Free Stuff

One of the blogs I read a lot is Mommyknows. She is the owner of The Baby Marketplace which is a great place to get cool clothes, wooden toys and lots and lots of cloth diapers. She also gives away tons of stuff on her blog.

Since May I have won twice. Those of you who know me know two things, I love free stuff, and usually I never win anything (which makes me sad) so since I actually win FREE STUFF I really like Kim.

This week's contest involves blogging about the contest for an additional chance to win! I LOVE additional chances! Soooo...

Now that you know you need to go to Mommyknows and leave a comment and you can win a stylin diaper bag! This is not the hearts and teddy-bears kind, this one you might actually want to carry! Done with diaper bags? Won't you be the coolest person at the next baby shower you go to when you give that away! No one has to know it was free. It'll be our little secret!!

So go already:)

We're Baaack!

The wait is over! I am blogging again. How did you survive the week without me? This is not a good time to comment and say "you were gone? Didn't even notice", even if you are thinking it!

The one good thing about a week away with children, lots and lots of blog fodder. So, this way, I can bore you for weeks about my trip! Yep, I can hear the masses deleting me from their bloglines as we speak.

Oh well, it's my blog and I'll bore you if I want to!!!! (Grin)

So, a few highlights,

1. Taking my fish and pirate crazy son to the ocean for the first time! It was a little disappointing that we didn't get to see Nemo, but we did see a pirate ship. (yes, Spud has definitely spent too much time on this site recently.)

2. We took the boys to the Zoo on Christmas Eve day. It was beautiful out, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves! The wimpy Vancouverites probably stayed home because it was only 4 degrees out but hey that's like 20 degrees warmer than what we are used to! We were practically in shorts!

3. The boys got to spend lots of time with their grandma! They love her to death and it was so neat to watch their eyes light up whenever they saw her! She and her husband may never be the same again after our invasion as two toddler boys aren't exactly quiet or clean or predictable, but we were so glad they put up with us anyway!

4. Cross-border shopping! At Par! Without Kids! (Grandma babysat, don't worry I didn't leave them in the car) A huge sale at Bath and Body Works! It just doesn't get any better than that my friends!

5. Coming home.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Or, as Spud likes to say, a dumbo det.

That's right folks, the House of Geek is taking to the open skies as we jet off to the bustling tourist Mecca of Abbotsford BC.

Haven't heard of it? Oh you will. Probably on the 6:00 news, "Pair of Toddlers Set Fire to Christmas Tree - Parents on the Run".

Yes, we are off to visit Way Cooler's mom and her hubby. So, the blog posts may be a bit sporadic as I eat turkey, visit with family and gaze at green grass. That's a phenomenon that hasn't been seen in these parts since September!

So, amidst the craziness that is packing for a trip with kids, Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

See you on the other side!

So Maybe I Need a Nap

I was just cleaning my bathrooms. Gotta be my favorite chore. (Cough snort.)

Anyway, there was this stubborn stain on my counter that just wouldn't go away. It was quite long and much lighter than the rest of the counter. I was getting quite annoyed and thinking of new products that might work on it when I finally realized I was scrubbing a sunbeam.

Oops. Something tells me that's not coming off.

I'm Also a Fashionista

Last Friday we had to go to Way Cooler's student and faculty Christmas dinner. It was dressy. Since I am a "professor's wife" emphasis his, not mine, I decided my jeans and a nice sweater probably wouldn't cut it. This creates a problem. If I am going to wear a dress I need to wear nylons. I think the last time I wore the things I was pregnant with Sprout. Yep, I am queen of the high fashion.

So, I dug around in my drawers trying to find pantyhose. Then I realized I had a dilemma. My dress was black but I only had open toed black shoes (they are really high heeled sandals) and all my nylons had a reinforced toe. I briefly considered wearing navy shoes (This will indeed confirm that I am a fashion idiot) but my mother nixed that idea after I called for some much needed help.

I was a bit concerned that people might notice the reinforced toe. I needn't have worried. At all.

You see, our children came with us. It's a dressy family thing. So, I was too busy cutting up meat, explaining why we cannot climb the garland and keeping Spud from flinging his namesake at the back of some theology professor's head to care if people noticed. They could have all been staring and pointing and I would not have clued in. Nor would I have cared by that point.

When I had been putting on my nylons I was grumbling a teeny bit to myself about now having to hand wash the dumb things that night. This worry proved unnecessary. Spud came to my rescue. While we were waiting to get up and go through the buffet line he was swinging his feet back and forth against my leg. He was wearing Velcro shoes. Are you tracking with me?

By the time I went through the line the only thing people would have noticed about Dr. Way Cooler's wife was the grapefruit sized hole in her nylons.

So Friday night I was at a party in a six year old dress, wearing nine year old sandals with shredded nylons with a reinforced toe. But you know what, I didn't have to cook, someone else watched my kids while I ate cake for dessert and I got to talk to someone who wasn't related to me.

What a great party. Just don't tell Stacy and Clinton.

Why I Won't be Participating in the Christmas Home Tour

On Monday Boomama is hosting a bloggy Christmas Home Tour. This is where everyone with a blog can show off what their house looks like during the holidays.

I shall not be taking part. I'd like to, but I think I might get kicked out. Even by a sweet Southern Gal.

See, I'm not real good at decorating. In any season.

Let me prove it.

This is the extent of my Christmas decorations. Isn't it festive?

I think it really switches it up from the spring decor which is next picture. Notice the beautiful daisies and spring-y bucket. Look out Martha Stewart.

This is also the summer decor because we really don't want to get too carried away.

This last picture is of my fall decor. I really don't like fall because it means that winter is coming. So in protest of the season, there are no flowers.

Yep, I'm a decorating fool!

Merry Christmas.

The Bigger the List, the Harder They Fall

Have you ever noticed how much you get done in a week is in inverse proportion to how much you intend to get done?

The weeks that my to-do list is smallish we have a quiet, uneventful week where everyone generally behaves, nothing major breaks down and we are not struck with any major sicknesses.

But on the weeks I intend to actually accomplish something, well, I'm beginning to realize I really stink at planning stuff.

This week we have been hit by the stomach flu. By we I do mean all four of us. Let's just leave it there shall we.

It's not been pretty.

So, the cookies I wanted to bake, the Christmas letter I intended to write, the posts I was hoping to blog, the cleaning my house is begging me for, they shall all be accomplished next week.

I hope.

Giving Thanks

Last night I got thinking of some of the things I am so very thankful for! Want to hear my list? If not, just use the little arrow up in the left to navigate away from here, otherwise, here goes,

1. I am thankful that Sprout is now able to sleep through noise at night.

2. I am grateful Spud has learned to stay on his bed and not get up in the night no matter what.

3. I am so pleased with the brilliant architects and builders with the creativity to put the laundry room on the upper level with the bedrooms where it belongs.

4. I am thankful that we had the wisdom and foresight to choose this particular house plan.

5. It's also a very good thing my husband has better hearing than I, (This is not hard to do) and he is willing to go to our kids when they cry out in the night.

6. I am thankful I am currently not pregnant. Otherwise # 7 would not be true.

7. There are no words to express how happy I am Spud was the only one woofing his cookies last night. All night.

8. I am thankful that I have more than 1 set of sheets for my kids.

9. I am extremely grateful for water-proof mattresses.

10. And last, but certainly not least, to my beloved washing machine, once again, bravo. You are my favorite appliance in the whole house. Just don't tell the dusbuster.

A Few Answers That Will Probably Make You Sorry You Asked the Questions

I have had a few questions asked in my comments over the past few weeks and being a wee bit lame-headed tonight and not having much else to blog about right now I thought I would answer them for you! Because I don't know how you would face Monday without knowing the following:

1. I recently mentioned that I have only kissed Way Cooler and a Dude named Dave. Alyson asked if that was my brother-in-law.

Ewww, yuck! (Not that it's yucky for my sister, he's a great guy, but I've only ever know him as her guy, so he's really much more in the realm of a brother than guy I would ever want to kiss.)
Dave (that I kissed) was a very nice guy who had one flaw, he didn't want to date me anymore. He was also 1 foot 2 inches taller than I making the whole kissing thing a bit more tricky!

2. In that same post Janet asked what the big deal was about Boston in the Fall.

I sometimes forget that not everyone has to listen to Veggietales until they want to hurl themselves out a window. That was a reference to "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything". It's also true, I had a nursing baby when Way Cooler got to go to a conference there so I've never been to Boston. I hear it's lovely. I want to go. I live in Western Canada, so I will probably never get there. In any season. (Big sigh.)

3. Momofthecrazies asked if I ever got a usable picture from my photo shoot with the boys.

That would be no. 57 shots in over an hour, not one was usable. Way Cooler took ten pictures in five minutes and three were great. Yep. It's a conspiracy to ensure I never step near a camera again.

So, there you have it, now you can all sleep well tonight! Also, thank-you for your nice comments about my day Thursday. I was so exhausted from my headache that not finding a seat seemed utterly overwhelming. The headache is still there but I have been spending the weekend reminding myself of all the good things I do have and that has seemed to keep my crazed emotions more in check!

Have a super Monday!

How Diego Made Me Cry

I've been struggling with nasty tension headaches for a couple of months so I've been looking at drug free ways to get them managed as the drugs just aren't working.

Tonight I had my first session of acupuncture. That was not exactly my idea of a good time. Massage yes, being poked with needles in the top of my head, can't say I'll rush to do that again, especially since I still have the dumb headache that sent me there in the first place!

I hadn't gone with the intention of being poked, I wanted some physiotherapy. To me, that's a few stretches and some exercises. That I can do. Alternative Chinese medicine, not so much.

You see once again, I had a plan. I have got to stop doing that. I was going to Physio, Costco and then W*l-mart. Except Physio took nearly two hours, so Costco was closed by the time I was done.

I should have known, it's not been a good week for the warehouse and I. We tried to go last night and as we approached we noticed there were no lights. At all. This was a pretty good indicator there was no power. So, we gave up on the idea of greasy hotdogs and filling my prescription and headed home.

So since Costco and I are not destined to hook up anytime soon, I went to W*l-mart looking for the folding Diego Potty-seat.

As an aside can I mention that I love this invention? It makes running around with a newly trained child almost painless (As painless as running errands with two kids three and under can be).

However, it is important to note the following: DO NOT leave the seat out in van when it is -25 at night. This will cause the seat to crack and when you put a nearly 40 pound three year old on it the seat will break causing your child to fall into the pot. This should be avoided. At all costs. Trust me.

So here I am in Wal-M*rt at 8:45 staring at an empty shelf where the folding potty-seats should be. The tears started to well up. Yep, I'm really good with stress. I'm thinking Air Traffic Controller is an excellent career option.

Guess what the boys and I are doing tomorrow?

Soup in a hurry

So, it's been a day. You're hormonal, the kids are hungry and hubby, well he's tired of take-out. What do you do?

Tortellini Soup.

Yum. Tastes homemade and it is, sorta, but terribly easy. That is the key.

EASY.

You need:

A carton (1L or 16oz) of chicken broth. (veggie or beef will do too.)
A (350g or 12 oz) package of cheese or cheese and meat tortellini. I buy the refrigerator ones on sale and throw them in my freezer.
A clove or two of garlic ( I use the stuff in a jar, I'm not a purist, just lazy.)
A teaspoon or so of basil
A tomato cut into chunks
2 cups of fresh spinach cut up roughly
a stalk or two of celery, chopped

Bring the broth to boil, throw in the tortellini, garlic and basil. Cook according to package directions. In the last 5 minutes add the veggies. Voila. Soup.

If you don't have fresh spinach, use frozen, just thaw, drain and throw in right before serving. Don't have the other veggies? Skip em. Slice up an apple and serve it with the soup. I've also been known to stir in some vegetable cocktail drink instead of all the broth if I can't find a tomato. This makes me feel like we've had vegetables, just a bit liquid-y.

To round out the meal, take the old hot dog or hamburger buns you have taking up space in your freezer, ( the more dried out the better) thaw 'em, spread 'em with butter, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese ( I use Kraft from the can) and stick them under the broiler till golden.

Should your husband complain notice that there is no meat grab a couple of pieces of beef jerky out of the pantry and smile "that" smile. The "I love you and honour you but should you say anything except "This soup is sooo yummy" I will teach the cat to use your shoes as a litter box" smile.

This quick and easy meal is part of Rocks in my Dryer's WFMW and Boomama's Soup-tacular!

A Decree

As an oldest child and a teacher I can occasionally be a tad bit bossy. (My sister just snorted her coffee onto her keyboard.) So, in the spirit of bossy, I issue the following decree to all my fellow bloggers, especially to all those of you who live south of the 49th parallel.

Starting today and ending whenever winter ends, (April-ish) I will be posting the weekly forecast for my region on the sidebar of my blog. If the weather is warmer where you live you may NOT blog about it, or refer to your 50F (10C) weather as cold or freezing. Please also refrain from posting pictures of yourself in an outdoor pool in February. The only weather-related comments you may make are "let's send money to the Geek so she can come South where God intended people to be in the winter." If you feel the need to ignore this decree, the cranky anonymous comments on your blog will be from me!

If, on the other hand it is going to be colder than the nastiness I have here you may whine, belly-ache, grumble, complain, moan, whimper and gripe to your heart's content! So, have at it Char and Dawn.

Thank-you for your co-operation in this manner!

The Geek

57 Shots Later

Dear Spud and Sprout,

The following are several of the reasons why you have no pictures to commemorate your growing up years.

(Yes that is spit on your pants, I can't explain it either!)

So, I hope this helps explain why you two have far fewer photo albums than your sweet girl cousins. It may also explain why mommy talks to herself.

Love ya,

Mom