To-Do List, Starting Sunday, May 31, 2009

In the less-than-two-weeks countdown to Disney World, ya'll can keep my honest! Here's the stuff I should get done this week:

1. Meet with guy about Fathers' Day present tomorrow AM.
2. Meet with friends for lunch Wednesday - YAY!!
3. Chocolate party on Friday night.
4. Talk to chocolate party hostess before then (ya think?)
5. Work at least 20 hours
6. Finish up eBay sale!!! (Anyone need a car?)
7. Take care of financial stuff for trip and other unexpected expense...
8. Water front grass that looks exceptionally dead.
9. Update chocolate web site to show June special.
10. Get a few groceries and baby supplies.
11. Plan SIL's birthday dinner with mom.

Somehow in writing this week doesn't sound like much. Why am I exhausted just thinking about it?

Passionate...

If you've ever talked to me in person (and maybe even if you haven't) you may know I'm passionate about birthing and women's options for birthing.
So when I saw "Your Best Birth" being given away on Mama's Money Savers, I knew I really, really wanted to win. I'll find out in a few days!

In the meantime, because I'm passionate about it all, I'm telling you so you'll have the opportunity to win too! If it's something you're interested in or not, it's an enlightening book and (I've heard) a quick read. Head on over there, and if you win, can I borrow it when you're done? Thanks!

Just another manic...Tuesday

Plenty going on here as usual. One of my phone calls on today's list reached me before I called her - that works, as far as crossing things off the list goes! Another call? Nothing but bad news. Huh. I'll have to drop back and figure out how to approach that next.

So first thing this morning? It was really nice to be home and back in our old routine. It's just in the last half hour or so that I'm taking hits left and right and suddenly freezing with worry and anxiety. I'm an optimist, and I would never say, "Isn't that the way it goes?" because it's not. Things are always okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end...

Tomorrow is our last day of music class, so we'll sign up for the five-week summer session - and a friend is joining us! Yay! Maggie is at such a fun age, and it's fun to watch her interact with other kidlets at the same stage.

Wow.

I just got home a few hours ago from a phenomenal UU Women's Retreat. I can honestly say I loved everything I can think of about it!

My roommates were so super awesome. I had gone with just one friend, but left with several more. They welcomed me with open arms, and it felt wonderful. We laid in our bunks talking and giggling like teenagers til 2:00 AM. I was myself, so much more than a wife and mother, but still those as well. The connections were wonderful.

Some of the highlights for me were the drumming and singing. We got lots of that in during large group activities and evening entertainment, but one of my workshops was also Singing in a Sacred Circle with Shelley Graff. I hope I have the opportunity to participate with something like this again - it was powerful and positive and I've come away feeling great!

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. My chocolate party for the end of the month canceled.
2. I'm very nervous about leaving Maggie for the weekend! Not because I don't know she'll be in very good hands, but because I've just never been away from her for this long.
3. I really, really, really hope Marty stays pregnant!!!
4. My head is swirling around with so many things, it's hard to catch just one to write down...
5. I can't wait to see what my paycheck on my new job will be...
6. I'm very happy I have leftover spinach and artichoke dip from lunch on Thursday to have for lunch today!
7. And I'm thrilled that Chili's gives a GIANT bag of chips to go with it :)
8. Maggie fell down and scraped both knees Thursday at lunch, but not a tear was shed! Uncle Matt is a very good distractor!
9. Friday morning I need to call: Tamara, Therese, the Subaru dealership, Bridgett and send a fax to Panna.
   
10. And I STILL have the Redbox movie in my purse! The return didn't work, so the customer service people marked it as returned so I wouldn't be charged, and I haven't left the house again....huh.
    

Thursday Thirteen - Twenty-fifth edition

Where have I been, eh?

Well, completely out of left field, here are Thirteen Things that Maggie (usually) likes to eat.

1. Cheerios
2. Oreos
3. Tacos (huh, I'll take foods that end in 'O' for $500, Alex)
4. Fruit snacks
5. Cheese
6. Noodles
7. Toast with peanut butter
8. Oatmeal
9. Sausage
10. Nilla wafers
11. Ritz crackers
12. Chips
13. Banana

Yeah...this healthy list makes me look like a strong candidate for Mother of the Year! Hahahahahaha.....






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Yumminess!

My dinner tonight is ending up being served in special courses - with desserts in between (oops!). I started with a boiled artichoke and butter (my FAVORITE!). Now I'm munching on dark chocolate and mint baking bits while my fish finishes cooking. I also made rice to go with the fish. The fish is a 'dilly salmon' recipe that I made last week at one of those dinner prep places. Unfortunately the directions are for grilling. Apparently a toaster oven at 350 degrees isn't nearly as hot as a grill, or they like their fish much less done than I do. Oh well. I'll eat eventually. Since it seems like I'm always eating, maybe I should be checking out liporexall reviews between courses instead of eating chocolate.....

Nah :D

Wordless Wednesday

Or...

If you can't clone me, can you at least get me more memory? If you can buy more computer memory, wouldn't it be nice to buy more room for human memories?

Okay, totally off topic, but that reminds me of an episode of Married with Children, when ditzy Kelly was on a game show. Once the host told her how to ring in to give her answer, you saw that little bit of knowledge push trivia (that she would need later in the game) right out of her little brain. Too bad, so sad!

Let the Whirlwind part of the Week Begin

Put on your seatbelts, here we go!

This afternoon I need to take Maggie to Mimi and Papa's (after I finish putting stuff together for my chocolate show tonight). Oh, and I need to drop off my Redbox movie at some point in the running around.

After dropping her off, I need to drive almost an hour to my chocolate show where 25 guests are expected - woo-hoo!! After the show I'm just heading back to Mimi and Papa's to sleep in the spare room with Maggie.

Tomorrow morning we still need to get up and on track, as Kindermusik class is at 11:15 by our house. I'll probably also need to run to the bank to deposit order money from the chocolate show.

Thursday we're going to lunch with a friend - yay! Friday? Back to Mimi and Papa's for Maggie - and then I need to be on the road by 2:00 PM to go pick up a friend and head out for the retreat we're on this weekend.

Around all of this? I still need to work another 17 + hours on one job, and 2.75 on the other.

Anyone know of a way to clone me, quickly?

What about YOU?

So what's the best and worst Mother's Day you heard of? Did you get heart pendant jewelry, or some other sort of bling? Or are your children little and their daddy forgot to do anything? There's a reason they put Mother's Day before Father's Day, right? Boy, I hope not because I definitely don't have any mad skillz like my hubby does in making my super cool videos. I love watching them, and I love watching Maggie's reaction to the 'baby.' She stood in front of the TV and watched both videos and the slide show, periodically pointing out something in the video to us - Baby! dog! hat!
Being her mom is a great gift by itself :)

Happy Mother's Day to me :)

Here's one of the videos hubby (well, he says Maggie) made for me:

There's also another one that isn't quite as emotional, but definitely amusing. I'm not sure how to embed it here, but it's up on my Facebook too.

Just stories...

We were talking about funny magazine stories today at Mother's Day dinner. Not stories in magazines, but stories about magazines. It all started because the quesadillas SIL made for dinner were out of a magazine she subscribes to. As soon as she mentioned the magazine, her sister said, "Hey, that magazine comes to my house now. Anyone know anything about that?" We all sort of chuckled, because of course it was a gift from the SIL that's been getting it for a while..

With that out in the open, my husband piped in, "Does anyone know why my wife is getting Tennis magazine?" Not even in the right name. Not that I need identity theft protection, mind you, but it's coming in my maiden name, which I haven't used for years. I had already solved that mystery and forgotten to tell him. I apparently was 'chosen' by some marketing company or something. I finally called them and got removed from the list. They were killing trees over a magazine I never even opened the cover of.

Happy Mother's Day!!

I had to laugh earlier at lots of my mom-friend's descriptions of what they'd like to get for Mother's Day vs what they'll probably get.
The wish list really wasn't very complicated. Several loved the idea of sleeping in while someone else got up with early-rising kids. A couple wanted to spend some time doing nothing, or just reading a book....basically chilling. Unfortunately, most expect it to still be business as usual. I suppose I shouldn't even say 'unfortunately,' because we all know what we're in for, and generally love our lives over all - well, at least I do.
But a day off? That's certainly a dream more than a couple times a month ;)

Hope you get at least close to what you want for Mother's Day. And if that doesn't work, hope you can appreciate what you have every day anyway :)

Something 'Special' to Wear

How bad is it that I'm hoping Maggie only picks up cheap hobbies? I see people on moms' boards every day looking for soccer clothes or pads, equestrian apparel, or something else that is 'required' for an activity their little one likes to participate in. What happened to the old days of 'shirts vs skins'? Oh, wait. I have a little girl. Scratch that...

Let's Go To the Zoo!!

What a super fun week we're having!! One of the big highlights was going to the Columbus Zoo to meet up with friends.

What a blast! I pretty much just invited us along when I figured out it was only three hours away. We had a great time! I love taking the day away from work to do mommy stuff :)


Here's Maggie and Jake on the tiger (don't worry - just a fake one ;) ) after we saw the REAL tiger in his (or her?) habitat thingy (I hate to call it a cage, and it wasn't very cage-like...).


Sonja, Maggie and Jake on the manatee sculpture. Maggie (and any other child within reach) kept stealing poor Jake's alligator pincher-thingy. Sonja said he'd been wanting one for a long time...now I think everyone does! Hahaha


Maggie chillin in the massage chair outside the gift shop. She had to be getting pretty exhausted, but amazingly enough, none of the kids had a crazy melt-down all day!



In the car on the way home. I think she just wanted to get back on the road and get to sleep :)

Mother's Day

Mother's Day can be one of those sort of delicate holidays for everyone, like anniversaries are for husbands. If you screw up and get nothing for mom, or worse yet, something very, very wrong, you could be in the doghouse for a long time. Like the old saying goes, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"

Do you need help and it's too late to try and be subtle about finding out what mom might want? Here's a handy list of things you probably shouldn't get mom for Mother's Day unless she specifically requested them.

1. Most household appliances (no vacuums, mixers, blenders, or food dehydrators)
2. Any sort of weight loss pills
3. A puppy and/or kitten
4. Grass seed or anything else that required 'installation' (again, unless she specifically asks for it...)
5. Anything else that implies more work instead of less for mom.

Relatively clear? Think from an appreciative stand-point and get mom something she wants, not something she needs.

Quiz Time!

You Are Combat Boots

You are a complete and total rebel. You refuse to do what you're told, and you're quite stubborn. You really don't care what other people think of you. You are tough and often ruthless. You are independent, iconoclastic, and countercultural. You resent authority figures. You are very headstrong. No one is going to pressure you into being someone you're not!

What Kind of Boots Are You?

Announcement from the Management

While I have been to the state of California, I have unfortunately never been to San Diego.

Just throwin that out there.

The Bag Lady

My bag lady tendencies are fading quite a bit, to my mother's relief. Although I still have a custom tote bag from nearly everywhere I've worked in a tub in my closet, I usually just carry my roomy purse and possibly the diaper bag.

I used to put whatever I wanted to have with me for the day in whatever tote bag I grabbed. There were usually several stops on my schedule - one of my jobs (there were frequently a couple to choose from), school, probably meeting up with someone for a meal or something social... By the time I'd get back to the house, it was late and I was tired, so the bag would stay in the car. Repeat this for a few days and I could possibly live in my car without much inconvenience!

Now things make it into my office (the new dump-pit in my life...), and my purse (although it is getting quite full with miscellaneous junk) and the diaper bag stay by the door and ready to go :)

To-Do List, Starting Sunday, May 3, 2009

• Finish top secret project today at mom's.
• Work 20 hours on existing job.
• Finish training for new job.
• Go to Columbus on Tuesday.
• Do Mom's Night out on Thursday (working, that is...).
• Kindermusik class on Wednesday.
• Make dinners with SIL on Friday.
• Watch Daisy of Love.
• Watch 24.
• Call tomorrow and cancel this week's cleaning for the house.
• Clean bathrooms.
  

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but this should at least give me a good jumping off point.

Let's Do Everything Once First

A year or so ago it became a big joke in my family that I really thought I'd been to all 48 continental states...but I hadn't. My mom called me out in front of hubby, and I've never lived it down since.

Last summer I finally corrected one of those when we went to a downtown San Diego hotel for the weekend to attend a friends' commitment ceremony. It was a city I really clicked with. I enjoy a live-and-let-live, fairly liberal atmosphere.

Hubby still hasn't spent any time in a lot of eastern seaboard states. I really enjoy the old history (as old as U.S. history gets, anyway). Since we've both already been to California now, and he still hasn't soaked in some colonial history, I think we should head east before hitting up CA again.

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. I miss Carolyn's copycat-worthy 10 Random Things for a Friday. Just sayin...
2. Maggie and I are going to free story time at Biggby Coffee in an hour or so.
3. I won't shower before we go (this is early for us, folks!)
4. I might shower when we get back.
5. My favorite line in Dragon Tales was on earlier this week. Ord says, "Look! A snail trail! Let's follow it." Makes me giggle like a 14-year-old boy.
6. It's May! I need to update my chocolatier website with the May special!
7. I'm looking forward to the second episode of Daisy of Love this weekend. Cuz I'm sort of twisted that way, I suppose.
8. I'm feeling about hummus lately like Carolyn feels about sushi and sake. Maggie and I will pick some up while we're out this morning.
9. I'm really looking forward to talking to my brother, sister-in-law and baby niece this weekend.
10. It's a good thing there are only 10 Random Things, or I might not have time to get dressed before story time either. Boy, that would be awkward...
    

Her Daddy's Daughter

Who needs a burglar alarm - I've got a toddler! Her latest fascination has been cars. When there's a lull in whatever we're doing, she points out cars to me. What will soon become her frustration, I'm sure, is that we live on a fairly busy road. So the poor girl can stand there for quite a while saying, "Car! Car! Vroom! Vroom! Car!" without really telling me anything I don't know, if you catch my drift.

Apparently hubby's had the company car for long enough to make an impression though. She can no recognize the sound of his regular car, or the bright red appearance of the company Challenger. Her voice goes up another octave and she starts yelling, "Daddy! Car! Vroom!" She definitely keeps me apprised of what's going on outside our big picture window.