Silent Sunday

Happiness 101

So my LEOW pal Natalie from over at Martin Enterprises decided to award me with the Happiness 101 Award. Not sure if thats because I am just bursting with so much happiness or maybe because she just hopes that I take some time to reflect and share the things that I'm happy about. Think I did this not that long ago but my list is always changing as I'm sure most of yours are too. Here goes:

1-Little Munchkin has been sleeping really well. Thank heavens! What a difference sleep makes. FOR EVERYBODY!!!

2-This Sunday Cop Dad and I will be going on a long overdue date night. Not sure how it will go but we will give it a shot. It's been about 7 months since the last one.

3-Started drinking coffee again. Last time it bothered Little Munchkin too much so I waited til now because the books and LC's said age can make them less sensitive. Feeling human again, I get so much done and mommy is so much happier with her coffee.

4-Going to start making recycled button necklaces. I am asking people for old buttons. I saw these cool necklaces at The Morton Arboretum Store and thought, 'I can do that!' Now just trying to get my materials together to start making them. Then I was going to try to sell them on Etsy maybe give a % to a police charity? Dunno, just brainstorming for now. Maybe I can sit in the garage after kids go to bed, make necklaces and listen to some music and reconnect with my inner artist? Just thinking about it is making me happy :)

5-Will be hitting the gym starting tomorrow. It's been forever. I used to go daily and it made such a difference mentally and physically. Had to stop with pg, then it's like been impossible to go and get shower and do all my other duties. Now, we are going to try again. Amen!

6-Want to go back to church. Haven't been there forever either. Before it was like everything/everybody was fighting my want and need to go. It's just plain necessary for us. Makes us happy!

7-Getting projects done!!! I Got flexible drain pipe laid in front by new driveway by myself. Then replaced tub spout cause the old one was leaking tons of water down the drain when you flipped the shower switch on. Hot water ran out really fast and water pressure was low. All good now! Also just trimmed hedges in front too. They were ridiculously huge. Done!

8-June is raise month! Can I get an Amen?!?! We are so tight. Which is fine but gets harder when you have more expenses. This is a big increase in the steps, no mansions or trips to Rome just ease of paying for life expenses. More peace of mind. Hallelujah!

9-Got a new sprinkler and 2 boxes of popsicles. Filled up the kiddie pool and can now sit under the umbrella with Little Munchkin on the blanket (she can sit up now!!!) and watch Little Buddy. Bring on summer!

10-Tango is cured! Finally! Long story short. Tango had bad smell, major hair loss constantly, always scooting butt around (Ewwwww!) Thank God we don't have carpet! Big scabby, bloody sores around mouth and reocurring bouts of diarrhea and vomiting. F-O-R Y-E-A-R-S!!! Our vet just kept telling us that some dogs were like that. But he wasn't like that the first few years we had him. AND he said that he may want to surgically remove part of his lips so it didn't keep getting infected?!?!

Switched vets. Found two problems in less than 30 minutes. Two major infections!!! Our old vet never swabbed him for anything! He has been on meds for the last month. Got rid of plastic bowls. Changed food. He is better than he's been in years :) Poor doggy, bad old vet, bad owners, good new vet, happy us! All problems are gone!!!

11-Sweet baby moments, funny toddler conversations, brotherly/sisterly love, playing in the yard, walks, exploring nature, opening windows, cooking on the grill, zoo, forest preserve excursions, eating anything on the deck, dancing in the kitchen with Little Buddy and making baby laugh, talking things out calmly with Cop Dad, watching the garden grow, watching birds & bugs & critters with Little Buddy, talking to another mom and realizing I am not a weirdo but totally normal, I could go on. Doesn't take much, I'm easily thrilled!

12-Almost forgot, bedtime is getting easier. Little Munchkin sits in her Bumbo and watches me get big brother ready for bed. No more crying and screaming. Ugh, so glad that she's grown out of that.

Thanks Natalie! Feel free to take this and run with it. Award yourself or someone that would appreciate it.

Dear Loser Letter: My First Loser Letter: Dear Vintage Car Driver

I read these Dear Loser Letters over at A Sense Of Humor Is Essential and they are always hysterical and creatively written. Martha likes to make a negative thing funny so she writes Loser Letters to people that piss her off in life and then posts them. I think it's brilliantly therapeutic. I never have enough time and quiet to write a few at a time like she does but I did think of one that I thought was pretty good. Maybe you can relate? Here goes:

Dear Vintage Car Driver,

I understand your love for owning a vintage car. It really looks like you put some work and money into fixing up your retro auto. I also understand that you like attention on the road so you drive around your vintage car so that the whole world can see a car of yesterday that looks like it just came off the assembly line. I also understand that this was quite possibly the car that you wanted way back when you were in high school and never had back then. It's very impressive. I can also appreciate many things vintage (cars, houses, furniture, etc.) because they are from a time gone by and life gets very boring with everyone having the same new things these days. You have definitely made my day more interesting by driving your vintage car on the same road as me. Thank you.

What I do have a problem with is not the car itself, or the job you did to make it beautiful and rumble down the street, (but you could take the revving down a few notches pal). What I do have a problem with is that you seem to have forgotten to update the exhaust system. Now that I got near you without the recirculate button pressed on my heat/ac, my car has filled up with unfiltered car exhaust! You know that it's 2010? Maybe in the 70's (or whatever year your car is originally from) there were no laws about air pollution and perhaps it was not mandatory in all 50 states to have an appropriate exhaust system on your car. That was then, this is now. That is why most people like new cars, they are cleaner and run cleaner than cars like yours from "The Good Ole' Days." Now my baby and my 3 year old and I have to breathe in your leaded gas fumes as well as your unfiltered car exhaust. This is very unhealthy for anyone to breathe, not to mention the other hundreds or thousands of cars and drivers that you will pass as you drive this car.

Basically we are in a no win situation here. I have to go the same direction as you . . . . . for a real reason. Like I have to get groceries or take a child to the doctor, etc. I'm not just out cruising like you. So my car is filled up with stinky polluted air but I pressed the recirculate button so no more exhaust will come into my vehicle or our lungs. But I tried to open my window and then what did I get, more stinky polluted air. So we are trapped in here with all the windows rolled up with no choice but to breathe your car's pollution. So I (as well as numerous other drivers) have become prisoners of your vintage car, as well as your selfishness. I can stop looking at it or even change lanes but there is still the toxic exhaust that's already in my car and in our lungs, PLUS I get to hear your stupid engine revving at every stop light. ALSO, perhaps that song that you have cranked loud enough so you can hear it over your engine revving was your favorite so long ago when you were in high school? It wasn't mine though, and I'm sure I can speak for all the other drivers who are also closing their windows and rolling their eyes too. No amount of cranking Elmo will help at this point so we don't have to hear "More Than A Feeling." Which WAS actually a song I used to like.

I believe that you must want to torture everyone. As I tried to speed up a little at the last light to get a little bit ahead of you to get ahead of the fumes and the tunes and the revving, you thought I wanted to race you and so you sped up too. Maybe this is a fun daily activity for you but not for me. I just want to get away from your car. I am both lightheaded and have a headache. Thank you Lord, my street. Finally. Good bye Mr. Vintage Car Driver.

Signed,
A Way-Too-Considerate Mommy

The Wee Garden

I have wanted to put a little garden in for a few years now. Seems as though I was always working on the plants and weeds and rocks and filling low areas rather than doing a garden. Earlier this spring I told Little Buddy that we could plant a few cucumber plants this year, maybe we could even have a little garden. So when Cop Dad asked me what I wanted to do for Mother's Day, I told him I wanted to work in the yard as a little family project and make a garden. We started with nothing more than 2 old railroad ties. I thought we could recycle them and cut them both in half. Then dig out the sod from the area that all four halves of the railroad ties would make. Then we could fill with some good dirt and raise the level a little higher than our actual yard (which gets standing water in many spots). Well the sawing of the railroad ties was a real chore. Then we created a square and measured out the spot to remove the grass. Then we took all that perfectly good sod/grass and laid it out in a very low spot in our yard to fill it in. Then we were off to Menards. We picked up beans, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries, LOTS of top soil, some really good garden soil to mix with the top soil, and chicken wire. They were out of cucumber so I just picked that up today at Home Depot this morning. I bought plants. They were cheap. One year I will start from seed but with a baby and toddler, this year would have to be plants which are sooooo much easier.

It went pretty well, though Cop Dad had a hard time ripping out perfectly good grass in our little yard. He was also very hesitant about laying the sod strips/chunks in the low area where we always have water and no grass grows. I did my best to convince him that the sod would do fine and anything would be better than the small pond that we get in that spot regularly. Where the dog likes to dig and jump around . . . . . when it's muddy . . . . . of course.

Our garden is so tiny but the work involved, wow! Little Buddy was so excited. Cop Dad was being a bit of a grump, until I sent him these texts when I was waiting in the car with the kids. "Quit whining!" "Make the most of the day!" "We love you!"

That was all it took. He snapped out of it. He said, "Man, why am I so crabby?" I said, "I have no idea but it's kind of a buzz kill, can you cheer up so we can all have a good day together as a family?" After all it was Mother's Day and his mood and attitude affects each of us, no matter how much I let it roll off.

So, we got everything done and Cop Dad was acting very proud of our garden. Yeah! Little Buddy was really excited too. He just wanted to walk in the dirt and dump things in the garden. Oh no! So we had to lay some ground rules. Think he gets it now. He wanted to see the garden last night after it was dark out and was getting ready for bed. Too cute!

I know the garden is small but this is good for now. We'll see how it goes. We can always expand later. I also got breakfast from Panera and a nice card and iTunes gift card too.

Bake Of The Day: Old Fashioned Brownies

This recipe used to be on the back of the Diamond Walnuts a very long time ago. They don't even have the recipe on their website. Too bad! It sure is a keeper. My mom and I have the recipe copied down from back in the 80's/90's. I have improved it by covering the top with chopped walnuts AND chocolate chips. My mother just does the walnuts and does not like the chips on top. I think it adds a different texture (I'm totally a texture person) and even more chocolate flavor to an already extraordinary brownie. What kind of brownies do you make? Are you even a brownie person? Or is there some other goodie that you bake often. I almost never buy cookies or candy etc. But we always have ingredients in the house to make something. That is how it was when I grew up and I do the same thing. This way, you have to work for it AND you know what goes into it AND you don't waste the calories on some sub-par bakery item from the grocery store. BTW, this recipe uses real EVERYTHING: butter, eggs, flour, baking chocolate, etc. Cop Dad never objects and Little Buddy calls them "Bownies." Tee! Hee!

Old-Fashioned Brownies (Diamond Walnuts)
3-1 oz squares unsweetened Bakers Chocolate
1 stick salted butter
(melt these 2 ingredients together and set aside)
(I usually throw them in a pyrex measuring cup and microwave for 5+ minutes on 30 percent power)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
(mix these 5 together)
(then add the melted chocolate and butter)

Pour in a greased 9x9 pan. Top with 1/4 cup chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. Bake for 40 minutes in a 325 degree oven. Check middle with toothpick.

Drive By Blogging

Just some useless tidbits from what's going on in my world. **Warning: May need some toothpicks for your eyes :)

· We FINALLY got our new driveway this week. I have taken before and after pics which I will post soon. I just love before and after pics of almost any type. I just stink at remembering to take them. Never imagined that asphalt could make a family this happy :)

· Little Buddy got his new custom made bed from "the grandmas" (grandma B does woodworking for a hobby). It is awesome. Though I am still a bit worried about the vapors from all the stain and polyurethane that we are all breathing in. Really beautiful bed but really strong smelling. Hope this passes soon!

· Trying to start solids with Little Munchkin but I don't think she's ready yet. She keeps pushing it out her mouth. I sure know she wants it though as she is like a hungry baby bird with her mouth open wide for the spoon but out it comes. She must be getting some though as her diapers have certainly changed. Sorry, TMI.

· Not too happy that my least favorite aunt has been showing up these days. I mean, already? At only 4 months PP too. Boo!

· Been having plenty of playdates with friends. Hooray! Feels wonderful to be able to just open the back door and let the kids run wild in the sunshine and fresh air and explore the back yard. Now if I could just get them to stop trampling on my nicer plants. Ooh, and also loving the mom chat :)

· Little Buddy is in the 98th percentile for height AND weight! Wow! Not sure how he got that big? Cop Dad swears it's cause he got over 2 years of breastmilk. I tend to think it's because of all the GMO's and hormones in meat, etc. Oh, and both of us are by no means thin and lanky people (though I wish). He resembles the kindergarteners that walk past our house on their way to and from school in the middle of the day.

· Stressing about potty training. When will he want to to do this? He can do the pee but has no interest cause there are way too many other things going on. Then I am so busy with baby that it's very hard to keep making him sit down every 30 minutes and try. Ugh! I wish I could be a better mom in the potty training area.

· Little Munchkin is now becoming more flexible with being able to go a little longer between naps and being able to not scream and be frantic in a store, car, etc. She's a very easy baby, I cannot complain. I am very excited for her to crawl and sit up and eat solids on a more regular basis. Then we will be a little more free to go to a restaurant or go on a date, etc.

· Dying to work in the yard! The "grandmas" have agreed to come over one of these days and play with the kids while I work in the yard and then I can nurse Little Munchkin and put her down for naps as needed. Cannot wait!

*"grandmas": We have a pair of grandmas (Cop Dad's mom and partner). I think I touched on this wayyyyyyy back when I first started my blog. Two, "together," wink and all. Yes indeedy. Just in case you were wondering. Not my ideal, but it is what it is. They love us and the kids and would do anything to be involved and help out. So . . .

I Had A Mind Once . . . . .

Quote Of The Day (With Picture)

(Taken by MV at Silver Lake 04.14.10, Warrenville, IL)

Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. ~John Muir

How Do I Find New Blogs?

I am looking for some new blogs to read and I have no way to find them besides looking at other peoples blog lists. Then I tried blog searches on Google but that doesn't work too well. I like to have a mix of moms and cops wives and crunchy, earthy people, funny people and nature and art lovers. I don't really have that much in common with many sahm's as I am not living in the woods using wool diapers that I knitted myself, I also am not staying at home for any Biblical reason (not that there's anything wrong with that). Like I said, I like a good mix in my list. How does one find all the different bloggers? I have also tried pressing on some of the words on my profile and that doesn't really necessarily bring up what I'm looking for. Any ideas? Oh, and I am very, VERY, down-to-earth so the "Perfect Mommy" blogs are not my thing either. Appreciate any suggestions.

The Woman's Remote

Vintage Humor: Weight & Sex

More Nice Things?

Not sure what I did to deserve such niceness lately but I got yet another gift the other day. This one is from my pal Karen out near Bean Town, MA. Guess she took pity on me after reading my post about missing Samoas from the Girl Scouts this year. I don't have the heart to tell her that I already got a hold of 5 boxes that are long gone. Shh! Don't tell her :) Though she does read this blog so . . . . . . . .

Anyway, what a sweet gesture. She got a hold of a box of Caramel Delights (pretty much the same thing as Samoas but just baked by a different baker), and shipped them with a card all the way to me here in Chicagoland. Thanks KMB!  Miss ya and hope you are doing well!!!

A Funny For Dog Lovers

Why do I think these are so funny? Ugh, and there are a bunch of them in my Youtube favorites. Tee hee!

Very Nice Things

My pal Jen from over at Crickets Eye View brought these to me today as she dropped off my prize for winning her Macro Friday Contest (again). Can you believe it? These weren't even my prize. I won a set of beautifully personalized note cards which I will post soon (but my two shots of them came out very blurry and no amount of sharpening made the blurriness better).

So my whole house smells like fresh flowers, ooh that intoxicating hycathinth! She also picked up a book for mother's from a second hand shop. What a kind soul :)

I met Jen a couple years back when I offered irises on Freecycle. She, like me, is also a nature lover, and gardener and loves to find neat things to do. She is also my neighbor (kinda), who lives just one town over from me. We have kept in touch and even swapped more plants since the irises. Anyway, she has this cool blog which consists mainly of her photography and also books, projects, and thoughts too. She has a contest she runs most weeks on Friday's called Macro Fridays where you have to guess what the pictures are that she has cropped and zoomed in on. It's a blast! I have won three times already. My first two prizes were 8x10 prints of my choice from her blog.

If you love photography and/or possibly trying to guess at what pictures are and dare to try guessing in her Macro Friday Contests, you should stop by her blog! Thanks again Jen!

Live Like We're Dying

Late Birthday Gift

I just received this beautiful Drumm Casserole from my very, very awesome SMIL Leslie. I think she's the bees knees and we have very similar taste in most things. This is made from cast aluminum and can be used to bake casseroles in. It is used and I believe that she found it on Ebay. She has various other aluminum art by Drumm in her house and I am always complimenting it. I think it will be just put in my glass paneled kitchen cabinets for decoration. I love sun faces! Maybe you've seen Drumm art around or own some yourself?

Wordless Wednesday

Today I Am Thankful For . . . . . .

· Made chocolate chip, oatmeal, walnut cookies for the family. Amen for my new cookie scooper, so baby could be held with one hand and cookie dough scooped with the other :)

· Got to prune my birch trees and roses and also clean up a few dead stems and leaves from last year while baby napped and Little Buddy played in the sandbox.

· FINALLY Letting the dog in backyard which is normally a swamp in the spring because we get standing water that does not drain for EVER. He was happy too :) (I'm not telling him that the forecast says rain for tomorrow and that means swamp and no backyard for awhile again . . . . . shhhhh!)

· Talking serious meaningful things out with hubs. We need to do that more often.

· Having a play date set up with my great friend Becki! Yeah! So hard to get together some times. She had a medical procedure done then her kids were sick. Finally :)

· Hubby doing dishes and laundry AND setting up the Roomba. Bliss!

· Little Buddy just full of so much love for momma all day. "Thanks buddy, I needed that today really bad!" Never thought in a million years that a little boy giving me a hug and a plastic horse when I'm crying and sad would make me feel so loved :)

· Getting to the store and picking up baby shower gifts, printing out directions, wrapping gifts and signing card (Lord, people, you have no idea what a feat this is with baby and toddler much of the time!), and confirming grandma's coming to watch Little Buddy tomorrow so Little Munchkin and I can attempt to go to a baby shower.

· Finding two more awesome classic movies for the ipod. One rented: It's A Wonderful World (with Jimmy Stewart and Claudette Colbert) and one bought: Talk Of The Town (with Cary Grant and Jean Arthur).

· I fixed the toilet, unclogged the tub drain (ewwwww, I'm in the post-partum hair loss phase . . . . yuck!), got a new door lock for the screen door and toy for the jumperoo (for FREE thanks to companies who stand behind their products!!!)

· Having my dad help us with a new driveway. The money is helpful but even more helpful are the incredible words that he wrote in the letter that came with the check about things that have bothered me for years. Crazy how life works itself out sometimes. I could care less if our driveway was gravel, but our sub and city code does not allow it where we live and our current driveway in cracked and crumbling and sinking. The letter is worth a million driveways to me . . . . . .

· Warmth, love, life, sunshine, relief, security, home, children, caring, laughter, union, greenery, friends, health, spring.

Quote Of The Day

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.  ~Anne Frank

Steel Roots Exhibit

We just saw the Steel Roots Exhibit by artist Steve Tobin at the Morton Arboretum in Glen Ellyn Illinois. Click here to learn more about the exhibit. Click here to learn more about the artist.

Smiley Sunday

A Week Of Poems: Saturday

God and You  ~Anonymous

They may see the good you do as self serving.
Continue to do good.

They may see your generosity as grandstanding.
Continue to be generous.

They may see your warm and caring nature as a weakness.
Continue to be warm and caring.

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It never was between you and them anyway.

A Week Of Poems: Friday

Nobody's Friend ~Anonymous

My name is Gossip.

I have no respect for justice.

I maim without killing.

I break hearts and ruin lives.

I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.

The more I am quoted the more I am believed.

My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name or face.

To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become.

I am nobody's friend.

Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.

I topple governments and wreck marriages.

I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartaches and indigestion.

I make innocent people cry in their pillows.

Even my name hisses.

I am called Gossip.

I make headlines and headaches.

Readers, before you repeat a story, ask yourself: Is it true? Is it harmless? Is it necessary? If it isn't, don't repeat it.

A Week Of Poems: Thursday

Drive Thru ~Nancy Ness

I rose this morn with much to do -
Hopped in the car and off I flew.

No time for breakfast, that I knew -
Glad "Dunkin Donuts" has Drive Thru.

In need of dollars, quite a few -
Went to the bank teller's Drive Thru.

Then filled all my prescriptions too -
At "Pharmacy's" brand new Drive Thru.

Some bills to mail in box of blue -
Off to the "Post Office" Drive Thru.

Picked up the laundry cleaned anew -
Just stopped at "Suds & Duds" Drive Thru.

With lunchtime near, my tummy's queue -
Got a "Big Mac" from the Drive Thru.

The car by then was low on fuel -
Full serve at "Shell", just Drive on Thru.

And when they fill the tank for you -
Your car's washed free - in their Drive Thru.

Library books were overdue -
The curbside slot is a Drive Thru.

Then videos must go back too -
"Blockbuster" has their own Drive Thru.

In need of milk and bread, I knew -
I stopped at "Dairymaid's" Drive Thru.

The family asked "Please, can we do -
The "Drive In" show when dinner's thru???"

A Week Of Poems: Wednesday

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again ~Diane Loomans

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self esteem first, and the house later.
I'd fingerpaint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I'd see the oak tree in the acorn more often.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd model less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love.

A Week Of Poems: Tuesday

Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

A Week Of Poems: Monday

Before I was a Mom   ~Unknown

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put them down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

A Week Of Poems: Sunday

CHICAGO by Carl Sandburg

HOG Butcher for the World,

Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,

Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;

Stormy, husky, brawling,

City of the Big Shoulders:

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.
   
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.

And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.

And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:

Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
   
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;

Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness,

Bareheaded,

Shoveling,             

Wrecking,

Planning,

Building, breaking, rebuilding,

Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth,

Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,

Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse and under his ribs the heart of the people,

Laughing!

Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of

Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog

Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with

Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

New Rain Gear

Picked up some badly needed new rain gear for Little Buddy at the local Farm & Fleet store. Got both on sale. They had a matching boots but me being so frugal, I figured I could buy good old muck boots that were solid black and we could save them for Little Munchkin. Too much of any pattern makes me go a little buggy anyway on anybody. Lately we have been enjoying the 50's and 60's and visiting the zoo and many long muddy, wet walks in snow boots. He is so excited to be able to go out and slop through the mud and puddles now. Hopefully the coat will still fit this fall as I bought it 2 sizes too big for that reason. Once we found them in the store and put them on, he refused to take them off til we got home. Wet, messy, muddy, spring - BRING IT ON!!!

LIVE TRAFFIC FEED?

I just wanted to mention something about these live traffic feeds that I so often find on many of the blogs I read. I really never liked the fact that it tracked me where I was because I am very private and anonymous on my blog. I also know that MANY LEO and LEOW's blogs are extremely careful about not using names, or pictures of faces or locations of where they live or where they are LEO's. I have for a long time now wanted to blog about anonymity but haven't. I think it's a long shot that someone out there would find you from a LIVE TRAFFIC FEED, but, it still takes away the anonymity that many of us work so hard to keep on our blogs. With this being said, I am really surprised when I stumble across a LEO or LEOW's blog and I see a LIVE TRAFFIC FEED. I am even more shocked when I see the town listed, names of the family members, and plenty of pictures too. I hate to sound like a downer because blogs are a really awesome way to befriend other LEO's & LEOW's from a distance, but I think it's very dangerous to have such a dangerous job and completely put yourself out there on the internet. My husband has a very high stress job near the city of Chicago and there is lots of action and chaos and crazy dirtbags out there that would gladly "come back and put a bullet in your head!" as one told Cop Dad, or "go find your wife and @#$% her!" These are just a couple of the things that Cop Dad has told me about. There are many others that I am sure I don't want to even hear, but should.

Cop Dad has also been warned about the privacy factor in his life from his superiors and he has taken cyber terrorism training and knows how creepy people use the internet to find anybody and anything for almost any reason.

So, it's really not worth the risk for us to give anyone the chance to find us or recognize us or know where we live or where Cop Dad is a cop (which isn't where we live). So yes, I still read blogs that feature the LIVE TRAFFIC FEED, but I really don't like it and it makes me nervous when I see my location along with my blog pop up. I thought awhile ago that it would be kinda cool to see who reads me and where they live and so on but then I learned that there are many other bloggers (not even LEO's or family) that are completely anonymous on their blogs for safety reasons and refuse to frequent any blogs with LIVE TRAFFIC FEEDS on them.

Just curious if anyone else has ever felt uneasy about the LIVE TRAFFIC FEED also? How private are you in your life about your blog, kids, internet recreation, etc.? Oh, and one blog I went to even had my IP address pop up when I went to it. That stinks! I think that people can hack into your computer if they have your IP address. Did you know that? I like to blog freely and for that reason we don't even want anyone from Cop Dads PD to be reading my blog. Ha! I don't even want most of my family reading it either, I'd have no material anymore :)

Please let me know what you think. Is is safe for LEO's and LEOW's to disclose all their personal info on a blog or other type of site on the internet? From the city where they work, to the house that they live in, to where they shop, what schools their kids go to, family pictures, and when they are home and etc.?

Quote Of The Day

The phrase "working mother" is redundant. ~Jane Sellman

Meet My New Phone: The LG Tritan With Body Glove Cover

 

Seems as though Cop Dad as technology fever lately as he has now picked out new phones for us. Like I have said before, I am not high maintenance in the technology department. We are up for new phones though and it was very inconvenient to text on our old little phones so Cop Dad picked out these new phones. This is the LG Tritan (with pink plaid snap cover by Body Glove). This phone has everything. I am just happy to have a qwerty keyboard for texting but I have yet to use the internet, gps, and various other features it comes with.

  

This is the back of the phone. I am really NOT a pink plaid person BUT our last phones were tiny and black and I could never find it in my purse. So I asked Cop Dad to please find me a cover that was neon orange like the cones on the highway. This is what he picked out for me. Not neon orange but I could definitely spot it in my purse which has a black interior.

  

This phone can operate closed or slide open as pictured here. You can use a standard old-school on screen dialpad when held vertical. You can also use a qwerty keyboard when you hold the phone horizontally and closed. OR you can use the qwerty keyboard as pictured here when the phone is held horizontally and slid open.

It's a very nice phone and I have never seen Cop Dad so excited over a phone before. After the plasma tv and bluray player purchase right before Little Munchkin was born, then the IPOD Classic that he purchased for my birthday present in February, and now these fancy schmancy phones we just got last week, I think we are set for another 10 years. I know I am very old fashioned and not up with the trends but I kinda feel at this point in my life as nice as everything is, I hardly get much use out of it as I have my hands full with a baby and a toddler.

My only complaint so far is that the ringtone selection is kinda weird as they are not really rings but some wanna be cool generic rock songs instead. And you have to go online and buy different ring tones which are you guessed it, more rock songs. I just want a regular ring. Remember those?

That's pretty much it. The internet is kinda hard to see and use but for an emergency it is a nice feature. Oh and the antenna reception is less in our home than our little old phones had. Frustrating, as I thought that would be improved more than the old phones. Very nice phone though over all. Thanks Cop Dad!

Thankful Thursday

Today is Thursday, March, 4th and I am thankful for:

-We went to the big zoo today with Cop Dad and it went well, better than we thought as our first major outing with a toddler and a baby. All got exercise, fresh air and plenty of sunshine!

-We are in a warm up and it will be in the forties and even the fifties for the next few days! Woo! Hoo!

-Little Munchkin has been sleeping well and also going down much easier at night.

-Little Buddy has been very fun, very good, and extra lovey dovey lately. It can make me feel so overwhelmed by love at times I can cry, and I do.

-Cop Dad and I resolved yet another issue through talking and patience and although it came after a few bitter words and some hurt feelings, it DID get resolved.

-I feel more and more like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. This winter has been very hard for me/us with a new baby and toddler and being stuck inside with illness nearly every day. Now I can already imagine the warmth and the freedom of going on outings, even just in the backyard as a family. Feel like I am able to breathe again after the long, cold, dark, lonely winter. Hurray!

-Cherishing my friends and the fact that I am able to see them more with some breaks in the toddler sicky spells. Play dates never felt so good :) :) :)

-With the help of Freecycle I have been slowly but surely clearing out the garage lately. I unloaded 12 BOXES of boys clothes. My cousin had an oops baby with a woman he hardly knows and they both have lots of problems. One of the problems is no money and so they were completely overjoyed to receive all the clothes and will be getting a steady stream of boys clothes from us from here on out. Girls clothes can go straight to Goodwill as Little Munchkin outgrows them. Glad to be done building our family, now ready to raise/enjoy them!!!

-Ooooh, and Grandma is building a new bed for Little Buddy that will be ready in the next month or so. This one has book shelves for the headboard and book racks for the footboard and a trundle drawer too (I get to sleep there when it's done! At least until Little Munchkin moves into Little Buddy's room.) It will be very cool to have all that book storage. Little Buddy is going to love his new bed!

Sensible Solutions: Grocery Bag Trash Can

 

Just wanted to share with you a fabulous little thing that we have in our house and love. It is just a trash can, but really, so much more. It's a Grocery Bag Trash Can! I picked this up a few years ago at the Container Store and I cannot stress enough how wonderful it has turned out to be for us. First of all, it fits under our kitchen sink which has child lock on it and so little hands as well as pesty, hungry dogs stay out of the trash. Our garage and recycle bins are just steps away from the kitchen so we have very little trash in our kitchen. This was a very hard transition for us in the beginning as we used to have a big old kitchen garbage in our kitchen. The problem with that: where do you put it? more trash in your kitchen means more odor, more to attract ants, etc., there is more room and so it gets emptied less and food waste is just sitting around, you have to buy garbage bags for a large can and that is more money.

With this small can we empty it more frequently. There is less room and it forces us to recycle more, and put more in garbage disposal and/or compost pile. Then too one may say, "We do not use plastic grocery bags because we use our cloth grocery bags." I say, "Kudos to you!" That is awesome. But then do you have to buy plastic trash bags for your kitchen garbage? Perhaps you are completely ahead of the game and spend the extra $$ and buy biodegradable trash bags. Even better! But for the rest of us, this makes some great sense. I DO use cloth grocery bags. I also am human and do forget from time to time. I also, intentionally leave them in the car from time to time so we get the plastic bags for dog poop and nasty diapers and the trash can too.

OK, so maybe you have a big old trash can and tons of garbage? Then perhaps it's time to reduce your disposables? Just a thought? We ARE leaving behind a trash legacy for our kids and their kids too, and so on. Please care. I no longer buy paper towels. I use rags. I do have one or two rolls of the janitor brown rough paper towels for dog puke, etc. I am religious about using rags but I do NOT want that in my washing machine! We never use paper plates unless it's for a party. I almost never buy individually wrapped foods. Many moms are big on that for kids. BUTTTTTTT, it costs more, and there is more paper and plastic waste to dispose of. Just a few ideas on reducing your trash AND recycling too.

Here is the link if you want to purchase one of these trash cans at Container Store (also the cheapest one I found @ only $5.99!!!. I also Googled: Grocery Bag Trash Can and if you hit images, then you can take your pick of them and then select the website you want to buy from. There are some fancy stainless steel kinds and also a few other plastic types too. This link is another nice white plastic model from Harriet Carter. Enjoy!

What Sensible Solution do you have in your home/life that you really just love and feel good about every time you use it?

Momma's Getting Her Groove Back

Little by very little. I went to the gym and will be every morning that we don't have an appointment. Little Munchkin still eats every 2 hours so I cannot be gone long (I have no freezer stash except a bottle or two). When on earth will this little girls feeds start to space apart? Hmmmm. Little Munchkin got done with her growth spurt or whatever she was going through and is sleeping through the night again. Hallelujah!!! Shaved my legs, trimmed toenails and got my hair cut. Oh and also managed to pick up a few things I needed so badly jeans, athletic shoes, socks. Getting over my hurrendous sinus funk. Yuck! These were some bad bugs this time but we do not use antibiotics so things hang around a little longer but we are always a little stronger after the fact :)

I think that this time I will feel comfortable going on date night and pumping a bottle or leaving baby food for Little Munchkin. With Little Buddy, we didn't go on date night til he was around a year old. Ugh! That was wayyyyyyyy too long.

Just as soon as Grandma is done making Little Buddy's new bed, I will be able to room with him (on the trundle) and Little Munchkin can sleep by herself in our room as every tiny little noise I make and she either waked up or stirs. I cannot sleep very well in there any more, cause she's always stirring. Eventually, she will be in Little Buddy's room, but for now it's way too early. Cop Dad is still on the couch. He has really bad sleep apnea and jumps up and shouts and snores and thinks people are coming to get him in his sleep and it's very hard to sleep with him myself. I cannot imagine Little Munchkin sleeping with that. Eventually, when Little Munchkin moves into Little Buddy's room, Cop Dad will move back into our room and so will I. Plus, Cop Dad comes in late and makes lots of noise, that being in the room with Little Munchkin and I after we are already asleep would not work at all.

Thanks to text messaging and picture phones, I am able this time around to keep in better contact to my family and friends. Last baby, I would just not really talk to anyone for months. Funny, how hard I thought it was having one. Looking back it was hard as Little Buddy is a high needs baby/child, but so much easier to concentrate on one child rather than two.

Oh, and thanks to Cop Dad for gifting me the Ipod, I can actually watch a movie or listen to a podcast, etc. before bed while I nurse Little Munchkin. Did not have any of that the first baby either and I was just so detached from everyone and everything.

Getting better at outings with Little Munchkin and Little Buddy. We have been heading out for winter walks, to the little zoo by our house, and even to the mall (if it's too cold and we have cabin fever) to stretch our legs and let Little Buddy ride the carousel and try out our double stroller. CANNOT WAIT TIL SPRING! Then we are out of this house every chance we get. Down the street, to our friends, to the zoo, to the arboretum, ETC.!!!

I still feel very detached from myself. All the things I like and enjoy and feeling like my children can kind of fend for themselves is a long way off. I feel like I am in a whirlwind. Not really doing that great of a job with either child and having to do a half assed job on either of them always. It's sad and frustrating. If I start to do a really good job with one of them, I have neglected or ignored the other one. It's like your heart is being stretched so far that it is starting to rip but doesn't, just keeps stretching and beating and stretching and beating. This motherhood thing is the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done. Ever!

Quote Of The Day

"Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling during a blizzard."
~ Author Unknown

Monday's Bundle

Silent Saturday

Same Time Next Year?

 

For some reason or another, I missed any and all Girl Scouts this year, which means no cookies for me. Not that I need any as I am still bigger than I'd like to be but usually most years I finish off my yearly birthday indulging with some Samoas (pictured above). Sure, I saw plenty of Boy Scouts in early fall selling their boring popcorn while I was pregnant but all I could think was, "Where are the cookies?" Poor Boy Scouts can't hold a candle to the Girl Scouts and their cookies when it comes to fund raising time. "Hey, Samoas, see you same time next year? . . . . . I hope?" What is your favorite Girl Scout cookie? Me thinks you like the Thin Mints? Huh?

Dang! Why does breastfeeding make you crave sugar so badly? Ugh!

The Gift

 

I doubt most of you know the way I am about spending money and NOT "Keeping Up With The Joneses." The fact is that I am not like that at all. I do once in a blue moon see the need to purchase some new technology but usually use the same old camera, computer, generic mp3 player, etc. as long as they are in working order and money can be used for something else like home improvements, basic necessities, and the such.

I purchased a cheap little mp3 player when Little Buddy was about 18 months old and I started to go to the gym and needed tunes and all I had was a huge, portable, blue, cd player with headphones. So I got the mp3 player and loaded it with songs for my workout and I was happy. Happy for the more modern and compact music player and the cheapness of it ($50 @ Target), and happy that I was not in fact one of the people that had to have the most expensive music player with all the bells and whistles. And I was being practical when I was going to listen to some tunes for maybe an hour a day only when I went to the gym.

Now, I do not go to the gym anymore. I was cramping during pregnancy really bad and being high risk they said it was not worth putting myself or baby in jeopardy so I stopped going when I was about 3 months pregnant. My little generic mp3 player sat unused for all this time.

When I had Little Munchkin I quickly settled into a routine and as soon as she was sleeping through the night I only found myself with one frustrating and time consuming part of my day: Putting her down for bed. It sometimes took hours. I was sitting there in the dark and staring at the clock as I am not a cosleeper but do room share with her and the crib is about a foot from where I lay. So I would nurse her to sleep in the rocking chair with my nursing pillow and wait til she fell asleep then creep over to the crib to lay her down ever so gently only to have her wake up and have to start all over again. This went on some nights for hours. It was very frustrating and I never dealt with this quite so badly with Little Buddy. So I started to send text messages to hubby and friends and relatives in the dark but quickly learned that people are busy or sleeping or have lives and so I sat again, in the dark, with my thoughts and Little Munchkin. Then I though of downloading audio books onto my mp3 player to listen to during this time. So I downloaded several from a freebie file sharing site. This was great, I was at least able to listen to something as I sat there in the rocker, in between my many failed attempts to lay her down in her crib and it did not bother her or anyone else in the house. Yeah!

This was a great thing until many of the audio books I downloaded ended up being garbled, cut off in the middle, or sped up and sounded like The Chipmunks reading rather than an adult human. THEN the darn thing kept dying on me after very little usage the battery was draining really fast. Ugh, I felt defeated. Just as soon as I found a fabulous new little outlet for in this point and time I have no other, no tv other than kiddie shows, no sex, no coffee, no fun outings in the cold, no red sauce, no girls night, no date night, no texting the world, AND NOW no more audio books in the dark. Ugh! I was about to lose my mind. No, I WAS losing my mind. Quickly.

Then Cop Dad asked me what I thought of the iTouch? I have no idea what I think of it, just seems like some name I've heard of something unnecessary for me and I have no idea what it even does?!? Then he asked me what I thought of the iPod Classic. Again, what would I need that for? I need to be all eyes and ears and arms and hands and quick reflexes and nerves of steel while staying home and taking care of a baby and toddler every day. Those items are for college students of childless people who ride the train to work and so I have no idea why he was asking me about this. Then he told me that he wanted to get me one for my birthday present so I could download movies and music and audio books so I would be a little happier and have a little fun in my life and during my endless nightly hours in the rocking chair with Little Munchkin.

So as we both looked into both items a little further, I decided that I wanted an iPod Classic. The touch has internet which would be nice to be able to check e-mail or surf the internet but in April we will be getting new phones with qwerty and internet and gps so really we didn't think we would need that in the touch. Also the iPod Classic has way more space on it. The screen is much smaller but I do not want a huge screen because it would be much more distracting/stimulating while I am trying to watch something on it and Little Munchkin is falling asleep.

So, Cop Dad got me and iPod for my birthday last week. I connected it to my computer and loaded everything on my iTunes all by itself. Then I went to the iTunes store and bought some movies: The Picture Of Dorian Gray, It's A Wonderful Life, The Wizard Of Oz, then Cop Dad bought and loaded National Lampoons Christmas Vacation for me.

I never would have thought that this would be such a wonderful thing for me. Ooooooooohhhhhhhh, AND I was elated to find that there are many Old Time Radio broadcasts as Podcasts that are free. So I am loading and have a subscription to Old Time Radio Mystery, Thriller, and Detectives too. It is really very cool.

Don't get me wrong. I love my daughter and love nursing her and staring at her angelic face in the light of the night light. I love resting my head back with eyes shut and decompressing for a bit too. Some nights though, 2-3 hours in the dark with a baby (who's asleep and can;t talk to you anyways) can make even the best of mothers a little nutty.

I love my gift! Thanks Cop Dad! You did mention that my iTunes account had no limit. Right? lol

Best Card I Ever Got . . . . . . EVER!!!

Got this from Little Buddy and Cop Dad yesterday as I returned from the store with Little Munchkin. We have had much art in the house created by Little Buddy since he learned to draw. I have never gotten a customized birthday card from him and I was so choked up and warm and fuzzy inside as he explained what it said and was so proud of himself and wanted lots of hugs and kisses too. Thank God he cannot write the numbers yet, actually daddy left them out as he wrote the words for Little Buddy. He does certainly grasp the birthday concept and was all too happy to help daddy give me my birthday gift and eat cake and ice cream with us of course. I love this boy and honestly the card was the best part of my whole day!

Happy 101

Thank you Tara over at Just One Moment In Forever for the blog award!!! She too is a cops wife and I have not known her as long as my other blog pals, she is one "Awesome Aussie" and I'm proud to know her (in blogland anyway). Here are the rules for accepting:

• Copy the award image into a post
• List 10 things that make you happy
• Tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day
• Put a link to their blogs
• Notify the award receivers
• Recipients should link back to the sender's blog

My computer time is little and short at this point in my life with a new baby and toddler and a Cop Dad is is gone much I will skip the awarding of others part (hope y'all understand?) but share with you what makes me happy and post the rules anyway just in case you want to award someone or yo'self :)

My 10 Happy Things: (These are not the only things, I have many, but off the top of my head and at this moment in time, these are it).

1) FUNNY STUFF Love to laugh!!!!! Though I do not think everything is funny I love finding humor in things even if it's dirty funny, yes, I had my OB in tears with some of the gross pregnancy complaints I had, laughing at myself and when other people can laugh at themselves too. In my day I often think of funny remarks and come backs constantly but keep them to myself (usually) my husband can often tell when I have one rolling around in my head and forces it out of me.

2) GREAT FOOD Love all kinds of food and have a horrible sweet tooth too, my butt proves it :)

3) ART I love seeing art, reading about it, creating it, anything artsy fartsy, what else do you expect from an art major and former graphic designer?

4) DATE NIGHT Hanging with the hubs and getting a bite, seeing a movie, etc.

5) GIRLS NIGHT Getting away and female bonding, laughter, and hanging with another mom.

6) GREAT SLEEP Ok not even tons of sleep but definitely sleepin'-like-a-rock-sleep and uninterrupted.

7) OLD MOVIES Black and whites and often thrillers like Hitchcocks and Sherlock Holmes. Think I got this love from my mom, she is a HUGE fan of oldies too and some times when she sees an old one she tells me all about it and vice versa. We have seen most of the really good ones but once in awhile, we discover another one that's been missed. Just saw the beginning of Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondant the other day til the whole house woke up and I had to hit record on the DVR. I'll get to the end of it one of these days :)

8) KEEPING BUSY I rarely sit and love warm weather and flying out the door and heading to a parade or cook out at my in-laws, gardening or walking the bike path with the stroller (or without) just being free and doing just about anything with people or alone is good too :)

9) CLEANLINESS Yes, basic but if things in my life are dirty, I get really, really disgusted and depressed. I need a shower, LOVE A CLEAN HOUSE!!! (though it is often far from it these days), a littlerless neighborhood or highway or town, clean yard, clean car. Not OCD clean where I bleach everything daily or bounce a quarter off the beds just basically clean and organized. Doesn't bother some people but I can't stand it if everything is all over the place and dog hair is stuck to everything and old jelly is a sticky dark spot on the kitchen floor and dust is blowing in the house and you can see it if the sun is up. BTW, my house is a hurrendous mess right now and I hardly want to touch anything or sit anywhere. I am not spotless always but it does make me very happy when everything is clean in my world.

I STOLE it, I just had to . . . . . .

Sorry, to the fine women over at Walking a Thin Blue Line but I had to steal the Cops Wives Prayer cause I love it and because maybe someone may not read it there if they do not go to that blog or miss it on the side bar, etc. Here it is. And boy do I need this lately!

Police Wives Prayer

Dear God, give me COURAGE, for perhaps I lack
it more than anything else.
I need COURAGE as I witness my husband's
departure for duty each day.
I need COURAGE as I see him put on his uniform
because I know the abuse that perhaps
he will be subjected to before he returns
from his tour of duty.
I need COURAGE in dealing with the children
when he is working long hours
during demonstrations or on an
investigation
I need COURAGE when tensions buildup on
the job and pressures at home
to mount and life becomes almost
too much to bear.
I need COURAGE to stand firm and not to
succumb to the urge to run away
from problems.
Help me to have the strength to be a
COURAGEOUS and Valiant Woman,
when I learn from the media that a
"police officer's been hurt."
The next time I waver or grow faint-hearted,
Help me, O Divine Master,
to be COURAGEOUS.
And, having found the source of strength in
You, Help me to reach out to
others, who may be just
as scared as I.

Amen

Prayer given at the DC Police Wives Installation Dinner, on June 15, 1973, by Reverend R. Joseph Dooley. Copyright © 1973 - All Rights Reserved

Beautiful Blogger Award

I am just now getting around to graciously accepting and posting my Beautiful Blogger Award from my fabulous blog pal Natalie from over at Martin Enterprises. Thank you Natalie!!! Little does she know that I feel the very ugliest of my life at this point in time AND I often think of her and her wisdom in my day to day. We have some very significant details in common such as: both cops wives, both stay home, both don't drink, both mothers of small children. I think there are a few other things too but those are the biggest.

Anyway, I am going to keep this short as my little 12 week old baby Little Munchkin is sitting in her chair on the kitchen table and starting to fuss and my 3 year old son Little Buddy is upstairs watching Arthur. So without further ado. I will now post 7 very exciting (not really) things about myself. Here goes:

1) I grew up in a home where my mom was playing and teaching piano all the time so I love classical music. I especially love hearing piano music on the radio. If I catch many of the pieces that my mother used to play it brings me back to my childhood and adulthood too as I lived with her in an apartment til I was 30.

2) I love nature. I love being outdoors and hike and camp and garden and walk regularly accept when it's very cold.

3) I love to cook and bake and organize and fix things.

4) I am constantly getting rid of things we do not need. I give it away or sell it or Freecycle it. I get a purging high, it's fabulous :)

5) I am very particular about friends (why are so many women so fake and bitchy?) and I have friends who range in age from their 20's to their 60's.

6) I almost ALWAYS overhear people when they say something negative about me or someone else. Call it bad timing and sensitive hearing? It sucks. I wish I was more oblivious. I hate when I go to a restaurant or store and hear the employees talking badly about the people that they serve whether it be me or someone else. Ugh! Oh, and I cannot work in an office for this reason ever, ever, again. No way!

7) Some day I would like to: Be thin again, Travel, Be a professional organizer or art teacher for kids/elderly, Volunteer with my kids, Did I mention travel?, Live in the country, Have a big garden, Learn to knit, Learn to swim, Go almost totally vegetarian, Exercise daily, Take a cooking class, Take a wood shop class, See the Smithsonian, Visit all the National Forests and Parks, OK, I would go on but it's time to feed the baby.

Now I wish I had the time to also award others and I should be feeding the baby and folding laundry and putting on my pj's and so on. These are the rules though if you read this and feel like awarding somebody or even awarding yourself.

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award
2. Copy the award and place it on your blog
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award
4. Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself
5. Nominate 7 bloggers
6. Post links to the 7 blogs I nominate

Damn Groundhog!

 

Ready for spring! Then that little groundhog had to come out and see his shadow. Boo! Anyone else feeling cold and dry and suffocating in their house right about now? With ongoing illness too? Ugh! Hang in there, before long we will be complaining about it being too hot and having sunburn. Ha! Today's weather for Chicago is high of 32 and low of 21 with snow flurries. At least this week we are in the thirties. Last week we were in the teens and not likin' it one bit.

Ladies Restroom

For all the women who have experienced this and for all the men to have a good laugh just don't do it in front of your wife.

When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place.

Once it's your turn, you check for feet under the stall doors. Every stall is occupied.

Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall.

You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter; the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants!

The dispenser for the modern "seat covers" (invented by someone's Mom, no doubt) is handy, but empty.

You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there were one, but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly drape it around your neck, (Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR!), yank down your pants, and assume " The Stance."

In this position your aging, toneless (God I should have gone to the gym!!!) thigh muscles begin to shake

You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold "The Stance".

To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, "Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!" Your thighs shake more.

You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck, that now, you have to hold up trying not to strangle yourself at the same time). That will have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than your thumbnail.

Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work.

The door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest, and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet.

"Occupied!" you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor, lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT.

It is wet of course.

You bolt up; knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper - not that there was any, even if you had taken time to try.

You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew, because, you're certain her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, frankly, dear, "You just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get".

By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl that sprays a fine mist of water that covers your butt and runs down your legs and into your shoes.

The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in too

At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat.

You're e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d.

You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.

You can't figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting.

You are no longer able to smile politely to them.

A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, "Here, you just might need this".

As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left the men's restroom.

Annoyed, he asks, "What took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around your neck?"

This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public restrooms (rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!). It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse, and hand you Kleenex under the door!

Wordless Wednesday

Little Buddy Turns Three

And I am so proud of my big boy, just handing down all the baby boy clothes that we will NOT be needing any more and feeling very sad about it. Glad I survived the birthday party with 20 plus people in our tiny home. I will be completely honest, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, having people over and cooking and doing neat seasonal games and such but when I have a new baby I do not. I prefer cocooning til the baby is a little bigger to really get back into the swing of things. I am a huge fan of breastfeeding but then I really am private about it and do NOT want to go out to dinner with family and nurse at the table or in the bathroom stall or bring a baby out to the freezing car. So, there, I've said it, I have to be honest with you all. I LOVE doing things and getting out and dragging my kid(s) all over the place and doing much of the time alone BUT not with a new baby especially in the winter. It kills me to stay away or home but I prefer that to going and feeling all stressed and having a crying baby in a restaurant who does not take a pacifier, etc. OK, there, it's out and I am just biding my time til Little Munchkin is bigger and it is warmer outside too. I can handle play dates and family houses, but just now and ever so gradually. So, I survived and I am happy that I will never again have a 2 month old baby while throwing a 3 year olds birthday and doing both half-assed and feeling all stressed and spun. Now Cop Dad just needs to get the snip-snip and we will be be all done :) Just felt the need to get that out as so many of my friends think I am all put together and loving every minute of this (and then feel really bad about themselves as mothers) and I wanted to let them know I am not and I don't and I am human and will admit it. Happy Birthday Little Buddy! We love you and I get such a kick out of you playing with your Play Doh toys I could cry (and do). You are awesome!