Glad to know that now vs later!

I love having a basement.  Initially, I think it was one of those things where I wanted it because I'd never had one before, but winter doesn't seem as long when you have a place to inflate a bounce house, so now I REALLY love it.

Ours is just a big open room with two smaller, unfinished rooms.  One has the water heater and softener in it, the other is our workout room (which houses Hubs' old weight bench covered in the kids outgrown clothes).  These two rooms also make a great place to stash Christmas presents.  

Yesterday was a mad-crazy cleaning day.  At one point, I had three garbage bags filled with the kids' winter clothes that I brought down to store in Santa's Workshop.  The kids were watching tv, so I hauled the bags downstairs, turned on the light in the storage room, found a place for the bags, cut the light off, and headed back upstairs.  Strip was sitting on the floor next to the couch and said:

Strip:  I can see Christmas from here!

Me:  What?

Strip:  I can see Christmas!!  Come look mommy!  

leads me over to a vent in the floor

Me:  Sweetie, that's a vent.  You can't see anything in there.  Did you drop something down there?

Strip:  No!  When you turned on a light, I could see Christmas!

Me:  What did you see?

Strip:  I saw my Christmas tree and Nugget's Christmas tree, and the big train that Nugget got from Santa...

I realize she is railing off and inventory list of thing in the storage room.  Later that day, I went back down, walked over to where the vent would be and looked up.  Hello couch.  Hello basket. 

 

That night, we were hanging out on our neighbor's porch and I was telling Hubs.  He informed me that there was no way you could just see into the basement.  Something is wrong and there MUST be a piece missing.   I said, "Hubs.  Don't you think I would notice a large metal tube on the ground?!"

Hubs gets up and walks next door.  A few minutes later, he comes back, camera in hand:

 

                                      The hole where you can "see Christmas"

                           The large metal tube I walked past to look at the vent!

Ok, so score one for Hubs.  I'm just glad Strip noticed and told me now instead of on Christmas morning (hey...I saw all of this stuff in the vent....).

Howdy Neighbor

Guess what!  Still no patio :-)  As Hubs was spreading the sand, I jokingly said, "Step 2 sand?  What happened to step one?"  Hubs' response:  Don't you worry about it.  But apparently he did.  The more he thought about skipping the gravel (aka step one) the more he worried about the sand holding water and freezing in the winter.  When he got home today, he starting undoing everything he already did.  

Because the backyard was kind of off limits to kids and dogs, we headed next door to hang with the neighbors.  After overstaying our welcome :-), we headed home to get dinner ready.  I was making (up) some mexican style chicken and rice.  As I cooked up the chicken in a little oil and spices, some of it splattered on my shirt.  I remembered one of the kids' mom's I work with telling me that Dawn dishwashing liquid is the greatest stain remover out there for greasy stains.  I whipped off my shirt and pre-treated it right there in the kitchen sink.  I couldn't just walk off to get a new shirt, so I figured I'd would finish the chicken topless -- woo hoo!  Get crazy on a Tuesday.  Anyway Nugget was watching Cars, and the "Life is a Highway" song came on, so we started dancing and rocking out.  I glance out the kitchen window into our (normally) secluded backyard to see Neighbor Hubs walking by.  AHHHH!! I hit the floor and crawled upstairs to grab another shirt.  Then I called Neighbor Chick to laugh hysterically and apologize for flashing her Hubs!

Maybe next time I'll grab an apron.

I had it all planned out

Today was going to be a great day.  I was going to sleep in until 9, maybe 9:30, then come downstairs to see hubs cleaning up dishes from breakfast.  Then, I would make a cup of tea using my  new perfect tea maker, and head back upstairs to take a shower.  Next, it was off to Nords to get new make up which would include a full, facial make over leaving me just breathtakingly gorgeous.  I would find the perfect pair of sandals on the way out, and they would be on sale.  Then, at home, I would enjoy a tasty margarita while the kids played in the yard and hubs would grill some yummy filets.

Instead...

I woke up to Strip in the bed, sideways, at some point in the early morning, then talking at 6:30, Nugget up at 7.  I stumbled downstairs and opened the cabinet get the coffee grinder and Nugget started screaming, "Gungees!  Gungees!" which is Nugget-speak for "Gummies"  aka vitamins.  I plugged in the toaster to cook up some Eggo waffles (mother of the year) and plopped down on the couch to check my email.  I had a good 3/4 of my coffee down when Hubs backed a truck into the background, poked his head in the house and said, "Hey can you help me for a second?"

In the back of the truck were 200 bricks.  200.  Hubs thought it would be fun to put a patio on the back of the house just off the deck.  He borrowed a friend's truck to get the bricks.  He should have borrowed a friend, too.  I threw on a pair of shorts and walked outside.  I took my place in the two-man assembly line reached up for the first brick and felt it.  Plop.  Rain.  Yay.  It rained the entire time we unloaded the truck.  The only joy I found was belting out, "My Life Would Suck" as Hubs begged me to stop.  Then the peanut gallery, Nugget, came outside.  "Mama!"  Yeah, buddy?  "Wain!"  Yup.  Go back inside, please  ::screen door slams behind him.  "SUE!!  I STUCK!!"  Finally we finished unloading.  I'm sure he mumbled something as he got back in the truck, but all I could think was how good a shower was going to feel.

Just as I stepped out of the shower, Hubs walks in and asks what I'm doing.  Take a guess.  "Why?! I've got a whole truck load waiting.  We have this and one more."  Ohhhhh that's what he said.  Woops.  Back outside, Hubs greets me with my very own, polka dot work gloves and says we'll switch places.  I climb up in the truck and start hurling bricks off of the truck.  Twist, bend, grab a  brick, twist, stand up, toss.  I felt like I was on some horrible version of biggest loser, doing one of those ridiculous challenges for a one-pound advantage.  We get that one done and Hubs says (and I hear) he'll be right back with the last load.  I go back in the house just in time to change ANOTHER stinky diaper.  Awesome.  We finally get the last load off, I feed the kids and finish getting ready for the day.  I also noticed that it has finally quit raining.  Great timing.  I put Nugget down for a nap, get Strip settled with her leapster and a movie, and tell Hubs, I'm off.

I get to Nords and hop in the seat at the make-up counter.  I tell the girl what I'm looking for and what, exactly I want to buy.  I tell her I don't like foundation and prefer a pressed or liquid powder.  She opts for a tinted moisturizer.  I tell her I like light eyeshadow, she puts on brown, creamy sparkly shadow.  She asks if I use a brow pencil, I say no, she applies mascara meets lipgloss to my brows.  She asks what I use on my lips, and I say chap stick.  She applies purple sheer gloss.  The only words to describe me would be brown and shiny.  I ended up getting liquid powder (that she didn't use), some concealer (that she did use) and some eyeshadow (that she didn't use).  I did make it home to that cup of tea, did two loads of laundry and walked out to check Hub's progress.  The pup followed me.  We look at all of the nicely leveled sand and are chatting about the next step, when the pup RUNS through.  Paw prints all through what was nicely leveled sand.  Ugh.

I cook dinner for the kids and we cuddle up on the couch watching Bee Movie.  Both kids were so into it!    It was adorable!  Something action packed would happen, and she would cover her eyes saying, "I can't look!  I can't look!" while Nugget was prompted to put his little fingers up to his mouth, point out and say, "Oh no!!  Oh no!!"  We giggled and laughed and ran upstairs.  I got them settled into bed and made my margarita.

Not the relaxing day I had planned, but productive!  Lets just hope it doesn't rain a lot tonight, Hubs can get his honey-do project finished by Thursday!

Why must she follow me?

Another attack from the look-at-me-I'm-s0-skinny girl.  

I had to go buy a bathing suit today.  HAD to.  Disney is getting close, and I think they'd frown on me being naked, so I hit stores this afternoon while Nugget slept and Strip was having a quiet rest.  I desided to baby step into it, and poke my head in the Loft to see if there was anything new.  I grabbed a few dresses and some shorts and headed back to the dressing room. As I was walking into the open room (being lead by the sales chick, mind you), another woman CUT ME and went on in!  She paused, looked at me and the sales chick and said, "Oh is this ok?"  Uhh sure.  I walked back over and stood in line, waiting for a room, but noticed there was an open door on the end.  Then I saw a girl poke her head out.  She looked at the 8 of us waiting for a room, goes back in her room, clears her throat and SCREAMS, "Oh my gawd!  This ZERO is a little snug on me!  Ugh!  They were out of twos, but these zeros are too tight.  I mean, they zip and fit and everything, but they just feel so tight!  Do they look tight?!" 

Seriously?  But wait, it gets better.  Sales chick finds her a 2.  "UGH!  LOOK HOW BAGGY THE TWO IS!!  It's so hard to find clothes!  The TWO is falling off of me!"  she's now standing in the middle of the dressing room area, and her friend (?)  tells her she thinks they fit fine, to which the bean pole replies, "OH my GAWD!!  DOn't say that!  That's like calling me fat!!"  Oh my!  2=fat?! Yikes! 

 Call me obese. 

Three weeks from today

Three weeks from today, my pasty pale body will be in a bikini by the pool, with a yummy drink in hand.

Three weeks from today I will not have to worry about my allergies and what I eat because someone will take care of that for me -- for a week!

Three weeks from today, I will be hanging out with friends who I haven't seen in way too long.

Three weeks from today, I will be sweating out of my ears and wondering how in the heck I ever live in Florida for as long as I did!

Three weeks from today, I will be a part of a wedding in the most magical place on Earth.

Three weeks from today I will be in Disney World, and I can NOT wait.

(Don't worry, I won't be posting this weekly, I just noticed my ticker today and got really excited.  Yes, I'm closer to 3 than 30:-) )

Smarter than he looks :-)

Nugget was born early.  Almost 4 weeks early.  When he was born, he just looked like he needed a little more time to cook.  Since then, when comparing kids (and I know, you shouldn't compare your kids, but come on, who really doesn't?!) Nugget has hit every milestone about three months later than Strip did.  So I haven't been really worried that he's not a big talker.  Plus, he's a boy, so I figured he would be more of the silent, grunting type.

Anyway, he's really starting to pick up new words and phrases.  One of my "favorites" I hear all day:  "Mama!?"  yes "Are you der?"  Yes.  "Mama??!!"  Yeeessss  "Are you der?"  yesssssss!  "Ha!  Der yo are!"  Told you.

He is IN LOVE with our neighbor's little girl (we'll call her "Jane").  She is almost exactly his same age, they are the same height and coloring, and they talk and play so well together.  Last night, around 10, he woke up screaming.  I brought him downstairs so he wouldn't wake up his sick sis, and he cuddled for a minute.  Then he sat up and screamed, "I WANT JAAAAANE!"  I told him Jane was sleeping.  "Oh.  Jane night night?"  Yes.  "Oh, ok.  I want milk."  So I asked him if I gave him some milk, would he go back to bed, and he said, "yeah, mon (nugget speak for yes ma'am)."  As I was taking him back upstairs, we walked by the front window where I forgot to pull the shade down.  Nugget looks out and see our neighbors (parents, not kids) sitting outside, enjoying the nice night and he starts screaming, "Jane not night night!!  Jane not night night!"

I took him out (in my pjs) to confirm that Jane was in fact night night.  He said, "Ok!  Night night!" and went to bed.  That kid's got a good eye!

Strip got stripped!

In December, one of Strip's teachers came to school with a super cute, super short hair cut. I loved it, and because I needed someone to cut my hair here, I asked where she had it done. I was shocked when she said Great Clips. She had donated her hair to locks of love, and GC does the cut for free. Later that day, Strip was asking what Locks of Love was, so I explained

Me: They take hair from people who have a lot and make wigs for kids who don't have any hair.
Strip: Why wouldn't kids have hair?

Me: Sometimes, kids get really, really sick, with something called cancer. And the medicine that they use to make the cancer go away is so strong that it can make the kids feel really sick and even make their hair fall out. Can you imagine feeling really sick, AND having all your hair fall out? That wouldn't make you feel better. So the wigs help the kids feel a little better while they GET better.

Strip: I want to do it!

So I told her we needed 8-10 inches to give and that probably by this summer, we could get it cut. She really wanted to do it before we went to Disney world and before school got out (so she could share with her class), so Tuesday was the big day.

I washed and dried and brushed her hair and took a quick little video of her before we left, then we headed to the salon (I begged my stylist to do it. Sorry, but I just don't trust GC, especially not with my baby's first BIG hair cut). He put her hair into perfectly meausred pigtails and snipped them off! She laughed when she saw her pigtails sitting on the counter, and immediately fell in love with her new 'do. 8+ inches will be going to make a wig, and another inch was trimmed up! I was so proud. I kept waiting for her to flip out or miss her hair. Later that day, she said, "I can't wait for my hair to grow back out again..." and I thought, "uh oh!" but she finished it with, "so I can cut it off again!" What a sweatheart!

The next day, she wanted to take her hair to school, so I put it in a bag and told her she had to keep it there because if the ponytials fell out of the rubberband, they wouldn't be able to use it. She said she would keep it in the bag, just like one of her friends' floam. I laughed thinking about the teachers when Floam showed up for show and tell!

The only downside is that she got very sick last night. It's hard to hold her cute 'do out of her face when she's puking, but it is MUCH easier to wash!

Adventures in tanning

So I am sitting in line a the tanning bed. I have not been to one of these places since I got sprayed before our wedding. And boy have things changed. This new place is super fancy and spray tanning has come a really long way. The last time I did this, it was like on friends where Ross forgets to turn aroung and gets "four fours" to the front. Now there's an instructional video and a multi-step process full of really fun moves, that I am convinced are just to make you look like an idiot, and somewhere, there is a camera. If you'd like to learn the spray tanning boogie, google VersaSpa. Lots of fun.

Anyway, I saw some of the wrinkliest, leathery people come in and out while I was waiting, which only made me more certain that I did NOT want to lay in a tanning bed. As the young gal was getting me all checked in, which included, I kid you not, a fingerprint id, she asked if I had ever done Versa Spa before.

Me: Not VersaSpa. I did it when it was called "Mystic Tan."

Tanning Tina: Ohmygod they are SO not the same thing. Versa is like, so way better. WAY better. You'll be glad it's not mystic. Like, really glad. I mean, one time, I did Mystic, and I totally left orange streaks on my...friend's....pillow

I had to giggle at the thought of this chick shacking up with some guy and leaving an orange face print on his pillowcase. Ha!

When it was finally my turn, Tanning Tina lead me to the room, went through the motions, and shut the door. I got ready to get my spray on. I stepped into the booth and noticed another BIG difference. Mystic tan is an enclosed booth within a room, so you feel kind of covered. VersaSpa? Not so much. This lead me to only believe that there really were cameras somewhere to catch me doing the naked tanning boogie. Yikes!

I did my thing and by the time I got home, I thought I looked pretty good, but for my girl's weekend in Chicago, I think I looked a little like an Ompa Loompa. I tried to avoid white and green as much as possible. I have another "free" session waiting for me, so I'm debating getting bronzed before Disney, but again, I'm a little worried how orange I will be. I don't want to be mistaken for Tigger.

Riddle me this

I use to buy all of our meat, fresh daily, from the lovely organic grocer down the street.  Two kids, and two moves later, I've learned to stock up on sale and freeze it.  Because if this, I rarely check the label, except for weight.  Then, I take it home, split it up by the pound and freeze it.  The other night, I was in desperate need of a juicy burger, and since I CAN eat the burger part and Hubs just got a new grill, he offered to grill one up for me.  He quickly thawed out a pound of my cheap meat, only to have it crumble and just look soggy.  So, he grabbed a second pound...same thing.

Needless to say, I didn't get my burger that night, but since we were grilling out for Mother's Day, hubs went to Fresh Market to get some good ground beef.  It. was. DElicious.  Later that night, I did my bi-monthly shopping and once again, picked up about 7 lbs of cheap meat.  Because we were having spaghetti Monday night, I didn't freeze it that night.  Monday rolls around, and I rip open the package, but I catch a glimpse of the label before it hits the trash:

Product of Canada, North America and Mexico.

Hmmmm.  That is one heck of a well traveled cow.  Right?  Ew.  The thought of ground beef is a little gross on it's own, but imagining that it is now made up of cows both here, north AND south of the border.  Bleh.  Maybe we'll cut it down to one square of toilet paper per person so we can splurge on meat that comes from the same time zone.

When it rains it pours

Nugget has not been himself lately.  He's just super clingy, whiney and not sleeping well at night/exhausted during the day.  When I got in from work yesterday, I took his temp and it was 39.  Somehow, our ear thermometer has changed itself to celsius.  Grrreat.  I did the most logical thing which was to take my temp (37) and give him some tylenol.  I put him down for a nap and googled "celsius conversion calculator" and typed in his info.  Yikes!  102!

Hubs offered to come home from work early that day because I am going to be out of town this weekend and he didn't want to be stuck with a sick Nugget he's a good father, so I called the ped's office and begged them to take Nugget that afternoon.  He was in at 3:30.

As I got sick Nugget in the office, am digging around for my insurance card and signing him in, Hubs calls to say I might need to come back and get Strip.

Me: Why?

Hubs:  She just came upstairs screaming.

Me:  Well is she sick? 

Hubs:  No, she stuck a raisin up her nose.

Me:  Good Lord, are you serious?!

Hubs: Yup.

Me:  Well how far up there is it?  Is it really stuck?!  Do I need to come get 

her?!?!?

Hubs: Nah, I got her to blow really hard, and she shot it out of her nose.

Awesome.

We get back into the room, and Nugget is nuts.  He's laughing, giggling, screaming with delight as the doctor walks in.  Clearly he is the picture of my-child-is-so-sick-he-needs-to-be-seen-right-awayness.  Strike one.  The doc is asking me all sorts of questions about how he's feeling, etc and asks if he's been eating.

"No, he really hasn't had anything to eat in the past day or so.  Normally he eats like a horse, but he hasn't really touched ANYTHING in the past day."

Doc opens his mouth to look in Nuggets throat and I catch a glimpse of something black stuck in the back of all of his teeth.  Crap.  Now, either I liked and he HAS had something to eat in the past 24 hours or I just do not take care of my kids teeth.  What the heck did he eat?!  Strike 2.

Doc does some swab tests to see if it's strep or flu and leaves the room.  RAISINS!  The kid had a mini box of rasins on the drive over.  Dang.  Oh well.  Nugget goes back to being his nutty self, and the office has these really dangerous fun steps up to their super high tables. Nugget, of course, is having a grand old time driving Lightening McQueen all over the steps. He's sitting on the bottom step, leans forward, and that giant head of his just pulls him right down to the cement carpet below. Red mark, rug burn, crying, great. Doc comes back in to tell me he's fine, and I point out the boo boo on his head. He takes a look and scribbles something in Nugget's chart. Fantastic.  

Strike three, we're out.

I have doctor ordered anorexia

A couple of months ago, we found out that my egg allergy was back and better than ever. Since them, I've been avoiding eggs and anything with eggs in it. BUT, I've continued to have allergic reactions. Three times were after pizza (at three different pizza places), then another after a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread and the latest was a grilled cheese on flaxseed wheat bread. Nugget and I headed to the doctor's office for a consult and more tests.

And the results? MORE ALLERGIES! And since everyone loves a good visual, I present my allergy mosaic:

EDITED: apparently I can't do mosaics 

Beautiful, isn't it?

Wheat, and all things containing wheat (thanks for the thighs bread, it was nice while it lasted); soy, which is in everything or every fake food that is trying to be healthy; corn, including corn starch, corn syrup and everyone's favorite, high fructose corn syrup (which, did you know, is in Cam.'s tomato soup?!? Second ingredient, my friends!); beans, all types; peas; watermelon, can you say random; cotton seed, yeah, I'm really going to miss that one; almonds; garlic and flaxseeds, which both came up mild.

WOW. Good news? My skin is going to look fantastic, and I think I will b a good 20 lbs lighter before the big Disney trip. Also good news, here's a sampling of things I am NOT allergic to:

See, still can't do a mosaic.  I'm working on it.

Also good news? I'm married. I could NOT imagine going on a date with me:
Yes, I'll have the chicken sandwich, but instead of breaded, can I have it grilled, no seasoning. No ketchup please and instead of a bun, can I have a lettuce wrap? No fries, please, but a plain baked potato with pepper only, no salt. And water to drink please. Oh and for my salad, I would like balsamic vinaigrette, unless it contains HFCS, then just some extra virgin olive oil and some red wine vinegar...

Ugh. Oh well! Maybe I can fit into my "goal weight jeans" that have been stuck in the back of the closet for the past year!