Thursday, July 29, 2010

Motherf***ing Garage Sale

My whole week has been consumed with getting ready for our garage sale extravaganza. Tuesday night we sent the kids to my parents house while Scott and I cleaned out the garage and basement and moved everything that is up for sale into the garage. Last night, we got down there and dusted and vaccumed everything. Today Scott is power washing the driveway and hosing down some outdoor items for the sale. We need to price things and get stickers. We also need to get to the bank to get some small bills for change. Wow, this is a lot of work. I hope everything goes. It would be such a cleansing experience to unload all our junk.

So, here is the heading from our Craigslist ad. My husband is funny...

GARAGE SALE FRI 7/30 & SAT 7/31 8AM-3PM (FREE BEER)

No joke here. We are having beer, music, maybe even some body shots (I kid, I kid)

Alright, I really have no fun stories or recipes right now, just this one pic of the JoJo who has recently learned the fine art of making funny faces:

Photobucket

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

In the News Today

A couple of big things going on today. The house has passed a bill requiring Corporations to disclose when they are responsible for the purchase of ads used in political campaigns. I have mentioned before the Citizens United case and it's detrimental decision to declare corporations as persons having first amendment rights. This new bill, while not a perfect solution, is a step in the right direction. Republicans of course are trying to delay the senate vote and find a way to block the legislation.

They are not stupid; they realize that they have to most to gain from corporate sponsorship. They also understand that the people of this country will not be amused when at the end of all of the Republican Ads there is a voice over telling them that "This Ad was brought to you by BP in order to ensure a lift on the drilling moretoreum" or "This Ad brought to you by Goldman Sachs and paid for with TARP money" I on the other hand think that this is fabulous. I hope that it happens so that we can expose all politicians, not just Republicans, for the corporate shills that they are.

In other fun news, BP CEO Tony Hayward was reassigned to Russia. Yes, this really happened. I kind of thought it was a joke, because it reads a little like an Onion headline. But, yep, they are shipping him off to the tundra where hopefully he can "get his life back". I am sure BP figures that he will not be able to do too much more PR damage from a quaint little yurta in Siberia.

Anyway, we are having a crazy week as always. Scott and I decided on Sunday that this coming weekend would be perfect for us to have a garage sale. Tonight the kids will head to Grandma and Grandpa's so that we can wade through the mess that is our basement and decide finally what to do with all our stuff. I am so excited.

I am traumatized over the cluttered mess that our basement has become over the years, and yet there always seemed to be something more important to tackle. Or something more fun to do. So this will be great! Wish us luck.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

First off it should be noted that Leah has decided that sleeping through the night is no longer her thing. And is waking up in the middle of the night for a bottle. Three straight nights now. This is causing havoc for Scott and I because we got so used to sound sleeping and so out of our rotation routine that now when she wakes up neither of us wants to go. We do this thing where I'll nudge him and say "your turn" and he'll be all, "no, I did it last time" and I'll be like, "you can't count the 6 am feeding" and he'll be all "why not" and eventually I'll call him an asshole and go make a bottle.

So, that said, I am tired again, but today I have a very full day planned. Starting with picking up my car, which has been in and out of the shop for about a a week now. So, while I am getting ready Scott goes and gets my car. Awesome! I had been driving a free rental. It was a Toyota Yarvis. If I had to describe this car in three words they would be small, tiny and miniscule. I honestly don't even know how Scott drove it. I was practically bumping my head on the ceiling and I ring in it a whopping 5'4". I am so happy to be back in my car. So happy.

I get to work and I have been beyond busy here. Basically,a whole lotta stuff got messed up and they want me to fix it. Which works out well for me because then I get to play the hero. Anyway I put in my eight hours, but by hour six, I am giddy with excitement to go home.

See, tonight, I have arranged for my Mom and Dad to watch Ty and Leah, while Scott takes Joey to the pool, park, dinner and grocery store. I have 3 hrs slated to be home, alone, cleaning. I know what you are thinking – who loves to clean? Why would this be something to be giddy about? Well, for me, getting any time alone is a huge blessing, and what I do with that time really is irrelevant, but for some reason the idea of cleaning my house sound so good. I am psyched.

So, I get home, pack the kids, say my goodbyes, and start scrubbing. First order of business, the mounds of stuff at the top of the stairs that needs to go down to storage. I take 1,2,3,4 trips up and down the stairs. I decide to just leave that stuff at the bottom and get to organizing the laundry room later.

Next, clean the baseboards. the doors, light switch, and outlet covers with soapy water. I fill the bucket and get started. This takes about 40 minutes alone, but it is so nice to have them clean. As I look at my finished product, I puff my chest out with pride over a job well done.

Next, pick up all things from the floors and vacuum. This takes me a while too. But I get the all toys and random items put away and organized. The kids rooms are put together and straightened. Out comes the big vacuum then the small hand held to get under the couches and the beds. Again, I am proud, but becoming too weary to puff out chest and bang ape style.

Next Murphy's Oil all the floors. We have all wood floors and I prefer to scrub on my hands and knees, I just think it's the only way they really get clean so, I fill the bucket and get started. I'm through only a quarter of the total area and am starting to fade. My enthusiasm from earlier is waning as I look around and see that even upon completion of the floors, I am no where near done. I still have the stairs to vacuum and all the stuff at the bottom of the basement stairs that needs to go to storage, and the bathrooms, I haven't change the sheets or washed the windows. I am beginning to feel defeated and depressed. I only have 45 minutes left and there is no way I will finish.

With tears burning in my eyes, I slave away at the floors, moving the furniture as I go. I am thinking, how am I expected to keep this house clean, I just can't do it, can't keep up. My whole life is a charade. How do you do it, you ask, well apparently I don't, I can't. I am just not able.

Then it dawns on me. Having a perfect, spotless house is not the only measure of success when it comes to being respectable parent or adult. It can't be. Because I have three amazing kids, a great job, a happy marriage, wonderful family a decently maintained yard. I have friends that care about me, money in the bank. I must be doing something right, right? The fact that my windows are not streak free is not what defines me as a person. And I won't let it be.

I finished the floors, folded some laundry, put it away. As I finished straightening the kitchen, Scott got home with the kids. I can tell he is not impressed. Honestly, who notices clean baseboards and light switches? I explain to Scott how long it took waiting for his praise and validation, but in the end all I get is "well, it smells better in here" I guess I'll take it.

A Unique Fashion Sense

This morning, Scott asked me if he could wear a striped shirt with plaid shorts. Which may explain why, when given the option to choose his own outfit, my son chooses this:

Photobucket

Yes, those are snow boots, yes it was about 95 degrees.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Little Lady Leah – An Update

Last week Leah had her four month check up. I wasn't able to be there, so unfortunately I don't have all the details. The pediatrician recommended that we call Early Intervention. She said that Leah had low muscle tone in her legs. I have noticed that she does not bear any weigh on her legs when you hold her up in a standing position. This physical milestone that babies usually reach by 4 months. It is also a very common symptom of ACC. I also believe that she should have much better neck control by now, but all this will soon be evaluated.

Yesterday, I called our county's Early Intervention Services. I left a message and now I wait. The message said that I would get a return call with in two business days.

I knew that there would be issues with Leah, I knew that we would be seeing specialists and going to doctors, but some days it is just so overwhelming. Yesterday, the geneticist called me wanting to schedule blood draws for the genetic screening tests. I am about 2 months late on scheduling to see a neurosurgeon. Now the early intervention specialists will be wanting to schedule something and honestly, I am feeling overwhelmed. Plus, Leah needs a physical before her surgery that is scheduled for September, so that needs to get done too.

I guess after writing it down it really is all that much to do, I just need to do it and then I can stop feel so stressed out. Of course, I think that being stressed out about making appointments is just a symptom of being stressed out about Leah's condition and the unknowns. Sometimes I just like to pretend that everything is fine and that I don’t really need to do these things.

Anyway, I will leave you with this, my adorable baby girl:

Photobucket

Monday, July 19, 2010

A Salad Even Your Husband Will Love

This is my all time favorite salad. It is baby spinach, strawberries, red onion, almonds, blue cheese crumbles, rasberry vinegrette topped with a petite filet.

Photobucket

You'll love it because it is healthy and light, he'll love it because there is a nice peice of steak on top of it. Win, win.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Empty the Toybox

Well this is a fun new game.

Empty the toybox, it is very important that you throw the toys to the ground with mighty force, otherwise it is not as fun.

Photobucket

Anymore toys in there?

Photobucket

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Cracked Kneecaps and Busted Radiators

So, on Wednesday night, Scott decided that he wanted to go swim a few laps at the pool. Now that we have our pool passes and all. Scott is the type of person that is going to make damn sure that we use that pool enough to justify the $120 membership fee. He has divided the total by the cost per person and started a list on our white board to record the days that we go, so that we can eventually say to each other – see it was worth it – and here is the proof.

Back up several hours. Earlier in the day, we learned that Scott's mom cracked her kneecap on his sister's neighbor's stone patio stairs. This is as horrible as it sounds. Poor Gigi, she is going to be laid up for quite some time, and Scott will have to help out, which is fine. We'll make it work. Day one of making it work – Scott's sister will take Gigi to the doctor, we will watch her 3 kids. So, rather than just our 3 kids to come home too, I come home to six kids. Everyone is in the backyard, they are playing with water balloons and everyone is having a blast. I go to pick up some pizzas, we eat dinner. Then, Luke arrives to pick up the kids. We spend the next hour or so picking up the mess and restoring order. I was so sad when I realized that "order" in our house now looks like this:



Can you find the random shoe in the picture?

Okay – so now, Scott wants to go to the pool, so off he goes. I feed Leah, get her to bed, continue the pick up process. He returns shortly after leaving and says he didn't want to go in because all the teenaged lifeguards were already cleaning up and he didn't want to make them work or piss them off. And since I remember being a teenager I kind of understand the fear. Teenagers are scary.

We go to bed and the next day I get up to go to work. Normal morning, get the kids ready, get dressed, I've taken to letting my hair dry naturally to save a few minutes. I'm on my way.

About 10 minutes into my drive I notice the car is not driving so well. I look down, the check engine light is on, along with an exclamation point in a triangle and the letters VSA in the lower left corner – which I can only imagine to mean VERY SERIOUS, ALERT!! The car starts shaking, sputtering, it is not good. I pull in to the next stop, which is a car wash. I'm on the phone with Scott. What should I do? I'm a damsel in distress, you must meet me here immediately! His response – a very suspicious – I may have had something to do with this.

Me: Please explain

Scott: Well last night someone parked their car behind mine, and I might have backed into it. But there wasn't really any damage so I just popped the dented part of the bumper back out.

Me: Grrrrrrrrr

Scott tells me to move the car across the street, because the car wash is not a good place for it. I get it started, barely, and get it across the street and then right in the middle of the lot, my power steering goes out, all the lights on the dash come on and the car dies, dead. Won't start, won't even turn over.

Okay – so we call the insurance company, file the claim, they send a tow truck, I call my grandma to ask to borrow her car. We get back home around 10:30. I have the car, and technically, I could go to work, but that was very stressful and Scott is very convincing when he says – let's just take the day off. Want to go get a pizza and then go to the pool? I can be convinced to do almost anything when there is pizza involved, so I caved. We went to Kaisers for an appetizer, then, headed to the pool (mark the spreadsheet). He and I swam, tanned, went down the water slides, and had a blast. Then after two hours we went back to Kaisers for pizza and beer. Then home around 3:45. We were burnt to a crisp. What started out as a tragic day, ended up being really fun. Today we find out about my car. I am thinking the news will probably be really bad. But, we'll see.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July! We had such a fun weekend

Friday Scott and I played nine holes of golf, went to a fish fry then wee went out to a few of our favorite local taverns. My parents watched the kids overnight, so we even got to sleep in on Saturday until 8 o'clock! Woohoo! It was awesome. Saturday morning we picked the kids up at about 9 and hung out at my parents house for a bit. On the way home we decided that today we would go to the pool. We got home, put Ty down for a nap and I proceeded to start packing.

Towels (3) - check
Sand Toys – check
Sunscreen – check
Swim Diapers – check
Extra Swim diapers – check
Regular diapers – check
Swimsuits – check
PB and J Sandwiches – check
Chips – check
Sippy Cups – check
Bottle for Leah – check
Peapod tent for Leah - check

All of this fit nicely into two giant beach bags and one diaper bag. We were ready to go. Then I got to thinking, how will this work? How will 2 adults manage with 3 kids none of which can swim. And I quickly came to the realization that it doesn't work and minutes later I was on the phone asking grandma to please join us. And she did! It was so much fun. We each took turns watching Leah while the other two swam with the boys. Leah actually napped almost the entire time. It was perfect. So perfect in fact that the next day we went back again and we bought pool passes for the rest of the summer!

My only complaint about the pool was the absurd number of moms there who somehow could still manage to rock bikinis. It made me feel very bad about myself. But, on the flipside it has given me fresh motivation to get back in shape. Between seeing skinny moms at the pool and our vacation just 2 months away, I need to really get my butt in gear.

Okay – so let's talk fireworks. For the record, this is the single worst holiday for parents of small children. The constant firework, the dogs barking, the late night events – oh my god. Anyway, I was asleep by 8:30 on the fourth, not asleep but laying in bed listening to my dogs bark in response to every loud kaboom. Scott however, was determined to bring Joey out to see the fireworks. So, he hauled Joey to the school where they watched the fireworks from on top of his car. Scott said that Joey lost interest after about 20 seconds and spent the rest of the time playing with his phone. Oh well – maybe next year.

Not sure if the fireworks had anything to do with it, but JoJo was up for the rest of the night crying and whining. I brought him into our bed, where he agreed to go to sleep, but only if I left. So, I was exiled to the couch by my two year old. Nice.

And then Monday – nothing too crazy, Scott went golfing, I ran errands. I bought Leah a bunch of new clothes on sale at Gap Kids. That was fun.

I went a little crazy with the animal prints!


Leah's First Bikini



In the evening we decided to put up a tent and play camp in the back yard. It was a lot of fun and kept the boys entertained for a good hour.



A Quick Fish Recipe

I am always intimidated when it comes to making fish, but this one is easy and turned out well, so, I thought I'd share

Dover Sole

Ingredients

Sole (about a half pound per person)
Dredge in Flour w/salt and pepper – I added paprika too
Fry in Butter – a couple minutes per side
Squeeze lemon over the fish
Sprinkle with dill weed



Yum!

Thursday 7/1

Thursday night, Scott took Joey to see our niece's baseball game. I stayed home with Ty and Leah. We had so much fun. It is amazing how much easier things are with just two little monsters to chase. Anyway, since everyday can't be gourmet, I made English Muffin Pizzas. Tyler LOVED them. He gobbled them up. I just used pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese. Some salt pepper and oregano. It was a major hit! And I'll admit, I love them too.



After dinner – Ty mowed the grass. And played with all the toys that Joey usually pushes him away from. We had a great night.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Getting the Kids to the Car in 9 Easy Steps

My mom is babysitting tomorrow so that Scott and I can go golfing, today she asked me how to get three kids into carseats, and this was my response to her:

1. Strap Leah in to her carseat carrier
2. Put Ty in a crib with a toy or two
3. Take Joey and Leah to the car - start car, put windows down or run the air
4. Put Leah down in the driveway
5. Strap Joey into carseat
6. Snap Leah into carseat
7. Go back in for Ty
8. Strap Ty in to carseat
9. Drive away

Seriously, I never really thought about it, but oh my god, this is ridiculous.