Random Acts of Sanity

It's Soccer Season

2008-09-21T21:21:00.004-05:00

My oldest played her first game of the season on Saturday. Heavy rains left the fields too wet to play last week.

Backyard Soccer

2008-09-19T07:22:00.004-05:00

My neighbor (and good friend) has signed up to play on a woman's soccer league. Last night my daughter saw her practicing and decided to help her out. My daughter is an avid soccer player who has given up the sport this fall in order to play basketball for her school team. As you can see, her equipment has not found its way out of summer storage. Fortunately she walked away with only one small injury.

Finding Yourself

2008-09-08T00:19:00.002-05:00

I've often heard of people who are trying to find themselves and always wondered what a person means by that. How do you find yourself? I think it's often used as an excuse for someone to extricate themselves from a difficult situation, most often troubled relationships. I imagine some find it as a deeper way of saying, "I'm not happy with you and I want out to find someone that does make me happy." Although I'm a firm believer that you can't depend on someone else to make you happy, but that's another rambling.

So as I'm reading from my most recent fiction selection I come across the term "find yourself" once again. I then realize that I think I get what a person trying to find oneself is looking for and at the same time I realize that it can't be found. It is something that comes with age, wisdom and experience. The experiences are not always good but they certainly help shape who you become. When I think back to my youth, especially my twenties, I can certainly put my finger on the floundering that likely creates this need for one to find oneself. I see it as a need to figure out what you believe and the need to understand why you believe it. It's a desire to feel content with who you've been and who you've become. It's a need to be at peace with the events of your life, to be sure that they happened for a reason or maybe to be able to pin-point the good that came from the especially tragic events of life.

So then I wonder what will I tell my daughters someday if they express the need to find themselves? I think I will have to tell them exactly what I've expressed here. You can't find yourself, simply live life, accept and embrace the good and bad of it and one day you'll wake up to realize that yourself has found you.

Conversations with a 7 year old

2007-08-31T16:14:00.000-05:00

7 year old: "Mom, is there something I can wash my face off with? I ate a caramel apple and it's all sticky."

Me: "Yeah, it's called soap and water, it does amazing things."

She rolled her eyes at me! Is there something wrong with soap and water that someone has not let me in on? Does it cause premature aging? Cancer? What? Sheesh!

A tired I haven't felt in a long time

2007-04-22T16:16:00.000-05:00

I am definitley feeling the effects of working full time and being a single parent. It is certainly a tired I haven't felt in a long time. But, let me confess, it's a good tired. I'm now ready to sleep at a normal hour, like the rest of the world and once I can actually force myself out of bed (this has always been a challenge for me), I feel rested and ready for the day. All these things get a little slack when your a stay-at-home mom.

Oops, abrupt change of subject: The weather has been gorgeous the past three days. No shivering on the soccer fields yesterday morning, not even for the 9 a.m. game. I can only hope the trend continues. In case it doesn't, the girls and I are now on our way, with our rollerblades, to meet some friends and enjoy the 80 degree sunshine while it's here. I only ask that you pray for me, it's been over a year since I last rollerbladed and I'm not the coordinated type.

Oh how I laughed

2007-04-16T21:58:00.000-05:00

Eleven year old - "I spy with my little eye, something yellow."

Nine year old - "Your teeth!"

All work, no play

2007-04-10T23:56:00.000-05:00

That's pretty much what my life is feeling like since I've started working. Between working, homework, the start of soccer season, Easter, etc... there has been very little time for posting. Ok, I confess, there has probably been plenty of time to sit down and post but truth be told, I'm too brain fried to come up with anything to write about. Which brings me to the fact that this post will not be all that exciting. But there is a plea for information within!

The job is going good, lots of information to absorb. I keep telling myself that I'm very fortunate to have previous experience in the printing field because without it I would be clueless. I'm attempting to do marketing for the printer I'm working for. Once again, clueless. While I've worked in sales and advertising before and have some journalism education I've never actually worked in marketing. I've been trying to do as much research and reading on marketing as possible, which brings me to my plea. If you have any good marketing advice, know of any good articles or blogs, especially, about marketing I would love to hear about them.

I'm not feeling completely lost, I have some good ideas in action already and I know the more I get to know the ins and outs of this particular company the easier it will get. But, I'm an information hound and the more I have the better prepared I feel.

Desperate need

2007-03-30T12:17:00.000-05:00

Often times when I'm on the computer Sophie (aka Pup) will step inside the door and make little growling noises at me. These growls are her way of letting me know she has a need. Many times when I'm absorbed in what I'm doing the growls will turn into barks. Her needs are usually a trip to her "potty spot" out doors or sometimes she will grab a toy and want me to play with her. Pretty smart little pup if you ask me.

Earlier (as in about 20 minutes ago) she stuck her head in the door and growled a couple times. I immediately went for the patio door as she hadn't been out in awhile and I figured she needed to pee. As I got to the patio doors I realized she wasn't following me but still standing in the dining room. I went back and gave her a little love and returned to the computer. Not five minutes later she was back at the growling bit. This time I let her lead and show me what she was after. She led me to the dining room stopped, dropped down and rolled on to her back. Which we all know is the universal sign for "RUB MY BELLY DAMN IT!"

Can you believe it? My dog is demanding belly rubs now! Who does she think she is? Yes, I fell for her demand and gave her a belly rub. Only to have return a few minutes later and demand another. I obliged a second time and now she seems content and happy. You can tell by her expression below that her momma is certainly no second rate belly rubber.

Learning to add fractions

2007-03-27T22:39:00.000-05:00

When Michigan temps hit 75 degrees in March
math homework must be done outdoors.

So I got a job

2007-03-25T18:14:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's true, it seems someone finds me still employable after 11 years of being home with my kids.

Tomorrow I start work for a digital printing company doing sales and marketing. It's pretty much what I was doing before I had kids. While I admit to being a little bit nervous I'm mostly really excited to have the opportunity to actually use my brain again. The people I'll be working for have been very kind in offering to be flexible so that I'm still able to take my girls to school and pick them up at the end of the day.

But of course, with every good opportunity there are draw backs. Be prepared a few of them are petty.

No more dropping my kids off at school while still in my pajamas.
No more going back to bed on the mornings I feel the need for more rest.
No more summer vacation. It's not so bad, by week three I want to pound my kids heads together anyway.
Pup is so not going to be happy with me when she has to start spending her days in her kennel.
It's a 30 minute drive one way and gas is not cheap.

So, back to the reality of the working world I go.

The Red Metal Tool Box

2007-03-21T23:51:00.000-05:00

This past summer I was cleaning out the garage and came across an old, red, metal toolbox of my husband's (now deceased). I decided to bust it open in hopes he had been hoarding money during our marriage, which would be ok now that it would be all mine! Instead what I found inside was every note and card I had ever written or given him pre marriage. How romantic eh? That's what I thought until tonight when I remembered the tool box and decided to start reading them.

After laughing through them I decided that first I will need to sort through and separate those that I will allow my children to some day read and those that should probably be burned. I already fear that my children will need therapy in the future simply because they drew the short straw when it came to getting the really good mom. No need to make it worse by reading the sometimes rather inappropriate things I wrote to their dad in high school.

On a side note my 11 year old told me this evening (after a conversation about some parents she was observing in the restaurant earlier) that some people just shouldn't be allowed to parent. My question was, "Am I one of them?" Her answer was no, so I still have the wool over her eyes for now.

Back to the red tool box. Once I made the decision to censor what my children could read I thought it would be fun to entertain the internet with some of my notes, my personal embarrassment is a small price to pay for your enjoyment. Please keep in mind that he and I dated through most of my high school years and that is when the majority of these notes were written. I swear I've grown up since then, I really have.

Let's start with the profession of love:

Matthew,

I love you!

Love-ya,
Me

P.S. I love you!

Hmm, profound.

Ok, moving on to a typed note (gee, I'm guessing I was in typing class perhaps neglecting my typing assignment):

Matthew,
Howdy! How ya doin'? Me, fine! I guess! I have a terrible headache though.
And I miss you! And I LOVE YOU! About last night, I'm sorry for questioning
you about whether or not you really loved me! I believe ya!

LOVE-YA,
ME!

Ok, I must take several issues with this one. For starters I know I'm not as chipper, nor have I ever been, as the number of exclamation points in this note might indicate. Then notice how in high school I was already practicing the "honey, not tonight, I have a headache" move. I was always ahead of my age. Did I seriously start this note with "Howdy!"? ACK! One theme I noticed in a few of the letters that is also present in this one is obvious insecurity issues. I wish someone would have grabbed me by the shoulders and told my high school self to GET A GRIP! No fear, I got over that about the first week of marriage when every time I moved from his sight he asked me where I was going. We only lived in 780 square feet, I couldn't go far.

Ok, this is the last one I'll share for tonight, as I still have lots of them to read through.

Matthew,
Hi hon! I'm sorry I didn't have much time to write but we were learning
how to draw atomic models and I had to pay attention!
Kay-O? I promise I'll write in 5th hr. maybe!
I LOVE YOU!

Love-ya,

Well, it's good to see that I was at least attempting to pay attention in one of my classes. Thank the stars I learned how to draw atomic models because I'll be damned if I don't use that knowledge on a daily basis. Apparently I didn't feel I would need to learn anything 5th hour though because it seems it was necessary to write my boyfriend yet another dreary, pointless note. Did I really write "Kay-O?" ACK!

Stay tuned there may be more episodes of "The Red Metal Tool Box" to come.

Ponderings

2007-03-15T23:55:00.000-05:00

And so I ponder, why is it necessary for the dog to chase her tail in the middle of my bed?

Today the answer came to me. It is so that when she has chased her tail for so long that she can no longer stand up, at least it will not hurt to fall down.

Blogging vs. French Fries

2007-03-12T22:14:00.000-05:00

In the mail today I received my much anticipated copy of No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas For Your Blog. I sat down with it immediately and was determined to make this the most exciting blog of the year only to find I couldn't concentrate. Hmm. Ok, my mind is on a lot of things today so I figured I would get back to it later in the evening, after the kids are in bed and things quiet down.

So, here I am after my second attempt at reading this book. Once again I couldn't focus. That's when it hit me! I know what it is that keeps distracting me from the contents of the book. It's the picture of those awesome looking fries on the front cover! They look so perfectly hot and crispy with that bright, cool glob of ketchup. I can hear them calling my name. Everytime I sit down with the book I start craving french fries. Tomorrow I might just have to go out, order some fries and munch while I read. If that doesn't work I may seriously have to rip the cover off and put it through my shredder before I can even think of improving my blogging.

Caught during a weak moment

2007-03-08T22:40:00.000-05:00

Let me tell you how much I love my paper shredder! I really get into the process of shredding paper. I love to see how an entire bulky stack of paper can be shredded and compressed into a small little pile. I get so into this that my 11 year old decided to take advantage of the situation tonight.

While I was shredding she began asking me math questions. I was giving her the answers, some even required quite a bit of figuring in my head, but none difficult enough to distract me from my shredding, nope, not, never. I'm not sure how many questions I answered before I realized she was doing her homework!

I feel so used.

Number Gender

2007-03-04T11:02:00.000-05:00

Do your numbers have genders?

Yesterday while driving, out of the blue my 7 year old says from the backseat, "Mama, 9 is a girl." I immediately disagreed with her and told her that 9 is indeed a boy. About that time I noticed my 11 year old looking at me like I was nuts. So I asked her if she thought 9 was a boy or girl and her response was, "I have no idea what you two are talking about."

That's when it occurred to me that maybe not every one's numbers have genders. I immediately dialed my crazy friend to ask her if her numbers have genders. I knew for sure she would say yes and make me feel saner, WRONG! I'm pretty sure she thought I'd been smokin' crack. I've since asked a couple more people and I've yet to find another adult who's numbers have genders.

So inquiring minds (mainly just mine) want to know... Do your numbers have genders? If so what are they? For instance my numbers 1,6,7,9 and 0 are all males while 2,4,5 and 8 are female. I've never really been able to put a gender label on 3, I think he/she might have numeral gender identity issues. Someone told me 3 should be a female because it's curvy. That then led me to wonder why exactly my numbers have the genders they do or why I've gendered my numbers at all. It's not something I did consciously, it's simply always been that way for as long as I can remember.

So please, I want to hear from others about this. Unless your a mental health professional and you plan to tell me I'm not well (I already know that so let's just keep it between us).

Reflections of a 5th grader

2007-03-02T17:39:00.000-05:00

My fifth grader will occassionally mention problems with classmates, ya know, typical 5th grade girl angst. She mostly takes issue with people who brag about themselves all the time. My oldest is, in my mom opinion, nothing like that type of person. I feel it's because she has a healthy self-esteem. I tried to explain to her that sometimes when people don't feel the greatest about themselves they need to brag to make themselves feel better. I guess my message was, be understanding and forgiving but don't let anyone push you around. Apparently my little speech brought forth a memory from second grade that she felt the need to share with me.

There is one classmate in particular that my daughter has problems with. She told me that one day in second grade she decided to stand up to her and tell her how mean she was and that it wasn't appreciated. She said she was feeling pretty good that she had been brave enough to confront this girl. Finally she said, "Then I realized my zipper was open."

Chalk that up to a lesson in humility.

Fun craft projects for your next snow day

2007-03-01T01:13:00.000-05:00

The next time your stuck at home with the kids on a snow day why not gather together some supplies and build a tampon shooter! The downside is you won't be able to take it outside to play because once the tampon hits the snow it'll be too big to reload. Don't forget the bandoleer, an absolute must have accessory for the shooter.

You already have a tampon shooter you say? Well then, perhaps you'd enjoy making a tampon toupee for the bald love of your life.

Not in need of either of these items? Take a look around Tampon Crafts, there are all sorts of bizarre crafts for those of you who can't stand to leave your tampons in the cupboard the other three weeks of the month.

Because I can relate

2007-02-27T00:10:00.000-05:00

This video at Very Funny Ads speaks to me. Probably because this is how my luck runs.

The work of Satan

2007-02-21T14:37:00.000-05:00

Doesn't it just figure that on the day I've decided to give up eating junk fo 40 days I would stumble across this tempting site. After I've been doing so good with my fasting today, I mean all I've had so far today is a half bottle of Coke and one Cadbury Cream Egg!

For real?

2007-02-19T12:53:00.000-05:00

As recent years have shown, Britney has lost complete hairbrush function and decided to just do away with the rat's nest all together.

Seriously, can anyone tell me what exactly is wrong with this girl? I wonder how long her boys will run crying from her until they get used to their new bald mommy.

Public Service Announcement

2007-02-16T22:51:00.000-05:00

Because I am a good person and I want to save all the rest of the people of the world from the misery I have been experiencing, I am sharing an important bit of information with all of you, my faithful readers.

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT ever buy this piece of crap that claims to be a vacuum cleaner. It is a poser! Apparently the engineers at Bissell misunderstood when the directions said that this vacuum needs to suck!

Every time I use this thing I have to tear it apart and unclog it. Often times this happens more than once during the same use. The process includes unclipping and removing the bottom plate then removing the roller brush and belt. At this point I need bamboo skewers (each time I wonder why I have three large bags of these and then figure someone knew I was going to be unclogging the vacuum a few million times). I then use the bamboo skewers to jab into the sucker hole and try to dislodge the crap that has collected in the hole. Then, obviously, I have to put it all back together again. The crap that is clogging it is usually a combination of dirt and pet hair. I understand that I have three pets but not a single one of them has long hair and quite frankly since acquiring the puppy I don't think my cats have actually used the floor, it's just not safe.

So I'm left wondering if this is typical vacuum behavior? Am I doing something wrong? Does the vacuum just not like me? Can someone please refer me to a vacuum that doesn't suck at sucking?

Smarty Pants

2007-02-15T23:02:00.000-05:00

Upon having a discussion regarding school work and the other kids in her class I asked my 9 year old (never has to study her spelling words, gets good grades, it all comes natural to her)...

"Who's the smartest girl in your class?"

Her response...

"Uh, is this a trick question?"

Memories of June

2007-02-15T03:44:00.000-05:00

This photo of my nine year old was taken this past June.

I cannot wait for a return to June weather.

Analogies

2007-02-14T15:12:00.000-05:00

For homework my 11 year old had to complete a page of analogies. They were quite simple and the list of words needed to complete them was included. I decided she needed to be challenged so for most of them I denied her access to the list of words. I can really only remember the first one for some reason which was Heart is to Red as Sun is to ? At the end she had to make up her own analogy. Together we tried to come up with something original and finally decided on Bellybutton is to Lint as Toe is to Jam .

We're still walking around repeating our creation and giggling about it.

Candies and flowers and teddy bears oh my!

2007-02-08T16:28:00.000-05:00

It's that wonderful Hallmark time of year again where all the women of the world build up this huge fantasy about all the romantic things their man is going to do to make this the V-day of all V-days, only for him to fail miserably and spend the rest of his life hearing how V-day 2007 was almost worse than V-day 2004, but if you really want pathetic you should hear about V-day 2003.

While I'm not overly fond of the impending romantic holiday I did decide it might be fun to share with all my loyal readers some of the things I've come across that I would like to give or receive.

Keeping in mind that this is not a holiday I get giddy about I couldn't help but choose a few of these to send to those I love or love to hate most. I have a few people in mind for this one. I couldn't have said it better. Then this is the one that scares me because well, I think it was written about me.

So some of you are actually into this holiday and need some last minute gift ideas you say? Oh, alright.

Do we women agree that this is mostly a women's holiday? Guys don't want chocolate, flowers, teddy bears and all that. Hell, cook him dinner and then do him on top of the table when your done and he'll think he's died and gone to heaven. If a gift is imperative I found the coolest key chain at Red Envelope. It's romantic, yet useful and his buddies will have no clue it's a mushy V-day gift. The best part? It's a gift for you girls too! Not your thing? Red Envelope always has plenty of unique gift ideas.

The extent of my Valentine gift buying includes my kids. This year for Christmas I bought them each a Webkinz and have they been the best gifts ever! My kids have so much fun visiting the website, earning kinz cash and furnishing their pet's virtual homes. I'm going to get each of them another one for Valentine's Day so their pets can interact. This cute little love puppy seems like he'd be the perfect Valentine's gift for the kiddies.

Now, if you're a man and you feel the need to send your love the requisite chocolate and flowers let's be sure you send her good chocolate and flowers. An awesome friend of mine from Wisconsin introduced me to Candinas Chocolatier. These are the chocolates of all chocolates! Make sure you read the story of how these little bits of heaven came to be.

Finally, the flowers. Maybe I'm not a typical girl when it comes to flowers but frankly, roses don't impress me all that much. If someone wanted to really impress me with flowers (hint-hint), tulips are the way to do it. The red vase adds a nice touch to this arrangement. I love the way this bouquet is put together.

I would love to see and hear about other's gift plans. I love unique ideas!

Kawaii Not

2007-02-08T00:57:00.000-05:00

Here's a fun site I stumbled across. Some of my favorites are lick me, balloon and yo-yo. But this is the one that made the sick and twisted side of me giggle the hardest.

Raisins & Rice

2007-02-06T18:43:00.000-05:00

I have this habit of asking my kids the perplexing question of, "Whatcha think?" My 11 year old usually responds with deep thoughts such as, "I don't know" or "nothing". This afternoon I asked her again and she responded with, "I don't know why but whenever you ask me that question I always think of raisins and rice."

Book-O-Knowledge

2007-02-06T04:47:00.000-05:00

Once again let me share with you what I learned from one of my latest reads.

I was a bit surprised by how much I liked Gone for Good.

After reading this book I came to the conclusion that I should read more male authors. They seem to put less "mushy love stuff" in their writing. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of female writers that avoid the "mushy love stuff" as well and sometimes I'm all for the "mushy love stuff". But, for the most part I'm not into the romance part of a book.

Parenting Advice

2007-02-04T15:23:00.000-05:00

When you've been buying the same butter, that comes in the same tub for about 4 years, DO NOT buy a different kind of butter! It will confuse the hell out of your children.

Staking my claim

2007-02-04T11:41:00.000-05:00

I'm claiming my blog at Technorati!

I'm not completely sure what all that means at this point but everybody's doing it.

Be sure and check out my Technorati Profile. Even though I'm not completely sure what that means yet either.

Do you queue?

2007-02-04T00:38:00.000-05:00

Because it's winter and I have so much extra time on my hands, what with kids in school all day and no yard to mow I decided it would be a good time to catch up on some movie watching. I admit to a little bit of pride over the fact that I don't watch much tv so I figured a couple movies each week would be acceptable.

Hi, my name is Tammy and I'm addicted to Blockbuster All Access. For the love of Margaret WHO introduced me to this idea? I'm obsessed. I am averaging 4-6 movies per week. Let's add this up, let's figure a movie averages 90 minutes times 6 movies equals 9 hours each week spent watching movies. It's damn near a part time job!

The pressure, you just can't imagine the pressure I'm under to watch these movies. The nearest Blockbuster store, where I can return my three online rentals and in exchange get three FREE in store rentals, is 20 minutes from my home. Therefore it's critical that I return all rentals at the same time to save on time and gas. I had to watch a movie at 10 a.m. yesterday so that I could return them all later in the day and get my new rentals. Although, up until I discovered Blockbuster Online, I hadn't rented a movie in nearly three years I am suddenly obsessively unable to go a weekend without a plethora of movie choices.

I won't even go into the time my daughters and I spend on the computer viewing trailers and adding new choices to our queue. Our queue then needs to be updated continually because once we get to the store to choose our three free rentals we suddenly realize we cannot wait for the USPS to deliver our next queue choices, oh no, we must have them NOW!

This of course begs the question, what's in my queue? What's in your queue? Please share, I NEED more choices!

The next 10 movies in my queue are:

Closer
School of Rock
Legally Blonde
Goal
Weather Man
Terminal
John Tucker Must Die
Break-Up
Friends with Money
Untouchables

Memory of a Man

2007-02-02T08:40:00.000-05:00

Matt with our youngest

Four years ago today my children's daddy and my husband died of cancer. I've decided to take a moment to honor a man that died much too soon. Without a doubt we miss him terribly. He was an amazing dad, husband, best friend and all around great guy. His humor is unrivaled to this day. His mark on life has been left within the looks and personalities of three beautiful little girls. Each and every day I'm reminded of him by the things they say and do. To Matt...

Because I am a mother without healthy outlets

2007-02-01T14:40:00.000-05:00

During a recent blog surf I found Melissa (Marissa, whatever) at Suburban Bliss. The first post I read was about her appearance on the Today Show regarding mommies and their alcoholic tendencies during their kiddy's play dates. Be sure to view the video segment because I suddenly view Meredith Vieira in a whole different light.

I was a bit appalled that they tried to make us (yes, I'm a cocktail/play date mom) look like a huge mass of irresponsible, alcoholic idiots. I've been wanting to write about it since I read Melissa's post and viewed the interview footage. But, as you can tell by reading this I lack a certain finesse when writing. Then today I read Dooce. I couldn't have put my feelings regarding this subject any better.

Mr. Mad Man bring me a dream

2007-02-01T12:32:00.000-05:00

Is there such thing as a normal dream? I'm sure I never have them, my dreams are always so bizarre. Take for instance the latest dream installment.

It starts out with me getting completely drunk with some friends and then leaving my car somewhere, that I later cannot recall (no this has never happened to me), so that we can fly to Myrtle Beach. My entire family will be meeting me in Myrtle Beach eventually (we actually all went there together once). While I'm waiting for the family to arrive I realize a very good male friend of mine is staying in the house we'll be staying in. What the heck, he and I have sex while I'm waiting. That was the best part of the dream until, I realize he has plenty of other women there and he's fulfilling his obligation to humanitarian efforts by keeping all the women in the house happy.

It seems that at some point there was water and a boat involved which always seems to be a reoccurring theme in my whacked-out dreams.

Next thing I can recall is that we're packing to return home and I'm in a panic because once we return home I can't remember where I've left my car.

Once we return home my daughters and I are in a car and my 11 year old is driving (scariest part of dream). We stop at the aforementioned "very good male friend's" house because apparently he has returned at the same time. My 9 year old goes to his door to retrieve something he apparently had that belonged to us, and in the meantime my 11 year old decides to drive away. She figures her younger sister can find her own way home on foot! We return home because it seems I don't have the ability to overtake my 11 year old and stop the vehicle. Once we return home I realize it's cold and rainy and that I must quickly go get my 9 year old. So I of course leave her sisters home and go to find her. I find her walking down the middle of a road, wet and cold. About this time her sisters and all our luggage suddenly show up and I now remember I don't have a car because I can't remember where I left it in my drunken stupor. So the dream ends with the 4 of us walking home in the cold and rain with all of our luggage in tow.

Less shouting out when they're off the hook

2007-01-31T09:03:00.000-05:00

A couple of random thoughts here.

I was loading the washer just now and realized that I don't use stain remover as often as I once did. Typically I was using it on a per load basis. I suspect this could mean only one thing... my babies are growing up.

On the note of them growing up, last night I was checking out the new music on itunes and came across Prince. My two oldest (11 & 9) were sitting with me and I started singing along to some of my Prince favorites when my oldest asked, "When you were in school was Prince off the hook?" Another speechless moment for this old mom.

Will work for social life

2007-01-29T23:32:00.000-05:00

After nearly 11 years as a SAHM (those of you who read Dooce know what that means, those of you who don't know what that stands for should read Dooce). Let's move forward. I've been at home raising kids for nearly 11 years. This is the second year all three of my girls have been in school full days. I'm getting bored. Boredom has led to perusing the want ads. I responded to an ad on Friday that looked like something a mom with no degree that has not worked in nearly 11 years could potentially get an interview for. I now officially have an interview. I'm not getting too excited because let's keep in mind that all this company knows about me is my name, my phone number and the sound of my voice.

You Bore Me

2007-01-26T09:09:00.000-05:00

While surfing through some blogs I came across The Awkward Epiphany and found Jason's post Why I'd Prefer To Be Mildly Autistic anything but boring. Jason makes some really good points regarding our society and the way in which we interact with one another. Back in the days when technology was little to none we had nothing better to do than interact with each other, face to face. How much of our social skills and interest in other people has been lost to the entertainment technology brings?

Wordless Wednesday

2007-01-24T09:20:00.000-05:00

I've decided to try a Wordless Wednesday (although you can see I'm already failing) despite all the thoughts roaming around in my head I'm not sure I'll have time to put them into word form today. This is one of my favorite pictures from a trip we took to Myrtle Beach a couple years ago. That's my daughter and niece romping in the Atlantic.

Book-O-Knowledge

2007-01-23T05:40:00.000-05:00

So I'm lying awake at 5 a.m. thinking about the fact that thanks to the book I just read, White Oleander, I now know how to successfully commit suicide using prescription sleep medication. Oh, have no fear, I don't have any prescription sleep medication in my possession. Once I realized that I continued on to the fact that despite all the words contained in that entire book, this is the one thing I gleaned from it. My goal now is to learn at least one new thing from each book I read. That's how I'll rate a book worthy from now on. I love to learn new things and if a book can teach me something new then it's worthy of my mention here, on my highly trafficked blog.

Now, off to call the doctor about this insomnia...

Disclaimer: all mentions of potentially committing suicide are simply sad attempts at humor.

One way ticket

2007-01-21T22:52:00.000-05:00

Conversation with my 11 year old after watching a commercial for an airfare sale. Brother-in-law was part of the conversation.

me: "Hmm, wonder where I could go for $49?"

her: "UH!" (as in, "that's not fair, I wanna go somewhere.")

me: "I'll take you with me."

her: big smile

him: "Yeah, she'll buy you a one way ticket."

her: "Huh?" (I guess she doesn't understand what a one way ticket is.)

me: "Actually, we'll buy both of your sisters a one way ticket, leave them there and I'll bring you back with me."

her: "Cool!"

*** Pause ***

me: "Imagine all the stuff you could have if I didn't have to pay for anything for your sisters."

If any of them survive childhood they're going to cost me a fortune in therapy.

I yell way too much

2007-01-21T05:48:00.000-05:00

My awesome Canadian friend sent me this page and I had to share it. This is so me and I'm willing to bet I'm not the only one thinking that.

I prefer to do my thinking inside the box thank you very much

2007-01-20T14:33:00.000-05:00

Remember that one time when wegot that one thing?

2007-01-20T08:12:00.001-05:00

How do you answer that question exactly? I get questions like this from my 7 year old all the time. I don't dare tell her that I have no idea what she's talking about, that only infuriates her because shouldn't every mother be able to read her 7 year old's warped little mind?

So when she posed this latest question to me in the car yesterday I instantly froze. What do I say? How do I handle this? Do not make her mad so she starts kicking the back of my seat, etc... In my frozen state I looked out the corner of my eye at my 11 year old next to me. For those of you who may actually know my 11 year old you can picture the look on her face. It was these momentary flickers of "What is she talking about? Why can't she just shut up for once in my life? I wonder if I can push her out in front of that truck coming without mom noticing? Ah, mom, heh, wonder how she's gonna manage to get out of this one without getting yelled at or having the back of her seat kicked in?"

As I sit frozen and distracted by the multitude of thoughts written all over my 11 year old I realize that the 7 year old is continuing to explain. Finally she was able to tell me what it was we got and when we got it.

Silence, that's my new theory. I'll just be silent when the next unanswerable question comes around.

I am a lot of things, but I am not a desk

2007-01-18T01:20:00.000-05:00

My seven year old has always seemed lost on the concept of a severed umbilical cord. Wherever I go, she feels the need to follow. Just being in the same room with me is never enough though, oh no, if possible we must be touching. This time she has taken this illness of hers to new heights.

Seven year know-it-all

2007-01-17T08:12:00.000-05:00

While getting ready for school this morning my seven year old said, "Shoot, we forgot to read that page last night."

I, having no clue what she's talking about, said, "What page?"

Her response, "There was a page we needed to read last night BUT, we didn't really need to read it because I already know everything in school anyway."

I fully intend to take credit for her intelligence and self confidence, thank you very much.

Confessions of an American Idol junkie

2007-01-16T12:21:00.000-05:00

I'm not even sure how my television got tuned to American Idol last season but somehow it happened. It was the first time, but not soon to be the last. I admit that it was probably Chris Daughtry that kept me tuning in week after week and maybe the same "magic" won't be there this season but I will be tuned in tonight to find out. So, just take this as a warning that there will probably be plenty of American Idol talk in the months to come.

Oh, and just for the record, I think Simon rocks!

Just call me Maxi Pad

2007-01-14T23:33:00.000-05:00

Ok, so as pet owners we're forever giving our pets ridiculous nicknames right? The list is long at my house: Hoov (short for Hoover), Pupsy Girl, Fat Boy, Tatter Poos, King Chicken-Chicken, Buddy Tat are all just a few of the names our pets get called. I recently heard a story of two brothers who renamed their family dog frequently, quite ingenious if you ask me.

I really started to think on this after visiting my crazy friend last night. She and her husband have a beautiful, large, 4 month old, male, chocolate lab named Max. Somehow this dog's nickname has become Maxi Pad. Which is beyond the utmost entertainment to we humans. But, do you ever wonder what it might be like to be this big, macho dog hanging at the park with all the other big, macho dogs, not to mention the hot little poodle and all her girlfriends, when suddenly your mom, or worse yet, dad yells, "Come on Maxi Pad, it's time to go home!!" (Ok, the best part of this scenario is being able to imagine my crazy friend saying this in her best "puppy wuppy" voice) What's a dog to do? Will he endure the snickers from the other guys, will the ladies instantly turn their noses and no longer find him cool and handsome? Will he get picked on the next time he goes to the park and not be allowed to join in any of their games? Neuticles or not, this could be potentially damaging to a dog's reputation.

So I ponder on to the fact that Maxi Pad has a sister, a gorgeous, long-haired tortie named Lucy. My crazy friend sometimes calls Lucy her pretty little pussy and from what I understand her husband is not fond of it. So explain to me why this man does not like for the female cat to be called Pussy but has no issues with his male dog being called Maxi Pad!? Seems like the perfect pair to me!

Tim McGraw's new video

2007-01-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

On New Year's Eve Tim McGraw debuted his new video, "Last Dollar". I just watched it for the first time and as always when it comes to Tim, I think it's awesome. The man never disappoints me. Aside from being a very talented artist he's also extremely HOT! I'm touched by the children singing at the end, I'm assuming from the video that it's Tim's daughters as well as children of his band members. Too sweet.

"With Neuticles- It's like nothing ever changed!"

2007-01-12T03:17:00.000-05:00

From the Neuticles website -

"Thank you for your interest in patented Neuticles and the revolutionary testicular implant procedure for pets. Inside you will find the latest information and updates.

Over 225,000 caring pet owners Worldwide have selected Neuticles as a safe, practical and inexpensive option when neutering.

Neuticles allowing your pet to retain his natural look, self esteem and aids in the trauma associated with neutering."

I'm simply speechless.

Sleepy Baby

2007-01-11T01:20:00.000-05:00

A photographer I am not. I simply enjoy taking snapshots then manipulating them in my photo program. Once in a while I get one that makes me feel like a professional. This photo of Sophie is one of those. Something about the soft, warm color and the soft, warm puppy makes me want to curl up and nap.

Dooce

2007-01-10T06:05:00.000-05:00

Dooce has me laughing again. What I wouldn't give to be able to put words on a computer screen with the same flair Heather has.

If you've never visited Dooce, don't waste another minute!

Note to 7 year old

2007-01-09T22:55:00.000-05:00

On the counter, next to the stove is NOT where your tights belong. This rule seems especially important when your older sister is making Ramen noodles.

Because nothing could be tastier than a litter coated cat turd

2007-01-09T06:27:00.000-05:00

Ponderings of a seven year old

2007-01-08T18:25:00.001-05:00

"Mom, is salt water really just shark pee?"

Out of the office

2007-01-08T10:30:00.000-05:00

I will not be available for deep, thought provoking conversations today as I have a very demanding to do list.

To do list:

1.) Nap
2.) Eat
3.) Read (if I can find a spare moment to seek out new reading material)
4.) Nap
5.) Surf the net

Oh, I do need to squeeze in a trip to the store for cat food, dog food & toilet paper. If possible I will also be fitting in a tetanus shot at some point today. Although it's probably pointless a week after the fact, the temptation of a poke and long, slow burn followed up by temporary, partial, paralysis of my arm is just too delicious to turn down. Let me add that my best friend will be the one giving me the shot and I've left too many lipstick prints on her windshield to expect any mercy.

Join my contest!

2007-01-07T16:38:00.000-05:00

The object: Be the first ever to post a comment on my blog. But don't go away if you're not the first, keep reading!

The rules: Post something, anything.

The prize: A lifetime link from my blog to your blog or website. Anything over PG-13 is automatically disqualified. Hey! I have kids ya know.

Posting guidelines: Keep it clean and kind please. Suggestions on what could make this blog more interesting would be helpful. Also, even if you're not the first, still post. I may want to check out your site myself or share it with my readers (all one of me.)

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to change any or all of these rules at any time and without notice. (This probably isn't necessary but you never know these days).

Ok, so it's not that great of a contest but (going into Wendy Whiner mode here) I reeaallly want someone to post a comment, pleeeaaassssee!

I want my coffee to look like this...

2007-01-06T15:17:00.000-05:00

These are the coolest looking cups of joe ever. Be sure to check out the video!

Just finished reading

2007-01-06T01:12:00.000-05:00

This evening I finished The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

I was surprised to find that it was autobiographical. It has left me quite intrigued by the life of Sylvia Plath. While it was obvious that she was slowly descending into some type of mental breakdown, she also wrote it in a way that made me question if that was really where the story was going.

It was a good book and I definitely enjoyed it although it took me a bit to really get into it. I mostly read new fiction and I think this may have been my first "classic", I believe that's how it's categorized. I think I'll have to dig into some more classics now.

Easy Cheese Emergency

2007-01-06T01:01:00.000-05:00

Can anyone tell me if there's a way to replace the spout on a can of Easy Cheese? Yes, this is an honest question. A certain child in my house (still investigating the exact identity) left a brand new can of Easy Cheese within reach of a certain canine (I won't name names) and she managed to not only remove the lid but also chew off the white spout from which Easy Cheese so beautifully spews forth.

Here I sit, staring at my can of maimed Easy Cheese along with a box of lonely crackers waiting for an answer.

Are we suppose to let them win?

2007-01-04T17:51:00.000-05:00

This question, along with any subject related to parenting is destined to spark a debate. Luckily, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that reads this blog therefore, there's no need to worry.

Last night my 11 year old wanted to challenge me to a game of Big Brain. We borrowed one of her sisters' Nintendo DS game systems and the challenge began. I pretty much kicked her butt and anytime she would get discouraged I would remind her that I'm 25 years older than her. Hey, she still has youth and beauty, I have, well, more smarts than an 11 year old. As the competition was going strong the ds I was using suddenly aborted and said the connection had been dropped. I said, "Hey, what happened?" My daughter replied, "I turned mine off." When I asked why it turns out it was because I was winning. She said it wasn't any fun because it was obvious no matter what we did I was going to win.

So I guess my question is, should I have let her win a few just to boost her confidence? I certainly wasn't completely creaming her, at least not every time. She was doing a pretty good job holding her own in some of the areas.

If you happen across this blog by accident let me know what you think.

Happy New Year! Want a puppy?

2007-01-04T01:22:00.000-05:00

Yikes! I remember the puppy days, I really, really do. I guess I was just enjoying the "old dog who lays around and does nothing" days too much.

Despite spending the past couple of years preparing myself for the possibility I would have to someday put my aging black lab, Hoss, down it was still one of the most agonizing moments of my life. I missed him terrible, ok I still do. The stupidity on my part came when I missed him so much I decided 6-8 weeks later that a new puppy would make it all better! HA! I remember thinking something similar after my husband died too, I'm glad there's not a shelter for surrendered husbands.

So as the story goes, there's a new puppy in the house. She's been here a couple months now and she is slowly eating away at every bit of sanity I have left. Her thought process goes something like - if it's edible eat it; if it moves attack it and then eat it; if it's put up out of my reach find a way to get it and eat it; if mom says no wait until she's not looking and eat it, if it has fur and meows at least try to eat it; if someone drops it on the floor get to it before they do and eat it; if it smells like a foot has been in it, eat it; if it looks like it wants to be eaten, eat it! If you've ever had a puppy, you get it, it's a puppy thing.

Eat it has most recently translated into injury, FOR ME! Cute little aforementioned puppy (also sometimes known as Hoov, short for Hoover) learned how to flip open the top of the trash can and remove it's tastiest contents. It turns out this last time around her snack of choice was a tin can lid. Apparently she realized she wasn't a goat and left the lid in the middle of the dining room floor where the bottom of my foot quickly and painfully made contact with it! This resulted in 8 stitches in the bottom of my foot on New Year's Day.

Happy New Year!

Recent Reads

2006-12-31T04:01:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh; You Have to Kiss A Lot of Frogs by Laurie Graff; Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner; The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman.

Currently reading...

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Out of the mouth of Emily

2006-12-11T03:30:00.000-05:00

My daughters took part in their annual school Christmas program yesterday. The girls attend a Catholic school so the program takes place in the church each year. In order to accomodate all the families who want to attend they do two performances. I attended the early performance and then since I was going to be without kids for an hour made plans to meet my good friend at the local bar for pizza and some drinks during the evening performance. T and I had a great time, as always!

When I returned to the church to pick the girls up the first one I went for was my youngest, Emily. When she noticed me she ran over and grabbed me and then looked up at me and in the loudest voice possible said, "You smell like you've been at the bar!!"

~sigh~

Officially Uncool

2006-12-08T18:39:00.000-05:00

My oldest turned 11 yesterday, no biggie, she was the same kid when she got out of bed that she was when I put her to bed the night before. Then I dropped her birthday snack off at school...

After leaving the 31 mini cheese cakes (what happened to Tootsie Pops?) on her desk I hit the playground to let her know. As I was leaving I leaned in to give her a kiss, as always, and she leaned away. I would give anything to have seen the look on my own face. I think I truely believed she wouldn't be a typical kid because let's face it, I'm a cool mom!

I obviously believed wrong.

Perhaps the funniest part was when I told her later that I returned home and cried after her rejection. She rolled her eyes at me and replied, "No you didn't."

Ah, and to think the best years are yet to come.

Sweet Sodypop

2006-08-01T04:25:00.000-05:00

Sweet Sodypop

I happened upon this blog and thought it looked pretty cool. If you're a scrapbooker you'll most likely enjoy it!

Speaking of scrapbooking... I started scrapbooking... Then it occured to me that perfectionists can't scrapbook if they ever want to actually have a finished product. ~sigh~ So, my scrapbooks sit, a few beautiful pages tucked inside. That's the reason I love the web, I can put the gazillion pictures I take of my girls on a web page and throw it out there for family to see. The best part? The perfectionist in me can go back and change things without ruining the pictures or a bunch of expensive products. :-)

Picture Play

2006-08-01T04:13:00.000-05:00

The original photo is of my first morning glory bloom of the season.

The blooms are such a serene blue.

43 Things

2006-07-24T03:40:00.000-05:00

43 Things What's on the top of your want-to-do list? I would have to say that the first thing on my want-to-do list should be to sit down and prioritize my want-to-do list! How sad is that?

Picture Play

2006-07-22T09:56:00.000-05:00

Post? Who has time for that?

2006-07-22T08:03:00.000-05:00

I've read a lot about successful blogs and the consensus seems to advise toward blogs having a theme, so-to-speak. I will warn everyone right now, this blog will be as labeled... Random!

Admittedly though, I created a blog for two reasons, maybe more. The first and foremost is to use it as a journal. With three children the humorous, and not so humorous moments are constant. I know I will never remember all the crazy things they do and say. Therefore I need to document it. Further than that, being a single mom leaves me with no one to share the funny stuff with. Maybe no one will ever read or appreciate the things they do but by putting here I can pretend that everyone finds my girls as endearing and as hysterical as I do!

My other point for blogging I will shamelessly admit is to eventually use the blog as a plug for my hand crafted jewelry. I hope to eventually get around to that.

Yes, this post is coming to the point of the title. Ok, so my point is... I have spent so much time figuring out all the ins and outs of blogging, getting the blog set up, etc... I've barely had time to post.

Yep, that was it. Can you say random?

Why?

2006-07-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

Why must the cats decide that every night at midnight is the perfect time to play tag? Further more, why must their little paws touch every square inch of the house in order for it to be a legitimate game?