Winter Sucks

Well, Chloe finished her first year of preschool. She was a true darling, and took a great picture with her teacher:
They had a little concert. I laughed. I cried. I was so proud. Here's a little sample. If you're interested in seeing the whole thing, I have it broken into four parts over on my Youtube account.

Every year when the weather starts to turn warmer I state one thing. "Winter Sucks." I don't say it so much during the winter. But once I get to enjoy the warmer weather, I realize that I enjoy it so much. I don't even mind the July 90 degree humid Pittsburgh weather. Someday, I'm going to have to move out of my little slice of Collier Township so I don't have to endure the winters that I hate. Someday. Either that or I need to hope this whole 'Global Warming' things speeds up a bit. Here's what Becca and Chloe did to kick off their Memorial Day weekend:




After that, we got to hang out with some friends and neighbors for an impromptu cook out. And you know, summer is great and all...but what am I going to do with the kids?!?!? I think they will absolutely kill each other if I don't give them something structured to do, at least for part of the summer. Lucky me, there's a summer rec program available. It's close, cheap, and lasts for four weeks. We're signing up today (and so are some of their friends). Problem solved. And guess what? I'll have some 'me' time!!!

Um, YYYYYIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

**And just a little note. I'm planning on changing my blog over from Blogger to Wordpress. I have plans to do it this weekend, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will happen this weekend. So, if you're coming here to see what's going on with me and get some sort of blank page, don't worry. It will be all sparkly and new soon!

Another Blissful Week/Best Thing I Heard

Wow, this week has just cruised on by! We had a great Mother's Day at Kennywood!  The lines were almost non-existent, the weather was cool but nice, and we had a great time.  Here's my favorite picture of the girls from that day:

That's them on the kiddie coaster. But they had a great time on the Jackrabbit, too!

I thought I would share some of my Mother's Day love...and laughs.  First off, I got a very cute card from Chloe that she made in preschool.  Inside, it had a cute photo of her out in the garden.  Then, I got Becca's card.  She had been talking about it for three days.  It was a big surprise.  I totally cried when I read it.  Here are some of the pages:

So, that one is "My favorite time together is when we...lay together in my bed."  Cute.  Really, though, my legs aren't quite that skinny.  

Yup, Becca wants to give me an indoor pool.  Not quite sure where we would put that one...and I think it may be more for HER.

Yup, this one makes me cry.  How totally sweet.  Really, I look like ass in the morning.   But at least I have my daughters snowed.  And I'm not sure why I don't have any clothes on in this picture, but I don't sleep in the buff.  I'm always too cold for that.  Now the next one has a little story:

Now, at first look it seems innocent enough.  "My favorite thing about my mother is we both like to play."  I was reading the little book/card out loud.  When I got to this page, Becca exclaimed "Hey!  It's not supposed to say we both like to play!  It's suppposed to say we both want a slave!"

The laughter just roared out of my mouth.  I said "Becca, I never said I wanted a SLAVE.  I said I wanted a MAID!"  I explained how having people as slaves is a completely terrible idea.  She was fine with my explanation.  Then I wondered...did the teacher choose not to write the whole slave thing because she felt uncomfortable with that?  I mean, I may have done the same thing...don't get me wrong.  Then I thought 'play' and 'slave' could sound very much alike.  Especially in a noisy kindergarten classroom.  I was hoping that she heard 'play' instead of 'slave' because I really don't want the teacher to think that I was upset with the outcome of the Civil War.  Then I looked at the picture.  Looks to me like somebody is bringing me and Becca something to eat at a table.  Servants?  Cooks?  OK, that I can handle.  I have a bunch of money and I pay them well.  I'm fine with that.

But not slaves.

Hell, I can't even get my kids to clean up their toys.

So, that's my Mother's Day chuckle.  Sorry I waited a while to share it.  I had this crazy flu/cold all week.  Producing one pound of snot per hour takes a lot of energy out of ya.  But I'm almost back to normal (as normal as I can be, anyway).  

More later :)

Back From My Blog-Free Zone

Well, I took a couple of weeks off from blogging. No excuses, I just had too many other things to concentrate on. I've missed ya, though :)

One thing I did last week was have an ADULT evening out. I've re-connected with some friends from high school. This particular group of friends are people who were in the school musicals and stage crew (like me). Our two teachers who organized (and worked their asses off) the shows and crew left our old school, and are now both at the same school. They put the show 'Company' on, which is one that we did back in the eighties. So, we got together and went to see the show. It was GREAT seeing everybody. We all headed out to Downey's House after the show, and really got to catch up. We had so much fun, we've decided to do it again.

Being out with friends and teachers from high school gave me the chance to have a visit with my old self. Which was kinda nice. I would think that the older I got, the more I would know who I am. To a certain extent, I do. I know how I will react to certain situations, I know my beliefs, and I know that my family is the most important thing in my life. But I've found that I've lost a bit of me...and I think it's because I'm so busy taking care of everybody else. You know, the kids need things like food, clothing, baths, activities. My third child (the restaurant) needs all kinds of stuff...a new payroll company, bills paid, ads, blah blah blah. I'm so busy getting stuff for everybody else, Heather sort of comes in last place.

So, on this Mothers' Day Eve, I've decided that I'm going to do something more for myself. I'm going to spend more time with my friends. I'm going to learn something new. I'm going to teach my kids to do some more things on their own (like falling asleep!!!). So, Happy Mothers' Day to all the moms out there.

Take some time for yourself. Although 'Mom' is the most important job we all have, it is not the sole definition of who we are.

Should I Save My Sanity or Save My Money?

Well, today is day 2 of spring vacation for Becca. I'll tell you, it couldn't have come at a worse time. Or maybe the timing of my vacation was wrong. Either way, let me tell you what's been going on.

We all had a great time in Florida, and it was a week of family togetherness. We got home late on a Tuesday night, and Becca had school the next morning. I think she was still asleep as I got her on the bus that morning. When she got to school, she found that her regular teacher was out, and she had a substitute. When she got home that day, she cried that she didn't want to go back to school. I knew she'd have a bit of an adjustment getting back into the groove, and figured she had a little bit of extra troubles because she expected to see her regular teacher. Thursday came, and there were more tears when she got to school. There weren't any in the car that day, but lots of complaining. Friday, she stepped on the bus with big ol' tears of drama. Monday and Tuesday, same thing. Tears. Lots of them.

She's tried saying she has a stomach ache. She misses me. She misses her blanket. I gave her an old necklace of mine, and told her to hold it when she missed me. Helped a little. But now we have this week of vacation, and I think it's going to start again on Tuesday. Ugh. So, that's my update on Becca. I'm sure all will be fine, but it will be another week of complaining and fake stomach aches.

As for the title of my post, I want to talk about Aldi. I think I've mentioned the store here before. I love that store! And no, this isn't a sponsored post and I'm not getting anything to post about this store. Yesterday, I took the girls and did a grocery trip. I got an entire cart full of groceries and it cost 85 dollars. The cart was pretty full, and I even spent $10 on those
vaccuum space bag thingies and three bucks on some fresh flowers. I've never had a problem with any of their groceries (Well, scratch that. I did have a problem with some hand soap - the pump didn't work. But that could happen anywhere). Even though they don't have a bunch of name brands, their cereal, snacks, frozen items and produce suit me just fine. I feel darn proud of myself when I come out of that store. Saving money makes me happy. But the kids have to shop with me when I'm there.

I have to say, they were VERY well behaved yesterday. I think they may have reached the point where I don't have to yell at them the entire time, and they stay close to the cart. Chloe has her job of putting things into the cart, and Becca helped me decide what to buy. Just six months ago, though, it would have been a different story. They would be grabbing things to put into the cart, begging for toys and candy, and getting in the way of the other shoppers.

And that's the strength of the Eagle's Nest. If you're not local, I'll let you know that Giant Eagle is one of Pittsburgh's large grocery chains. My store (and many others) has a child care center called the Eagle's Nest. It is a room for the kids set up with video games, toys, crayons and tv's. One wall is all windows, so you can peek in, and they always seem to have enough adults for the number of children. Putting the kids in the Eagle's Nest is almost like having a 'Calgon, take me away!' moment. Drop them off, grab a cart, order a Starbuck's and leisurely stroll through the store. I can read prices. Look at ingredients. Take recipe cards. Be picky about my fruit/meat/veggies. It's actually relaxing. Until I get to the check out.

I literally pay twice as much when I'm at Giant Eagle. Really. Now, there are some things that I will only get at Giant Eagle. Steaks, fresh seafood, bakery goods. If I need any of those things, I stop in quickly and head right back out. But sometimes, just sometimes, it's nice to have an hour to myself to do my shopping.

I've been very, very good about getting my groceries at Aldi. Because Chloe is at preschool two mornings a week, I can sometimes even sneak it in while I'm all alone. Giant Eagle knows what they're doing with that thing! I think I'll save that for the summer. When they're both here. All the time. For three months.

I'd better start saving my cash!

Weekend Re-Cap

We had a fun weekend. Well, on the surface, anyway. It's hard to balance all the balls I have up in the air. Restaurant, kids, t-shirts, affiliate marketing, making the house look like it's not a pig sty. This weekend, we did a lot of stuff with the kids.

Saturday we went to breakfast with the Easter Bunny and an egg hunt. The girls had a great time. They had pancakes (their favorite), got to see their two cousins, and completely made out at the egg hunt. They each found three tickets, which entitled them to prizes. Chloe got a big and two small prizes, and Becca got 2 mediums and a small. The prizes were stuffed animals. My kids LOVE stuffed animals. There is a strange addiction there that I have yet to break. They were also very nice to their cousins. When I suggested that they each give one stuffed animal to their cousins (because they didn't get any tickets) they didn't even flinch. I was a proud mama. They were truly happy to make their cousins happy.

Then it happened.

We left the egg hunt and headed to the restaurant. We sat in a ton of traffic because of the inbound Parkway West closure this weekend. Becca started. "I'm jealous because Chloe got a bigger bunny than me!" Blah, blah, blah. Seems that every time we do something fun, the crabbies come out right after. We made it home, she complained some more, and eventually ended up on time out (I think it was for hitting her sister).

So, we wake up on Sunday and it's our day to go to the circus. The girls were excited. We all get ready and head down to the arena. They had fun watching Tony squirm as he saw the clowns outside mingling with the crowd. As we walked in and started going up the ramp to our seats, there was a vendor selling light up toys. Tony and I gave each other the "should we get these" look, and we bought one for each kid. The vendor says "twenty four." Twenty four? Dollars!?! I clutched my heart as Tony dished out the cash. We went in, found our seats, and walked around on the floor for a bit. They were offering elephant rides, pony rides and a big bouncy-slide thing. I entertained the thought of buying them tickets. I walked over to the ticket table and found it was SEVEN DOLLARS A TICKET! Pony ride for seven bucks? I don't think so. Big bouncy slide (the same one they have at many local festivals for $1 per ride)? No. I may have parted with fourteen bucks for the elephant ride, but the line was enormous. We bought a 'family pack' of tickets, which included a drink and hot dog for each person. We went and got our food (and those tickets were worth it, BTW), stopped by the cotton candy booth, plunked down 8 bucks for cotton candy, and headed to our seats.

The girls enjoyed the show. It seemed to drag a bit, but I'm glad we went. We bought more food. Pretzel, pop corn, peanuts and fries. As I emptied my wallet of cash, I was at least happy that we were all together, having fun. The girls were most excited about seeing Spider Man. He came out during the second half of the circus and did a little acrobatic ditty. They were happy, so I was, too. Spider Man made a second appearance with the clowns, but he was sort of like Elvis. Trim, muscular and svelte the first time you saw him. notsomuch the second time :)

Of course, as soon as we got in the car, Becca was complaining that she didn't get to go on the bouncy slide. Ugh. I about freaked out. I told her that I may not EVER take her to do anything fun ever again, because she just complains when it's over.

Yeah...that's my stellar mom moment of the weekend.

Tony could tell that I was just over this behavior. When we got home, he took the girls up the street for THREE HOURS!!! I had three hours to myself, and I was totally awake. I cleaned. Yeah, not the most exciting or relaxing thing to do, but it made me feel better, and I enjoyed it. I think Tony feels bad that it's going to be just me and the chicks for Easter vacation...and it looks like it's going to be too cold for them to play outside.

So, I had a full 'mommy' weekend. The restaurant was slower than usual because of the traffic situation. I have a clean-ish house (there was no scrubbing involved). I worked a little bit on my new affiliate site. It still has a long way to go, but I'll get there. And I had a request for a t-shirt design. I set up a store a while back, with all intentions of putting a bunch of designs in it. But then we, you know, bought a restaurant. So, I haven't worked on it much, but I have done a few special requests. Here's the one I did this weekend:

Peace, Love & Baseball Organic Toddler T-Shirt

I still haven't gotten it up on Zazzle, but maybe I'll do that now. OK...I think I've babbled enough for now. Next post? I think I'll touch on the fact that Becca is crying every morning because she doesn't want to go to school. Yeah. Fun.

Vinyl Sausage

We have this slide bouncer thing. It was a gift. And a darn good gift, at that. Today it was beautiful outside. So, I asked Chloe if she wanted to play on the 'bouncy slide.' Well, of course she did. This thing is actually pretty easy to put up. Roll it out, plug in the air compressor, tap a few stakes into the ground, and you're good to go.

She had a blast bouncing around on this all afternoon. When Becca got home from school, they were invited to a neighbor's house to play for a couple of hours in their back yard. Fine. 'Me' time is good. The homework got done, and off they went. I had the house to myself.

I also had to put that thing away.

By myself.

Thank God there wasn't some stray parent with a video camera taping their child outside. I had to look absolutely ridiculous. I started very calm and focused. I made sure the air was out. I start folding this thing up. Unfortunately, the size of the folded 'bouncy slide' was about twice as big as the bag I'm supposed to put it in. I unfolded. I folded again. I straddled this damn thing, shoving it into this bag. I was laying on the grass, holding the thing on top of me.

I was a mess.

But I got it in that damn bag.

Heather - 1
Bouncy Slide - 0

Take that, Little Tikes.

Rats and Birthday Cake

I have very mixed feelings about Chuckie Cheese.

Strictly as an entrepreneur and business woman, I think it's great. There's always money in entertaining kids. Especially when it's mixed with giving parents a little break.

As a mom? That's where my mixed feelings come in. I don't really mind going to Chuckie Cheese during the week. In the afternoon. When other parents are at their regular jobs, and it's nice and slow. It's not a bad place when the weather is crappy and you have a bit of cabin fever. When it's slow. Every game is only 1 token. That's cool. And there are things that the kids can actually do on their own. Cool.

We had a bad experience with germs at Chuckie Cheese. A couple of years ago, everybody we know (including us) got sick after going to Chuckie Cheese. EVERYBODY. I blame it on the tube/slide. We all got a horrible stomach flu. Becca was 3. Chloe? 18 months. Becca got it first, and it plowed through the family. It was utterly and completely terrible. Becca was in the slide the day before she got sick. It was a Saturday. I have since found out that they clean that slide on Saturday nights (Well, at least at our Chuckie Cheese). We go early in the week now.

We also bring a VERY LARGE bottle of hand sanitizer. I am constantly putting it on their hands. When we get there (so we don't spread any germs we might already have). Before we eat. After we eat. When we're done playing. Again in the car. We haven't gotten sick since that one time. But I am VERY afraid to go there in the winter - the middle of sick season.

What motivated me to write this post? Well, let me tell ya. We went to a birthday party on Sunday at 'The Cheese.' It was at noon. The place was completely insane. We had to wait in line to even get in. It was the longest two hours of my life. There were screaming children everywhere. When we gathered for the 'birthday' part, we were jammed into a corner. We ate some cardboard pizza. The kids didn't want to sit. They wanted to play some more. It was loud. Very loud. It was a birthday party for a neighbor kid (who is very sweet, and a cutie!). But being in the middle of 8 different birthday parties all happening at the same time was just too much for me.

Sorry, kids. You're not having your party there.

I got home, popped two Advil and considered having an adult beverage. Some days, this motherhood gig just doesn't pay enough.

I was rejuvenated later in the evening, when Tony took the girls outside to play. Did I relax and give myself some 'me' time? Nah. I popped the MP3 player on, cleaned up the house and put away laundry (singing at the top of my lungs). All better. That's all I need. Just a half an hour of escape every day or two.

You: The Peeping Tom Seeing My Morning

I don't really know if my family and friends know what happens during a typical Heather morning. I can't imagine that they do know. So, just in case anybody cares (and to make myself feel a little better), here's how my morning went. Today was an easy one, because we didn't have to leave the house at all. Well, just a quick run to the bus stop. So, here it goes:

• 4:30 am - Wake up to see 3 year old in front of my face, asking for milk. Realize that I'm in Becca's bed, and fell asleep around 9:15.
• 5:00 am - Think that it's a good idea to wake up and get some stuff done. And I actually wake up.
• 5:00-5:45 - Spend some quality time with the husband, who has not gone to bed yet. He also thinks that it is currently still THURSDAY. I continue to correct him, telling him that it's FRIDAY.
• 5:45-6:00 - Watch 15 minutes of the news. Wish I looked as good as Sonni Abatta.
• 6:00-6:25 - Watch 'The Office.' Laugh. It was a good one.
• 6:25-7:00 - Make large pot of coffee. Check e-mail. Log in the numbers from the restaurant last night. Prepare deposit. Figure out the change order. Update our POS system for Friday specials.
• 7:00-7:05 - Drink more coffee. Smoke another cigarette
• 7:05-7:06 - Start vacuuming a plethora of nerds candy from the family room. Realize that it's 7:06, and decide I need to shower
• 7:06 - 7:35 - Wake Becca. Iron her outfit. Wake her again. Brush teeth, shower, greet crazy-haired Chloe, help Becca into her tights and dress. Come downstairs. Finish vacuuming aforementioned nerds.
  
• 7:36 - Yell upstairs for everybody to hurry - we have 19 minutes
• 7:36-7:55 - Pack a lunch, make a waffle, drink more coffee, have a smoke, find missing glove for Becca, brush Becca's hair, grab almost-forgotten library book for Becca. Pack one pretty-looking sweetheart and one bed-head, pajama-clad, slipper-wearing sweetheart into car for 1 block ride to bus stop (it was cold!)
• 8:05-8:10 - Turn show on for Chloe, sit down to write blog post for Downey's House
• 8:10-8:11 - Get Chloe a banana
• 8:11-8:30 - Finish blog post, check some forums and twitter. See that CafePress is down. Complain about it on twitter
• 8:30-8:31 - Put another television show on for Chloe
• 8:31-8:45 - Hang out with Chloe, tickling her until she begs me to stop
• 8:45-9:05 - Finish up with checking sales and stats online. Look up code numbers for the liquor I'm about to order
  
• 9:05-9:06 - Get Chloe some strawberries
• 9:06-9:15 - Order the liquor, enter amount into Quickbooks
• 9:15-9:45 - Help Chloe make Kool-Aid for her 'Lemonade Stand.' A lemonade stand where there are two customers: Me and a small stuffed bear. Play lemonade stand.
  
• 9:45-9:55 - Start dusting and cleaning the glass in the family room. Decide I'm not in the mood to really do much more cleaning right now.
  
• 9:55-10:05 - Spend 10 minutes searching for a copy of our new menu that Tony wrote revisions on. Finally give up, and hope I remember the revisions.
• 10:05-10:10 - Take phone call from the restaurant
  
• 10:10-10:11 - Start menu revisions
  
• 10:11-10:12 - Cut up an apple for Chloe
  
• 10:12-10:20 - Work on the revisions some more
• 10:20-10:22 - Help Chloe in the potty
• 10:22-10:30 - Finish with the revisions. Hope I got them all.
  
• 10:30-10:33 - Re-wash the laundry I left in the washing machine overnight. Freshen up clothes in dryer
• 10:33-11:00 - Print up a copy of the fixed menu. Remember that I also need employment apps printed up. Do that. Deal with my desktop and what my security scan found.
  
• 11:00-11:20 - Fold the laundry with Chloe. Yes, it takes that long.
• 11:20-11:23 - Sit down to sign our corporate tax returns
• 11:23-11:24 - Get Chloe some carrots
• 11:24-11:30 - Decide to boil some eggs. Smoke a cigarette
• 11:30-11:45 - Fart around on the internet. Still annoyed that CafePress is farked up.
  
• 11:45-11:50 - Sew up the back of Chloe's Build-A-Bear
• 11:50-12:00 - Get the eggs from the stove. Decide to write this post.
• 12:00-12:03 - Make toast for Chloe
• 12:03-12:10 - Continue with post
• 12:10-12:11 - Get a hard boiled egg for Chloe
• 12:11-12:16 - Continue with post
• 12:16-12:17 - Make witty remark on Twitter. Well, I thought it was witty
• 12:17-12:20 - More blog post
• 12:20-12:22 - Get Chloe some Kool-Aid
• 12:22-12:30 (now) more blog post.

So, there's my morning so far. The thrilling life of a work-at-home-business-owner-mom. You know, throughout this time line, there's the conversations I have with Chloe. Well, they're not really conversations. It's more like a question and answer period. That lasts, um, all day. These kinds of mornings are actually my favorite. I get some business stuff accomplished, get some housework (sort of) accomplished, I get to be social with my online friends, and I get to hang out with my Chloe.

Now, I'm gonna go and make myself some egg salad. I did sneak a granola bar in sometime around 8:00. But I'm hungry!

Want to follow me on twitter? I'm at twitter.com/hdowney

One Child? You Have No Idea!

I had a conversation with my nephew this weekend. Mind you, my nephew is 30 years old. He is married with a two year old son. He and his wife are wondering when to have that second one. Personally, I enjoyed having mine so close together. But hey, I'm just saying what worked for me.

Then we started talking about how different it is having TWO kids. I can only imagine how difficult it is to have MORE than two, but I'm gonna stick with what I know. I'm hoping that I didn't scare them. I didn't mean to be negative at all!!! I was simply stating how MY life changed. But anyway, I told them that the transition going from 1 child to 2 children was much more difficult than going from zero kids to 1 kid. And my friends tend to agree, so I felt comfortable saying this.

When you're having your first child, the only time you're sacrificing is your own. When child number two rolls around, the juggling begins. My girls are exactly 2 years apart. Two year olds don't really understand the whole 'taking care of the baby' thing. Not for more than five minutes, anyway.

There's the emotional part of trying to be even with each child. When they get older there's the fighting.

Yup, lots of fighting.

My girls DO get along. But there's always the fighting, too. I'm constantly breaking up arguments. Reasoning with one or the other. Or trying, anyway. I don't think you're really knee deep in parenting unless you're breaking up fights.

Don't get me wrong, there are other challenges with just one child. Challenges that I don't really want, either. When you have only one child, YOU are the playmate. When I tell my kids to go play a game, they go play a game. I only need to give them some guidance. I don't have to be an actual player. Sometimes I do play games with them, but at least there's an option. Plus, I play by the rules, and that must not be cool with 3 and 5 year olds. They make up their own rules.

So, I say yes to nephew. Have that other child. I say have it soon. Because even though the work increases exponentially, so does the good stuff like kisses, hugs, and cuddles.

What a Difference a Day and 30 Degrees make!

Wow. If you read my last post, you know that the kids and I were having a rough and crabby day. One day and some warmer weather later, we were three happy chicks. After school, we ran to our corner convenience store, got some treats, and went to the neighbor's to play outside. (Well, I didn't play...but I did drink some caffeine). Fighting? None. Happiness and togetherness? Lots. Bedtime went smoothly, no crying and whining.

Same thing today. The girls got to play outside at a family birthday party. They really do need to burn off some energy (and cabin fever). Aside from a huge knee scrape (and a big hole in some tights), there were no major incidents today. All is good again in Downey-ville.

We did have a little funny tonight with Chloe. As I was making some scrambled eggs for Becca (and talking on the phone at the same time), Chloe walked up behind me. I was at the stove, and the carton of eggs were behind me at our island. Chloe loves eggs. Hard boiled eggs. You see where this is going, right? As my back is to her, Chloe grabs an egg...tightly...in her hand. I hear screaming, and turn around to see egg goo on the floor and one very confused three year old. It was a mix of terror and confusion. This is exactly what I saw above her head:

I felt bad (a little) laughing out loud. But I just couldn't help it. So, now my two little angels are sleeping quietly. And I have this quiet house to myself. I just enjoy the peace so much. So much that I stay up much later than I should. Especially today, when we lose an hour of sleep. So, short post just to let everybody know that we're back to our happy selves. Maybe I'll post something more meaningful and/or entertaining next time!!

Not a Typical Day (Hopefully)

Let me tell you about yesterday. There's lots to tell. This is becoming a typical day, but I'm hoping that warmer weather will make it better.

I'll start at the beginning. Thursday. We all wake up and get ready. Chloe doesn't want to go to preschool. That happens about half the time. I bribe her with a promise to stop at Starbucks and get her some vanilla milk. Fine. OK - we all have everything (although I didn't eat breakfast - normal). I get Becca to school, get to the Starbucks drive thru, and get 2 vanilla milks (I promised Becca that she could have one when she got home) and a big honkin' iced caramel macchiato (sp?) for myself . Yum. Chloe was just sort of blah. But the sun was shining, it was getting warmer, and all was good. As I take Chloe to school, I see that her eyes are watering and she's sniffling a bit. No fever, though. I warn her teacher and tell her to call if she gets any worse.

So, off to the bar. Payroll day. I do my office work there, get payroll done, and have no major happenings at the restaurant. I have just enough time to get the birthday presents for this weekend and next weekend, plus stop at the dollar store for some gift wrap and bags (BTW - this is the best place for gift bags). All is good. Sun still shining. I pick Chloe up from school, and she has a fever. But she's a trooper. She's not a whiner. She informs me when she feels bad, takes her medicine, and that's about it.

***Let me interject a little ditty about how we've been feeling lately. We're all a little bit on edge. I think we ALL have a big case of cabin fever. There haven't been many chances to play outside for the kids. I'm completely DONE with winter. I need it to be 70 degrees. And sunny. Now. This has been going on for about a week, and we (meaning me and the girls) are driving each other crazy. Little things will set Becca off. Chloe just wants to watch television. I feel like a drill sergeant - except for the fact that my 'troops' aren't doing a very good job of obeying orders. Plus, I haven't exercised all week...and I've fallen back into my bad sleeping habit, which consists of me falling asleep with the kids and then waking up at 1:00 in the morning. Then I don't make it back to bed until about 3:00. OK, interjection over**********

At this point of the day, I'm in a fine mood. I clean up the house a bit, eat a little lunch and get ready for my debut at Kindergarten. Today is the first day I am helping Becca's teacher with their computer class. Off I go, driving in the sunshine. When I get to class, Becca is happy to see me, and the other children were very curious - but nice. I chat a bit with her teacher and we head off to the computer lab. Each child has their own computer. Becca's teacher shows them what to do on a projection screen (they're typing a sentence that they wrote earlier, using Word. They'll also add a piece of clip art, but the adults will do that). It was a great experience! It was a bit crazy...18 5 and 6 year olds, each at their own computer, and each needing some help. I couldn't imagine Becca's teacher controlling that class on her own. I could never, ever teach kindergarten. But it was good, and I get to do it for 2 more weeks. I sneak Becca out of school about 15 minutes early, and we head home.

Then it starts.

It happens every day after school. Becca comes home, says hello, and then the evil is released. My theory is that she holds in all of this bad behavior while she's at school. And she's not a bad kid. But 8 hours of holding in ANY bad behavior can be tough. So she lets it all out. I usually give her at least a half an hour to just 'de-stress.' But during that half an hour she fights with her sister, whines about stuff, and is just crabby. Earlier that morning we had devised a plan for the evening. I told them that if Becca did her homework right after school, we would have an early dinner and bath, and then play a new game I bought for the Wii. After 20 minutes of bickering with Becca to start her homework, I had to turn into 'Mean Mom.' First, I threatened no Wii. Didn't matter. I yelled. She cried. I hugged her and explained that she wouldn't want to go to school the next day without her homework done. She cried some more. Ugh. We finally get the homework done - but it took twice as long. While Becca was doing her homework, Chloe fell asleep on the couch. It was quiet...on to dinner.

We had all agreed upon spaghetti (shock!! We agreed!). I cook, Becca chats with me. I'm dishing the spaghetti into bowls, and I ask Becca whether or not she wants sauce. She's just recently started eating pasta with sauce, but still sometimes likes just butter. She wants to taste a little, so I slide my bowl of spaghetti with sauce over to her. I get her a small fork full, and she tastes it. And then proceeds to spit it back in the bowl. And then spit some more. More like drool. Lots of drool. Right into my bowl. I take a nutty. 'Why would you do that!?!? What makes you think that it's OK to spit a bunch of spit into my dinner?!?!?' She cries. I throw my dinner in the trash.

She chooses butter.

I eat the left overs.

I'm just crabby at this point. But, I tell them to just give me five minutes to get happy. Bath time goes much more smoothly. We start playing with the Wii, and everybody's happy. They're doing well. They're actually enjoying playing lawn darts, and getting pretty good. Then it happens. Chloe gets a little too close to the table (of course, I kept telling them to stay in one place-away from the table) and smacks her hand off the table. Tears. I console. In the middle of all this, Becca keeps on playing. She accidentally hits the power button on the remote. Well, not really accidentally. She just feels the need to press all of the buttons. After I told her which buttons to press. I announce that we're done with the Wii for the night. Becca cries. Chloe is still crying. Well, while you're already crying and miserable - we may as well have you take your medicine. Because that makes you whiney and miserable, too. (Becca has started taking Zantac - in the liquid form. I'll admit, it's gross)

FINALLY, it's time for bed. We all love each other again. We cuddle. I smell their sweet hair. Chloe does a good job of letting me out of the room before she falls asleep, so I go and cuddle with Becca as Chloe drifts off. We talk about how much we really do love each other. And that's OK if we get mad with each other sometimes. We talk about our upcoming trip to Florida. We'll swim. It will be warm. Becca drifts off to sleep....and I do, too.

At 12:30 I wake up, decide to watch The Office and 30 Rock from the DVR, clean up a bit, and head back to bed.

What a day.

I wonder what life will be like when I have two teenagers. Then I decide it's best not to think about that now. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I'm wondering if I'LL be the one who needs medication when we get to that bridge.

I Got My Roller Boogie On!

What a fun day I had with the family yesterday!!! Sundays have become our 'family day,' and we've been trying to do some different activities. Three weeks ago, it was the museum. Last week we stopped at the North Park Clubhouse in Robinson (meh.), and yesterday we went....wait for it....roller skating.

When I thought of going roller skating, I wasn't sure about the whole idea. I mean, the kids are only three and five, and they've NEVER been on a pair of skates. Ever. When I mentioned it to them, they seemed very excited about skating. They had even recently watched an episode of Ni Hao Kai-Lan where one of the characters learned to roller skate. So, the decision was made. Tony was up for it, and I was in charge of the details. But where to skate? Roller skating isn't really the most popular activity right now. There's a roller rink in Bridgeville...but they don't rent skates, and I think that they're only open on Friday nights. Then I remembered it....the place I used to go when I was young. I wondered if it was still open. I did a quick search online, and yes, the Neville Island Roller Rink was still open. My mind swam in a sea of pre-adolescence, bell bottom pants and Mork and Mindy suspenders (yes, I had a pair. Or maybe they were my brother's. But I very much remember them)



So, off we went. As we pulled up to the building, it looked just how I remembered it. Tony was a little surprised. 'This is it?!?,' he said. Yuppers, this is it. As walked through the door, it was like stepping foot right into the late 70's and early 80's. EVERYTHING looked the same. Everything. The orange paint. The yellow/gold shag carpet on the wall (well, there wasn't too much of the SHAG quality left). We walk over to rent the skates. And yes, they MUST be the same rental skates. I, of course, had graduated to my own pair of skates when I was young. They were blue. With red and white stripes on the side. Very patriotic. I think they were from Sears.

So, we all get our skates on, and the girls hare hanging on for dear life. I got quite an ab workout. Holding up a 40 pound child with one arm while on skates works your abs. Trust me. The girls went around once or twice, falling quite often. We stopped to get a drink, and I just had to do it. I had to fly around like I used to (or at least try). So, I head out by myself, and it was just awesome fun.

The girls got better as we went along. Chloe pretty much just stood still and let us pull her. Becca started moving her feet a bit, and gained some more confidence. They're not ready to go on their own quite yet, but they do want to go back again.

And so do I. A lot. It's kind of scary.

Wait - Let Me Tie My Apron Strings

In my entire life, there is not one single person who would think 'Suzie Homemaker' when they heard my name.

Not one.

And that's fine with me. I never wanted to be the kind of wife who has her apron, heels and red lipstick on with dinner on the table and a martini ready when her husband comes home. Nah. I'm way too independent.

Cleaning house when you're single, living with another adult, or married just isn't that bad. I mess it up, I clean it up. You mess it up, you clean it up. We'll split the stuff that needs done together (garbage, laundry, vacuuming etc.). However, since I've been at home with mini-me and mini-Tony, it's been a little bit more difficult. There are two little creatures, messing everything up at all moments of the day. They're quite good at it. I've really had to spend a lot of time here in the house. And I really like it to be clean. I don't require spotless and sparkling. But I would like to have, at minimum, the APPEARANCE of clean.

I have also realized, in my semi-old age, that they only way I am productive is if I have a to-do list. Honestly. I get completely distracted by small things even WITH a list. Without a list, I'd spend ALL day playing with the kids, watching Oprah and using StumbleUpon. I get a certain amount of satisfaction just crossing something off that list. It is very rare if one day's list gets finished in one day. But, at the end of the day, I try to start a list for the next day.

How do these two topics come together? Well, I've found a great cleaning to-do list. Actually, an old friend of mine found it, and emailed me the link. From what I can tell, this list was created by a mom who also home schools her children. It only costs $8, and she has each day on a page. She has your regular every day stuff, weekly stuff, and (this is what I always forget) the stuff that you only do every few months. I've only been using it for a week, and I've found that I tweak it a bit. I add my work and personal chores on there, too. My old to-do lists ALMOST NEVER including cleaning. I would do some, when I felt like it. Which meant that I hardly every did things like clean the top of the fridge and organize my closet. This list took all of the thinking out of cleaning. I mean, I think enough with all of my other endeavors. I don't have time to THINK about cleaning.

So, here's a link for the to-do list. It comes in a few different formats, and gives you an entire year. Yeah, I know that tomorrow starts March. But better late than never. Click here to view more details. She has it available with or without a Bible verse. Hey, whatever floats your boat. Personally, I'm not so much a bible girl. If you end up using this list, let me know! Or, if you have some other kind of great idea to keep your house in a semi-clean state, feel free to share that, too!

Entertainment in My Mailbox

OK, this is a quickie, quickie post. Mostly because I've been a slacker today, and I still have a ton on my to-do list. But that's OK - we all need a day where we are barely productive every once in a while.

Anyway, thank you to Yankee Candle. It is a super big deal when we receive a Yankee Candle catalog in my house. Everybody (including me) fights over who gets to smell all of the candles first. Chloe just finished smelling all of the pages (even the ones that don't smell) about 3 times. BONUS: a $15 off a $45 purchase coupon on the front. BTW, my favorite scent in this one is Lilac Blossom. It just reminds me of growing up, because we had a huge lilac bush in our back yard. This is also one of my mom's favorite scents. Got me craving spring even more. Oh, and the Vanilla Lime! Mmmmmm...beachy.

So, if you're ordering some Yankee Candles for yourself, the online coupon code is CAT903F

Have a great night!

Best Thing I Heard

I have a little ritual with my girls at bedtime. I talk with them. I spend some time reading with Chloe, then she completely leads the conversation. After Chloe dozes off, I do the same thing with Becca. The other night, as Becca and I were having our little conversation, the subject of penises came up. The little voice in my head told me 'OK, watch what you say. Not too much. Answer her questions. Don't scar her for life.'

The subject came up because she asked me how, when somebody is pregnant, they can tell whether it's a boy or a girl. So, I explained the whole ultrasound thing to her, and that the doctor can see whether or not the baby has a penis. I could see her searching in her brain, wheels turning, trying to remember what in the hell a penis is. So I said to her, "Remember when we changed baby Logun's diaper, and he had a penis?" Yes, she remembered. All was good. No scarring involved.

Then, she proceeded to tell me "It's way better to be a girl. Because when you're a girl, you can read a book when you go pee."

Good point, little girl. Good point.

Best Thing I Heard

This is a conversation that Chloe and I had in the car after preschool today:

"Mom, there's a statue of Hamilton (read: Abraham) Lincoln."
"Yeah? Did you learn about it today?"
"Yeah. And he's in a chair. He got a statue because he got dead. Really dead. It's by the White House."

Ha!

Sometimes, I Just Zone Out

There are a lot of things going on in my life right now that need my attention. Downey's House, my online ventures, and, last but not least, Frick and Frack (the kids). Sometimes, even if it's just for a minute, I need to zone out. It is very rare for me to just sit. Even to just sit and watch television. I'm always either working on the laptop while watching tv, or, when I'm with Tony, we're talking shop. Or kids.

Just now, as I was standing waiting for the oven to beep, I was looking out the window and it happened. The complete and total zone out. Children were chirping in the background ("Mom, where's the little backpack? Chloe is using all the chapstick. Can you put a show on for us?"). I'm not quite sure exactly WHAT I was thinking about. Life. Bills. Whatnot. But there, for that brief fleeting moment, I wasn't here. I was floating in my private world of my own thoughts.

Cue the oven

Dinner's ready. Feet back on the ground.

Right now I can't really imagine life NOT being this crazy. Someday, when the kids are grown, I'm sure life will become more routine again. Until then, I'll take my zone outs when I need them. They're better than Prozac.

Are you there, Spring? It's me - Heather.

The snow in my yard has melted. I no longer have a 5 inch thick slab of ice to drive over to get into my driveway. The furnace is not on for 59 minutes out of every hour. But I don't want to get too excited. This IS Pittsburgh and the date is only showing February 8. But I'm definitely enjoying the warm-ish temps. I looked at the 14 day temperature trend, and it sort of looks like going down the hill on the Jackrabbit at Kennywood. So I will enjoy it while it lasts. And possibly even wash all of the salt off the car. Possibly.

We headed to my sister-in-law's house yesterday (I have 8 SIL's!) for a small party for our 16 yr old nephew. It's nice to have a big family - and the girls really enjoyed seeing their aunts and cousins. Life is definitely getting easier with these two girls. They play together nicely and are very independend. I actually got some nice adult conversation in last night - which is a rare thing for me! Even though I'm feeling the beginnings of a cold (sore throat and a general blech feeling), I still met with Fitty last night. At 11:15 p.m. no less. It was either clean up the tornado of toys or deal with Fitty. It was a pretty easy choice. Wii Fit age yesterday? 31 - I'll take that. I DO have some sore calves, thighs and upper arms. But sore in a good way. I only wince when I try to walk up the stairs.

Tony and I are taking the girls to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History today. Chloe learned about dinosaurs in preschool last week, and Becca has been asking quite a lot of questions about mummies. And this is the first Sunday in a while without any football (except for that week between playoffs and the Super Bowl - and we went to Ikea and dinner that day). I was surprised how expensive it is, though! $15 for an adult and $11 for a child (although I think they are running a promo right now for half off kids through February 27th). I'll fill you in on how everything goes. Speaking of the girls, I handed them a huge Oriental Trading catalog yesterday. They have spent at least an hour just looking at everything. Thanks for the catalog!

Well, NOW I must go deal with the toy tornado. And laundry. I'm determined to come home later today to a clean(-ish) house. Have a great day!!!

Bring it on, Fitty

Yes, Fitty. That's what I call my Wii Fit. I think I picked up that name from PittGirl. Anyway, I've logged 14 days (well, really it's 13. I did the body test one day and was too full of PMS to actually work out). I've lost five(-ish) pounds. My goal is twenty. I can't believe that I am 20 pounds heavier than I want to be. How did that happen? OK, 2 kids had something to do with it. But there has to be more. Before Fitty, I never exercised. Ever. Yeah, I'd take the kids for a walk, but have you tried walking with a 3 year old and a 5 year old. You don't exactly go fast enough to get your heart pumping. Before I got pregnant, I was a bartender. And I ran. A lot. I lifted kegs, I was on my feet for ten hour stretches. I think that job kept me on the thinner side.

Seeing that I don't want to go back to bartending, I guess Fitty is it. I actually love the Wii Fit. But it mocks me. It gets some arbitrary age that is my 'Wii Fit' age. It started at 41 (Well, actually it was 51, but that's because I'm stupid). It has varied from a low of 26 to a high of 40 over the past 2 weeks. Really, that number shouldn't even bother me at all. What I should be worried about is the weight. But dammit, I want that age to be low. Yesterday I ran (with Fitty). Not just the short fun run, but a longer one. I really need to quit smoking.

So, here I am. It's Thursday morning. Both the kids are at school, and I have two wonderful hours to myself. And I'm going to hand over an hour to Fitty. Fitty, I see you more than I see my husband.

One last note...I am also trying to convince myself that Splenda tastes just like sugar (it doesn't) and that Lowfat Half and Half is really good (it's not). Damn you, metabolism!!!!

Hello, exercise.

Well, I did something last week. I ordered a Wii Fit Balance Board, and it showed up at my house on Thursday. The reason for this? Well, there are a few. One is that I REALLY start to need exercising. I have about 20 extra pounds on me that I want to go away. I haven't done any REAL physical activity since I was tending bar, almost six years ago. I'll walk around the neighborhood when it's warm, but zilch in the winter. So, I thought that the Wii Fit would be a fun way to start doing something physical. And I had heard great things about it. I didn't want to part with the cash, but I did. I also thought that using the balance board would be a bit easier for the kids.

So, I hop up on that puppy Thursday night. I enter all of my info, it weighs me and gives me my Wii Fit age. Which wasn't pretty. It was 51. In my defense (or maybe proving how dense I can be), I DID have the board backwards when I first started. Today when I did it my age was 41...so that's definitely better. I really like that I can do simple exercises in the yoga and strength training (well, not simple as in EASY, but simple as in not complicated) and then can play some 'games.' I also like that the more you play, the more games get unlocked. Keeps it interesting. I especially have been enjoying the step class and the hula hoop game. I am definitely not graceful, but that's something I've always known.

The kids enjoy it also. Becca has even been really good at the skiing! Speaking of Becca, she lost a second tooth today, so I got to play tooth fairy again. She asked if I thought whether or not the tooth fairy would let her keep her tooth. I told her maybe she should draw a picture for the tooth fairy to butter her up. She has become very grown up in the past couple of weeks. Last week we had this conversation:

"Mom, do I look sexy?"
"What? No! No, you do not look sexy. You should not look sexy. Don't say that word anymore."
"Why?"
"It's a grown up word. Just don't say it."

She has finally started wearing jeans. Normally, I wouldn't really care whether or not she wears jeans. But we have bags and bags of hand-me-down jeans that are in great condition. And she does look darn cute in them. So Becca? She is definitely making the transition from little kid to just kid.

Chloe, on the other hand, is just amazing me with her imagination. She simply cracks me up. A few days ago, she told me that she knew what she was going to ask Santa for next Christmas. She said a lion. I informed her that lions eat people, and unless she wanted to be lunch, a lion would not be a very good idea. So then she switched to zebra. She told me that we could keep it outside. Yup, a zebra.

I'm trying to talk her into a hamster.