Category Archives: observations

Signs I’m Becoming a Grumpy Old Man

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Lately, I think I am noticing the signs of being a grumpy old man.

You know, passing a group of teenagers on the street and then calling them hooligans to my husband later. Or maybe it’s the fact that it can be 6:30 in the morning and I’ve already finished breakfast and read the paper. Or how about the fact that I think dinner at 6:00 pm is practically midnight.

But here’s my most recent sign-

Am I the only one bothered by nurses dressed in scrubs walking through the food court?

This can’t be sanitary on so many levels.

Do they change into different scrubs once they get back to work?

Or did they change into new scrubs when they were leaving the hospital to eat, removing all of the sick patient germs?

If you follow this logic they must be changing at a minimum of three times a day.

I know hand washing is the most important thing but the fact that I’ve seen them in the bathroom gives me a full body shiver.

This can’t be clean.

I’m thinking of writing a letter to the editor to share my disgust and have this changed.

Oh great, now I’m writing letters to the editor.

It’s another sign.

Top 5 Reasons I’m a Bad Mom

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Here are the top 5 reasons I’m a bad mom according to my 7 year old…

5. My Mom hasn’t run out and bought the part necessary to fix the XBOX machine.

4. My Mom won’t let me eat dessert everyday, several times a day.

3. My Mom makes me wear pants if we have to go to a nice function.

2. My Mom won’t let me watch a Harry Potter movie every weekend.

And the #1 reason according to my 7 year old as to why I am a bad mother…

1. My Mom won’t let me order chicken fingers & fries at a Mexican restaurant!

 

(when he noticed the girl behind us received chicken fingers to eat he was not impressed me – but let the record show he loved the flautas)

Gymnastics through the Years

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Caroline has just started a little 6 week community gymnastics class which she loves.

(Caroline at three and a half)

 Funny thing is, it’s not my first time in this room or this class.

Here’s Andrew in 2008 in the class at two and a half.

And here’s Alex in 2005 taking the exact same class when he was almost three.

Bela Karolyi better watch out…

I’m pretty sure I could teach this class now.

Lucky

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I’m not going to lie.

I’m feeling a little lazy right now and just want to go sit on the couch and watch trash tv.

So while I don’t have anything earth shattering here today – unlike every other day 🙂 I do want to express how lucky I am for the kiddos I have.

This is how I found them last Sunday morning.

And while the pictures are blurry, this much is clear.

My kids love each other and love hanging out with each other.

Yes, there are the usual arguments and squabbles but for the most part they hang with one another even in their free time.

I’m not quite sure how my husband and I got so lucky but every time I see this I am so so thankful for it.

A Sewing Success…Barely

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I had to make Caroline a new nap mat for school since Sophie (our dog) was kind enough to destroy the one we’ve had for the last 8 years.

No, I didn’t have to buy one but I thought , “I can do that. No problem!”

I am a fool.

An over confident fool who needed to be talked off the ledge several times during the sewing process.

I based my design from this nap mat which would have ended up costing me $64.

So in that instance, I am not a fool.

My nap mat came in right around $33.

Because we couldn’t find any Wonder Woman fabric, Caroline chose these flamingos.

There is no tutorial because I didn’t think many of you would want to rip out stitches and sew parts of the nap mat together that aren’t supposed to be.

(the orange blanket is sewn into one side of the nap mat )

(there is a green foam pad inserted into the nap mat – it can be taken out so that the fabric part of the nap mat can be washed)

 

I will tell you this, Caroline loves her nap mat, but there has not been one single nap taken on it at school.

I think she just bides her time and plans what she will play with once that unnecessary quiet time is done.

 

Preschool Pick Up

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So many people have asked how Caroline’s first day of fall preschool went and wonder how it compared to the Meet the Teacher day.

Let me say this…

She did not win the Miss Congeniality Award.

Drop off went smoothly with not even a backwards look at me.

I peeked into the room after putting her things in her cubby to find her sitting at the table working with one of the teachers.

Super.

I went on with my day, even managing to go to the noon swim practice.

At 1:55 I showed up at her classroom door to see her playing with some My Little Ponies.

The teacher said, “Caroline, your mom is here.”

Caroline glanced up and saw me.

She stood up, screwed up her face in a mean face, stiffened her arms by her side, and didn’t move.

I smiled at her and said, “Caroline, it’s time to go.”

Thankfully, she walked over to me, still  holding the pony in her hand.

“It’s time to go so we need to leave the pony at school. You can come back tomorrow and play with it.”

Here is when she started to cry mumbling something about taking the pony home.

I reiterated that the pony needed to stay at school but she would be able to play with it again tomorrow.

One of the teachers leaned her head out of the door and said, “She can take it home with her.”

?????

WTF? Are you kidding me lady? We do NOT need to start the precedent of taking home toys everyday from school and let me tell you, one time in Caroline’s mind would mean being able to bring them home everyday.Plus, I have a dog who would likely eat every toy thus making preschool cost $8,000 when factoring in toy replacement fees.

I looked up at her, smiled, and said, “No, we need to leave the toys at school.”

“Caroline, it’s time to go home, I want you to leave the pony.”

“Noooooo.”

“I’m taking the pony out of your hand now, you can play with it tomorrow at school.”

I took the pony.

“I WASN’T FINISHED WITH THAT!      I STILL WANT THAT!” she screamed and I mean SCREAMED.

And with that, I grabbed her stuff and walked out the door while she continued to scream, “I WANT TO STAY. I DON’T WANT TO GO HOME.”

If pick up goes the same today, I am fully expecting a surprise visit from Child Protective Services at my door.

Remember when last year’s teacher described her as, “a pistol? ”

I can only imagine the adjectives being thrown around the break room now.

20 Seconds of Courage

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Our family loves the movie, “We Bought a Zoo,” with Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson & Thomas Haden Church.

Parent alert: There is a scene in the movie where Damon is arguing with his son in the hallway and he yells, “I still have one who believes in Santa Claus.” I manage to fast forward that part every time.

The film is an uplifting story in which a dad and his two children buy a run down wildlife park and try to help the staff keep the park operating . (Of course, the mom has died in the story – why do Moms always die in these stories?)

One of the things I’ve always said to my kids is, “Anything can happen.“ You might think you don’t have a shot at winning or completing a goal but anything can happen. When I was younger I was up against a swimmer I had never beaten. Never ever. When the meet official started us, she had a poor start and basically fell into the water. I won the race because she fell into the water. And from that one swim I had the confidence to beat her again.I knew I could do it.  Anything can happen.

While the movie is full of beautiful music, amazing music actually, the main message of the movie is what has really stuck with me.

In the movie Matt Damon is speaking with his son about a situation with a girl but it speaks to so much more than that…. he says,

“Sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, just literally 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery, and I promise you, something great will come of it.”

click here for printable

Most often I find the task I’m dreading or procrastinating the most to be manageable once I finally decide to do it. And amazingly, whatever I dreaded wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

I’ll let you in on a little secret.

I am a huge procrastinator when it comes to putting things up for sale on etsy. I have this extreme doubt that no one will think it has any value. No one will think it is any good.

But you know, the moment I summon the courage to put something out there, I feel better.

No, everything doesn’t always sell but I always feel such a sense of accomplishment.

I’ve tried and for me, it’s a much better outcome than wondering what might be if I never try.

*******

Have you always wanted to take a class but were too embarrassed?

Have you always dreamed about accomplishing something but are too scared to take the first step?

Are you worried what someone will say if you tell them something?

All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage…

…and something great may come of it…

…because anything can happen.

*Remember to enter the Clever Containers giveaway by 10 pm tonight!

 

Step

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We ventured out to a new pool in the area this week.

This pool had a wonderful kids area for Caroline so I was able to sit and relax in the water while watching her play on the water slide.

There were a few other moms watching their children go down the slide too.

We’d casually reply to one another, “great day,” “they’re certainly having fun,” and, “definitely ready for school to start.”

After Caroline had gone down the slide a few times she ran over to me and said, “You’re my stepmom.”

And with that she gave me a big hug and was off.

Now, I have an 8 inch c-section scar to dispute this statement but I think I was too stunned to argue at first.

Still processing what she told me, I glanced around at the other moms trying to determine if they had heard.

Caroline went down the slide and came running over to me again, “You’re my stepmom. I love you.”

What is this girl thinking?

When she came over a third time I said, “I am not your stepmom , I am your mommy.”

She ignored me and said, “You’re my stepmom.”

Desperately searching my brain for what she could be thinking I finally realized that it must be Disney’s fault. While reading Cinderella the other night with Caroline, I realized I was reading the word “stepmom” quite often.

Cinderella’s mean stepmom…Cinderella’s stepmom broke Cinderella’s dress..Cinderella’s stepmom locked her in her room.

What does it mean that Caroline is comparing me to the evil stepmom?

I’ll tell you what it means.

Caroline is going to be doing a lot more cooking and cleaning around here. The heck with all this playing and coloring.

She’s going to hope her fairy godmother visits her and helps her escape the evil clutches of this pool taking, ice cream giving, book reading, stepmom.

Finding the Funny

A Car Organizing Failure

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The problem with being crafty is that you think, “I can make that,” no matter what item you may be looking at.

A Halloween wreath? I can make that.

A wall clock? I can make that.

A rebuilt car engine? I can make that.

The problem is, at least with me, I cannot make half the things I think I can.

 Way back in February I had a goal of organizing my car.

The main issue seems to be toys, books, and snack containers everywhere.

(This is what was recently cleaned out of the car. It fills an entire IKEA bag and that’s huge)

Because my kids seem to be in intense training to be on the show “Hoarders,” our car is constantly a mess.

Apparently it is just not possible to get into the car without having 2 stuffed animals, 3 books, and 6 random objects.

And what goes in our car, never comes out.

 So I thought, I’ll make a car organizer with material I already have.

Here’s the sad and final product.

Don’t you just love how it sags, how the velcro won’t stay closed, and how it’s too flimsy to old anything over 8 ounces?

Yes, this was my car organizing failure.

But I have found another solution to help me with keeping my car clean…and no, it doesn’t involve threatening my kids with spankings…although let’s not rule out anything just yet.

Come back tomorrow so I can show you how I fixed this problem

Hint – It involves a giveaway for you!