Random Random

I have all manner of posts in draft mode right now. The problem is they all sound a bit like "bras, blah, blah, blah," or "Sprout, yada yada yada" or "politeness, boring boring boring." Throw in a couple of misplaced commas and you have some serious brain melt. I have lots of ideas but they all sound unbelievably lame once I start typing.

So, I was tagged for 6 random things about me.

Random I can still do.


Thank-you Ellen!!!


1. I am quite addicted to good black licorice. I will fight you for a bag of Capricorn Liquorice. This does not fit well with my new lifestyle thing-y. Thin had better be worth it.


2. When I was in my late teens I was trying on some stuff at Bootlegger and noticed that there were security cameras in the dressing room. I did what any self-respecting teen would do. I mooned the camera. Not something I mentioned a lot during my stint as a pastor's wife.


3. It does not seem to matter what kind of earrings I wear, whenever I wear earrings my ears get hot, red and infected. Within hours. It's really lovely. Even the "hypo-allergenic, cannot possibly cause infection in even the most sensitive of ears" are no match for my dumbos.


4. After wearing behind the ear hearing aids for 23 years I really do have dumbo ears. I keep my hair long at all times.


5. I used to be terribly afraid of cops. If they were driving behind me I would start to sweat and stammer. I now have lots of cop friends so I can actually talk to them now but I still tense up at a unknown one in uniform. Stop laughing. I told you I was quirky.


6. I am totally addicted to "So You Think You Can Dance." This new commercial from Ikea made my week. Seriously. I've watched it waay too many times. Can't dance to save my life but sure like to watch those who can.


I don't tag, but feel free to partake if the sun has melted your brain as well.

The Incredible Shrinking Geek

I am currently on a diet changing my lifestyle to reflect more healthful eating and excercising choices.

It sucks.

They say that last 15 pounds of baby weight can be difficult to lose. "They" were not kidding. The baby is two. However, I have recently come to the conclusion that my eating habits may be more to blame than anything else. Shocking, I know.

So, now I am eating fruit and veggies when I want a snack, only having one helping at dinner, walking every day that I can and waking up in the mddle of the night dying for a Big Bacon Classic. Or at least a handful of Hawkins cheezies.

This had better be worth it.

Anyway, I have some questions. How do I cope with the incessant feeling of hunger? Does it go away? Any good excercise videos I can do for when the snow starts falling? And most importantly, is this actually going to work?

Becuase if I have to deal with toddler melt-downs on an hourly basis without the healing power of chocloate and I don't shrink a size soon I'm going to pitch a fit that is bigger than my rear end. And that is saying something.

Another Story from the OCD Files

I may have mentioned once or twice (or 652 billion times) that my sister has organizational issues.  ISSUES.  She reads organizing blogs for fun.  Not that she really needs to as order is her best friend and constant companion.

Anyway, because she is such a wonderful person I do try to restrain from airing all of her perfectly clean, folded and colour coded laundry (with socks matched according to wear on the bottom) out on the internet.

However, this latest story is much too good to let go by.  

When they moved into their new house she and her hubby (who is also slightly obsessed with perfection) needed to buy new appliances.  On the advice of our sister-in-law and myself they decided to buy a smooth-top stove.  We assured them they were much easier to clean and looked so good, they would never turn back.  

We did not factor the OCD into this advice.

For the past three weeks my sister has lived a nightmare.  She is obsessed about harming her stove.  She cleans it with the cleanser several times a day, keeps it covered with a dishcloth when not using it and has a minor coronary every time a pot slides around on it.  

I had never heard someone curse out a major appliance before.  Have now. 

It got to the point that family members were getting concerned.  It takes a lot to get us concerned.    She stores her kid's plastic glasses in the cupboard in the exact colour order that they come in from Ikea.  We are rather used to her kind of crazy.   

So this week she and her husband took action.  They called Sears and took advantage of the 60 day satisfaction guarantee.  They were anything but satisfied.  They may be the first couple in the history of modern appliances to return a smooth-top for a coil stove but my sister had a ring in her voice today that has been absent since the arrival of the "stove from hell."  (Her words, not mine.)  

Order has been returned to their corner of the world.  

And that's a good thing.

Because You cannot Get Enough of Boring

It's been a long few days.
Way Cooler had to study most of the weekend so the boys and I are fully bonded. FULLY.

Monday we drove to the funeral and back. My brother and his wife rode with us. I am certain they are now re-thinking this whole baby thing. Too late guys. Too late. This is why you were never allowed to ride with us before. I wanted to be an Auntie again.

Because my grandma was living in a different city than where she was buried we had the funeral Monday up North and the burial Tuesday back here. It's made for some busy days.

Because I am not from the South (or over 60) I will not make some comment on how it was a lovely funeral. However, it was so good to pay tribute to Grandma and a life well lived.

We DID NOT have to have the boys in the funeral with us. There are no words to describe my joy. My cousin arranged a sitter at my Aunt's house. My cousin is now my new best friend FOREVER. Today a VERY dear friend (who reads this blog - hi M!) watched the boys so I could run to the burial. I love my kids dearly but I got a bit dizzy thinking about taking them to anything that requires any sort of solemnity. They don't really do quiet or sober. EVER.

It has been a long few days so a real post is coming soon*. I promise.

*Soon being subjective, it may be September.

Random Bits of Boring

I have a bunch of stuff to write about but nothing really worthy of a post of its own. Quite honestly, nothing worthy of posting at all but since this is the place you come for high-quality drivel I hate to disappoint.

*I saw the movie Mamma Mia on the weekend with my wonderful sister-law. The outing was great. The movie, OK. Now this review may be tainted by the fact that it was a chic flick, it had a large quantity of singing and the songs were from the 70's. Three strikes and you (poor Mama Mia) are out. I quite honestly would have rather seen The Dark Knight. However, the movie did take it's revenge for stating that it was just average. For the last 48 hours I have had the song "Dancing Queen" running through my head. On a continuous loop. Please someone, make it stop.

* I finally got to meet Tez last week!!!!! She is Uber-cool and now she is married!! She and her hubby tied the knot on Sunday. Go say Congrats. I'll wait. It is quite neat to meet people in real life that I meet on-line!

*Teri is also the source of one of my favorite comments ever, "When self-doubt comes knocking, invite it in for coffee and then stab it in the eye with the sugar spoon." That is brilliant. Off to find me a sugar spoon.

*Sprout has taken to calling his brother "insert his real name"ie. So, for example Sethie, or Paulie or Toddie. It is the cutest thing ever. He runs around the house hollering "Spudie, Spudie where are you?" Hero worship takes on a new meaning in that relationship. If Spud jumped off a bridge Sprout would be right there. RIGHT THERE. The good thing is, jumping off a bridge requires climbing onto said bridge and that is a lot of work and Spud would much rather watch a movie thankyouverymuch. So, there is no immediate danger of my children biting it together. Unless of course they repeat the whole bath-mat incident again and then I may be the one responsible for their untimely demise.

*Costco has Christmas cards in stock. Which one of us is going to tell them that it is JULY? I Seriously DO NOT want to think about a Holiday that involves ice and snow right now. The only ice I am thinking about is the stuff in my fruity drink.

*Other than that, really nothing special, I am driving North again on Monday, only this time doing all 6 hours in one day, but WAY COOLER IS COMING TOO!!!!! Can I possibly be more grateful? Probably not. We are probably taking the boys to the funeral with us. Why? Because we are nuts. Pray for us. Seriously. What kind of a looney contemplates taking a 2 and 4 year old to a funeral? Only the special kind of crazy that you find right here in the house of Geek. Actually our childcare choices are limited so we plan to take lots of books, snacks, quiet toys and Advil.

*Zzzzz oops sorry. Drifted off. This post is even boring me. So go enjoy summer already, as Costco has so kindly pointed out, Winter is NEARLY HERE.

Home

Eyes closing, blanking the blurry

Hands frozen from work,

Lips silent,

Knees stiff, can support no longer

Soul yearning

Yearning for home

BUT THEN

Gazing upon the Glory,

Hands outstretched

A mouth full of praise

Falling upon knees grown young

A soul satisfied

Home. 

Grandma Eileen

1908-2008

Sometimes I Hear Voices

Children can and should be trained to sit through church.
Children are not learning anything when just sitting in church focusing on not wiggling, they should be in age appropriate classes.

Boys should not be cooped up in classroom too early.
A good pre-school lays an invaluable foundation for future learning for both sexes.

Mommies need to take time for themselves.
A mom should be well rested in order to better serve her family, not to pamper herself.

Children should be directly taught as soon as possible.
Young children learn the best through play.

Boys develop slower than girls, don't rush them.
Intervention in the first five years is essential for future success.

As a stay at home mom my day should be planned out hourly for maximum productivity.
Children are only young once, don't rush, enjoy every minute.

Marriage is a partnership, chores should be shared.
The mom is the keeper of the home and should do all the household chores to better serve her husband.

These are just a sampling of the various voices that bounce through my head on a daily basis. I've recently come to realize that this kind of conflicted thinking may not be the best for my continued mental health. Shocking eh?

My voice used to be confident, full of new-mom enthusiasm. After four years of raising two strong-willed children and moving twice in those four years my voice is just tired. This parenting gig is hard. I really have no idea if I am doing it right or not so I seek lots of outside opinions.

There are lots of opinions to be found. (See above examples.)

However, in the light staying sane for the next 16 years I've decided that it is now time to stop listening to all the other voices and go seek out that confident new mom. I liked her. She was a bit cocky but she had spunk. She didn't worry what others thought, she was too busy parenting. She prayed daily for wisdom and confessed her shortcomings.

I'm going to go see what she has to say.