Friday, January 27, 2012

RIP dear Dishwasher

Our dishwasher went to appliance heaven this week. 

We're all in mourning.

Me especially, since my delicate hands are not used to such manual labor as washing dishes.

It takes me back to my childhood when my parents reFUSED  to get a dishwasher because they "already had two" - meaning my brother and I. 

har. de. har. har. 

Did I mention that as soon as I left home they went and purchased a top of the line dishwasher?  Yeah.  Story of my life.  Kinda like the time they put in the in ground pool.  Also after I had already left home. Did I mention my brother is 5 years younger than me and still lived at home and reaped the benefits of all this? 

Well, now you know.

And, no.  I'm not bitter.        Much.   

ANYWAY. We've found a new dishwasher and it will be ordered today.  I had three criteria:

1.  MUST be a tall tub.  I can't stand not being able to put large things in the dishwasher.  I'm spoiled. 
2.  No Stainless Steel.  Sorry - I know it's the norm to want stainless steel appliances, but I find them cold and they attract fingerprints (not good with two kids).  Plus I like to use magnets on my appliances to hang the girls art work, love notes etc. - mostly on the fridge but sometimes if it's been a particularly "arsty" week, we may overflow onto other appliances for a day or so. So no stainless. 
3.  It has to be cheap - but get good reviews.

Anything is going to be quieter than our old 1995 Maytag Dishwasher - God love him - who cleaned dishes like a champ but you could hear a mile away, so "noise level" isn't on the list. 

It looks like we found what we needed and at a really good price.  Now I just have to actually  order it and then wait for it to be delivered so we can install it. 

This, of course, means at least a week or two of dishpan hands. 

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

So, the baby shower got me thinking....

NO - not about having another baby - bite your tongue!!

I actually know quite a few pregnant gals right now, some of whom are my dearest friends and family. 

Some are eager for advice.

Some are not. 
(I wasn't, that's for sure) 

But, after 2 dogs, 2 kids, 1 husband, a full time job, a graduate degree and 2 houses, I’ve learned a few things since becoming a mom.

Humor me while I share:


1.   Pregnant women don’t always “glow”. I was a puking, fat, bloated, gassy, snotty mess.  So if you are one of those pregnant women who don’t have a moment of nauseousness, only gain 10 pounds (which is “all baby”, I might add) and/or are working 80 hours a week and taking/teaching prenatal yoga classes up until five minutes before you deliver, the rest of us don’t want to hear it so keep it to yourself, k?

2.   Don’t buy into the argument that “natural childbirth is the best thing”.  Having a healthy baby and healthy mom is the best thing.  You aren’t any better because you labored for 27 hours and pushed for 15 hours without any sleep or drugs, while standing on your head and playing World of Warcraft,  while I was sliced open from one end to the other because my baby was breech. And anyway, C-Section babies don’t have cone heads and are prettier.  So there.

3.  Women who deliver babies vaginally, and without drugs, exaggerate.

4.  If I had been able to deliver vaginally, and without drugs, I would have been one of them.

5.  The second your baby is born, your entire world shifts in ways you never imagined and you can suddenly see yourself jumping in front of a train without hesitation to save this little human being you've know for exactly 30 seconds.  And no one can ever explain that feeling - you just have to experience it yourself.   

6.  Not everyone bonds with their babies immediately.  That's not something to be ashamed of - being a parent is scary as hell and regardless of what I said in number 5, I'd be lying if I said I was completely ready for the overwhelming responsibility of being a mother.  Hell, it's been 12 years and I'm still not sure I'm ready - ha!  I just wish more people would talk about it instead of being so scared of what others will think if they admit this stuff.  It doesn't mean you love your kids any less - just that you can admit its not all sunshine and roses all the time, you know?

7. You will be tired until 2030.  Seriously.

8.  I found breastfeeding to be a wonderful, relaxing, bonding experience.  For about 8 weeks.  Then it became ……not so great, very limiting, and one more thing I had to try and fit into a day that didn’t have enough hours already.

9.  Doing a pump and dump while breastfeeding doesn’t mean you’re a bad mom.  It means you are a sleep deprived, stressed out and overwhelmed mom who needs a glass of wine and doesn’t want her newborn seeing trails and getting the hiccups.

10.  You will never be as good a mother as the woman down the street.  But take comfort in the fact that you will always be a better mother than the woman two streets over, so it balances out.  The point is, stop comparing yourself to other moms.  You’ll drive yourself crazy and accomplish nothing.  Trust me – your kids love YOU.

11.  Once your baby is born you will be assailed with unexplained guilt over the fact that you weren’t excited enough over the pregnancy/birth of one of your friends a few years ago.  You simply didn’t GET IT.  Now you do – and you’re sorry you didn’t appreciate the magnitude of the event more and allow your friend to bask in the glory of motherhood, simply because you had a date with a margarita downtown and frankly, that was more important.  Call your friend and explain this.  I guarantee she’ll understand and you guys will become even greater friends, not to mention that she is a fount of information, having done this whole mommy thing already.  Which leads me to….

12.  Other moms.  They can be invaluable and full of so much experience and information.   They can also be extremely judgmental (it helps them feel better about themselves) and our biggest source of insecurity.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference until it’s too late.  Choose wisely…

13. You will feel some form of guilt over your parenting skills every single day from now until the day you die.  That’s OK.  Just don’t let it consume you. 

14. Unless of course, you happen to have a really crappy day when your kids are being particularly bratty and horrible and you scream at them to “GETOUTOFTHISHOUSERIGHTNOW!IDON’TCAREWHEREYOUGOJUSTGETOUTOFMYSIGHT!GETOUT!GETOUT!GETOUT!” while hyperventilating and crying.  In that case, feel free to wallow in guilt for at least 24 hours.  (They went next door to my mom’s by the way).

15.  There are days that you are going to love being a mom.  There are days that you are going to hate being a mom.  There are days you are going to want to run away (see number 14).  There are days you want to spend every second with your babies because time flies by so fast.   This manic behavior is totally normal.  Just go with it.

16.  Something has to give if you want to have any semblance of a life  - especially if you are a working mom and only have  the weekends to get everything done.  I choose cleaning the house.

17.  If my house is a mess but my family is happy does all that dog hair on the floor and dust on the shelves matter?

18. Well, OK all that dust on the shelves and dog hair on the floor does matter - in fact it gives me anxiety the very SECOND I walk through the door.  But that's why God made beer.  And Xanax.

19.  Never, never tell another mom “I told you so” about her parenting skills or her children or get high and mighty about your own “skills”. Comes back to bite you in the ass every.single.time. And really?  It's just downright mean. 

20.  Throw every pre-conceived notion and expectation you have ever had about being a parent out the window, because the second you say “I will NEVER do that as a parent” or “My child will be raised to be like THIS” you have set yourself up for failure.  Because inevitably you WILL do that that as a parent and your child will  NOT be like this.  And then what are you going to do???

21.  Kids are resilient.  They love you.  You love them.  Sometimes we have to remember that snuggling at night for 10 minutes before bed can do wonders for the soul.  Both young and old.

22.  Even with the bad days, the breakdowns, the stress, the lack of time - you'll get all misty eyed at the overwhelming love you feel for your children. Oh yes,  it'll happen - at the most inconvenient times, like when you're standing in line at the grocery store on Thanksgiving eve with 200 other people and your 12 year old offers to run to the other side of the store to get you a bottle of your favorite soda because you forgot while your 9 year old offers to unload the cart so you can get out of there faster because you have so much to do when you get home.  Little things like that make it all worth it. No lie. 

23.  Be sure to put away enough money to pay for their therapy at the doctor of your choice or they'll get some quack who blames all their issues on their mommy.   And we don't want that. 

24.   If parenting is anything, it’s humbling.  Expect the unexpected, sit back and enjoy the ride.  And above all else - relax.  It'll all work out..... 

AND LASTLY....

25.    All that unsolicited pregnancy and parenting advice that you didn't want/don't need/didn't ask for?  You will now be giving it out as well.  Not only to your friends, family and acquaintances, but to that pregnant stranger on the elevator.

Yes.  You will.   Trust me.


And you'll be a great mom :)









Thank you to Kellys Break Room  and My Life and Kids for hosting the party!!!

Finding the Funny


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Babies, Babies, Everywhere!!!

Saturday I was able to co-host a baby shower for my very dear friend Sharon, who is expecting a son in a matter of weeks.

The shower was at her mom's house and her sister and I hosted together. It was very casual - just a few neighborhood ladies that have known Sharon since, well, her own birth, and some friends.  

I made a few things to munch one and we had drinks and cake.
I wanted to make something special for the baby's room, so I crafted one of those pennants you see all over the Internet.  I added his name - Nicholas Michael.

This picture really sucks (cell phone picture alert) and the names are backwards, but you get the idea.

I actually LOVE how it turned out.  (I wanna do another one)


I'm always in charge of shower games.  Um, I don't know why.  But I am. 

One of the games I always do is "Guess what's in the basket".  Fill up the basket with a TON of little baby things and place it somewhere in plain sight so that everyone HAS to look at it (this one sat on the coffee table in the middle of the room).  About 2/3 of the way through the shower, take it away.  Then tell everyone to write down as many items as they can remember from the basket. 

The cries  of "Oh crap!  I didn't know you were going to do that - I would have paid attention to it more!"

and
"Not fair!  Bring it back - PLEEEEEEAAAZZZZEEEE?????"
are quite amusing.  

My "Guess what's in the basket" basket.

But the funniest part is when everyone tries to remember what they saw.

The basket is then given to the mom-to be.  It has all sorts of goodies!  

The best game EVER though was one I call

"Who's your Daddy? (and yo' Mama!)"

You had to match the celebrity baby with the celebrity parents. 

HY-STER-I-CAL!!

(Google weird celebrity Baby Names - you'll see.  Or e-mail me and I'll send you the one I did)

90% of the shower guests kept the game to take home and try out on their families. Ha! 
  
Seriously - fun game. 

One of my poofs for the shower

Again, horrible picture.  I had to turn on the overhead lights to get this.  With my PHONE because I forgot my camera.  Stupid old age memory loss.  


I can't wait to hold all these little babies in my arms when they're born!  it's been so long since mine were that little...*sniff sniff*

Friday, January 13, 2012

It's a good thing he's cute....

Conversations with Brian while watching TV:

Brian: Who names their baby Blue Ivy? Ha ha ha ha ha 
Deb: Jay-Z and Beyonce
Brian: Huh? They had BABY?? Wow. He's not attractive enough for Beyonce' to even sleep with.... 
Deb: Well, people get married and have babies, much like we did, so...
Brian: Wait - They're MARRIED?
Deb: ......Um..............................
Do you live on this planet?


This is what happens when you channel surf ESPN and FOX.


Be jealous ladies.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Hi, have we met?

My name is Deb and I suck at blogging over the holidays.

So, I'll bore you with this pictorial of the month of December and be back in a jiffy to tell you all about what we have coming up this month!
 


The girls and Brian requested colored lights.
I'm a white light kinda girl.
We compromised and used both. 







My three wise guys - they're still up 'cuz  I love them.
And I'm incredibly lazy. 










Here's what the tree looked like after Santa came.
At, like, 2 o'clock in the morning.


And here it is six hours later. 

By the way - in case you ever hear me complain about my kids, remind me that on Christmas morning I finally rolled out of bed at 7:30, jumped up and peeked into Olivia's room, and found my two girls sitting on her bed chatting and quietly waiting for mom and dad to get up.

They never came in to wake us up, they didn't go downstairs to peek (which is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN in our house) and they didn't make a sound.

They said they were going to let us sleep until 8 AM because we don't get to sleep in often. 

Love. My. Kids.

We never had to worry about the kids waking us up at 5 AM  and we never had to worry about them going downstairs without us.

But I guess they're growing up, because now they don't even come in to wake us up with shouts of

 "Merry Christmas!  C'mon let's GO mom!  Get UP dad!  It's present time!!"
It's a little sad.



We grabbed our stockings and ran to the tree!!

The boys grabbed their stocking too.


The girls in their Christmas socks.


I love the hats Misou got them.




And finally, Sydney performed in a Winter Concert at the high school with several other schools last week. 


Notice my shy child - front and center - boogeying down, doing the dance moves....



As she walked off stage, she did a little curtsy and blew a kiss and winked at the audience.


I wasn't quick enough with the camera to catch it.

But the audience loved it - ha!


So, that basically sums up the last 3 weeks.

And, I've joined Weight Watchers again because I had to buy new pants.

Stupid stop smoking plan.

And I've been getting up an hour or two early and run-walking or P90X-ing.

It's NOT a New Years resolution.

It's a "Get back to the old ME" resolution.