Random Things

I was just told to write about how much I love my husband.  THIS much! :)  And because I think this embarasses him, I'm not going to erase it.

It's snowing and I think creatures are still stirring upstairs.

I found a ladybug in my bathroom tonight.

My refrigerator is making the same suspicious clicking noise it made about 18 months ago when the refrigerator repair guy said he could "patch it" (or whatever) for cheap, but that the part that really needed to be replaced would cost as much as a new fridge.  The patch would last about, oh, a year, year and a half.  Perhaps new fridge time, people?  Woot!!!!  (5 years ago I was separated from my beloved shiny new french door/freezer drawer fridge;  I have been awaiting our reunion since the day we closed here...).

If you've never checked out PeopleofWalMart.com, you have to check it out.  But only if you're the sort of person who can't look away from a show like Toddlers and Tiaras.  THIS is what's wrong with our country, people!

Speaking of WalMart, I was surrounded by about 40 WalMart associates singing the WalMart store cheer this morning, all while I was trying to simultaneously pick out printer ink and sink into the floor (I have not committed my HP printer model number to memory, thus I have to study packages and model numbers and make a guess about what to buy.  Today I guessed wrong, so I have to do a return at WalMart.  Boo.  But maybe more intersting if I have my camera in hand and keep an eye out for PeopleofWalMart people).

There are no sleds left for purchase in the triangle area.

Today was report card day:  "Hi-Hat is a very interesting little boy." :)

"Rella, are you going to build a snowman tomorrow?" Rella: "No, I'm going to build a snow[insert 2-year-old BFF's name here] with a carrot nose!"

At 9:15 the kids down the street were outside building a snowman and playing in the snow.  We are not the fun parents on the street.

My computer battery power is low (9%).  If I don't plug in my computer soon, it wi

Prolonging

So you know we have the three kids.  And you probably know we have a naughty little dog.  You might not remember that we also have Timmy Thomas, our beloved blue beta fish that has been swimming among the mess on my kitchen counter hot zone for about 2 years now.   Like any fish, he arrived as a starter pet for Hi-Hat and Fancy and quickly became my project.  I clean his bowl, feed him, hold my finger above the water to make him jump (that's really about the extent of beta care, in case you're considering one).  In a strange way, I enjoy that he tracks me when he senses movement and I am tickled by the jumping. 

Well, T2 is not well.  It seems that something infested his bowl, and literally overnight last week something green bloomed and took over, even creating this kind of film over the surface of the water.  T2 was still kicking (or whatever the equivalent for a creature without legs might be - finning?), though sluggish.  I cleaned the bowl and was careful to gradually ease him into the new environment so as not to totally shock his system (I mean, I would probably have a heart attack if I just walked into my bathroom and found it clean, white, shining, disinfected, no laundry, no gook in the sink, no stains on the grout, no toys in the tub . . . you get the idea. An utter shock). 

T2 has been limping around the bottom of the bowl for about 3 days now.  He pitifully tries to get to the surface, but he can only get about halfway there, so he can't eat.  We had the brilliant idea of trying to gently raise him to the surface in his fish net and feed him in the net when he got close to the surface, but he kind of FREAKED OUT and was more concerned about thrashing his way out of the net than finding the tiny color-enhancing nutrifin pellet.  So much for that idea, and it probably took an hour off his life. (And actually, I'm thinking now that maybe I could lower the water level for him and maybe he could get to the surface to eat.  And then he could start regaining his strength... when did I become the medical director of a beta ICU?).

*Just checked on him, and he's still laying on the bottom near his big rock, gills pulsing and fins flapping, but looking pretty straggly.

So every trip into the kitchen fills me with a little apprehension and a little sadness.  Partly because I really like T2 and will miss him if he is indeed on the way out.  And partly because I will have to break it to the kids (Fancy is pretty aware of his decline and she talks to him with encouraging words in the kind of voice reserved for pets and small babies; and Hi-Hat gives a good tap on the bowl whenever he goes by, just in case T2 might be thinking of leaving and needs to be shocked back to life).  But mostly because he looks terrible and seems to be really struggling. 

*Let's break to remember that he's a $2.49 beta fish that has been kicking (or finning) for 2 years now.  But precious nonetheless.

Geof's suggestion was that perhaps we need to put him out of his misery.  Send him to that great big fish bowl in the sky by way of the City of Raleigh's sewer system.  Fancy was interested in finding out what that meant, so we explained that people usually dispose of dead or dying fish by flushing them.  This was APPALLING to her, and she said there was no way she was going to flush her fish.  Totally understandable.  I really hate the idea, too.  I started picturing The Cosby Show scene with the whole family dressed in black paying homage to Lamont the goldfish around the porcelain throne (Rella has a nice black velveteen outfit, Hi-Hat would have to wear black sweatpants and his Tobymac shirt, and Fancy would be the one wearing her leotard and tap shoes).  Do you remember the scene?

[I have no idea how to insert the video clip, but here's the link.  An amusing diverion.]

Wow, have I gotten off track.  The whole point of this post was that I told Geof we would not flush T2 to put him out of his misery because we would never consider doing that with one of our kids!  Pretty much as soon as I said it I realized the argument didn't hold a tank full of water. He kind of looked at me like, "seriously, you think I would consider flushing one of our sick and ailing children?" Sheesh - I'm too attached to that little fish.

So let's all root for Timmy Thomas today, and if things don't turn out well, let's root for a sale on beta fish at the pet store.

Ballet Class

Rella takes a ballet class for 2 year olds on Tuesday mornings.  Her class has just three girls, so they all get lots of time and attention with the teacher, Ms. Cory.  Rella loves it!  Today I got to hang out in the studio with my camera and take pictures of all the cuteness. 

BFF

I'll be cooking dinner, and Rella will walk by me and say out of the blue, "[insert adorable 2 year old brunette's name here] is my best friend."  Or I'll be changing Rella's clothes and she'll say, "[Adorable Brunette] is my best friend."  Or I'll be reading stories on the new racecar bed and she'll say, "[Adorable Brunette] is my best friend."  I believe Rella thinks about her all the time.  And speaking of racecar beds, if you don't follow my status updates on facebook, this is what Rella said to me about her BFF and the racecar bed last night: "When you are sleeping, I open my door and drive outside and get my best friend [Adorable Brunette] and we go driving and then we come back. Then we get our jammies on and we see you in the morning." The teenage shenanigans are being formulated a bit too early...

But back to the original post.  Today Rella got to play with her BFF at the kids museum (and the big kids got to play with their buddies, too).  Made her day, until BFF had to go home to take a nap and Rella had to stay and keep playing.  Pitiful cries of "I'll never see [Adorable Brunette] again!"  Oh, the drama.  Even a trip to the Cupcake Shoppe did not cure her woes.  At least the cupcakes were good! 

Here's my layout of the kids at the museum today:

Here's a closeup of the two buckos:

and some fun building with recycled materials:

and painting their own faces (beware: if you go and do this, the pink face paint stains the skin.  So far it's not washing off!):

and building a fully enclosed fort with giant Legos and being annoyed that Mom wants to intrude and take pictures:

And now to figure out why Hi-Hat is down here in the living room at 11:30pm complaining that his ankle hurts after a couple of hours reading in bed (and watching Geof try to make him feel better by making Hi-Hat give him a piggy back ride up the stairs - laughter is the best medicine!).

For those keeping track...

Fancy lost another tooth last night.  Actually, I believe she yanked it out against the tooth's will.  It was loose, but I would have given it at least another week and a half.  I guess she really wants that stuffed lion.  No pictures - her proud bloody grin appearing in my kitchen late last night was quite startling and there was much rushing about to clean her up rather than grab the camera.  Now I must go hide all the pliers in the house because last I checked, there were no more loose teeth in her head.

Kid Stuff

First, let me announce that I have cleaned out three drawers.  Our home now has a drill drawer.  None of the three clean drawers are my bathroom drawer mentioned in the previous post.  Right now I'm just considering that a time capsule.  Because that's not clutter.  That's cool and creative!

A few kid updates.  First, the girls around here are trying to grow up!  Rella requested a new big girl bed.   When we moved Fancy to her big girl bed when she was also about 2 1/2, she ended up with a Vera Bradley upholstered queen sized bed, which is one of the nicest pieces of furniture we have.  It's lovely.  Just lovely.  So I was envisioning a difficult search for something comparable for Rella (VB furniture is no longer available and was never very affordable!).  Seems Rella had her own idea (shocker!).  "I want a red Lightning McQueen bed!!!" That sounds just like Rella, doesn't it?  I think it's perfect.

4 good nights with no fussing about going to bed, or waking and wandering the house at night! (and really, she's still a baby, isn't she.  Look at that sweet face...)

Fancy had big news this week, too.  She lost her first tooth!  She went to bed at 8 on Monday night and wiggled it for 2 hours before finally managing to pop it out.  She was so pleased!  She got to add her name to the tooth chart at school, which is apparently a VERY big deal. :)

All set to leave under her pillow. A conversation overheard between her and Hi-Hat at the museum today: "I know this won't happen, but if you lose all your teeth at the same time, do you just get one dollar, or do you get all the dollars?"  I might need to sneak up there and make sure she's not attacking her chops with a pair of pliers... She's saving up for a life-sized stuffed lion and needs "all the dollars."

Today at the "Rockeum" (what the kids all call the Life and Sciences Museum now.  Rella's baby way of saying Rocket Museum that has stuck), Hi-Hat went to town on the outdoor hanging drums. 

I just hung back and watched, and was secretly tickled to watch as a people gathered around to listen and ask him about his drumming. I think he was a little tickled, too, that people wanted to listen. He was trying to play it cool and was definitely not showing off, but he had this little smile on his face that, as his mom, I could completely read as "tickled." His first "public concert." :)

To Clarify...

The comments have been made to me that my house doesn't seem cluttered.  I deeply appreciate these words of encouragement!  I don't mean to imply that I'm overwhelmed in clutter all over the house.  I think in general we do ok with keeping on top of things so that if someone pops by, we aren't overly mortified.  I'm more concerned about the clutter that you won't see, but that makes my life stressful.  Cases in point:

1.  My sewing machine resides in a cabinet above my washing machine, upstairs on the second floor.  But my measuring tape and straight pins are kept in a basket in a cabinet above my desk in the basement.  That makes no sense, makes me run all over the house, and stresses me out.

2.  Tools are kept in three places with no rhyme or reason.  So if you need a screwdriver, chances are you have to look in three different places and it will always be in the third place you look.  Same goes for batteries, cleaning supplies and medications.

3.  I have a stack of ziploc disposable storage containers and a stack of blue lids.  The lids appear to go with the containers.  I have tried 8 gazillion times to match the lids to the containers (because they are not ALL ziploc - there are store brands mixed in there), to no avail.  And yet they are still taking up real estate in my cabinet and falling on my head when I search for sandwich boxes for packing the kids' lunches.  Why are they there?  Why is the cabinet above the fridge filled with odds and ends of mismatched, often chipped or cracked demitasse cups, saucers, creamers and fruit bowls?  Sure, they were essentially free from the Replacements Ltd. yard sale a couple years back, and sure, they were meant for Fancy to use in tea parties, but let's face it.  They're ugly, they're broken, she doesn't want them, and they take up space.  Every cabinet has issues like these.

4.  Why does a drawer in my bathroom contain the following: an unopned pack of Gerber onesies, a box of vintage Strawberry Shortcake birthday party invitations leftover from my 5th birthday, a much nicer flute cleaning rod than the one that actually resides in my flute case, a Michael Kors canvas bag meant for storing my hot orange purse in (um, does anyone find that useful?), the dust jacket to Madeline, two footies (you know, for when guests come over and want to try on my shoes), a plate stand, a Grover Washington, Jr. CD, tissue paper, a pattern for drapes, a 3x3 framed Anne Geddes print (baby lost in purple lilacs), RugRats temporary tattoos, stay-at-home-mom business cards that do not have my email address printed on them, a Master Cuts promotional punch card, a necklace I'm pretty sure Geof picked up in Hawaii that I'm pretty sure he needs to start wearing again, eyeliner, a tuner, green ribbon, two framed pictures of infant Hi-Hat, post-it sight word flash cards, a tape roller left over from when we had cats (we've never had cats in this house), light bulbs, 1 book of checks with our Maryland address printed on them and one book for an account we no longer have, a butterfly clip, 4 pens, an interesting faux mother of pearl button, and a step-by-step guide to English Smocking (because, remember, I am a do-it-yourself-er, and I will need this guide to use for looking up questions I may have along the way as I figure out how to do English smocking all on my own).

This is the clutter I'm talking about.

Taking my Cue

So my posts of late have kind of strayed from the "what my kids are doing lately."  Not that my kids aren't amazing and wonderful in every last little thing that they do, but it doesn't excite me anymore to only post things like our trip to the museum/mall/restaurant/dentist/garden/playground/grocery store, etc.  BUT, please note that I am always interested in reading about YOUR kids doing these things! :)  For some reason, I'm more interested is using this space for other things in my life*, probably because I scrap all that other activity stuff for my kids to remember.  Perhaps this is more of a journal for me, so that maybe one day my kids will have something that lets them know me a little bit better (of course, this would require me ensuring that this blog is somehow preserved permanently for them, and I haven't gotten around to this.  Hence the following post...)

*this is not to say that I won't post my kids happenings here anymore.  I DO love the things that we do and I DO love to take pictures of it and I DO like to share about it.  Perhaps I should say I'm broadening my blog scope.

I'm taking a cue from KR's most recent post on clutter.  Perhaps you also remember my recent post on my number one hot spot - my laundry (BTW - I've had a number of responses with suggestions; I'll share next time).  I read her post and my first thought was, "WHAT? Who let KR in here with her camera, and who told her to take a picture of the counter between my refrigerator and my garage door and post it on the Internet???"  And then I realized that it was not my counter because I usually  keep my insect repellent on the dining room table.  But I felt this bit of relief when I saw the picture.  I am not alone in my clutter.  There are at least 2 of us, and I hazard to guess that perhaps there are even 3.  So anyway, taking my cue from KR to do something about it.

So what to do?  I don't really know. I'm just taking the cue and heading on stage with nothing prepared with the piano player playing the same 8 bars of intro music over and over again.

I'm a do-it-yourself-er.  I don't mean that I build my own furniture, decoupoage things, lay tile floors, or sew decorative throw pillows.  I mean that I like to figure things out on my own.  I don't really want to read a book to have someone tell me how to, say, decoupage.  I want to think about it and figure it out and then maybe look online or in a book for answers to particular questions that may come up along the way (let me just state for the record that have no intention of ever decoupaging anything!). I don't really see myself reading books on organizing my hot spots.  But maybe if I actually make a list (gasp!) here and hit things one by one, I can accomplish something. And maybe I can link back over to KR and see what she's up to and take some of her ideas...I think she's nice about sharing like that. :)

First, the laundry.  ONE thing I have figured out this week is that we have too much laundry.  There are too many clothes in this house.  I blame the children's clothing industry for making little girls' clothing cute.  Stinkin' cute.  So I'm paring down the clothing child by child.  Don't be surprised if you find a bag full of garments sitting on your doorstep. :)  A second thing is that I need to get over myself and just put the folded laundry away.  Just put it away!  And a third thing is that I need to declutter the lovely counters I have in the laundry room so I can fold in there.  Then if I have piles of folded laundry waiting to be put away (which I WON'T!), I can shut the door and not see it.

Second, storage.  I am blessed to have a house with ample storage.  I have cabinets, drawers and closets galor.  There are drawers in my kitchen, laundry room and bathroom that are stuffed that have not been opened in a year.  Do I really need whatever is in those drawers?  Perhaps our new paper shredder is up for a tasty meal.  I think I need to make a list of the drawers, cabinets and closets that are in this house and then make a list of the kinds of things that need to be stored away, and then match them up.  Kind of like e-harmony for things like batteries, tools, cleanering supplies, paperwork, stationary, linens, pens, paper, utensils, appliances, medications, insect repellent, etc.  Well, maybe more like realtor.com.  If everything that is necessary to keep on hand has a designated home, maybe it will all go home!  (I'm sure most of you already do this - remember, this is a journal for ME, so I can be accountable to myself and my family to get things in order and keep them that way).

I think that's enough for now.  Tackle the laundry issue, clean out some storage spaces and assign homes to the things that are left.  Then I can work on whatever clutter issues are left.  Things like the clutter in my head - all the stuff I know I need to do in a day but that I get distracted from by other clutter in my head.  Things like finding myself walking into a room with one purpose, getting distracted by something that needs my attention, and then forgetting why I came to that room in the first place.  My goal for the year is to create a space for me and my family to breath in.  To be able to relax and think clearly in.  To be grateful for and be blessed in.  So thanks for the encouragement KR!  Maybe we need to team up somehow.  Seems like that would take some organizing . . . ;)

Year in Review Book

2009 Year in Review

below is a little book I put together with Shutterfly - a collection of some of my favorite pictures of some of my favorite people from 2009 (actually, these are my VERY favorite people!)

Click here to view this photo book.

Homemaking 101

A few random items I've been mulling over that all fall under the heading of "homemaking."

First, 2 recipes you MUST try (and then drop off in a small lunch-sized container on my door as a thank you gift):

1. Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Honey Lime Dip
Follow the link to the recipe and then follow the recipe to a T (or is it tee? tea? whatever - don't stray from the recipe directions). Doing sweet potato fries in the oven can be tricky and they can end up rather mushy, but her directions and tips worked perfectly for me. The trick is to cut them thin and space them apart; and if you have 2 pans going, have at least one oven rack between them. The dip is AMAZING! And if you don't like sweet potatoes, honey or lime, at least visit the link for her pictures of the process. She did good.

2. Lemon Couscous
(This recipe comes from the Southern Living Easy Weeknight Favorites cookbook - I made it my own by omitting the pecans...)

1 cup chicken broth
1 TBSP grated lemon rind
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP butter
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup couscous, uncooked
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
1 (2-ounce) jar sliced pimentos, drained (I diced them a bit)

Combine first 5 ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Add couscous, stirring well; cover, remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork. Stir in parsley and pimentos. Yield: 3 servings. Do not shampoo; Do not rinse; but DO plan to repeat. Because you will pull a Laura and stand over the stove and eat the entire pan full and have a table full of disappointed family members.

3. I posted this to facebook, but it bears repeating here for those who are not my "friends." :)
An important safety bulletin: NEVER try to eat large chocolate covered caramels while suffering from a very stuffy nose. You will likely suffocate yourself. But it might be worth it.

4. I have a Masters Degree in Library Science (i.e., I can organizing information). I have mad skills at organizing and archiving huge quantities of digital images. I have been mothering three small children for 7 years and 7 days. You would THINK that I could organize laundry. I need your help, dear reader. Laundry overwhelms me. And my room. I would really like my room back one day. I have tried things like "only do laundry on Mondays," and "kids! guess what? you get to help mommy with laundry today! hooray!" And things like only washing socks in one load and then just towels and then just shirts and then just leotards and then just Christmas dresses and then just St. Patrick's Day novelty wear. None of this works for me. And so I'm soliciting your genius, because I KNOW I must be the only mom of three small children in the whole world who can't believe the overwhelming amount of laundry all the people in this house produce. Tips? Tricks? Naked Wednesdays or PJs all weekend? I'm up for anything. And if anyone can step up and come organize my laundry woes, I will offer to come fold your laundry on Saturdays for a month! Seriously! I love folding laundry, but I just can't keep on top of it around here. I couldn't even stand on top of it if I wanted to. My ladder is not tall enough.

5. Have I ever told you I love my Green Machine? I thank said naughty little dog for introducing us.

6. You will excuse me if you visit my home this month and the Christmas tree is still up and decorated. I like it.

7. Words from the 2-year-old: She has learned a new word. Rude.
"I saw Ms. Molly Anne's cookies, but I didn't get one see-cause I was rude."
me: "Rella , who told you you could sneak that donut while I was vacuuming?" "See-cause I was rude."
me: "Why were you crying and wanting to leave your ballet class?" "See-cause I was rude."
Rella: "[My friend] was crying in my class last night." me: "why was he crying?" Rella: "see-cause he was rude."
So she's learned to use this new word, maybe just not quite correctly yet. :)

Happy Homemaking! G'night.

Birthday

Around here, the day marking the end of the year marks the beginning of a new year for our firstborn. Hard to believe 7 years have passed since he first brightened our lives! We're so proud of the little boy he has become - a sweet and sensitive big brother, a tenderheart, an avid reader, a budding writer, a funny joke-teller, a gifted drummer, a follower of Christ. I could not have asked for a sweeter son.

We celebrated Hi-Hat's 7th birthday with a family pizza party at Sal's in Williamsburg.


I opted for trick candles at the grocery store, thinking he would get a laugh out of them. They behaved as expected, with candles relighting with every attempt to blow them out. But they got REALLY smoky, and Hi-Hat was starting to get concerned. I was afraid the smoke detectors would go off. And then we realized that the staff were getting a bit concerned - as they should have been! Turns out Sal's new temporary location was due to their previous location burning to the ground! Had I known, I would have brought a single battery-operated Christmas candle. :)

His birthday wish was to spend the afternoon playing at Kidsburg, and despite the chilly wet weather, we had a fun afternoon at the playground (and contrary what the pictures show, Kidsburg IS a playground, not a tire yard!).