Mommy! We're POOR!

The theme at my girls' school this year is "Simply Serve". All year long they do different things to serve God, each other, and the community. This week is Service Week with today being all-day service projects. The little kids are doing things like bringing school supplies to send to schools in developing countries and collecting kids books for Peyton Manning Children's Hospital. Amelia's class was supposed to bring canned goods the local food pantry. Well, I was just handed the crumpled up note from the teacher about it this morning.

Amelia, why did you wait til now to give me this note? We need to get some things together for the food pantry!

Amelia's response?

No, Mommy. The food pantry in for families whose Mom and Dad lost their jobs. Dad lost his job so I get to bring some of the food home for us!

I better check her backpack today for pirated canned peas.

So he loves the mall, he'll make a great husband

Poor Wyatt. It occurred to me that even though Mama is busy building our new nest, he might prefer to do something other than unpack boxes while wearing the same PJs 3 days in a row. So yesterday I took him to the a mall with a nice playarea and food court. We had a nice lunch date and learned that all moms of small ones run out of the play area at 1:30. You'd think Gap Kids was giving away stuff. The perk of that was I did not have to apologize to one mom after Wyatt bonked her sweet baby upside the head! As we were pulling into the mall, my only son says,

"Oh mall! I have missed you! Where did you disappear to? I so happy, Mommy. Thank you!"

Because Everyone Else is Talking About It

I used to be a huge American Idol fan. Those of you who know me well know that I'm a rocker chick. I love good LOUD guitar-driven rock music . . .even more if it is sung and played but a rather attractive guy. Enter my propensity for Idol rocker crushes.

First, there was Constantine. He was so not my type at all but I loved him. He was all swarthy and dark. Loved him.


And then there was Chris Daughtry. I still love him. He is still one of my favorite artists.



Two seasons ago I watched out of habit. The early auditions were just an excuse to make fun of people. Simon Cowell, while I often agreed with his opinions, was a pompous jackhole. Paula Abdul drove me nuts. Enter Adam Lambert. He drove me up and down a wall. Everyone lauded him as "a true artist". Why? Because he grabbed his crotch a lot and tried so hard to be the male Lady Gaga? I gave up on American Idol. Did not watch one episode last season.

This year I have jumped back on the band wagon. I really like Steven Tyler and J-Lo is considerably less annoying than I guessed she would be. Randy and his "yo dog" stuff is still annoying but I can overlook it. The biggest difference I see is this season is about the actual singers. Yeah, they showed some of the train wrecks but for the most part, it was good singers who are getting a chance. Steven and J-Lo worked hard to not be cruel.

So cheers to a kinder, gentler American Idol! So far, I'm liking a few . . .

Marisa, the girl from Kosovo
Ronny, the kid that was in a wheelchair
Jacee, the kid who sang "Dock of the Bay"
Travis, the kid from the Bronx
Devyn, the singing waitress
Rebecca, the girl with lips like Steven Tyler

I'm sure there are more but for me, some of the fun it trying to guess from the early auditions who will make the live show. So c'mon over and join me on the couch for a fun year of Idol!

Amelia's Interpretation of Having a Dream

We're excited to have a 3 day weekend this week in honor of Dr MLK. We never had the day off up north but down here in Indy. It kinda bugs me b/c I'm pretty sure Dr King's dream did not include children sitting in front of bad TV instead of in the hallowed halls of learning but hey . . . we'll take it. Amelia at least understands the gravity of Dr King's legacy.

Amelia, please tell us about Martin Luther King.

Amelia says . . . . . .

"He worked hard so that black people would have silver rights. That means they can use drinking fountains and restaurants. He gave speeches about singing. I like singing. I'm going to be a singer when I grow up. Then it was really sad because some guy names James didn't want anyone to have silver rights so he shooted Dr. King in Memphis where my cousins live. It happened in April when a shot rang out in the Memphis sky like that song Mommy likes. My teacher is so old that she was alive when Martin Lutter King was shot! That's old. Like when the people walked on the moon, she was alive then. Can you even believe it?"

And a little child shall lead them . . . . .

FRIDAY FIVE

FIVE BEST "90210" EPISODES
1. The one where Emily Valentine takes everyone to the rave.
2. The one where Emily Valentine sets the homecoming float on fire.
3. The one where Donna and David hook up at the Winter Dance.
4. The one where everyone chants "Donna Martin Graduates!"
5. The one where they have the senior breakfast with all the memories.

FIVE GYMBOREE LINES EVER
1. Whale Watching
2. Leaping Lily Pads
3. Home on the Range
4. Autumn Harvest
5. Cherry Pie

FIVE BEST OMELET FILLINGS
1. Bacon
2. Onions
3. Spinach
4. Chicken
5. Bacon

So I'm a Bit Disorganized

OK, so yeah. When I said 8:00 pm EST on Wed, I really meant 7:30am EST on Thursday. Yeah, that's it . . . . I was acting! I also completely forgot that Wednesday night was Caroline's science fair at school AND Bunco AND wine date with Lori to watch Obama. So needless to say, Greta pulled a name this AM . . . . . . and the winner is

Traci N . . . . whoo hooo!

Traci . . . . love her. Traci has done three wonderful things for me in my life thus far.

1. She and her lovely husband Dave bought our house after it had been on the market of 26 months.

2. She introduced me and hooked me on Vera Bradley.

3. She introduced me to April down here in Indy which then got the ball rolling to meet more friends!

So I'll drop them in the mail soon. Thanks, Trac.

The Post Where I Attempt to Do a Cool Giveaway

It is winter and it is SNOWING! One thing I love about my new house is my fireplace. Now I can finally curl up with a good book in front of the fire. . . the fake gas-log fire, but a fire nonetheless. Winter is also a time for decluttering and new beginnings. I am re-starting this whole blog business. Somewhere in the past year or two, Facebook took over as my social media outlet of choice (My stepbrother would be so proud of that sentence!) I like FB because I can share my riveting point of view in one witty statement. Blogging takes so much more time. (Insert whiny voice here) You have to think and actually use semi-correct grammar. Entirely too much work. I have been reading over my blog entries from a few years back and I like them enough to start putting the effort into bloggyland again.

To kick off my rebirth into the blogosphere and to kick off my 784th try at decluttering my home, I'm going to do a giveaway! Cue the dancing bears and happy music. I love Emily Giffin's books. If you have never read her books, do so immediately. Like right now. To be a part of the fun, leave a comment and suggest a book or author for me to try out. I'm always searching for new stuff!! Tomorrow, Jan 12, at 8:00 pm EST (cuz that's the time zone I'm in now . . . and it sucks.) I will have Greta draw a name out of a hat. The winner gets Emily Giffin's first two books. These are my copies that I'm passing on to you. They are in excellent shape but not brand new. Read them, enjoy them, and pass them on.

FRIDAY FIVE

FIVE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT INDY
1. Shopping
2. Malls
3. Chick-Fil-A
4. the weather
5. How close everything is!

FIVE THINGS I HATE ABOUT INDY
1. The Colts
2. Colts fans
3. Colts jerseys
4. Colts t-shirts
5. The TV weather people. I miss Tommy Skillhead.

FIVE THINGS I MISS ABOUT NWI
1. My girlfriends
2. My neighbors
3. CPCS
4. Tommy Skilling
5. Dutch people

FIVE THINGS I DO NOT MISS ABOUT NWI
1. Cedar-tucky
2. Southlake mall
3. Traffic by the mall
4. Lake Co public library
4. Dutch people

Fly Lady is Dumb

It's a new year! So what does that mean? It means get organized! Stop snorting. It could happen. In my continuous quest to justify my SAHM-ness, I have been obsessively reading blogs this week. I'm searching for new routines. New file folders. New pretty smelling candles. New shampoo. Anything to change me into a mom fit for the pages of the Pottery Barn. After scouring the World Wide Web, I have come to one conclusion. The World Wide Web is full of NUTJOBS? Where do these women live? What do they slip into their children's nighttime glass o' water? Some lady tells me to make my bed as soon as my feet hit the floor. If I did that, there would be at least 2 children, a dog, and Tim's work clothes in it. I don't even know my left from my right when I first wake up. Who is going to be in my bedroom the makes it necessary to make the bed? Another tells me to gather my children for morning prayer time. I can't gather my children to eat candy together without flailing. Another tells me to unload the dishwasher within the first 5 minutes. Why? So you can load it on Minute 6? Yet another gives me a "First Five Minutes" list that says

1. Make bed.
2. Open shades.
3. Start load of laundry.
4. Unload dishwasher.
5. Take shower.

Seriously? Why would I open the shades BEFORE showering? So the neighbors can watch? My list would be more along the lines of

1. Tell Amelia to stop poking me. I know my alarm has been going off for 20 minutes.
2. Run to the bathroom like a new potty trained toddler.
3. Jump on Caroline's bed for 5 minutes until she falls out of it.
4. Brush my teeth and then realize I used Tim's toothbrush. Ew.
5. Fall asleep on the bathroom floor.

I really do want to be organized. Just not but whack-a-dos. I'll start by alphabetizing my liquor cabinet. That will make every morning go more smoothly.

Can You Keep A Secret?

So we're in that post-holiday hangover period. The Christmas decorations are half down, the laundry is half done, the house is half messy, and The Husband is all the way sick. Dying, if you ask him. He's planning the funeral. What I don't want to tell him is that due to my mad medical web-surfing skills I have diagnosed him with salmonella. He has every single symptom but the key is duration. Most run-of-the-mill stomach bugs only last 24-48 hours. The Husband is going on Day 6.

So let's all take a bloggy oath and NOT tell The Husband that he has salmonella. If he finds out, he'll start asking people to be his pall bearers.