my most focused post yet...

Mother's Day should be once a month.

Read more...

when the little things aren't so little...

this morning marked 3 days without hot water in our home. the bottom of our hot water heater rusted out and that was that. my husband was traveling and little monster was draped over my lap for most of the day with a 104 degree fever. so by the time i realized what had happened, it didn't really phase me. just another thing. it would get fixed. however, it took longer than we thought.

one day is an inconvenience. more than that really, really stinks. and i mean this literally. i had just finished up the laundry when this all happened so i wasn't concerned so much about that aspect. at first. but laundry piles up quickly when your husband returns from a 10-day business trip. and your little one has the flu and your changing clothes and sheets more often than not. the dishes began to take over the kitchen and, in my house, that is just NOT DONE. i started to twitch as i had to let the dinner, breakfast, lunch, snack, snack, dinner dishes stack up. pretty soon we were eating off of baby spoons and forks, then leftover plastic utensils from wendy's and mcdonald's that we kept for emergencies - like this. not showering...or packing shower things and clothes for myself and monster was a challenge in itself. ugh! but this afternoon, life went on as usual WITH the luxury of hot water.

on a day to day basis, i don't jump up and down every time i turn the water to warm when i wash my hands. but i should! the horrible things that are happening in haiti...and many other places around the world...make me think twice about what we consider 'the little things' here in the u.s. i am so thankful. moreso than ever.

Read more...

Trash bags, candy hearts and bubbles!

You get what you pay for is definitely true for garbage bags. Don’t you agree? This won’t be the subject of my entire post today but I just had to say it. I bought the cheap bags last time and am paying for it in holes and frustration. :) Would’ve been worth the few extra bucks but you’d better believe we’ll use each and every bag before buying a box of the better ones. Hefty, here I come!

I’m really looking forward to February 14th! Not because I love cupid and the whole Valentine’s Day festivities. Oh, it was incredibly fun when I was a kid and my mom made us pink milk and filled plastic lacey hearts with conversation candies and decorated the house up right. That will always stick in my mind as part of my fun growing-up-hood (my new word). And no, it's not because my husband is the most romantic man in the world who plans a whole day worth of events. We have our own, low-key way of celebrating silly, love holidays like that. He's so incredible to me on a daily basis so it's hard to top that on a Valentine's Day. He's not quite Mr. Perfect, but he's Mr. Perfect For Me! (To my sister: if you're gagging about that last statement, I'm sorry!) Anyhow, I'm excited about February 14th because I begin my marathon training on that date.

It's amazing how much easier daily running can be when you have a plan. Yes, a plan! Right now, I'm just running to get my base back, to keep from growing out of my jeans and for a little sanity. I ran my 2nd marathon in November and plan to be ready in a big way for another in May. The plan makes all the difference. When you can see what you need to do for the day or the week ahead of time, you just do it! You don't think about it or mull over it. You don't have to use your brain to get past the door. Nope, you just run what the plan says to run. (Another reason I adore my husband...he's always the creator of the plan!) So, Feb 14th brings on another common theme to my blog.

And here's another:

Today began my journey to quitting my addiction to Diet Dr. Pepper and Diet Pepsi. I hope to give a p.s. in my next few posts about how it's going. Since this is my 71st try at quitting, I'm sure it'll be an interesting read.

Read more...

Zombies in the Frozen Food Aisle

After a very long weekend (last) and week, my husband has finally come home from his business travel! To celebrate his coming home, we ... went grocery shopping together! Yes, the three of us went to shop for food and toilet paper and had so much fun on our voyage. The week of single parenthood, work stress and literally sleepless nights (not gonna go into it in this post) took its toll on me. I was also out the door this morning before 6am to get to a work function. My husband, on the other hand, was up before 4am in order to turn in his rental car and get to the airport after over a week of work travel and meetings with bosses and clients. Now, back to the grocery store...I can tell you that we were so exhausted walking up and down the food aisles that we both nearly fell asleep. We might have even fought over who was going to push the cart - only to use it as a walker. Whew - but we made it through to check-out and didn't lose our son along the way. (He's a super shopper.) 

Later in the evening, Little Monster was hyper with excitement...and so was I! Having dinner together (albeit it was after 8pm by the time we ate) was amazing and I just couldn't stop smiling. I am proud of my incredible family and when we're together, it's just hard to describe. I guess 'perfect' is the word. Welcome home, Love! Now we have a whole day and a half before he leaves for the warmth of another southern state. Bring on the family time!

Read more...

Guilty Pleasure

My guilty pleasure in life is the OMG! page of Yahoo's website. No, I'm not really into Hollywood or celebrity stuff. I have no fashion sense and I couldn't tell you the last time I saw a show on a channel other than Nickelodeon. (Well that's not true...my husband and I are addicted to House. Hugh Laurie just does it for both of us. What can I say? ha.) I digress. Anyhow, once a week I have to check the "Week in Photos" on OMG! The week of Christmas and the week after, they didn't do the week in photos at all. And I admit; I panicked a little. Even though sometimes I have no clue who the people pictured are, I still need my weekend update.

Anyhow, a week or so ago I came across an article about Kate (from Jon and Kate Plus 8). I've never seen the show, but have heard enough about it in conversations or  have caught pieces of the drama on a morning show while running on the treadmill at the rec. Seems like quite a mess was made on the show, and it's just plain sad. The article I read was about Kate and her new hairstyle. My first thought was WHO CARES!? But, yes, I read on. Apparently, Kate spent $5,000-$7,000 on hair extensions and was referred to as Kate Clean Slate. Really? Wait, seriously? It's sickening to me to think that she's glorified for spenting mad cash on her ridiculous hair calling it a clean slate. You can't just start over and pretend like you haven't hurt your kids and your reputation and ruined your marriage. You don't just get to wipe the dry erase board of your life and start over with no consequences. I am definitely not saying that I haven't made selfish decisions or screwed things up. I've hurt people by saying things or by not saying things. I am as guilty as anyone; we're all imperfect. We're all in the same boat. But I'm wondering why some people care about that and realize it...while others don't. Read the article and let me know what you think. Am I way off?

I guess I can be the devil's advocate regarding my own post. Thankfully, God lets us start over with a clean slate all the time. And forgives us when we ask. Geez - I can't write all this and then leave that out. I'm thankful that I can start over and try to do better. And ask for help in trying to do better. Maybe I'll change my tune in the middle of writing this by saying that I hope Kate does well with her new slate. And asks for help. And does right by her children. I do hope that for her. And I hope that her new hair extensions help too. (Okay, okay I know that was mean, but I had to get that in there.) Sorry, Kate!

Read more...

monster, i am not a ladder!

as you may have read, i work in the office 2 days a week, and from home the other three. i am at home today and preparing some goodies for my husband's birthday. monster was helping me make a cookie cake.

during clean-up, my boss called. here is how the conversation went:

me: hi! yes, of course it's a good time to talk. (lie #1)

pause - as i listen to her update for me on a few students i am working with...

me: (interrupting) i'm so sorry, can you hold on just one second? (covering the phone with my hand) baby, get that bag off your head! dude, we don't put plastic bags on our heads! bud, NOW! okay, i'm back. sorry about that, go on.

pause - as i listen more then begin to add my thoughts and updates

me: (interrupting again) I am so sorry, can you hang on for just one more second? no, i promise, i'm not in the middle of anything. it's a fine time to talk! (lie #2) buddy! get down please, you're gonna hurt your chin. stop! no! oh, please don't pound your hammer into the cookie batter!

i'm not sure where the conversation went from there, honestly. i already forget. but i do think i exchanged ideas and insights with my boss while my son turned into curious george and climbed up my body and nearly over my head. i'm almost positive my entire chest was exposed at one point and possibly a portion of my booty too. question: what prompted my 3-year old to pull at my clothes and wreck havoc on my kitchen, crack an egg on his head and then slime the counter during a 7-minute conversation on the phone with my boss? answer: simply the fact that i was on the phone and unavailable to him at that very moment. the second i hung up, my little monster was on to bigger and better things. and quiet! yes, quiet. oh i love that little boy. and he knows i do. : )

Read more...

confession

sometimes i add things to my calendar planner...or my to-do list that i've already done, JUST so that i can cross them off. is that weird or wrong in any way? things are just so crazy at times and i'm a huge list-maker. the ultimate good feeling comes when i can glide my pen across something on my list to indicate that t h i s i s d o n e ! ! !

ahhh, admitting i'm a weirdo - another thing to cross off my to-do list. CHECK!

Read more...