February 24, 2012
Five Question Friday
February 19, 2012
One Good Deed
Once again, Monkey Girl asked her friends to bring donations to the local Food Pantry, in lieu of gifts.
And, once again, her generous friends brought both.
The picture above shows the donations to the Food Pantry, which she is thrilled about.
This year, in particular, she is so excited because our school district runs a fundraiser called Coins for a Cause, where students collect their loose change, and then, in April, vote for one out of three charities that will receive all of the proceeds.
This year, the Food Pantry is one of those organizations, and she is hoping beyond hope that it wins.
I think she’s given them a nice start already!
Proud of my girl.
February 16, 2012
10 Things I Love Thursday
I’m feeling tired and worn out and was toying with the idea of a post, today, that involved a pity party for myself.
A girl can indulge in a little self-pity every once in awhile, right?
However, I didn’t think it would be in my best mental health interests to let myself wallow, so I decided to channel my energies into finding ten things that I am just loving the heck out of today.
So, here we go…
1. These staircases.
They are redonkulously awesome and if we ever win the lottery, they are the very first things I am installing in this house.
2. The unabashed way that babies poop.
First, there is the poop face.
Then, the grunts and groans.
Then, the big, huge smile.
I love it.
3. My iPad.
I love my apps, I love my games, I love my books, and I love that they are all in one place.
It rests so nicely on the treadmill so I can read or play Words With Friends or watch the Gossip Girl episode that I couldn’t record because my DVR is too busy on a Monday night and distract myself from watching the time.
It gives me nice surprises when I turn it on and see that there are 267 new pictures that have been taken and they are all Baby Monkey using the distortion function in iPhoto and the pictures range from creepy to adorable.
It’s just a fun toy to have.
4. The movie The Vow.
Mind you, I haven’t actually seen it, but I’m dying to.
I love Rachel McAdam.
And Channing Tatum?
Well, come on. Seriously.
My friend, Shane, wrote a blog post about it on his blog and gave it his own brand of a thumbs up.
So, the commercials snagged me, the review snagged me, the stars snagged me.
I think I love this movie.
5. The idea of myself as a serious dancer.
Don’t worry.
I have no illusions that I am any sort of dancer, whatsoever.
However, we’re in the midst of the spring musical, and I’m spending a lot of time choreographing dances with my fellow director.
I’m choreographing in the shower, while I cook, in my sleep.
And, while I choreograph in my head, I look a lot like this:
Don’t burst my bubble.
6. The fact that my kids get whatever they want for their birthday dinner and Monkey in the Middle chose meatloaf.
Meatloaf.
7. My friend, Tara.
Yeah, I’m callin’ you out, Tara.
Tara teaches in the room next to me and is the director of the spring musical.
My co-choreographer, if you will.
Like I said, I’m tired and worn out right now.
February is a marathon.
Yet, I can guarantee that I will laugh…really laugh…at least 5 times throughout the course of the day with Tara.
She’s good people.
8. Following George Takei on Facebook.
‘Cuz he’s funny.
Or, maybe he’s not funny, but he finds funny stuff and posts it on Facebook.
And that makes me happy.
9. Real Man.
I just do.
10. All of you.
I can’t tell you how much appreciate the fact that so many of you come back here day after day to see what I’ve written.
Thank you.
A lot.
February 13, 2012
Why French Parents Are Superior
I was up at 6:30 on Sunday morning, with the monkeys standing by my side of the bed, talk-whispering one request after another.
“Mom, I need you to put the batteries in my new remote control car!”
“Mom, I need you to get the milk from the top shelf!”
“Mom, I need you to find my church shirt!”
“Mom, I need you to help me open this pack of markers!”
“Mom, I need you to…” do half a million other things as I stumbled down the stairs.
Much of this I was able to remind them that they are perfectly capable of doing for themselves.
As, for the other things, I had one request…
…let me have a little breakfast first.
Some mornings I can get up and get going and it’s no problem.
Some mornings, though, my diabetes reminds me that it is ever present and I really need something to balance out my blood sugar before I can even think coherently.
So, on Sunday morning, I just needed them to have something that we try, try, try to teach our children.
Patience.
And, so I ate my breakfast, but I did so with 3 little bodies hovering, ever near, daring to say things like “Are you done yet? Can you do it now? You could probably do it while you eat!” and Tiny looking at me from the high chair, eyeing up my eggs, thinking, “I should probably eat those, Mama. You look a little busy.”
The entire time I ate my breakfast, I was thinking about an article that my friend from high school, Meredith, posted on Facebook last Monday. It was about why French parents are superior, and while I don’t think we, as parents, need anything else to make us feel like we are doing a bad job, since we are our own worst critics, the article was really thought-provoking for me.
(You can read the article here.)
So, this week is going to be an effort in practicing being a French mere, and hopefully, helping my kids train to be a little more like French enfants.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
February 11, 2012
When We Were Six
Baby Monkey is 6 today.
I could wax poetic, but I’ve already done that, here and here.
So, instead, I think I’m going to sum up my little guy by quoting Real Man.
About a month or two ago, we were at dinner and Baby Monkey said something that was typical of his usual dinner chatter.
I don’t remember what it was, but I do remember Real Man’s comment.
He said, “Baby Monkey…how is it that everything you do is tinged with awesomeness?”
And that is the perfect way to describe Baby Monkey.
There’s a little awesome in every single thing that kid says and does.
Everything.
I love him.
And that’s all there is to it.
February 10, 2012
Five Question Friday
So, we’re going to alternate our Frugal Fridays with Five Question Fridays and anything else I decide to throw in on a Friday!
Why?
Because I can.
1. How often do you shave your legs in the winter?
Um, not often.
There.
I said it.
February 9, 2012
Ka-Ra-Tay
So, Monkey in the Middle and Baby Monkey are taking Karate this winter.
It is through the town rec program, so it’s not like they are at a dojo, or anything, but it’s still a full karate program.
As with all things, Monkey in the Middle is into it and working to learn his moves and is ready to kick some butt.
Baby Monkey is just along for the ride.
It’s fun to take them (although I am very grateful when Real Man offers to take them, as well) because you never quite know what you are going to see.
Like a sparring match up between Baby Monkey (one of the smallest guys in the class) and the sensei, one of the tallest people I’ve ever seen.
But don’t you worry…
Baby Monkey showed him a thing or two.
Of course, the real reason either of these boys ever want to go to karate is because the sensei ends each class with a game of dodge ball.
With karate helmets.
They’ve each got the strategy down.
Stay in the back and be invisible.
Monkey in the Middle does get aggressive and starts playing a mean game of dodge ball with helmets.
Baby Monkey needs to be prompted to play, and yet, he almost always winds up as the last one out there.
It’s always a good time, watching them get down with their karate selves.
Last week, the boys came home after being at karate with Real Man and wanted to show me their new moves.
“Bully me, Daddy! Bully me, Daddy!” they were yelling.
“Huh?” was my response.
So, Real Man showed me how they learned two different ways to break away from an attacker, and they were adorable doing it, and it made me feel really good to know that they knew how to defend themselves or how to get away in a dangerous situation.
So, karate…
…adorable AND potentially life-saving!
February 6, 2012
If You Give a Mom an Hour
So, as I wrote my post about my brain not shutting off while I was trying to sleep, the other night, I was reminded of the “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” books. Several people commented that that post reminded them of the books, as well.
I decided to go ahead and give a stab at actually writing a post along the lines of the books.
So, here’s what might happen…
If You Give a Mom an Hour
If Dad takes the kids to the park and you give a Mom an hour…
She’s going to want a cup of tea.
She’ll turn on the tea kettle and reach for a mug in the cabinet.
Except, there won’t be any mugs.
So she’ll open the dishwasher that is full of clean dishes, because her daughter (whose chore it is to unload) hasn’t gotten around to emptying it yet.
She’ll pull out the mug, and then spot the dirty dishes in the sink, and decide to empty and reload the dishwasher.
When she’s done, she’ll go to sit down to wait for the kettle, and as she walks to the table, her foot will crunch on a Cheerio.
She’ll grab the broom from the laundry room and sweep the kitchen floor.
As she empties the dustpan into the garbage, she’ll notice that it’s pretty full, and she’ll take it out to the trash bins.
As she walks back into the house, she’ll notice a tricycle, left in a corner of the driveway.
When she wheels it back to it’s spot in the garage, she’ll find her 5 year old’s baseball cap.
She’ll pick it up and take it inside, and up to his room, tripping on a toy on the stairs.
After dropping off the hat, she’ll pick up the toy and take it to the basement, discovering the empty popcorn bowl from the night before.
As she brings the bowl to the kitchen, she’ll turn off the kettle, knowing it’s about to whistle, will grab a tea bag, and will pour the hot water into her mug.
She’ll know it’s too hot to drink, so she’ll turn to the pantry to find something to nibble on with her tea and will find an empty box of 100 Calorie snack packs.
She’ll break down the cardboard and will notice two empty cereal boxes on the counter, so she’ll break those down, too.
As she carries them to the laundry room, where the cardboard is kept, the dryer will buzz, and she’ll pull out the clothes and hang them, quickly, before they wrinkle.
Then, she’ll move the clothes from the washer into the dryer and realize she forgot to get the basket of dirty clothes from her room.
So, she’ll trudge back upstairs and head to her bedroom.
As she grabs the laundry basket, she’ll notice that someone probably crawled into her bed to watch television and she needs to remake the bed.
While she’s making the bed, she’ll step on an empty inhaler that she probably dropped there, in the night, after using it.
She’ll look in her nightstand to see if she has another, and when she realizes she doesn’t, she’ll quickly call the pharmacy to renew the prescription.
When she hangs up the phone, she’ll see her iPad and remember that she was in the middle of a good part in her book (on the Nook) when she fell asleep last night, so she’ll put the iPad on top of the laundry in the basket and bring it downstairs with her.
She’ll load up the washer, pick up the iPad, and walk back to the counter.
Her tea will be just the right temperature for drinking, so she’ll take the iPad and the tea to the living room, and as she sinks into the comfy couch, the front door will open.
“Mom! We’re home!”
February 4, 2012
No Rest for the Weary
As I write this, I am in the middle of Night #3 of no sleep for me.
Night #1 was due to a 3 am rendezvous with Tiny.
Night #2 and Night #3…it’s all me.
Can’t blame Tiny.
In fact, I can hear him sawing a whole forest of logs in there, right now.
I’ve tried…I really have.
But, I can’t turn my mind off.
I start thinking about something funny that happened at work.
Which reminds me of the papers I need to grade at work.
Which reminds me that my grades need to be entered into the system at work, so I really need to finish grading those papers so I can get the grades done in my grading program and then transfer them to the report card system.
Which makes me think that maybe I should just get out the computer and start working on it.
Which reminds me of the Social Studies project that Monkey Girl was borrowing my laptop to complete tonight.
Which makes me smile because I remember how much fun I had cleaning the kitchen while she was working on the project, just chatting away.
Which reminds me that we really need to sweep the kitchen more often, because Tiny is now a crawler and will put absolutely anything that he can pinch between those impossibly small fingers into his mouth.
Which makes me envision the laundry room, off of the kitchen, where the broom is kept.
Which makes me a little nauseous because, aside from the broom, I am also envisioning the sickening loads of laundry that are in there, just waiting to be dealt with.
Which makes me remember that all 3 big kids have “Sports Day” tomorrow, and they all want to wear Giant jerseys.
Which makes me a little upset, because I wanted to wear my Giants jersey to school tomorrow, but Monkey Girl is going to borrow it, so I have to think of a Plan B.
Which makes me nauseous, again, because now I’m mentally going through my closet, and in that closet is a laundry basket full of laundry that needs to be done.
Which reminds me that tomorrow is Friday, which starts the weekend, and I’m hoping to get the laundry squared away this weekend.
Which makes my neck tense, because it makes me think about the fact that the Christmas tree is still up.
Which makes me smile because it reminds me of Christmas and how much fun the monkeys had.
Which makes me get a little tic because, in thinking about Christmas presents, I realize that we are now in February, and all 4 monkeys have birthdays this month, which means lots of parties to plan and presents to buy.
Which reminds me I have to transfer some money from savings into checking to pay some bills tomorrow.
Which makes me wonder if Real Man is getting paid this week or next week.
Which makes me remember that Monkey in the Middle wants to buy a snack a lunch tomorrow, with his own money, instead of having me pack one.
Which makes me worry that I don’t remember where I moved his wallet last time he left it out on the counter.
Which makes me think of the kitchen and the mess on the counter.
Which reminds me of the mess on the floor.
Which makes me think of Tiny and makes me listen to him sawing wood in his crib, over the monitor.
Which finally makes me sleepy.
Okay, I think I’m good now.
February 2, 2012
Sick
I’m sick.
I’m tired.
There is nothing, nothing that could make me smile today.
Except for the fact that when I was putting away Tiny’s laundry, he was crawling around on his bedroom floor, crawled over to his crib, reached out, touched it, turned to me, shook his head and said very, very seriously, “No-no, Ni-ni. No-no, Ni-ni.”
That made me smile.
I picked him up, assured him that it was not, in fact, time for “night-night,” and was rewarded with a kiss.
A Tiny kiss, which is an open-mouthed, drooly, boogery, slop-fest on your cheek.
And that made me laugh.
Kids.
Good stuff.
















