A Mom Thing

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I just took a blog-cation!

I'm here, all is FINE -- I just haven't been feeling very bloggy. 

Instead, I've been very "mama bear" - hunkering down with my brood and just letting time fly.  I have to say it's been really nice.   Nice to not know exactly what time it is; what day it is; what's next on the gameplan!

Let's see ... since last we spoke, some of the eventful items...

• Done parent teacher conferences (thankfully, they were great!)
• Cooked for the school bake sale (my first time)
• Did Daughter's 9th birthday party (she's a total princess!)
• Hosted 18 for turkey day
• Hosted 15 for post-turkey-happy-bday-to-Daughter-pizza-party
• Started holiday shopping (AND WRAPPING!)
• Been to a 40th dinner party
• Seen "Bolt" (loved it!)

And of course, I've done countless loads of laundry and meals and projects.  All good. Really good.

Needless to say, it's a weird time of year for me. I can't help but torment myself by thinking back to "this time last year" when H first went to the hospital. It's hard to believe it's been a year.  Still hard to believe any of it. I am still so thankful for all we have and for our reality of good health right now. And yet oddly it's also hard to not be agitated by all the reminders. It's like picking a scab, I guess.  You're either a picker or you're not ... I'm a picker.  Go figure.

Bless you all this holiday season. And yes, I'll try to get my blogg-iness back!

Cozy Ugly Clothes

Why is it that your "ugliest" clothes are the coziest? I mean really - it's not like I want to come home and slip on stillettos and a slinky number??

Seriously. I crave comfort clothes like I crave comfort food. (And in case you have not figured that out, that's ...umm... a lot.)

Poor H.  Usually by the time he comes home from work, I'm in "my uniform" -- a black long sleeve v-neck, fitted t-shirt (from Target) or ribbed tank top from Gap (these actually look good and I would wear ALL TIME TIME if I could) and yoga pants.  Not too bad, right? Well, the only yoga pants I happen to have right now are really old, really big, light grey and have light pink paint spatters on them (from painting Daughter's room).  Nice. Not.  No - really. Not. I know I should just buy some more black yoga pants....but do you KNOW how hard it is to find nice yoga pants that aren't workout pants ???  (There's a difference, you know... I know that H has now officially stopped reading this post -- assuming he made it this far!).

Anyway - it's also COLD in our house. I finally buckled and turned on the heat.  That said, we have an OLD BFH (big fat house) and it's impossible to warm up.  It takes forever to get from 58 (our nighttime temp) to the guest-worthy balmy temp of 64ish (yes, we have guest-fleeces).  And a few radiators aren't working right now -- I guess they get bloated,too.

SO -- the other night I had a WICKED headache (that I probably waited about 3 hours too late to take advil for) ... Daughter was practicing her holiday songs (see headache comment earlier) and it was COLD IN HERE.  I begged Daughter to run upstairs and get my "ugly" sweater (to go with my long sleeved-black t-shirt).  It's a long ribbed,zippered MATERNITY cardigan that I have been SIMPLY INCAPABLE of giving up.

It's ugly.

It's warm.

It's big.

It's cozy.

I love it.

What are your "ugly cozy clothes?" 

What's Good For Barack...

Ok. I SO don't do political on this blog.  Those of you who (actually) know me, know I don't "do political" at all.  Sure...there was a brief time after College that I did. But I lived in DC then - how could you not? I don't now. I just don't. And I'm honestly (a wee bit) annoyed ... yet tolerant of those (over 30ish) who do.  What-ever.  My issue, not yours. Different topic -- different time -- the reality is that older I get, the more "different strokes for different folks" I get.

ANYWAY - (swat, swat) don't distract me like that...

I have an important meeting on Tuesday night. It's not a client meeting - but it's an internal meeting I would DEFINITELY re-work my schedule gladly to attend.  But I have parent-teacher conferences.  In the past (meaning 2 weeks ago) I am not entirely sure I would have offered up "parent-teacher conferences" as my excuse.  And yet, suddenly, now it feels "OK." 

To me, that's slightly ... remarkable.

Online Ordering

I suck at online ordering.  Seriously...S-U-C-K.  It's funny. My BFF is EXPERT at it. She can order anything from shoes (?!) to cocktail dresses ONLINE. Mr. Brown KNOWS her and her front porch.  She's amazing. She finds things on SALE. AND they fit. I just don't get it?  I order things and they are NOTHING like they look online; they typically don't fit ... and often (HELLO, READ FINE PRINT? NO, NOT I...TOO BUSY! OOPS.) are final sale/no return (what-is-up-with-that?). Like I said, OOPS.

I ordered recently from Ann Taylor (.com).  I don't really wear Ann Taylor -- at least I haven't in about 15 years.  Who knows what came over me. Anyway, I'd been "jonesin" for a trendy one-shoulder jersey knit dress (again...go figure) ... or something fun for the holidays. I have a 40th (39 AGAIN) bday fashionista bday party to go to on Saturday and kinda wanted to wear something "fashion-y" for her. They had a big sale and I was SUCKED IN.  I ordered three things figuring I could return them.  Um, uh, no - not when final sale.  And ... note to self ... it's not a deal when you won't wear it and can't return it.

The jersey one was pretty (above) but I still felt like I was dressed for a toga party.  And I couldn't really tell if the "ruching" was fat-camoflauging or fat-accentuating. Hmmm. Notsogood. And I'm a "necklace gal and it's not a necklace kind of dress).  BUT -- It was full-sale so I will return it.  The other two skirts were a great deal but not great for me...apparently those were final sale. BUM-MER.

Let's just say I'm officially done with online clothes buying. D-O-N-E.  You saw it here first.

Why I love boy scouts...

Let me count the ways...

1. H takes the boys for campouts and Daughter and I have REAL girl time.  Last time we even slept in my bed together after watching Baby Mama (now, that made for some interesting conversation...)

2. It results in some really quality Father/Son time.

3. Middle Guy learns good lessons. Really, good lessons! No, I'm not being sarcastic (this time).

4. He helped make dinner last night -- including setting the table AND doing dishes.

5. He made his own breakfast this morning (oatmeal with banana).

6. Did I mention I find it a total turn on to watch H build a birdhouse with him?

Ahhh.  I think I can support this "Scouts thing."

   

Just tell me those photos aren't cute??

Givin' Some Back

Blood, that is...

H was always a BIG LifeSource guy.  I even gave for a few years post-college.  People LOVE my blood - I'm 0-Negative.  So I can give to all...but 0-Neg can only take 0-Neg.  So ... they lick their vampire lips when they see my full veins coming. I haven't given blood in about 10 yeras.  I think I first stopped giving when I started having babies (great excuse!) and then the habit of NOT going stuck.

I really hate needles and I have "bad, rolling veins" that make nurses wince and shake their heads while tapping my arm frantically and tightening the tourniquet thing a little harder.  Other that that...

Anyway, now that H can't give blood anymore Post-Leukemia, I kinda' feel like it's my turn to pick up the baton. He used a lot of blood while in treatment. It was life-saving. Seems like it's the least I can do?

At church today, they announced the Drive.  I guiltily thought, "I gotta' do this!"   So I grabbed Little Guy while Middle and Daughter were at choir practice and off we went.  We made it a teachable moment.  I give one pint...but still will have more than 10 left in my body.  I'll be fine. It's a good thing to do.  The nurse was great -- it really wasn't bad at all. 

One pint down...it's not as fun as a pint of Guinness but probably a whole heck of a lot more useful!  I wore my "I gave" sticker badge with pride.

9 weeks til another...

Things I know...

    

One of the best things about making brownies is licking the spoon!

One of the hardest things about making brownies with kids is actually letting THEM make the browines.

 

I mean really, aren't you just ITCHING to wipe off those edges?

I've come a long way...

PS - I just started using mini muffin cups for brownies -- I love it! They look so cute and are great portion sizes.

Glass Dining Tables

I'm a little tired of all the talk about "glass ceilings" lately - so let's change the topic to glass dining tables.  Much more this mom's thing...

We have a glass dining table. I know that sounds weird with three smallish kids but it's really sturdy. I grew up with it.  I remember it so clearly.  I think my parents said someone made it for them.  It is a solid glass thick rectangle.  Supported by big sturdy oak legs and rims.  It's not "pretty" -- but it's strong and elegant in its own right. It's unique for sure. I've never seen another like it.

I remember that you couldn't kick your brother under the table without being caught. I remember the shimmer and shine of candles in the middle off the glass. I remember the family dinners at this table growing up. I remember the dinner parties and big, fancy buffets we would have at parties in our home.

I remember it was my job to clean it after every family dinner. I remember finally being old enough to spray the table with "Sparkle" cleaner myself. I remember trying to use only one paper towel square.  But usually needing two. I remember not being able to reach alltheway across the table because it was wider than my arms were long. I remember doing half and then the other half. I remember having to be careful with the crumbs left on the table because you didn't want to sweep them into the cracks where glass met wood.

---

Fast forward. And now these traditions are being passed on. We have had MANY MANY more family meals lately. The kids are getting older; they are more likely to eat what we eat; H is home more.  I love it. I love lighting the candles and "setting" the table. I love our big cozy chairs. I love the red color on the walls in the room. The other day I taught the kids how to clean it. They looked up at me with the same look I must have given my mom 30+ years ago. And they did their best. The streaks made me smile.

I love that it's this same table. Imagine the stories it could tell.

Books and Breakfast?

We TYPICALLY don't allow books at breakfast.  Or toys.  But I just couldn't resist recently. Daughter was SO into her book. "But mom, I'm at the GOOD part."  Once she said that "magic phrase" and I just couldn't resist letting her read?? 

I mean, really - how many times have YOU been stuck in a book - at the "good part" and you find yourself SIMPLY HOOKED. Maybe...

• reading in the car (even though you get carsick);
• sneaking to the BATHROOM to read;
• walking from the train to work while reading (even ruder than BB while walking); and 
• staying up WAY TOO LATE because you can't put it down even though you know you'll be dog tired in the morning.

I don't know about you but I can plead "GUILTY" to all of these.  So when Daughter had her head in a book at breakfast yesterday, I simply smiled. Well, I smiled AND took a picture ... but they are used to that by now!  PS -- the BOOK is BFG by Roald Dahl...

I'm a finger crosser

I'm a finger crosser ... are you? 

It's not like I'm wildly superstitious -- I'm not.  But I am a big believer in the power of the finger cross!

I think I first realized it in High School. I remember times very vividly when I would cross my fingers and say a quiet little prayer. I've been stuck every since.

I do it instinctively. Now I smile when I catch myself at it.

I was reminded of it the other day and admitted it to H...  Luckily, he finds my quirks cute...