Mom to the Screaming Masses

Kids love their food

Well, maybe not all food, but carnival food ranks pretty high up there.

Speaking of kids and foods, tonight Gabriel made a great discovery.  It was something that I used to do as a kid, and it was neat to see him make the same connection.  Wanna know what it is?

When you stir your vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce together, it makes chocolate ice cream.  Pretty cool, eh?

Go on, tell me what "amazing" and "interesting" and "cool" discoveries you made as a kid.

Don't make me feel like a total dweeb.

Learning to live in the moment

This weekend I was able to get out and run twice, which is unheard of for me. I went to the park, where there are a few different tracks. One is a mile, one is two, and then you can do both in a figure eight kind of thing and it's a bit over three.  (Yeah, math is sooooo hard for me.) I took Riley with me, but everyone else was at home. 

She played in the stroller for a while, on the 1.5 mile walk there - she was actually pretty good.  Then tragedy struck. We passed the Merry Go Round.  It had been set up a month ago, and we've seen it every time, but I've been able to dissuade her with the reality that it wasn't open.  Because it wasn't open. But on Saturday it was open, and she saw a line of kids waiting to get on, and she just KNEW that she was SUPPOSED to be on it, and that was it.  She started screaming and howling, trying to climb out as I walked faster and faster. She sobbed and begged and the sound tore at me.  So I did something that I NEVER do.

I let her play in the huge wooden playstructure, and I DID it with her.  I hate that thing - I can't remain below while she climbs up, as it's so big she gets lost and then she screams.  Someone always has to go with her, and it's narrow and crowded and covered with big kids who trample over little kids and elbow adults and scream in the air.  I pushed her on the tire swing - an activity that she hated in therapy, as it's orbital, a sensation that she struggles with. She loved it.  Back and forth, around and around.  We looked for shapes and pictures and went up and down slides and stairs. 

It was the first time I think I've ever been to the park with her alone. 

When it was time to leave, she got back in the stroller and we went about a mile on the path.  She asked if she could get out, so we could "Play a game".  Her game consisted of me letting her get out of the stroller so she could run up the hill, and I would keep walking and she'd run back down at an angle, so that I could catch her.  Oh, how I wish I'd had a camera.  The sight of my daughter, who can be so difficult and contrary, running up the hill, arms wide open and head tipped to the sun, laughing wildly, so enjoying her life - I'd give anything to have a photo of it to share.  I caught her five times, each time running up the hill to meet her, scooping her up and spinning her around.  Finally, she tired of the "game" and consented to get back in the stroller.  Sipping her water bottle, she buckled up and started playing ponies with the little horses that she'd brought with us.  I don't know that I've ever enjoyed my child so much.

But, then, I had to go screw it up by passing that stupid Merry Go Round again, and she remembered the fun she was missing, and not the fun we'd just had. 

I'll remember the fun.

Reviews and News

I am often asked to review items.  Books, websites, food - I am always honored to be asked.  Like my opinion is all that great, or important - hey, at least someone thinks so!

But having ads up presents a bit of a dilemma - I can't have blog ads and get paid for reviews.  Some of my reviews aren't paid, but some are, and it's a tough nut to crack sometimes.  So, like many others on the Ad Network, I've begun an offshoot blog, one devoted to product reviews and such.  It's titled Scrutiny by the Masses - pretty apt title, I think.  Go on over and check it out - I've posted three new reviews today, for The Fairy Chronicle books, Yahoo! Answers, and Mamasource.com.

I'm also up over at Larger Families today.

_______________________________

Sun for yourself - yay or nay? 

This weekend I was outdoors for a good chunk of time, and didn't sunblock.  Some of that was on purpose - I KNOW, I KNOW, it's so bad for you, but I'm totally stuck in the 80's mindset that pale skin is ugly and the only attractive color for skin is the darker, the better.  I have NEVER in my life tanned - I do develop a line of color that varies from bisque to bone, but other than that, I really don't tan, for some reason.

I have TRIED and TRIED various sunless tanning lotions and creams and end up streaky or blotchy, with darker patches.  Yes, I exfoliate, yes I moisturize, yes I let it dry completely, yes I wash my hands after.  I am a MISERABLE failure at any form of sunless tanning.  It is sooo embarrassing.

I am uber vigilant about sunblocking my kids, but horrendous about myself. I know that, once school is out - seven days - we will be swimming every day.  Do you try to get some color for yourself, or keep in the shade and covered up?

Mission Monday: Get your game on!

The game cabinet in our house was super messy.  The cardboard boxes were ripped, the pieces lost and the boards and cards all over the place.  It wasn't uncommon for me to find Candyland guys in the bathroom, Monopoly characters in the dryer, and dice under the beds. When we went to play games, it was always a challenge to actually GET the pieces together enough to do it.

I decided to make a change.  I pulled all of the games out and sat them on the floor.  The first thing I did was get rid of all of the boxes.  There is no reason in the world that you have to keep the dumb things - it'd be a great invention if the boxes could actually STAY together, rather than fall apart when you look at them.  I put all of the pieces for each individual game into gallon size ziplocs, and labeled them. The bags went back into the cabinet.

Then I applied industrial strength velcro to the boards and stuck them to the walls in my playroom. Now the boards are a functional decoration - we always know where they are, and we can see them to remind us to play together more.  Win win, in my mind.

Your Mission for today is to get your games organized.  You don't have to go as far out as I did and stick them up on your walls, but at least pull them out enough to know that you do, indeed, have two Candyland boards and enough Monopoly money to set up your own banking system.  If you don't have all of the pieces for a game, toss it.  Why on earth would you keep Operation without the funny bone and the heart?  Or Scrabble with no A or E? 

You can't play the games if you don't know what you've got.

Even the trash smells good today

I am a shampoo and soap freakaholic.  I check out the new sections every time I go to the store, and you all KNOW I'm in the store more than a few times a week.  God help me if I'm in the mall and there is an Aveda nearby, or The Body Shop.  Drop me off, pick me up in a few hours, ok?

I'm seriously an addict.  And I really should stop.  I mean, how many types of shampoo can one girl buy, anyway?  I've passed the addiction on to my daughters, all of whom have bottles of shampoos, conditioners, body washes and such strewn all over the bathroom.  With four girls in one bathroom, you KNOW what kind of a mess this can make.

I still can't stop though, and today was no better.  I stopped at the store to grab whole wheat bread, natural peanut butter, strawberries and blueberries - $3.50 a container, hellooooo? - and walked past the endcap. Hmm, Baby Einstein shampoo and body wash?  My littles love the Baby Einstein stuff, even though we don't watch the movies any more, and so I thought I might pick them up a bottle.  I twisted the top and sniffed - nice, but nothing special.  Moving down the row, I sniffed the lavender and oatmeal line, the mango shampoo, and the cherry splash body wash.  All nice, but nothing spectacular.  Hey, there's a new one here that I've never seen before, and the label says "detangling, for fine hair".  It's Johnson and Johnsons, let's pick it up and smell it, I remember thinking.

I popped the top and sniffed.  Nothing.  In a move of what I can only imagine you could classify as sheer stupidity, I then SQUEEZED the bottle - to make the scent waft out.  Instead, I shot a glob of (really nice smelling) shampoo halfway up my left nostril.  I panicked and tried to wipe it off, and succeeded in smearing it all over my face.  Then the stupids REALLY hit, because I BLEW air out of my nose, which made the shampoo bubble, as if my nose was chowing down on some great Hubba Bubba.  I heard a chuckle, and saw another shopper out of the corner of my eye, trying very hard not to meet my glance.

I wiped my face as best I could with my shirt and, carrying my dignity in my hands, made my way to the register and paid for my groceries.  When I walked out of the store, I noticed that everything smelled fresh and clean, like flowers on a bender. Even the overflowing garbage can, ripe with banana peels and coffee cups, was no match for my nose today. 

Riley's hair smells pretty good tonight, too, but there's no way I'm sniffing the shampoo again.

The results are in

Monday I finally made the trip to the doctor for my physical.  Remember how I told you about the pounding I keep feeling in my chest?  Well, yeah, I KNOW that the pounding is SUPPOSED to be there - I just wasn't sure it should be something I was able to see.

The appointment came, and the doctor arrived in the room. I was oh so glamorously attired in a paper gown with a drape over my lap.  I was also well prepared with the requisite five magazines to read - and I'd sat in the waiting area so long that I only had one remaining. I wasn't optimistic.

But the doctor was very nice, thorough, and complimentary.  He took an extensive health history - any of the following in your family - positive to all answers for any conceivable type of cancers, high blood pressure, thyroid and tumor - and he filled pages with my own health details.  Six live births, 5 full term, no c-sections, one surgery at age 17, wisdom teeth removal, one mole excised with a benign result, no contagious diseases.  He gave me a tetanus shot (with a whooping cough booster thrown in, although I'd have preferred to have known about that before the injection) and directed me to return in the morning, having eaten nothing after 8 that night. 

We talked weight, exercise and weight loss, and he advised me to try avoiding dairy for a week, to see if the daily gastric distress I've been experiencing could be related to this.  Good bye, yogurt for breakfast, skim milk lattes, and cheese. (Yep, he mentioned yogurt - I should swear off all dairy for a week, and then add the yogurt back and see what happens, for the probiotics.) The entire appointment took 45 minutes, and the doctor was in the room for about 43 of them.  Very impressive. We discussed the heart, and he said that the only risk factors I had were genetic, and I should keep a record of when it happens.  If it continues, he'll fit me with a monitor to check it out.  If my blood work was funky, he'd do the monitor sooner.   

(As an interesting note, though, since I stopped drinking diet soda, and have nothing caffeinated except for my morning coffee - now!with!SOY! - the 10 to twelve times a day has dropped to two or three.)

When I returned the next morning, it was to Attila the Vampire, who was shall we say agressive with the needle.  But she got the blood, and that's all that matters. 

Twelve years ago, my cholesterol level was 200.  Five years ago, my cholesterol level was 240.  HDL (the bad stuff) was around 45, and LDL (the good stuff) was 158.  Optimal levels for HDL should be greater than 50, and LDL should be less than 100. My BMI was 33. 

My results below: 

A Carnival of fun

This past weekend, we had a carnival at our church. We've done it for years, and it's a lot of fun, although very pricey.  (In fact, I once complained about the cost to a person in authority, who told me that we should save up for the event all year.  Um, no.  If I was saving up for something, it'd be a cruise, or a trip to the Bahamas, not a carnival.)  I have a deep seated annoyance for things that are as expensive as fairs and carnivals tend to be.  I get that because I have a larger than normal size family, things will cost me more, but I really feel like church things should be more receptive to bigger families.   Not to mention, we had a true and honest discussion of the cost of the things that we'd like to let the kids do this summer - a week of Scout camp for each boy, a week of soccer camp for the two older girls, art camp, a few summer courses, and I have REALLY been wanting to take capoiera classes.  Capoiera is a form of Brazilian Martial Arts, and there is a class that meets three times a week about 15 minutes from my house.  But it's expensive, and I've also realized that I need to pay for soccer registration for the fall on June 1.  Basically, I wanted to do a bunch of stuff with and for my kids this summer, including new bathing suits and the girls really wanted Crocs for summer, and none of it was going to happen.  So I wasn't really keen to spend money on the carnival, but I also knew that the kids were so excited about it, and there was no way I was getting out of it.  Suck it up was my basic motto.

The people that be decided to do a few things that were money friendly - in my mind - they offered a all you can ride wristband for $25 for all three days, and my daughter won one.  Nik didn't want one, and so I had to pay $100 for all of them to ride all weekend.  That was good, in my book. We spent a couple of hours there on Friday, before the rain and cold drove us out.  We didn't go on Saturday, due to about 317 soccer games - at least that's what it felt like - and so we were anxious to attend Sunday.

Mackenzie's Irish dance group danced early Sunday, about 11:45.  Immediately after, she ran as fast as she could to sign up for Karaoke.  There aren't any shy bones in her body.  Imagine our surprise when she won first prize - $100!!! I couldn't believe it. 

When the kids played some of the games of chance, they were given white tickets to enter into a drawing.  Emma won a bike!  She chose a pink old fashioned pedal car. 

We didn't win a bunch of other raffles that were called, and I was really anxious to leave.  Riley was melting down pretty badly, but we'd bought tickets for the big money drawing and I really wanted to see who won. While I waited for the tickets to be pulled for first, second and third, I packed up and cleaned up as best I could. 

And, um, we won second place.  In almost the exact amount that we needed, with enough left over to make an extra donation to the Guatemalan children that we sponsor, which is something that I've wanted to do for a while.

We are sooooo going to have fun this summer.  God is good.

___________________

And I did something really neat, something that was on my fitness goal list, at the carnival - click over to The Elff Diet to see it!

Mission Monday: Summer's coming

Nope, it's not an exercise mission.

I can hear your sighs of thankfulness all the way over here.  I'm not going to mention bathing suits, beach trips, short shorts, or any of those things.  Oh, sorry.  I just mentioned them, didn't I?

No, you've got a different kind of Mission for the summer.

Cue the music.  Duh duh, duhduhduh....

What are your plans for the summer? Are your kids going to camps?  Are you traveling - oh, no, that's something you won't catch me doing - I hate road trips with a fiery passion usually reserved for the DMV.  Are you spending the summer relaxing by the pool?  Having a party a week - I want to come to your house.

Make your plans.  If you are having a party, do you need to buy or borrow chairs and tables?  Outdoor lighting?  I love parties, and I think we might have an adults only party this summer - I can't tell you the last time we had a party that didn't include little kids running around.  Do you need physicals for your kids to attend camp?  What about shorts, sandals, and tank tops? Bug spray, sunblock, hats?

Are you going away?  Cancel your paper, have someone water your plants and pick up your mail.  Make your travel itinerary - where will you stop and who will you see?

Are you hanging by the pool?  Do you have a comfy bathing suit?  One that doesn't shine your butt to the world? 

How will you enjoy your summer?  Tell me your plans!

The Lowdown on the Tattoo

Yup.  It's a tattoo.  A real tattoo, not an airbrush or henna or art. 

I've wanted one for about two years now, and been too chicken to get one.  I decided a while ago, though, that if I was ever successful with my weight loss, I'd get one.  I never ever thought I'd be successful, ever. But I lost 65 pounds as of two weeks ago, and that, combined with Mother's Day, sealed the deal for me.  I'd been looking for a while for a treat for myself, something to reward myself for all of the hard work I'd gone through.  It was hard, too - the hardest thing I've ever done.

My brother in law has a few tattoos, as does his wife, a couple of my nieces, and a few other family members.  He recently had a new one done, and I was interested - the art was especially nice. There are only a few places around here that you can have a tattoo done.  I knew that my niece had gone to one place and the work was excellent, but VERY expensive.  My brother in law indicated that the newest one he'd had done was really inexpensive.  I am Allllllll about the cheap, so I asked him for the information.  I asked lots of people who'd had tattoos how the experience was, and everyone agreed that it was painful, but more annoying than anything.  Tolerable.  One guy told me that he went to sleep during his.

I spent hours online, researching why I wanted to do this, what I wanted, the negative and the positive.  I found site after site, paid for downloads of drawings, and basically overthought.

Then I grabbed my courage in both hands and went. 

The artist was a big guy, a tough, no nonsense biker.  He took the pictures I had and asked me what I was looking for.  I showed him the various aspects of each picture that I wanted, and he drew up a stencil.  The first attempt was perfect, and he applied it exactly where I was looking for the tattoo to be placed; on my lower back, a bit below the waistband of my jeans.  He ripped up the drawing so that I have an original - he can't give the same one to anyone else. Everything was great. 

And then I realized that I had to go through with it.  I asked if anyone had ever gotten up in the middle and not finished, and he grinned.  "A few have tried, but I just held them down."  GREAT.  I signed the paper, stating that I'd not hold him responsible, I wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol and I was over 18 and wasn't coerced.

Don't get me wrong, I REALLY wanted this tattoo.  I really did.  It was my gift to myself for losing the weight - I knew that if I got a tattoo, my desire to stand in front of the refrigerator, sucking down whipped cream from the can would have to go unanswered - the skin would stretch out when I gained weight and it'd look bad.  But the needle.  Oh, oh, oh. 

I sucked it up, straddled the chair, leaned over and presented my bare back. The sound of the needle, when it first began, straightened my back and took my breath.  That was nothing compared to the first prick.

Man, oh man, I don't think I've ever cursed as much as I did that day.  At one point, the artist said to me, "You've got great skin for this.  It's holding the color really well."  "Terrific," I ground out.  "I'll put that in my resume.  Keep drawing."  He laughed and laughed.

His wife came in to see how it was going, and her eyes grew round.  "Is this your first tattoo?" she asked.  "Yup," he answered for me. "She's not being no punk about it either."  From the conversation that followed, I determined that most people don't get such a big or elaborate tattoo at first, but, I've never been one to follow the rules.  He also told me that, despite my constant stream of profanity, I was actually handling it well. I'd hate to see what someone looked like who handled it worse. That was the longest hour I've ever spent.

The design has a few meanings. The ivy is for fidelity, the Irish Trinity knot because I'm Irish, and the six flowers are for six kids - four pink and two blue.  The different color for the flowers was The Hubster's idea.  Speaking of him, he was all for the idea and really likes it.

Me?  I'm so glad I did it and I can't stop looking at it and showing it off.  If I know you in real life, you've undoubtedly already seen it.  I've got to stop doing that.  Oh, alright, just one more picture. 

I don't think I'll ever get another one. It sure is neat, though.

Questions of the day

So, the kid who you all lauded in the last post?  Yeah, that one.  She was horrendously rude to me at lunch today, and misbehaved so badly at the Choir concert tonight that I made her apologize to the choir director.  Life has a funny way of biting me in the butt sometimes.

I'm pondering some things, though.

When kids are small, adults are the be all, do all.  They are the authorities.  Kids believe that all adults like them, that they have their best interests at heart.  They are secure.  By the time they are teenagers, all of that has changed.  Adults are the enemy.  When does the security leave?

What brings that about?  At what age does all of this transformation take place?  Is it a gradual or sudden change?  Do you remember when it happened for you, or for your kids?