Preppy Girl's Guide

Thought I'd recap the last few days for y'all.

At work, we are allowed to wear jeans on Friday and so I usually do, as long as I have no meetings or important appointments. And even though I wear jeans I usually try to wear a nice sweater and shoes so I'm not TOTALLY dressed down. Last Friday I must've looke particularly bummy as two people commented on my "duds" which consisted of black leather sneakers, jeans, gray cotton t-shirt and a black zip cardigan:

Pre-school teacher: "Casual Friday - Huh?"
Chiropractor: "Are you working today?"

As I tried to figure out which part of the outfit was the kicker (probably the shoes) I shrugged it off. My office is in a remote area and I only see a couple other co-workers thoughout the day, so no big deal. That is, until the local news station came by to interview me for a story. GREAT. Murphy's Law I guess.

Saturday, my husband worked so I stopped by my dad's to kill time. Dad's wife was just leaving so we hung out for a while and he accompanied me & the kids to McDonald's for lunch. Whenever I go on outings with my dad & my kids, I always wonder if people think he's my husband (he's only 20 years older than me and had a history of dating MUCH younger women for a good portion of his life, making the scenario pretty believable to some). It's kinda funny - but I usually try to call him DAD out loud several times so there's no confusion. Then again, sometimes it's fun to let people think what they will. (Note to moms: the happy meal toddler toys at McD's are awesome lately - add to your Fisher-Price little people collection!)

On to Sunday. My daughter went to a bowling birthday party. Oh my. Imagine about twenty 4 & 5 year olds wielding heavy balls and complaining about the shoes ("Mommy, I HATE these shoes!") In my day you just wore your socks when you were little. I guess one too many kids dropped a ball on their stockingened feet. Thank God for those "gutter guards" or no one would have scored at all! (Note to everyone: if you haven't bowled lately here's a reminder about how slippery the lanes are. I "bit it" chasing my son down the lane and before I could even warn anyone the mom in the next lane did the same - ooh my achin' arse!)

Being kooky and artsy parents, we are bound to have kooky and artsy kids. Our daughter has always exhibited traits from day one which led us to believe she'd be a performer- very extroverted, not shy at all and will perform for anyone at the drop of a hat. Our son, on the other hand, has always been a little more quiet. We kinda chalked it up to "second child" syndrome (living in the shadow of his wild and crazy sister) - that is until last night...

Pete has developed an alter ego - PEDRO! He pulled a wig out of our costume box (doesn't everyone have one of these that they break out during parties and karaoke competitions?) As soon as he put on the wig, PEDRO was born. Pete (I mean PEDRO) grabbed the microphone and started singing and dancing wildly. Once the wig came off, the persona left too. We'd ask Pete, "Where's Pedro?" - he'd look around, put the wig back on and the wild man was born again. What a little nut! (the nut doesn't fall far from the tree in this case!)

On Monday we took the minivan for an oil change. It also needed it's yearly NYS inspection so I asked the people at Firestone to do that too. We've been taking our cars to Firestone for minor maintenance for a while (it's located right outside the local mall so we can usually kill some time shopping while we wait). Our minivan is only two years old so I didn't foresee any problems.

After enjoying a "food court" lunch and an Auntie Anne's pretzel for dessert (avec cream cheese of course!) we got the call:

"Uh, ya this is Firestone, your van won't pass inspection unless you replace the front driver's side tie rod."

WHAT? This guy must be nuts. This van is two years old and it won't pass inspection? Do you know how many hunks of junk are driving on the roads of NYS that have been passing inspection for years? We quickly walk over to Firestone to see what the deal is. Again we are told that the tie rod is bad and can't pass without $150.00 of repairs. I explain to the guy that I'm confused as I recently had my car into the dealer to replace bushings in the front end - and I assume they would have noticed this problem. We call our dealer to see if the tie rods are covered under are warranty - which THEY ARE. Firestone fails the inspection and sends us on our way.

Today I take the van to the dealer and ask them to inspect and check the tie rod. About ten minutes ago I get a call from the dealer:

"Which tie rod is it? We've had two techs inspect all four tie rods and they are fine."

I KNEW IT!

Beware of Firestone... I can't imagine how many people they scam every day who don't know enough to question them. And the worst part is, they kept up the charade and actually failed the inspection just so they wouldn't have admit they'd fabricated the need for repairs. Hard to trust anyone these days. Jeesh! At least I got a trip to the mall and an Auntie Anne's pretzel out of the deal.

Sunday morning, my husband and I discovered we have Karaoke on demand through our digital cable service. My husband got totally excited and started scrolling through the impressive list of choices. He picked a song and ran into our daughter's room to steal her microphone. I then witnessed something very scary: a 6 foot 7, 34 year old man singing "Hopelessly Devoted" through a pink plastic microphone. Yikes! Oh but it didn't end there. The next two selections were duets (I had to get in on this action) - "Reunited", followed by "Up Where We Belong" (my husband loved painfully shouting, "WHERE THE CLEAR WINDS BLOW!!!"). He wrapped it up with "Devil Went Down to Georgia," where I learned the actual words are, "chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough!" I accompanied on "air fiddle."

But now, I'm totally bummed. After having digital cable for over a year, we are switching to back to the Dish on Saturday (part of a bundling package). Guess we may need to break down and get PS2 so we can buy Karaoke Revolution. It's addicting!

My husband brought home "The Electric Company" DVD set that came out recently. My kids really love it. I'd highly recommend it for anyone with kids or anyone who's nostalgic for some downright funky 70's childhood TV shows. I forgot how really good that show is!

This morning as I drove the kids to school we passed by our local power plant, which had large plumes of smoke pouring out of it's turbines. My daughter asked, "Mommy, what do they make at that factory?" I said, "Well, it's the electric company. It makes power for our house so all the lights and TV can work." She paused a minute and of course made the connection, "So the electric company makes power for our house AND the movies that Daddy brought home?" I answered, "Welllll... YES." Some things aren't worth trying to explain to a 4 year old.

How is it that you can be SOOOO careful about keeping knives, scissors, markers, etc. out of your toddler's reach - yet they can still find them anyway?! Last night I confiscated from my two year old: a pair of scissors, a knife (he's learned how to unlock the dishwasher), and a corkscrew (apparently he is now tall enough to reach the drying rack in the sink). While stashing these in higher cupboards he ran to the living room where he found my husband's crossword tablet - and black pen. He then, very proudly posed for this picture:

My husband handed me a very nice card and gift bag when he got home last night. The card was all mushy and stuff - actually, it was very nice. In the bag (okay, sticking way OUT of the bag) was a nice big golf umbrella (which I will use often during the summer where I work). Next was a nice cozy pair of Cheetah print slippers (not exactly my style but they are cute and comfy!). And to top it off, inside one slipper was a jewelry box with new earrings! Mystic Topaz, very pretty. He thought they were my birthstone, but I think the wrong tag may have gotten on the box. My birthstone is actually an alexandrite which is some rare stone you can only find like in Zimbabwe (okay... I'm totally laughing right now because I kinda made that whole part up about Zimbabwe, then I googled alexandrite and it does, in fact, list Zimbabwe as one of the places you can find it).

My faith in his gift choices has been renewed (he was at an all time low after the "plastic Kmart bag" gift wrapping at Christmas). He also bought books and a little candy for the kids. Very sweet. He's pretty awesome (and he loved his watch).

So, I really debated about whether or not I should get my husband a nice Valentine's gift. When you've been married for five years, the birthdays, Valentine's days, fathers' days, all start to run together. I'm usually racking my brain trying to figure out just what to get him (becasue he usually NEEDS absolutely nothing). On top of all this, we just had Christmas and his birthday was Jan. 25 so... my "original idea" machine was all tapped out.

Despite all this, I decided to peruse the local mall to find something for him. Once there, the choices were pretty limited. He's a big guy (6'7")and most regular men's sizes don't fit him, including shoes (size 15!) It was either: torture myself by getting him a video game - OR - get him a new watch. It seemed like a pretty good idea. He likes Fossil watches and actually has two that don't work anymore. So I got the watch, opened a new charge account (sucker) and got an extra 15% off. I was then told that ANY purchases I made that day would be an extra 10% off. So I bought a pair of new boots... I was obligated... right?

I stashed the watch in his briefcase last night. I was thinking "I am so slick!" But when he left for work this morning, I noticed he was wearing one of his old watches! Dang-it! Guess I got that wrong... Oh well.
Wonder what I'll get???

I have to tell ya, I have one of these toasters in my office kitchen and it is awesome. I have a nice breakfast sandwich every morning. You can boil, poach or scramble your eggs and heat up meat (pre-cooked) too. It's too cool to pass up, epsecially for someone like me who's always in a rush in the morning. Keep one under your desk and you can start a little side business selling breakfast sandwiches to co-workers!
Check it out at Target. YUMMMMMMMM!!!

Stole it from Princess who stole if from Jen who stole it from...

1. Four jobs I've had in my life:
a. McDonald's (drive-thru and closer!)
b. Cashier (grocery store, they had just started using scanners!)
c. Fundraising (I hated this, I'm not a salesman)
d. Ticketing/Box Office (the bane of my existence)

2. Four movies I could watch over and over (& have)
a. A Christmas Story
b. ANY stupid mushy girlie flick (i.e. The Notebook, You've Got Mail, Serendipity, etc.)
c. Anything with Hugh Jackman or Paul Newman (double drool...)
d. Groundhog Day (I have some strange attraction to this movie)

3. Four places I have lived
a. Jamestown
b. Ft. Lauderdale
c. Deerfield Beach
d. Sunrise

4. Four TV shows I love to watch
a. The Office
b. Arrested Development
c. Designed to Sell/Sell This House
d. Queer Eye (though I haven't seen it much lately)

5. Four places I have been on vacation
a. Paris/London
b. Amsterdam/Hamburg/Munich/Paris
c. Dublin/Galway/Waterford
d. Key West BABY!

6. Four books I love
a. Where the Sidewalk Ends
b. Catcher in the Rye
c. Where the Red Fern Grows
d. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (seriously!)

7. Four websites I visit daily
a. Chautauqua
b. Starry Night Boutique
c. View From a Mininvan
d. The Unexpected Guests (to see if it'll ever get updated!)

8. Four favorite foods
a. egg, cheese, english muffin - daily breakfast!
b. Pizza Hut pan pizza, pork topping.. yes that's right, Pizza Hut
c. Cereal with cold milk, slightly mushy
d. Sweet Potato salad (from a local restaurant, "Bon Jour")

9. Four places I'd rather be than right here right now
a. Pontiac, drinking wine with Princess
b. Key West, laying in a pool, sun on my face
c. At home, cleaning my house top to bottom then taking a nap
d. getting a pedicure

10. Four goals I have for the end of Feb.
a. Clean my house
b. Take the Christmas boxes up to the attic
c. Start yoga, and a workout regime
d. Feel Better!

I don't like to swear in front of my kids, in fact, I hardly swear at all. We don't swear at work (I work in customer service - plus you just shouldn't!) and I've tried to carry this habit into all the areas of my life (especially because of the kids).

Because I rarely use 4 letter words, my word of choice when I'm super angry has turned out to be DAMMIT! I've tried and tried to curtail use of this word but sometimes it literally slips out.

Well... I now have a not-so-cute little two year old blurting out "Dammit!" everytime he gets frustrated. I'm not sure how my daughter escaped picking up on this - I guess I was less stessed with only one kid back when she was two. I am most afraid he'll start saying it at school and another mom will have him banished from the room or something crazy like that. What would be a good alternative word? - how about AW NUTS! or FIDDLESTICKS! I'll see if I can remember next time... dammit.

Ever feel like you are in an endless cycle? I often do. I get up, shower (if I'm lucky) dress the kids, off to school. Go to work, pick up the kids afterward, back home. Make dinner (mac & cheese w/ hot dogs anyone?), bathe the kids, short TV time then the struggle to put them to sleep (see previous post). I am barely off to sleep when WHAMMO, it's morning again and the cycle repeats. My husband leaves before the kids get up and often times comes home after they are asleep. I am usually complaining about how little I see him. WELL... this week he has been home early (around 6:30) every night - and it's almost worse than him being gone. Let me explain.

I am saying this half in "jest" (what's that called? kidding around the square?) I truly love my husband we enjoy each other's company. But seriously, it is almost like having a third child sometimes. Having him home upsets what little routine I've established. There I sat last night, feeling like crap (as usual) and he comes busting through the door around 6:30.

Hub: "Didn't you get my message?"
Me: "No, sorry I didn't"
Hub: "I wanted to meet you at the grocery store."
Me: "Uggh, sorry. I don't feel very well & I didn't get the message."
(A look of dread comes over his face)
Hub: "Oh man, we really don't have anything to fix for dinner."
Me: "Well, you could still go to the grocery store with the kids." (please, please)
Hub: "No, no. We can just go tomorrow. I'll throw something together."

Most women at this point would be ecstatic that their husband is going to make dinner. Not me. I know this means A) something hot or spicy that the kids won't eat, and B) HUGE mess to clean up once he's done. I turn out to be right on both counts. After he eats he moves straight to the computer. I ask him, "Are you gonna clean up or do you want me to do it?" He says he'll do it - but I know better. I think he did actually put two dishes in the dishwasher but the rest was left. I cleaned off the stove, the counters, the mess under my son's chair, wiped down the table and moved his pots and pans to the sink (thinking he might take a hint and wash them before bedtime). No such luck, they were still there this morning as I... Got up, took a shower, dressed the kids.......and so it goes.

Mommies of the world - I need help. My husband and I have been pretty "loose" about our rules concerning kids in our bed. When the kids were smaller, if they fell asleep in our bed we would simply move them to their own beds where they would stay until morning. We aren't "family bed" type of people, it's just that we liked having the kids with us until bed time, especially since we don't see them all day (guilt, guilt).

Lately I've tried to get them to fall asleep in their own beds - but it's not always easy when I'm the only one home (which happens more often than not). If I'm in my daughter's room my son comes in and vice versa. Plus, even when they do fall asleep in their own rooms, they venture into our rooms in the middle of the night. Some nights I get up and walk them back to their rooms, then lay down in their bed for a short time with them (which last time gave me a pinched nerve from hell). Many nights I am just too tired so I roll over and let them in the bed - only to wake up with aches and pains from feet, arms and knees in my back all night.

My four year old understands bribery, "stay in your bed at night all week and we'll get you something special!" - she usually makes it two nights in a row then it's back to the same old thing. And the two year old? - Forget it. He wants Mommy, Mommy, and more Mommy. Plus when he sleeps next to me he grabs at my hair like a cat clawing a ball of yarn (one of the reasons for my recent hair cut). I am miserable when it comes to sleep. Is there some magic thing I don't know about? I realize these are just bad habits which are totally my fault, but what can I do about it now? HELP!