Secret Subject Swap!

Hello friends! Today, I'm participating in a "Secret Subject Swap". It's my blog's very first swap and I'm not going to lie. I'm pretty nervous. What could possibly go wrong? Wait.  Don't answer that.

A few weeks ago, my good blogging friend Karen over at Baking in a Tornado suggested that anyone who wanted to, could enter into her Blog Swap. She thought it would be fun if we asked and answered a simple question or talk about a certain topic given to us from another blogger. ( I don't know who is answering my silly inquiry, but I will find out right along with you and the other participating blogger-contestants.) No, there aren't prizes. I  probably shouldn't use the word contestants. But if you stop over to Karen's site, you will find a nice collection of sweet recipes. Some have chocolate! I always call that a win..

I received my question 2 weeks ago and have been allotted all this time before posting. It won't surprise you to know that I procrastinated until the end. I knew what I wanted to say, just not how to say it. (Some things never change.) Anywhoo, here I am and there you are. That's all that matters.

The secret subject given to me was: "If I could have one weekend all to myself, I would..."
The topic was given to me by Roshni over at Mom of Big A little a 


When I first read the topic I thought I was mis-reading it. I mean, two days? Alone? Does that really mean "by myself?" Couldn't there, wouldn't there be some place that a mom would HAVE to be? Might there be ANYTHING that HAD to get done? Could those magic words guarantee that there wouldn't be any door-to-door solicitors or phone calls or house projects or COSTCO shopping? That's crazy-talk, right there.

I saw a million and two opportunities float above my head like a dream. Which one of those conjured-up fantasies would I grab a hold of and choose? Let me check again. Yes, we're talking about a WHOLE weekend. 48 beautiful hours. Hmmm.

There are beaches and hotels I'd love to see. There are mountain retreats and National landmarks I could put on my list. There are places to meditate and there are Lifetime movies to be watched. What would a girl like me do?

As I was thinking of the perfect answer, it came to me that  I couldn't immediately choose. What I could do however, was answer for my family members. If I asked them (and I did) what they would do for an uninterrupted weekend, would they have to think about it, too?

Nope. Before they told me, I already knew.

The man: He would hang out with his computers. He'd perform delicate surgeries nine ways till Monday with his computers, i.e. his"other kids". Like some sort of "Lord of the Electronics," he would giveth and taketh away, spending two days without even watching the clock.

 He'd take from the big guy..

And give to this guy.. 

and so on...and so on..... until someone told him to stop.

The eldest? She'd break that plastic pink pig into a hundred pieces and then shop and/ or hang out with her friends. The people that couldn't come along would be updated via texts by-the-second. Or instagram. Now that couldn't take all day, let alone all weekend, could it? Oh yeah, it could.

 The middle child?  He would sit in his cave and play X-box 360 until he ran out of food or water. Actually, he does that now. (Enter Mother of the Year Award.)

Finally, the youngest (who is busy building a Lego airport as I write this) would be spending his 2,880 minutes clicking plastic, feet-destroying blocks together until he ran out. Does anyone EVER run out of Legos?

So you see, it's easy for them to plan a weekend alone...

For me, though? Well, after some thought, I guess... I would take the longest bath known to man. I would refill the tub over and over with hot water until the pipes ran dry. I would stay inside my home like the hermit that I am and I would curl up and read. Then, I would throw in some naps, because I can't remember what those are, but I hear they're fantastic. I would try to practice a bit of yoga knowing I wouldn't be interrupted by breaking dishes or fighting..

Finally, with any time left over, I would eat everything in the house that I could get away with. Those of you who read this blog know very well that I could eat that burger (with that same expression) ON my yoga mat, WHILE watching Lifetime. All day long. A girl can dream, right?

Well would you look at that. It was easier than I thought!

Thanks for the topic, Roshni! Here are the links to the sites of the 8 lovely ladies who are participating in today's Subject Swap. Give them a visit, a follow or a kind comment if you like what you read. Chances are, you will :)

http://BakingInATornado.blogspot.com

http://happy-little-feet.blogspot.ca/

http://stacysewsandschools.wordpress.com/

http://sorrykid.blogspot.com/

http://www.peanutlayne.com/

http://dinoheromommy.com/

http://mybrainonkids.net/

http://momofbigalittlea.blogspot.com/

Happy "Making-friends-all-over-the-place" day, friends.

QWERTY kind of clean...

I always get antsy on Sunday nights. If you've read the blog before, you know this goes back to my teaching days and my anxiety over a new week.

Each Sunday at about six o'clock,  I start banging stuff around. I begin stepping over the weekend's accumulated junk and continue panicking about the all the things we need to do and asking aloud,  "What if someone suddenly stops by to visit? What will they think?"

Sometimes the family remembers this and starts straightening up the house.

Okay, not really. They actually look surprised EVERY Sunday as I start the "Who made this mess?/Whose shoes are these?/ Who dumped Chex mix in the living room? Where is everyone?" rant. Eventually, everyone comes huffing and puffing, grabbing and throwing, until our house is a collection of grouchiness and wishing at that moment, we each lived ANYWHERE else.

They (my family) all know what the base of the problem is. It is NOT their stuff lying all over the house. It's not the piles of books, shoes, soda cans or paper plates that are upsetting them. It is, in fact, the crazy-lady who has suddenly noticed a room looking like a tornado passed through it. Where did this woman with the waving arms and voice with an unrecognizable octave come from? What happened to our dear mother who picks up after us every other day of the week? Same story. Any given Sunday evening...

It was about five o'clock THIS week when I rounded the corner and saw the man with the vacuum. What? It was out and so was a Magic eraser. My first thought was, "Okay what did he spill?" My second thought was, "What did he spill?" Yeah, same thought. I'm loving like that.

The man was carrying Q-tips, tooth picks and Lysol wipes and I have never been more turned on in my life. What was he doing? Did he notice all the crumbs in the coffee table too? Was he setting up some system to get the filthy fingerprints off the wall?

Nope.

Wait for it.

Next to the Q-tips were these.

 That adorable man of mine overlooked the crushed cookies on the floor. He kicked away the shoes under the coffee table with one foot, and smooshed the Chex-mix chip bag under the sofa with his other foot. There was important work to be done.

Yep. My first husband found it necessary to remove, clean and replace every single key on a keyboard.

Welcome to my world.

Just look at that attention to detail. Excuse the blurriness of my pictures. I was literally shaking.

Feel free to visit my house on Sundays, friends. You may be appalled at the cluttered living room. You might look past newspapers strewn in the hall or back packs lined up the stairs. There could be a chance you won't break your ankles tripping over LEGOS or cell phone chargers.. Just make sure you're wearing sunglasses. Because your eyes might wander far enough. They may just scan across two rooms and possibly make contact with our computer keyboard. (Under the desk.) You will immediately recognize it. It will be the only thing that is blindingly clean and NOT covered in Chex mix.

Priorities, people.


Happy "Take-what-you-can-get" day, friends.

Day Eight of Forty- 1, 2, 3.

That's right friends.

THIS is what my life has come to. The highlight (so far) of 2012.

I was pretty excited to see those notifications. I mean, how often does that happen? Never, right? Well it happened to me, yes-sir-ee!! In fact, I saved this picture, even though my daughter BEGGED me not to. I tried to tell her, "This is what can happen when we dream big enough." She just shook her head and walked away.

I know, I know. I set the bar pretty high.

Happy Wednesday, friends :)

Thoughts from an elevator....

Please feel free to play along in a little game I like to call, "Say What?"

It goes a little something like this.....

Match the following "thoughts" to the people thinking them in the picture below....

Who was thinking....

1. "Score! We're going to the beach!"

2. "I've had my first coffee...I wonder if we can still stop at Starbucks.."

3. "I just saw the sweetest couple and they smelled like espresso, I wonder if we can stop at the cafe' before Starbucks.."

4. "Oh, my daughter said something really funny and I want to hug her, but I don't want to spill my coffee.."

5. "Has our hotel ALWAYS had free coffee in the lobby? My-oh-my, where did all this energy come from???"

6. "I'm feeling like this is going to be a great 'carmel macchiato' kind of day.."

7. "Dear good, kind and beautiful God. Please help me get through the next week with this woman. Please help her understand that all I need is my iPAD and little peace and quiet. But mostly, the peace and quiet. Amen."

It's a rhetorical game, friends.

Happy Sunday!

"You said not to put drinks on the wood...."

Yeah. That would be a quote from the youngest, who in lieu of a coaster, decided to use my iPad.

Again, Not using the coasters. ... That sit on that checkerboard. Inches away...

A few famous "crazy mom" phrases later....and

Whew. We are back on speaking terms. That was close.  Hug your children today, Moms. Just don't do it with your hands around their necks.

Happy Monday, friends. :)

.

Well, hello there!

Welcome to my new blog! Or should I say my only blog? My very first blog?.....Oh, you get it. Like everything in my technological world, I'm a little behind. It's not for lack of trying. We're overwhelmed by everything electronic these days. I have three children for goodness sakes! We can't walk four steps without tripping over ipod headphones, cellphone chargers, TV remotes and of course, the occasional laptop cord. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE using the stuff. I just have a hard time making any of it work, short of plugging them in. I attribute my ignorance to a few crutches that fortunately, live along side me. Take for instance my husband. Technology is his world. It's his bread and butter, his talent, his obsession... it's what I'm sure he dreams about while lying next to his feet pajama covered, no make-up wearing, magazine reading wife. I've been known to mention that my husband could probably produce a working computer out of a roll of tin foil and a fork and spoon.

Where was I? Ah yes. Because of his mad IT "skillz", most of our electronics are set up and running before we get the chance to open the manuals. The down side to this is that when I have a valid problem with one of our gadgets, the husband finds it much easier to sigh loudly, smile at me pitifully and say "Move, please". Now I understand that he can fix an issue faster than I can describe the problem, but it is impossible for me to learn from him.

So, what's a girl to do? Easy. Wait for husband to go to work and ask any one of my three children. They are each ten times more fluent at the workings of computerized objects than me. And wait for it...one of them is five. I'm not kidding. God bless the children. God Bless us everyone. :)