back to reality...

I had the most wonderful-est weekend. Carol was flown up to the frozen tundra that is the state of Ohio for the weekend. This is no small feat. She is a South Carolinian who is originally from Florida. Did you catch the earlier bit about the frozen tundra that is Ohio?? Needless to say, while shopping, I was at that stage where you just give up and leave your coat in the car because it's too damn hot to wear it in the store and too bulky to carry it and shop. Carol on the other hand, had my heavy coat with the zipout fleece liner (zipped in), gloves, scarf, headband over her ears...in the store. Girlfriend was not easily adjusted to the tundra. But did we have fun?? Oh but of course we did!!! We drank wine that was DIVINE. Made the world's greatest margaritas (and yes, I am the authority). Worked on scrapbooks and crafty projects. ate. shopped. ate. shopped. ate. ate. ate. shopped. It was a wonderful weekend. As always, I was delirious with sadness when I dropped her off at the airport.
I think she was thrilled with the weekend also. She was begging to see snow- because being from the South, she is stupid like that :) She not only saw snow, she saw it snow so hard it was blowing sideways-this was amazing to her. We drove through blowing snow that cause white-out conditions. All the things that make southerners twitch, while us northerners barely notice. So, she got the snow she asked for and all of the above mentioned fun-ness. What more can you ask for??
Oh and P.S. I had alcohol IN FRONT OF MY KIDS. Eat your heart out Dr. Janet Taylor.

cocktails and kids....

I don't mix them up for my kids, but I know they appreciate seeing me mix them sometimes. They've never said it out loud, but I think that when I'm in a particularly foul state of mind they must be happy when they see mama's blue shaker come out for the 4 o'clock cocktail. Is that horrible? I just don't think it is. I'm not an alcoholic. Does me saying that mean I am??? I don't NEED a drink to get through the day, but sometimes it sure does help me get through that black tunnel that is the 4-6 p.m. time slot (sometimes 6:30 and WOW does that 1/2 hr make a difference!).
Why am I talking about this??? Because someone I know was on the Today Show talking about the same subject this morning. It was super cool to see an old friend on TV. And it was funny to see her try to make a point about it being OK to drink at a playgroup with your kids, while a PhD or some such person tried to argue it against her. Because, really what are we talking about here? Someone who gets sloshed and gets in her minivan with the kids? No. More like someone who knows their limits and can have a drink with friends in the afternoon. What's the big deal? At one point the woman argued that it wasn't responsible parenting to drink in front of our children. But isn't it? Isn't it good to show them that it's OK when and ADULT has a drink and doesn't get total smashed everytime they start drinking.
Whatever....I don't want to start an arguement. It was pretty cool to see someone I knew, chatting it up with Meredith this morning.
Here's the link if you care to watch...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16818362/

help me out here...

I am trying to understand myself. Not that I expect anyone to "get" me, but at least I can hope that there are other people out there like this.
Is it possible to hate cleaning and still be somewhat of a neat freak? I am twisted like that. Cause I hate cleaning. Maybe hate is a strong word, but I can procrastinate on cleaning like nobody's business. And yet...I am a freak about my house being clean. I think it started when we had the house on the market. It always had to be clean because you never knew when someone was going to call for a showing. I spent every waking minute dusting, swiffering, vacuuming, tidying...you get the picture. I can't stop it now. I don't do it as much. But, for instance, I just finished vacuuming Justin's ceiling fan. Isn't that, like, a spring cleaning thing? Maybe it's not and normal people do it regularly, but I can promise you it doesn't feel normal, to me, to feel compelled to vacuum a fan. I was thinking the other day how nice it would be to take some money from the money tree out back and have a cleaning lady come in once a month. Then I thought to myself "self...that's crazy. You know they wouldn't do all the things you want them to do. Then you'd bitch because they didn't vacuum the fan blades." I'd just feel like I was wasting my money tree money.
I used to want to die if someone showed up unannounced at my home. Because, wow, the mess. Maybe it was because our house was smaller. I just don't feel now like I would die a thousand deaths if someone saw my house on any given day now. Granted there are a lot more places to stash the chaos around here. Don't dare open Hannah's closet. Ever. You will have nightmares. Believe me. But on the main floor...I am constantly wiping off counters, picking up toys, swiffering...the average person could walk into my house and not be traumatized by what they saw. Unless you opened Hannah's closet, and seriously?? I warned you about that, didn't I?? I cannot claim you wouldn't have been forever traumatized by the chaos before our house went on the market last year. I guess I am a changed woman. It's not a bad thing, it just causes conflict in my head. Like, I am compelled to clean, but I don't wanna. What is extra weird is that I am not traumatized by mess in other people's houses. So why do I feel the need to always have my house be clean? Are the clean police patrolling my neighborhood? I think not. But if they do, they can check the ceiling fan blades with white gloves. They are clean as a whistle!

Edited to add: this does not mean you won't come into my house and find dog hair all over and crumbs on the table. There is only so much one human can do in a day. I don't WANT you to find these things, but you will because I don't wanna clean it up right now.

now I know...

so a skinny, little, old man made fun of me today. Had I not had my hands full of wiggling, grouchy, pain in the ass 2 1/2 year old, I'd might have kicked his scrawny ass. He'd have thought twice before making fun of the housewife at the hardware store on a snowy morning ever again. Why did he make fun of me you ask? Was it my stained sweat pants? Was it my static loving hair? Was it the fact that I spent my 5 minutes in the store saying "stop it!" "don't touch him!" "no, you can't have that!" "no, there are no toys here!" at least 100 times a piece? No. Nope. None of those. He was making fun of me because I was looking for rock salt. In the store. Isn't that hysterical?? Like wet your pants, spit coffee out of your nose hysterical?? Yeah, no. I didn't think so either. But the skinny old man did. So did the employee who fetched my rock salt from the barn out back.
I forget now and then that the town we live in was a farm town about 10 years ago. Apparently the hardware store is still "farm town". Now I know they keep stuff like rock salt in the barn. And P.S. they only sell it in 40 or 80# bags. Not 20#. Ever. You can make fun of me too now if you want. But be careful. There is a foul mood lurking about today. You've been fore-warned.

One word...

This Moment: hungry
Your Shoes: muddy
Craving: cheeseburger
The State of Your Home: earthquake
Annoyed By: one-upping
Noise In the Background: Shrek
Really Want To: shop
Thinking About: paint
Smelling: coffee
Favorite Product In Office Supply Aisle: calendar
Don't Ever Want To: forget
Your Eye Color: blue
The Weather: snowy
Have Never Tried: sky-diving
Think Everyone Should Try: brownies
Last Vacation Destination: Scotland
The Last Thing You Had to Drink: coffee
Your Bad Habit: procrastination
What You're Going To Do Now: vacuum

just another day....

so, yeah...today's my birthday. I remember as a child the freakish anticipation that I had for this day. Like it was magical and I would suddenly feel a bit older and wiser when I woke up. I'm not sure if I did...I can't remember. Either way, birthdays no longer hold the magical spark. I am a little excited because I get Carol in less than 2 weeks for a whole weekend and that is a way cool present. And I am drinking my fave coffee this morning because Karen still remembers what I love best and that I can only get it in Michigan. Matt told me not to worry about dinner tonight so that could be good or bad...who knows what it might be, but at least I don't have to cook or clean up, right?
Maybe if I'm super lucky, I can use my birthday money to get the bookshelf I have been longing for in the living room. I'm pretty sure I never anticipated such a lame thing for my birthday when I was a child, but it seems silly to wish for a Barbie now like I did then! And the coffee pot I am drooling over is out of the question if I want the bookshelves. Older = more practical it seems.

disclosures...

as I watched the front window drip with water today, I was thinking of the former owners of our house. Again. Because the water was dripping on the inside, not on the outside where it should be. It leads me to wonder if it has always done that and they just forgot to mention it. Sort of like they forgot to mention that our lovely sliding glass door was backwards and didn't quite fit. We hated them for that. For a long time. Then a little bird (OK not a bird, it was Carol) reminded me of the list o' shit we left for the new owners of our old house to find out on their own. Things like...
- you can't use a real blow dryer or you'll knock out the power. You have to use a travel blow dryer with less wattage.
- the ceiling may fall in, in the basement. The pipes used to sweat really bad in the summer when the A/C was cranked. That may have caused an issue with the drywall. I'll never know, but the new owners might now.
- you will freeze your ass off in the winter while sitting in the living room until you replace those 50+ year old windows. I was just there this weekend and I see you haven't done it yet. You might change your mind now that the real winter is coming to SE Michigan.
- you will not be able to control the temperature in the summer either. Those windows let in copious amounts of sunshine, which is beautiful, but also copious amounts of heat. Not so good.
-the cable hook-up in the basement cuts out when the dryer buzzer goes off. Sorry, we never could figure that one out.
- you will never be able to cook a full-out meal in your kitchen. You will curse this when you entertain unless you order pizza. Jet's is right down the road though, and their pizza works in a pinch.

And that's just what I could come up with off the top of my head. I'm certain there is more they are cursing us for. So, in our much newer (by about 40 years) home we find different problems, but problems none the less. Home ownership does not allow you to escape these issues. They call them disclosures in the legal paperwork you sign when you buy or sell, but no one REALLY discloses those type of issues. Or maybe they do. Maybe I should delete this now so that the new owners of our former home don't sue us.
So I think about the little issues I left at our old house and no longer hate the old owners of our new house. I would however like to know when our house will stop being referred to as their house. And when will the neighbors will know us as more than the people who bought the Smith's* house?

*look at me, protecting the name of the former owners. Smith is obviously NOT their real name.

i'm over it...

in case you thought I was TRULY in mourning over the Buckeyes, I'm not that Ohio State crazy. I just had an overwhelming week. One of those non-stop, full of chaos type weeks that make you wish you had time to mix a drink, but alas... not even a mixing moment can be found. I did finally come out of the chaos and have a fabulous trip up North to see the Michigan buddies. It was the perfect cap to an insane week, because my good friend Julie is a fabulous cocktail shaker and she had a new, to-die-for margarita recipe. I REALLY needed a good margarita this weekend! The actual reason for the trip was a surprise baby shower for our friend Sarah who was the final 2-child hold out in our insane group. Come this March we will all have 3 children and the circle will be complete. If they would agree to it, we would probably all march our husbands in together to have vasectomies at the same time, because it is our shared belief that for our families, 3 is ENOUGH! We had Sarah believing that we were coming up for my birthday and all the girls were celebrating me (!!) while the husbands kept the children at another house (which in and of itself was a reason to celebrate!). When she arrived she was shocked to find the party was for her and babe number 3! It was a good time :) Even better for the rest of us because we had a built in designated driver. We toasted her with margaritas while she drank pink lemonade and chuckled at our drunken stupidity. The kids all had a total blast and there wasn't even one argument- monumental considering there were 11 kids between the ages of 6 and 2 in one house for multiple hours.
It is always good and bad for me to see them again. I miss them terribly. We have gotten each other through some really tough times. They mean the world to me and it sucks that our visits are so few and far between now. What is wonderful for me to see is that our kids still fall into playing with each other like they always have. It's like they were never away.
After a long, hard week it was a true perfection weekend.

WTF

you'll have to excuse me while I have a day of mourning for my beloved Buckeyes who were regrettably absent for last night's National Championship game. Word on the street is the ACTUAL team was lost in an oscure airport in Mexico, so they fielded a team of high school freshman in their place.

it's january....

no really. It is! I know it's 59-ish and rainy and if you're like me, that just screams April, but seriously, it's January. Never in my memory have I seen this winter. We haven't had snow yet. Nothing that stuck anyways. I'm not complaining- don't get me wrong. I'm all about this new improved winter we have been handed thus far. We are traipsing up North to good ol' MI in about a week, so I'm sure we'll be buried that weekend. And we'll still have to go because devastation does not touch upon what my children would feel if we had to cancel that trip. They are DYING to see their old buddies up north. Actually, so am I. I am craving time surrounded by people who float in the same boat I do. I miss my gang. It's like sliding into an old comfortable pair of jeans, because we just are who we are and we love each other for it. So damn the snow mounds (if they are indeed coming) off to MI we go.
Today it is raining and raining and raining. I was all blah and miserable about it, but I cheered myself right up by blasting U2 from the ipod on my sparkly new Bose speakers. It's almost as good as live, but not quite because no Bono...and he is so...yum... But it sounds pretty damn good. U2 has an amazing way of cheering me up. Even on rainy, spring, January days.

thoughts on pinewood derby....

there are things in child-rearing that i come across that make me insane. Some things I am mentally prepared for, others...not so much. One of the things I am mentally prepared for is watching my child lose at things because the kid who won has parents who do projects for them. You know the ones who come up with atomic bombs for the 4th grade science fair? That is one of those things that makes me bonkers. What exactly is it that you are teaching your child when you do a project start to finish while they watch? How smart their mommy/daddy is?
So, this year in tiger scouts we are being introduced to pinewood derby. Anyone in scouts knows what it is, for those who don't, the kids are building a car out of a block of wood and racing them to see who can make the fastest car. Matt spent the better part of yesterday researching how to (legally) make Justin's car fast. I had to politely remind him that this is (ahem) not his car, it is Justin's car. Justin has already chosen his body style, color, etc. No matter how much Matt wants a different style, he must be reminded it is no longer his turn to make a car. He already had his time in pinewood derby spotlights. So pretty much I have been forcing Matt to let Justin do his own thing. Matt cut the car out for him and will assist him if it's dangerous, otherwise he is to keep his mouth duct taped shut. Because of this, I know we will arrive with our lime green car with painted on fire that is not sanded to perfection and look around to see cars that look like they were designed at GM or Ford laboratories and know that the scout involved with the making of that car did little more than play his gameboy while his dad did all the work. And that pisses me off. But what can you do? Other than know it will be a lesson for Justin, that sometimes that's just the way it goes. Might as well prepare him for the upcoming years of science fair hell, yes?
It is my supreme hope that Justin gets a thrill out of just watching his car roll down the track and that he won't care yet that he doesn't win. Not that I think he won't, but I'm guessing not all of the moms made their husband throw away the plans for uber-aerodynamic models that they pulled off of the internet.

this year i resolve...

not to make resolutions. Because, I figure, why bother? I resolve to do the same shit every year and I pretty much end up in the same place. OK...not totally true. Last year I wanted to lose weight. And I did. 30 lbs. and I managed to keep 25 of it off. I think. I haven't gotten on the scale since before New Year's Eve and, good GOD, my mom made the most fabulous ribs on the planet. Made myself sick eating them. Yes indeed. Where was I? OH YEAH! Weight loss...blah blah blah. 20 more lbs this year yadda, yadda, yadda.
I'd love to resolve to stop cursing in front of my children. Especially since last week when Ryan spilled a full glass of chocolate milk all over the floor, without skipping a beat Hannah says "what the hell?" I had to do a double take to see if it was me or her speaking. OOPS. At least she isn't dropping the F bomb. Yet. So like I said, I'd like to curse less in front of my kids. Really I would. But I think I resolved to do that last year too and that brings me back to where this story started.
So this year I resolve to not make resolutions. I think that way next year at this time I can say I was successful.
Happy New Year to all. Don't forget to write 2007 now.