The Spin Cycle- Happiness

This weeks spin is once again, Happiness. I could put up pictures of the boys and PB, or some more brownies, but there are lots of other things that make me happy. Time to give them some credit.

One of my favorite things in the world is a good book. I'm not picky about genre or author, I'll read almost anything as long as it's well written and engaging. I love the way a new book smells. Paper and ink and cardboard box. The beautiful cover art, and the interesting fonts. There's nothing about a book that doesn't interest and entertain me. Most people don't stop to think how much work goes into a book. The idea, the labor of writing the book, the courage to ask someone to publish it when you're "finished". The strength it takes to have someone edit your work. And that's only the beginning! Picking a cover style, and a font. All the amazing people along the way that do little parts to make a book what it ends up being. Something as simple as a children's picture book takes thousands of hours of work by the time it hits the store shelves.

Books bring people together. Just this morning PB shared with me that one of his favorite things is when he sits on the floor and LG toddles over with a book in his hands. He very carefully turns himself around and backs up into your lap. He snuggles in and gets himself ready for you to bring him on a journey into the story.

Books tear people apart. Think of all the books that people want to ban. Does anyone remember Rushdie's "Satanic Verses" when it first came out? Or Harry Potter? What about the Bible, or the Koran. Books can be a doorway through a wardrobe to paradise or gateway to hell depending on your view. Amazing, huh?

There's nothing better than sitting in your favorite chair with a good book. All alone, you can become part of whatever is going on. Let it suck you right in and take you away. I've noticed that at the roughest times of my life I always read more.

It's also great to be able to talk about your favorite books. When I was back in NY, a good friend and I always used to get together after we had read the new Harry Potter book to talk about it, dissect it, relive our favorite parts. For the 3rd book, we even had a dinner party and invited other people (complete with a bowl of Jelly Bellies serving as "Bertie Bott's Many Flavored Beans"!) Yup, we're big dorks.

If I had the space and the money, I would have stacks and and stacks and stacks of books. As it is, I have stacks and bookshelves and boxes. They get in the way, and PB sometimes grumbles about them. LG has a "book box" which is really little more than a big plastic bin of board books (his fancy books are kept in a bookcase in his room). Face it, in our house books are part of the decor.

And that makes me happy.

For more of our favorite things, click on the button at the top and visit Sprite's Keeper.

Written in memory of J.D. Salinger...

Wordful Wednesday

Join 7 Clown Circus for pictorial fun!

Our loving cat, Pestilence. The glowing eyes really make this picture, no? This was during a rare thin phase, I believe shortly after LG was born. That cat and his yo-yo dieting...

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Sigh, it's Tuesday. Yeah, it's going to be one of those days.

-> At work I was stupid enough to mention that I didn't think one of our processes was effecient. We weren't using all the tools available to us wisely. My boss then assigned me to find out how we could do it better. Resulting in more work for all. And when I presented it to him, I mentioned that I should have kept my mouth shut. He replied that he knew that when it happened, but he figured he'd let me learn the hard way. Thanks, boss.

-> I think this weekend LG finally realized the o is a real person, not a doll, or a toy, or a pet. o was crying during a car ride on Sunday, and LG mentioned that o must be sad. I said, no, I thought he was just hungry. LG turns to o and says, "yeah, o, me, too. I'm hungry."

-> I would like to highly recommend "The Perfect Brownie Pan". I got one for 12th night, and it works like magic. Just as advertised on late night television. I know, most of that stuff is krappe. But this one really is magic. Take a look:

All of the brownies were cut into perfect little rectangles of love. No messing with a knife. No cutting a brownie the might be slightly more than a regular serving size. Perfection, truly.
PB even made me a little sundae, since I was sharing my bounty with him. I'm not sure why we thought it was ok to balance the plate precariously on the edge of the counter, but no disaster occured.

->PB had his wisdom teeth removed on Friday, and he took it like a man. He whined and complained and whimpered a little. No, seriously, he took it very well. I had a big plan to take the boys to the planetarium on Saturday morning with a little help from Grandpa (Grammie wasn't feeling well, either). When it was time to go, though, PB decided he felt up to it. Note: Grammie came, too. It runs in the family. We had a good time, and Grandpa now knows of the allure of the racoon at the nature center (it's literally hours of entertainment- you have to drag them away from his cage).

-> I can't believe LG is going to be 2 in two weeks! Where did the time go? We've invited the photographer who did his one year pictures back to do his 2 year shots (with some of little o in there, too). He does amazing work. I was looking at the pictures he took last year. Sniff. He still has the little baby face last year. Now he looks like a real little boy (move the hell over Pinocchio, my kids way cuter).

-> Yesterday was one of "those days". The days that seem like they will never end? Yeah. LG slept through a bloody nose, so when I woke him up it looked like he'd been slaughtering livestock in his sleep. Ewww. Of course, I discovered this at 6:40, so we left his bedding as it was, and got him clean and ready for school. That means I came home to sheets and blankets and stuffies all covered in yuck. Because the fun never ends at our house. I used the phrase, "If Woody had gone right to the police, this would never have happened." Then I had to explain it to PB. It took all the fun out of making the whole thing fun. Rats (or should I say, Bats?)
Ok, yup, now I'm just whining at you. Because it's still one of those days. I'm going to let you go visit some one else who might draw you mental pictures of wine and roses. Better than this krappe.

The Spin Cycle- Opinions...

This week's topic for the Spin Cycle is ... wait for it... Opinions. You would think I'm about to dust off the soap box again, right? Because God knows I'm nothing if not opinionated. But that would be predictable.

Today we'll discuss the most dreaded of all opinions. The Silent Opinion. The judgement you realize has been passed only because of the look on the person's face. The "I have an opinion, but I'm going to fake being too polite to express it and just make a face at you." opinion.

You know that one. Where you're in line at the deli counter at the supermarket and your little one is happily chewing on a binki at the age of 4 and the lady next to you looks you in the face and then makes a point of staring right at the binki and grimacing. When you walk into church in shorts and a t-shirt and the man in the back looks at you in horror (because apparently God doesn't give you credit for being there if you don't follow the dress code).

I can say with all honesty that I managed to mostly avoid the silent opinion for the first 32 years of my life. Then I had kids. Kids- the opinion magnets of the world. Now I get a "look" at least once a week.

Monday I was talking to the mom of one of LG's classmates. As I've said before, he's the oldest of a group of 6 kids that are all within 6 weeks of each other. This Mom wanted to know what we're doing for LG's 2nd birthday. Now, PB and I have had many discussions about this. Did we want a "friends" party? Should we just have one big party and invite his "friends"? Or stick to the family party like last year, and wait another year for "friends"? We decided that due to the time of the year, and our other obligations, we would forgo dealing with 6 two year olds.

When I told this woman that we were just going to have a family party, you would have thought I told her we were planning on shaving LG's head and sending him to Tibet to become a Buddhist monk. The idea that I might not have the time or money to invite her child to celebrate with LG was just unbelievable, apparently. Her face said it all, but I got a nice polite, "Well, that will be nice, won't it? Quiet, really." She quickly moved on to her plans for what we'll be doing when her princess turns 2. Great, sounds like fun. You go all out for a kid who won't remember this come Tuesday.

Don't get me wrong, I don't feel like I need to explain to this woman why we don't want to have a special party for LG's friends. That it's February, and so it has to be inside. Our house is barely LG proof, forget about him and 5 friends. To go somewhere for a party costs a small fortune for just the 6 of them, forget about the cousins who's feelings would be hurt if they weren't invited. My point is, she didn't even give me the chance if I wanted to take it. She passed her judgement, and she was done.

And that's the point of this post. It's why I believe the Silent Opinion is the worst one of all. If you voice an opinion, you give the person being opined upon (I know, look at me and my fancy English) the opportunity to respond. Defend their stance. When you give a silent opinion, you are simply passing judgement. You're saying, I think you're wrong for whatever it is your doing, and you couldn't possibly have anything to say about it that will change my mind.

So, in closing, your honor, I'd rather be thought a loud mouthed, opinionated know it all, than a silent jerk.

To hear more on Opinions, take a ride over to Sprite's Keeper and go for a spin.

Thanks, nice talking to you. We need to do this again, soon.

Travel Thursday- Cocoa Beach, FL.

I'm traveling with Pseudo again this week. It's still cold and icky here in the great, white north, so I'm headed south for some sun, sand and a nicely chilled drink. If you want to travel elsewhere, click the button above and visit Pseudo. She'll take you to Hawaii (brink your trunks and your own cold beverage).

My loving in-laws let us borrow their condo in Cocoa Beach, Fl a few years back for a much needed vacation. Sigh. The beach. This is the view off the balcony.

If'n your not from Florida, I'll give you some geographical info. It's somewhere on the Atlantic coast, below Daytona and Orlando. Right outside of Cape Canaveral (which is why my in-laws have a condo there. My FIL is a rocket scientist who used to work for NASA. How cool is that, right?)

Whilst in sunny Florida, they were trying to get a launch off the ground. It didn't happen while we were there, but we did go to the National Seashore and see the space shuttle Discovery sitting on the launch pad.

*** Shameless plug*** If you don't already have one, I would highly suggest getting a passport for our National Parks. The passport splits the nation into regions, and highlights the regions parks. You can get your passport stamped at all of the national parks and many monuments. There is a special stamp for each place listed. There is a lot of other cool stuff about it, but I'll let you read that on your own. You can buy them right at the park gift shop. PB and I love ours. It has led us to a ton of beautiful and interesting places that we would have never thought to have visited otherwise.

The National Seashore is one of the places in the passport, so we got our book stamped and walked around the park for a while, too.

We did travel over to Kennedy Space Center, too, but since the shuttle was on the pad, we weren't allowed to do all of the cool stuff. We shuffled around the museum and hit the gift shop to stay out of the mid-day heat.

In Titusville (about 1/2 an hour away) is one of my favorite restaurants, Dixie Crossroads. I highly recommend the rock shrimp. And taking a picture of the big shrimp outside.

Some random pelicans for your viewing pleasure.

I will admit that we spent most of our time either in the ocean or at the pool (when the sand got too hot). There is a lot to do around Cocoa Beach, though. Visit Ron Jon Surf Shop, go see tikis being carved, or (another one of our favorite things) head down to the local 7-11 for a Slurpee. If your from up north, like us, the orange groves are pretty cool, too.

I'll admit that I like a nice schedule on a vacation. Not a strict schedule, but I usually have some stuff in mind that I'd like to see and do. I try to do something fun every other day. So one day we went to Cape Canaveral, the next day we hung out on the beach. Then we went up to Daytona, and the next day hung out on the beach. PB is usually willing to go along, provided that I add his stuff to the agenda. He even hit the local shopping with me since it was wedged in between two beach days. Not bad, huh?

Ok, back to the grind stone. It might be 5:00 somewhere, but that somewhere ain't in my office.

Hope you're daydreams take you somewhere nice! MB

Wordful Wednesday!

It's wordful wednesday. Go to the 7 Clown Circus, and see what everyone else is up to!

Check out LG's "Nessie". Best. toy. ever, for a 2 year old little boy. It's a foam core, with vinyl covering. He can bounce on it, drag it across the room, tip it over. He can't hurt it, and it doesn't hurt him. Loves it.

This weekend LG discovered that he really likes his stuffed Racoon, Roscoe. Roscoe had to be with him on my lap for stories, had to ride Nessie with him. Roscoe even had to use the potty. Yeah, try that one. The only place Roscoe couldn't go? His crib. That's where Charlie the Groundhog sleeps. No Roscoe (This might be PB's fault. Roscoe is a puppet. And he is a binky stealer. When LG was allowed to have his binky outside of his bed, Roscoe would frequently nab it from his mouth, getting many giggles. Now LG can only have his binky in his bed, so Roscoe isn't welcome...)

Have a good Wednesday, all!

RTT- Hoochie Mama!

-->With no intro, I would like to just throw out my first random thought: Is it cheating if you wrote and posted your RTT on Monday? Or am I just a naive a$$ to wait to write it until Tuesday? You decide. All I know is that it's only 10:45 and there are already almost 50 posts up. I refuse to believe that so many people were that non-productive this early in the day.

-->They are teaching LG to sing that old favorite "If you're happy and you know it". However, they are singing the wrong words. I know, you are all saying, "Now, MB, just because they aren't the words you sing doesn't make them wrong." I disagree. They sing, "If you're happy and you know it then your face will surely show it..." I know it as, "If you're happy and you know it then you really ought to show it..." Their way makes no sense!!! If your face shows it why do you need to clap your hands? My way makes far more sense.

--> Remember the Seinfeld where George's Dad takes that stress management course and they teach him to say "Serenity now"? How at the end, as the car drives into the garage at him he screams, "Hoochie Mama"? I've taken to using that instead of swearing. So, when LG flushed the toilet the other day while I was in the shower? He then toddled out to see PB screaming, "Hoochie Mama!" I hear it was hysterical.

-->Thank you for all of your kind wishes regarding o's baptism. There was no lightening, and the world didn't end opening up a gaping chasm to hell, so I think we're all good. PB would like to point out that o was wearing a baptism toga, since no son of his would be caught dead wearing a dress. Whatever.

-->A local radio station posed a question two weeks ago that they are still discussing. Warning: it's about to get graphic (sort of):

When using toilet paper, do you sit or stand? Apparently, 2/3 of people remain seated, while 1/3 stands. And nobody realized that there is any other way to do it than their way.

You'd be amazed at the amount of conversation this has generated. Couples calling in saying after 20 years of marriage, they are finding out things they never knew about their spouse.

-->Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the day that all 50 states recognized and celebrated Martin Luther King Jr day. Even though Ronald Reagan declared it a federal holiday in 1983, and some states started celebrating by 1986, some refused to until 17 years later. South Carolina was the last state to recognize the holiday.

--> This thing makes me laugh. It seems like a good idea, right? But the guy in the video never tries to push it off the table onto the floor. Which leads me to believe that it doesn't always stay upright. And let's face it, my toddler wouldn't just pick it up to turn it all around. He'd pick it up to throw it.

--> I don't think of Florida as the south. I'm not sure why. Clearly, it is in the southern part of the country. But they don't have a southern accent, and they don't do "southern" things (don't ask what those might be). I think of Florida as more hispanic than southern. Eh, if Ohio is the mid-west, I don't think anyone else is in a place to criticize.

--> Do your kids have theme music? When LG walks around, I hear the music to the A-Team. On Saturday, I had put o into his crib while I went into the other room for something. Through the baby monitor I heard LG giggle, and then a thump. When I went to check, there was LG, holding o's hand in the crib. "Visiting o." , he told me proudly. He had pulled all the blankets off of o's rocking chair, climbed into the rocker, stood on the arm to grab the rail of the crib and catapulted himself in. Little o was giggling, so I guess it was a sight to see.

Have a good week, all. Go visit Keely. Click the button above and be whoosed through cyberspace into the randomness that is "The Un-Mom".

A small prayer...

God grant me the strength of Sampson
the wisdom of Solomon
and the courage of Daniel.

Failing that, a tropical vacation would go a long way.

We're baptizing little o tomorrow. Now that we're giving him to Jesus, you think God will start up a 529 for him?

Traveling Thursday...

I need a vacation, so today I'm going to hang out with Pseudo for Traveling Thursday!

I've said it before and I'll say it again now, NY has some of the most beautiful state parks in the nation. This summer we took LG camping for the first time at Letchworth State Park in Castile, NY (on the Genesee River).

Touted as the "Grand Canyon of the East", Letchworth has amazing trails to hike. Some go through lush woods, some go over the falls and the river, taking you up and down the shale steps that have been naturally carved in the sides of the ravine.

The park is filled with "site" points and has a driving tour so that even people who can't hike can enjoy the whole falls experience. I was 7 month pregnant when we visited, and LG was only 15 months old, so we enjoyed one or two of the shorter trails and did the driving tour.

I enjoyed reading about how the park was set up by William Pryor Letchworth and much of the "park" was built as part of Roosevelt's work programs. There are amazing stone picnic tables that were built in the 20's and are still being used today. I never fail to be amazed by the incredible things that came out of those work programs. Men that were down and out with almost no hope were able to build stone walls and picnic tables. Create picnic areas and cabins out of only what the forest provided. They did a beautiful job, and much of their original work still stands (and is being used!)

If you are into trains, there is one that runs about 4 times a day, I think, right over the falls. Our friends actually hung around this spot for a while and got to see a train go over the falls. Pretty cool stuff.
On the land is an original Genesee Indian Longhouse. Part of the history of this park is that "The White Woman of the Genesee" is buried here. It's pretty much one of those long, sad stories about how we ruined the Native American way of life. If you're into American History, you'll appreciate this part of the park. Even LG enjoyed being able to wander into the longhouse and stomp around (that's a screen door to the cabin to keep out the critters behind LG).

On one of the lawns is a HUGE chair that LG had fun playing on with me, and there are fields galore to play ball, or run around on. In the summer there is a swimming pool, and you can kayak down the river. We didn't bring any toys at all, and LG ran through the tall grass in the fields, chased the squirrels, gathered sticks for the fire. He just enjoyed being outside in the open, after being cooped up all winter.

The one thing that made me sad about visiting was seeing that Letchworth has become a victim to the NY State budget shortfalls. Only one of the pools was operating, and many of the fields hadn't been mowed. They have reduced the park staff to only those necessary to keep the place running. It made me say that instead of putting people on "unemployment" and letting them sit in front of the TV, they should be provided with a week of work or something. They could mow the grass or hand out pamphlets. Much like the original work programs that built the park. I know, the politics is more complicated than that. It just makes me sad to see one of the most beautiful sites in the NE fall into disrepair.

Again, if you happen to have a spare weekend, and you're into camping, come to the NE. Forget hiking in the Southwest for a summer, and try it out.

Have a good Thursday, all!

The Spin Cycle- Fear

From The West Wing- "Guns Not Butter"


CJ: Okay, I think what we are going to do is that I think we're going to wait until after the vote at 10:30 'cause if we don't win it would be a mistake for this picture to run tomorrow.

Leo: How big a mistake?


CJ: One from which certainly my job would have hung in the balance.


Leo: ...If I see the President's wearing a hat or that thing's wearing a Bartlet button, I'm hiding snakes in your car.


CJ: Come on. Don't say that. Not even to joke.


Leo: You're never going to know where they are... or if you got them all out... Going to lay their eggs right in the glove compartment.

This little scene pretty much sums up my feelings about snakes. Ewww. Shudder. The slit eyes, no legs (WTF, how do they get around??? NO LEGS???)

I avoid them when at all possible. I refuse to let the boys see my fear, though. I don't want them to think they need to be afraid of these horrible, yucky critters. I'm waiting for the day when LG walks in with a garter snake from out in the yard and I pass out.

Aaaargh. I'm having trouble focusing today. I will spare you the rest of what my addled brain is coming up with regarding fear.

Have a good weekend folks.

Wordful Wednesday

Wordful Wednesday- hosted by 7 Clown Circus

Because nothing says good times like dancing around with no pants on. My kid won't be a National Merit scholar, but he'll throw one heck of a party. President of his fraternity, no doubt.

If you need him, he'll be the one chanting, "Toga, toga, toga" while waiting in line for his snack...

Random Tuesday Thoughts!

Holy crows, it's Tuesday already? What the hell happened to Monday? Argh. Next thing you know it will be Wednesday and I still won't have accomplished a damn thing for the week.

Anyhow, since it is Tuesday, time for random. And man, do I need it this week. Time to sweep all the krappe out and start fresh.

-> Lately LG's favorite thing to do is wear my shoes. He finds a pair he likes (his favorite are a pair of cordovan, square toe stacked dress heals), goes into our bathroom closet to put them on and toddles out saying "Mommy's shoes". I think it's quite cute. PB is slightly disturbed by it. I think it's mostly the emergence from the closet that he finds bothersome. Now if I could just get LG to put on a coordinating boa, I'd really get the mind games going.

-> I would never have thought to put explosives into my underpants if I were going to try to blow up a plane. I mean, if it worked, I guess it wouldn't have mattered where you hid the explosives. I'm just saying even while undergoing a suicide mission, self preservation would have kicked in. And now you see why no one has tried to recruit me to help with their terrorist plot.

Little o on his first day of school with his big brother. For the sake of my sanity, they now attend the same daycare.
LG on little o's first day of school. Yes, their outfits coordinate. No, I never did that again. I'm not that Mom, no worries.

-> I'm a closet Gilmore Girls fan. Ok, probably not even a closet fan. I like the cheesy plots, the culture references, the way you can run on auto pilot and still get the point of the story. They re-run the episodes on the family channel at 5:00 and I tivo it. Little o and I watch in the evening while PB gives LG a bath. Because PB HATES the Gilmore Girls. He says they talk too fast and he has a hard time following. The funny thing? Most guys I've spoken to about it will cite this as the reason they hate the show without being prompted. I would like to point out that these are the same men who can watch any sport and understand the sportscasters without a problem.

-> When you were a kid, did you ever want to pull that lever on the Emergency Exit school bus window? The one that set off the alarm up by the driver? It was so tempting and red. I was following a new school bus this week, and started thinking about it. You pull the lever, and then push the window out, right? With how much force? I mean, could a grade school kid really get that window (or for that matter, the emergency door in the back) open? You would think it wouldn't be easy, since you don't want those damn things falling out into traffic when some idiot kid tries it, right? But it was so tempting.

-> A guy in Florida had to be rushed to the emergency room last week because he started collecting the little frozen iguanas off the street and putting them in the back of his station wagon. When the car warmed up, so did the iguanas, and when they did they woke up. And swarmed the moron driving. Who the hell thinks it's a good idea to pick a frozen iguana up off the sidewalk? What was he planning on doing with a station wagon full of frozen iguanas? Selling iguanasicles? A little common sense, please people.

-> A friend of mine had a "revelation" the other day. It was snowing pretty hard, and they had cancelled school. She was going to take the kids to Chucky Cheese for lunch, and then thought better of it. If it was too snowy out for the school to risk putting her kids on a bus, she reasoned, it was too snowy for her to drive them herself. Good thinking, Einstein. I always wondered about the people who take their kids out in a blizzard unless it's an emergency (and yet the mall is never empty on a snow day). To further the thought, she decided she was going to put together a snow day box (so she didn't get caught unprepared and have to run to the store). She put in a few new books, some snack food, food coloring and squirt bottles (for snow painting), a flashlight with batteries and a few craft kits. Now she's ready for anything. I think this is a pretty cool idea.

-> Have you noticed that you can eat regular pizza cold with no problems, but if you get fancy pizza it really needs to be heated? Artichokes that were cooked, but are now cold, just aren't edible. Same with onion. Sad, but true.

-> Many people have commented on o's pretty eyes. I just thought I should mention that he has blue eyes. Not brown, like his big brother. You can't really tell in the pictures.

Ok, time to make the donuts. Have a good Tuesday, everyone. And if you have some time, click the button on top, visit Keely and have some more random.

The Spin Cycle...

in which I am a complete disappointment to my mother. This one is about Spring Cleaning (and I'm hoping that this is the only way in which I would disappoint my mother, but I can't be sure). When you're done poking at my dust bunnies, go visit Sprite's Keeper at The Spin Cycle and see what everyone else has swept under the rug.

My Mom wasn't a neat freak. She just was. Every day of the week (except Sunday) she cleaned a different room of the house. The rotation is foggy in my memory, but I remember that Tuesdays were bathrooms. Woe to anyone that needed to shower on a Tuesday night. You might think my mom "wasted" hours cleaning like this. But the older I get, the more wisdom I see in this method.

You see, I am a closet neat freak (though PB will contest the closet nature of this). In college, my bed was always made, my rug always vacuumed. All of my after college apartments were neat and tidy. And up until LG, I kept this up. I never worried when guests might show up because the house was always clean. Even with 2 cats. Clean. And neat, for the most part. I did a little each day. Because if you do a little each day, then it only takes a few minutes. It's not a huge project, there is nothing that needs to be scrubbed viciously. Just a light dust, or a gently swipe brings it back up to a gleam. And everybody is happy.

But what does this have to do with Spring Cleaning? Well, when your house is regularly sparkling, you can use your "Spring Cleaning" ticket for big items. Changing out the linens and drapes. Washing all the windows. Then your house is truly a wonder to behold. You sit in your recliner the day after and just bask in the cleanliness. You hate to take out a plate and ruin the pristine nature of the place. You wish someone would come over just so they can enjoy it with you. Ok, maybe that's just me.

However, now I do one big clean about once a month. Sometimes I take a day off of work to so I don't get bothered while trying to get it done. I try to keep up on a regular basis, but let's face it. LG and PB are slobs. They have no qualms about leaving dishes on the counter, or not wiping their whiskers off of the bathroom sink (ewwww.) And so I spend most of my daily labor just keeping the gross at a minimum. Spring cleaning is when I get to Swiffer the walls and vacuum under the furniture. My house is never "sparkling" but it's "clean enough". Sigh. Even if I don't disappoint my mother, it disappoints me.

I won't complain but I do miss the days when I would come home to the scent of Clorox rather than toddler spit and kitty litter. I won't try to change PB into someone who cares about clean, it wouldn't work anyhow. As with everything, I will just do the best I can at the moment.

And now, to keep up with Jan, a picture of my little one:

That's his latest Grammie blanket. I have a great new picture of LG, but I'm saving that for the next "wordless wednesday". You'll have to stop by on the 13th to see it...

As an add on to cleanliness and organization, Blue Violet over at A Nut in a Nutshell is doing a give away of some awesome labels for your stuffs. If'n you need to get your act together, go visit and win some stuff.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Random Tuesday Thoughts- First Thought!

Welcome to the first Random Tuesday Thoughts of 2010! Woo hoo, a fresh year of non-sense and brain clutter. Wander around, poke at the random and then go visit Keely at The Un-Mom (see button above) for other fresh thoughts.

I realized over the break that if blankets were money, my kids would be rich. Between the two of them they have 19 blankets! Even more surprising is that all of these blankets get used. Each has its own purpose and place in their lives (small ones go in their crib, and large ones for snuggling in the chair with Mama. One Grammie blanket for daycare and one for home.) Admittedly, one or two get used by me, but still it's usage. A good blanket is very versatile. It can keep you warm, it can provide a place to sit, it can cover things up, or hold them while being carried. You can make a tent, or pretend to hide. Yeah, we're big fans of our blankets. Thanks to everyone who gave us a blanket this holiday!

PB has been sick for about a week now. I feel bad for him because he's obviously feeling horrible. When adults are sick I have only one rule: don't make a mess. You don't have to help with your regular stuff (I'll take out the trash, and shovel the porch), but don't add to the mess. I don't care how sick you are, you can put your mug into the dishwasher. You can toss your orange juice carton into the trash instead of leaving it on the counter. PB, if you don't get your act together, I might put you out of your misery.

Have you seen the new cranberry Raisinettes? I've tried them, and I like them. I'm a tad confused, though. They're in the healthy section, near the dried fruit. Specifically, right near the cranberries and raisins. But regular Raisenittes are in the candy section. Not near the raisins at all. So, what makes these cranberry ones any healthier? They're still coated in Nestle chocolate. I get the feeling that someone is trying to pull a fast one on me. It's working.

Do you fall out of touch when you're home on vacation? I realized yesterday morning that I hadn't had any "news" in about two weeks. Normally, I share the Wall Street Journal with my co-workers daily. But at home, I didn't even turn on CNN. So, I had no idea that there was a "security breach" on Christmas Day. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but I'm happy to be back in the "real" world, at least.

Last night while giving little o a bath, we realized that his chub rolls over his diaper (please note that this excited us because LG's never did- he was always a "lean" kid). I joked that he had a "muffin top". PB wondered if it was a "mini-muffin top"? We just crack ourselves up, I tell you.

Ok, enough random for you. Go do something worthwhile. Plant a tree. Or do your taxes. Have a good week, all.

Spin Cycle- Resolutions

Happy New Year, Spinners and visitors! Woo hoo, we made it through another one (which is no small accomplishment). Put on a party hat, blow your little horn and have some Badgertastic fun. Then visit Sprite's Keeper and see what everyone else is promising for the new year!

I don't make New Year's resolutions. Never have. I don't really see the point, for myself. I'm not a person that can do the artificial dead line thing. If I'm going to do something, I get my mind in the right place, and then it happens. I wish I could set a date for that, but it's never worked before, and I don't see it happening this year, either.

That being said, PB and I did talk about them last night. He resolved to try to work out at least 4 nights a week, and to do what he can to keep the boys happy and healthy in the new year. I liked that. No huge commitment with a number at the end, and he had the family in mind when he made his resolutions.

It made me think about what I want in the new year. Not resolutions, per se, just goals, maybe?

I want to whine less. Be more positive and have a better outlook. I think with a little more sleep and a little less Starbucks that can happen.

I want to exercise more. If I can work out with PB at least 3 of his nights, I think it would be fun and healthy. Maybe I can borrow some of his motivation.

I want to have more patience with LG. The terrible twos are in full force at 22 months. On Tuesday, I'm pretty sure I told him, "Stubborn? You think you've cornered the market on stubborn? You inherited that from me, kid. You know nothing about stubborn. Eat your waffle and shut up!" Yeah, not my finest moment in parenting. I have to remember to take a deep breath, count to 10, visualize my happy place. (It would help if he didn't try to help me count to 10, though...)

Taking a segue: o likes my blog, I think. I just read it aloud to see how it sounded, and he giggled and cooed through the whole thing. At least someone thinks it's good, right? Thank god for the smiley happy kid.

I want to read more in the new year, too. I've been resorting to the TV way too much lately. Sigh, modern convenience. It makes it way to easy to turn off the brain. Must stop that before I have jello between my ears.

If I can get half of these I'll be more than happy. And I'm sure at times during the year, I'll get some, and at times none. It's all good. As long as I know I'm not perfect, and keep in mind things I can be working on, we're headed in the right direction, right?

Here's hoping that everyone has a happy and healthy new year. May your celebrations be many and your sorrows be few.