Category Archives: observations

Pet Peeve

Posted on by

I am a party pooper and I don’t care.

In fact, I wish more moms felt the way I do.

I have a pet peeve which goes against my love for crafting.

I hate gift bags, goody bags, and here’s a bunch of crap bags.

I know it’s expected now at birthday parties and showers but I just struggle with it. The goody bags at my kids’ parties are probably the worst around – a lollipop, stickers, and a tattoo – and the tattoo is only if I really like the kid.

Goodie bags are expected at parties now and I have learned to deal with that.

What I cannot deal with are the expectations for goody bags at school.

Preschool at that.

My daughter’s preschool sent out a message stating that bags would be placed in each students cubby “in case we were going to bring treats to share with our friends.”

They are two. They don’t need any extra goodies. A costume day and fall festival was more than enough to celebrate Halloween.

I refused to prepare any treats. We went to school empty handed.

This is the goody bag my daughter came home with.

Let’s just take a peek at what was inside.

Nice haul for a five hour school day, huh.

This bag was from one kid.

Here are the contents of the bag:

Impressive but ridiculous.

Isn’t anyone else tired of plastic trinkets littering their car and the “I get something” expectation that now comes with going to a party.

Now we are going to have the expectation at school.

I stand firm by my decision to not bring anything.

Plus, some of the goody bag contents were not labeled so no one else knows I didn’t participate. – ha!

Running Peak

Posted on by

I truly dislike running.

I don’t get the runner’s high you are suppose to experience at the end of a run.

I get exhaustion, a dehydration headache, and sore legs.

Two months into my training and I keep waiting for this to get easier.

Yesterday I went for a 7 mile run in the neighborhood per the running calender I am adhering to.

It was tough. I was out of breath practically the whole run and was complaining to myself the entire time.

To make matters worse, a boy on a unicycle passed me.

I couldn’t even make that up.

I wanted to push him over.

Only problem was…I couldn’t catch him so I just watched him cycle away.

Before kids, my husband and I completed a marathon.

I was 26 and in shape.

Now eleven years and several kids later, I’m trying to run just half that distance and struggling.

I’m 37 after all. A bit old to chase a dream?

Apparently not.

Take a look at this article I saw in the paper.


According to this I should hit my running stride in 63 years!

Art

Posted on by

Normally, I encourage the artisitic process around our house.

Yesterday, not so much.

This looks like a crime scene.

Fortunately for my two year old, I didn’t turn it into one.

We will be renting a steamer very shortly since she decided to paint the carpet which is ONLY ONE YEAR OLD as well.

I was cleaning up a room and thought my husband was watching her.

My husband was sitting with our son during his piano lesson and thought I was watching her.

There was some crying involved afterward and a discussion about how painting is only done on paper.

Apparently the message was not enough for any of us.

The next day I discovered her hiding behind this board…painting it.

Again, my husband and I both assumed the other had her.

We are idiots and she knows it.

When my husband questioned her about painting, she said, “I paint on paper.”

She’s really right.

It was hard to get angry with her when I realized there was a silver lining to all of this.

Her clothes stayed clean.


She worn an apron both times.

A Thought & A WINNER!

Posted on by

Here’s a random thought for you and then I’ll announce our giveaway winner.

Is it written in stone somewhere that moms are the only ones allowed to change the toilet paper roll?

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

Now onto the Creative Paige Christmas Card Design giveaway.

Someone is about to win a wonderful design from Paige and get to share it with their friends and family.

This is so exciting!

And the winner is…..

Who is that you ask? Why it’s …...

Congratulations Kerry!

Hey since you won a giveaway from my blog can I come visit you in Australia?

Totally kidding. Mostly. A bit. I’ll be there next week.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway and thanks to Paige for giving everyone this opportunity.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Mrs. Know It All

Posted on by

I was lucky enough to meet a woman who knows everything.

As in lucky, I mean she made me want to stab my eyes out as she spoke.

Being the only two token parents on a committee, we were seated next to each other while  ten teachers and two administrators looked on from other tables.

When introductions were required I stated that before staying home I taught special education and math at the elementary level.

Her credentials composed of currently being on six different committees in the community. With a flourish of her wrists, she added, “Giving back is what I do…I volunteer everyday of the week…My schedule is completely full…I just run from one place to another helping others who are less forunate than me…I don’t have any free time and I’m just exhausted at the end of the day….Volunteering, it’s just what I do.” Imagine this going on for another four minutes and my eyes rolling back in my head halfway into this speech.

You should have seen the look on the teachers’ faces. Utter disgust and complete apathy.

I wanted to crawl under a table since I know realized they were looking at me in same way. Given the proximity and the title of “parent” I am now guilty by association.

During the course of a break out session I learned from her that: 1) All standardized testing should be thrown out since it is worthless 2) Parents just need to make their children do their homework 3) Children should be scared of their parents to ensure discipline and 4) Her daughter would never do anything wrong because she has raised her right.

Good thing she has this parenting thing completely figured out.

Oh, did I mention her daughter is in kindergarten?

Mrs. Know-It-All and I have to meet three more times this year.

Just super.

Our next meeting focuses on the school budget. I am excited to find out how Mrs. Know-It-All will fix the budget concerns. It probably involves throwing out all of the district accountants because they’re worthless and maybe she’ll throw in the thought that teachers should just take a pay cut since it’s an 8 to 3 job.

Can’t wait for that meeting.

He Will Never Learn

Posted on by

My husband will never learn.

We’ve been married 14 years and he still doesn’t get it.

Maybe it’s the fact that he grew up in a family with only two children. He doesn’t have the hoarding tendencies that those of us with many siblings learned.

Whatever the reason, he is still dumbfounded to come home to this.

When there is a bag of Oreos open in our house, EAT THEM RIGHT AWAY!

I tried to tell him. “Dear, I opened a bag of Oreos in the pantry. They are hiding on the top shelf so the kids don’t see them. You need to go ahead and eat some before I eat them all.”

TWO DAYS LATER he goes to look in the pantry and is stunned to find the cookies gone.

I mean, two days later? When I say you need to go ahead and eat some, I mean RIGHT NOW because I am heading to the pantry as we speak.

I know he thinks I should feel bad but I don’t.

I mean, I TOLD HIM.

But, I will try again just like I always do … Derek there is a candy bar hidden on the top shelf of the pantry…go eat some NOW.

 

A Star

Posted on by

Saw this decal on a car today while I was walking to Alex’s lacrosse game.

My Kids a StarA star in preschool?

Does their preschooler feel pity towards the other kids who are furiously scribbling on their paper and shamefully coloring outside the lines?

While eating does their preschooler watch in horror as the other children continue to carry on a conversation with a piece of peanut butter on their face?

Does their preschooler shoot scornful looks as their classmates dare to dress up in mismatched clothing?

Next week I’m going to park my car next to the “star car.”

I’ve designed a decal for my car I’d like them to see.

Might conflict with the “Be kind to others” and “Everyone is important” messages we’ve been trying to foster in our children but I’m ready to chance it.

In Case You Were Wondering…

Posted on by

Last night I went out to dinner with a friend.

I realized 4 minutes from the restaurant that I had forgotten to put on deodorant.

It was 85 degrees and I knew we were going to eat outside.

Plus, I was wearing a sleeveless shirt.

This was potentially a ripe situation.

I hunted around the car.

All I found was a pack of Altoids.

Apparently licking Altoids and rubbing them in your pits works quite well as a deodorant replacement.

In case you were wondering.

Classified Ad

Posted on by

I was perusing through the classifieds the other day when I came across this ad.

After the first read through I snickered.

After the second I was horrified.

After the third I was counting my blessings.


How does it make you feel?

Hair

Posted on by

Have you ever had this problem?

I’m going to get my hair colored tomorrow and I’m trying to come up with an excuse.

It’s actually worse than it looks.

I have a good two inches of brown hair followed by 8 inches of blonde hair. Oh so attractive

I know what’s going to happen when I enter the salon. A disgusted colorist will look at me repulsively while I say, “I know its been four months since I’ve been here but I was kind of busy.”

Crickets.

“I was trying to save some money so I waited to come in a little longer than usual.”

Crickets.

“I made sure to wear a hat all the time.”

Crickets.

“I actually never left the house during the last two months of this debacle.”

So I’ve been brainstorming..I think I’ll get a different look this time.

“While visiting a friend in Africa I was kidnapped and forced to marry a Zulu prince. But I escaped two weeks later when I jumped out of our canoe and battled a crocodile while getting to shore. I then came across military forces who took me into their operation and trained me to become a gunner until I met a young woman I thought I could trust. Turns out she was recruiting women to become geishas and I was just what they were looking for. I was the headline performer at the Sumo National Championships. Thankfully an audience member recognized me from a television appearance and was able to pay for my freedom. I just returned to the US this morning and this was my first stop.”

I’m betting this will get me a full highlight for the price of a partial.

Do you ever need excuses for your hair?