I can see again!!!

Our lives have been interesting recently. Our month long bout of illness stopped a train of purging and decluttering - but we're back on track. It's an exciting process shedding our jumk and making room for new things - hopefully not material things - but things like experiences and *gasp* TIME. Where we're not spending all of our spare time trying to clean and organize our - well - crap.

So - we're moving on to the dining room area - you ask - "what could you possibly accumulate there?" well - it's mounds of craft stuff for Julia. It was very well organized - but allow a 4 year old access to this on a regular basis and it's met it's match. We cleared it out today - have a box for freecycle - a box for a possible garage sale/goodwill and some trash. We moved our old buffet out - and our new buffet in. It looks so nice! All of china and cookbooks fit in - and I have 3 drawers for towels, cookie cutters and baking stuff. I'm thrilled with how it looks. The new table and chairs will be here next week - and we'll have our first room with REAL - GROWN UP furniture! :) Safe for kids and their messes - but real furniture!

K - the best part of this is that I found my glasses. Now - they weren't necessarily lost - I had put them away during the move so they wouldn't get lost or broken... and I did such a good job I couldn't find them again! Low and behold - there they are. A year later - VOILA - sight! I can't believe how bad my eyes have gotten - and may be a key to the long term terrible headaches I've been having. So - I'm walking around the house "I can't believe I can read that, whoa - I can see that!"

So my new mantra is "sight is good, clutter bad"

I want a brother...

Julia and I were having a discussion about the big/little sister topic last night and she reminded me that she wanted a little brother. She at first told me that she HAD a brother - her cousin Conor. So I explained that he was her cousin - not a brother. "No - the other one in Michigan, Caleb". I explained that Caleb was also a cousin. She decided to firmly state her intention of having a little brother. "Mom, I really want a little brother, you know, I'm ALL ABOUT THE BOYS" :)

She is and she isn't... there is a little boy at her preschool - Damien - that tells everyone she is his girlriend. She is adamant that they are not "TOGETHER" they are just friends. There is another little boy Isaac that is in love with her - everyday he asks her to come to his house to play. He told his mom "BUT I LOVE HER" when she said it wasn't a good day to have company over. It's tough to be loved sometimes.

As a retired "I'm all about the boys" kind of girl - I hope she waits a bit before becoming obsessed. I spent too much of my time worrying about boys and I hope she has some time to find herself first. :)

Supernanny is SOOO good for me

Have a learned anything? Not much? Other than that WHEW I have it pretty good! These kids are NUTS. I'm so glad that she is able to help these families since they are obviously out of control. After a particularly tought day - it's sooo nice to sit down in a quiet living room and watch OTHER people kids do crazy things.

I had a hard mommy day. Julia is in super grump mode - lots of whining, lots of talking back, lots of 4 year old behavior. By the end of the day I was DONE! Then watching these super bratty twins on Supernanny makes me feel so much better about my day. I know she is such a good little girl but some days it can be hard to deal with so much drama in a 4 year old body.

Julia has been helping me teach Anna sign language and she's GETTING IT! Julia is SOOO proud that she taught Anna how to sign. Tonight Anna started showing us the sign for WATER. It was one of Julia's first signs too. Anna can do other signs - like HI, BYE, SO BIG, UP, and her own little sign for MORE. This is the first "real" sign she's used. She doesn't form her hand into a W - but she does the actual sign. It's SOOO cute. And Julia is really proud. So am I.

I'm so glad my kids aren't out of control like those I see in life and TV around me. I'm proud they are smart, sweet little girls. I'll just keep coming back and reading this over and over.

Take a deep breath - they are GREAT kids!

buds 

Man-made leather

Ok - I'm looking at these funky shoes in this catalog. They are really cute - bright colors with a palm tree on them - FUN summer shoes. SO I'm reading about them - trying to decide whether they are worth my $19.99 - and come across this "appealing man-made leather". So - does this mean that these shoes are leather made from man - as in human hide - or leather that is made by man - in which case - what other kind of leather is there? I'm pretty sure that while my good buddy Trooper is quite talented in many dog types of skills - such as peeing on objects 2 feet off the ground - eating our clothes and kicking rocks - he's not quite skilled in leather working yet. Just in case you're wondering - I'm going to pass on the shoes - and stick with my $1.94 wal-mart bamboo wonders.

Ok - on that subject - I LOVE these damn sandals from Wal-mart - I now have two pairs of black, 1 pink, 1 teal and 1 red. They are $1.94 each - and SOOO cute. Just had to share.

Julia had soccer today - she did great. Still no goals - but she's come along way - she's actually kicking the ball on a regular basis now. One of the little girls wouldn't leave her alone and kept playing with her hair ties - the WHOLE game. It was hilarious. This little girl also went over and knocked over the opponents goal - about three times. I think she is creatively trying to psyche the other 3 year olds out. "you want a goal - you better hope it's upright buddy!"

So - I'm going for a nap... I woke up with a fever and I'm going to try and snooze while Anna naps - and Julia and Dan wash our van. Then I get to go mystery shop this afternoon. Too much fun, huh?

life 

I'm burning down the house

Ok - enough of the sick fairy! We're on week 3 of illness in this house. Dan just started vomiting this morning - so we have had colds, bronchial infections and three of the four of us have had the stomach flu.

The house looks like we've been sick for three weeks... there isn't a 3 foot area of clean space in our living room. Toys, clothes, shoes have taken over.

So - I figure if we burn the house down the germs will be killed off - and it would be much cleaner, right?

ahhh - maybe I'll just open some windows and if I haven't joined the ranks of those hanging out at the toilet - I'll try and get some cleaning done. Well - I guess that will be in between cleaning vomit and wiping noses and giving breathing treatments and cuddling that sick baby.

NIGHT!

"BLINDED BY THE SPRITE"

Actual conversation at the dinner table tonight - just about verbatim

Julia - "aww man, I just got Sprite in my eyes", wiping her face profusely (I might add she had marker on her hand - so it is now painting her face blue with each wipe) "now I'm gonna be sticky from it"

Dan - "does your eye hurt?"

Julia "I'm blinded by the Sprite"

Dan "You should write a song about that"

Julia "about Sprite?"

Dan "yes, about Sprite... never mind"

Me "This is definitely going into my blog"

Julia "A Sprite Blog?, with my name in it?"

:)

She's got the music in her - REALLY

We have a weird thing that we pass along the females in my family... we all have the music in us. Not in a gifted, we're talented artist sort of way - but in the constant wiggling, head bopping, belting out into somg kind of way. Oh yeah - my mom is a whistler in addition to the others, although I secretly suspect she's only a whistler because she's a closet belt out into song girl herself.

Both of my daughters were born with this "affliction". In fact our baby - Miss. Anna was dancing so forcefully during one ultrasound when Christmas music was playing in the background that my OB said "whew - this one is either really into Christmas or IT's a dancing fool" I knew then she would fit right in. Julia is also a dancer... and is lately particularly fond of the gyrations of a pole dancer - but I give her the benefit of the doubt - she just REALLY gets the music! Julia is a bit of a drama queen - in the nicest sense of the term - she loves to sing and dance and have the attention on her. She's been known to turn just about anything into a make-shift stage and get her groove on - heaven forbid we go somewhere with a REAL stage!

Last night Anna was trying on her first pair of shoes at the shoe store - she was wiggling so much that the lady couldn't get them to stay on her feet. After about 12 tries (and I'm not exagerating here) she finally got them on and tied. We let Anna stand - and oh boy - that's when it began. She began to dance, and ddance, and dance. It was hysterical - then Julia joined in. The sales lady and I were laughing so hard we had tears streaming from our eyes. Anna was bopping her head up and down, swinging her arms from side to side and bouncing so hard it could only be described as spastic. Eventually another customer and two sales people were drawn to the hysterical laughter- and we all shared one of those snorting, crying laughs.

Welcome to the family Anna.

What a bummer...

I forgot we had soccer stuff to do today - so we missed out on the best part of a garbage sale - the early morning hours! So - we're actually going to repeat the whole deal next Saturday and just have it in the morning.

Strangely enough - we had some good traffic through this afternoon - and sold more than we thought we would. The best part is - we spent our time going through the garage and you can now see the floor in there!

SO - next Saturday morning - more garbage sale fun. Then freecycle the bulk of the leftovers --- then some charity that picks up here will pick up the rest Monday! I can't wait to be able to use our garage. As a reward for getting rid of our crap - my lovely assistant Dan will be buying me a garage door opener to go with our home security system. This house will be a clean, mean, safe house in no time!

No funny stories to report - just happy to be purging stuff! Now if I could just find the inner strength to part with these toys and baby clothes. I just keep telling myself... what if we have a third! ;)

WHOO HOO - it's a garbage sale!

Yes, I know. Why am I still awake at 1am when both kidlets are asleep? Because I'm excited about my garage (garbage) sale tomorrow.

I just can't wait to see how many people are waiting outside for me to open my doors... I can't wait to count the people who want to dicker over the $.25 asking price of used paperback... I can't wait till someone actually pays me money to take my crap away!

I'm a freecycler - most of you will know what that means. For those who don't - it means that I frequently send out an email to a group of people on line (other freecyclers) to let them know I have some crazy shit to get rid of - and see if anyone else out there wants it. I won't get too into my freecycle rants - but sometimes people will indeed fight over your ---- well----- shit! But that's only when it's free... stick a $.25 price tag on it - and it's all of a sudden ----- expensive shit!

So - be sure to check back later as I update on the success of this fun garbage sale. Ohhhhhhh - did I mention it's a community wide garage sale? Lots of advertising = lots of strange people lined up in a couple hours to look at the stuff I no longer want!

Can I PLEASE get a shower here??

Ugh - you know you are a mom when you have to carefully plan and concoct elaborate set-ups so that you can cleanse yourself!

The process to shower as a mom is about an hour - here is the breakdown:

25 minutes making sure all the needs of the almost 11 month old are met
*Feed baby
*Clean baby from smearing food all over exposed body parts
*Change diaper

10 -15 minutes searching for video/toy/entraptment device combination that will safely hold babies attention for the 3 1/2 minutes you will actually be in the shower. This may require 2-3 attempts to find magical combination of things.

5 minutes convincing 4 year old big sister that she needs to leave the baby alone long enough to fully cleanse hair and wipe dried baby food off from previous feeding session.

5 minutes of bathroom time - quick visit to the potty (yes - at 29 I use the term to describe my personal bathroom use), get temperature of water slightly above freezing, wash hair and clean body... if the planets align in your favor - you might get through shaving of hair off of ONE body part. Think this through - which arm pit or leg is important enough to be hairless!

Now - if when you exit the shower and you don't hear screaming or sirens - go ahead and take 2 minutes to dry off before attempting to put bra (that used to fit before you have kids) on and whatever clothes you can find that are relatively stain free.

WHOO HOO - you have successfully gotten clean!

Now - repeat procedure to get hair dry and styled - if you actually still do that!

Note - some have recommended I try to shower while baby is napping. first - what is a nap? and 2nd - why does the quiet sound of water trickling from the faucet alert my baby 3 rooms over (who can normally sleep through vacuuming) to the fact I'm attempting to clean mysself - and require incessant screaming! :)

Gotta go - I myself am going to attempt the cycle - wish me luck!

Anna Banana 

Julia Goolia 

Sugar fiend and the snot sucker

Snotty noses, hacking coughs - ah -Spring is here... well, actually, summer appears to be here - 90+ degree days but disturbingly under the guise of Spring. So is life in Arizona. April is the end of Spring - the beginning of those days where when you open your front door you are met with the sauna that is the Sonoran Desert.

Yes, this all means that we are slowly recovering from our terrible allergies and the inevitable illness that long term congestion brings! Does this sound exciting... AHHH that's where you are wrong... it is! Julia Gulia (still 4) is now addicted to cough drops because she can sense that there is a tiny bit of sugar involved and it was ALLOWED before. This child loves broccoli and brussel sprouts and carrots - but will hound you for hours if she evens catches a whiff of something with sugar... I can already see her 20 years from now sitting in the dimly lit high school classroom in the early evening, clutching her hot coffee, "My name is Julia, and I'm a sugar fiend."

The Banana is now obsessed with having her nose bulbed out! She went from deep loathing of this rubber suction contraption to pure elation! She actually fell asleep while we were cleaning her sinus cavities last night.

So all - if you need me, you know where to find me: hiding the cough drops and sucking snot!

Fat woman walking

I'm fat. I just wanted to let you all know that. Do I like the fact that I'm fat? nope Do I still like myself anyways? yes

I just wanted to let you all know that. I'm fat.

Tax relief

Ok - as a former accounting assistant you would think I wouldn't have such terrible panic from waiting to hear from my accountant on the status of my taxes. Well - I'm sure you know what I am really getting at.... DO I OWE OR NOT! We relocated this year and I've been terrified that Dan's company has mangled something and we're going to owe this year. I know for certain I will have to sell a kidney to pay the Fed's their due.

So - I sit and anxiously wait for that damn beep of my inbox ... and of course have to suffer through a myriad of freecycle emails and SPAM. Why oh why is the spam targeted at increasing the length of my member (of what? I'm a member of Costco - but somehow that isn't what I think they are getting at) or a miracle drug to help me lose weight - when I obviously am now in the black market for organ sales!!

Guess what - we're in the clear! No need for panic - having our 2nd tax deduction (I mean daughter!) has helped us out and we will get some of our tax payments back!

WHEW! Now I can save that kidney for college tuition!

Another word for insanity - IRONMAN

I just saw one of the most amazing and terrifying things ever. The Ironman race here in Phoenix. We stood at the 1 mile mark (I guess it's really the 139.6 mile marker) and cheered people in as we waited for a friend to cross.

A majority of the people actually looked like they were out for a stroll or leisurely jog. Not finishing the insanely long journey. When we were there most of these people were at the 12 hour mark - can you imagine doing ANYTHING for 12 hours straight much less strenuous physical activity? Or more insane - the winner completed all 140.6 miles of fun in less than 7 hours!!!!!!! So - think about your day - are you even awake and presentable for 12 hours a day?

It was truly inspirational to watch these athletes. Some of them were genuinely outwardly grateful that we were there cheering them on. The oldest Ironman was 76 years old - he finished shortly before the 17 hour cut off.

Julia made a new best friend there - and the two of the stood there screaming for the Ironmen (and women) - "WHOO HOO, you rock... WAY TO GO". Precious, just precious. I love that kids make friends everywhere they go. Someone once commented to me that if we all loved each other like 3 year olds do - we'd have World Peace. I see their point - but I also know that we'd see a lot more "That's MINE" politics, and grafitti. Although - if all it would take to fix things is a good old time out - that might not be all that bad.

SO - to our friend the Ironman (WOMAN) - CONGRATS - "WHOO HOO, your rock... WAY TO GO"

PUT HER DOWN!

When you spend your pregnancy silently praying your children will love each other - it never dawns on you to place limits on that love!

Julia is in love with Anna - but apparently like everything else she does - it's in excess! She is constantly trying to pick her up, carry her about, give her hugs, and in general - boss her around. She loves to make her laugh and smile, but more often than not she is pissing her off. Anna is an independant woman - do NOT make the mistake of thinking she is a helpless 10 month old baby. She has at this young age already tapped into her inner strength and lets her inner woman ROAR. Julia of course accepts this as a personal challenge to bend her to her will. Usually this ends up with Julia being covered in infant slobber and screaming because she's been attacked. You can hear the soundtrack of our lives quietly playing Quiet Riot's "we're not gonna take it" in the background hum.

So - the two things I find myself saying on an almost minute to minute basis are "PUT HER DOWN" and "LET HER BE"

Ah - sisters!

You aren't getting any younger, you know?

I'm staring down 30 and I don't care. :) I'm thrilled to be getting old. Except I'd like to be young again - just to fix a few things and then go right back to being 30.

"Hear 'em singing Happy Birthday Better think about the wish I made This year gone by ain't been a piece of cake Every day's a revolution Pull it together and it comes undone Just one more candle and a trip around the sun

Chorus:I'm just hanging on while this old world keeps spinning And it's good to know it's out of my control If there's one thing that I've learned from all this living Is that it wouldn't change a thing if I let go

No, you never see it coming Always wind up wondering where it went Only time will tell if it was time well spent It's another revelation Celebrating what I should have doneWith these souvenirs of my trip around the sun

(Chorus)Yes, I'll make a resolution Then I'll never make another one Just enjoy this ride on my trip around the sun Just enjoy this ride ...Until it's done" - this is jimmy buffet - I'm not stealing it - I'm sharing it...

life is SOOO short. I see it all around me. I don't want to miss things - I want to live without regret. I want to enjoy my kids and make sure those around me know they are loved.

SO I'm gonna be 30 - I've had a good go round...