I think I get some extra points for this one

I tossed some clothes in the washer, but didn’t turn it on, thinking I’d wait until morning to add some more things in and then start it. My step-son, John, went downstairs and was going to do laundry so he could go visit his girlfriend for the weekend. He asked if he could just add some stuff to my load and he’d get it all washed and dried. Sure, thanks for not dropping it all on the laundry area floor, kwim?

Next morning, I go downstairs to get my stuff out of the dryer, and what do I find mingled amongst my things? Take a guess….

It wasn’t the whole box, nor a used one…it was just an empty wrapper.

So, of course I’m glad he’s practicing safe sex. Rock on….however….it has been 3 weeks since he saw his girlfriend…um….has it been that long since he did laundry?

I didn’t ask. I did, however, place the now washed & dryed wrapper neatly on top of the clean basket of clothing that belongs to him. I wonder if he’ll notice.

She would have made a good mother

My little tortise-shell cat Cleo, short for Cleopatra, would have made a really good mother. I wish I could get her one of those little nurse-maid get ups like Nana from the animated Peter Pan movie wore. She is always trying to tend the babies and take care of them. This started when Liam was a baby, every time I’d lay down to nurse him, she would climb up on my side/stomach and watch, which at first was a bit odd, but several years later I’m used to it. She stands guard when my smaller children nap, okay, she gets INTO the crib/pack and play and sleeps at their feet and then comes to find me when baby awakes – how cool! Also, Cleo really likes yarn, I’m certain she would have been a knitter. She understands when it is feeding time and will even help clean up afterwards, especially if we have some sort of ham or snack on cheez-its.

Unfortunately, we’ll never know if Cleo’s mother skillz would have worked on a kitten because the Humane Shelter where we got her spays and neuters all of their adoptees, but I understand why.

Lemonade!

My friend Shannon over at Isaiah Updates nominated my blog for the Lemonade award – Thanks Shannon!!! I would totally nominate you too!!!

The Lemonade Award is given to bloggers who show a positive attitude, gratitude and a willingness to share their ideas, support and online friendship. In other words, people who make lemonade when they get lemons!

The rules of the award:

1. Put the Lemonade logo on your blog within your post

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs with great attitude or gratitude

3. Link the nominees within your post

4. Let the nominees know that they received this award by commenting on their blog

5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award

I don’t have a lot of actively blogging friends these days, but a few good ones come to mind…

My friend Kristi at Crafty Kristi’s Blog is the mom to one little guy, and she also provides daycare services for one family. I don’t think my weeks would be complete without at least one visit from them. She keeps me sane and is one of the most genuine people I know.

Though she doesn’t get as many comments on her blog as she’d like, Cayla at More Matter/Less Art is an amazing source of inspiration. She was due with her son the same time I was due with Maggie, but as life works, her son is a couple of months older than Maggie.

Stefany over at To Be Thode is a mom/stepmom to 5. She is back to the books this year and I love hearing about her trials and tribulations with her family. I know her IRL also, and though we don’t run into each other often enough, I enjoy her each time.

ah…yes…my good friend Meleesa. Someone I can honestly say I am jealous of…she is one of the best knitters I know and she’s got mad skillz…she can whip up a pair of socks lightening fast and read a book at the same time…both are things I wish I had more time for. Meleesa is a mom to 3 busy kids and she can be found On Pages and Needles.

Sick kids making parents feel like jerks.

I know I’m not alone in my sentiments here. I think every single one of us with children has been in my shoes.

Scenario: Your kid is HORRID. Gets in trouble, acts out, just is a general turd. You get on their case, possibly impose some sort of punishment and express displeasure at their behavior (loudly).

The next day….kid wakes with a raging fever, throws up in the night, or goes to school and the nurse has to call for you to pick up.

Verdict: Sick kid who can’t, even at 8 years old, express properly what is going on. Parent feels horrid for not having seen the signs and feels guilty for yelling/taking away tv/no desert/etc.

Hypothetical situations aside. Dorothy was uncharacteristically awful on Monday. She got her first behavior card pulled in over 2 years at school, the last time was 1st quarter in kindergarten. She was a snot to the girls I provide after school care for, and she was a general stinker. I sent her to her room and let her know that books were the only thing she was allowed to do for the evening. Lots of tears, but she complied, perhaps too easily, not even trying to plead her case. Yesterday (tuesday) during naps, I get the call from the school nurse….Dorothy is sick, can you come and get her?

Nice…Mom of the Year.

It’s time for the Jingle Bell Run

I’m not really ready. I’ll start with that. I can run for about 40 minutes without walking but on the treadmill that doesn’t yield 3.1 miles. I’m hoping, though, that running on the treadmill is like walking on the treadmill. When I did my last 5k I did it in 48 minutes and walked the whole thing, but I never actually walked a 16 minute mile on my treadmill, the closest was about 17:30, and I did less than 16 minute miles in the half-marathon, so I’m thinking that I just don’t stride out properly on the tread.

Anyway, I don’t think I could do this all without the continued support of my husband, John. My work situation right now doesn’t allow me to work out during naps right now, I’m sure that in a couple of months that will change, but right now I have some climbers. This means, obviously, that somewhere I have to find the time to work out, but finding time in my day that already starts at 5:00 a.m. and ends at 10:30 p.m. is somewhat difficult. The path of least resistatance, which is what I’m normally known for would be to stop for a while, but I”m pressing on and John has taken over bed-time with Maggie (we still lay down with her). I think he likes the evening nap and bonding time with the baby, and I like the alone time with my Sony Walkman MP3 player.

The Walkman really is a great MP3 player. It is cute and compact, and it holds more than enough music/videos/playlists to suit my needs. And, it’s pink. It also gets radio stations. John got it for me this year for my birthday, and I think it may be my most used gift to date. I really do love it!

Toy Time at Aldi

I’ve mentioned Aldi’s in the past. I really LOVE Aldi. That store allows me to feed my small army of a family + daycare heathy, deliciously, and inexpensively when compared to large retail grocers. There is very little overhead at the Aldi stores and I think I read somewhere that each store has a maximum of 12 employees. There are no baggers, sweepers or eye-catching end displays, but the food is good, the food is yummy, and we like it.

So, where I was I? Ah…yes…the TOYS!!! Toy time is two weeks a year. All I have to say is WOOT about the prices and the selection! Littlest Pet Shop 12 pack, Fisher Price Little Mommy set with doll, walking/talking Transformer, Spongebob video game, LeapFrog games, and Barbie dolls are in our hillbilly hayloft (the storage space created in the top of our garage by placing plywood across the rafters) along with a stand mixer, crockpot and more! Yup, we hit the toy sale hard this year. My only regret is that I didn’t find a way to show up on Thursday morning at 9:00am when the goods were stocked because I missed out on a really cool fake kitchen set for Maggie and a tool bench for Liam.

39 days till Christmas!

Thanksgiving is coming up and other ramblings

and I’m thinking about the menu. I want it to be kid-friendly, delicious and to have minimal work on my part. I had considered Beef Wellington and Yorkshire Pudding, but I have decided to stick with the tried and true.

2 Turkey Breasts – In the crockpot
Dressing (not stovetop, but I’ll make the bread for it and everything)
Mashed Potatoes – John will make these actually, he makes them with sour cream – YUM
Gravy – packets LOL
Buttered Corn
Green Bean Casserole
Yeast Rolls
Salad

Pumpkin Pie and Apple Pie

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This is the menu for Thanksgiving Day when I host it. My brother and his partner won’t be in this year, and my sister is waiting on her grandmother to die, so really this will just be us, the 5 kids, my parents and perhaps I’ll invite my MIL….admittedly, I’m still on the fence about this invitation.

John’s girlfriend, Megan, won’t be able to make it this year because she lives 3 hours away and has to work the day after at 4:00am. I understand. I imagine a ring may be in the near future, so I would have like her to be able to join us.

Officially, no tickets have been purchased for Dustin and Dorothy to travel to Hawaii for the Christmas holidays. Dustin is aware of this and said he’d just assume stay here. I haven’t said anything officially to Dorothy yet.

I’ll be doing some serious shopping for Christmas at 4 in the morning on the day after Thanksgiving. I’m crazy like that.

Hooked.

My online time is suffering once again. I am neglecting my friends and family alike because I’m reading the Twilight series. I’ll be back soon, I promise.

5:15 am on a Saturday

I would just like to thank Miss Maggie for making sure I saw the sun rise this morning. It truely was adorable when she smacked my face and said, “MOMMY.” Yup, I love that. However, a glance over at the alarm clock wasn’t met with a big smile. So, here I am blogging before 7:00am on a Saturday morning while she drives her riding toy around the kitchen talking on her phone to Daddy. Daddy is actually curled up in bed, still sleeping like I should be, but to be fair, he did offer to come downstairs with Mags.

Another athlete in the family!

Dustin’s last cross country meet of the year was on Wednesday night. He was excited, but if you can believe this, he had to run a mile (timed) in PE about 2 hours before the meet! Anyway, as usual, he performed well finishing in the top 1/3 of the boys in both 5th and 6th grade. He is going to keep on running…and he’s going to get some nice running shoes from ole’ Santie and Mrs. Clause.

The other athlete? Dorothy.

The meet was an invitational to all of our city schools, both public and private, for grades 1-6. Dorothy wanted to participate, so we let her. She started off and fell! I’ll interject a memory of a certain little boy who did the exact same thing a few years back…but like him, she jumped up and kept on running. So, there Dorothy is, on the ground, in last place. She had insisted to me that she was *fast* and *the fastest kid in her class*, but honestly I didn’t believe her…or I thought all the kids in her class must be slow. I wanted to go pick her up, but I refrained and she got up and started running in last place. A few minutes later the kids are re-entering our view and there is Dorothy in the front of the pack! She came in 2nd place for girls with the winner only a few steps ahead. I believe she was in the top 10 overall with boys included. WTG Dorothy!