Mystery Solved

I know we've all said it . . . . what the hell could have happened to those f*#!ng socks?? Well, guess where we found these babies?

My dryer was taking about 3 times longer to dry clothes than it should so, on a hunch, I asked my dear husband to check out the vent thing that shoots all the dryer steam outside. Lo and behold, he stuck his hand in and pulled out SOCKS. They had been sucked out of the dryer into the vent thingy and it was all clogged up! Holy Crap!! Just imagine all those socks that have been sucked right out of the house and sent flying up to sock heaven. What happens to them? They could be picked up by a neighboring dog, a stray cat, a squirrel or some wandering, crazed housewife who has finally reached her limit with mismatched socks.

Personally, I have found some comfort in this. I am not crazy. There is a black hole and it's stealing my socks.

Cardboard Box

I don't know why I'm still surprised at how much fun kids can have with a cardboard box. Henry and Lucy have been fighting over this box all day. Henry sat inside, decorating for quite a while. As soon as he went upstairs Lucy promptly jumped in and did a little coloring of her own (including her lips if you look closely). As I type, Henry is trying to get it up the stairs so he can hide it away from Lucy. He may just ruin it in the process.

This is Sam's contribution to the inside of the box. His attempt at trickery. After he wrote that he ran up to my room and locked the door so Henry wouldn't find him.

Sam has spent the day trying to get away from Henry. Henry has spent it trying to get away from Lucy. And I've been trying to get away from all of them. Hmmmmm. . . . perhaps I should brush up on my mothering skills. Whatever. It's almost time for wine. Tomorrow is another day!!

Mama, I NEEEEED YOU!!

Multiple times a day, my sweet 2.75 yr old Lucy, utters the words, "Mama, I NEEEED YOOOUUU!". Perhaps utter is not the right word. Sometimes she bellows. whines. cries. screams. Rarely does she whisper.

Busy with something, I usually respond with, "WHAT do you need, Lucy?" I need YOU, Mama." "Ok, but what do you NEED?" I need YOOOUU!!!!" Sometimes, she calls from the couch as she's watching Dora. Sometimes she yells at me from upstairs. Sometimes she comes to me while I'm on the computer with her arms stretched up as far as they'll go. Half the time I give a big SIGH and say, "Ok, Lucy, you've got me. Now what." "I just need you, Mama," she says as she lays her sweet cheek on my shoulder. Now, if that's not enough to melt me, I don't know what is.

Lucy is my reminder that NOW is the most important time of all. She basically beats me over the head with the fact that all she really needs is ME. Just Me. Now. She doesn't care if the kitchen is clean or if all the laundry is done. She doesn't care if there are dust bunnies and dog hair under the couch. She doesn't care if I'm skinny or have on make up. She just needs ME. To be present. NOW.

It's so easy to get caught up in all the daily STUFF. Just trying to get it all done. For what? So I can do it again tomorrow? So I can feel like I DID something??

This year, I resolve to pay more attention to when my children and husband need ME and focus less on what STUFF I think I need to get done in order to feel like I accomplished something today. I will spend less time on the computer and more time cuddling. I will watch less TV and read more with my children. I will try to enjoy playing that hockey game the boys got for Christmas even though I suck at it. I will have more sex. Yes, that's what I said.

What are you going to do this year?

Batter Blaster Makes Breakfast a Blast!

Soon after I wrote my post about making more pancakes for my lovelies, lo and behold, I stumbled upon the Batter Blaster at Sam's Club. It's organic and contains no trans fats or high fructose corn syrup. Semi-healthy pancakes from a pressurized can? Too good to be true, I thought. It came in a pkg of three so it was a gamble. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!! As of today, I have gone through two cans and am quickly on my way through the third. Everyone loves them!

The batter is really thin so I have to make the cakes small so I can flip them easily but that's what I usually do anyway.

What? You say you want pancakes for breakfast? Shake, spray, flip and WAH LAH, pancakes!! The votes are in. I'm the best mom they've ever had.

Life is Short. Life is now.

A women that I knew through neighborhood parties, said hi to in the grocery store and, from the outside, lived a life very similar to mine, passed away last night. She was 39, had three children and a wonderful husband and although seemingly healthy, was diagnosed with leukemia less than 8 months ago.

I had heard about her diagnosis through the grapevine and ran into her in Target once after that. She looked fine to me. I expressed my concern and chatted for maybe a minute. Now she's dead. She's dead with three children at home that are the same age as mine and will grow up without a mother.

I did not follow her condition and heard this morning that she would not live through the weekend. I came home today and read all of the Caring Bridge posts over the last 7 months. I am now intimately aware of how horrific and yet hopeful the last 7 months of her life were. There was such an amazing outpouring of love and support from her family and friends. I feel guilty that I read it all after the fact and did nothing myself to help her or express my support. My heart and entire body aches for her and for her family.

Today I hugged my husband a little tighter and my children a little longer. I lay with my 2 year old at bedtime and she gave me sweet kisses in the dark. I have no idea if my life will be short or long. What I do know is all I have is NOW and I want to make the most of it. I want it to be on purpose. I think I will finally read the book that is referenced in the prior post. And, of course, make more pancakes.

Just Like Any Other Day . . . but with more pancakes

My mother bought me a book awhile ago called Life is a Verb: 37 days to Wake Up, Be Mindful and Live Intentionally. I was familiar with it from a very well written and inspirational blog she introduced to me. The premise is, basically, what would you do if you knew you had only 37 days to live. This is based upon a life experience of the author which you can read about on her blog. My description would pale in comparison. It's a great blog. Check it out.

So, I finally read just the introduction of the book a few weeks ago. After asking the 37 days question she wrote about many responses. One response that I haven't been able to get out of my head went something like (I'm paraphrasing because I have dogs and children in my lap), "the same thing as every other day but with more pancakes".

My children often ask for pancakes for breakfast in the morning before school. My usual response is something along the lines of, "I don't have time, I have lunches to pack; I don't want to mess up the kitchen; How about cereal this morning and pancakes on the weekend?" But ever since I read that intro in the book I have not been able to refuse them pancakes. The truth is, the time it takes me to whip up the pancakes does not compare to the smiles on their faces and the knowing that they are going to school with full bellies, smelling of syrup. I hope that they will remember the pancakes and not necessarily the fact that they were embarrassed that I wore my pajamas to the bus stop.

Yard Sale

I'm stuck now. I posted neon signs all over my neighborhood that I'm having a "moving sale". I hate yard sales. Most people I know love them. Instead of blogging, I should be organizing my shit but I just can't get motivated. Do you think I could just charge a $2 admission and let people go through my house while I drink my coffee and take what they want?? It's got to be worth a lot just to get people to take my stuff away without me having to do anything.

We've pretty much got everything we need in the new house. The rest of this stuff is just a pain in my side. How did I end up with so much STUFF??!! I think I need to do some serious soul searching regarding this issue. The good thing is that I don't want to take any of it with me. The less the better.

We've had a couple of people that work for us come by and take what they want. I am so glad to give it to people we know that really want/need it but now my big ticket items are gone which means my yard sale is going to be pretty boring. Whatever. The kids will be in heaven to sell their stuff and I know our good, useful stuff has already gone to people who can really use it.

Oh yeah, baby, I had . . .

I went to an indoor water park on Saturday with my two boys. Usually, this is the type of thing they do with their father while I stay home with Lucy and do 2yr old activites. But this Saturday Chad was beat, it was supposed to rain all day and I was ready to get the hell out of dodge. The boys were a little wary as they think Daddy is sooooo much more fun than I am. I was ready to prove the little ingrates wrong. The three of us set out on the 2hr drive not knowing if it would be worth it or not.

I never really did things like this as a child so it was all new to me. We ALL had a blast! I was finally able to forget about my daily duties and responsibilities and just ENJOY! I rode in 2 person tubes with the boys down pitch black water slides, screaming at every drop. Halfway through the day I was going down water slides. all. by. myself. I was actually having pure fun by myself and not just for my children. It may sound odd to most but I have never really done that, even before children.

I'm even thinking about making my mom go when she comes to visit next month : )

Weekly Winners - 1st Edition

This is a picture of my 2nd (of 3), Henry, side by side to a pic of his dad at the same age. Quite a resemblance, don't you think? Cutie patooties, both of them!







This is my first experience with fondant. I wanted to make Dora cupcakes without them being totally cheesy so I added flowers, hearts and stars made of fondant and they were adorable!







This is the Birthday Girl. 2 going on 12. Accessorized and ready to go. A picnic, the mall, she's there.










The Birthday Girl in her new polka dot throne. If I knew how to scan I would add a picture of myself at two with disheveled hair, no shoes, next to a bucket. She has no idea.




Learn more about weekly winners here!