Clean my house or go shopping...

Trick question. You say go shopping, but don't forget I had to take mini#2. I took mini#1 to school this a.m. because I had to drop off that PTA basket I put together for his class for their school carnival. I'll post pics later. And let me say that this was my morning exercise. I piled everything into a rectangular planter and one of the items was a small bag of potting soil. You should have seen me carrying that through the school while telling mini#2 to "Come on. Hurry up!" My arms were breaking! Mini#1 was trying his best to guide mini#2 (clad in the cutest tiny backpack because he was going to "school") through the crowd of students. Anyway, we made it without me dropping it in the middle of the hall. Since we were all dressed looking fresh, clean and giving the appearance that we look like this every morning (not!), I decided to venture out to HomeGoods. I swear. When will I learn? Here is a sampling of what I have to deal with on a regular basis. WHEN will it get better?

1- He kept wanting to put his sunglasses into glass/fragile china items for "fun."

2- He was hungry. I pulled out Scooby Doo fruit snacks I stuffed in my purse last minute.

3- He was hungry again. I pulled out 2nd and final Scooby Doo fruit snacks and told him he had to sit quietly or else. I hate those fruit snacks, but you have to have emergency snacks for this very reason.

4- "My nose. My nose." When it runs he thinks it's going to fall off or something. I wiped it 100 times.

5- He wanted a stuffed monkey. It looked like about 3 he already has. "No", I said. To which he wailed "BUT I WANT IT!" I swear. This ticks me off the most. How many times do I have to tell him that he doesn't need it and he's not getting it? Wait. I think I need to start telling myself this more as well... BUT I did NEED a new ironing board cover and found a cute pink madras one for $7.99.

6- He said he was "hungry for water". I whipped out the bottle of water I brought. Do I know my mini or what?

7- He asked people their names. This annoys me. This probably annoys others, but surprisingly most play along.

8- He LOUDLY asked me "what's wrong with that girl's hair?" It was just a bit curly. I Shhhed him and moved us in an opposite direction.

9- He was pretending that the roll of wrapping paper (Nope. Don't think I needed that either.) I was buying was a fishing pole. This was cute at first. However, I had to keeping telling him what kind of fish I wanted him to catch for me. Um, I struggled after clown and gold. We went straight to shark and octopus.

10- He had to go pee pee. Grrreeeeaaatttt. To the public potty. He did it. We pulled up pants and then he informed me he had to go poo poo. Grrrooossss. I set up the potty and sat him on the potty. After 10 seconds he said "Nope. Don't need to poo poo". Of course. I knew that would happen.

11- We get to the car. Now I typed that sentence a lot quicker than it took to get to the car. You know how it is. Anyway. He's hungry. Again. Swung into McDonalds cause I was in no mood to come home and make lunch. He wanted a cheeseburger. No pickles and no onions. He NO EAT it.
Two bites. Must have been all the freakin fruit snacks!

Now my house still needs cleaning, but at least he's asleep. And, just to end this on a positive, I did take him to the airport observation deck prior to shopping and he loved seeing and hearing the loud planes. I loved seeing that huge smile and relishing in his delight. I'm thankful we have these times together. The good, the bad and the ugly!

Down to two...

I almost forgot. Did you watch? Chelsea's date was painful to watch. Loved the turtle comments Mr. Brit made and how turtle made more eye contact and was closer to him than Chelsea. Shayne- for real or playing him? Still. He is infatuated with both of these ladies. What did I tell you? I knew it would be down to these two. I liked Amanda. She looked the best I'd seen her when she was standing at the rose ceremony. She was really amazed to be rejected. Rightfully so. Mr. Brit was leading her on I think because he's wasn't too sure what would happen with Chelsea. Alas, she ain't dumb! She started slow and realized she needed to kick it up a notch last night to ensure her safety. I still think Shayne is the one. I don't think Chelsea will make a good impression on Mr. Brit's parents. We'll have to wait though. Next week is when all the crazies return for the reunion.

Voices in the night...

Let me start by saying I stayed up until 12:30 last night (this a.m.) reading The Tender Bar, my book club book. It was a really moving book. Anyway a few hours later a little face with dark eyes was looking into mine through the darkness. Now does this scare the heebie jeevies out of you or is it just me? Every time a mini shows up in my room in the middle of the night I'm nervous. I'm talking heart palpitations! This particular 3 yr version of my minis had spotted a monster under his bed. And, being I was scared, nervous and tired, I broke my OWN rule and let my little monster climb into our bed. We have a first floor master and I just couldn't fathom getting up and taking him upstairs. So he settled in between us and fitful sleep ensued. You know the wild feet kicking your side and me afraid to roll over on him. Then, what seemed like mere minutes later, a taller version of my minis appeared at my bedside. His problem? Oh, his throat was dry and he wanted a "cold drink of water". WTH? Both of them in the same night and at my side of the bed no less. I focused on the clock and noted with horror that it was 4:29 a.m. That was it. I looked at the awake mini in the bed, picked him up and off to the kitchen we went with the other mini in search of a "cold drink of water." I marched everyone upstairs and told mini#2 that there are no monsters and to stay in his bed. I took a quick look backwards as I left his room and his bed looked empty until I realized he covered his entire body with the covers. Good. Less chance for future monsters to hone in on him.

As I walked back to my bedroom I realized that I get far more agitated when my precious sleep is interrupted now that the kids are older than I did when they were infants. Why is that? I think I was just sleepwalking then...going on autopilot....surviving. Now I guess I secretly think: "Hey. Wait a minute. I did my time. Leave me alone. Mama needs sleep. And let's not forget you also have a Daddy. Wake him up!" Is this just me or are there other grouchy mamas around?

A touch of spring...

Look what's blooming in my backyard. They are so beautiful! Don't they look like peppermint candy? I love this time of year when everything comes back to life in our yard. What's blooming in your yard?

All that for $70...$68 if you count the ice cream.

So Mr. Pink and I fell out of bed at 7:10 this a.m. to drag out our stuff in hopes of majorly unloading it to the general public. It was our annual neighborhood yard sale today where you pull it out and people go door to door shopping. In all fairness I didn't have a lot to sale. We gave a ton away when we moved a year and a half ago. Anyway, we had push toys, ride toys (why the heck do kids have so many freakin ride toys?), high chair, baby gate, clothes...blah, blah, blah. We got it all pulled out and displayed in the driveway by 7:50 and there were customers. They never abide by the actual published start time do they? However, in this baby making area of the country, every other house had push toys, ride toys, high chairs and baby gates, too! And my neighbor/friend two doors down had her cute kids selling lemonade for a quarter and bottled water for a dollar. Now that's smart! She was my direct competition! My kids decided this was the one day that they would sleep late. 8:30 and 8:45! That was actually nice because mini#2 couldn't quite grasp the concept of all of this. "Hey, dat Clifford used to be mine!" And now it's someone else's sweetheart. Get over it!

When it was all over I only made $70...hmmm. I was slashing prices by the end because I knew I had to write all of the items down afterwards so Mr. Pink could haul it off to Goodwill. At about noon, as I was making my list, I heard that familiar sound of tinkly music (I think "tinkly music" comes from a Curious George book we have) in the distance. Ah yes, the beloved ice cream truck. NOT! But, as I was now $70 richer, I splurged and let mini#2 buy a $2 Oreo ice cream bar from my meager earnings. For the record, mini#1 was happily skating at a birthday party without us.

I blame the economy for our low profits today. I don't think all of my stuff was crap... or it could have been that I wasn't offering refreshments. Yes, all I have is $68 and a sunburn on my forehead. But there's always next year. I'm thinking mint juleps, mojitos, and Pellegrino mineral water. It's all about the refreshments these days....

Happy Again

I'm sorry for the previous whiny post. Sometimes it just happens. Might as well get it all out at one time. Today has been much better. Mini#2 and I went to the neighborhood play group and had a fun time. Fun because the kids did their own thing and the ladies chatted. The moms may want to hurt my child though because he introduced several kids to his knock knock jokes while there. Yes, that's still going strong. Afterwards, mini#2 wanted to go for a walk so we did...without a stroller no less. My neighbor and her son joined us. Then we met the others from playgroup at Chick-Fil-A so the kids could further tire themselves out before nap time. Upon returning to the White house, we were met by our friendly FedEx man bringing us the below shoes via my mom. She sent me a navy and khaki pair for mini#2 she found after I told her I was having trouble finding his size. I LOVE Ked's on the minis. Mini#1 is, of course, too old for them now. It will be a sad, sad day when mini#2 won't wear them anymore. Over the years I've probably had every color in every size and some duplicates. Does anyone else like these on their boys?

And, finally:

...and I'm not hosting. This is always a fun time for all of us ladies and for Mr. Pink. He gets to spend quality time with the boys without me, the super timekeeper, yelling "Hurry up! 5 mins 'til lights out!" For some reason Mr. Pink forgets we need to keep the boys on their schedule, but on Bunco night what I don't know won't kill me...

Got to go iron now and check out David Beckham on Ellen. Another thing to make me happy. Shhhh. Oh you know he's hot, too!

So tired...

Does anyone feel like me today? I've wrestled loads of laundry, gone to the dentist, made chocolate chip cookies, helped do homework, rushed mini#1 off to church, taken mini#2 to Target to buy a birthday party present, picked mini#1 up, rushed through baths and read a chapter of Judy Blume's Superfudge to mini#1 by 9:15. Oh and I had mega cramps for the 2nd half of these tasks. And, I may or may not have eaten a lot of those cookies I made during mini#2's nap. While I'm feeling a little worn out, may I just continue this whiny post to list a few things I'm tired of hearing about:

1- The gas prices. Why make us more agitated by talking about it every time I turn on the TV.

2- This election. Momx2 made a great comment. Do we all have to suffer through this another 7 months? Can we move the election up to June 1st and just be done with it already?

3- Hearing sad stories on the news. Today a college junior from my Alma mater was arrested for DWI after hitting a woman on a bicycle this morning. It's his 21st birthday today so I'm sure he had been celebrating last night and made the wrong decision to drive. I just heard this woman has died. So sad for both families involved. This will occupy my thoughts for several days. That's how I am.

4- The FLDS cult and children in Eldorado, TX. Can you say sick? All those kids and so few mothers and even fewer fathers. Yuck. This lifestyle is a horrible injustice to these kids. I would hate for them to be separated from the mothers they know, but honestly, would that be a bad thing in the long run? They deserve a chance to thrive and to stop this insanity.

Ok, I feel a little better...I promise to be a happier person tomorrow! Must be a touch of the mid-week blahs...

The Brit and a Tag.

I was tagged by One Fabulous Mom to give the baby advice that I was given that worked. I think I'll add some some of my own that I learned from living through it...

1- The whole breastfeeding thing. It's hard! I was told "Don't give up. It will get better. And don't supplement with formula." I didn't give up, but I struggled with it, especially with mini#1. I now look back at that borderline colicky baby and wonder why the heck I didn't supplement with formula that first week or two! He was early. I was stressed and he was hungry. I think he and I would have had a much more enjoyable time had I just supplemented some until we were both comfortable.

2- I was told: Don't bring babies into your bed to go to sleep. This was also difficult and I gave in during the night and they slept with us occasionally, BUT they were always put into their crib initially. It really is important to establish routines with babies/toddlers. Now we always have the routine of bath, brush teeth, books, prayers, bed. It's what they know and expect. I've heard horror stories of kids staying in parents' bed for years. Bet they're wishing they were a little more disciplined in the early days about putting them in their cribs!

3- Take it one day at a time. This is my advice. I remember just being so overwhelmed by all the daily tasks involved with the care of a baby. Also, I was up so long during the night with mini#1. He would wake every 2 hours and was so difficult to get back to sleep. I remember just giving myself pep talks saying "It's ok. You're doing the best you can. It will get better. These days will pass." And eventually they did and you finally get some sleep...until they become teenagers, I hear.

The Bachelor episode had the family visits last night, but these were a little blah. However, Shayne's mom was a character. Someone needs to help her tone her makeup down and tell her the dangers of too much plastic surgery. Amanda was clever by hiring actors to portray her parents(or did ABC think of this) and it was comical to see Mr. Brit squirming a bit when the actress mom made the moves on him. Chelsea's visit blah (beautiful scenery though in CO mountains) and so was Noelle's (ditto with CO scenery). Mr. Brit certainly made the opportunity to kiss them all though. In the end Noelle went home and there are 3 left to go to Barbados on the next episode. If he picks Shayne, he's just more of a cad then I thought....he'll be going for the Hollywood family life which is foreign to most of us, but especially to a Londoner. I still like Chelsea.

It's a boy!

Happy Birthday Mini#1!!!!!!

You made me a mother. All 5 lbs 11 oz of your 4 week early self. You made us a family. I can still remember those first soft cries and how they would stop when I spoke to you in the hospital. It was amazing to me that you recognized my voice. Funny, 7 years later you pretend NOT to recognize my voice...especially when I tell you to get in the bathtub! All my firsts as a mother happened with you. All my worries, tears, joys happened with you. You are so sweet and kind-hearted. The conversations we have now are so awe inspiring to me. You are becoming this thoughtful, concerned person with so many ideas already for your future. I look at you and I catch myself smiling. I envy your free spirit and need to remember to share in your joy of life, no matter what each day brings. You are special. We waited two and a half years to see your tiny face. It was worth the wait. God knew you were the one to bless our lives. I wish you love, joy and happiness in all that you do. I'll be right there cheering you on every step of the way. I love you!

I must confess...

Ok, so I humbly confess that I gave in and....hosted Mini#1's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese today. My ears are still ringing. Yeah, I know, the germs post back on April 1. Well, what do you tell your kid when he decides that's where he wants to have his party? I tried to make other suggestions: ice skating? clay place? running around in traffic? No, Chuck E. Cheese is what he wanted so I couldn't disappoint the little fellow. Ok, he wore me down. That's how it really happened. Notice you saw no stressed out posts about the planning, cleaning, organizing of said party. It was organized by a few simple clicks on the computer. All I did was order a cake and put together the gift bags. While we were there Mr. Pink was in charge of mini#2 so I was actually able to chat with the moms. Imagine that. And, if you're wondering, I took a HUGE bottle of Germ-X and squirt every child's hands when they came to the table for pizza and cake. I think I squirt a few extra hands not at our party for good measure.I think everyone will agree that I have met my Chuck E. Cheese quota for the year!


It was a nice weekend. My parents and Mr. Pink's dad stopped in briefly over the weekend to visit and drop off gifts for mini#1. Mr. Pink's mom (his parents are divorced) generously gave mini#1 & 2 this new playset for their birthdays. Mr. Pink and a neighbor have been working on putting it together this weekend after he and my dad picked it up Saturday. All 8 boxes of it. I looked at the box of screws, bolts, and nails and there must be 520,486 in total. Geez.... not my idea of fun. It doesn't look like the picture yet, but Mr. Pink is taking Monday and Tuesday off to continue working on it. As I type, raindrops are steadily falling. Even though we still need the rain, I hope it passes. The kids are super duper eager to get their party started in the fort.I hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Knock knock...

mini#2: Knock, knock.

me (Groggily): Who's there?

mini#2: Pillowcase.

me (slightly aggravated): Pillowcase who?

mini#2: Pillowcase on my bed, that's who. heeeeheeeheeee.

And this is how my day commenced when mini#2 came into our room at 7:30 this Saturday morning. He has discovered knock, knock jokes and has spent the last 3 days thinking of his own to tell anyone at any given moment. Mail lady, neighbors, strangers.You get the picture. I'm thinking of banning knock, knock jokes at the White house...one can only take so many of them.The pillowcase one did make me smile though. A lot.

Free Shipping...

Some of you commented that you liked the wastebasket I ordered from The Pink Giraffe and mentioned in my post last Friday. The owner has offered to give any of my readers a coupon for free shipping. Just mention my blog in the comments section and use the code: freeship08. Offer expires in 30 days. Go order yours now!

Meme

I've been tagged by MomX2 to list 5 unimportant things about me.

Rules:
1- you link back to the person who tagged you
2- post these rules on your blog
3- share six unimportant things about yourself
4- tag random people at the end of your entry
5- let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs

Let's begin.

1- I have been a licensed U.S. Customs (now known as Customs and Border Protection) broker since 1996. I have not used this license since...1996. I left brokerage for ocean transportation at that time, but still keep the license current.

2- I like to vacuum right before guests arrive so the lines are still on the carpet (mainly in the guest room).

3- I obsess over thank you notes. Thanks mom! My children now have their own stationery (monogrammed, of course!) and mini#1 will be writing his first "thank yous" after his birthday party this weekend. It's time to pass the torch to the minis...

4-I have a strange memory. I can remember exactly what I was wearing to an insignificant event years ago and even conversations that took place, but I can't remember where my sunglasses are on a daily basis.

5- I hate change. Not good with it at all. I'm a creature of habit. Trying not to pass this character trait (flaw?) to my boys.

6- When I go to the grocery store I have to pick a gallon of milk about 2-3 back from the first one. For some reason I don't think the first one is getting enough refrigeration.

Ok, now I tag the following:

Preppy Mama
Clemsongirlandthecoach

Preppy Deals...

Today I went into J Crew and found some cute, cute deals on sale for the minis.








I also found the navy nautical sweater (no picture) I had been eyeing for mini#1 in last fall's catalog. Was $58 originally and I got it for $21! It has a white anchor on the front. All items were originally $168...I paid $74 today. I probably would have bought more, but I made the mistake of letting mini#2 out of his stroller and he was pushing it through the store like he was in the grand prix. I kept losing my concentration having to discipline him. He does not like that stroller, but he doesn't stay with me unrestrained either. I always coax him into the stroller when we get out of the car by saying, "You're lucky. You get to ride in the stroller. I wish I could ride in the stroller." Works every time. We made a quick stop by Barnes and Noble, too. I had to find my book club book, The Tender Bar. Has anyone read this? I was told it was at Target, but after looking in two with no results I gave up and went to B&N. Mini#2 enjoyed loudly telling people we were looking for "the book club book" to anyone who would listen. Can I just say that preschool is 5 months too far away for me...I mean him. If anything he's a good deterrent to my shopping sickness. Sometimes just thinking about venturing out with him gives me a migraine, hives or both.

Girls Fighting

Six girls were off to Sun Valley, ID. Beautiful setting. I think the seclusion got to them. That fight was funny. Marshanna could not take a little criticism. She showed her butt a bit and then in the next breath she was telling America she's sweet, kind, blah, blah. Come on. Mr. Pink even thought she may have been faking not knowing how to ski so she could squeal as she fell in the snow. I like Chelsea, but she doesn't hold hands? What? Come on you can hold hands with someone you care about. Carry hand sanitizer. Robin was a bit crazy. Showing up on the slopes to interrupt Shayne and Matt. I thought she was going to start talking about her tea maker again.. Ok Shayne won me over a little more last night when she whipped out a mirror, lip gloss, liner and blush brush on the ski slopes after she fell. Mr. Pink yelled "That's YOU!" at that point. Hey, she's prepared and so am I. I may or may not keep lip gloss in our cooler at the beach. It was no surprise that Marshanna and Robin were sent packing. Robin can stop acting British now. Noelle is ok. Love her pretty hair, but kind of boring to me. I think she has been in a bad car accident or something. I missed some of their date. Amanda, aka the hiccuper, didn't hiccup, but was also blah last night. I think it will be Shayne and Chelsea in the final. Any other predictions?

Things I learned this weekend...

1- Never, not ever, go to Lowe's or any other home improvement store on a nice spring Sunday. The parking lot and check out line look like the day after Thanksgiving at a mall.


2-That I am raising a future President (and/or art teacher) who wants "to change the world" and a pro football player who plays basketball on the side. These were answers I got when I asked the minis what they'd like to be when they grow up.


3-To stop thinking that a Lifetime movie version of a good book is worth watching on a Saturday night. Did anyone else suffer through their version of "The Memory Keeper's Daughter?" So disappointing! The final moments were like the Oscars....feverishly rushed to get to the end.


4- Amazon sells French music cd's. I ordered the below cd this weekend, along with books and other cds. I'll let everyone know how it is. I want to teach mini#2 French and a teacher gave a good review of this one on Amazon. Only $6.29, too!





5- That Ivana Trump, 59 married her Italian entrepreneur boytoy...um..friend, 36 this weekend at the Palm Beach estate, Mar-A-Lago, belonging to Donald Trump. Take a look at the couple. Didn't I see him last season on Dancing With the Stars as one of the professionals? He's got that look. Actually, he's got the look of "What did I just do?"



Get a good night sleep all. Tomorrow it all starts again!

When life gives you lemons...

...make lemonade. Here's an old Southern Living recipe I have in my personal recipe book of favorites. It's great for get togethers, showers, etc. After having a sour week, we need something sweet around here!

*********************

Homemade Lemonade

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1/2 cup boiling water

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice (About 8 lemons)

5 cups of cold water

Garnish: lemon slices (cut like above on rim of glass)

Stir together sugar and 1/2 cup boiling water until sugar dissolves.

Stir in lemon rind, lemon juice, and 5 cups cold water. Chill 8 hours.

Add lemon slices. Yield: 8 cups. Prep: 20 min., Chill 8 hours.

That just reminded me of going to a wedding shower years ago where the bride's mother gave her daughter a handmade recipe book containing their family favorite recipes she enjoyed from childhood. Isn't that such a neat idea for children to cherish for years? I plan to do that for my boys and give it to them when they marry or go off to college. I also want to teach both how to cook the basics so they can attempt some of the recipes when they're out on their own. Right now their books are relatively empty, since no "favorites" have been established at Chez White. It's not that I'm a terrible cook; they're terrible eaters. I don't think I can get the recipe for McDonald's cheeseburgers. Frankly, don't think I want that one...

Five on Friday

Mini#1 is finally better after 4 days of fever! Thank goodness. Last night was my first night of uninterrupted sleep in 4 nights! So nice! Our neighborhood's first book club meeting was last night. It was fun and we actually talked about the book for a while. We all agreed to read something less complicated for May. Atonement by Ian McEwan was our first, but I really enjoyed it once I got into it. We all agreed it was so wordy. Well mini#2 and I are off to the park on a play date in a few minutes so I'll end with a few of my spring favorites at the moment:

1- McCormick's Grill Mates marinade in: Garlic, herb and wine. We grilled kabobs a couple weekends ago and I tried this with chicken. So yummy. You add olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the marinade. I also reserved some of the marinade for the mushrooms, onions and asparagus. Added lots of flavor. Try it!





2- Cooking out. I love spring. You can finally break out of the kitchen and let hubby grill outside. The kids also love eating outside.

3- Seeing all the pink dogwoods in bloom. I have always loved this tree and we finally planted one when we moved here. It hasn't bloomed yet, but I'm sure enjoying all of the others I see.

4- Ok, this has nothing to do with spring, but it does have something to do with "cleaning" if you know what I mean. My kids have some occasional digestion problems so our doc suggested we use Benefiber. I sprinkle this in just about everything I make for them. It really helps!

5- Spring, or any other season, makes me want to shop. I'm going to order this cute wastebasket from The Pink Giraffe (link to right). I love it!

Happy Friday!

No school for you!

Poor mini#1. STILL has this virus. This morning he couldn't even get out of bed when he sadly called for me at 6:45 a.m. When we checked his temperature it was 104.3! I was so scared. He said his arms and legs hurt. I nervously called the after hours nurse, but was assured it was because of the fever and not from some contracted disease I was creating in my mind. For an hour I sat on his bed, prayed, cried, and even climbed under his covers and waited for the Motrin to start its magic. Finally, an hour later, like the nurse had predicted, the fever was down to 101. It's been up hill since then. He's eaten and he's taken a long nap. After his nap I read to him and there's been no more fever. This is one NASTY virus. Leave my child alone already! It's scaring me a lot!

Well I hope everyone enjoyed this beautiful Spring day. I hate that we've been hidden inside all day while it was sunny and warm. At least I had a chance to read multiple catalogs and magazines. Just couldn't get to that ironing...maybe tonight.

Bad night, but much better day.

Just when I was all set for mini#1 to return to school today he woke us up minutes after we went to bed last night. I'm talking 12:45 (late!) since we watched the NCAA final. My meds didn't quite kick in as I had hoped! He was crying, congested and had a fever of 102.8. His breathing had us scared for a few minutes and I almost thought we were headed to the emergency room. Mr. Pink even put clothes on just in case. I gave him Children's Motrin and propped him up (to breathe!) in our bed to sleep a while. However, once all was calm again he wanted to talk....and talk....and talk. It was so sweet after the frantic minutes before. I enjoyed his stories and I even put a cold, wet washcloth on his forehead like you see in the movies. Ha! Eventually he headed back to his room, but came back to ours 2 hrs later in sweaty pj's. His fever had broken so I had to help him get into new pj's. Needless to say, it was a restless night, but one I wouldn't trade for the world. This is what you sign up for when you decide to become a parent. It's scary. Sometimes I think how did I gain the wisdom to make these decisions? How do I know if I'm making the right decisions? When did I become old enough to make these decisions? You go on and on in your head. Thankfully, all was calm today. I took him to the doctor. No flu. No Strep. No pneumonia. No fever since early afternoon. Just a virus. He should be back at school tomorrow if this night goes ok. AND, mini#2 was well- behaved at the doctor. Tuesdays are much better than Mondays!

The Bachelor was ok. Sorry not to post today on Mr. Brit's adventures in dating American "women". I will say I so picked the 2 women that left the show last night. Once again it was a singer, Ashlee, and a drinker, Kelly. Please let this be all of the singers. I can't take another painful display of non-talent.

Waiting for the meds to kick in.

I feel horrible right now. Been fighting this sinus infection, unsuccessfully, since last Thursday. I finally threw up the white flag and went to the doctor today...with the minis. Now I have meds to get rid of this. I'm ready for my raspy voice to go away, too! We had another doctor's appt for mini#1 at 10:45. I'm tired, stuffy, coughy, headachey and had to take 2 kids with me to these appts. They're boys and they're not always quiet. Mini#2 and I had to visit the hallway to "chat" at mini#1's appt. The "chat" (which may or may not have included me digging a fingernail into a hand for emphasis) always wears off in about 2 minutes at this age. So frustrating! All I ask is that you sit quietly and look at a book for a few minutes. Luckily he was entranced by a Golf Digest magazine during his brother's actual visit with the doctor. He was picking out some new irons. After the doctors' appts, we had to go to Walgreen's (pharmacy), Wal-mart (8 items only- trying to be quick) and back to Walgreen's. I'm calling it a day! Spring Break is over today. I am so glad school is back in session tomorrow! Yippee!

Mini#1- the artist

Mini#1 is such a sweetheart. He's almost 7 and he's getting into my blogging. He's usually talking to me about something while I'm trying to blog. He likes to see what I write. He asked me last night "Why don't you write about me more?" I didn't really have a good answer. You all know how it is. The younger children seem to supply all the content that's needed to blog because they're so funny and frustrating, unbeknownst to them.

Well now I want to celebrate my firstborn. He really is my buddy, my friend. Right now anyway. He likes to go on errands with me and just be with me. I love these times where we can connect without distractions (read: mini#2). We went to see Nim's Island yesterday, just the two of us, and we shared popcorn. He let me hold his hand for a few minutes. He's so precious to me and I thank God every day for giving me this precious gift. A gift we waited so long to receive. He loves his mommy!

He, I believe anyway, is gifted in the area of art. I'm frequently surprised by his creativity and attention to detail in his schoolwork and drawings. Each day he could survive as long as he had paper and pens/markers/crayons to create his latest masterpiece. He worked Saturday morning on his latest. I'm not boasting. I just wanted to share. Take a look.



It's a man with a runaway dog who scares a woman on a sidewalk. Note that her hair is standing on end and she's thrown her purse up so that's it's spilling out the contents. This is pretty ingenious isn't it? I think only fellow women bloggers will appreciate it. What are your kids' talents ? Come on ladies. It's your time to share. Let me hear it.

P.S. Mini#1 and I didn't go to church this morning. We both have sinus problems right now.
As I typed...he was cutting out felt pieces that I bought him! He makes people and clothes out of them. Today it was an NC State jersey with a white long sleeve shirt underneath.

Crafts/Summer finds

I thought I'd try a few crafts this week. I love all those cute painted wooden frames I see in specialty gift shops. I always say, "I can do that." So I tried. I bought plain wooden frames for $1 each at Michael's and painted them. The baseball mitt was pre-painted. I got that for $.49, also from Michael's. Not the greatest results, but a good start.

Yesterday, before we met Mr. Pink for lunch, the minis and I ran into TJ Maxx. I found the following. Now I love madras for the kids. Not so sure about this dress for me. It was next to the bathing suits. I think it's supposed to be a bathing suit cover-up, but it's lined so don't know. Nonetheless, it will be a cool dress for summer and I'll probably add a cardigan so not soooo much madras. I love the navy polka dot Tommy Hilfiger flip flops. I bought some similar brown ones last year and they were super comfortable. I needed navy.

Have a great weekend!

Morning Mini Talk

It's been mini#1's spring break this week so trying to stay busy doing fun things. Yesterday we met Mr. Pink for lunch. Tonight is karate belt ceremony for mini#1. He's getting his purple belt. Tomorrow mini#1 and Mr. Pink are going camping with their cub scout troop. Mommy and mini#2 will be on a quest to find new sunglasses since I stepped on my favorite pair the other day. I put them on the floor beside me while I put mini#2's shoes on and then...crunch...stepped on them.

On Fridays Mr. Pink works from home. This morning mini#2 quietly came into our bedroom at 8:00 a.m. Yes, I've been able to sleep late this week, too! Anyway I sensed his presence so I sat up and said "Good morning. Come here." He crawled in bed beside me and a minute or two later he heard a bird that makes that funny call that we've discussed before. I'm not a bird expert so not sure of the bird species.

mini#2: Mom, why that bird making that sound?

me: He's waking up and saying "good morning" to us.

mini#2: But he have no covers and a pillow.

me: (laughing) No, he sleeps in the tree.

mini#2: Where his brothers? Is he looking for his brothers?

me: He could be.

mini#2: I go look for my brother (brudder), too.

Happy Friday!!

Germs all around us.

Now I've got a pretty good handle on the germ thing. Or so I thought. I make the kids wash hands all the time. No sharing drinks. Hand sanitizer in purses, toddler bags, cars, etc. However, I turned on TV to check weather this a.m. (is this a sign that I'm becoming my parents?)and then flipped to Dr. Phil while I got ready to go on our outing to Chuck E. Cheese. Dr. Phil was doing a show on the MRSA virus/infection. Did any of you see this? SCARY. It happens most often in hospitals. SCARIER. No cure. SCARIEST! Well, needless to say, this was not good for me to watch just prior to going to germ city, Chuck E. Cheese. Somehow I have managed not to step into Chez Monsieur Fromage for the entire year and a half since we moved to N.C. Yeah Mom! Unfortunately, their television advertising is very good so the minis have been begging to go for weeks. I recruited another mom to bring her kids along so I'd at least have an adult to talk with over pizza and diet coke. Ok, it was Cherry Coke. I never drink that anymore and I love it so, yes, I splurged today!

While munching on pizza and tuning out our 5 children, I told my friend about the Dr. Phil show and she knows someone who has MRSA. We both used extra hand sanitizer today. That's for sure. At one point I had to take mini#2 to go potty and I gave him our command "Hands Up" while he pee-pees in a public restroom. However, he lost his balance and (GASP) touched the toilet. Seat was up! I nearly passed out cold in the floor. I quickly scrubbed his hands semi-raw and returned to the germ pool. On our way out mini#2 was a tad (read: monumentally) upset about not being able to get a Fun Dip because we didn't have enough freakin tickets! He then threw himself on the nasty floor crying and, again, MRSA flooded my thoughts! That and wondering....why did I want a second child? Mini#2 didn't even get his tiny 20 ticket piece of candy after that display of "threeness"! Anyway, the kids are wiped out and Mr. Pink has finished scrubbing away all traces of Chuck E. Cheese from the minis in their freshly cleaned tub. I had no time to post earlier. I decided to Clorox wipe the phones, the computer keyboard, the mouse, the faucets, the door knobs and anything else that got in my path. Now that I've scared you all, get to it! Clean that keyboard and mouse!




Ok- quick update on last night's The Bachelor. Mr. Brit kissed just about everyone last night. We saw the first hot tub scene. We all knew that was coming! Shayne, once again, showed us she's a little bi polar and everyone hates Robin. Erin, Amy, and Kristin were left without a rose.
Kind of dull last night, but I was ironing while viewing. I guess the show was more interesting than the ironing!