Isn't it Ironic?

Last winter/spring, we were sick a lot.  Every week, one of us had some kind of symptom that kept us from being wholly well.  I started thinking this summer about things we could do to avoid a repeat of that season.  I'm sure some of it is due to moving and adjusting to a new environment with new contagions and allergens.  Some of it is due to having a baby who put everything in his mouth and is too young to take most kinds of medicine.

But I thought it couldn't hurt to try to beef up our immune systems going into the fall/winter.  I researched supplements and started the kids on probiotics, along with a vitamin c/zinc combo.  I've even gotten J to succumb to the supplement slippery slope.  

I started hearing Alanis Morrisette singing in my ear on Friday, though, as I realized none of the above protected us from getting lice exactly one week after starting all my get-healthy endeavors.  Isn't it ironic?  Don't you think?

The Dark Side

Many of you have expressed concern for many years now.  "It's not normal," you say.  "How do you function?"  "You must be exhausted."  Why, yes, friends, I usually am.  But no level of exhaustion has ever convinced me that coffee is worth drinking.  I can choke down tea only if social niceties demand it.  Carbonated beverages cause my stomach much regret.  I have survived 34 years without a caffeine addiction, but lo, I have been converted to the dark side; and I have my sister to blame thank.

Sometime in January, when children and husband were very sick, and mama was running low on nice, sweet unassuming sister popped over with a little envelope of something called chai latte.  "This is the good stuff," she promised.  "If you don't like it, call me and I'll come drink it.  Don't you pour that out."  I set it aside, knowing it would be like all the other failed attempts throughout the years to woo me to caffeine.  

I pulled it out on a Sunday morning after very few hours of sleep the night before.  And as my sister had promised, "It's definitely a mommy drink.  The smell will drive your children away so you can enjoy it in peace."  They abandoned the table and I was left alone to contemplate the threshold I may be crossing.  She had described it as a blend of spiced wassail and hot chocolate.  That doesn't sound very good, but friends, it was.  It was so good.  If ever I was to be converted, you had to know it would involve chocolate.

That particular envelope made a big mug of chai latte.  A big mug that probably should have been sipped over several hours.  I guzzled it before we left for church.  By the time we walked into our class, my heart was ready to leap out of my chest and my eyes wouldn't blink.  An incredible force, yet I had to harness it or it would be my undoing.

Over the last few weeks, my sister and I have perfected this concoction.  Other, more sage caffeine-drinkers are probably aware of this recipe, but we have found that a packet of hot coca mix added to a cup of spiced chai brewed from the cheap tea bags makes a wonderful elixir to carry mommy through a slow school morning or a long, rainy afternoon.  Or both.  Give it a try the next time you suffer from a severe case of rear-endus-draggus.  You know it has to be good if it won me over to the dark side. 

What We Learned Today

One of the reasons I homeschool is to raise lifelong learners...learn something new every day.  Today I learned:
1. If you need to remove large quantities of flour from hair, dry brush it outside.  Because the equation flour + water = paste is true in hair, too.
2. A 5-year-old can spot treat carpet stains she creates.
3. The incubation period of our strain of virus is five days.

And today isn't over yet.  What have you learned today?

Fuller Lips Overnight

We're going house hunting again today.  Yes, we thought we had a house; but it turned out to not be the right one for our family.  So we're back to hunting.  Just a day trip, but a very long day.  So it was important that I get a good night's rest last night.

As I reached to turn off my bedside lamp last night, I saw a mosquito fly through the spotlight.  I was up and after him in an instant.  I can not stand that awful whining, buzzing in my ear or the thought of being eaten alive in the night.  I slapped at him a few times and he disappeared.  I told myself I got him.

Around 2:30 am, I awakened from a dream that included me having several mosquito bites on my neck and face.  Just the thought made me itch all over.  I got up and inspected the itchy spots in the light of the bathroom.  No bites, just a dream; go back to sleep.

Nothing doing.  I could not fall back asleep.  I tossed and turned in that weird half-dream state where you get fragments of sleep and dreams are really bizarre.  Until around 4:30 am, when I had a dream that a mosquito bit my lip and it swelled to elephant-size proportions and I had to go house hunting like that.

Only this time, my lip really was throbbing even after I woke up.  Throbbing!  I was so mad at that mosquito!!  The audacity!  Biting me on my lip as I slept!  Can you believe that?!  I went to survey the damage and sure enough, nice puffy upper lip.  Have you ever heard of such a thing?!  The good news is that you really can't tell just by looking.  I just get to have a nice, full, pouty smile for a day or two.

After applying a layer of benadryl cream as chapstick, I burrowed under the covers for the next hour just waiting to hear him coming to strike again.  I imagined him biting my ears, my nose, my fingertips clutching to the covers.  Of course I never went back to sleep.  I finally admitted defeat and went to get ready for the day.  Figured I had extra time on my hands to write a blog post about the whole ordeal.  Who did I meet in the bathroom?  Stinkin' mosquito!  I got him this time.  Teach you to ruin my sleep before a big day.

New Hobby

I've taken up a new hobby in my spare time.  HA!  That made me laugh just to type it.  No, what I really mean is...I've found a new hobby to play at while neglecting other things I should be doing.

I received a couple of beading books last year for Christmas (2009) and finally got around to trying out a few things in time for January birthdays 2011.  Whaddaya think?

Hope you like 'em, 'cause that will cure my craft craving for at least six months.

It's That Time Again

Beware!  Or be joyful.  The wonderful little thin mint fairies knocked on my door this past weekend, selling their deliciously addictive wafers.  And I for one am joyful!  Nothing quite like a refrigerated box of thin mints to keep a pregnant mommy's sanity from inching too close to the point of no return.  Thank you, cookie fairies.  Come again soon!

Genius

There are two ideas we have implemented recently at our house and all I can say is, "Genius!"  They are not our own ideas; we borrowed them from the interwebs.  But we love them like our own.

The first solves a really old problem...how to get the preschooler to stay in her room until the sun comes up.  Both my children wake up when the light penetrates their curtains and it was really becoming a problem for A to stay in her room.  We had used an alarm clock that would play music when it was okay for her to come out, but she never knew how much longer it was going to be until the music came on.  I saw a really fancy preschool alarm clock online that had several different lights to go on/off at various times plus music. Looked brilliant, except for the $50 price tag.  J said he could rig up something similar with a plug-in timer that we use for Christmas lights.  Voila!  He plugged a dim bedside lamp into the timer and programmed it to come on at 6:45 am and go off at 7:00 am.  The idea is you stay in your bed until the light comes on, and you can leave the room when it goes off.  Works wonderfully!  Goodbye to the 4-6 interruptions between 6-7 am asking, "Can I get up and play yet?  Now?  Now can I get up?  How many more minutes until I can get up?"  Genius!

I found the second idea while searching for ideas to compile "busy box" activities for C to do while I am doing reading lessons with A.  Another mom mentioned using a small, inflatable pool to let the toddler play with rice, beans, buttons, beads, etc. while mom is nearby helping the older child.  Genius!  Especially since I already had the pool and the rice.  Only problem was keeping the older kid out of the fun.

What would we do without the internet?!

Gross Out

I think of all the nasty things I have to deal with as a mom--from bodily fluids to smushing bugs--black, chunky water that comes squirting out of stagnant rubber ducks has got to be one of the most repulsive side effects of a good time.

Big Dose of Funny

Okay, I had to stop reading the comments on this blog post because I was starting to cry from laughing so hard. Go read and get a good dose of the best medicine. (Please note that given the subject matter, not all comments are g-rated; but they are all hilarious!) I'll go back and finish reading them about five minutes before nap time and that will see me through.

Subarban Snapshots: Why Having a Toddler is Like Being at a Frat Party

Weekend Recap

We had a pretty laid back weekend this week. Saturday morning was family time, played outside together. J took the girls to run a few errands mid-morning and I got a much needed hour to finalize my curriculum order for our first year of homeschooling. Had a lunch of leftovers, then tried to take a nap. C wasn't cooperating for whatever reason. She fussed for a good half hour before finally falling asleep. Same thing happened on Friday; very frustrating because then A woke her up after she had only slept thirty minutes. Made for a long night at home group on Friday night. She did better on Saturday and we all made it out the door on time for some birthday party hopping. First to a party for one-year-old twins, then a second party for a little friend turning four. Loads of fun and sugar!

Sunday was church as usual. We were informed when we picked C up from nursery that she had snuck in a twenty minute snooze. We figured that meant we were good for another hour if we wanted to eat out, so we did. Of course, it took her a good thirty minutes of fussing again to take an afternoon nap, but she slept hard once she fell asleep. Finally had to open her door at 4:30pm so she'd wake up and be ready to go back to bed at bedtime! J worked with the girls in the garage painting something or other for my mother's day present. I spent the quiet time in the house catching up on emails, clearing my paper stacks from the kitchen counters and gearing up for a new week.

And here it is, Monday! C went to sleep without complaint today. Woo hoo! Don't want to make a habit of fussing to sleep. I think they were both pretty tired from the weekend as evidenced by a nap time long enough for me to get my work done and still have time to blog. I'll second that woo hoo! Registered A for swimming lessons this morning and ran a few errands. Laundry. Potted some mystery beans brought home from Sunday School a few weeks ago from their plastic cup into a real pot with dirt. Chatted with the neighbor about her new grandson. More laundry. Blew some bubbles. Made grilled cheese. Fought the great eat-your-fruit battle for the day. Tuned in to Little Einsteins. Put girls to bed. Updated the budget. Sent overdue emails. Wrote a blog post!! Time for more laundry. Thank you, Lord, for the calm and normal.

Maybe tomorrow

So I wanted to find an activity to occupy my girls while I got some stuff done on the computer. During nap, I found a recipe for no-bake playdough and thought we'd give that a whirl. I spent an HOUR making playdough!! That is the opposite of what I was going for. I needed the girls to be occupied for an hour, not me! Not to mention that my hands are now quite sore from kneading 2 cups of flour into 1/2 cup of water. And of course, by the time I got the food coloring worked into the last ball of playdough, C was consuming mass quantities of the first ball and A announced that she was done with it all. Needless to say, the budget did not get updated this afternoon. Maybe tomorrow.

Mamalympics

I've had a running post in my head for a few months now about crazy olympic feats that moms attempt and should get a medal for on a daily basis.  Every event I would organize would be timed, like the obvious fastest time to change a messy diaper with the fewest wipes, or fastest time to buckle screaming children into their car seats.  Or maybe, fastest time to get all the items on the grocery list with at least two children in the buggy.  I thought I was being creative, but I've clearly not put as much thought into it as the writers of these posts.  Only, I like the name "mamalympics" better.  Check 'em out for a good chuckle:
At the Mom Olympics
Welcome to the 2010 Mom Olympics
The Mom Olympics