Running Behind, and It's Only Tuesday

Weekend Fun
I attended an all day charity event Saturday at a friend's house. Hubby played wiffle ball (hard-core sport) and, as expected, his team didn't make it past the first round. The advantage to this was that his team was finished playing BEFORE the rain started, and thus we all got to spend more time under the tents with the food and alcohol, and less time on the muddy field in the rain. Oh darn. Guess you can't win them all :)

Sunday Change of Plans
Initially hubby, DD and I we were going to go to Hershey Park, sans our two year old DS. After all the fun he had Saturday night, and a wicked cold, hubby was NOT feeling well Sunday morning. So, we had the baby sitter come anyway, to watch our DS, while hubby slept and nursed his cold. DD and I went to Hershey park as a mother/daughter thing. Luckily for me, she's no slouch when it comes to roller coasters. She was tall enough to ride many of the roller coasters... and boy did she! The first ride we got on was the Wild Mouse NEVER AGAIN. That ride was way too scary for me, but she muscled through it just fine. I even got her to go upside down on the SooperDooperLooper . After several rides, she decided it was time to try her hand at the carnival games. Unfortunately (for the family budget) I'm as addicted to winning things as she is. We blew through all the cash in my wallet, and I didn't have my ATM card... so I bummed more even more cash off a friend at the park. MUST WIN MORE STUFF... The two of us just couldn't stop! We left the park broke, with a bag full of stuffed animals worth about $10. Not exactly what you'd call a positive "teaching moment" for my daughter!

Funny Reading Moment
While walking through Hershey Park, we saw a big dome shaped building that housed a bunch of arcade games. DD looked at the big sign over the building and asked "Why does that sign say Play Dumb?" The sign actually read "Play DOME," but she thought dome was pronounced DUMB. Was this some sort of subliminal message that playing the games is DUMB? I really should have taken the hint... step away from the water guns and ring toss games and get on the doggone rides!!!

Thank You Dilemma
I helped out a friend on Saturday, and she thanked me Monday by presenting me with a wonderful thank you gift - a nice shirt and a beautiful necklace (see pic below), both from the Loft. And now, I'm faced with the age old question: if someone gives you a very nice thank you gift for doing something for them, do you then send them a thank you for a thank you? Then, do they thank you for that? :)

Today, I Wore This

I wanted to wear the sweater (so comfy) and the shirt worked well with my the new necklace. Started out with some peep-toe flats, but switched to these heels because I wanted to feel taller today.


Sweater/Pants: Kohl's
Necklace: Gift from Friend (from the Loft)
Belt: Came with another pair of pants
Bracelet: Target Clearance (one of my favorite bracelets)





Another Funny Picture Moment
If you zoom in on the picture, the book on the shelf behind my head just happens to be Gray's Anatomy. For all those Grey's Anatomy fans out there... this is the medical text book that all med students know and love (or hate). This book is what makes the show's title so great; it's a shout out to a famous anatomy book. I had assumed everyone knew about Gray's Anatomy (the book) until I was recently enlightened (by more than one of my friends) to the fact that many people have simply never heard of it before. Most people just assumed that Grey's Anatomy was titled after Meredith Grey. Hmmm. Well, now ya'all know, if you didn't already!

Stars for My Superstar
Yes, my DD finally earned back her bedroom door. Since it has been put back on the hinges, I've seen a great improvement in her attitude towards her brother. Even though she no longer earns stars for doing so, she now seems to perform more random "acts of kindness" towards him. It's quite a nice change, and I hope the good behavior keeps up!

I Don't Like Coming Up With Blog Titles

Daughter's Outfit
Well, my outfit Wednesday was a fashion disaster, and I worked from home today, so no outfit pics for me. However, my Darling Daughter had an interesting outfit on today, so I snapped her pic before she headed off to school. I think she's been sneaking onto the the Internet and reading Danielle's Fell4Fashion blog. Check out the "belt look" she went with today.

Necklace, Ring and Bracelet: Designed by DD (note the color similarity to Danielle's Fruity Pebbles necklace)
Shirt: Target
Shoes: Kohl's or Target (wish they had them in my size)
Skirt: Children's Place (I think)
Belt: Your guess is as good as mine

Can't Stop Laughing
SO, after I uploaded this picture, I clicked preview to look at the enlarged picture version, and what do I see? In my fireplace is...my MISSING HAIRBRUSH. Go ahead, click on the image. You'll see it. My fireplace is very dark inside, so you normally can't see inside of it. However, the flash of the camera was apparentlyy enough to show something not visible to the naked eye (it's so C.S.I). I just now tried to get it out of there, but my hubby put a black zip tie on the fireplace doors to keep our two year old son from sticking things in there... guess he was a little late! Sure hope I remember to pull it out before our first fire of the season, 'cuz I'm sure the smell of melting plastic isn't very pleasant!

Health Update
Unbelievable. My Mother in Law is heading home from the hospital today. Crazy fast recovery! Still a long road ahead, but she's bound to feel even better when she gets back into her own house and own bed, and out of the hospital environment. What an amazing woman!

Good Night
Watched Survivor, the first hour of Grey's Anatomy (will watch the second hour online another night) and then Project Runway. Thursday is my TV night...three shows in a row. I'm so worn out now! Off to bed.

Dragging Through Tuesday

Outfit Picture
Well, I had to start somewhere, so here's my first outfit picture. I had crazy red eyes, and a REALLY sleepy look on my face (see below for explanation) so I cropped my head off on this one.

I know the green camisole is from Ann Taylor, and the pants are from Kohl's. The ring was a gift from my mother in law (brought back from Italy). I'll include a close up of it some time in the future.

I guess I'm going to need to start paying more attention as to where my stuff comes from so I can give more details in the future!

I really liked the necklace match up, as it pulls out the greens in my top (kinda hard to see in the picture).

Kids are Fun
My son has an ear infection, so WE didn't get much sleep last night (main reason I cropped my head out of the above picture). Guess I can't complain too much though, because his antibiotics seem to be kicking in already. He's sleeping soundly, for now at least. Cross your fingers for me!

Good Parent... or Bad Parent?
OK, so, let me first preface this by saying my two year old son is "THAT KID." He's the one that amusement park operators dread, the one that makes them use that "emergency stop" button. We went to an amusement park last month and THREE, count 'um, THREE different ride operators had to stop their rides because my DS was trying to climb up, over or off the ride while in motion.
SO, am I a good parent, or bad parent, for getting a baby sitter for our trip to Hershey Park this Sunday??? It's a Family Day thing for my company. By leaving my DS at home, my Darling Daughter will be able to have a whole day to herself with Mom and Dad... am I just saying that to try to justify leaving Darling Son at home and alleviate some mommy guilt????

Star Tally
For those keeping track... Darling Daughter is up to 34 stars, only one shy of earning back her bedroom door. Wonder how long she'll keep it when she gets it back!

MIL Update
My mother-in-law is doing GREAT! She already moved out of the ICU and into a private room. She's taking visitors, chatting on the phone, and even starting to walk around. None of us thought she'd recover this quickly after the surgery! Happy days!

Monday Round-up

Weekend Fun
Had a great weekend. Hubby went out Saturday night with the guys, while the ladies hung out together. Hubby was out til 2AM, and for those of you who know him IRL, you realize what an amazing feat that was! He had a great time, and so did we (the gals). My friend (and party host) whipped up some amazing orange and pomegranate martinis that I think I'm STILL feeling, three days later. Next day (Sunday), we headed over to another friend's house so the guys could "practice" for an upcoming WHIFFLE BALL charity tournament (yes, whiffle ball). Any excuse to gather with friends, consume alcohol and support a good cause!

Bad Parenting
So, we all make parenting mistakes sometimes, right? Well, mine (for the weekend) was allowing my six year old to watch the Shakira with Wyclef Jean in the "Hips Don't Lie" video. Sharkira can really MOVE... I just don't like watching my six year old trying to emulate her moves! Ooops.

Good Parenting
To counteract my bad parenting, I pulled up Sesame Street on the PC and let her (and my two year old) watch a bunch of Sesame Street skits. Whew, now I'm sure my daughter will try to dance like Big Bird and not like Shakira...

On a More Personal Note
My mother-in-law made it through her surgery today OK, and docs seem optimistic that they got everything (tumor in lung). She's in amazing health for an 84 year old (actually, she's in good health for a 60 year old!). Recovery is difficult when you lose partial lung function (you have to work your way back up to full lung capacity using lung strengthening techniques). Luckily she's a strong and vibrant person, so I think as long as our family helps her keep her spirits up over the next few days (which are gonna be really hard) she'll be able to push through and get back to feeling good again in no time. Keep your fingers crossed for her!

And now...
Well, I've managed to spend time writing this blog entry, and now feel that it's too late to start running (even though I'm sitting here in my running clothes with my sneakers on). I'm such a slacker! I have a 5K coming up in October and I'm soooo not ready for it. I was doing so well... I ran my first EVER 5K in March. Then, ran one in April, May and June. I took off in July and August (too hot)... but now I'm supposed to be jumping back on the band wagon. Can't jump on the band wagon if I can't catch up to it.... really must start running again...

My First Titled Blog

Learning Curve
So, a friend pointed out to me that my previous blogs have not been titled. Well look at me now, all titled up, and no place to go. This blogging thing is new for me, so I'll get there... just give me time. I mean, I just got texting on my phone three months ago for goodness sakes... please let me crawl out from under this rock nice and slowly!

Kids
It always amazes me how much fun a simple roll of tape and a pair of scissors can be to a kid. My son had a blast last night cutting the junk mail into a million pieces, and sticking tape all over everything. $2 worth of tape and scissors can keep him entertained longer than a $20 toy!

Charity Fun
I went over to a friend's house last night to work on planning an upcoming charity event. It was a very successful evening of planning and chatting with the gals. It's amazing how much easier it is to plan things with a nice glass of red wine in your hand. This did cause me to miss the premier of Survivor, my TV guilty pleasure. I'll have to catch up online tonight... assuming they post it by then. I should have gone old school and TAPED it... yes, I still have a VCR, and no, I don't have a DVR (but I do have a DVD player, so go easy on me!)

Doesn't everyone else?
I iron. I iron a lot. Rarely does a day go by that I don't iron at least one article of my clothing. I'll iron my jeans, t-shirts, sweaters, tank tops, dress shirts, camisoles, my son's baby blankets, my table clothes and cloth dinner napkins. If it wrinkles, I'll iron it. I iron my 2 year old's shirts and shorts, and my daughter's clothes (when she lets me). If I wear something all day, and want to wear it out in the evening, I'll iron it again. Wearing linen is sooo painful for me, so I usually avoid it. I have a beautiful linen top that looks great, WHEN IT'S IRONED. I've been known to put it on a hanger in the car in the monring, and not actually put it on until AFTER I drop my son off at daycare...carrying a kid on you hip wrinkles your clothing! Apparently, this is not quite the norm... and I didn't realize this was an oddity until fairly recently.

Maybe wrinkled clothing represents some underlying sense of disorder in the universe that I'm trying to resolve with a little heat and steam in the morning? If any ironing addicts are out there, please let me know and we can start a local IA (Ironers Anonymous) support group. Ironers of the world, unite...and keep it smooth.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

New Toys
Hooray! I'm sitting here writing this on my brand new laptop! And, my new desktop PC is sitting in the library awaiting setup by my hubby. My old desktop is really dragging and I've been on edge waiting for it to crash. Today is like Christmas (only better, because we never buy expensive things for Christmas!!)

Girl Power
For those of you keeping count, my daughter has earned 19 stars so far (35 needed to get her bedroom door back). She's been so good, and so nice to everyone, I'm kinda hoping she NEVER gets her door back! I'm very happy with her behavior... let's see if it lasts!

Making Progress
I've now figured out the time delay feature on my camera, and have taken a few outfit pictures, which I may post... hey, I can probably hook up my camera to this laptop! Possibilities are endless!

And, before I go...
Don't you hate it when you mangle the spelling of a word so badly that spell check can't even suggest the correct spelling? Then, you fix a few letters, re-spellcheck, andspell check still has no clue what you're trying to spell? Guess it is just the curse of the spell check generation!

Girl Trouble, Part 2

Girl Trouble, Part 2
Well, my dearest daughter pushed me over the edge Thursday evening with her bad behavior towards her 2 year old brother. Having been an "only child" for four years before he came along, she developed some bad habits. Sharing is not one her strong points (<-- major understatement). She's been extremely possessive over her room and toys, and freaks out if little bro steps a single FOOT over her threshold. She pushes him out physically, and slams the door in the crying kids face. Not so nice. So... I walked into her room Thursday to help her find something after school, and son followed me in... as soon as he entered, she freaked out, pushed him, and then.... kicked at his face. Six year old foot in two year old face - not a good match. I quietly called down to hubby "Hun, I'm going to need you to REMOVE daughter's door to her bedroom." I explained that her room is no longer HERS, it is a shared family room, and if she'd like to earn back some privacy, she'll need to show RESPECT to all the family members. Needless to say, she cried for the rest of the evening. Whilst hubby was reading her to sleep, I created a "Respect" chart for her to earn stars (35 stars to get her door back). Made a pretty basic chart with 4 chances each day to earn a star:

• Nice to everyone in the family - MORNING
• Nice to everyone in the family - AFTERNOON
• Nice to everyone in the family - EVENING
• Ate Dinner with good manners & no complaints.

Then, I added two "Bonus" opportunities to earn stars each day:

• Shared a toy with brother
• Played nicely with brother.

When daughter woke up Friday morning, she was a GEM. Sooo sweet to her brother, and whole family. Came home from school, still nice. Ate dinner (including pork chops!) with no complaints. Then, she played for an hour dancing around and laughing with her brother. I swear she's never been this nice to him. Almost too sweet (keeps kissing him on the head). But, I'd rather see forced sweetness over meanness. And, perhaps she'll learn to earnestly enjoy playing with her brother (she really did seem to have fun with him).

It's now Saturday morning. Daughter woke up and has again been very sweet to me and to her brother. They played nicely together for 45 minutes, and now are playing independent of one another. Let's see how long we can keep this peace going!

Feel free to post your bets on how many days it will take her to earn back her bedroom door!

Weekend Update
So, had a great long weekend, but still playing catch-up at work. Oddly enough, work still goes on around the world while the US is taking a holiday! Still have YET to take any pictures, but I'm sure I'll get to it one day.
We got my daughter a loft bed this weekend, so she now has room for a full sized desk under her bed. First thing she said when she climbed up into her bed was "Oh, mommy, it's perfect. Just perfect!" So, I guess she likes it! When she gets home from school now, she runs right up to her desk to do her homework (any excuse to keep away from her little brother). She has so much more room now... and of course since she has cathedral ceilings in her room, she doesn't even feel squished when up in the loft. I want to trade rooms with her now :)

Generation Gap?
Background Info: In addition to an Apple iPod Nano and Shuffle, I have a big "old and clunky" Apple iPod (first gen 60GB video iPod - aka50lbs of music). It's fine for the car or at the office, but when I throw it in my purse to transport from place to place, it REALLY weighs down my purse.
The Story: My sister in-law is about 17 years older than I am. We went to a family gathering this past weekend in DC, and we drove down together. When packing up our stuff to go, she lifted up her purse and said "Gee, this thing is really heavy." Then, she peered down inside her purse to see what was making it so heavy. She then said "Oh, it's my Apple." I immediately thought "She must have big clunky Apple iPod like me." She then pulled out... an apple. Apparently "apple" is also a name for a fruit. Hmmm, wonder if they named the fruit after those little MP3
players....

Gripe of the Day
I have a very strong (perhaps unnatural) dislike for those cheap looking black plastic "solar lights" that people stick all over their front yards, under the illusion that they provide illumination. The light these things put out is barely visible, just an eerie faint blue light that screams "I got eight of these at Home Depot for only 30 bucks!"
These lights have no redeeming value, and actually detract from any surrounding landscaping. Plus any "energy savings" realized by using solar power is FAR OFFSET by the energy and resources it must take to make these cheapo pieces of non-biodegradable plastic and ship them over to the US. They will just end up in a land fill within a year of purchase (after the Fed Ex guy backs over them). If you REALLY need to illuminate your yard, consider spending a little more on something that will last a longer, looks nicer, improves your homes value, and will stay out of the land fill.

Friday Shopping
Wow, went to lunch today to spend my Kohl's bucks.... and their evil ploy worked; I ended up spending MORE than just my Kohl's bucks! At least I got a cute purse, or two, and some black ankle boots, and, well, let me just stop there. No need to commit my sins to writing.

I really need to start posting some outfit pictures so I can get feedback from my fashion fiend friends. But, I first need to figure out how to use the delay feature on my camera (if it even has one) so I can take the pictures myself.

Girl Trouble
My poor daughter had a full on break down this morning. She just does not handle schedule changes well. Her Before and After care (where her bus usually picks up/drops off) was CLOSED today.
This meant that daddy or mommy were going to take her to school and pick her up. This change was just too much, so she started with the "my stomach hurts, my throat hurts, and my forehead feels hot." A good friend stepped up and said, "hey, bring her over to our house so she can catch the bus from here [with two of her friends]". According to hubby, it ended with screaming and crying as daughter was physically stuffed onto the bus, while hubby just smiled and waved goodbye. Hopefully, she straightened up once school started. Can't wait to hear about how her return home on this other bus goes today...

Last night daughter had about 35 minutes of homework, math and a fair amount of writing. Seemed like quite a lot. Her handwriting looks better than mine already (thank goodness).

Miscellany

• Why do people pile stuffed animals in the back of their car windows for 'decoration?' It looks ridiculous, especially, when they start to fade out.
• OH THANK GOODNESS - SKINNY THIGHS ARE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH!!!
  

Gallimaufries

• Wow, gallimaufry, what a great word. I like it even better than miscellany. I'm going to use it more often.
• Daughter's first day of school (yesterday) went well. She woke up and was BOUNCING off the walls with excitement. Had the 'perfect' outfit picked out, and looked adorable. Day 2 (today) not as much of a success. Apparently, she left her lunch in daddy's car, and spazzed out at Before Care - the Director called hubby about it. Luckily for daugher, Daddy was kind enough to leave work, and head over to her school to drop it off before her lunch period. Heaven forbid the kid just buy lunch! She just does not handle change (or surprises) very well. Hmm, wonder who she get's that from....
• Wore my beaded&embroidered scoop neck Anthropologie shirt to work today for the first time. My daughter adores it, but I'm not too fond of it. Already got a few complements. Guess I should trust my daughter's fashion instincts... they're more fine tuned than mine will ever be!
• I dropped my diamond earring in the sink on Saturday (down the drain, never to be seen again). Thank goodness it was imported from Zirconia.
• Am I the only one totally freaked out about the possibility of incandescent bulbs being banned in the US? We always keep the lights pretty low, and on dimmer switches, and we prefer a soft yellow light to a clear white light. Please don't take my incandescent bulbs away!!! Let's hope they can come up with a better alternative than the mercury filled, slow to light, and harsh looking fluorescent bulbs before a ban makes it over to the US.