Mom to the Screaming Masses

A,B,C - Easy as 1,2,3,

I read this over at Headless Mom's place, and thought I'd copy it. She took it from Schmutzie.

Here's the deal: Open the browser that you use the most, and type one letter into the nav. bar. Pick the first website that pops up and put the corresponding website into the list below. I'll stick to blogs, etc., because I'm sure that you don't need to know where I do my banking, right? I'd love it if you'd play along on your site - let me know so I can come visit. Or leave your favorites here in the comment section. Do you read any of the same ones that I read?

A- A Mommy Story

B- Blogher

C- Charming Bitch - Shannon's been gone for a while and I SO miss her

D- Diets In Review - my job!

Would You Pay More for Better Customer Service?

So, I went grocery shopping a couple of weekends ago. Monday, to be precise - so not really the weekend, but because it was a holiday, still partly the weekend. That was mistake number 1. Never, ever, EVER shop on a payday weekend, IN a military town, on a bank holiday. My own stupididity. (Yes, I meant to spell it that way. I say that often - stupid-didity.)

All Over The Place

But yet, not here. I'm sending you elsewhere today.

FIRST: the DELICIOUS tomato soup that I showed last week. It's not my recipe, but one that I saw on Amy's site. She said that it wasn't hers originally, but it came from This Week for Dinner. Without further ado, I present to you Tuscan Tomato Soup. To keep the calories down, I used evaporated skim milk in the place of  cream. I used pesto from Trader Joe's. Oh, man, it was so, so yummy.

Second of all: I've decided what I'm giving up for Lent. Children. The End.

Item the third: I bought my ticket for Blogher today. Are you going?

Are you a Facebook fan of DietsInReview.com? We've got GREAT conversation going on there every day. Have you been checking the Diets In Review site? You may have missed seeing that Marcia Cross is partnering with Kaboom! to help children gain access to playgrounds, see what Trump has done right (for once), and how a weight gain may, in fact, be beneficial.

I'd also like to point you to two of the funniest things I've seen in a LONG time. This coffee poster from The Onion will soon be gracing my kitchen walls. And Lamentations of The Father is an oldie but a certain goodie.

GO READ!!

Dear Children

You know I love you. I love you with my entire life, with every fiber of my being. I endured countless hours of labor to bring you into this world - 44 hours, in the case of one of you! - and I strive, in almost every situation, to do the things that will help you to live a long, happy, healthy life. But, you know, there is always room for improvement in every relationship, and so I present to you a short little list of concessions I need you to make.

• Stop using my razor blades. Just stop it.
• As much as I love to see your sunny faces, when that bathroom door is closed, it STAYS CLOSED. I am proud of your burgeoning efforts to craft a ponytail, and I am sad that you are having relationship issues. When I'm naked for a shower is not the time for encouragement. 
• In the same path, just stop with the "Guess WHAT?!?!?" Three of you say this almost every time you see me. I don't want to Guess. I don't want to play 20 questions. Tell me, already, so we can skip the guessing and get to the good stuff.
• You all have hoodies galore, sweaters and jackets, pullovers and zip fronts. Stop taking mine.
• As much as you hate doing your wash, I hate doing it more.
• If you need me to sign a test, fill out a form or listen to you read - PLEASE try to remember this before 7:37, while we are on the road to school. There's a reason that I always ask you the night before.

This list may be subject to change.

It's Growth to Get Rid of It

I'm just hoping it's not growth in the wrong direction. I've worked too hard to get to where I am.

Today, when I got dressed for church, I grabbed a sweater that I haven't worn in a long time. I remembered that I love it, but since I live in jeans and t-shirts all week long, and I only dress up on Sundays - I haven't worn it in a while. After I put on the sweater, I grabbed a pair of dressy jeans that I haven't worn in a while either. When I put them on, I remembered that I'd bought them in petite length.

I'm right on the border for petite length pants.

Choosing Happiness

Sometimes, there's lots of stuff going on. Lots and lots of stuff.

This has been the week of meetings and appointments. I've met with more people, heard more explanations, read more explanations and basically listened to people talk and talk and TALK. (It's all good - it's actually THREE DIFFERENT situations, but it'll all work out and I'm fine and everyone else is fine - but, man, has there been a lot of talking and talking. And I'm CERTAIN you don't want to hear me blather on and on about nonsense, and being a teeny bit cranky about some of this stuff and so - I'll. just.stop.now...

Wordless Wednesday - The Cold Weather Edition

Many, many things in other places: My very favorite cake recipe, an AMAZING interview with the incredible fit and awesome MizFit, an equally inspiring interview with BookieBoo (whose weight loss story is not to be believed!) and don't forget that you still have a few days to enter to win $200.

There is nothing better about cold, wet weather than Homemade Tuscan Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches...

 

One of my favorite lunches.

And, yes, I know I'm not supposed to use WORDS on Wordless Wednesday - but I can't just.not.talk.

Thankful for the Surge Protector

I was sitting upstairs on my bed, working on my computer, trying to figure out how to balance the checkbook when Riley came running past me.

"Hi, Mommy!" she giggled, and sat on the floor behind my computer, which resided at that moment on my bedside table. She often runs into the room - any room that I'm in - and hides behind furniture, in the corners, etc - so I didn't think too much of it. Most likely, one of the other kids would come in in just a few minutes, complaining about some affront or another.

I continued to work and listened to her sing a song about random miscellany, the way she usually does, until her song ground to a halt and I saw, from the corner of my eye, the biggest spark I'd ever seen, heard a sizzle, a pop and a snap. What-the-hell???

Here Comes the Sun

I've had a big decision on my mind lately. Lots of stress in making this particular decision, for it not only affects me, but my entire family, and one kid especially for the rest of his life. Thursday was "D-day", and I had two meetings to determine the best course of action.The first meeting was scheduled for 8 a.m., and I didn't sleep well the night before.

Love is What Happens When You Are Living Your Life

I lead a pretty stressful life. Not insanely stressful - I'm not a heart surgeon, a NYC cab driver or a police officer. Often, the things that stress and overwhelm me are of my own making, or the dealings of my kids. Or external forces such as traffic, too little time and twelve places to be at the same time. Temper tantrums, flying shoes, teacher conferences, yadda yadda, yadda.

I often tell my husband that I'd rather go to work and leave him home, but he promises that his job is WAY more stressful. He often jokes that he'd rather stay home and be able to laze around all day.

It's like we have a stress contest or something.

I promise I'm going somewhere with this.