I need a fix

Wednesday nights can be miserable nights for me. Thankfully it's only once a month that I really have to put up with it.

I'm a Girl Scout Leader. Once a month on a Wednesday, the leaders have a meeting. We discuss what each troop is doing and any events that are coming up. All we do is talk and sometimes I take notes. You wouldn't think listening to someone talk for close to 2 hours would be tiring. But it is.

After every meeting I come home, plop my butt on the couch, and watch crappy TV. My brain just cannot function.

But that has since changed.

The other leader of our troop has been bringing her baby to the meetings. Leader meetings have turned into baby time for me. He's a big boy, but oh, so cute. When her arms just can't hold him anymore, I gladly take over. If she needs to do something, I will gladly take a hold of him while she works. Sometimes I wonder if I just have that look in my eye that screams "I need a baby fix!!!'


I absolutely love babies, but the husband and I have decided that 2 is enough. Hell, sometimes Little Dude by himself is more than enough! But anyway, the husband has very justified reasons for stopping at 2 and quite frankly, we couldn't swing it right now even if we wanted another baby. Financially and spatially. Although he probably wouldn't have to twist my arm too much if he did change his mind.

For now, it's probably best that I get my baby fix through other people's children. Plus, I can give those kids back when they start to cry. That's probably the best part!


Until next time....

How to survive life with a son

My mom told me that raising a boy was different than raising a girl. I took her words with a grain of salt because at the time, we just had our girl. Babies are babies. How different can they really be? Other than having to duck when changing a boy's diaper.

Now that I have a son, I take her words as those from an expert. I've had a few years of training with my boy and I am now going to pass my knowledge of how to survive life with a son onto you.


In the first few years, the difference between boys and girls is trivial. Just always remember to duck! Once your boy becomes mobile and vocal, you need to start stocking up. Here are some of the supplies you will need. If you have anymore to add o the list, please leave them in the comments below.


Baby gates and plug covers
Step aerobics should be done on your own time. Not 50 million times a day because your son won't stop climbing the darn steps. It is also inevitable that your son will try to stick anything he can get his hands onto into any hole he can find.


A plunger
This goes along with boys sticking anything they can get their hands on into any hole they can find. You might want to also add a pipe snake to the list. Drano won't do a darn thing for Q-tips shoved down the drain of the bathroom sink.


Lots and lots of laundry soap. And stain remover
My son is like most other boys I have seen throughout the years. Pig Pen. If there is dirt, it will stick to him like flies on.... well, he gets dirty. A lot!

Stain remover is great for grass stains and food stains. As of now, my favorite go to brand is Zout. As a precaution, I would recommend picking up a tub of OxiClean as well. It really comes in handy when said boy leaves crayons in his pockets and you throw your favorite sweatshirt in the washer/dryer with his stuff.

And Billy Mayes, may he rest in peace, was correct in yelling at you to make a paste. Make it. Use it. And stop crying.


Ear plugs
Girls may squeal, but that is nothing compared to a boy. They yell. A lot. Ok, all the freakin time! These little boy creatures perceive their tone as normal. Telling them to "Shhh" does not work. That word is not, nor will it ever be, in their vocabulary.


A high quality vacuum
Their yelling is deceiving. Their mouths are not as big as you think. This causes a problem when boys go to eat. Not all of the food makes it into their mouths.

Of course, if it doesn't bother you for a dog to eat table scraps, you could get one of those instead.


Air freshener
Boys stink. Trust me, you need this!



toilet latch - toys flushed @boycrazedmomma



Until next time....

It should be illegal

For the past 4 years, GG has been playing soccer. When Little Dude turned 4 a year and a half ago, he also started playing. They play both in the Fall season and in the Spring season.

We're not supposed to keep score, but as you can imagine, every single kid does. And sometimes the parents! The point is for the kids to have fun and be active. This is why they continue to play each season.

However, I have started to reconsider the Fall season. I'm not a fan of the cold. Our practice field is way at the bottom of a big hill, so it feels colder down there than it really is.

After last night, I am ready to petition the league to push back the start of the Spring season. Last weekend was absolutely gorgeous - perfect soccer playing weather. Last night? It felt more like November.

Let me explain in further detail via my tweets transferred to post-its...










Yes, I have to do it all again tonight with the other child. I know we're supposed to make sacrifices for our kids, but this is getting a little out of hand!






Until next time...

Blue Blobs

Sunday started off just like any other weekend morning.

Wait, who am I kidding? No it didn't!

The husband is a saint and usually lets me sleep in on the weekend. For example, Saturday, I slept until close to noon. Go ahead. Be jealous!

The same thing would have happened yesterday, but I had to be up early.

Long story short, I participate in a children's resale event twice a year. In order to bring home 70% percent of my profits instead of 60%, I volunteer during the sale. Sunday morning was my volunteer time. Doing a 9am to 12 shift seemed like a good idea at the time. As if getting up at 8am wasn't hard enough, my body thought it was a good idea to also wake up at 5am. And 6am. And 7am. I should have known right there that the day wouldn't go as planned.

Other than being a lot of work, my shift went well. When I returned home, everything and everyone were as they should be. And then he said it.

"Mom, do you like my creation?"

Oh, crap!

Little Dude had built something out of Legos. He did a very good job. Except his creation was sticking out of a blob of silly putty. I'm not sure why it's called silly putty. It's not your average silly putty that you can squish on a newspaper.

Like this...

It's shiny and slimy and gross. It looks like a bog blob of blue snot. And to make matters worse? The boy stuck an eraser right in the middle of the blob and then lost the container.

I got all the pieces out of the blue blob and back into the container that he thankfully found. I thought this was the last speed bump that I would hit for the day. Oh how wrong I was!

A few hours later we are at my in-laws. The husband just had a birthday and we were getting ready to go out for dinner. That's when I looked down and saw it.

A blue blob of snotty looking putty in his hair.

There was more scattered through out his hair.
This is just where the bulk of it was.
Sigh...

There was no way I could comb it out of his hair. It took a bribe for me to remove a hangnail from the boy's finger the previous day. This would be a lot worse! I really didn't want to cut his hair because he's trying to grow his yearly mohawk. But if I had to, I would do it.


Thankfully with some shampoo and warm water, I got it out. There were some tears involved, but it's out.


However, my relief was short lived. While I was walking across the living room to hang some coats up, I noticed tiny gelatinous blobs of blue throughout our green carpet.


Why do boys do these things?! It's not just mine, right?


Until next time....

Green skies and ping pong balls

In Southwest PA we don't have to deal with extreme weather, save the occasional blizzard once every few years. As much as complain about the cold, I would much rather be here than somewhere else. We've all seen the wrath of Mother Nature recently in Japan. I know I definitely couldn't deal with that. At all!

However, after yesterday, I have started the rethink where we live.

The weathermen predicted warm, but rainy weather for yesterday. We all know that weather men (and women) are right maybe never 50% of the time. The abundance of sun yesterday was further proof of that. I expected an easy drive to get the husband from work. I wouldn't need my sunglasses, but I was happy to not have to drive in the rain.

Once we were on the highway, the kids and I noticed the dark clouds rolling in. We saw a little lightening and a few big, fat drops hit the windshield. With the position of the clouds it appeared that we were slightly ahead of the storm. I hoped that it would pass and we wouldn't get stuck in it on the way back home.

Oh how wrong I was!!!

Quicker than a snap of my fingers, those big fat drops turned into some of the biggest hail I have ever seen. I have never pulled off the highway due to weather. Until yesterday. I really started to freak out when everyone else on the road pulled over as well.

The kids were ooh-ing and aah-ing over the size of the hail. Me? I'm surprised I wasn't honking the horn from my heart pounding out of my chest so hard! All the while I prayed that the windshield wouldn't break.

After a few minutes that felt like forever, the hail stopped. The rest of our drive was easy and I assumed the return trip would be easy as well since the storm had passed. I really need to stop assuming.

During the last 10 minutes of our return trip we all noticed our surroundings getting darker and darker. Without completely driving like a bat out of hell, I tried to hurry and get us home. I think because of this, I ended up getting behind the slowest driver ever. Needless to say, a few blocks from our house the lightening once again started and the sky turned a scary shade of green.

As I'm turning a corner I hear it.


BOOM!!!!!!


I do believe the exact words out of my mouth were "What the fuck was that?!" (I'm such a good role model for kids, aren't I?)

The hail had once again started. It was beating the crap out of our car but being so close to home, I had no choice but to keep going. As I was sprinting into the house I noticed chunks of ice on our porch steps. Instead of standing in the now pouring rain, I walked through the house and out onto our covered back porch. That's when I noticed this...

It looks like a ping pong ball, but it is indeed a 1 inch ball of ice. I hope to never see that again!


By the way, that ball and his friends left a nice dent in the roof of our car! But I guess it's better than a broken windshield! Compared to the rest of the area, we actually got off easy with this storm.



Until next time....

I wish I knew then what I know now

When we become moms, there are certain things that we know how to do. Even if we didn't realize it at first.

I love my kids to the moon and back, but there's only one thing to do during nice weather if I am to keep my sanity.

Send the little buggers outside!

Before becoming a mom, I didn't realize that sending my kids outside was a must. Obviously I knew it would be good for exercise purposes. What I didn't realize is how much I would come to value my sanity.

Another thing we, as moms, know how to do is take care of a sick child. Yes, I realize that sometimes we want to pull our hair out because nothing we are doing seems to help. I've been there plenty of times - crying while on hold with the pediatrician. But in general, they're sick, give them medicine.


What I wish I knew is how to tell when my kids are sick before they even know it.


This past weekend was full of all kinds of outdoor activities and running around. You can read more about it here. Had I known then what I know now, we would have stayed closer to home.


Sunday afternoon Little Dude started complaining about his ear hurting. He was getting over a cold, but had no other symptoms. No fever, no throwing up, nothing. Knowing that Little Dude can be somewhat of a drama king, I took the wait and see approach.

Fast forward to dinner time and he is still complaining. I try to look in his ear for a Lego or some other small toy. I wouldn't put it past him to shove something in his ears or up his nose. I'm actually quite surprised he hasn't tried before. *knock on wood*

When I pulled the top of ear to get a better look, he broke down into screams and tears. I'm no doctor, but that screamed ear infection. Being Sunday, there wasn't much I could do. Even if I did get a hold of the doctor, the pharmacy was closed. I gave him some Motrin and hoped he would be better by morning.

Monday morning the first thing he says to me as he stumbles from bed to the bathroom is "My ear still hurts". After I took the husband to work and GG to school I called the doctor. Surprisingly we got an appointment for 9:30. Not bad for such short notice!

The results - an ear infection that appeared to be infected for at least a few days. That means it was infected before he started to complain. Can we say, Mom Fail?

On the bright side we have pink fruity antibiotics, which he absolutely loves! I think he might love it a little too much! He wants to take the stuff all the time! Thank goodness for child-proof lids.

Surprised he hasn't figured those out either!


Until next time....

A Good Deal

Yet again we had a full weekend. I don't know why I expect anything different?

Friday was spent outside for many, many hours. It was a gorgeous day and we took full advantage of it. The kids and I walk to their school playground. After an hour, we grabbed their scooters and headed up to Caribou for drinks and a snack. After we returned home, we took a drive out to the big park to play for a while.

Saturday was date night, but not for me and the husband. A few weeks ago, Little Dude and I had a Mommy and Son date night at Chick Fil-a. It was now GG's turn for a date night with daddy.

Just so you can have a good laugh, I would like to point out that I drive them to the wrong restaurant. We quickly fixed that, and their night turned out magical.

Their table was set and they had a waitress who served them. Music was playing and every song was about love. After their meal, they got to take a limo ride around the parking lot. I'd be really surprised if you didn't hear her squeal when she found out! As a memento of their date, each girl got a magnet with her and her date as well as a CD containing all of the music that was played through their date.

Sunday was the first official day of Spring. While it wasn't as warm as Friday was, it was still a gorgeous day. The kids spent a good portion of the day playing outside. When they seemed to need a break I decided it was time to enjoy my favorite part of the first day of Spring. Free Rita's Day!

I know that not everyone may know what Rita's is, so I'll tell you. It's ice made mostly from fruit, although they do have other flavors like Swedish Fish and Cotton Candy (ew!).

Every year on the first day of Spring, Rita's shows their appreciation for their customers by giving out free regular sized ices. Just to put it into perspective, I usually get a kid size because a regular is too much ice for me, no matter how delicious it is!

While standing in line I realized that we could upgrade to a gelati for a dollar (custard is added to the ice). Three gelatis for three bucks is an awesome deal so that's what we got. I chose Tropical Punch, which is really good. The kids went for Swedish Fish. And yes, it really does taste like Swedish Fish.


I think we all enjoyed our snack, don't you?

Until next time....

I Raise my Shake

As my son tells me, there are 2 kinds of people in this world.

Those who want to be Irish

and the people who are Irish

I happen to be one of those people who are Irish, as evident by my reddish hair, freckles, and what may or may not be a wicked temper.

I celebrate this holiday with pride. Not because I'm Irish, but because I get to fill my belly with Shamrock shakes. No whipped cream. No cherry on top. Just a straight up green milkshake.

What McDonald's idiot thought it was a good idea to top such a delicious drink with those extras? Sheesh!


So from me to you, I raise my shake and say...

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

Until next time....

How to decorate a cake

Last Thursday was our Brownie troop's long awaited "field trip" day.

Why is field trip in quotes? Because we really didn't go anywhere. We had someone come to where we meet.

A friend of mine decorates cakes. I learned a few months ago that she also teaches cake classes. I knew this would be perfect for the girls in the troop.

She provided all of the supplies - cakes, icing, fondant, tools, and went to work teaching the girls how to decorate their little 6 inch cakes.

The cakes were frosted with butter cream icing that was to die for! Then they had pink, purple, and green fondant to use for bows and flowers.






Sadly neither of those cakes belong to GG. I'm a bad mom and forgot to take a picture of her cake until it was cut and partially eaten.

But I did get a picture of her enjoying her slice.

As well as one of her pretty roses.

Wordful Wednesday by

and



Until next time....

How to catch a leprechaun

Thursday is our late school. GG has her after school math program. While Little Dude and I were sitting in the car waiting for her to come out, he starts telling me about the newest project for school.


A leprechaun trap.


Oh, good grief!


I asked his teacher the following day about it. She said the kids can make a trap, but it's not a required assignment. This may sound like a good thing because I now had an out, but Little Dude had his heart set on making one.

Luckily burghbaby tweeted about making one, too. So I asked for tips and she directed me to the blog she got her idea from.

Thank you Red Lotus Mama for the directions!


The leprechaun will be drawn in from the glitter of the shamrocks. He'll see the grass at the top and wonder what is behind it. Leprechauns are curious little buggers!




Once he's close to the top, he will spot to pot o' gold. Leprechauns are also greedy little buggers! Being so focused on that shiny pot o' gold, the leprechaun will fail to notice the hole in the "ground".

I hope we can catch a leprechaun!

To learn how to make a similar trap, check out Red Lotus Mama'a post here.




Until next time....

Work habits

Most Some days I feel like I'm in this alone.

I cook, I clean, I volunteer at the school.

Just because I'm a SAHM doesn't mean I'm not busy. It would be a wonderful thing to have the husband cook dinner once in a while or take over homework duty. I'd ask him to take over bath duty, but the last time I asked for that, his eyes bugged out and his head started spinning. I'm not sure he ever wants that chore again!

I don't want anyone to think that the husband is ignoring us or taking advantage of me. He's not. If I ask, he will be there. But it would be nice to have the house cleaned or dinner cooked without asking. Especially this week when I am pulling my hair out trying to make a deadline.

The reason the husband doesn't jump in and help as often as I would like is because he works. He might not admit it if you asked, but he's a work-a-holic. Even when he's laying in our bed instead of sitting at his desk at the office, he's working. Sometimes it's actual work stuff he's doing. Other times it's one of many side projects. Some for pleasure, some with the intent to make some extra money.

I wish I would have known about his work habits going in to our marriage. It would not have stopped me from marrying him. We really are two peas in a pod. But fair warning would have been appreciated.


With the way our schedules are right now, it's not possible for me to work outside of the home. I love being a SAHM, but sometimes I wish I could contribute financially. I do have my days where I want to scream at the top of my lungs.

HELP ME OUT!!!!!

But I know the husband works damn hard to be able to provide for us. I am so thankful that he not only has a job, but has a good one.


I am also thankful that those around him also recognize his hard work.

Yesterday the husband had his yearly review. I can't believe he's been with this company for 4 years now! Not only did he get a great review, but he also got an awesome raise.

This week, we shall celebrate.

Next week it's back to screaming and pulling my hair out.





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Even though I don't think this post is debatable,
I love a good debate.
So please tell me what's on your mind.
Just remember...
R-E-S-P-E-C-T








Until next time....

The real way to exercise

I am constantly saying "I learn something new everyday".

This is usually my sarcastic response in regards to something stupid a person does. Like Charlie Sheen. Someone may get punched if I hear "winning" one more time, but you have to admit, the nonsense that comes out of his mouth is like a bad car crash. You just have to look and listen.

This line is typically my witty sarcasm shining, but yesterday I really did learn something. I learned the proper way to do step aerobics.

GG was home sick. To make her feel better, I started to make a beanie for one of her American Girl dolls. I attempted to make this hat Sunday night but made it 10 different kinds of wrong. This time I wanted to try it on the doll before I finished.

This is where I introduce the proper way to do step aerobics.


Run up 13 steps to try hat on doll; Run down 13 steps to return to the dining room where supplies are


Run up 13 steps to get the doll to model the finished product; Run down 13 steps to give doll to sick daughter


daughter starts complaining


Run up 13 steps to get thermometer from the medicine cabinet; Run down 13 to take child's temperature


Run up 13 steps to retrieve the Motrin from the medicine cabinet; Run down 13 steps to administer medicine


Take a break for a few hours, eat dinner, get homework done with the other child, then repeat.


Run up 13 steps to get the thermometer, Run down 13 steps because it's downstairs


Run up 13 steps to get the bath ready for the kids; Run down 13 steps because the Motrin was also left downstairs


Run up 13 steps to help get kids ready for bed; Run down 13 steps with laundry basket


we have now introduced strength training


Run down 12 steps to throw laundry in washer; Run up 12 steps and take a breather.


Repeat the run down and up the 12 steps once more for good measure. And maybe because the kids need clean clothes.



I'm typing this Monday night and I can tell you one thing, I am exhausted. If GG is sick again Tuesday, the first thing I am doing is gathering all my sicky supplies and putting them all in one place. If she is better and returns to school, I am taking a nap!


Until next time....

How much is too much?

So much pressure is placed on our kids. Whether it's school, sports, or the expectations we as parents hold for them.

I believe pressure can be a good thing. The world is a competitive place. If we want our children to make it out there and be successful, we need to push them. But how do we know when it's too much?

This is a question I have really been asking for the past few weeks.

A friend's daughter is in 5th grade. My friend was complaining to me about her daughter learning about the metric system. The way her daughter was learning was not the way we had learned when we were in school. I made the comment that I was not looking forward to GG doing this in school. I always excelled in Math, but this is one area I always have trouble with.

Two week later I am going through the papers in GG's folder. She is now learning about kilometers, centimeters, etc. She also does well with math and I hope this doesn't give her the problems like it did for me, but I wasn't prepared.

It's not just GG. It's Little Dude as well. I was going through his papers from school earlier this week and noticed that his class had started learning about time. GG didn't learn this until first and second grade.


Thinking back four years from when GG was in Kindergarten, I had certain expectations of what would be taught and when. As the year progresses, it seems more information is given to Little Dude.

Part of the reason I do not want to leave this area is our school district. Testing scores are always very high, our district has won awards and is ranked somewhere in the top 20 in the state. All of these are wonderful and I'm all for teaching our kids everything they need to know to prepare for their future. But how do we know when it's too much too fast? Does our district teaching kids certain subjects sooner make them better than neighboring districts? Or will all this pressure and information overload mean they will burn out faster?



Until next time....

Material Girl

I have a daughter who is a shopper. I don't know where she gets that from.

I'm being honest here, I really don't. I love to shop now, but when I was her age, I could have cared less. At her age, I rarely wore jeans. I was all about the sweats. And I had no clue where to begin when it came to my hair.

GG is quite the opposite of me as a child. She is all girl!


We had to run to my mom's. My mom surprised her with a catalog she received in the mail from Justice. Have you ever heard a little girl squeal? Let's just say it's probably a good thing I have 2 pairs of glasses!

My little diva was checking out every little thing on the pages of that catalog on the way home. The irony of the situation? We were listening to Material Girl on the radio.

Perhaps I can use that as a lesson on how not to act.

And since Little Dude now loves that song, maybe we can use it to teach him how to act just in case his girl is a material girl!



Until next time....

Watch the zipper

I would like to retract yesterday's post.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say my son is dumb. He is very intelligent. But after the stunt he pulled, I really have to question where his mind is sometimes.


Just like I do every night before I go to bed, I check on the kids. I have been doing this since GG first came home from the hospital. I can't sleep until I perform this nightly ritual.

I tip-toed in to check on GG. I covered her, gave her a kiss, and turned off her lamp and radio. I made a quick pit stop and then went to check on Little Dude.


He chose to wear footie pajamas to bed. The first thing I noticed was that he unzipped them. It's not the first time and let's be honest, he's a boy Boys sometimes have an aversion to clothing.

I went to zip his jammies before I covered him, but there was a problem. I couldn't zip his jammies because his underwear were in the way. Somehow he pulled his feet out of his jammies, removed his underwear, placed them back on over top of his jammies, then put his feet back in.


I pulled his Spidermans off and gently began to tug his feet out of his jammies. Since he was free as a bird under those jammies, There's Something About Mary started playing in my head. If you've seen the movie I'm sure you already know the scene I'm referring to. The one where Ted zips himself while getting ready to take Mary to the prom? Ya, that one.

I really wasn't in the mood for a hospital, but thankfully I managed to redress him without any major incidents. But seriously? What was he thinking!?


Until next time....