Things that are awesome

ME!

I went to the gym FIVE times this week. So.not.like.me. I'm going to win the Lenten MVP award. What do you think that would be? Indulgences? Sainthood? I'd love some of those fun vestments.

My stumbling block has always been the thought that I need to spend HOURS in the gym. I'm so out of shape, if I went for any less than 2 hours, it wouldn't be worth it. But this week I have proven to myself that 20 mins. + 20 mins. + 20 mins. can really add up, and it's a heck of a lot better than 0 mins. (Some days I spent a whole hour there, but other days it's literally only 20 mins.) But even 20 mins. makes me feel better, motivates me to keep it up, and inspires me to eat better. So it's more than worth it.

And? How else would I have kept up with the Kardashians this week, OR learned that there is a VERY SPECIAL The Girls Next Door on this Sunday if it wasn't for the E channel on the treadmills? (I'm not sure who I loathe more... the Kardashians or The Girls Next Door. Wait, yes. It's the Kardashians. And I just have to say, Bruce Jenner, WTF?)

MARGARITAS

Margaritas are also awesome. As are neighbors who make them and ply me with them.

SECOND CHANCES

I had Coma Gal over for dinner this week. Something I never thought I'd be able to do again. And it was awesome. I have a post coming up on DC Metro Moms about this, so I'll just leave this as a teaser.

FRUIT

I'm gorging on fruit this week in preparation for the Big Carb Detox starting next week. I'm sure I'll be whiny and grouchy. But for now, I'm shoving as many berries and giant navel oranges in my mouth as possible.

What was AWESOME about your week?

What do Anna Nicole Smith, Nicole Ritchie and I have in common?

I went to the gym after my last post and plugged my headphones into the treadmill and turned on the TV. And lo and behold, they were counting down the top 100 celebrity weight loss stories. And guess who was no. 2?

Anna Nicole Smith.

Seriously?

She supposedly lost 67 lbs. by using Trim.Spa. I don't know what Trim.Spa is, but I'm quite sure there was no exercise involved (unless shaking your ample bosom before TV cameras burns a LOT more calories than I think it does). And I'm thinking that Trim.Spa might be a euphemism for crystal meth?

Know who was no. 3? Nicole Ritchie. Uh - seriously? She looks like the poster child for an eating disorders clinic. But I'd take her Before pictures any day.

I've been checking out FreeDieting.com - a website to help you figure out how many calories you should be eating. According to this website, I should be eating 1200 calories a day, to lose weight. (1400 to maintain.) So I tried to go with 1200 yesterday.

I wrote down everything I ate, looked up the calorie counts and by noon, I had hit my 1200. Ack. Depressing. And that was some healthy eating too.

I'm pretty sure our goldfish ate more than 1200 calories a day. Although he died. Maybe it was heart disease?

I think most of my contraband calories are thoughtless things I stick in my mouth. Three Girl Scout cookies while I'm making lunch - 200 calories. Doesn't sound like that much unless you realize that's 1/6th of my allowed calories for the day. Bottled Frappuccino? 190 calories. In about 2 minutes, I had 1/3 of my calories for the day.

I think I'm going to try something else.

I've done the South Beach Diet before. I like it better than anything else I've ever tried because it makes a lot of sense to me. And the main goals of the plan are to improve cardiovascular health and prevent metabolic syndrome. The hard part is that you have to start off with two weeks of NO CARBS. No fruit. No wine. No crackers.

It's enough to make a grown woman weep.

But it's only two weeks. And if I make it, without cheating, I'm buying myself a Wii Fit. (Ok, I'm probably going to buy it even if I cheat - but I'm really, really, really going to try not to cheat!)

But first, I have to eat all the FRUIT I bought at the grocery store yesterday.

It's that time of year again

You know, that time where we give up chocolate, or wine, or yelling at our kids and we turn into raving lunatics. Or is that just me?

Ok. Whatever.

Last year, I gave up shopping. And that really sucked. I'm not doing THAT again!

So here's what I'm giving up this year: SLOTH.

I'm getting off my butt three times a week and exercising. I'm getting babysitters, or getting up early, or whatever it takes to do it.

My healthy body is a gift that will fade if I don't take care of it. And I really hope to live long enough to be a HUGE pain in the ass to my kids. But, my knees are getting creaky, and even though I eat healthy foods, I am finding I can no longer maintain the same weight without throwing some exercise in there.

So, I am off... to the gym. I hate the gym. I hate exercising in a roomful of sweaty people with mirrors everywhere. But I hate being out of shape even more.

I could change my name to Florence

After a bit of phone tag - we got Little One's ear and adenoid surgery scheduled. And it will be done at the ENT's surgery center, which is what I wanted. Way less scary than a big hospital, cleaner, less red tape. And it's right down the street from the hospital, should any complications arise. It will be just fine. Pass the xanies and let's move on.

Speaking of things medical, I have a new blog crush. Ob/Gyn Kenobi. Love! her! I found her from the delightful KC of Where's My Cape, to Mothers in Medicine, to Ob/Gyn Kenobi. And check out her blogroll... At Your Cervix? Hilarious.

I sat for many hours this weekend reading her archives (and I wonder why I can't get my laundry done?). Thank God she is so busy seeing patients and delivering babies that she doesn't post every day, or my eyeballs would have fallen out by now. Anyway, check her out.

Reading her makes me miss being in the working world (of course, I was delivering documents, not babies, but I loved it still), but also makes me glad that I'm not right now. But it did get me to thinking that I should keep my eyes open. Next year, my schedule will free up quite a bit, and I could probably fit in a part-time job without too much shuffling.

One of my plans for going back to work, was to go to nursing school.

Yes. You heard me.

Motherhood has been great training. I'm great at all nighters. I no longer feel bile rise in my throat when I encounter bodily fluids. I wash my hands 4,000 times a day. And I like wearing scrubs.

The only problem I see is my lack of patience with whiny adults. Really. Can't. Stand. Whining. Adults. Give me a roomful of whiny kids, however, and I'm right at home!

Ok - the other only problem is that you have to PAY TUITION to go to nursing school. That's a sort of sucky problem, to which I have no solution. I'm thinking that I really should earn SOME credits for all the hours of Discovery Health channel I've watched. Including a 10-hour marathon of Birth Day Live that I watched THREE TIMES. (Don't ask.)

And then there's Rocket Man, who points out that I already have two degrees that I'm not using. Perhaps I should look for employment in one of those fields.

Ever the practical one, that Rocket Man.

So if you see any job announcements for an out-of-practice law librarian, who knows a Supreme Court justice and could perform a c-section, in a pinch, let me know. Especially if I could wear scrubs to work.

Girl Power

This is a picture of my grandmother (third from the right) and her best gal pals. (I guess I could have dusted it before I scanned it, huh?) They called themselves the D.Y.C. Girls. D.Y.C. stands for Darn Your Curiosity. I'm not sure WHAT is up with those uniforms. Whenever I asked her or my aunt (last one on the right) about them, they would just giggle.

I know all the D.Y.C. girls names because they are written on the back of the picture, but I don't know all their stories. I do know that their lives were not easy. My grandmother was widowed when she was almost exactly my age and had 5 young children to raise on her own. During the Depression.

Her sister-in-law, second from the left, died when she was my age from polycystic kidney disease, a genetic curse that took many young lives in my family. She left a young daughter, who herself later died of the same disease. Two of the women never married and had to make their own way in the world, at a time when that just wasn't done. But they did it.

But this picture was taken in happy times. I'm not sure what year, but before illness and widowhood. Probably before 1929 when their lives changed forever. They were young and healthy and lives of hope and possibility stretched out before them. (And there were good times ahead for all of them, but none of them knew the hardship that would come along too.) They weathered it all together. They watched each others' kids, made each other meals, supported each other financially, and passed long afternoons sipping lemonade on each others' porches.

A friend sent me this video yesterday and the first thing it reminded me of was the D.Y.C. Girls. And then of my own mother, and her gal pals. Now they call themselves the Red Hat ladies, but they've had many names and permetations over the years. And finally, of my own friends. My virtual communities and my real life communities. The women I turn to when I need consultation on a recipe, to borrow an egg, help in diagnosing a rash, or someone to watch my kids.

If you have 5 minutes - watch this video. It celebrates the relationships of women, how we push each other and carry each other. And sit together to sip some lemonade. Or perhaps a margarita. And grab a tissue first, 'k?

So I'm not too bright

When I first started using Blogger, I knew that one of the complaints about it was that you couldn't reply via email to your comments without looking up the email address of the commenter separately. But something (and now, I have no idea WHAT?) changed about the way the comments looked, and I thought it meant that it was now possible to just hit reply when I get a comment email and send back a response.

But uh... evidently, that has NEVER been the case with Blogger and all those reponses just vanished into the ethernet. (You'd THINK Blogger could at least send the message back?!)

So, my sincerest apologies to those who thought I was ignoring them.

Janel - the way I made these picture frames : I just staple gunned (is that a word?) the binder clip to the back of the frame and then tossed the cardboard back and the plastic/glass from the frame. I used two staples per clip, just to keep it from wiggling around too much. Just make sure you staple it such that the other silver part of the clip is sticking out and not in so that the frame sits flush on the wall. I can take a picture if you want. I tried crazy glue, but it didn't stay. Hot glue might work though.

Also, uh, the Mormon Temple Festival of Lights is open every night during the Christmas season until 10pm. Whoops. Sorry about that one!

Fishy Girl - I emailed you separately, but my mother-in-law made our Christmas stockings, in case anyone else wanted to know.

Thrift Store Mama - Here is a funny tongue-in-cheek Mormon blog that will make you laugh: Seriously So Blessed.

Also, I wanted to know what time you were voting on election day so I could stand in line with you. But you don't need to reply now.

And, I got my vacuum fixed, but what kind is your kick ass one?

Whymommy - why did you kick your Inspiron to the curb? Although if it's a crappy computer, don't tell me now because I already bought one.

mjd - there's NO WAY your oldest kid is in 8th grade! And um... I can't come over on Sunday, how about next weekend? (This was from October. Hope you are not still waiting for me! We must get together. Soon. After hockey and basketball season, but before baseball season. Sigh.)

Julia - my blog header was done my Mira Greetings. Tiffany is all kinds of awesome.

Elaine - I can't IMAGINE what the Girl Scout Risk Management Organization would say about a DAD being a Brownie camping trip chaperone.

De in D.C. - I think I'm developing a crush on you! First you ply me with yummy cookies, then I learn that you are an expert in pseudophedrine acquisition!

Astarte - the house is in the Outer Banks (Corolla). It's ours for a week, not forever, sadly. If you happened to show up on the doorstep, I'm sure you wouldn't be turned away. You will have to sing though. Family requirement.

Lynn - yep. Family reunion on the Rocket side. Celebrating an 80th birthday in style!

After going though all my emails, I realize that SOME of them did go to the correct recipients. Now WHY is that? If anyone else out there is wondering why I never answered a question you asked in the comments, it's because I have my head up my ass.

My apologies!

I'm dreaming of a white beachfront...

That warm spell we had a few weeks ago was a cruel teaser.

I heard the words "Alberta Clipper" on the weather forecast yesterday, and no offense to you Alberta residents, but um... could you keep your Clippers to yourself?

I want SPRING and I want it NOW. (Yes, I know it's February.)

So for now, since it's currently 24 frigid degrees out my window, I'm imagining my skinny and tan self (because its MY fantasy - I can be skinny and tan if I want to - and yes, I know about skin cancer... I may achieve skinny, but I won't attempt tan) sitting right here. Sipping an iced coffee.



But, I think I'll have my morning (non-iced) coffee right here. And perhaps Tweet a bit about the glorious weather and the amazing view.



And in the afternoons, perhaps I'll wait here while someone mixes up a frosty pitcher of margaritas.



In the meantime, my children will keep themselves entertained here



(And? In my fantasy, they will calmly play each other in a civilized game of pool and there will be NO throwing of or whacking about the heads with billiard supplies. Or chalk incidents. Gah! Oh, hey! Aren't those barstools cute?)

Then, I'll head to the beach, with a book perhaps (this IS a fantasy! I am always too busy keeping four children from drowning in the ocean to THINK about reading a book). As I look back, I'll see this



See that pool there? And the hot tub? And in my fantasy, I am not at ALL stressed out about the fact that half of my children can't swim and there is a pool! right! in! back! of! the! house! Not me! (Of course, I will have a small army of lifeguards on hand.)

Ok, let's go back here, with the iced coffee. It's going to be wonderful. And WARM (ok, hot) and salty. I love that salty smell. And quite festive with 22 of the people I love most in the world.

Just 155 days to go...

I suck at titles

I got it! And it's all sorts of wonderfulness. But I don't have a photo yet, because I need Rocket Man and his drill-handling skills to secure it to the wall. (An aside, my dad taught me to change a tire, but he really should have also taught me to use a drill, because that's a skill I need WAY more often.)

I also took back the other smaller picture. It was pretty, but I didn't need it. Simplify, right?

Enough home design crap! Aren't mommybloggers supposed to write about their kids? Here's an update.

I got an email from Big Guy's teacher today. Part of it said:

[Big Guy] is such a great student who puts forth tremendous effort in everything he does. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful student. It is students like [Big Guy] that make my job such a joy and why I love coming to work each day! Thanks for raising such a lovely boy!

(Another aside... I don't know if you all knew this, but his name isn't actually Big Guy.)

And... WOW! She's my favorite teacher EVER! Thanks for raising such a lovely boy??!! If she only knew what it took to get us here. Lordy!

I have noticed that loosening up the reigns on Big Guy makes for better behavior overall. It's contrary to my natural inclination, but it works for him. mGal... totally different story. There are no reigns tight enough.

Speaking of mGal, she's been having some trouble in school. This happens at this time every year. Teachers who are all, "She is SO creative and SUCH a REFRESHING free spirit," suddenly become all "OHMYGAWD! How do you get her to SIT DOWN and SHUT UP?" (I'm paraphrasing. I would never tolerate a teacher saying SHUT UP about my kid. Even if that kid really.really.really.needs.to. learn.to.shut.up.)

I once heard a lecture about an occupational therapy program called How Does Your Engine Run? It helps kids learn when their "engines" are running too high and some strategies they can use to slow things down. (I guess it could also help kids whose engines run too slow, but is that ever a problem? Not at my house.) Anyway, before I head down the road of thinking about ADHD meds, I'm going to try this OT program with her. You know, in my spare time. Ahem.

mGuy was also singing the blues about school last night. He has made one good buddy in kindergarten this year, but he has put all his friendship eggs in that one basket. Now his buddy is branching out and playing with other kids and mGuy is feeling left out.

Sigh.

It's always BIG TRAUMA when this comes up. Which is, you know, always right at bedtime. When he's exhausted. And weepy. And completely irrational. It does yank at my heartstrings though.

I told him he had two choices. Pick one other kid to try to be friendly with today, or I was going to have to show up and be his kindergarten friend. And wouldn't THAT be embarrassing? Having your MOTHER come to kindergarten with you? After squeezing herself into child size small uniform sweatpants and t-shirt. (God, THAT would be a horrible sight. TRUST. ME.) He laughed and went to sleep.

When when he got up this morning, he told me he thought it over and his choice was for me to come to school with him.

Damn. Why do they always do that?

So I said what any good parent would say.

"If you choose the other option of trying to make a new friend, I'll make chocolate chip cookies after school."

Fortunately, he took the bait.

And finally, after much study and conversation, Little One will be having ear tube and adenoid removal surgery. Uh. At least, I think.

I had a long talk with our pediatrician, Dr. Everything Will Be Alright, and the conclusion is that it is time for her to have this done. She meets all the criteria and waiting will not help.

She's had fluid in her ears for months. She can't hear on one side. And (this was a little hard to hear), kids who show any signs of learning delays or disabilities, REALLY need the best hearing possible. You don't want that to further hamper them.

Ouch.

So ok. I confirmed what I had been told with Dr. Google and then ran everything by our doctor at the National Institutes of Happiness. Then I filled out the paperwork and faxed it back to the ENTs office.

Then I heard crickets chirping.

The doctor was already a little unsure of whether or not the surgery would be in a hospital or his own outpatient surgery center. I did tell him she has a heart valve abnormality. But I forgot to mention one tiny little thing about her heart. That part of her aorta is enlarged. Long term, this is bad (bad, bad, bad), but for right now, it shouldn't affect her. But Dr. Everything Will Be Alright said to make sure I wrote it on the pre-op form.

And uh... that was the last I heard from them. They probably did what I would have done, which is google "Turner Syndrome and aorta" and saw some way scary shit. (The authors of that paper, by the way? Our doctors!)

So hopefully, after convincing myself that this surgery is necessary, they will actually agree to perform it.

Irony, thy name is Little One.

Friends with skilz!

Tiffany and Angie both worked their Photoshop magic for me! And now I must have this picture. Don't you think?

Design Dilemma

I made it to World Market, after a lovely time spent with the Foot Whisperer. Little One has some new kicks and new orthotics to keep her on her feet. Although she only grew 1/2 a shoe size in a YEAR. Hmmm....

Anyway, I missed two very crucial words in the World Market circular.

UP TO

All framed art UP TO 50% off. Hurumph. The picture I want is only 20% off. I had mentally set my limit at $100, but it would cost $120. Still cheaper than my average run to Target, but hmmm... This is supposed to be the year of Simplifying and seeing how little we can spend.

I know I love the picture and have been coveting it for over a year. So it's not a purchase made on a whim.

It's also a HUGE picture. Bigger than I expected.

I hesitated and came home with a much smaller picture which is beautiful, but not what I needed.


Here's the picture though. Isn't it awesome? And much cheaper!


And here is where it could hang. Except that's not really the spot I needed to fill. I already had a picture there that I like. But, it is LOVELY, no?


HERE'S the spot I need to fill. And let's be honest for a sec (because that's how I roll) I had to move a heck of a lotta crap off this to take the picture. The picture that you see there was displaced by the other lovely picture. I could put it here, but it would need buffet lamps or something to go on the sides of it, I think. (Buffet lamps wouldn't be bad, as we could use a little more lighting in there.) The blue square is how big the picture I wanted would be.

And again, here's the picture I covet. (At World Market it has a frame.)


If I was smart enough to figure out Photoshop, I could stick that picture right in my dining room, virtually.


And here's Little One, just because she's cute and wanted me to take her picture.

Advice anyone?

50% Off Day!!

President's Day was a nice break from the Monday morning rush, homework, uniforms, carpools. But more importantly, Federal holidays are 50% off days at Value Village. Holidays are not for the faint of heart. I waited until the afternoon hoping that the crowds would die down. Not a chance. It was packed to the gills with people, screaming kids, roving bands of teenagers, and all manner of people who have no sense of shopping ettiquette, as in, don't block the whole freakin' aisle with your kids, your cart, your mother-in-law and that ENORMOUS double stroller.

I was looking for big ticket items, since they would be 50% off. I saw pictures of Dawn's amazing armoire transformation on Hydrangea Home, and although I'm not that talented (and I'm not sure where I'd find the time and the space to work on something like that!) I do need an armoire to replace the diaper changing table that is still sitting in my bedroom - lonely and dusty. (Have I mentioned that I'm spending a lot more time looking at other people's nicely decorated homes on blogs when I could probably be making my OWN home look better? It's just so much easier.)

So after striking out on the armoire front, I prowled the other home aisles and came across my old dining room curtains. Fun! I'm sure they were the exact same ones.

In the end, I found a few smaller things. A small hand-painted Delft platter from Holland. It has a windmill on it, and I have an affinity for Holland. It was originally $40 which is more than I would spend, but at $20, I snatched it up. It helped complete my mantle transformation. What do you think?



BEFORE
I have GOT to learn to hold the camera straight!
Not bad. I had one of my favorite pictures of each kid.
But I have other places I can put those.
I was ready for a change.


AFTER
I love it.
A little more cottage-y/vintage.
Accessories from Marshalls and Value Village.
Total cost, $40.


Here's a close up of the windmill plate.
I even got the plate stand at Value Village for 75 cents!


And the other side some of the faux-mercury glass stuff from Marshalls.
It was all on the clearance shelf for $13 and $6!
Very similar pieces from Pottery Barn were $30-50 at Christmas time.

I found a few other treasures, but the next best one is this clock. It's plastic, but looks like wood and it matches our family room. The old clock in there uses some kind of crazy-sized battery that I can never find.


Here's a close-up. Not bad for $2.


More crooked photography. Argh.
Here's where it resides.
It's sitting on a small dresser that I pulled off the curb when someone was moving. It was covered in mildew and a bright yellow color, but it only took a few hours to change all that. (And a lot of bleach!)

Up today - I'm making a voyage to World Market. Tootsie Farklepants has raved about it, but I've never been. I've been eyeing this picture at Ballard Designs for over a year, but it's $275.



But the same print was in the World Market circular last week and all their art is 50% off right now. It's my new favorite number! It would match this


(the one on the left) which is in my dining room. Until an errant baseball or hockey puck hits it anyway.

Update to follow. We also have to visit Little One's orthotist and if it takes too long there, I'll have to make the voyage to World Market tomorrow.

Memories.... from the corners of my mind...

Over here.

Don't kick me out of the club

It's back to reality around here. Seven loads of unfolded laundry. A pile of Christmas decorations STILL sitting in the dining room. Kids parked in front of the TV while I surf the web.

Thanks for all your funny comments. Thrift Store Mama thought I went crazy. I don't know WHAT came over me. Seriously. Probably a little bit lot of guilt that I've NEVER been the mom who brings cupcakes to school, never hand-made anything including Valentines or Halloween costumes, and never even helped at a single class party until this year. And that damn Family Fun magazine. Seriously. Don't subscribe. You'll be lulled into a false sense of domestic capabilities.

Those of you who know me in person can attest, I'm not That Mom.

I'm the mom who is wearing the same clothes she wore yesterday, because she slept in them, who hasn't had a shower in 3 days, who is running across the school parking lot in her bedroom slippers after a run away toddler.

That's me.

It was nice for one shining moment to be That Other Mom. The one everyone said, "Ooooh, where did you find the time to do all this?" And "What a CUTE idea." I've never heard those things before, and I can see why people would soak that up and want to be That Mom all the time.

But don't worry. I'm not going to the dark side. It was more a situation of biting off WAAAY more than I cared to chew, but I couldn't get out of it. (And the cupcakes were Betty Crocker and the shortbread was made from Bisquick! And although I did change my clothes, I didn't have time for a shower! Seriously!)

I'm back!

(And a tip, if you ever make those iPod valentines, skip the headphones. Not worth the trouble!)

In the midst of all the craziness, I even found time to blog

... just not here. But you can read an accounting of what Little One and I did to pass the THREE AND A HALF HOURS in the ENTs office last week over at MomSpark!

Coming up on Sunday, a post at DC Metro Moms.

But right now, I'm on my second glass of I-Survived-Valentines-Day wine. (And it's not even Valentines Day yet!)

I've lost my mind

24 individual servings of shortbread for strawberry shortcake, for Little One's class.

24 Valentines for mGuy, they say, "You're so sharp." and "You're all write."

13 Valentines full of gummi bears and Teddy Grahams that say "Bear hugs from Little One."

52 iPod Valentines from Big Guy and mGal.

Instructions here. They are cool, but I don't recommend making 52 of them.
Oh, and 48 cupcakes for mGirl's class. I didn't take pictures of those. You know what cupcakes look like.

I can't WAIT to have a huge glass of wine tomorrow afternoon.

Stop me

Next time I decide to make 85 handmade Valentines and plan three class Valentine parties, all in the same week Rocket Man will be out of town, somebody please STOP ME!

By the light of morning

I was going to write a whiny "woe is me" post last night after a long week and two glasses of wine, but by the light of this morning, it all seems kind of silly. So I'm glad I didn't.

Tuesday, I took Little One to the ENT specialist. I went to this one specifically because he is known to be very conservative in recommending surgery and he listens to parents. We spent THREE AND A HALF HOURS there. Most of that time was me, trying to keep Little One from tearing the place apart. If you include travel time, it was a 5 and 1/2 hour day. Frustrating.

And in the end, I feel like the doctor wasn't conservative in recommending surgery and didn't really listen to me. By the end of the appointment, he was in a rush to get us out the door (because did I mention we were there for THREE AND A HALF HOURS??) and I was in a rush to get out the door, because I was barely going to make it back to pick up the other kids at school. So the last 15 minutes of that THREE AND A HALF HOURS were when he was explaining his recommendation of ear tube surgery and adenoidectomy to me. Then, almost as an afterthought, he mentioned a prescription we could try first if we wanted to.

Uh, yeah. Two weeks of a nasal spray versus surgery, an IV, extra consult with the cardiologist to clear her and general anesthesia. I think that option deserved more than 30 seconds of discussion, but whatever.

Maybe I'm overthinking it all. This surgery is very common. He said he's done several thousand of them. I know probably a dozen kids who have had it. I have friends whose kids have had open heart surgery and brain surgery. We're talking ear tubes.

Either way, she will be fine. So really, what am I worried about?

Then, yesterday, she got stuck in a playstructure, where I couldn't see or hear her. It was at a birthday party. All her little buddies were able to climb this inflatable climbing wall thing. But her legs were too short to stretch from one foothold to the next. She was in there alone, crying hysterically, and by some act of God, I was not running my mouth to another parent, but noticed that she had gone into this thing and hadn't come out.

I don't know who was more upset. Me or her.

Ok, it was me.

This is the first time that her short legs and stature have been an issue, and I'm sure it won't be the last time, but it took me by surprise.

She wanted to go home because "This place is for big kids and I'm not a big kid." My first instinct was to swoop her up and take her home. But fortunately, I listened to my second instinct which was to put her back in the playstructure and help her get over that wall.

Which we did.

And by the time we had dinner, many hours later and she was telling Rocket Man about the birthday party, she had completely forgotten that part.

But I won't ever forget it.

But you know what? It's about her, not me.

And she's fine.

So it's all good.

We have a winner!

I could have used the Random Integer Generator, but since I have this lovely assistant, I thought I'd use her instead.



Annnnnd, after a bit of stirring with a toothbrush, here is our winner of a $25 gift certificate to Starbucks:



Commenter number 6 is Becky!! And I know Becky loves Starbucks, so there's none of this Target nonsense to worry about. (Right, Becky?) Thanks for all the great comments and thanks for playing. I'm bummed that Becky lives in California and I won't be able to meet her at Starbucks while she spends her prize, but I hope she enjoys it!

I'm the Brownie snack mom

and I need to provide a healthy snack for 15 girls, preferably with a Belgian theme. At the last meeting, the snack mom brought Belgian chocolate (HUGE bars of it) because she thought of Belgium and thought beer and chocolate. She didn't think beer would go over well at a Brownie meeting, so each girl got a mammoth bar of chocolate. At 8:00 at night. Frankly, I would have preferred beer. I had to scrape mGal off the ceiling to get her in bed.

And all this begs the question, WHY do we need to feed Brownies a snack during a 75 minute meeting that starts at 6:45, which (for us anyway) is right after dinner? Can 8-year old girls not last 75 minutes without food and beverages? Right after dinner? Why waste the meeting time? Why waste the money on the snacks? And why sugar up the girls right before bedtime? WHY does no one else think of these things?

The whole snack thing has gotten out of hand. But no one could tell it better than Tootsie Farklepants, so I'll send you to her and you can read her much more witty commentary on this. But, remember this sage advice, only read Tootsie on an empty bladder. You will laugh hard. I'm just saying.

So my Brownies tonight are getting water and pretzels. I think that's what they serve for snacks in prison. But you know what? I don't care. Maybe they won't ask me to be the snack mom again.

Painted Ladies

Ever since I found Melissa's drive by posts on The Inspired Room, I've been itching to do one of my own. The neighborhoods she stalks photographs are jaw-dropping! Movie star amazing. I'm starting a little smaller, but I thought I'd try one. And I learned a few things.

I love Victorians. I've always wanted to live in one. Not too far from me is the historic part of an older city... one that was built in the Victorian era. There are some lovely restored painted ladies. It's not a wealthy neighorhood, so the houses are beautiful, but not over the top. Many of them have been restored by the homeowners. Countless hours of painstaking work. Which is getting to the root of why I've never lived in one. That, and the fact that they cost a bazillion dollars to heat (as opposed to this house, which only costs half a bazillion dollars). But, I guess you save money on air conditioning, because most of these babies don't have any.

Anyway, I've got another neighborhood of amazing Victorians in a much fancier part of town in mind. I'll have to do a drive by there and we can compare and contrast.



This one is pretty basic in its color scheme (it's a pale yellow - it looks white on my screen). It's not a very elaborate Victorian, but I love the center tower with the mansard roof. And the front porch. And the white picket fence. I wish we were allowed to have front yard fences where I live, because I really want a white picket one. This one brings a lot of charm to the house.


This one positively GLOWS. I don't know if it's a brand new paint job, or just the combination of colors, but it grabs you. I love the upper level porch on the left and the gorgeous siding in the top eave. And despite how it looks in the photo, it's not leaning to the right. (Lesson 1 of the drive by - make sure the camera is level!)


I love the blue on this one. And the contrasting maroon trim around the windows. My favorite thing about this one, though, is that wrap around porch (although paint that railing, please!) and the half-circle room in front (I'm sure there's an official name for that, but I don't know what it is.) I envision a cozy window seat there. Nice use of curliques by the porch columns and at the tippy top. (And here, you can also see lesson number 2 of the drive by, use the zoom lens to crop out the ugly street. Eeew.)


This one is in the process of being restored. I love the colors. It's a very simple house, but the colors really dress it up. I like the covered stoop, but, if it were my house, I'd change that into a wrap around porch. What's the point of having a Victorian if you can't sit on a big old porch swing and watch the grass grow, sipping some lemonade? And a little landscaping around that new front porch would be nice. (This one is also not leaning to the right. See lesson number 1.)

These last 3 are all on the same block of a sort of busy street. I had to make 6 passes to get pictures of all of them. (There was nowhere to pull over.) I don't know what proper ettiquette of the drive by is, but I'd be a little freaked out if I saw some strange woman drive by my house 6 times and take a picture of it. But I don't live in a showplace either. The only person who would be driving by my house with a camera is the code enforcement officer for still having my Christmas decorations up. TODAY! Seriously! I'm taking them down as soon as I finish this post!


This one has an amazing porch, WITH a swing. I think the porch may be bigger than my actual house. The paint details are remarkable. That took someone many, many hours. Look at the stripes around the porch pillars. The Miami Dolphins color-scheme is not what I'd pick, but if it works for the owners, that's what matters.


This one is also a fairly simple, modest-sized house, but the color-scheme makes it a beauty. I love the original double door. It has a nice porch (check out the metal seamed roof), and it even looks like there is an "outdoor room" on the left side (see the ceiling fan? handy when you have no A/C!) I could see myself spending a lot of time out there supervising the kiddos in the yard. But it would need a porch swing. (Notice all the street in that picture! I left it like that so you can see how much better I will get with the next drive by edition.)


This one is my all around favorite on this tour. Classic Queen Anne style. I love the tower room, love the porch, love the paint (although I think I'd go a little bolder if it were me). And I LOVE that they still have CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS UP! Because people who have their Christmas decorations up in February are cool!


This is not a Victorian (clearly), but I just like it. Classic black and white. And those sidelights and transom window... ahhh. Love those.


This is a bungalow, another common style in this particular town. It may be hard to see, but it is the most VIBRANT color blue. It made me happy just to look at it. It must cheer you up to walk into such a happy colored house every day.


Another bungalow, this one looks like the 2nd floor was expanded. But I loved the Craftsman details on the porch roof. And the red stars above the columns. The Nester would love those. And look! So festive with those CHRISTMAS WREATHS!


And this photo is from a wreck of a house, but the red gate against the green ivy was so cheery, I had to take a picture. (Ignore the fake astroturf on the steps in the background.) It would be fun to have a garden gate that you could paint for each season. Red, white and blue for July 4th, orange for Halloween... hmmmm... my little wheels are turning...

That concludes my first ever drive by tour! Lesson number 3 is one you can't see in the pictures, but it is, don't bring Little One with me. She is not a fan of the drive by!