant but the "cuteness" factor won me over (along with a really great online deal). So, here's a short video of the little guy's latest thing.

Blog Improvement

As you might have noticed the ‘ol blog has undergone some changes lately. Hopefully for the better! I love my new surroundings and am pleased with the new banner, incorporating the infamous caricature graphic from the old one. But sadly, technical difficulties abound and I am not anywhere near “techie” enough to solve them. *sigh* Even the new banner was unable to be “centered” correctly. Tell me you didn’t even notice until I said something, okay? You know, kind of like when someone has a giant zit in the center of their forehead and complains about it to their friends who say they didn’t even notice until you pointed it out. Then they follow it up with; “it’s not that bad”. Yeah, just like that. I loaded some photos on Flickr last night but have yet to figure out how to actually get it loaded onto the blog. This is when I could really use a computer geek! Yes, I’ve got a hot geek husband, but he’s geeky in more non-computer ways. I’ve also wanted to install a label cloud, a feature that sadly isn’t available as a standard gadget through Blogger so the only way I’ve found to make that happen is to manually install it by following several pages of computer code. Something that is not going to happen. As some of you might have also noticed I added Twitter to the sidebar. I actually signed up for this thing months ago and then never did anything with it or got it installed, so last night I managed to make it work. Note the sarcasm in my Twitter title—I guess it’s one of things where although I think it’s cute in theory, I am not really imagining it being a huge hit. I mean, do you all really want to know little tidbits of what I’m up to? The neat thing is though I'm able to “update” it from my cell phone which proved to be easier than I would have thought. So, I’m sure you’ll all be thrilled to know that when I accidentally lock my husband in the garage you won’t be left out of the loop. Oh, and I successfully managed to use Blogger’s “Poll” feature, so do me a favor and “vote” so my small techie success will not be in vain, m’kay? Thanks.

I could have gone as a Pirate

This past weekend we had plans to attend a Renaissance Faire. While taking a shower I somehow managed to get shampoo in my eye. It was burning like crazy and after I got out I called down the hall to the hubby asking for help because I had an “eye issue”. (Apparently he wondered if I’d managed to once again accidentally yank my eyelashes out. For those of you who haven’t heard that particular story click here.) So I filled hubby in on my current tale of woe and asked if he could open up a new bottle of contact solution since this task was too difficult while in significant pain from my eye stinging and I needed to get my contact lens out and rinse it. With tears streaming down my face [and feeling really stupid for actually sloshing shampoo into my eye] the hubby barely holds back the laughter as he says “Well, maybe we can get you an eye patch at the Renaissance Faire!” Yeah, the hubby is hilarious—I can always count on him for coming up with something clever like that. Anyway, eventually my eye felt better and off we went to the Faire. Three of the four of us dressed for the occasion.

Baby was darling in his tunic and hat.

Teenager wore his “Court Jester” hat which was a hit amongst all his high school friends he ran into.

And the hubby was dashing in his get-up as well.

He was also eyeing the turkey legs much the same way baby was eyeing the busty women at the last Faire we attended when he was nursing.

A great time was had by all. However, I did not costume-up for this particular event. No, not even an eye patch.

What Dooce and I Have in Common

I knew I shared some common ground with fellow mommy blogger Heather Armstrong aka “Dooce”. Well, okay, not the big advertising dollars or the swearing but we both have “hot geek” husbands! Recently I learned we share even more in common.

I have to give bloggie kudos to Heather for her recent post. Yesterday she shared with her readers some diary entries from her late teens. Reflecting on who we were and looking at who we’ve become is an eye opening experience. Being an avid Diary keeper I often do this myself as it helps me better understand and learn from all I’ve been through and overcome. Her post went on to talk about how her opinions and values changed over the years and how she grew and matured as she started thinking for herself. She closed her post by boldly stating her support for the No on Prop 8 campaign (even though she’s not a CA resident). Of course the flurry of comments were a mixed bag of “Good for you” and “Shame on you” though thankfully the shaming finger waggers were few and far between. In reading some of the negative comments the ignorance of some people came glaringly through. It’s rather shameful that the people who assert their belief in “family values” are the same people who seek to dismantle and vilify others’ families. The folks who claim that religion is part of whatever topic they are debating are the same folks that ignore the other principles of their own faith by judging others, treating them unfairly and a host of other things they seem to ignore. People are using a “pick and choose” plan to suit them when convenient. But that’s a whole other story.

It was nice to see another mommy blogger speaking up to share her view on an issue like this that doesn’t affect her personally but sure affects others in a very negative way. I wish more people would do this. Sadly, we’re seeing quite the opposite lately; folks whose lives are not in any way affected by a proposition seeking to get it passed just to negatively affect others’ lives. Since I’ve already written a post on this issue [California is too Great for Hate] I won’t go into much more other than to say this: people need to understand what this issue is about-- basic civil rights for a group of human beings. And that is something worth blogging about.

Wordless Wednesday

Now Back to our Regularly Scheduled Topics

For those of you who are new readers of SAHM: Surviving Assorted Home Mayhem please rest assured that my recent post dealing with a political matter is not the norm around here. In fact, I was initially reluctant to write it in the first place. However, I also feel that when something like this comes along in which some folks are willing to such take drastic measures to affect others in a negative way in addition to lying to scare people into voting for something there ought to be people to willing speak out about it. (Just last night our No on Prop 8 sign was stolen from our yard- less than 48 hours after being put up.) Enough said.

So, normally here at SAHM: Surviving Assorted Home Mayhem I share with you things like this.....

This weekend we enjoyed our trip to the pumpkin patch. The boys had a great time and we got some cute photos.

I discovered Baby’s new little Levi's jeans are apparently made the same way all jeans are being designed these days…low waist-ed. Sheesh! Although I guess if given the choice seeing baby’s Pampers peeking out somehow seems less ridiculous than the top of someone’s boxers or thong.

After the pumpkin festivities the little guy was ready for a nap and the hubby and I took this opportunity to leave teenager at home with him while we ran some errands. Shopping without an annoyed teenager and screaming baby was a treat. Heck, at this point we’re practically considering it a date. While shopping at Kohl’s we got separated and did the inevitable call-each-other-on-our-cell-phones maneuver. This resulted in a dorky “Where are you?” exchange across a few aisles until we finally met up. Then hubby proudly announces he found something for me; a candle that smells like cupcakes! How timely since I recently blogged about the Britney Spears/cupcake thing.

Earlier today while getting the Fall décor out of the shed [the shed I’ve previously mentioned has containers full of crap we need to go through] the hubby unearthed this little gem that I thought I’d share with you:

Holy time machine to the 1970’s! Yes, this is the hubs in his Jr. year of high school. And yes, he did give me permission to share this with you all. I know I’ve got plenty of hilarious photos from my youth as well but those will have to wait. Because, let’s face it, it’s way more fun to show embarrassing photos of your spouse than of yourself. Actually, he doesn’t really consider it embarrassing since according to him he had girls lined up around the block to date him. And go for a ride in his AMC Gremlin.

California is too Great for Hate

Yes folks, this post will be known as The One Where She Got Political. I didn’t intend to “go there” - it was not in the plan when I started this blog but...I’m going there.
For those of you who’ve not yet heard about the incredibly controversial proposition on the ballot for California, it’s Prop 8 which seeks to not only overturn the California Supreme Court ruling which made same-gender marriage legal but also to essentially write discrimination into the constitution by preventing it from ever being legal again. Frankly it’s as ridiculous as turning back time and taking away the right to vote for a gender or a race.

Here’s my take on this situation folks; even if you feel that a same-gender relationship and even a same-gender marriage is wrong it does not make it okay to impose your belief system on others by denying those folks rights. There are people who think that pre-marital relations are wrong. Does telling people “not to” or going so far as creating a law against it stop those people from the activity? Do you think that preventing a legal marriage for a same-gender couple is going to cause those couples to break up? To not live together? To go away? NO! What does it “solve” to tell Linda & Diane or Tom & Dave, “Hey, we think your relationship is wrong, you love the wrong person, therefore we're making certain you can’t have a marriage - a “legal” marriage - ever. So there! Take that!” Does it really make your marriage somehow better to do that? Are Carol and Bob going to have a stronger marriage because they’ve stood their ground in asserting that their marriage, their “traditional” marriage is better because they are opposite genders?

The “Protect Marriage” phrase/movement is ludicrous. It “protects” nothing, and certainly not marriage- it simply denies it for one group. I find it very disturbing that the groups promoting this proposition are using scare tactics filled with false information to further their hateful agenda. Yes, I said hateful, there is simply no other word to describe it. When someone decides that their way of life is somehow better than someone else’s and then seeks to deny the other person’s rights, well, that’s just plain mean, there is no getting around it. It is appalling to think of the money spent to promote this thing--money that could have gone to help those in need, to do some real good for folks who need it, but instead it’s being used to prevent a group of people from having what should be a basic human right. If that isn’t a sad commentary on society I don’t know what is. When people care more about harming one group that helping another I think we all need to more carefully examine our values.

Numerous other “fears” for the so-called consequences of not having Proposition 8 pass have been talked about, many of which are based on falsehoods. I won’t go into all of that here as others have already said it far better than I could but I do want to point out one of these: “Well, if Proposition 8 doesn’t pass then the schools will be able to teach our kids that a same gender marriage is “just as good” as a traditional marriage!” A Sacramento Superior Court judge has already ruled that this claim by the proponents of Prop 8 is “false and misleading” and the “case” they cited was from Massachusetts. Since they knew what California law said they used another state to mislead the voters. There is already a law in place that prohibits the California school system from teaching anything regarding Family Life to your child that you do not want them to hear and learn. So, when it comes time for the kids to learn about Family Life you have the choice to opt them out of the classroom if it’s important to you that they not hear this or anything else relating to the Family Life curriculum. But perhaps you could take a look at this from another perspective. For just a moment, imagine with me if you will that your little Brandon or Caitlin learns [with your consent, of course] in school that there is a such a thing as homosexuality (because it does in fact exist whether you agree with it or not) and that while some people wish to share their life with a partner of the opposite gender others wish to share their life with a partner of the same gender. Don’t you think it’s possible that if we started teaching this basic understanding from an early age that it might just prevent folks who are gay and lesbian from being at best ostracized and at worst harmed and possibly even losing their lives? Don’t you think it’s possible that less misunderstanding and less hate might just happen to equal less violence in the world? Isn’t that something that we should all be looking at quite seriously and doing whatever we can to work towards? I certainly think so. I hope enough other Californians do too.

proposition-8

Stupid Purchase No. 127

I’ve been searching for a new fragrance for quite some time now. I’m pretty picky and end up not liking the way most smell once they're on me even though in the bottle I think they smell great. My newest attempt was Fantasy by Britney Spears. I should probably explain what possessed me to buy this one in the first place. Although I enjoy an upbeat dance tune to motivate me to clean house I am hardly a Britney Spears fan. I purchased this particular fragrance because I heard it smelled like cupcakes. Well, the idea of the scent of cupcakes really appeals to someone who’s on Weight Watchers and practically has a religious experience with butter cream frosted cake products. So, my thinking was “Hey, if I can at least smell cupcakes (with no actual cupcakes in sight to devour) then perhaps it will somehow satisfy my cupcake desire!” But here’s what happened: Not only did I not like how it smelled on me, when I would get asked what fragrance I was wearing I’d have to suffer through the embarrassment of admitting it was from Britney Spears. Yeah. I’m forty for heaven's sake. I’m a stay at home mom and writer trying to lose baby weight and frankly, I’ve got no business wearing Britney Spears perfume. I’m still trying to find my signature scent but I’m thinking it doesn’t smell like cupcakes; it probably smells like coffee and a Weight Watcher’s entrée.

*No cupcakes were eaten during the making of this blog post. Really. I swear.

Fall Festivities and Frivolity

This is my favorite season and I am so glad it's finally here. The hot weather gets old for me about half way through Summer so I look forward with great anticipation to crisp air and crunchy leaves. I also love when it gets dark earlier and frankly I'm irked they've messed with Daylight Savings Time making it even longer. Maybe that's just me though-- I guess it's popular to have longer days but I actually like having dinner when it's darker.

So it's about time to break out the Fall decor including the Scarecrow who you may remember from this post last year. We are all looking forward to our usual Fall activities including a trip to the pumpkin patch and taking photos of the boys. The last two years in a row the baby has had some cute "pumpkin patch outfits". Sadly, I'm discovering it gets harder to find such things now. I did however find a pretty cute orange and white striped sweater with a pumpkin on it. I told teenager if I'd found one in his size I would have bought it. Then the hubby arrived home from work and saw the little guy's sweater and asked me if I got him one, too. And he was serious. I asked if he'd really wear it and he said yes. I am so looking for a big pumpkin sweater. Sometimes I underestimate that guy.

Entertainment Value of Disorganization

I’ve mentioned a few times that our garage has been an ongoing project. We’ve now successfully cleared out nearly all the “big” baby things we no longer use and have worked our way through several boxes of baby clothes which we’ve sold on eBay. Since we often have something to get rid of via eBay I’ve made it a rule to save any re-usable packing supplies. This includes not only boxes but bubble wrap, "peanuts" and those nifty little air filled plastic pillows that are so great for padding. Whenever we get a package and I want to save the packing supplies I’ve tossed it out into the garage. Yes, I admit, I’ve not taken the time to stop everything I’m doing, make sure the baby’s safe and gone out to find an actual spot for it. My method is simply to open the door and chuck it out there. (Yeah yeah, I can see how the garage got this way. Sort of.) Anyway, this is something that greatly annoys the hubby since the garage of horror has been a major sore spot for us. Well, the other day we drove into the garage and were bombarded with a very sudden; "BANG, bang, bang, bang!" This is when I realized we had just driven over a whole row of air filled plastic pillows making it sound as if we’d been under attack by the mafia with machine guns. After a very surprised reaction which included jumping up a few feet in his seat the hubby shot me a look that said it all. So, I promised to be better about stuff I toss into the garage. Right after I stopped laughing.

Eating my words {and apparently a few too many other things}

For those of you following along on my weight loss journey, or as I like to refer to it: Operation Fit [back into my pants] you might have noticed the ticker did not move this week. It didn’t move because had I gone in to edit it in order to be accurate I would have had to move it the opposite direction. That’s right people, I’ll admit it, this week not only did I not lose weight I gained. And the worst part, even worse than gaining, is that prior to my weigh in yesterday I asked the hubby how he did for the week and he reported he’d lost a pound. Apparently instead of exclaiming; “Honey, that’s wonderful! Good job!” I said something which sounded to him like: “That’s all? Only a pound? When on earth are you going to get rid of that big spare tire you’re sporting?!” But in reality I’m sure it was something closer to; “Oh ok, I’m surprised you didn’t lose more since men tend to lose it faster and easier than women—but just keep it going in that direction Lovechunk” or something like that. So, due to my remarks the hubby tells me that I had better have lost more than a pound when I weigh in at Weight Watchers. Yeah, about that.. oops. Sorry honey! You are the weight loss KING this week.

They're really more like “Doglets”

My folks have a toy poodle named Barney. And by “toy” I mean it could easily be mistaken for one, except of course for the yappity yap yapping oh so common for small dogs. I have never quite understood the small dog phenomenon, which seems to be most prevalent among the older generation. I remember the first time I saw a “dog in a purse”. Then came the doggy stroller. And if that wasn’t enough one on one time with your pooch there’s the doggie carrier so you can have Fido strapped to your chest just like a baby.

My folks have not gotten quite so carried away with Barney but they are pretty crazy about the dog. And by “crazy” I mean, it must be in the same room with them at all times, must have people food, must be held on their laps and to suggest something as outrageous as the fact that they leave the house for more than an hour or two is met with stern objections about how they can’t leave the dog that long.

I must confess the hubby and I are not small dog “people”. We always have been of of the notion that to be “a dog” said animal should actually be bigger than a cat. In fact our cat Chloe, whom you’ve all heard from in her post could take this dog in an instant and we’ve actually had to keep the two of them away from each other during their visits. Our dog, (who I’ve asked to write a guest post but so far he's been too lazy) is about twenty times the size of this poodle and puts up with him most admirably. Murray will put up with Barney barking incessantly at him, chasing after him and even nipping at him to the point of Barney ending up with a puff of Murray’s cream colored fur in his mouth. A couple years ago when the folks were here for Christmas, Barney was harassing Murray by taking his toys and scurrying off with them. Murray was apparently so traumatized by this he took one of his own toys and chewed it up to the point of eating it—we are assuming all in an attempt to keep Barney from getting it. Fortunately it did not hurt him physically, but it was at this point we realized that separating these two might be a good idea to avoid the high cost of doggie psycho-therapy for poor Murray.

Which leads me to my point about small dogs and their owners. Why must people drive with their dog in their lap? Am I the only one who sees the potential danger in this? Children must be in cars seats for their safety as well as our own, we’re told not to hold cell phones while driving but yet it’s okay for Muffy to sit right there as you’re attempting to steer an automobile? The hubby put it quite well when seeing a woman driving along with her poodle in her lap and mentioned he hoped she didn’t have an accident in which her airbag deployed. “Hey lady, you’ve got some poodle on your shirt”.

Fun with Keyword Searches or You found me how?

Time for a round of “How did you find SAHM: Surviving Assorted Home Mayhem”?

It’s always amusing to take a look at the key words people type in Google and other search engines to find this site. Let’s take a look, shall we?

If you cut off eyelashes do they grow back?

Thankfully, yes! They also grow back when you accidentally yank them out!

Seriously So Blessed

Who doesn’t love a good parody?

Do Not remove Under penalty of Law

Because the cuteness of this photo says it all.

Letter to neighbors

Neighbors are great, aren’t they?

Why isn’t my husband romantic?

Ah yes, the age old question.

Frugal diaper bags

Inspired by the story involving both diaper bags and frugality but not in combination.

How to survive being a SAHM and surviving being a SAHM

I’m still working on this one. Every day.

Drivers Ed notes

Holy crap! A teen driver in the house.

Snap a picture of my bra

Ok, I rarely do this, but when presented with this photo op I’m afraid I had no choice.

Deadbeat dads and child custody

Yeah. Always a fun topic.

Crazy wife of ex-husband blog stalking

Oh No She Didn’t! aka the infamous “Special Reader” posts.

I told you so!

As you all know, I've been dedicated to Operation Fit [back into my pants] for weeks now and have diligently been walking, counting points and really watching things closely to lose weight. As you might have noticed from my weight loss ticker it's been paying off. I'm currently down by a little more than 5 pounds. The hubby and I have been great about getting up at what we refer to as the butt-crack of dawn to walk and this morning was no exception. That is until an unfortunate incident occurred not more than one minute into our walk. Perhaps you'll recall just two posts ago I mentioned my frequent injuries due to being a big klutz? Well, I no sooner walked across the street when I somehow twisted my ankle on the curb and tumbled to the ground. The hubby describes this as: "walk, walk, splat!" (Yes, he's hilarious that way.) So, hubby helps me up and tends to a few of my boo boos then heads off for a jog with little guy who's all ready to go in his jogging stroller. At least one of us got our exercise this morning. I however got road burn for nothing.

Happy Blogiversary SAHM: Surviving Assorted Home Mayhem

It’s been one year since I started this thing. I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going with this whole venture when I started out and I’ve pretty much just let it take it’s own natural course. I find it hard to really describe what this blog is truly about. Sure, it’s a “mommy blog” and there are mommy things in here, but there’s also plenty of other day to day musings on life in general, marriage, home, family, issues like weigh gain/loss, child custody, clutter, simplifying life, just enjoying life and even the occasional recipe. Along the way I’ve had “couldn’t pass-by opportunities” to have a little bloggie fun writing about my “Special Reader” and those posts [Oh No She Didn’t! & Oh No She Didn’t! Part 2] have been some of my more popular ones. The entertaining and amusing things that happen in day to day living are just too fun to not share and I think that’s why I really enjoy writing this blog. Also, I figure there’ve got to be some people out there who find me as hilarious as I think I am. Of course it’s not all funny and there are plenty of topics I don’t even approach. (I don’t want to touch this election with a ten foot pole, thank you!) I look forward to continuing this journey and sharing various tales with my readers. I’d also love to hear from you and welcome your comments and e-mails. To all of you who’ve been following along so far thank you and to those of you newcomers welcome and I hope you all enjoy the stories to come.

Hannah

And Speaking of Bras...

I decided it was time to get rid of all my nursing tops. After all, baby weaned himself a year ago and they've been sitting in the garage ever since. While I was going through the boxes baby found a nursing bra and discovered a new use for it.

This leads me to a story of when he was born. Somewhere during the middle of my hospital stay I decided I wanted to wear my nursing bra. The problem was I was confined to bed and hooked up to a multitude of things that would be too difficult to remove and replace in order for me to actually get a bra on. My nurse had a creative idea. She thought she would simply thread the straps of the bra over the machines, down the tubes connected to me and eventually up onto my shoulder. It seemed reasonable to me, of course at the time I don't think my brain was in any condition to put much thought into the logistics of such a complex operation. She managed to get the bra over the IV pole and bag, thread it through some more tubing, wires, etc. but somewhere along the way she got lost. She was determined though! She kept at it like one of those brain teaser puzzles and I swear she did not want to give up! Sadly, she could not make her way over to me and her self-created puzzle became so complex Houdini himself couldn't have made it out of this thing. So, you know how you start these things and then can't undo them? Yeah. Well. Ultimately, she could not undo this tangled mess and get the bra off. So I think you know where I'm going with this. For the rest of my hospital stay, I had a bra dangling from my IV unit until I was unconnected and discharged. Unfortunately, neither I nor the hubby thought to snap a picture of this (silly us, we were taking pictures of our new baby!) The hilarity that ensued down at the nurses station from the frequently repeated "Did you see the bra hanging from the IV in room 301?!" was priceless and I'm sure still talked about today.

Apparently it Runs in the Family

I am not the most coordinated person in the world. I have taken the occasional tumble, spill, head bonk, toe jab among various other injuries. Those who know me find this highly amusing. I however find it highly annoying, both that I hurt myself and am the source of others amusement through my own pain. Yesterday there were no less than three tragedies in our household. During my hosting a houseful of crumb crunchers or shall we call it playgroup, UPS arrived at the door. While trying to hold back a pack of wild hyenas small children I managed to kick my big toe into the edge of the door and against something sharp taking not only a chunk of flesh off my toe but also a chunk of nail polish—I am not sure which was the greater tragedy. (I’m kidding, it’s the nail polish.) Later in the day when Grandma arrived for a visit the little guy was doing his usual “I know you want to hug me so I’m going to run” routine when he stumbled and fell hitting his forehead on the floor. The hardwood floor. So, we applied ice and snuggles and despite the boo boo he was all better within a short time. Then not ten minutes later we all went out to the car to go to dinner and I manage to open the car door on my head creating an almost duplicate boo boo on my own forehead. This is somehow hilarious to the hubby. The next time he’s in a grumpy mood and displaying some “hub ‘tude” I think I may just have to trip over the ottoman or slam my thumb in a door. My talents are limitless.

Birthday party, a couple raccoons and a tricycle

It sure feels like a Monday. I'm dragging today thanks to a 3am wake up. The dog heard a cat squabbling with two raccoons who he then chased up a tree. The hubby woke up and went out to investigate  dressed in Hawaiian print boxers (because what else do you wear when looking for raccoons at 3am?) I wish I had video footage of this whole thing (well, maybe just the raccoons up the tree part) to share with you.

What I can share with you is a few shots from the baby's birthday party. Okay, okay, technically now he is not a "baby". He just turned two. That's 24 months for a mommy-in-denial. We had a cute Classic Pooh theme complete with Pooh ears instead of birthday hats. 

I found a darling Pooh & Piglet with a 2 figurine to use both as a cake decor and a keepsake but I underestimated how heavy the thing was. After putting it on the cake it fell backwards so I was forced to prop up Pooh's bum with a few Altoids. [In thinking about it, that might have made a better title for this post.]

As the little guy was opening gifts we saw this little entertaining sequence of events.....

 

 

The big birthday gift was a tricycle. Daddy has been very busy lately and did not have a chance to assemble it, so right after the party teenager assembled the whole thing himself for his little brother. We are all impressed.  After nap time, the little guy hopped on. He doesn't have the hang of it quite yet but he sure loves being pushed around on it!