Vacation and a Birthday

Just wanted to give you all a heads up that tomorrow we are traveling to my mom's house in Arkansas.

They have dogs, horses and four wheelers so the boys should have a blast. Hopefully, we all make it back in one piece.

I'll be taking a little bloggy break while we're traveling, but if five days with my mom doesn't provide some good blog posts I don't know what will.

And if you'll allow me to be sappy for a minute I just wanted to share that today is my husband's birthday.

I just wanted to take a moment and wish him a very Happy Birthday!

He's very supportive of my blog habit, but he nicely asked me not to blog about him so I try not to over share in that area. He's quiet and not somebody who would ever write a blog of his own.

That's why you don't hear a whole lot about him.

But he is a wonderful husband and father.

He's the kind of dad who gives bathes, plays tickle games and reads bed time stories.

And he is the best kind of husband there is. The kind that is fun to share your days with, but somehow still helps you be a better person.

He definitely deserves a fantastic day.

I look forward to catching up with everyone when I return.

Go out and do some exciting stuff while I'm gone.

Rambling Random Thoughts Tuesday

It's that time of week again...



The Cookout went well. At least, I think it did. It's always hard to for sure, but I had fun.

We had a ton of food, wild kids everywhere, and the weather mostly held out.

The house is even more or less back to normal levels of cleanliness.

I'm calling it a sucessful cookout.
**********************

So I don't get this at all - World's Oldest Mom Lied to Get Treatment

A 67 year old women gave birth to twins in December.

I really don't understand wanting babies at that stage in life. It seems really unfair to the kids.

She lied to get treatment saying she was 55, which is the cutoff. Even 55 seems a bit old for a pregnancy to me.

Just because we can, doesn't mean we should.
***********************************************

My little man has started sleeping more or less normally again.

He still woke up at 5:30 twice this weekend, but at least he's taking naps again.

I don't think I truly appreciated having a kid who sleeps before now. I won't be taking it for granted again.
************************************************

I'm feeling pretty boring today. We had a really busy weekend, but somehow there isn't a whole lot to blog about. That or it's just too early in the morning for the thoughts to form yet.

I think I'm still recovering from last week.

So I'll stop rambling and direct you to The Un-Mom for more random fun.

I'll try to be back on my game before my next post.

Cookout Time

We don't host big gatherings very often, but we have one big cookout every year on Memorial Day.

So tomorrow is the big day. The 6th Annual Cookout at our place.

It's always a lot of fun, but the last few years it's also been a bit strange. You see, my husband still works in the same building where I used to work.

So my worlds are going to collide tomorrow.

I've invited some new mom friends and lots of my old work friends will be there.

It will be great to see everybody, but there are always a lot of "what ifs" and "what might have beens" that get stirred up.

But then again, things have changed a lot in the last year. Well, maybe things haven't changed, but I think I have. I'm finally honestly feel comfortable with my choice to quit work.

And while I did love my job, it was pretty eye opening to see how easily I was replaced. They doing just fine without me.

So I'm going to do my best to chill out, have a burger and stop over thinking it all.

Happy Memorial Day to all.

And THANK YOU to all the service members (and the families who support them) who have served and are currently serving.

The Big Blue Slide

Life in the land of no rest continues.

The one advantage of ridiculous short naps is that we get to leave the house a lot more than usual. (It's getting harder to see, but I'm looking for the silver lining.)

I think we've hit every playground in the area this week.

Our favorite playground is the one with The Big Blue Slide.

The thing is taller than me. The steps up to it are steep and scare the hell out of me.

My son is, of course, in love with it.

He goes down it all the time...on my lap.

Until today.

He just stood watching the other kids use the slide for awhile.

Finally, he looked at me and said "Self, Mama. Slide self."

And even a slightly paranoid mom like me couldn't say no.

(In my defense, he's a wild man who has already broken his leg once. It's enough to make any mom a bit of a helicopter.)

So he climbed up (with me spotting him) and without any hesitation down he went.

He then proudly proclaimed "I did it! Again."

He then repeated the performance about 20 times.

The whole thing is going to give me nightmares, but... he was ready.

There no denying it. He's not a baby anymore.

When did he become a little boy?

I always thought chasing a toddler was hard work, but I think learning to let him run by himself is going to be even harder.

Truly Random Thoughts

My thoughts are extra random right now. And they're running late this week too.

Thank goodness it's Tuesday -


My son has decided that sleep isn't necessary, which means my mind has concluded that forming complete sentences is also not mandatory.

I think my whole body might be planning a mutiny. Who knows who will end up in charge by the end of the week?

I have lots of thoughts jumping through my brain, but they aren't particularly coherent or useful.

They're more along the lines of - tea, need shower, more tea NOW, stop whining, and dear lord not again.

There is also an impressive quantity of chocolate being eaten. (I suggest you don't mention it or the fact I look tired.)

Speaking of chocolate, I baked chocolate chip cookies last night. Have you ever read the side of the box of baking soda?

Apparently bicarbonate of soda is magical. Suggested uses included household cleaner, relieving minor skin irritations and swimming pool care.

Doesn't this seem a little versatile to be edible to anybody else? It kind of freaks me out a little.

(Don't worry, I'm still eating the freakin' cookies.)

These are the kind of strange thoughts that sneak into my mind when I'm exhausted.

I remember watching an interview with Reese Witherspoon back when she had a young kid. She talked about how the lack of sleep was shocking, but that she actually liked herself better a little sleep deprived.

I can actually relate to that.

It's just not possible to be that uptight when you're tired. You have to laugh the second time you try to put the ice cream in the cupboard.

Tea. I really need more caffeine.

The whole exhausted thing is certainly affecting my productivity, even if it seems to improve my outlook at times.

My house is dirty.

I'm behind on work hours.

I'm behind on blog stuff.

But you know something., life is still pretty good. As long as I get myself successfully caffeinated and have a shower, I think I can handle just about anything.

(Did you know that if you misspell caffeinated badly enough Blogger will suggest fornicated as the correct spelling? Noted.)

As my Mom would say, some days you just have to put on your big girl panties. (She's picked up all kinds of colorful expressions since she moved to Arkansas.)

I guess that's my random take away this week. My bad days just usually aren't that bad. And I should really stop whining about them.

Please visit the Un-Mom for more (meaning better) random thoughts.

My List

Things I'm Glad I Did, But Don't Ever Want To Do Again

-Spring board diving
(I was on the diving team in high school. Now I'm a big old wimp.)

-Dancing on a bar
(I'd like to include in this one anything else dumb I did while drinking too much during college. It was fun, but it's just not as cool when you're 30.)

-Kissing a boy who name I didn't know
(I think the husband would disapprove a bit.)

-Wearing a uniform
( I don't think I've never mentioned it before but I went to college on a ROTC scholarship and then served 5 years in the Navy. I really glad I served, but I'm also really glad that I'm done. I love spending this time home with my son. And don't be too impressed I only sailed a desk.)

-Submerging on a submarine
(Just for a few hours.)

-Running while somebody is yelling loudly and timing me
(I learned I could do things I didn't know were possible. But it hurt...a lot.)

-Moving cross country
(I grew up in nothern CA and went to college in upstate NY. I didn't know a soul when I arrived.)

-Studying for finals week
(Never a pleasant experience for myself or anyone around me.)

-Taking classes at night after work
(This is not the fun way to go back to school.)

-Cliff Jumping
(Freshmen year, spring break, Jamaica.)

I'm glad I did these things. I learned a lot from them and they have helped me grow up.

But some of them were pretty dumb and some of them were really, really hard. I'm glad all of them are in my past.

What's on your list?

Just Say No

It seems like most of the people I know are completely over extended and just fried out.

And I get that sometimes you just deal with the hand you're dealt, suck it up and do what needs done.

But I'm shocked at how often the crazy schedule is voluntarily.

(If you are happy being really insanely busy, that's great. You might want to skip this post and go back to saving the world single handed.)

I really think it's time to just say "NO".

Say it politely, but say it with meaning.

I know that woman usually feel bad saying no. We don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. We guilty.

I feel bad sometimes too.

But I really think we should get over it.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for sports, crafts (at least in theory, if other people want to do them), extra curricular activities, parties and volunteering in reasonable quantities.

But maybe just say "yes" to the things you really want to do, not the stuff you feel like you should do.

Learning to nicely say "no" every now and then has made a world of difference in my life. I'm still perfecting my technique, but I'm getting better at it.

I'm hoping my son will consider a happy, sane mom a fair trade for never having a scrap book.

Random Is As Random Does

Tuesday is one of my favorite days of the week these days.

Let the randomness begin....


I ran out to the store on Sunday morning to grab a couple of things. Safeway is a hilarious place to visit early on Mother's day. Who knew?

I have never seem so many confused men with children frantically searching for breakfast foods and flowers. It was total chaos, but I'm sure many a mother appreciated their efforts.

(Disclaimer: I did get spoiled on mother's day. The boys were out on a walk and I wanted a few things. I wasn't force to grocery shop or to do any other manual labor.)
*******************

Really? - 'Footloose' revisited: Ohio Teen Suspended for Going to a Prom

A teenager went to prom with his girlfriend at a public high school and was suspended by his private school.

Apparently, his school forbids rock music, dancing and hand holding, which are just about my three of my favorite things in the world. I could never survive there.

******************

I basically ate my way through Mother's Day.

We have friends over for brunch, went out to dinner and I got my favorite chocolate.

It was delicious and totally worth every calorie.

*****************

This actually one of my biggest fears if I have another baby- Woman Gives Birth To Twins Right On NYC Street

I was in labor for less than 4 hours with my son. Rumor is it unusually goes faster the second time.

Obviously, fast labor is good, but too quick a labor might get really adventurous.

****************

For more random fun, please visit The Un-Mom and her minions.

To The Mothers

To the ones knee deep in the toddler trenches,

To those who answer to grandma,

To the ones navigating the teenage years,

To those who just saw the second pink line for the first time,

To the single moms,

To the step moms,

To the married moms,

To the working moms who come home and do a second shift,

To the ones who stay home,

Whatever type of mom you are,

To every mom everywhere,

Thank you for all you do.

Happy Mother's Day

Toddler Tests

I was changing the little man's diaper this afternoon, getting him ready for nap, and he started kicking me.

Hard. On purpose.

While laughing.

It's like he was following a recipe on how to make my head turn into a super nova.

I told him to stop. He just giggled and did it again, only harder.

This continued on for several rounds which is always a bad sign in my book.

For practical reasons, I quickly concluded that time outs don't mix well with a diaperless toddler. (Time outs usually work really well in our house.)

And I was at a loss...

I've never had to use a technique other than a time out or distraction before. (The little man is very active, but is generally pretty happy and easy to handle).

(I'm pretty against the idea of spanking so I was hoping to come up with something else.)

So I threatened him with the one thing I thought would get his attention - bedtime stories before nap. Bedtime stories are just about his favorite thing in the world.

He ignored the warning. He kicked me as hard as little legs were capable of kicking.

So he was put down for nap today without any stories.

The whole thing was sad. He was upset... really upset.

And I was tempted to give in, but I didn't.

And although I feel a bit mean right now, I'm actually quite proud of myself.

I'm pretty sure I just passed the first of many tests that come with parenting a wild two year old boy.

In theory I'd like the punishment to be a consequence of the behavior (i.e. throw a toy, that toy gets taken away), but I couldn't come up with anything good for kicking like a maniac during diaper changes. I totally open if anybody has any suggestions.

I think the trying twos are officially here! Let the games begin...

Welcome Sistas!

The Secret is in the Sauce is a group of bloggers who support each other by leaving comments and they highlight one featured blogger each week day. It's a fantastic group and how I found many of my blog friends.

Please join us if you're interested in meeting new blog friends (and expanding your readership), just click the button above.

And today....I'M THE FEATURED BLOGGER!

I'm so excited. I'm teenage girl with a new crush excited over this whole thing.

Welcome. Please come in and stay awhile. (Maybe I should have cleaned up first?)

Once I manage to quit doing my happy dance, I'll start returning all these comments (because that's what a sista does).

YAY!

RTT - The Dirty Old Lady In Training Edition

Welcome to Random Tuesday Thoughts.

To join in the fun, visit the ever lovely Un-Mom.


And we're off and running, just like the teenage boys in front of my house.

Last week when I wrote about shirtless teenage boys, I thinking about well defined, underage six packs.

Many of the comments were more along the lines of stinky and annoying teenagers. So...now I feel a little inappropriate.

It appears I might be a dirty old lady in training. (I added the "in training" because I refuse to call myself old just yet. I'm feeling a little sensitive about my up coming transition to the thirties.)

Maybe I shouldn't have watched Seventeen Again.

*****************
Over the weekend, I heard on a random TV show that over 50% of the people on Facebook are over 26 years old.

Am I the only one who finds that fact comforting?
****************

In the past three days I have bought and sent three birthday presents (nephew, friend and little brother), two wedding presents and three Mother's day cards.

I did, however, manage to forgot to send my grandma a birthday card, but recovered in time for a CYA phone call.

I'm glad for all these reasons to celebrate, but wish it was all spread out a little more.

It's overwhelming! (And expensive.)

*************
There seems to be a bit of burnout blowing through blogland. Several of my blog friends have been MIA and one even deleted their blog without notice.

The abrupt end of blog friendships is jarring.

In "real" life friendships fade much more gradually.

I miss you and I wish you well.

*************
Have a fantastic Tuesday folks. Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Laptop Dancing

I've been thinking about it for a long time and I finally took the plunge.

I bought a new laptop.

Joyfully, I plugged it in as soon as I got home.

And right away, a scary black screen appeared that read "No bootable device". (Turns out that is computer talk for I can't find my hard drive with both hands and a map.)

I knew things were going to end badly when the help desk guy asked me if I had a small Phillips head screw driver handy.

I have now successfully taken the hard drive out of a laptop, which might have been cool if it wasn't the non-functioning hard drive in my brand spanking new laptop.

A 45 minute phone call with the help desk and a short drive back to the store later, and I got my second new laptop in one day.

The experience definitely wasn't as fun the second time around.

So far laptop number two is working like a champ, but the whole experience was pretty intimidating.

Thank God for warranties.