Feb 10, 2017 | Currently, Uncategorized, What's going on |
Reading: A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierly and You Carried Me by Melissa Ohden. The former is the book the movie The Lion is based on and the latter is a true story of a woman who survived an attempted abortion. It’s a fascinating story.
Making: blueberry muffins. The recipe isn’t lying by calling them “the most sweetest” muffins. They’re so good. We made them in our new heart cupcake tin because everything tastes better when it’s festive.
Watching: Kipper the dog when Sesame is awake and This Is Us when she’s in bed. HOW MUCH DO I LOVE THIS IS US, LET ME COUNT THE WAYS.
Wishing for: spring. I like snow but am not a fan of endless days of cold and wind. I’m ready for sunny days and playing outside. I can’t wait to go for walks again. Annabelle can’t wait to go swimming. We’re both over winter at this point.
Buying: fancy straws. I know what I said about this being No Spend February and only buying essentials but in my world fancy straws are essential. They were only one dollar and they’re for Annabelle’s birthday so it was a justifiable purchase. No, I don’t need Straw Collectors Anonymous. I don’t have an addiction! I don’t have a supplier who buys me straws with his Michael’s employee discount!
Planning: Annabelle’s birthday party. How can she be almost three?!?! She said she wants an ice cream cake and another ice cream cake.
Taking: all the dayquil/nyquil/robitussin/cough drops. I don’t mean to sound overly dramatic, but I have the plague. Annabelle got hit first and gave it to me. When I talk to her about sharing I don’t mean I want her to share the flu! We’re a coughing, sore throat, aching mess over here. We were never sick so constantly in Tennessee and it’s gotten so tiring.
Listening to: Sesame calling for me. “Moooooommy! Mama! Come in my room! Mama! Are you dere?! MOOOOOOOMMMMMMYYYYY!” She doesn’t take bedtime as seriously as I do.
Feb 7, 2017 | Love & Marriage, Uncategorized, What's going on |
I hope your week started off better than Baby Belle’s. Her hand fell off and she’s naked. The weekend was not kind to her.
Annabelle was invited to a 4th birthday party weeks ago but I forgot to pick up a gift until the last minute. I had to dash into Toys R Us which is a store I have a long documented history of disliking. My last trip there was uneventful so I thought maybe our relationship had turned a corner. This latest trip proved we had not. I was minding my own business, searching for Ariel products when a motion activated dog came to life and jumped off the shelf at my feet. I fell into a display across from the demonic dog and almost had a heart attack. NEVER AGAIN, TOYS R US. More like Boycotted R You.
Despite the harrowing experience to find it I think I picked out a good gift. Annabelle tried it out and said she wants one for her Frozen party. She asks for EVERYTHING for her Frozen party. Anytime she sees something she doesn’t have she tells me she hopes she gets it. She’s not demanding at all, just making sure I know she wants a top, a Toy Story game, a sparkly thing, “da thing yike Rachel has”, red hippo toy, a shark that goes squeak squeak and “a superman toy yike Jackson.” It’s a very extensive list.
Last night we went on a date. Our second date in one month! It’s almost like we’re once again the carefree and childless couple of pre March 2014.
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Me:Why didn’t you smile?
C: I did.
Me: It doesn’t look like it.
C: That’s what I look like when I smile.
Six years together and I still don’t recognize a smile when I see it. |
Christopher suggested we eat at the Brazilian steakhouse. He explained how the waiters carry various meats around the restaurant and the diners signal they want some by holding a card up in the air. It seemed very chaotic to me and sounded like a rodeo.
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| How I pictured the restaurant. |
In reality it was very lovely and not one person was waving their arms or yelling. The salad bar was a delight. They had a huge plate of prosciutto (my love language) and another of grilled provolone. I wanted to stay there all evening. We were going to see a movie also but instead came home to visit with Mom and watch a show in our pajamas.
Here’s to a week of less crazy toys and more good food.
Feb 3, 2017 | In a People House, Uncategorized, What's going on |
I’ve declared February as a No Spend Month. I don’t have much reason for it beyond wondering how much I really spend on unnecessarily and impulse purchases. In general I am very money conscious and don’t overspend anyway, but I want to see how much I can save. I started the month off on a good note by only paying $2.50 for a pair of brand new Paw Patrol shoes. (Annabelle wasn’t impressed with my money saving skilz. All she cared about was that they didn’t light up.) So far I haven’t spent 1 cent on unnecessary items. As they say in AB’s music class, “Good job, me!” No need to remind me it’s only February 2nd and I have 26 more days to keep this up.
Here’s a tip for anyone considering a No Spend Month of your own- don’t go to clothing websites “just to look around.” DO NOT TEMPT YOURSELF. You’ll fall in love with a gray dress covered in watercolor birds that doesn’t qualify as a necessary purchase. It’s basically a steal but Annabelle already has summer clothes and you’re trying not to go overboard with new outfits. But it’s so cheap its almost like saving money instead of spending it! It’s helping the economy and the country you love! Buy more and help the country more! I can justify anything!
Speaking of spending money reminds me of the Christmas dishes I bought at Goodwill last weekend. I went in for something to decorate our mantle and came out with 58 gold rimmed dishes for which I paid only $5. I don’t where I’ll store the dishes but I couldn’t pass up such a steal of a deal. I still need to find a home for the china my aunt gave me over Christmas. I went from having one set of every day dishes to nearly 90 new pieces in the last month. I’d host a dinner party but that would require getting the dishes out of Christopher’s car. I looked at them tonight and the box they’re in now houses paperwork, a jacket, a dirty tshirt, a glass container, a set of keys and a hardhat. So they’re being put to good use.
In other random tidbits, Christopher booked me a massage for tonight. Between the two of us he’s the massage lover but he knows I’ve been stressed lately and very sweetly wanted to do something for me. I like massages fine, but if I go a whole year without one I don’t miss them. I’m not a huge fan of a stranger rubbing my body for an hour. I’m constantly touched by a toddler so I’m not lacking human interaction. The massage was scheduled to be an hour and half (45 minutes past my comfort zone) so I was a little concerned about how it would go. I considered asking the lady to massage me for 45 minutes then let me sleep the rest of the time.
I was also concerned about the talking issue. I never know if the massage therapist wants to talk or not so I spend the entire time worrying that I’m either being rude by not talking or breaking some no-talking rule if I do talk. Nothing about it is relaxing. Christopher said it’s not much a talking situation but he falls asleep if he lays down for more than 4 seconds so he’s not really a reliable source. He doesn’t stay awake long enough to socialize. The massage started off very quietly with Amelia asking what I do for work. I said I stay home with AB and asked if she has kids. She said she doesn’t because she hasn’t found The One and “it takes two to tango and I don’t tango often and don’t want to dance with the wrong person.” It struck me as so funny for some reason and I couldn’t stop laughing. I met her 7 minutes earlier but she was filling me in on all the personal details of her life. We laughed the entire time and I think that did me more good than the actual massage. She covered a variety of details including sports and sports viewing snacks, teaching inner city children to golf, her stepmother, her stepmothers cat, her teenage brother, bees, school and slugs. I wouldn’t have minded a few minutes of quiet, especially when she was talking about the mating habits of hyenas (“most people don’t know how weird they are with their partners”) but overall it was an enjoyable experience.
I’m glad laughter is free. I would have needed to break into Annabelle’s piggy bank to pay for all the laughing I did.
Feb 1, 2017 | Uncategorized, What's going on |
I haven’t done much blogging lately because I haven’t been sleeping much. Annabelle is on day 17 of not having at Mr. Lion at bedtime and night 16 (not that I’m counting) of not going to sleep before 10 o’clock at the earliest. My formally excellent sleeper has turned into a night owl. I know that she used Mr. Lion to fall asleep for almost 3 year and she won’t adjust overnight, but it’s been an exhausting process. Most nights she doesn’t fall asleep until close to or after 11. Her eyes glaze over and she is beyond tired but she won’t sleep. I talk to and play with her all day long, but come 7:30 (glorious bedtime) I’m ready for a break. She spends the hours calling for me to rock her to saying she has “just one sing to tell you, ok? I am all my children’s mommy! I want a green frozen thing at my Frozen party. I want a Mr. Potato Head and a Mr. Potato Head wife and a potato baby. Which should we pay wif first, Mama? The baby one? The mommy one? I waked up! I want to build a sandcastle at the beach. Can you build one wif me? Where should my Potato Head baby go to sleep? Can you tell me about da bears story? Rachel is my friend. Can you kiss ALL my babies goodnight?”
Except for the not nursing part it’s like having a newborn around. A newborn who talks about having a tea party then throws her cup out of bed. I can’t sleep until she’s asleep to needless to say I’m not fresh as a daisy in the morning.
Me: Do you know who has been keeping me awake every night?
Sesame: I dunno. Maybe it’s somebody over there.
I’m still finding beads under the stove and in corners from The Spilled Bead Incident last month. Annabelle decided to add to the mess by pulling a bowl of coins off the counter and spilling them all over the floor. She then thought it would be fun to “go swimming” and spread them around even more. IT WAS NOT FUN FOR ME.
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| This is what 980 spilled coins looks like. |
It snowed that night which was much more fun for both of us than playing with money. Too bad AB didn’t enjoy it more.
Jan 25, 2017 | Sesame, Uncategorized, What's going on |
Friday morning we watched the inauguration. I always enjoy the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony and was very excited to share it with Sesame. Inaugurations always make me long for my coveted job of First Lady. Christopher still isn’t on board with being president but while there’s breath there’s hope. I suspect a First Lady wouldn’t eat fried onions straight out of the can like I may have done but if that’s the worst skeleton in my closet I think we’ll be ok.
Annabelle has a fairly strong grasp on states and recognizes a number of them. She does get confused about how she can live in a state and “in a sta-reet (street)” at the same time, but I frequently forget where I live when I come out of Walmart so I understand. I had been telling her about the special song we sing about our country so I made us stand in the living room with our hands over our hearts during the National Anthem.
Saturday we went to the mall to visit the cats and bring my rings to the jewelers. Annabelle was thrilled to see the cats and she wanted to bring home both Pumpkin and The Great Catsby. Millard T. Fillmore our fish is still alive and swimming but apparently he doesn’t provide enough excitement.
Sunday morning I squeezed AB into a handmade outfit I wore when I was around two. The outfit was much less puff and didn’t snap all the way but it made me so happy to her wearing it. She can go creek wading without worrying about getting the pants wet.
Mother’s Day Out is still going well. Annabelle loves the teacher and snack time and I love the alone time. After I dropped her off this morning I headed to one of my very favorite spots in town (besides Dunkin Donuts). I went to Delta Sonic to use their free vacuums. I love a clean car and not having to dig quarters out of my glove compartment to achieve said clean car is the best. I used to get excited about real things, now I get excitement over a free vacuum. How the times have changed.
Annabelle went on the potty at school so I rewarded her with something from the prize box and some chocolate. “Oooh, Mama! I YOBE chocolate.”
“Do you habe anymore?”
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| WHEN DID SHE GET SO TALL? |
Free chocolate is almost as exciting as a free vacuum.
Jan 17, 2017 | It's all relative, North loving, southern living, What's going on |
I’m glad I didn’t broadcast my intentions to blog more this year because the month is halfway done I’m only dusting off the old keyboard for the second time.
(We’re already off to a bad start. I dropped my memory card and had to go searching for it under the couch. Someone tell the maid to vacuum under there!)
Before we left Massachusetts we celebrated Grandma’s birthday. We all brought a food Grandma likes and I made a batch of her beloved liverwurst sandwiches. I’d be happy to share the detailed recipe.
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| This photo is currently being submitted to the Horrible Food Photography of America magazine. |
Annabelle was front and center during the gift opening. I kept telling her the gifts were for Memere but she held onto the hope she might get something.
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| You’re not truly dressed for a party unless you’re wearing a spool necklace. |
Grandma’s birthday party really kicked off Sesame’s excitement about her upcoming birthday. She chose a Frozen theme (raise your hand if you’re not surprised) and talks about it every single day. “You make an ice cream cake for my Frozen party? You have baa-yoons at my Frozen party? I wanna caterpillar at my Frozen party. Is Grammy be at my Frozen party? Can Mr. Lion come to Frozen birthday party?” If I got a quarter for every comment she makes about her Frozen party between now and March I could afford the tropical vacation Olaf the snowman sings about.
One of our Christmas traditions is to sleep in the living room by the lit Christmas tree. We didn’t get to do it before Christmas this year so we did it last week. We laid seven blankets out on the floor and attempted to go to sleep. Less than an hour later, Christopher announced that he was going to sleep in our bed because the floor was making his hips hurt. I made a bunch of old people jokes in my head but the joke was on me because you know what happened two hours later? I moved to the couch because the floor was hurting my back. Then I moved to the guest bed because the couch wasn’t comfortable enough. I’m only a few steps away from having to use a stairlift.
Yesterday we tried the Sunday school at the church we’ve been attending. The teacher made us go around the room and say something we obsess over. I HATE any scenario when I’m asked to speak in public. It makes me feel sick and like I might pass out.
To make matters worse, I couldn’t think of anything good to say. I didn’t want to say “I’m obsessed with expanding my nail polish collection” even though that’s very true. I could never say something so worldly when the man across the aisle said he’s obsessed with reading the Bible from front to back. Too bad AB wasn’t in the class. She’s been talking about her obsession for weeks.
