My DUH Moment

Let's rewind back to Wednesday night, shall we?  I was getting my lunch ready for Thursday. I was pretty excited about a salad I was making. It had romaine lettuce, some diced green and red peppers, sliced strawberries, and some fat free cheddar... SO delicious!  I also packed a little container of frozen chicken pieces. My dressing is a strawberry vinaigrette.  Doesn't that sound refreshing?!?!  Well... On the way to work on Thursday, I realized that I forgot my dressing.  My options were to either save the salad for Friday and bop on over to Subway for a salad, or "borrow" some dressing from the fridge at work.  I told a couple people that I forgot my dressing and they both offered theirs!  Perfect!  I found a tasty balsamic vinaigrette in the fridge and was good to go.  Bonus, someone brought in a bag of nuts so I was able to have fresh cracked walnuts, almonds, and pecans on my salad, as well!

Lunchtime comes around and I am probably more excited for this salad than is normal, but who cares?!  I popped the chicken into the microwave for a minute and began cracking my nuts.  I was getting too frustrated with the stupid wrench that we had to use to crack the nuts (note: if you take a sack 'o nuts into your workplace, take a freakin' nut cracker!) and finally gave up.  I was able to get a few walnuts, a couple of pecans, and one lonely almond.  I poured the dressing on and ate that salad right up!  It was really good!

After we got home from Jaden's school carnival last night and I got both girls in bed, I grabbed my lunch bag from my diaper bag so I could pack my lunch for Friday.  That's when it hit me.
MY CHICKEN WAS STILL IN THE MICROWAVE.
That's right.  I never took the flippin' chicken out!  Are you kidding me?!  I was looking forward to that salad all night and day!  How on earth could I have forgotten the chicken??

I got to work this morning and immediately went into the lounge and saw that the microwave still said "END."  That means I was the last person to use it and sure enough, there sat my warm, smelly chicken.  Today, I packed another salad.  I brought my dressing and another piece of chicken.  Let's hope I still have half a brain by the time lunch rolls around again!  Totally explains why I was so hungry by the end of the work day yesterday... TGIF.

"Oh, crap."

I'm tired.  This week has kicked my butt. 

On Monday evening, Taylor wasn't feeling so hot.  We had just finished dinner and the girls wanted to go outside and play.  I went out with them to do a little yard work between swing pushes.  Taylor started moaning and rubbing her tummy.  I asked her if she was going to throw up... no.  I asked her if she had to go poop... no.  Touched her head... cool.  She's fine, just ate too much, right?  She climbs to the top of the slide.  I have my back to her as I am cursing the squirrels and/or bunnies for yet another half eaten tomato, when suddenly Jaden screams.  I turn around and am flashing back to the days of chillin' on the couch at Mom and Dad's watching Double Dare.  Taylor diarrhea'd down the slide!  I scoop her up and tell her to STAND STILL and don't touch the poop!  I run inside, lay a diaper pad down, and start running a bath.  I go outside and Mike is swatting flies away (why do flies like to eat poop??)  Taylor is upset and feeling a little crappy (hehe!)  I get her all cleaned up and back outside we go!  Now, what on earth do I do with poopy pants?  Teach those darned squirrels a lesson, that's what!  This is where it gets a little disgusting.  I sprayed her pants out right by my tomato plants because guess what Taylor had for dinner the night before... CORN.  Enjoy, my furry friends!  Bwahhaahhhahha (evil laugh)!

Well, apparently T had a little virus.  She was acting fine the next morning but didn't eat much of her breakfast.  Around noon, the babysitter called me.  Taylor was having "loose stools" again and wasn't feeling well.  I went to get the poor baby.  After her nap, she seemed to feel a little better. 

Jaden: "My tummy hurts."

Wednesday morning, I head to Walgreen's to pick up some children's Pepto.  Obviously Jaden wouldn't take it and Taylor cried because she wanted more.  No fevers + no throwing up = to the sitters.  Guess what?  They were fine!  No yucky reports for the day when Mike picked them up!

I went to Michigan for a little shopping trip with my mom that day.  I was literally two minutes away from home and Mike calls me, "You should probably go a different way because there is water coming up out of the street and kids (not ours) are playing in it."  I detoured around the block because the police had already taped off the water and were actually standing guard.  The girls had already eaten supper and were ready for bed.  We got them down and I went to make dinner for Mike and myself.  Spaghetti.  Small problem... the water had been turned off.  We called 311 and we were told, "There is a water main break on your street and because the children in the neighborhood were playing in the water, it needed to be turned off.  We wouldn't want a child to slip and be run over by a vehicle or drown."  So basically because parents have no control over their kids (or just don't care) we don't have water... nice.  They estimated that the water would be turned back on around 1:30 a.m.  We opt for Pizza Hut take-out.

After dinner and a little Big Brother, the storms start up.  It is pouring down rain and really windy.  All of a sudden, darkness.  The power went out.  J cries because the storms woke her up and she is scared.  It was really bad out.  We were tempted to go down to the basement, but I didn't want to wake Taylor up if it wasn't necessary.  So, Mike sat with Jaden and we both watched outside and listened for a tornado siren.  Eventually, the storm passed.  We called the electric company and they guessed that power would be restored around 2:30 a.m. 

No water.  No power.  Nice.

Everything was back to normal the next morning!  The shower spit some yellow water at first, but then it was ok!  After work, we came home and had spaghetti.  Mike's mom was on her way over so we could go to a meeting at J's preschool.  I went to do dishes and again, no water.  Luckily, it was turned on by the time we got home so the girls could get a bath. 

It's been a tiring week.

BUT, I did get some good news!  Disney Family Fun saw my post on the Hit The Road badge and loved our road map idea!  They want to feature it in their next issue along with a picture of my girls!  You all will have to go out and buy the October issue when it comes out so you can see these cuties:

Way to go, girls! 

TGIF...

I'm real... like Jenny from the block

I've recently read a number of posts by other bloggers on the appearance of perfection that is perceived through the blog world. Typically this from mom bloggers.  Do I think my life is perfect?  Yes.  I think that I have the perfect life for me. I know I am not a perfect wife or mom but I do what I can for my family and love them to pieces.  I like to do crafts and yes, when I'm not pulling my hair out trying to get ready for the Home & Garden Show, I usually do at least one craft a week.  I like to cook and since I'm the only one in my family that knows how, I do it quite often.  I try to make a home cooked dinner for my family every night.  Do I always have a new elaborate recipe?  Nah... Sometimes we have Hamburger Helper.  One thing that you can be sure of, our house will always be clean.  We have a great routine that makes housework seem like not such a horrible task.  Also, Mike is slightly obsessed (in a good way!) about it... which has rubbed off on both of my girls. 

Yesterday, I was getting Jaden's breakfast for her.  Thanks to Taylor, I was only half awake.  I totally knocked Jaden's full cup of milk over and of all places, it spilled down the crack between the counter and the stove.  Jaden immediately asked if she needed to go get Dad.  Um, pretty sure I can handle this one.  I needed to pull out the stove.  Before you look at these photos, let me just say that we have lived in our house for coming on five years.  We had two cats for over 3½ of those years; now just one.  We have NEVER pulled out our stove.  Ever.  Not even to paint (which we did before we moved in).  So bloggers, here is the behind the scenes of my "perfect" life:

Cat hair, dust, spider webs, milk carton rings, goldfish crackers, spilled milk, other random spilled nastiness on the side of the stove....

"Uh-oh! UCK!"

Thanks to my trusty pals, the mess was cleaned up and smelling fresh in no time!

Check out the third cat I swept up!

Ah... much better.  I should have grabbed the yellow paint while I was back there.  Oh well, maybe when I pull it out again in five years... KIDDING.

Heaven Help Me

I love Justin Bieber... there, I said it.

"And I was like baby, baby, baby ooh.... Like baby, baby, baby noo... Like baby, baby, baby ohh... I thought you'd always be mine..."

Nicknames

Do you have a nickname? I don't. Usually nicknames are given because of something that person did, how that person looks, or based on that person's personality or abilities. A lot of the kids at the sitter's, mainly the older ones, have been give a nickname by Annie. Chipper Dipper, Ed and Puffer... yeah, I don't even know these kids' real names :o) Annie, Jaden, the other kids and the other parents all refer to the kids by their nicknames. Well, one of my girls has been given the nickname Poopy-Do. I have a feeling that when she is 10 years old, Annie will still be calling her Poopy-Do. Which one, you ask? Here she is, guilty as charged:

I went to pick the girls up yesterday and Annie told me that in over 30 years of day care, she has never had happen what Taylor did yesterday. Yesterday was a hot day. Taylor doesn't have a lot of summer clothes yet so I just put a little sun dress on her so she would stay cool. Annie had put Taylor down for her nap. The babies sleep in a little room off of the living room with the door closed to keep out the noises. Later in the afternoon, Annie said she heard Taylor in there kinda making noises. She wasn't crying, just talking. Annie's husband, Scott, was home and had asked if she needed help with anything. She told him that Taylor was starting to wake up so he could go get her, then start making grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Annie told me that Scott went and opened the door, gasped, then closed the door. She asked what was wrong and he just said that he didn't think Taylor was ready to get up yet. Annie went to get her and that is when she saw it. POOP EVERYWHERE! The sundress that I put on Taylor has a onesie that goes under it but since it was so hot yesterday, I just put the dress on with the diaper. Taylor has never even tried to pull a diaper off ever... until yesterday! Annie said Taylor had managed to get her poopy diaper off and was squeezing poop between her fingers, had it in her hair, all over her body, on her face, covering the entire bed, in her ears, nose, MOUTH, between her toes, EVERYWHERE! Annie said she was just smiling from ear to poopy ear... so pleased with what she had accomplished! Annie immediately got her in the bath, clothes and blanket in the washer, and sent Scott outside to completely disassemble and disinfect the bed. She said she had to scrub every single inch of Taylor's body, getting between fingers and toes with a nail brush. My Sweet Baby Tay will now forever be known at day care as Poopy-Do. Oh, and no, Annie did not get any pictures. Maybe next time ;o)

"Good job! I am so proud!"

I didn't say it, Jaden did.  To me.  With many other people around.  In a public restroom!

We all went to Barnes and Noble last night and were just starting to play with the trains when Jaden decided that she had to go potty.  We always bring her potty seat with us so it wasn't a big deal at all.  I took her into the restroom and we both went into the handicap stall (one, because it is the only one big enough for two people, and two because all of the other stalls were occupied).  I hoisted her up onto the potty and waited to hear a little tinkle, after which I whispered, "good job, Miss."  Well, you know how it is... hearing all of the other people peeing, running water, etc. made me have to go potty so I took J's seat off and proceeded to do my business.  When I had finished, my oh-so-loud almost three-year-old starts clapping and shouts, "You peed, Mom!  Good job!  I am so proud!"  Then she hugs my legs and (still very loudly) says, "Aww, I love you, Mom!"  Yeah.  Definitely filing this away in the "things to remember for revenge when she's older" bin in my brain.