Random Thoughts on a Random Tuesday of the Summer

I’ve been neglecting you, Blogosphere & Future Me (Leisure Reading for my 40s as to what I did in my 30s).  No surprise – I’ve been busy, keeping up with the kids during summer break, travel, and getting rid of stuff.

STUFF!

The rate at which “stuff” comes into my house DOES NOT equal the rate at which “stuff” exits.  I am making progress very slowly.  I am motivated this week to increase my purging productivity.  My very generous MiL bought Little Man bunk beds, which were delivered this past Sunday.  Due to built-in shelves in Little Man’s room, the kids have to switch rooms.  Furniture is all over the house in the interim.  I’m debating what to do with the queen mattress now.  It is currently stuck on the basement stairwell.  I thought I could move it alone and that it would slide down the stairs.  Um, no.  It’s too big.  Which also means we (me + whomever I recruit to move it) probably won’t be able to fit it through the walk-up stairs to the attic.  The bed frame, which was in very bad shape after multiple moves and one too many fun times, is already broken up into pieces, outside, waiting for trash pickup (also dependent on when I can recruit someone to help me move it on a Sunday).  This not-having-Man-Muscles-around can really become inconvenient at times.  (An aside:  I’m trying to figure out how to reconnect my cable.  I may have to Borrow-A-Husband for this duty.  Ugh!)

MID-POINT OF SUMMER

The key to survival is SUMMER CAMP!  Little Man is in camp 7 out of 10 weeks of summer.  It’s just better for everyone.  This week he is in Creative Drama Camp with a Norse theme (Think Thor).  Next week is Harry Potter Camp with a science focus.  The first 3 weeks of summer was Peace Camp, a family visit to Wisconsin, and “Mommy Camp.”  For Mommy Camp, I had all these great ideas.  The only idea that came to fruition was a movie “Madagascar 3” to include popcorn & Icee (Food cost more than the movie tickets!).  I somehow lazed out of swimming and Chuck E Cheese (thankfully!).

Diva Darling is in part-time daycare.

Having a few hours to myself a week has been integral to maintaining my sanity this summer.

FAMILY VISIT & BACHELORETTE PARTY

I, of course, have much more to tell, but alas the bed is calling.  I’m up too late as it is.  If I wait to post until I complete my original intentions, we all know it won’t get posted.  Perhaps in the near future, I will post some notes/observations about the annual trek to Wisconsin for the Great-Grandparents Anniversary Celebration and my mad party planning skills for my BFF’s Bachelorette Party.  I am still recovering.  Not necessarily from excessive debauchery  but from sleep deprivation.  To bed!

Live Simply. Unless Planning a Kid’s Birthday Party.

Slow down, Mama!  Do you remember any of your childhood birthday parties?  Oh, You don’t?  Are you spending hours upon hours of party planning for a party your child will vaguely remember in adulthood?  

  

Why, yes I am.

I know he won’t even remember the details of this party, only that he had one.  So really I just need to calm down and regroup.  So far today I have been working myself into a frenzy as the countdown to the party has begun and I haven’t checked off too many things from the Party To Do list.  Really, I just need to remember – this is just for a bunch of 6-year old boys.  It does not need to be complicated. They just want to play together.

Take a deep breath.  The Boy knows he is loved.  And he doesn’t have to be completely Spoiled.

So the birthday shenanigans started when the Boy declared that he really, really, really wanted a LEGO Ninjago party.  Not the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Sundae Party I had been planning.  You know that type of party that all parents love. All I have to do is send out the invitations and then pull out the credit card.  The proprietor does all the rest.  I was so excited for the Ben & Jerry’s party:  They’d make tie-dye T-shirts.  They’d play Pin the Tail on the Cow.  They’d make their own sundae creations.  Best of all, this was at the shop, NOT at my house.  

Win-win for Everyone.  Except for the Boy.

“But Mom, I LOVE Ninjago.”

“Honey, why don’t we have the party at Ben & Jerry’s with a Ninjago theme?”

“No, I want to have a Ninjago party at my house.”

Clearly, this child is unaware HOW MUCH WORK THAT IS and does not know how much it stresses me out to have people over, even little people, primarily because it requires a CLEANING FRENZY.  And I only have so much energy. And not enough money and too much guilt to hire a cleaning service.

“But sweetie, if we have the party here at the house, you can only invite 6 or 7 of your friends.”

“That’s ok, Mom.”

DRATS!

Well, I suppose I could make an executive decision and tell him that’s too bad.  “You get what you get, and you don’t get upset.” A line I have happily adopted from his kindergarten teacher.  However, I know the Boy would be the Happiest Boy for the Day with a Ninjago party.  I want to be that mom, his mom, who delivers smiles & happiness.  I can’t give him the world (nor do I want to, ok maybe I want to but know it’s not good to hand over everything they want.) but I can give him a Ninjago party.

Really, how hard can it be?

(However, I should know by now that when I ask that out loud, it’s always way harder than I think it will be.)

First of all, LEGO Ninjago is relatively new.  While there are episodes of Ninjago on Cartoon Network these days, fueling the love my boy is developing, the theme has not yet hit the party favor circuit.  There are no Ninjago invitations or party wares online or at Target.  Which also probably means that there is no easy cake options either at Safeway. *sigh*

I hit up Etsy for the party invitations.  I just barely got them out 2 weeks prior.

After running myself ragged with pursuing all the potential party ideas (hiring a Sensei Wu to lead a Ninja class, finding skeleton or snake piñatas, finding rubber snakes for a snake scavenger hunt, buying a Spinjitzu arena, etc), I finally settled on these ideas for the party:

1. Decorate your own Goodie Bag with Ninjago stickers. 
2. Pinata with a Twist. 
3. Foam shurikens.
4. Watch a Ninjago Episode.
5. Spinjitzu Arena.

 My next post, I will share photos of the party, which was a smashing success. Whew!

I f*cking hate happy, "in love" thirty-something people on Facebook. Makes me want to vomit.

I can't post this on Facebook because then all my friends & acquaintances would worry about my mental health.

And I'm fine, really.

But I do want to rant & rage a little bit.

My complaint for the day:  I f*cking hate happy, "in love" thirty-something people on Facebook.  Makes me want to vomit.

Please, spare me the gushing about marrying your best friend.  Really?  Come on. 

Today I just have a dark cloud hovering over my head, about to start raining heavily, maybe even hailing. 

I am experiencing a few major transitions right now.  Frankly, it sucks because my immediate future looks rather bleak and unbalanced.  However, I have to be strong for myself and for children.  But I'm not feeling strong right now.  In fact, I really want to take something that will take off the edge.  Don't worry, I'm not hitting the bottle although it sounds like a lovely escape.  Instead, I just ate several things that will make me fat and jack up my cholesterol.  I'm over-caffeinated, too.

Overall, I'm just acknowledging that my little world sucks right now.  That is all.

Hot Stiletto Peep Toe Pumps Can Be Worn in a Pinch for Business Casual Attire, Right?

I had a casual job interview earlier this week for a part-time marketing admin position.  As I have stated before, I am a just-in-time gal (Read: Procrastinator). So even though I have been on a slow, steady plod back to the working world of paid employment  (Updating my resume, writing cover letters, dreaming about how delightful it will be to spend those dollars earned, longing for adult conversation/connection), I hadn’t yet given much thought as to my business wardrobe.  Or more precisely what to wear to an interview.

As I was getting dressed for the meeting, I faced a minor crisis.  What is appropriate business casual attire these days?  Do I even have any article of clothing that would be presentable?  My wardrobe after six years in a Domestic Goddess position has morphed into jeans & t-shirts, workout attire, and a few sexy outfits complete with hot stiletto peep toe pumps for Hubby’s benefit.  But business casual?  Oh, I had to dig deep back into the depths of the closet and I found a pair of black slacks. 

I thought wearing black was suppose to be very forgiving to flaws of the figure.  Apparently, that is not an universally true statement.  Especially when the black pants are the wrong size.  I’m not complaining too much because the pants were too big (Yay!), and the hem was too long.  I did not have any appropriate shoes to wear with the pants.   The only shoes that would clear the hem were my super cute, definitely not business appropriate, stiletto pumps. The length of the pants thankfully covered the slingback style and most of the 4” heel. Gah!

Long story short: I had a pleasant meeting but no job offer. Afterward, I was thinking once again in-depth about my life and passions.  I’m really starting to dislike the soul-searching, do-what-you-love, what-are-you-passionate about conversations that I’ve been having lately with lots of people, especially in light of my temporary ‘single parent’ status.  I am first and foremost passionate about my family, supporting my husband’s career while staying at home with my children.  And yet I am still apologetic about it because being very traditional seems so foolish, not welcomed nor truly valued today.  Truthfully, I have no idea yet what I am passionate about.  I like to do many things but I’m not necessarily passionate about it (i.e. make it happen no matter the challenges.)

At this point in time, I just want to find a part-time gig to get me out of the house so I can interact with people.  I want to resurrect some old skills or cultivate new skills, but do something a little bit more than  retail or making coffee.  I know I don’t want the hours associated with retail or with being an awesome kick-ass barista.  I’d like to explore marketing in any setting.  Oh and I also think it would be nice to earn enough to break even with the cost of daycare.  However, it’s looking more and more likely that volunteering (and writing) will provide my sanity check this year.  Unfortunately, volunteering does not support my retail therapy when I need it nor pay for daycare.

Bottom line:  Essentially I am paying money to volunteer in order to stay sane, all while wearing sexy but wildly inappropriate stiletto shoes around town!

Daylight Savings Time, I Curse You in the Morning but Love You at Night

I loved the adrenaline jolt I received yesterday morning after hitting the snooze button one too many times and realizing we were late, late, late for school. Curse you, Daylight Savings Time and my internal body clock! So I did what any good mama does--I smiled sweetly at the school secretary as she wrote a tardy slip for Little Man and then took Baby Girl to Starbucks to forgive myself. I'm gonna enjoy that extra hour of daylight for sure and try again.

I am happy to report that Day 2 of DST went somewhat better.  The alarm blared on and on intermittently b/w the slamming of the snooze button.  I did roll out of bed, sleepy, dragging, moaning slightly under my breath, until Hubby on his way out of the door said that our tax refund had cleared.  Oh what’s that? Money to burn?  Shopping to be done?  Pedicures, anyone?  Suddenly, I was Lil Miss Perky at the thought of cute sandals.  Plus I realized I had less than 25 minutes to usher Little Man out the door.

Today is absolutely gorgeous weather.  High 70s, sunny, slight breeze.  I feel so alive and grateful on days like this.  Hanging out with my beautiful baby girl who is mostly smiles and giggles.  Running a few errands with a happy baby in tow.  Afternoon stroll around the neighborhood (Good god, just watch out for the hills.  I was huffing and puffing and some of those ‘hills” were very steep, I swear.  I also might be just a tad bit out of shape.)  Writing when the opportunity presents itself (naptime) with the windows open and my faithful dogs nearby.  Chatting and connecting with two friends and my parents.  Waiting for the bus. My only complaint today is the same complaint every day  “What should I do about dinner?”

TLC Duty – One Step Closer to My Nomination of Mommy of the Year

After a successful birthday party for Baby Girl (and running around last week as a crazed mama with a checklist), I thought I'd be taking it easy this week. But nooooo, of course not. Party clean up rolled right into TLC Duty. Little Man developed a nasty cold with heavy congestion.  I have been enforcing afternoon naps. I have been monitoring the fluid intake. I have been wiping noses, taking temperatures, giving hugs, and in general being an attentive mama nurse. (I might baby the boy a little bit. )

I kept him home from school today, primarily because  he is a snot monster.  How much can he learn when he is wiping his nose every other minute? Besides we were both tired having been up at 4am to make the TLC rounds, to include the popular "I instantly feel  better crawling into my parents' bed to snuggle and sleep." (Today has been a highly caffeinated day.)

I rescheduled my two appts and then we took it easy for most if the day.  We did make a quick run into Barnes & Noble Bookstore for two specific get well items: Pigeon finds a Hot Dog by Mo Williems and Cars 2 DVD.  Until I saw the price. I refuse to pay $39.99 for a blu-ray DVD. That's ludicrous! Thankfully another title, in my price range, caught his eye.

Today though has been challenging in TLC management versus all other domestic chores. My house is a disaster.  All regular chores aside from dining support did not happen.  Baby Girl and Sick Little Man would take turns vying for my attention ALL DAY and well into the evening and long into the night I'm sure.

I'm typing this on my phone as I rock Baby Girl at 11:30pm. She too now has congestion and is uncomfortable. Little Man migrated to the living room couch, and having slept for hours this afternoon, is wide awake watching TV.

It's gonna be a long night.

And I can already tell tomorrow will be a repeat of today.

I can’t help to think "Did I shower today?" So maybe a shower at midnight is in order since clearly two days of TLC duty does not leave time for much else.

Yup, stinky but loving and attentive qualifies for mommy of the year.

VT-isms

@ 11 months, these are VT-isms I do not want to forget:

(1)   I love that I am her favorite person in the whole wide world right now.  Whenever she sees me, her entire face lights up with her toothy grin. *

(although she is smiling for Daddy in this photo after he gave her a banana to eat, as you can see some of the evidence on her face.)
* Unless it's in the middle of the night.  Or she is whining and crying incessantly.  Then I'm not as pleased to be the most favorite person in the world.

(2)   She gives head butts of love.  If you ask her for a kiss, she butts her forehead with yours instead.  Or sometimes gives you a wet, open-mouth kiss of excitement on your nose.

(3)   Victoria protests verbally, more like a grunt of displeasure, when you take something away from her.

(4)   She waves like a queen, with her arm outstretched towards her subject. 

(5)   She is always standing up, cooing & smiling while waiting for someone to get her from the crib in the morning.

(6)   She enjoys taking her socks off when she is confined, whether in her crib, pack n’ play, or carseat.

(7)   She enjoys dancing with her mama (sitting on my hip) in the living room to the Tropicales station, channeling her inner Latina diva to enjoy salsa, samba, merengue music.
Life is Good!