Halloween

Halloween is coming!  We have Rosetta and Super Why! at our house.  As a librarian I am thrilled my kid wanted to be the leader of the Super Readers and wear a giant book on his chest.  I am such a nerd!

What's in your cabinet

If your cabinets and freezer look like mine, they are full of a bunch of stuff you have bought and never eaten.  Eventually it will all get so old you will have to throw it out.  Sad, but true. 

At school we are preparing for the annual canned food drive.  As I am becoming more introspective about wastefulness and need in our community(and my need to defrost the upright freezer is becoming quite urgent...if you know what I mean) I have decided that my family is going to eat what we have before we buy again. I have been putting the strangest meals together as I try to make what is left in the pantry into a meal.  I take pleasure in being able to remove one more thing from the freezer or from the pantry.  My husband currently finds it amusing.  His patience with my quirks is endless.

This act has almost been like a personal test for me.  Growing up as I did with erratic food supply issues, I have now become almost a food hoarder.  When the pantry gets sort of low--we only have one can of green beans left (but lots of other stuff) I feel the need to go to the store and stock up on everything.  Now I am challenging myself to see how low I can let the pantry get before I shop again.  Hopefully this exercise will help me break out of the cycle of waste that I was in....and maybe my freezer will be defrosted in the process.

Swish, swish

I just washed my husband's new smart phone in the washing machine and then dried it.  It was in his jeans pocket and I never knew until I started folding the clothes and felt the weight of the phone in the jeans.  It wasn't my fault, the jeans were in the dirty clothes hamper and it is not a big deal because we have insurance on it.   So why do I feel like a complete loser for having done this?

Christmas in October???

Well, I did it. I took the kids Christmas 'looking' trying to get an idea of what the kids want for Christmas.  I wouldn't have done this yet, but I am already getting questions and it looks like my weekends between now and Thanksgiving are booked.

My conclusion?--my kids already have too much junk that they never play with.  I pretty much know what will happen with every toy on the Christmas list.  Curious??

• Robot hand--Gabriel will pinch Miranda, Mom, or Dad with this and will lose it to the garage.
• Handy Manny Talkin' Toolbox--Mom will discreetly take out the batteries one night and tell Gabriel they ran down because it was driving her crazy. (sure, it's a lie.  but it is cheaper than Prozac)
• Marble Race--lots of small parts to spread around the house until Mom organizes them.  Then they are never played with again.
• My Little Pony--traded with the neighbor girl for other assorted junk
• Dress up dresses--Gabriel will continue to freak out grandparents with his love of wearing pink dresses.  He's excited at the prospect of a new wardrobe.
• Roller skates--ER visit--need I say more

And the list goes on....

New favorite things

I have learned a few things over the past 2 weeks...

• when I am feeling frumpy fabulous shoes and fancy earrings can solve the problem
• fabulous shoes too many days in a row can lead to painful feet
• fancy earrings and 3 year olds do not mix well
• life is much easier if you handle most things with a smile and a laugh

Oh yeah, the thing that has been the best for me--mini-muffins rock my world!  Because of these little things I have gotten the family out of the house EARLY all week AND the kids had breakfast.  Yee-haw!

General Ramblings....

Jason and I went to dinner with some friends last night.  They are the kind of friends that you don't spend enough time with and you're not sure why.  We always have such a good time when we are out with them.  I am sure that proximity and family/work obligations has a lot to do with it.  They live a considerable distance from us.  Their work life and ours can get a bit crazy at times and, like us, they have 2 small children.

It was the conversation revolving around children that got me thinking.  Their kids are about 2 years apart like our children are, but their kids are several years younger.  They are 'in the trenches'.  It made me realize how far we have come with our own children.  I remember the 'in the trenches' feeling.  Sure, my kids are a pain in the neck frequently, they are kids...it's their job, but I am not dealing with the potty training trauma, the what spit-up am I wearing today game, the lack of sleep daze that comes with young children. 

What impressed me most was the relief that both she and I felt from our conversation.  We both have had such similar parenting experiences even though she stays at home with the kids while I worked and used daycare.  It feels wonderful to realize that you are not the only person to have feelings of stress & depression over children, strain on relationships because of the stress and depression, and general frustration.  I would love to start a movement called "Truth in Parenting".  Let's be honest about our feelings toward our children and the parenting side of things.  I love my kids more than life itself and would do ANYTHING for them, but sometime they grate my nerves and get on my bad side.  It's OK.  It doesn't make me a bad parent to say that.