The Distracted Mom Writer

Mom collected these leaves for me and I think they're so pretty with crystal and candles!

They say a true writer must always write; there is a type of compulsion this person has that prevents them from not writing. However, I disagree. There is another type of writer, the Distracted Mom Writer. This person is every bit as frazzled, has just as many compulsions to write, but this person is stuck in an alternate universe. This is a universe of being pulled in too many different directions; or maybe it is just one in which the poor lady is too much of a disorganized workaholic to actually sit down at the computer and put those thoughts on paper. This person constantly has thoughts of what to write about and what she would like to say swirling around in her head, but never actually makes it to her blog page to put those thoughts down. There is always something else she "needs" to do. Now, I know that many, many, many of the bloggers out there are Moms. They manage to raise 5 kids, homeschool them, write a book, can their own green beans and make their own yogurt and run a home sewing business on the side. Sometimes I have felt intimidated by them because I barely get one child homeschooled (although he is only 3 so not too much pressure yet), the house cleaned, and the sewing done that I need to do. I have thought multiple times about doing some sort of fun sewing business and selling on Etsy or Ebay or such, but I know I would probably experience a mental breakdown before I got very far. Why? I am the Distracted Mom (Writer, Seamstress, Housekeeper, Errand Runner, Cook, etc...). Emphasis on the "Distracted" part. I always find something else I need to do, often before finishing the 3 or 4 projects I already have started. But I just remind myself that there is nothing wrong with me, I am just different. I get my family fed, keep them in clean clothes, and keep the house clean (well, I keep it mostly dirt-free, "clean" is a relative point when you have children.).

Case in point: I have not finished the Christmas stocking I started for Boy before he was born, and I have not started the train quilt I said I would make him; I also have several small home decor/useful projects I want to do. However, today I am going to make a doll dress; my niece's birthday party is tomorrow (she's turning 2) and we can't go, but I still want to get it made today and put in the mail on Monday. Of course I came up with the idea of making it late yesterday. And that also reminds me I am going to try to make some Christmas presents this year and if I don't get started soon I won't get them done at all, which reminds me that Hubby said a couple of his new suit jacket sleeves are too long and I need to shorten them--he is awesome at scoring very expensive dress clothes at very low prices at thrift stores, but the downside is that I do a lot of tailoring. So there you have it, I think I have effectively wandered from the point of this post, which was going to be something along the lines of a comparison and contrast of different types of writers, maybe I will try that again another day :)

Life in September - Some days are crazy - This doesn't describe the half of it...

So I'm sitting on the bathroom floor saying "Are you done yet?" to a 3-year-old who would rather sit on the potty for an hour than go to nap...You know, potty training is much harder than I imagined. I mean, I figured that once he realized he didn't have to constantly have that stuff against his bottom all the time, and got the hang of going on his little potty that all would be fine. Now don't get me wrong--he wears big-boy underwear when we are home, and I haven't cleaned any accidents up in at least a week--awesome! And he has started telling me sometimes when he needs to pee. He usually only does his #2 business in his diaper at bedtime/naptime, so at least I'm not cleaning that up anywhere, but I'm not sure it is good for his little tummy to be waiting like that... 
On the upside, while he doesn't care as much as I would like him to about potty training, he really loves learning! He knows his shapes and colors and numbers and we are working on the alphabet. Every day he surprises me with something I didn't realize he had picked up on! So ya I'm trying to start preschool with the craziness around here. Hubby starting a new job--Yay!!!! I am trying to cram in my CE (gotta finish today) so I can renew my hygiene license today and I have several suit pants of hubby's that need to be tailored as well as some random paperwork we gotta get in for the new job.
And it is beginning to be cold outside--there is condensation on the living room window and Boy just said "Is messy? Clean wawer off?" and I got to explain condensation to him so I guess we have already got started on science this morning :)  I am so happy for fall to start this year, and I am already looking forward to Christmas. I really gotta get my random stuff done so I can get Boy's Christmas stocking finished this year.
And apparently I jinxed myself--just cleaned up an accident...oh well. Here's to Monday! (Raise coffee cup, gulp it fast, and go refill it!)

Summer days

We bought this water table for him when he turned 2 last year--he is loving it on these hot summer days!

I was going to start this an hour ago, then I spent too long snooping on Facebook. Well, and I baked a bunch of cookies and had tea. Anyway I just realized my free time is almost over -- Curious George is already over and it is 4pm which means I should head to the kitchen and figure out what I'm going to make for dinner tonight and dinner and lunch tomorrow since I will be gone at work...  The awesome news is that I got a new job at a wonderful office and tomorrow is my last day at my old office--YAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!  Not to mention the fact that the Doctor and staff is wonderful, we start early (before 7am) so I am always off by 3:30 or 4 at the latest!!! Can ya tell I'm excited? ;)

So far, our summer is going great, although busy. We had a Thomas the Train party for Small Boy a couple weeks ago, have pretty much finished buying furniture/getting situated in our new home, and are trying to enjoy every sunny day as much as possible. Hence today at the park for two hours :)

Enjoying a snack at the park in the shade of the stroller :)

Moms are Beautiful!

I've been thinking about beauty. It is rather an obscure, indecipherable thing, don't you think? What is beautiful to one person may be only mildly tolerable to another, and vice versa. I was remembering today when I gave myself the screen name of PrettyMama for a website (I don't remember what it even was). Let me tell you, I was feeling nowhere near pretty that day; in fact, I hadn't felt pretty in months. Small Boy was Tiny Baby still at that point, and I was still at the point of amazement with myself that for the first time in my life I couldn't care less if I ever showered again. It had been months since I had worn makeup, did more to my hair than brush it maybe (and possibly less than) once per day, and nursing or pumping every three or so hours certainly wasn't making me feel sexy!
It's funny how very much we change once we are responsible for a tiny helpless little life. All of a sudden I went from wanting to be a pretty wife (yes, I had my hubby bring my makeup bag to the hospital so I would look good in my new mommy photos) to not even caring how horrible my hair was the minute that baby came out. Actually, I think I quit caring sometime during the 36 hours of labor...All of a sudden I was a new person--a mommy--and while it was all I ever wanted to be (other than a wife!) I was totally unprepared for the reality of it. Completely surprised by the continuous complete exhaustion, by the constant needs of that precious little baby, and by my lack of caring about so many details that would have bothered me before giving birth. A woman's whole focus and purspose for life changes at that first birth; and it takes a while to reorient our brains to incorporate that new person into the rest of our being. So hence the name "PrettyMama". It was born of looking in the mirror, realizing that there was a little spot of baby poo on my face, and not caring that it was there, and at the same time thinking that there was something wrong with me for not caring but not knowing what was wrong. What I didn't know was that it was the whole working out of how to merge the new persona of "mommy" with the woman/wife that was still buried in there somewhere. As it turned out, it's like our moms always told us, "Beauty is as beauty does". It didn't matter that I was barely fitting into clothes 4 sizes bigger than I had ever worn, but that I was successfully growing a beautiful healthy boy. I was cooking, cleaning, ironing, washing dishes, and grocery shopping all while juggling that baby--I even got good at making scones with one hand at 10pm! That is what makes a pretty mama, ladies; and yes those details may look a little different for each person, but the principle is the same. It is everything we do, all those sacrifices we make every day for the other people in our homes that make us beautiful. It is the attitude of willingness and desire to do well for those people that make us beautiful. I am not saying that we should always want to do all those things every day, because there are plenty of days that we don't! But it is the love and care we have for our families that makes each of us beautiful. So throw out those societal markers of beauty, because they will always be changing and contradicting and we will drive ourselves nuts trying to meet them.
Yes, it is okay and good to have personal goals for fitness and health; but we need to make sure that those are OUR goals, that they are what is best for us in our personal unique situations. Remember, "but they comparing themselves among themselves are not wise."! (2 Corinthians 10:12)
So I am signing back off for the weekend to work on my beauty--washing dishes, folding laundry, playing with Boy, and spending time with my hubby!

Technology, Modesty, and Cheerios

A few thoughts as I was preparing breakfast:

1. Spring is here!!!! The photo my Mom took of one of her first hyacinths blooming.

2. I have been AWOL partly because my dear hubby bought me an iPad; I have been loving it, but because I am the delinquent who has not picked out the case with a keyboard that I want yet, I cannot type well on it. You should know, I don't really like my computer (it has seen better days); my husband will tell you that I can go for days without opening it. So yes I am planning to get a desktop eventually, because if it is out I will use it. In the mean time, I have definitely decided to get a keyboard case for my iPad, because that is the best solution for the tech-avoiding me. I am mostly a "technology is for useful things only" kinda gal.

3. A friend posted on her Facebook stream this morning that she wishes her well-endowed friends would not show that part of them half-naked on Facebook so often because she would rather they keep that for their husbands to enjoy instead of her husband running across it innocently as he was scrolling through his news feed. I couldn't agree more. I know that my husband feels he runs across enough images that are less than appropriate out in the world, that he shouldn't be accosted with those in his Christian friend circles!  Yes I know the subject of modesty is a hotly debated one that does divide believers, sadly enough. I am not advocating women covering up from collarbone to ankles, but I do think we ought to examine our hearts and our intentions in how we dress. And I will stop there for now, because this is a subject that takes up whole books.

4. Why does a two-year-old (who is nearly three) who hates having sticky fingers insist on eating Honey Nut Cheerios with milk with his hands??? And yes, when he is done he is covered with sticky Cheerios. However, this Mama feeds him breakfast in his pj's so that when he is done we just strip them off and put on his daytime clothes. Then the dog licks up the Cheerios off the floor. And with that, I must go mop the kitchen!

About Me :)

FYI: This post may sound a bit rambling, but that is my brain today. And I dare say, that is many Mamas' brains on many days. I need to fold the laundry, I love my babies so much, I wish the dog would quit shedding, and when we get to take an actual vacation I want to go to Italy, and Oh Look--there's a spot on the wall I should get up and scrub. Sound familiar?

So here are a few things about me, in no particular order.
1. When we take a real vacation I want to go to Italy. Yes I want to go someplace tropical, but I really want to go to Italy.
2. We have an older lovable dog who sheds/grows more hair with every passing year--why can't dogs' hair get thinner as they age like humans???
3. I want a lot of kids, and I mean pretty much as many as I can have till I get too old, then we will adopt. Do you remember reading "Jo's Boys"? She had this huge house filled with kids who hollered all day and needed lots of love; the thought of a home like that makes me feel so happy inside.
4. Related to the above comment, I am not one who naturally has patience; I guess God will help me learn that one over time :)
5. Don't think I am one of those ladies who always has a smile on my perfectly madeup face in the morning who is ready to attack the day with all of my never-ending energy. Nope, my hubby will tell you I am beginning to get more human after I have sat for a half hour with my large mug of coffee.
6. I am tired a lot; (I "blame" that on my two-year-old BOY with endless energy) but I accomplish a lot because I can never (rarely) sit still and do nothing--until I am too tired to move and then I just collapse, tears may or may not be present at that point. And then I wonder if I can ever be a good mother because I can't just keep going endlessly and my sweet hubby reminds me that if only I would take breaks a bit more often I wouldn't collapse.
7. I can't just sit; hence me sitting here typing on Sunday afternoon because I do believe it should be my day of rest and I have no energy to wash dishes.
8. I want a house with a white picket fence surrounding a green lawn edged with an old-fashioned cottage style garden. When we buy a house, my hubby knows that if it doesn't come with a white picket fence that he will be installing one on his first free weekend. :)
9. Really really wanting another baby today. Really trying to just put a little more faith in God's timing on that one.
10. There is a blue purse I saw at JCPenney yesterday that I really want cause it will go so nicely with the blue strappy heels I bought a couple months ago; meant to buy it on my way back out of the store, but made the mistake of shopping in heels, and my feet were in so much pain that I forgot.
11. "I forgot" is a phrase my hubby hears from me more often than he wants to; I gotta work on not saying that so often in front of Boy or he will likely start using it...  My memory went when I got pregnant with him and has gone downhill from there; but he doesn't get that excuse, in my opinion :)
12. I think you are probably bored by now. Or have a kid emptying the pop-up tissues box, or swishing in the toilet, or something of that nature.

My Decorating Brilliance :)

In case you don't know, I really enjoy magazines. I think I currently am subscribing to 5 different ones, but I have honestly lost track. It works nicely this way, I always have something to read that doesn't involve a computer screen. Anyway, my latest epiphany--I am seriously ahead of the times, home-decor wise. I mean, I decided several months ago that I am doing yellow and green in my kitchen. And then I get the February issue of Better Homes and Gardens and realize that yellow and green are the new "in" colors! Which makes life very handy for me this spring. You see, I told Mom that my kitchen is changing to yellow and green and she asked if it was the same yellow/gold and olive that were in when she was my age. But of course not :) I have a few olive colored decorator glass pieces, but I am going more for a lighter green and lightish yellow (and touches of red and brown to ground it.). In fact, I bought my yellow KitchenAid mixer a year ago! I just have always loved green and yellow (And I should add, as my Oregon State graduated brother was worried about this, I am NOT going for the Oregon Duck colors; in fact the correlation had not entered my head until he brought it up!)  Anyhow, as I was saying, my timing for my color decision couldn't have been better--my Mom got me some cute colorful measuring cups and spoons, a yellow butter pot (goodbye slippery butter dish lid!) and some cute yellow and green ramekins (I should also add that she also got me 8. These of course go very nicely with the set of green KitchenAid cooking utensils my sweet hubby got me for Christmas. So being as I am still rebuilding my kitchen supplies (most of mine when AWOL when we moved across country two years ago) this is the perfect year to finish that process up! Besides, having lots of pretty colors to cook with makes the process so much more fun and cheerful, don't you think?

In other news, the ice around here is finally melting, thank you God!!! Our parking lot was so bad yesterday that it took hubby 15 minutes to even get into it last night after work. We decided to stay home from church today for that reason--the roads are okay, but if we can't get safely out of our parking lot... So we had family Bible reading from the safety of our living room today, and I'm sure we weren't the only ones! 

AWOL; Busy just being a Mama! (Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #24)

"Hewwo, I'm back!" (Visualize that said by a curly blond 2-year-old boy). I guess I just have to admit to myself that this project is going to more like keeping this blog going for 365 days, as opposed to my original goal of 365 posts in a year. Honestly, I have been just so tired at the end of every day that I just drop on the couch with no thoughts in my brain but what those of whatever show I choose to watch on Netflix puts there.
Complete exhaustion is getting old. Really old. I'm sorry but I'm just being honest. Some days I get discouraged that I'm not "that Mom" that you hear of so often these days on blogs or the impressions you get of what a mom should be like on Pinterest. And then I occasionally find one that reminds me that my daily life is normal; that life as a mom is never "perfect". It is not always homemade bread, whole natural foods that the whole family loves, clean dishes and a shiny kitchen. It is not a always a mom who happily says that she can do "it all" because sleep is optional and she thrives on burning the candle at both ends. Don't get me wrong, it is sometimes those things, and some moms can thrive on 5 hours of sleep each night (but that's not me!). Yes, of course, we all try to feed our families healthy food, and we always try to give our families all of ourselves and more, because that is who we are. We are always trying to do the best we can for our families.
Here is what my real life has been lately. Going to bed to late, and yet still getting up at 6:30am because I know that if I get up (and get Boy up) much later than that, then he won't take a nap, then he will be over-tired come 5:30pm and fall asleep in the living room. I transfer him to his bed and he sleeps all night; but it is the next week of naps and bedtimes that we pay for that one missed nap. That being said, he is a very busy boy with a growing brain who likes to talk to all his "friends" instead of napping even on a good day. Breakfast consists of Honey Nut Cheerios and milk, then Cream of Wheat or pancakes or dutch baby, or french toast. Lately, lunch has been pepperoni and possibly yogurt then goldfish and frequently more cheerios. Then dinner is canned tomato soup to which I add grated cheese that I get in a 5lb bag from Costco, more pepperoni and goldfish, topped off with homemade peanut butter cookies (which have regular sugar and white flour and butter or margarine and Skippy). He quit eating applesauce last week and hasn't eaten oatmeal or scrambled eggs in months. He loves Fruities (Beechnut or Parent's Choice) provided they don't have pears in them; something about the consistency of pears is bad, he never has liked them, and believe me, it's not for lack of me making him eat them!
But here's the thing, those issues of what he will or won't eat and how many naps he actually took this week are not what life as a mama is all about. Those are of course important factors that every good mama works on, but they are not the defining moments. Being a mama is reading him a story only to have him completely change the subject and start pointing out the various animals on the back of the Golden Book, complete with awesome "ephant" squeals. It is getting out the alphabet puzzle and seeing that he knows where all the letters go, even though he gets sidetracked halfway through putting it together. It is him hearing a firetruck and saying "Whas dat?" several times until he makes the connection between the sound and the sound his Mickey firetruck makes and his little face lights up as he understands. It is him saying "Tank ou, nor welc" when the fast food guy hands us the bag that he knows contains frys for him--he has started adding "your welcome" after "thank you" because we always say it to him so he thinks he is supposed to say both phrases together. It is when I take him to bed at night and he says "chair, hold?" and then when I sit he curls up his little legs and snuggles up with his head under my chin and chatters as he tries so hard to stay awake and I try to tell him it is time for ni-nites and then I fall asleep before he does. It is the way he gets sooo excited when Papa gets home from work, and immediately wants to be picked up so he can chatter and then wants back down and starts telling Papa about his animals. It is the way he will run into the kitchen or whatever room we are in and say "Hi! Whatcha doin'?" every 30 seconds. It is indeed just all those little wonderful things that we enjoy every day and can easily be forgotten if we get bogged down in the minutia of what he "should be" eating or how much he "should be" talking or whether he "should be" potty trained.
He is growing and learning each day, and in the blink of an eye he will be a teenager and blink again and he will be a Papa and we will be grandparents. You see, I am realizing (and yes I'm also preaching to myself here) that each day we must focus on the happy things, the fun things, the things that make us smile. Then we can truly be content each day and be ready and refreshed to face whatever eating and sleeping challenges may come. I will probably always be a little exhausted as long as I have little ones running around, no matter how good my routines I develop. No matter how experienced I may get over the years with the picky 2-year-old phase, I will still encounter days that make me want to throw up my hands and just give them cookies for breakfast. But that's okay because that's just part of what real life is like. For most of us mamas, anyway.
And now I will head back to finish up some kitchen work and promise to try to return in less than 10 days next time.

I am a bit of a distracted, scatter-brained work-aholic; it's not my fault though, I was born this way! (Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #23)

Does your day ever feel like that? Like all the various parts of it are like those dinosaur "stickies" scattered every which way over the tv screen--no seeming orderliness with maybe a hint of a blur? Mine often does, but here's hope (you know, can't fix the problem until you have a diagnosis). I have "discovered" a "new" Mommy disorder today; it's actually a version of ADD ;) and it's not really ADD, it's called Multi-tasking Mama Syndrome, or MTMS (because MMS is already taken :/ )  I definitely have his disorder; I was trying to clean off the pile on my one "free" counter space and found myself putting away the ironing board, scrubbing the toilet bowl, and I don't know what else... I don't really have ADD, but I have become such a multi-tasker, always feeling the need to be busy and get things done, that I can drive myself a little crazy with it, especially since if you are multi-tasking too much you don't ever finish any of those fifteen projects...  The following paragraphs illustrate my point.

Am I crazy? It is nearly 10pm and I am so tired I cannot get off this couch. I want to cross stitch, but I know I will mess up on my counting, and then spend another night taking it out... But I always feel I should be doing something, I cannot just sit here, even though I cannot peel myself off the couch. So I am writing. While watching the Dick Van Dyke show. Because I cannot just sit and watch apparently. But this is using up my nervous energy enough so that at least I am not feeling completely berserk. And I also just remembered I owe my Grandma a letter, maybe I should start that too...
You see, I come from a seemingly long line of work-aholics. Which drives my husband nuts. I am probably the mildest in my family. Two of my brothers cannot sleep in or sit still to save their lives; I clearly remember a vacation with one brother in which the last day at the cabin we were staying, he wanted us all up by 7am so he could get the sheets off our beds to start the laundry, never mind he already had the washer running and he wouldn't be ready for our sheets for another hour and a half :) And it's not like there was even a check-out time to worry about, the cabin belonged to a friend of his :)  Do not worry though, little brother, I am only amused and was awake and ready to get up anyway. And we did have a wonderful weekend!
My other brother gets up at 4 or 5 am to have a long workout every morning before he goes to work, then works out again after work! I don't remember my Mom ever sitting down to read a book just for fun, she was always too busy!
Now at the old age of 30+, I am having to just learn to relax, because all this being constantly busy is bothering my blood pressure. Well at least it's bothering my heart rate...So I think I should just shut this computer and do something more relaxing like read a magazine. Or write in my journal--by hand; that at least forces me to move slower since I cannot write as fast as I can type. 

A few days ago I caught myself watching something on Netflix, reading a magazine, and eating, all at once. And I noticed I was only feeling more stressed and less relaxed. The ironic part was I was reading an article about how women need to truly relax more; about how we as a group have to learn to relax. It was saying how most of us, if we just took some time to ourselves for just a short while, we (and our families!) would feel better! Of course, then it described exactly what that might mean and it definitely did not involve multi-tasking! For me, it means if I sit down to watch something, then I am ONLY watching (well, and probably eating or sipping coffee). If I am cross-stitching and want to watch something, then I will pick something I have seen many times so that the background noise is just relaxing and since I already know the story line, I can just look up and listen occasionally (for that I will pick Everybody Loves Raymond, or maybe Sleepless in Seattle, or, well, you get the point). Now, if you are not a Type A, you will probably just shake your head and conclude that I am a little bit nuts; but if you are like me, please try to take some time to yourself today. Close your computer (or at least quit trying to read useful things) and just chill! The dirty dishes, the grocery list, the meal planning, and the mopping can wait. Right now you just need to breathe. And yes I am preaching to myself, so with that, I am going to close my computer and eat lunch. Then maybe I will feel less light-headed and out of breath. :p

 I'm linking up today with

Pinterest failures and other news... (Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #20)

Okay, so you know that recipe that has been floating around Pinterest for crockpot apple crisp with just two apples? (It calls for 2 apples chopped, then 1/3 c brown sugar, a little cinnamon, 2 c oats and 4 c water). I have been wanting to try it for a while because I love the idea of getting up in the morning and having breakfast done. Take the lid off and serve it up--I mean, that is easier than coffee! Well, easier if you have to add sugar and cream to your coffee; if you drink it black than coffee is faster. But I digress. I was just so excited to get up and see my breakfast ready; but then I saw it.

Yup, it's mushy oatmeal with not enough sugar and no salt. Bleh. So I sprinkled in a little salt and added some sugar. Decent, but nothing special.

So disappointing. I ended up making Dutch Baby for Boy because he wouldn't try the oatmeal; no surprise though, considering his "refined" tastes. Then, because I cannot throw "good" food away, I dumped the leftover oatmeal in a pie pan and put it in the fridge. Maybe I'll talk myself into having some tomorrow or maybe I'll just leave it set in the fridge and then throw it away when it goes bad. I'm just not much for leftover mushy oatmeal--is that bad? So ya, my intuition saying the recipe didn't seem quite right was correct.

The other news is that I got a job today. Quite the shock really, I have been looking for something for the last year and pretty much given up. Two days per week I now get to get out of the house and talk to adults, and Small Boy gets to spend those days with Papa. It works out well for all of us :)

Anyway, hubby just brought in the mail and I got three new magazines. So I'm outa here, folks! <3

Good deals :) (Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #19)

As it happens, we had quite the eventful day. Two days ago. Yaaaaa that's me, right on top of things! Anyway, hubby had the day off Friday, so we decided to go thrift store shopping. We didn't make too many great finds, except hubby got a nice vintage jacket that he is "patiently" ;) waiting for me to wash so that he can start wearing it. (I take forever to take care of handwash projects.) (Fall is beginning, so a jacket is a nice accessory these days.) However, the last stop produced something wonderful. Yep, that little beauty of a train set; and it was only $4.99! So after Small Boy went to bed that night I had all kinds of fun cleaning and setting it up just so on his rug so he could play with it as soon as he woke up in the morning. The cars I lined up on the edge of the rug are these cool little construction rigs we found at Costco that day. They are made of kinda soft rubber and are "pull-back-let-go"; and the best part is that they won't break or hurt our feet if Mom and Dad happen to step on them. :)  (Which you may or may not know, is pretty likely if you have a busy little boy who carries his cars all over the house and leaves them in random spots right where you had a clear path to walk three seconds ago.) (Along the same lines, I have realized that parents break far more crayons by stepping on them than children ever do when coloring with them.)

As for this beauty of a dish rack, I was so happy to have acquired it that I have actually been enjoying washing dishes. You see, I have never owned a dish rack. (My mother never did either, just personal preference, I guess.) I have always had a dishwasher until this apartment, and I just never wanted to take up counter space with a dish rack, so I have always just laid any handwashed dishes on a clean towel. Of course since we moved in here, I have wanted this dish rack from Costco. But you see, I could never bring myself to spend $30 on a dish rack, no matter how nice it was -- kinda like buying expensive trash bags... Then every time I decide I will buy one of the cheaper ones at Walmart, I talk myself back out of them because they just look so small and flimsy and inadequate. Anyway, we were meandering down the kitchen wares aisle because I just always love to, and there on the shelf was this dish rack, marked "LAST ONE. $7.00"!!!! I'm pretty sure I squealed with joy right then and there and probably garnered a few funny looks. After all, how many women get excited about a boring white dish rack?! True, I really had my eye on the red one, but of course they sold out before the white ones. Anyway, I am happy to say that I think I finally am able to keep up with the dish washing around here. Who knew my problem was lack of an adequate dish drainer? But then, it has only been two days. :p

Happy Monday, everyone!

Feeding a Picky 2-Year-Old...(Project 365 Writing Photography Challenge; Post #16)

Sooo I am thinking I should really write a post, but the truth is that I am feeling completely brain dead right now. And ya know I'm feeling lazy because I took this pic with my cell phone... Anyway, I just finished off a big bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream and am watching Netflix. I was also surfing some other blogs. Tonight during attempting to feed Boy something he didn't want to eat, I gave in. That's right, I dropped the burger, rice carrots, and peas all in the blender, then mixed it with applesauce and fed it to him that way. I have been saying for the last year that he doesn't need baby food anymore, so I'm not going to blender/hide his vegies. But I give up. I poured the leftover meat/veg mix into ice cube trays, then cooked/blended some peas/carrots and poured that into the remaining ice cube spots. The funny part was when hubby opened the freezer looking for ice cubes!
Well, I guess being as it is 10:30 pm and I'm not feeling inspired or opinionated enough about any other subject to write on it, I will just promise to return tomorrow with a better brain.

 

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #1

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge
Post #1

One thing you should definitely know about me is that I love reading magazines. Paper magazines. Yes, I have a beautiful Kindle Fire and can get (and do have) most of my magazine subscriptions also in Kindle format. That is a wonderful thing when you are out and about, or lounging on the couch wishing your next issue would hurry up and arrive in the mail! If we are talking about books, I much prefer to read them on my Kindle. But there is something about holding a paper magazine, reading it front to back, and being able to tear out the pages I want to keep. Now, I usually just keep the whole magazine, but there are some magazines that only have one or two things that I think I will reference again, so I just tear them out and put them in a binder. A few months ago I tore out a couple recipe pages and table setting decoration ideas from my Martha Stewart Living and put them in my recipe binder. (By the way, my recipe binder is an awesome scrapbook style binder that my husby got me for Christmas a few years ago! <3 )
Pre-kiddo, I would sit on the porch with my cup of coffee on a beautiful Midwest summer morning, or on that same porch in the evening with hubby, and peruse my latest magazine, dreaming of visiting the exotic places in my Afar subscription. I now have at least 4 different subscriptions, and I think I will always be a paper magazine person. If nothing else, for the nostalgia; so when my grandkids come over they will see me reading a magazine and say "What's that? Why is it made out of paper? Why isn't it on your Kindle? You mean you can actually get those things in paper still?" (Yes, of course I know it won't be a kindle in 20 years, it will probably be some virtual screen that you can beam from the ceiling onto the palm of your hand! :p )