Life is Nuts

Life is insane, as usual.

My fabulous husband went back to work Monday. Hooray for rejoining the ranks of the employed. On the down side, I am back to being the only adult around during the day. No more leaving the kids home while I go run errands. He also showed the kids the woods and creek behind the house. It is now common to have missing children, only to holler out the back door and wait for three little, very dirty hooligans to come trooping back up from the creek.

Thomas is doing well in school. He loves to read and reads to all of us often. Shocker, the kid needed glasses. One of these days we will get a picture up.

Jerry is Jerry. Less than a year until he is in school and we are all looking forward to the day.

Michael is no longer a baby. He looks so much like Jerry even I get them mixed up sometimes.

I am still teaching music and loving it. I am also doing well with Pampered Chef and loving that too. It is nice to get paid to have fun.

Currently I have two little hooligans in the back yard, still wearing their feety pajamas. Neither one wants to get dressed. I am quite enjoying the hysterical laughter coming through the open door. Love this weather! Wait, kids outside, laughter, this can't be good. Yikes, gotta run!

Tape It Together?

Michael comes downstairs and says, "Mommy, Thomas popped Jerry's Balloon."

Soon after Jerry comes downstairs with a sad look on his little face that still has red birthday cake frosting on it. Balloon pieces are in one hand, the string is dragging behind him in the other hand.

"Thomas broke my balloon. We need to tape it back together."

Good concept, Jerry. Good thinking. I think this job is a bit much for a few pieces of tape. Although, if we had a balloon we could have Thomas blow it up and it should float to the clouds with all that hot air he is full of.

You're Serious

Michael: Daddy, you're serious?

Daddy: yup

M: Daddy, you serious.

D: yup

M: Mommy, you serious?

Mommy: as a heart attack.

a little later, from the boys' room upstairs

M: Thomas, you serious?

M: Jerry, you serious?

Is he serious too? I think not. Now, where on earth he learned this one is anyone's guess. What a funny kid.

It Fits, Sort Of

Jerry, are you wearing Michael's shorts?

giggle giggle

I check the tag on his shorts.

Jerry, why are you wearing Michael's shorts, silly boy?

I didn't have any, so I took Michael's!

giggle giggle, goofy grin

Have You Ever...?

Been a while, I know. Been a bit busy around our house. Trip to the beach, time with lots of family, meeting new family, more doctor appointments than I have fingers and toes, starting school again, new students, and now home enhancements.

Every day I seem to find myself saying "I never thought I would...." Most of these are directly related to the hooligans. Most have my just hanging my head or walking out of the room until I can figure out how on earth to manage this new misadventure.
Have you ever been grateful to know that rubbing alcohol quickly and easily takes pretty pictures off the bodies of three little hooligans...



We won't mention the arms, legs, belly button, bum or other unmentionable parts that were also colored.

Have you ever cleaned ice cream or sherbet off the floor. The same bedroom floor on multiple occasions?

Have you ever cleaned the stuffing from a cat costume tail out of the space where the handle of the vacuum is supposed to slide down into the vacuum for easier storage? And then also found a toothbrush in said vacuum handle storage space thing?


Have you ever walked into a bedroom only to discover that your 4 year old decided that under the window is a good place to pee? Nevermind the bathroom that is only 10 steps away.

Have you ever scraped the popcorn off your ceiling? Have you ever cut holes into your ceiling? Have you ever eaten two plates full of mac n cheese and 3 hot dogs for dinner? Have you ever had your leg fall asleep while you are writing a blog post?

What on earth does tomorrow have in store for us?

A Nasal First

We had our first object other than a finger shoved up a nose today. Is it terrible that my first thought was "Crap! I don't want to drive to the pediatrician again today, and we have 2 more other appointments that I can't reschedule."

No, it wasn't Jerry. I am SHOCKED!

Michael was on the stairs fussing, so I went to rescue him from his brothers. He also needed a diaper change. I quickly discovered. Boy did that child stink! As I picked him up and started to put him on the floor I noticed something green in his nose. Not booger green, this was metallic, shiny, green. That silly little boy had stuck a bead up his nose. Thanks for the Dress Up necklaces, Annnnnntamanda.

Smart Mommy that I am tried to get him to blow out like blowing his nose. He blew out his mouth. I tried to show him. Not exactly working. Mommy moment... close the nostril without a bead and blow. Yes, I am brilliant. You may now bow down to my incredible brain powers. One quick blow and a bead flew out at me. I have never been so happy to see something come out of my a child's nose.

Bead, in the trash. Michael, running around with his big brothers.

Moral of the story... only objects the size of your finger should be placed in your nose. They are much easier to get out.

Fun idea... if you do stick an object smaller than your finger in your nose and it gets stuck, try closing the other nostril and aiming for your brothers. Their reaction could be pretty funny. If anything, you could have a contest to see who can shoot the farthest.

Mom of the Year Award, here I come.

I Spy

On the way home from dinner at Lolly's last night.

Kids: "Let's play I Spy!"

Thomas and Jerry fight over who gets to spy first.

Michael: "I Spy that house over there!" as we drive past.

I think we need to work on how to play this game with Michael.

A Horse Named Carl

We were out running errands earlier today. We stopped at a local farm for some fresh corn to grill. Across the street is a beautiful house with lots of green grass. And eating that green grass was a horse.

Jerry, "Look! A horse! I think his name is Carl"

We start to laugh, look at each other, shake our heads, and wonder where on earth he comes up with these things.

Jerry, "You want to keep me. You want to keep me forever and ever. I tell funny jokes."

Yes, Jerry. We do want to keep you forever and ever. Your jokes may not make any sense at all, but you sure are a funny kid. We can't imagine how boring our life would be without you.

And pink is his favorite color. In case you haven't heard. And purple is his other favorite. And he will jump off the top of a play set, but is terrified of butterflies. Crazy kids!

Calling All Baseball Fans

We were flipping channels this evening and came across a baseball game. Mets vs Yankees, in case that matters to you. Michael got a bit excited. So that might be an understatement. He went on and on like this for quite some time. He told us "out" at one point too. We both just sat and laughed at him. He is still holding the baseball and glove. He may have to go to bed with them. I think another family outing to small ball Carolina Mudcats is in order. What will he do if he gets to meet the players or walk onto the field again? And yes, this happens any time he sees baseball on TV and he carries the glove just about anywhere we go. He even puts socks on his hands for gloves and wears his bike helmet for a batting helmet. You could say he is a fan.

Mushtash

"Look Mommy, I have a mushtash!"

Yes Thomas, yes, you do. Although, the marshmallows do leave some bare spots. Nice hand position too. You should be a model.

Mr. Fix-It

The door on our game cabinet met another disaster. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but it came off, again. Jerry fixed it for me this morning. Yes, that is a bandaid to hold the broken piece on. Nice jammas kid. Tell your parents you need a haircut, and pronto.

Bandaid, the first step towards duct tape.

(A More Real) Love Story

I figured out how to post the video, go me!

Taylor Swift's "Love Story" is cute and fun, and so is the video. Here is a more real version. It just happens to be my life, although, I did get a shower today. They even drive a Honda Odyssey. Now who is going to keep the hooligans for a date night? And who is going to fill in my fabulous husband about this wonderful plan and help him make it happen?

The Real "Love Story"

Taylor Swift's "Love Story" is cute and fun. Here is the non-fairytale version. Enjoy a look into my life, complete with a Honda Odyssey mom mobile.

When I figure out how to post the video and not just the link I'll fix it.

123456

I am definitely an easily amused person. On the way to pick up Thomas from school the other day the odometer on the mom mobile hit 123456. I called my fabulous husband to tell him. He humored me and said "Oh, how fun." I even took a picture, but it didn't turn out. Oh well.

What amuses you?

My baby is singing about who knows what, but it sure is cute.

Beans ala Domestica

I did it! Mark off another accomplishment on the Domestic Goddess checklist.

I have a habit of buying dry beans. Do I have any idea how to prepare them? No, not really. But they are a good food storage item, and they are so much cheaper and better for you than the canned beans. I buy canned beans in the same shopping trip as the dried beans. Does that make me extra prepared?

I finally decided I had to learn this skill. I remember Aunt Scottie preparing and cooking beans at the beach. Why didn't I ask and learn then? Oh yeah, I was a teenage twit. I found a great tutorial that seemed simple and fail proof.

Last night I sorted and pulled out the broken beans and the rocks, just like the directions said. Why on earth are there rocks in with beans? If technology can dismiss the substandard Cheeto before it gets to the bag, why can't technology get rid of the rocks? I'll solve that mystery later. Right along with where all the socks go.

Oh yeah, beans. I sorted and got my hands dirty. Dirty, dirty beans. Then soaked them in hot water in my super huge and oh-so-nice Pampered Chef 6 quart bowl. This morning I drained and rinsed them. And I discovered the wretched little black beans turned my bowl black. Eventually it did come clean. Otherwise, I might never attempt fixing my own beans again. Lucky little beans.

Beans, the point of this story. Sorry. They cooked on the stove for a long time. They boiled over and made a mess of my stove top. They bubbled and spit on the back of my stove. They made a big black mess. Should have taken a picture.

They were done, finally. Not like I did anything but stir them once in a while. The tutorial didn't say to stir, but it made me feel better. Then I started bagging them. And I burned my right hand. I overfilled the measuring cup and the hot bean liquid sloshed back all over my hand. Note to self and lesson learned. Ouch is all I have to say about that one. A friend suggested shocking them in a bowl of ice water before putting them in the freezer to prevent gritty beans later. Nobody likes gritty beans.

I now have 5 bags of black beans in my freezer just waiting to be added to some rice in a burrito. I even saved some for my lunch today.

My kitchen was a mess, but now all dishes are clean. The counters and stove are all clean and black bean free. Go me!

No more cans for me. Unless I forget to do the next batch of beans and need to fix dinner now and don't have any beans ready and call my mom to see if she has any she can bring or send my fabulous husband to the store to save my tail again because I am a dingbat and can't figure out how to plan ahead or replace something when my stash is running low. But that is a whole other post for another day.

For now, I am one step closer to becoming a Domestic Goddess. And I have about a dozen more bags of dried beans in my pantry just waiting to be prepared and stashed in the freezer. I feel healthier and more frugal already.

I WON!

I rarely win anything, but I WON! A blog I follow is a great money saving blog with all kinds of tips and ideas and deals that are seriously helping my budget. She is really funny too, and she drives a Suburban, so I have to like her. Seriously, go check her out. It'll be fun. Yesterday she offered a can of Shelf Reliance taco TVP on her blog. I won!!! If you have no idea what Shelf Reliance is, take a look. I so want the can rotating systems. They also have tons of dehydrated, freeze dried, and other food, as well as lots of food storage and self reliance items. Need a year supply? You can order an entire year with one click. They make it super easy.

Back to my story. I had been planning to order a can of something at a time, just to see if the family would like it. If they won't eat it, it isn't food storage, just wasted space. Lo and behold, the fabulous Tiffany offers up a can of one of the exact items I wanted to try. Of course I was going to enter, but certainly not expecting to win. Thanks so much Tiffany for getting us started on this part of our food storage and year supply venture. If you need dish washing tabs or paper towels, we've got you covered.

Also, if you decide Shelf Reliance is for you, get up with Tiffany and place an order. She is a new consultant with Shelf Reliance, and I am all about supporting independent consultants. Pampered Chef, anyone? Call me :)

Have You Ever Wondered...

I meant to post this last night. Oh well.

Have you ever wondered what happens when your kids get up before you do?

They will help themselves to the chocolate cake that is sitting on the counter. They will eat it in the living room and get crumbs all over the carpet. They will turn on the TV and watch cartoons when they both know they are not allowed to watch TV. They may have had some grapes too.

While doing all this they will leave you alone and let you sleep until 8:30.

Let them eat cake! And then give the baby a cupcake for breakfast when he wakes up, because it is only fair.

Have you ever wondered what happens when a wet diaper gets thrown up at the ceiling?

Wonder no more. I even have pictures to answer the question.

Yes, while I was teaching and they were supposedly having naps and quiet time, the older hooligans trashed their room. They also came down and interrupted my lesson, but that is another issue. Dress ups everywhere, toy box from one end of the room to the other. And an exploded diaper all over the room. Ceiling, floor, stuck to the dresser and window, on the window sill... everywhere. Lucky for someone, who I am not exactly sure, I forgot to change the vacuum bag the day before.

I am not sure if I prefer this kind of exploded diaper or the blowout kind of exploded diaper. I do know I prefer neither.

The evidence, after toys and dress ups were already cleaned up.



Have you ever wondered what happens to hooligans like this at the end of the day?

After several time outs and dinner they were sent upstairs for bed. The house was entirely too quiet. Hooligans and silence can't be a good thing.

Maybe it can.

My fabulous husband called me upstairs when he went up to investigate. Oh dear, what have they done now?!?! I look in the room and see two sweet, not so little hooligans curled up in their bed, under the covers, snoring. Not even five minutes and they were both out cold at 6:30.

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to want to strangle your hooligans and give them away one minute and just stand and watch their angelic and awe inspiring countenance the next?

Come to my house and find out. I promise, it won't be boring, and it will definitely be worth it.

Shame

My fabulous husband reminded me how terrible I am with the blog. I will now hang my head in shame. Aaaaaaaand, I'm over it. In my defense, I started a new job/business as a Pampered Chef Consultant (so much fun!), still teach and perform, volunteer at school, have busy church callings, have three crazy hooligans, and do not do mornings. My fabulous husband is still working to keep a roof over our heads, food in our ever hungry mouths, and all that other provide for your family stuff. The hooligans are all still alive and a little older. Thomas is 7, Jerry is 4, and Michael talks! We have a bunch more miles on the mom mobile, as in over 6000 miles in 2 weeks, what an adventure. We are all plugging along and making the best of what we've got. If I'm a good girl I will get more stories and details and disasters up soon. I never really was a good girl though, so don't hold your breath too long.