Where's the maid?

Cleaning the bathrooms is the bane of my existence.

I get that my "job" as the homemaker is to keep the house clean.  No problemo.  I don't always have shiny floors or clean baseboards, but I am anal enough that eventually the mess will bother me and I keep the house presentable.  I like to vacuum, I have been on a "get rid of all of the junk" kick lately and in my house everything has its place.

However, I think bathrooms, more specifically the toilets, should be an exception to that rule.  Why?  Because the women in the house are NOT the ones who make the mess.  When we pee, it goes IN the toilet.  By process of elimination (pun intended), the gross yellow STUFF that ends up under the outside lip of the toilet, all down the back of the toilet, on the floor behind the toilet, can only be blamed on the men in the house.  Since we women tend to sit and face forward when we use the bathroom, it would be pretty tricky indeed to somehow get some substance from our bodies onto anything behind us.  Correct?

I am so thoroughly grossed out that even the end result of a clean bathroom isn't enough to give me the "job well done" pat on the back.

Give me dishes, laundry, even mopping any day of the week, but please please PLEASE don't make me clean up after you in the bathroom.  Gag.

Music's biggest night

Some things I've learned while watching the Grammy Awards tonight:

1. If there was any question about why I do not like pop music, tonight explains it.  Back in the day when I was a fan, pop music was Madonna and Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams and yes, Whitney Houston.  Rock music was the Eagles and Def Leppard and Bon Jovi.  I loved it all.  Lady GaGa, Nikki Manaj, Bruno Mars, Foo Fighters... why are talent & success measured on a weirdness scale???
2. Jennifer Hudson gave a stunning, emotional tribute to Whitney Houston.  Not bad for an American Idol reject.  Ha!
3. Katy Perry is my hero.  If I could rock blue hair and a curvy body in a painted-on gold outfit I would! (not really)
4. I will miss Whitney Houston.  I admit I haven't listened to her or even paid one bit of attention to her in many, many years, but her songs were a big part of my childhood and she was a beautiful, talented lady.  Her Super Bowl performance of the Star Spangled Banner is my very favorite - ever.  That her life ended up the way it did is such a tragedy.
5. Glen Campbell is the ultimate rhinestone cowboy.  Out of all the grandpa performances tonight, his was the most endearing.  Sometimes, people, you have to know when you ain't got it anymore (McCartney, Beach Boys).
6. Adele is the bomb.  I don't live under a rock, so I know who she is and could even name a couple of her songs, but I can't say I've gone out of my way to listen to her.  She was phenomenal tonight, though - a brilliant vocal performance which also happened to be one of the most NORMAL of the entire night.

After speed-watching tonight's show (thank you DVR), all I can say is thank God for country music!

The mind is the first thing to go...

My son got this really neat clock for Christmas.  It has a picture of a football field/stadium as the clock face, and every hour on the hour, it plays a sound like a crowd cheering for their team.  Cool, huh?  The only problem is that it scares the CRAP out of me EVERY. SINGLE.  TIME.  It's not loud, and I know what it is when I hear it, and yet I still get startled.  As a stay-at-home mom, it is my job to be home.  Whenever I'm not out running errands, I am usually at home by myself.  I rarely watch tv, so the house is quiet.  Until this clock goes off.  I immediately jump, look around as if to find out who is breaking into the house, and then settle back down once I realize what that insane noise is.

The worst part?  I'm the one who put the batteries in the clock and I'm the one who put it up on his wall.  Not to mention that *I* am the genius who bought the darn thing.

Happy 39th birthday to me!

Mornings are for the birds

 

Are you a morning person?  Yes?  More power to you, I say.

 

My mother is the most "morning" morning person I know.  She wakes up at 5am without even needing her alarm clock.  Sleeping in for her is staying in bed past 6:30.  She wakes up in a good mood and happily goes about her day.  Of course, this also means that she's dozing in her chair by 8pm every evening!

I inherited a lot of things from my mom, but that is not one of them.  I despise mornings.  Alarm clocks are my enemy.  I don't want to sleep until noon every day, but being able to wake up by myself at 8:00 or 9:00 would be bliss.  Having to get up at 5:55am every weekday simply because my son wants to ride the bus does NOT make me happy. 

I would gladly stay up until the wee hours every night, reading, catching up on tv shows, just enjoying the peace and quiet of the house.  Unfortunately staying up late means I'm even MORE tired and lazy in the mornings, so the occasions when I  do that are few and far between. 

My mother and I have passed on these morning traits to my children.  J is the morning person like his Grammie.  He is always all smiles when I wake him up, regardless of what time it is.  On weekends when I don't wake him up, he is still wide awake by 7am, busily building with his LEGOs or playing a video game.  K, on the other hand, is my morning twin (although I don't think even *I* am that grouchy!).  She is a beast to wake up.  She doesn't normally sleep late (maybe 8am on weekends), but whenever she has to get up before she is ready, watch out. 

In my little world, midnight is a much happier hour of the day than 6am.  I wish I knew how to wake up and embrace the morning, like my mother.  If there is a secret, she hasn't shared it with me, so I guess I'll continue to glare at my phone when the alarm goes off and do my best to drag myself to bed at a decent hour.

Out of the mouths of babes...

This week our school district is working on a fitness grant and all of the students who want to participate were given a pedometer to wear for five days.  We are supposed to record their total steps each evening, as well as keeping nutritional logs for each day (they are going to LOVE my kids' nutrition... ha).

The school sent home a paper last week explaining this, but I had forgotten about it until Monday afternoon when the kids got home.  J and K ran up to the house from the bus and K proudly announced, "Mom, I have a thermometer!" 

Persistence or ignorance?

If you are a parent, then you know that children sometimes (ok, often), get their days and nights mixed up when they are babies.  Those endless hours when your child is awake needing SOMEthing when the rest of the house is quiet and you are desperate for sleep are excruciating and can seem like there is no light at the end of the tunnel.  You can try to nap when your baby does, but there's not really anything that makes it fun to be up at 3am when you really just want to sleep.  That new baby smell and the soft, sweet snuggles only take you so far.

Why am I writing about this when it's obvious I am not a mother of a new baby, you ask?  Apparently my 15-year-old cat thinks she is a newborn.  Ever since Pumpkin died, Shadow has been annoyingly clingy and desperate for attention.  I understand she is lonely.  He was her buddy for a dozen years.  I miss him too.  But I do not sit up and cry all night long. 

She is driving me crazy.

We have always put the cats in the laundry room at night to sleep.  That is where their bed is, where their food is, and where their bathroom (litter box) is.  This has not changed in all the years we have lived in this house.  Shadow has made it perfectly clear that she does not like to be in there by herself.  AT ALL. 

My bedroom is at the opposite end of the house from the laundry room, and hubby sleeps with a fan on.  Despite that, I can STILL hear her howling.  All.  Night.  Long.

Seriously.  She never stops.  She starts meowing the second we put her in there, and she's still at it when I wake up in the morning.  She doesn't stop until we open the door, and then she follows me around the house meowing until I've paid sufficient attention to her.  Talk about needy.

If it were up to me, I would just go to bed with her happily snoozing in her recliner.  Maybe then the all night performances would quit.  On the other hand, she tends to be more of a pest than anything, so she'd probably keep coming in our room and bugging us.  I keep telling myself that she will calm down, that she'll get used to it, that eventually she will give up.  In this battle of wills, though, my cat may prove to be more stubborn than I am!

Ring out the old...

and ring in the new!

How do you feel about New Year's resolutions?  Millions of people make them (usually the same one over and over) and not many of those millions actually keep them.  In a way I feel that new year's resolutions are kind of corny.  Why do you have to pick something you're going to change or you want to change, just because it's January 1st?  On the other hand, I'm sure there is something in everyone's life that they would like to stop, start or do differently, and picking a day to put that plan in motion seems like a good idea.  The start of a new year is sort of symbolic in that way.... starting "fresh" and all that.

I have never really come out & said "My new year's resolution is _________".  I don't plan to this year, either.  That doesn't mean there aren't things I'd like to change about myself, and since everyone else is passing out their good intentions, I thought I'd mention a few of the things I want to focus on:

• I want to exercise more and eat less.  That could be a huge problem because I love to eat and I hate to exercise.  Once the kids are back in school, though, I hope to get back on a more regular walking schedule and actually use my exercise bike for something other than a dust collector.  I try to eat relatively healthy and I'd succeed if I didn't have such a sweet tooth.  I can bypass the chips and the ice cream, but if there's chocolate anywhere near me, you can forget it.  If I need to have a goal, it would be to lose ten pounds, but as I have no intention of stepping on a scale, I'll have to judge my success by how my clothes fit!
• I want to say yes more often than I say no.  Admittedly I am a creature of habit so when someone else suggests something, my first inclination is to say no.  Not because I don't really want to do it, but mostly because it wasn't my idea and I hadn't given it any thought.  This is also true when it comes to my kids.  Is it a huge deal if K wants to set up her room to have a concert or if J wants to build a Lego set on my kitchen floor?  No.  The clutter and chaos will bug me, but sometimes I just need to relax a little.  I want to be someone that people want to be around, and that includes my friends, my children and my husband.  
• I want to do a better job keeping in touch with my friends.  A lot of my friends do not live near me, and it's SO incredibly easy to let life take you away.  Getting caught up in everyday wife and kid stuff is not an excuse to put aside the people who mean so much to me.  A ten minute phone call or an email every few days is not that hard and I want to do better!
• I want to be a woman my husband could fall in love with.  Talk about getting caught up in everyday life.  After ten years of marriage and two kids, it's ridiculously easy to forget to put forth the effort to make him feel special.  Hubby is a really good guy and he has enriched my life in so many ways.  I don't want him to take me for granted or feel like I'm the roommate who helps with homework and washes his socks.  Twelve years ago he fell in love with me, the woman, and every now and then I'd like to recapture that in love feeling with him, whether it's a date night or a loving note or doing something special for him.

I hope that 2011 was a good year for you.  I hope that 2012 will be even better. 
Here's to good health, laughter and love.  Happy New Year!

Tis the season

It's no secret that this time of year is hectic.  We are all busy, running errands, buying gifts, mailing cards and packages, all on top of the everyday stuff like work, school, chores, etc.   All craziness aside, I adore Christmas.  I love everything about it:  watching the holiday tv specials, decorating, the challenge of finding JUST the right gift for someone, listening to Christmas music.  If I could start celebrating Christmas in September I would, but Hubby refuses to acknowledge anything about this time of year until Thanksgiving at the earliest.

I don't really have any rhyme or reason to my thoughts for this post, so I'm just going to write down some random musings and you can make of them what you will.

I am OCD enough to keep track of gifts on a spreadsheet so I know exactly who I have to buy for and how much I spend. 

I still do Christmas cards the old fashioned way - using actual cards with either a photo or a Christmas letter inside, not just a printed photo card. 

Thanks to my daughter's prompting, I started listening to Christmas music weeks before Thankgiving. 

Much to Hubby's dismay, I insist on putting up a real tree every year.  Even though I no longer live in an area where we can go and cut down our own tree like we did when I was a kid (what fun times those were!), to me there is nothing like walking through the trees until you find just the right one.  The smell of a fresh cut tree is so "Christmas-y" that they now sell ornaments that are scented like real pine or fir trees.  Why not just get the real thing, that's my question!

I am one of the few people who actually likes wrapping presents.

My sister-in-law is undergoing treatment for breast cancer and she is facing it with such strength and humor.  I told her tonight that she is my hero.  Thanks to chemo, she started losing her hair this week.  Instead of a 'woe is me' cry fest, she not only smiled the entire time her nephew shaved her head, she posted pictures on Facebook of her before, during (loved the mohawk!) and after, along with her new hairdo (a wig that looks GREAT).  Good for you, S!

Putting aside the feel-goodness of this time of year, I want to mention that my thoughts and prayers go out to a certain family I know.  Their lives were turned upside down this week, right before Christmas, and as a mom, my heart hurts for them as I know they are hurting.  I pray that God gives them hope and strength and that the spirit of Christmas touches them even a little bit. 

a week late...

Happy 10th Birthday to my charming, smart, funny, caring, creative son!  He has had the birthday that just won't quit.  We spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas at my brother's house, where we had a mini-party the day before J's birthday.  We had cake and J hauled in the loot, coming home with more money from Vegas than we did!!  He had a present waiting here to open on his birthday when we got back (from his Grammie).  Then almost a week later we had yet another party with our family here.  Two cakes, presents and more money than any ten year old needs.  Happy Birthday indeed!

J, you are one of the brightest lights of my life.  You will always be my baby boy.  You are funny and fun to be around.  You love video games and Legos and football.  You have the sparkliest eyes and the longest eyelashes of anyone I know.  You are a wonderful boy and I'm proud to be called your mom.  I love you!

Day 24 of Thanksgiving: November 24, 2011

I am thankful for my husband, who was willing to go way out of his comfort zone to go above and beyond to be with us on our trip.  Our family vacation would not have been the same without him, and it has been a very happy Thanksgiving.

Day 23 of Thanksgiving: November 23, 2011

I am thankful for the kindness of others.  Allyson - you rock for letting me and my kiddos take over your house for a little while, even though you weren't there.  Our sort-of matching white vehicles look so cute in your driveway.

I am thankful for Google Maps and Navigation, which helped me avoid a miles-long traffic jam on I-20 yesterday.  I will never understand why cars have to STOP simply because the road narrows from two lanes to one. 

I am thankful for having children who are exceptional travelers.  We spent two hours running errands before we even left town yesterday morning.  Add to that a three hour drive, a taxi ride to the airport, a three hour wait at DFW and then a three hour flight.  J and K were so well behaved, they made this mama proud. 

Day 22 of Thanksgiving: November 22, 2011

I am thankful for Redbox.

Seriously - how can you beat $1 movies???  My children were released early from school today for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Hubby is out of town and we have nothing on our schedule until K's gymnastics class later.  What to do when it's chilly and wet outside?  Rent a movie!  My kids are happily watching Rio and eating snacks, giving me time to pay bills, go through the mail, pack for our trip, reserve a taxi, cancel a hotel reservation, do laundry and the gazillion other things I have to do today! 

Day 21 of Thanksgiving: November 21, 2011

I am thankful for my warm home. 

Having grown up in upstate New York, a cold, wet winter is nothing new to me.  It doesn't take long, however, to get acclimated to a different climate, and after a long, hot summer, a day of fog, thunderstorms and 40-something degrees feels downright cold!  I was out running errands for most of the day and I was so very glad to be able to come back to a warm, dry house.

Day 20 of Thanksgiving: November 20, 2011

I am thankful for my son's football coaches.  It's so easy to complain when you don't agree with something, or get wrapped up in how much time we spend at practices and games, but sometimes I have to remind myself that however much time & effort we are putting in, the coaches are doing more.  These four guys have been there week after week since the beginning of August to teach and motivate our team.  They have spent almost as many waking weekday hours with my child as I have.  At times they were strict and serious, and at other times they could joke around like they were the 10 year olds.  Coach Chris, Coach Mike, Coach Moses and Coach Chris have turned a ragtag group of boys who, for the most part, didn't even know each other, into a championship football team.  I'm thankful that my son had the opportunity to play on such a fun and talented team, but I'm even more grateful for the men who gave so much time and effort to help this team reach their potential.

The Junior Pee Wee Wylie Bulldogs White ended the year with a 10-1 record and won the Super Bowl today against the Sweetwater Mustangs by a score of 39-13. 

Day 19 of Thanksgiving: November 19, 2011

I am thankful for my son's compassionate heart. 

J is not normally the most emotional person.  He is more the even keel,  go with the flow type.  Sure, he is prone to the normal kid tantrums and crying jags, but for the most part he is stoic like his dad.  Sometimes, though, he really takes things to heart and it makes me glad that he can be empathetic, sympathetic and sensitive. 

Last night he and I went to Dallas to watch our high school team's playoff game.  It was a rough night for the Bulldogs,  and the loss not only ends Wylie's season but Austin's (J's "big Bulldog") high school football career.  When we went down to visit with Austin after the game, he was visibly upset.  J walked up to give Austin a hug and his eyes were filled with tears.  He was sad that they lost, but even more, the "finality" of it really touched him, too.


I love a tough, "let me shoulder your burdens" kind of guy and I hope J will grow up to be like that.  I don't subscribe to the "men don't cry" theory, though, and I hope he is never ashamed to tell or show someone how he feels.

Day 18 of Thanksgiving: November 18, 2011

I am thankful to have a pediatrician who normally gets us in ASAP for a sick visit.  We have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much going on right now for anyone to be sick, but that's exactly what happened Thursday night.  K came in my room crying at 2:30am saying she wasn't feeling good.  A bad cough and a temperature reading of 100.9 confirmed that.  I called the doctor when they opened at 8:30am and they told me to head that way.

We were supposed to go out of town Friday night for the high school football game.  J and K were signed up for the gymnastics play day on Saturday, and then K and I had a date to see the Nutcracker.  Sunday is J's Super Bowl, and we leave Wednesday for Vegas.  When am I supposed to fit an illness in there???

Thankfully we got in to the doctor first thing and were able to start K on antibiotics right away.  Hopefully by the time we get ready to fly next week she will be all better. 

Day 17 of Thanksgiving: November 17, 2011

I am thankful for the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom.

My husband works hard.  He is one of the few people I know who doesn't complain about work.  He may complain about something that didn't get done, or how much paperwork he has, but I can't remember him ever getting up and saying, "I don't want to go to work today."  Maybe that's because he's not a morning person and doesn't say anything at all in the morning.  ha!

I am grateful beyond measure that I am able to be here in the mornings to get my kids ready for school and also be here when they get off the bus in the afternoons.   I love being able to bring lunch to my kids, schedule doctor appointments without having to worry about my schedule, and attend their school parties/programs every single time.  We are able to leave early for out of town football games and I can go back to bed once the kids leave when I have a migraine.

None of this would be possible if I didn't have a hubby who is a hard worker and a supporter of his wife making motherhood her number one priority.  I'm also blessed with the opportunity to work from home and bring home some spending money.  We often do without luxuries, we never get ahead, but we have everything we need and I am able to put my entire focus on taking care of my family.

Day 16 of Thanksgiving: November 16, 2011

I am thankful for Christmas music. 

This morning when I got in the shower, the house was too quiet.  I pulled up a Christmas playlist on my phone and listened to that while I was getting ready.  Christmas music lifts my spirits.  The songs are so beautiful and heartfelt and full of faith & love. 

Day 15 of Thanksgiving: November 15, 2011

Oops - I missed a day again.
Let's just say I took a day off to grieve for Pumpkin.  It's hard to say who misses him more, me or Shadow!

I am thankful for texting.  It is fast and convenient (and often rude, but I guess that's the trade-off).  I love being able to send a quick message when I don't have time (or the inclination) to have a phone conversation.  It's so great to instantly show a picture of something to my mother who lives two thousand miles away.  Yesterday when I had a sick boy at home, it was very easy and helpful to be able to communicate with K's teacher regarding her afternoon transportation, without having to wait for email or go through the office.  And last night when I needed a pick-me-up, some late night texts from a good friend helped cheer me when I was down.

Day 14 of Thanksgiving: November 14, 2011

 

Meet Pumpkin. 

It is with a very heavy heart that I say today I am thankful to have been Pumpkin's "mommy" for over twelve years.   This big, fat, fluffy gentle giant has been my buddy since I took him in when he was only weeks old.  He was the nicest, calmest, most loving cat in the world and today he went to heaven.  My heart aches with his loss.

In the summer of 1999, my coworker asked me if I wanted an orange cat.  I already had three cats and really should have said no.  Could I?  Of course not.   Someone she knew had found him living in a used car or junk car lot behind a KFC.  He was teeny tiny, scrawny, starving and flea-ridden.  He was missing a piece of his nose from where he must have burned it on a car engine.  He was my buddy from day one.  He loved me through some really tough times, and he loved my kids, too.  My daughter is as much of a cat person as I am and she is going to be completely devastated when I tell her.  One of my friends said Pumpkin is the only cat who would let her over-exuberant daughter pet him.  He loved the smell of tuna, he loved to eat turkey, he loved to romp around the house with Shadow like a kitten, he loved to lay under the end table, he would sit outside the bathroom waiting for me whenever I went in there, and he took his insulin injections twice a day without complaint.  

Pumpkin, you were well loved, and you will be sorely missed!