Mom! I'm hungry!

I just realized, on a normal weekday I make 10 meals. 10 meals a day! Holy, cow. If on the weekend Larry makes breakfast and we eat out twice I make 58 meals a week. No wonder I like to eat out.

Granted some of the meals are combined. Like Larry and I eat the same dinner every night. But most of those meals are totally separate meals. Connor and Maddy rarely eat the same thing for breakfast, and I almost never eat the same thing as the kids. So that is 3 separate breakfasts. I have to pack Maddy's lunch so that is a whole separate meal. And then Connor and I never eat the same thing for lunch. So three separate lunches.

And dinner. Don't even get me started on dinner. It starts with Connor yelling from the bottom of the stairs "Maddy! Dinner time is ready!" Someone always has something special despite the fact that I have flat out refused to cook two dinners. Believe me hang around here long enough and you will hear me loudly proclaim "I'm not cooking two dinners, you will eat what I serve!" And yet, when I sit down at the table to eat the four plates rarely all have the same food on them. I don't know how they do it... those little buggers. It's like I love them or something.

Getting dinner from the stove to the table is like a fricken circus act. Me and Larry dancing around twirling plates on long sticks and juggling flaming serving spoons. I've been known to throw a gallon of milk like a boomerang. It flies around the kitchen, fills little cups and then lands back on the counter, all while balancing a stack of hot chicken nuggets on my nose. It's amazing that we ever eat a fairly hot meal at roughly the same time.

So, what did you get for Christmas?

You know how when someone asks you what you got for Christmas you can't think of a thing. And then you're like "Well, I don't know what all the fuss is about... I barely got anything." Well... make a list. Cause dang... I can't believe all the stuff I got when I list it out like this. I'm going to do this every year from now on.

Here we go, in no particular order...
String of pearls
Heart shaped sterling silver necklace with diamonds
GPS for the van
Warren Buffett's biography
Pajamas
Underwear
Flip Flops
Apron
6 other books
A huge cook book
An organizer pack (calendar, notepad, to do list, ect)
Wall calendar
Iced Tea maker
A beautiful scrap book recipe book of handed down recipes from my husband's side of the family.
Desperate Housewives; season 4
Home fragrance reed diffuser (pretty things to make the house smell good)

I think that's everything not counting food (but I still feel like I forgot something so if your gift is not listed please don't feel bad... it doesn't have anything to do with my gratitude. My head is spinning and even after 3 trips around the house I was still finding things.) My kitchen is also filled with food. Sweets of every kind. I get a bit fatter every time I turn on the kitchen light.

A toe injury

I busted my toe on the coffee table. So typical I know. But it really hurts. Like, for serious... as Maddy would say.

You know that scene in Dumb and Dumber when they pick up the hitchhiker but it's really the mob guy who is trying to kill them? And Jim Carey says "Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?" and then screams into his ear. Remember that? Well that is what Connor was doing to me. Just yelling in my ear for whatever two year old reason he had concocted.

Finally I had had enough and jumped up off the couch to go bring him into time out. And on the way... SLAM! Pinky toe meet coffee table leg. Honestly, at the time it barely registered. That's how annoyed I was with the screaming. It wasn't until like a half hour later that I realized... "Dang. My toe hurts!" It hurt. The two toes next to it hurt. Up the outside of my shin almost up to my knee hurt.

So I was limped around the grocery store. I limped around the house. I limped back and forth from my bed to Connor's room about 30 times last night. (What was up with that? I don't know)

When I woke up this morning it didn't hurt. So I tried to make a fist with my toes... you know, to try it out. Oh yeah, there it is. Didn't want to relish in the non pain for very long? Couldn't lay there for a minute and enjoy the pain free foot? No, have to test it out. See if it still hurts. Yeah, it does. But not as much... so we are on the road to recovery. Although I still feel like I have an uncooked lima bean in my shoe.

And speaking of an uncooked lima beans. I had to go to the post office today. Every year I try so hard to mail my stuff early so that I don't have to brave the holiday post office crowds, and every year I end up there just days before Christmas. I listed my old text books online the day before yesterday. Not thinking that they would sell in a mere 12 hours. Who knew?

So lets peek in the post office window shall we? See the two year old standing at the trash can pushing the little the swinging flap? That's Connor. Oh and the swinging door on the trash squeaks. Can you hear it? Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. "Oh my God Connor! Please stop that!" See the 7 year old girl flitting around and chatting it up with the 85 year old lady? That's Maddy. And see the overtired half crazy lady standing in the 50 minute line with a Calculus text book, a Mathlab.com access code, a set of keys, a purse, a helicopter coat, and an uncooked lima bean in her shoe? That's me.

A boy named Shane

I was literally sitting here looking at a blank screen trying to think of something to write about when there was a knock at the door. I opened it and an idea came in, took off its shoes, and ran upstairs.

I swear to God.

This story begins on last Friday morning at the bus stop. There was a new mom. She was there talking to another mom when I walked up. The "old" (haha) mom introduced us and said the new mom was new in the neighborhood and was looking for someone to watch her son in the morning before school and get him on the bus. I volunteered.

His name is Shane. He's in first grade... just like Maddy, and super cute... just like Maddy. He will get here at 6:45 which isn't unreasonable, and will come fed. It's only an hour a day and the extra money will certainly help out.

It's not totally out of the blue. It was actually something I was thinking about doing before this school year started. I figured there must be moms who work that need someone to watch their kid in the morning. I had talked myself out of it thinking that the money wouldn't be worth the effort. but then it just falls into my lap. I mean, she did all but knock on my door and offer me the job. How often does something like that happen? It just seemed like it was meant to be.

So fast forward to right now. I'm sitting here staring at a blank screen and there is a knock at the door. I open it and Shane is standing there. I peek my head out the door looking for his mom and he is in, shoes off, and heading upstairs before I can comprehend what is going on. No mom by the way. He was like a breeze. Open the door and a crack and whooshes right in.

A little investigation and apparently his grandma is watching him and she said it was ok if he came over. Apparently it doesn't matter if it's ok with me or not. lol. I suppose as Maddy gets older I have to be more and more prepared for stuff like this.

Roni, Mac, and The Cheese

Roni, Mac, and The Cheese. Doesn't that sound like a band? The Cheese would be the lead singer of course. He would get all the attention even though Roni writes all the songs and Mac is the brains of the operation. But The Cheese is a big attention hog and never gives Roni and Mac their due credit. Finally, after years of tension, Roni and Mac decide to leave the group and start their own band. But it never really takes off and The Cheese goes on to have a big solo career. Finally after a decade or two when their fans are all middle aged, Roni and Mac realize that The Cheese is their only hope at fame. So they do a reunion tour before fading out of public conciousness forever.

Oh, wait... No. It's actually Connor's favorite dinner. Macaroni and Cheese. That works out better. And it's still true, that Cheese is the star of the show, even though Macaroni is the substance of the whole meal. It's a shame!

4 days til Christmas! Maddy is home from school until well into January. I don't know what that school is thinking. Don't they know they are the key to my sanity? Seriously. Especailly for the next few days while the tree is bursting with presents and Santa is packing up his sleigh. How am I supposed to keep that contained. Actually... that might explain why they don't want them at school right now.

Shameless brag

Warning: Shameless brags ahead. Don't say I didn't warn you.

So I got my grades for this semester. I honestly don't know how it happened because I felt like I spent the entire semester playing catch up but I got a 95 in Math and a 98 in Accounting. A 98 in Accounting! The best in the class. Seriously. I was shocked! He sent out an Excel spreadsheet with everyone's grade, but had replaced the names with student ID. Which is dumb because he left it in Alphabetical order, so I still know what everyone else got. I had no idea what my student ID was. So I just kinda guessed where I was alphabetically and right there was a grade of 93. Which seemed right, so that was that. Then I went to go register for next semester and happened upon my student ID. So I went back and looked at the spreadsheet and I was actually down one spot from where I thought and turns out I actually got a 98.

Ok, and my second brag is that I was actually able to pay my tuition from side hustles I've been working on through out this semester. I was so pleased with myself. I paid for my own school... like a real live grown-up.

Don't know what a side hustle is? It's extra things you do in your spare time, out side of your regular job. For example, my neighbor has a full time job as a website person of some sort. In his spare time he buys old cars, fixes them up, and sells them for a profit. That's his side hustle.

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday!

Our weekend was quiet and nice. All cloudy and chilly. We did a little Christmas shopping, wrapped presents, and watched the Polar Express about a dozen times, ok three times. Larry made chili which was delish. And such a perfect weekend for it since we got to wear pants and sweaters. We could almost pretend it was winter... you know, if we didn't look outside.

Oh, by the way... Maddy's pink eye was allergies. I took her to Urgent Care and they gave her some allergy eye drops that pretty much cleared it right up. It started looking better right away.

I'm taking my last final of the semester tomorrow. Then Christmas goes from being a side project to the main attraction, with Disneyland on deck, and Connor's birthday waiting in the wings. Phew... anyone got any money I can borrow? No...seriously.

First Grade Musical

Maddy had her first grade musical last night. It was really cute. If I get on the ball I'll upload the video. They did T'was the night before Christmas. A few kids would do the lines of the poem and then the group would sing a little song. They all wore their pajamas... adorable.

Maddy had a line, which was cool. She was really excited about that. Her line was "Then out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter."

But she said it like this...

"Then out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from.... my... bed....to.... seeeeeeee.... whaaaaat.... waaaaaaas... the..... maaaaaattttttteeeeeerrrrrr."

And everyone giggled. Which it was cute, the way she drew out her line to get a few extra seconds on stage. But she was kinda hurt that people laughed. I tried to explain that they thought she was cute, that is why they giggled. Because they were happy. I don't think she cared all that much though.

*******************************************

Honest to God, I was writing the above when the phone rang. It was Maddy's school. She was at the nurse with pink eye. So she is now sitting on the floor with a book on her head and singing I'm a little tea pot. Yes, she's 7. I don't know....

Time Warp

I went through a little time warp this morning.

The alarm went off and I laid there for a bit. Then I looked at the clock and it was 7:02. Connor was awake and calling me. "Mommy! My blanket!" Yes, his blanket was wrinkled. It's a terrible thing around here. I had to get up twice in the night to smooth it out. But that's neither here nor there. I laid there for another minute, then got up. I weighed myself, got dressed, started digging through my sock drawer for two matching socks. I will admit this took way longer than it should have. Finally I realized the laundry was all sorted over on the love seat so I went over there, sat down to put my socks on and glanced at the clock.

7:44!

I literally blinked hard, rubbed my eyes, and then looked again.

7:44

In a panic I checked another clock.

7:44

Oh crap! Maddy was standing at the bottom of the stairs fully dressed. I said "Its way late!" "Yeah, I know, the first bus (middle school) came a long time ago." She replied. "Well it's time to get your shoes on." Then I notice her hair. Grrr... It needed to be straightened. I told her she can either wear it in a pony tail or I will have to drive her to school. I said this like it's any kind of choice. She asks me every day to drive her to school, so I wasn't surprised by the answer. "You can drive me I guess."

But I made it! I couldn't believe it. I straightened her hair, got Connor dressed, and made it to the bus stop before the bus came. Awww.. yeah. I rock! Who's the mom?

Another new theme

Ok, so apparently my old tree theme isn't going to fix itself. While this one isn't perfect, it's better than being told to "Upgrade to Pro" over and over.

I know the date says "undefined undefined". So I'll keep looking for another theme. But in the mean time you will just have to deal.

Anyways... enjoy the pretty colors.

Edited to add: never mind the date thing... I fixed it. Cause I rock!

Caroling

Maddy is currently out on the front porch singing Christmas carols at full volume. This is an annual tradition for her, it's the third year in a row. But she doesn't sing normal Christmas carols like Deck the Halls or Santa is coming to town. Oh no, how boring would that be? She is making up the songs as she goes.

Boom boom boom
Boom boom boom
Oh no my hand is green,
my hand is orange,
my hand is red.

When you have a bunch of colors they can be red or blue or green or skin color or oooorrrraaaange.

All the colors

Can be christmas
But don't forget the lucky ones...
Green and red
Green and red
Green and red
Are cookie colors
No matter what!

They are christmas colors
Green and reeeeeeeeeeeed!

When you have Christmas
When you have Christmas

Isn't that wonderful! Don't you wish you were our neighbor?

A couple of smarties

Maddy's teacher sent home a print out of her grades. Not an official report card, but an actual list of each assignment and its grade. She is doing so well! I'm so proud of her.

Reading: 97.1%
Math: 95.6%
Writing: 92.1%

Writing includes spelling tests, which are her weak spot. Not a huge weak spot, but she rarely gets a 100%. Obviously reading she does great in, she loves to read.

And then Connor and I had this conversation at dinner the other night...

Connor: I want super powers
Me: Me too! What super power do you want?
C: I want to fly up!
M: Oh, to fly. Good one!
(pause)
C: Oh, I know! A balloon!
M: You could fly up with a balloon? That's a good idea.
C: Yeah, an orange one!

Edited to add: You know... I'm going to include myself in this post. Cause it's my blog and no one can tell me I can't! I also have straight A's. I had a Math test last night. I can always tell how well I did by how many people finish before me. And I was the first one done. Which means that I got an A. And the last test, I got a 100%. Yeah, that's right baby. 100%! I doubt I'm going to pull that off again... but maybe! I was the first one done after all.

But no one's there

Connor freaks me out sometimes.

First off, his bedroom is super insulated from the rest of the house. One wall is an exterior wall, one has a bathroom on the other side, and the other two walls have closets on the other side. Not one wall butts up against living space. Add the fact that I turn on a loud fan for white noise and his room quiet. Like super quiet. I can't here anything when I'm in there. It is a different world in there.

Anyways, sometimes when I'm putting him to bed, or getting him up he will keep looking out the door. Which gives me the creeps. He will look up at the door like someone just walked in, or is standing there. You know? Sometime he will ask "What's that?" While looking over there. That gives me the heebies. Cause it's nothing. It totally makes me feel like I'm being watched. I can't sit with my back to door after that.

Once in a while he will not quit with it and make me (or Larry) take him out into the hall so that he can see that no one is out there. Once when Larry was putting him to bed he kept insisting that Maddy was in her room. Which she wasn't. So finally Larry took him in there to prove it. They were standing there in her empty room and Connor points to the wall and says "oh, there it is!". There was a moth on the wall. A moth! That is what he heard coming from her room. A MOTH! In the other room. He heard it.

Then the other night he woke up and kept saying "my foot. my foot". So I go in there and he is just laying on his back with his foot in the air.
"What's wrong Bub?" I ask.
He points behind me and says "He's going to watch."
"Who is going to watch?"
"He is going to watch." Still pointing behind me.
"Who is?"
"He's going to watch it go round and round."
"Go to sleep."

I was kinda freaked out. Who was watching him? lol