Funny Face

This one's nothing like Audrey's.

Just a funny picture from the July 4th barbeque we attended. PJ and I are almost making the same face.

I wish you could comment with funny pictures of your own, but since you can't, let's think of a topic.

What's your favorite barbeque side dish? My favorite this year is a broccoli salad that I usually eat to the point of gastrointestinal distress. (Can you say Bean-o?) But I'm always looking for another go-to dish to bring to get togethers. Whaddya got?

Tuesdays with Marmie

I know it's Wednesday, but yesterday was Tuesday and my Mom came over to help. Halleluia!

We've been barely making one foot in front of the other with PJ irritable and waking several times inexplicably at night, and an extra-rough weekend, sleepwise. Jack was a terrible sleeper as a baby, but at least I didn't have to keep up with a toddler during the day, too. PJ's been a gem so far, sleeping most nights from 8ish to 6ish with only one wakeup at 3 or so. But lately...not so much. He's up several times and very fidgety. We've decided all signs point to TEETHING!! Can you believe it? Already?! Poor kid. PJ will be 3 months this Friday, and I don't understand how that happened so fast!

So between bad sleep at night and keeping up with Jack during the day, I don't think I had done one of the chores on my chore chart for this week. Well, maybe one, but that's about it. No stickers for me. But my Mom came yesterday, helped me with laundry, stayed overnight and took care of PJ to give Patrick and me a full night's sleep, and watched the boys today while I cleaned bathrooms and vacuumed. It was amazing.

She offered to come every Tuesday for a few hours to give me time to run errands, get some cleaning done, rest a bit, or just do whatever I need to do. Does that not sound like a dream?

I remember having a few Mother's Helper sort of jobs as a younger babysitter (11 or 12ish), and I always hated those ones because the kids were always naughty while the parents were there and I felt awkward correcting them in front of their mother. This one time, both parents were home and wanted to paint or something on a Saturday afternoon, and the boy just kept jumping on the couches, pulling my hair and smacking the top of my head. I really just wanted to drop-kick him, but kept trying to get him to stop with "Now, Billy, that's not nice!" because his parents were in the next room. Do you think that stopped him? Nah.

Man, the things I did for $2 an hour...

I can't even pay that little emolument (today's word) for a warm body to watch TV and eat snacks in the living room while the boys are in bed for the night these days.

But now I totally understand the need for a mother's helper-type person. And the boys just love spending time with their Nana.

Don't you just totally appreciate your Mom more once you have kids? Both for the ways she can help now, and for all the things she did while raising you. It's been such an eye-opener for me.

So now, I have clean bathrooms, a full night's sleep under my belt, and a bottle of teething tablets. I'm ready to take on the world!

At least until next Tuesday...

Swim, swam, swum

I mean, seriously. Come on, now. Thursday, we went to Nana and Pop Pop's house to go swimming. This is Jack's swim getup. Can you stand it?

That shirt used to fit until I washed it once, but I think the midriff shirt and long trunks totally makes him look like a surfer dude.

Here are a few pictures of him and Patrick in the pool from the weekend. Can you tell who's having more fun?

I can't.

We had an adventurous Fourth of July weekend, to say the least. On Friday morning, we went to Virginia to meet up with some ladies that I met online who all have babies born in November of 2006, like Jack was. We met when we were pregnant and have stayed friends through until now. It was fun to put names with faces and to see them with their babies in person!

Then, we went to Aunt Tori's house for the rest of the weekend. It was busy-busy, but fun to catch up. Jack and O'Malley the cat were reunited, much to Jack's glee (and O'Malley's dismay). Jack calls him "Maow-Maow" and would walk around the house trying to find him. The poor cat stayed holed up as much as possible, but would occasionally oblige Jack and come out to eat now and again.

I personally did not don my bathing suit once, although it was hot as you-know-what. This brings me to my exciting news...well, exciting for me and for my friend, Andrea. We are using the buddy system to lose weight, and have a goal for outselves by the end of the year. I won't share it with you lest you snarf the beverage you're drinking out onto your laptop and fry your hard drive, but let's just say we'd like to lose 50 pounds by the end of the year. It's challenging, but it's perfectly attainable with some self control.

Of which I seem to have none.

But I did today! I even worked out!

Go me!

Have you ever buddied your way towards a goal? Whether it was losing weight, quitting smoking, or working out - did you find that having a buddy helped you stay on task?

I think it has to be the right person, though.

It's hard for me because Patrick's metabolism is so dang fast that he can really eat whatever he wants and not gain an ounce. Don't you hate friends like that? I mean, I really love him, but he can eat three hotdogs at one sitting and not flinch. I gain 5 pounds just opening the package. If he were my buddy, he'd be justifying the cookie dough I ate last night - before the diet officially started - by telling me that dough has fewer calories when it's raw.

So not helpful.

Andrea and I are weighing in every Monday, so I think that will scare me enough to stay on track. Pooh was right - it's so much friendlier with two.

Oh, and thanks for all your money-saving tips! I knew I could de-lurk some of you! Glad you joined in on the conversation!

Cricket, cricket

The silence is deafening. Where is the comment love? I don't feel it, people.

I'm kidding, of course. I know it's hard to start commenting on a blog you've been lurking on. I lurk on a few myself...but I'm so nervy, I usually don't have a problem leaving my own two cents, despite being laconic in person. (I'm trying to use my new words.)

So I have a contest to propose to lure some folks out of lurkdom and to get to know some of my readers.

Here it is, are you ready?

If you comment on every post for the month of July, starting today, I will do a drawing and send the winner a free Usborne children's book! How's that? Yes, I've resorted to giveaways. But I figure if you see how great the books are, you might want to host a show or an eShow and get some more books for free! I'll wait to offer a few choices to the winner, depending on the age/gender of the children. And I can only mail it within the 48 contiguous United States - I'm not made of money, you know.

Which brings me to the topic for today: What are you doing to save some money these days?

We've been cutting down on driving, which is tough when you live in a very rural area with two kids. I feel like I'm wearing the house sometimes. When we do drive, we try to take the Taurcedes. Hooray for the company car!

I've also been shopping at grocery outlets a lot more often. There are quite a few of them here in Amish country, and some are better than others, but I've found a few I like. I can't get everything there, and usually have to hit a "regular" grocery store for meats and things, but every little bit helps, and you can't beat an outlet for cereal. I never pay more than $1.99 for a box of cereal.

It's funny - growing up we used to grumble that my parents would buy cereal in bags, or in black and white boxes that said "Flakes of bran with raisins" instead of "Raisin Bran." (And raisin bran was our sugary cereal. We were the ones that bought puffed rice, too. Seriously, is there any cereal out there with less taste than puffed rice? That stuff should be used as biodegradable packing material for shipping fragile things....but I digress.) Anyway, Mom, Dad, sorry I used to make fun of the bags. Now I understand. And I have a few bags of cereal myself.

So how are you cutting corners these days? Do you clip coupons? Buy in bulk? What's your secret? I can use some more ideas.

You don't have to comment before midnight on the day of the post - just at some point over the following days to be entered in the drawing. And don't worry - I have other stuff going on for the holiday weekend, so I won't write again until Monday. But the contest will end at midnight on July 31.

Happy Fourth!

Word freak

I tend to be a word freak. Some people might say I'm a nerd. Heck, I'll say it.

I like games like Scrabble. And Huggermugger. I really liked this book:

I get a "Word of the Day" email. I like to learn the etymology.

Today's word of the day is laconic. It means using or marked by the use of a minimum of words.

The funny thing is, that for as much of a word freak as I may be, I tend to be rather laconic in person. Especially if something's bothering me, which drives Patrick crazy because he's a talker. He likes to talk things out, and if I clam up his wheels start spinning trying to figure out what's wrong.

I like to write, but I think that laconicity (is that a word? I need to look that up) would be a fun idea for a blog. A friend of mine writes a one-line blog, but he posts way too infrequently. (Yes, Z, I'm talking about you. Post more! Please? I liked the venti post.) The idea intrigues me...just to take one line from your day - the most interesting thing or the silliest thing or what have you - and use that as the blog entry. It sort of leaves you wanting more. I wonder if I could do it. I don't think I could.

Another blog I like uses no words at all. Just photos. Visual blogging, they call it. Check it out. In addition to the photos, I love that they describe themselves by saying they don't stay up too late. It gives just enough of a tiny glimpse into the kind of people they are that it makes you want to know more. Why didn't I think of that? I don't stay up late either.

If I had to describe myself using a slightly obscure fact, I might say I go barefoot as often as possible.

How about you? What's one line that describes you?

Shameless Self-promotion

A stay home mommy has to do something to make herself feel like a productive member of society...and these days, to contribute to the household finances, if possible. This stay home mommy is trying her darnedest to do just that. Here's how:

-I just opened a store on Cafepress where I'm selling some cards and gifts using photos I've taken over the years. Go ahead, check it out. Pass it along to your favorite francophile. I stayed true to my 35mm film well into the digital age, so I have lots of negatives from trips to Paris and London and Ireland that I need to have made into cds, but in the meantime, there are a few things on there that might make you smile.

- I sell Usborne children's books at home. Most mommies are really excited about books for their children, so I don't even have to do a big spiel. People just browse the sample books I have and they sell themselves. Jack loves them. But I have to have shows in order for people to see the books. The cool thing is that now, instead of a home show, people can have eShows. You don't have to make hors d'oeuvres, vacuum the house, or shove things into closets and out of sight (my usual pre-company cleanup) because no one comes to your house! If you know someone who's about to be a new mommy, someone who has a baby, someone who has preschoolers and is trying to think of creative things to do with them, or someone who has school-aged children they're trying to keep occupied for the summer months, then you can have an eShow too! It's easy as 1-2-3!

1. Go to my Usborne book site, by clicking here.


2. Click on "Host an eShow" at the bottom right, and set up your show. It can run for as long as you like, but generally two weeks is a good length.


3. Send the link to your eShow (it will be provided on the site) to as many people as you know who would be interested in baby board books, children's books, early readers, activity kits, baby scrapbooks, puzzles or games and tell them about your show.

That's it.

Then, all the free hostess books you'd earn from sales at a home show, you can earn by sending an email!

In your pajamas.

With dust on your coffee table.

(I won't tell!)

So if you'd like to earn some free books for your own kids or grandkids, why not set up an eShow and see how it goes?

And if you're interested in maybe selling Usborne books yourself, let me know. I love it because there are no quotas. I can work as much or as little as I want, which is great with a toddler and a new baby!

Spam, eggs, sausage and spam

I just got a message in my spam box that said, "You are a moron. Click here for proof."

Please tell me, is anyone really going to click on that? Seriously. And who do these people think they are? It's bad enough that they come up with every possible way to describe how to enlarge male body parts, sell me Rolex watches, or get discount medication. Now they have the nerve to call me names?

I hate spam.

But I do like Monty Python's Spam skit.

Do you need a reminder? Click here.

Last night, we had our neighbors and their two boys over for a barbeque. It's so fun to make friends together. I mean, Patrick has his friends, and I have mine from before we met, but it's nice to meet people together, you know?

It's a gloomy day here today and Jack and I are baking cookies and watching "Meemo" (Nemo).

Rainy days and Mondays can be nice, sometimes.

Odd jobs

I started working when I was about 15 as a cashier at the local grocery store, and since I worked my way through college, often with two or three things going at a time, I've had a lot of jobs over the years.

Some of the stranger ones include: wading into wetlands for the EPA to determine their water quality by collecting the insects there, counting toothpick-sized transistors by the thousands while attached at the wrist to the metal shelving they were stored on lest they be destroyed by a static electric shock, and one four-hour shift at Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurant where I wore an outfit that looked quite a bit like this:

except for the headpiece and the tambourine, and substitute a solid, but just as vibrant, color for the stripes. I kid you not.

What's the strangest job you've ever had?

The number of jobs I've had makes for good work experience, but is not necessarily a good thing. I'm the kind of person who works at a job for a few months, starts getting frustrated by the monotony of it all, stays for a year - because, who quits a job after only a few months? -and then jumps ship. Until I started teaching, that is. Teaching was my niche. I never dreaded going to work, I felt totally fulfilled, and I loved that I got to meet a new group of students every year. This kept things interesting. It was never the same day twice.

With all this work experience, though, you'd think I'd be able to do something as simple as managing my own household, but I'm surprised to find that I'm having such a hard time doing it. I mean, I just made a list of things that need to be done each week and filled them in on a chart with blocks for each day. What is this, kindergarten? Why do I need to do that to get everything done? Laundry, groceries, bathrooms, vacuuming...I'm assigning these tasks to various days in hopes that I might find the time to get them done while the boys are napping or after they've gone to bed, because how can you clean out the fridge with a 19-month-old boy around? It's like my own little chore chart, but I don't get any stickers.

Maybe I should get stickers. Or jewelry. That might be the incentive needed to actually do the things I need to do.

Do you have a system to get things done around the house? Is Monday vacuum day? Does that question make you gasp because you can't believe I only assigned one day per week for vacuuming (and PS, that's because I really don't even do it that often and I need to start because I've seen some ants around and it's probably from all the crumbs)?

I'm looking forward to making a chore chart for Jack and PJ some day and being the giver, instead of the receiver, of the stickers.

Happy Birthday, Patrick!

Today is Patrick's 34th birthday.

He's feeling on top of the world.

His salt and pepper hair, which I love, sometimes makes people think he's older than I am (which I also love). He's not.

He is the most amazing husband and father, and we love him so much.

Happy birthday, my Patrick!

Frumpy by Nature?

That would be a good band name for a bunch of new mommies who played music.

I'm trying to figure out whether a new mommy has to be frumpy. Seriously. I think it just comes with the territory, and I can't figure out how it can be otherwise. It's this transition time, wardrobe-wise, so there's not a lot of impetus to spend money on new clothing. We get by on stretchy sweats, since our recently-expanded hips and loose, sagging belly haven't yet returned to normal (whatever "normal" may be). Cheap tees that can be easily replaced are essentials - after all, they get spit up on and changed sometimes several times per day. The "ladies" are bigger, so button-down shirts don't really work well and the tees have to be long, or else it's like a stretch-mark peep show on your belly. Money is tight because there's a new person in the household, so an expensive transition wardrobe is out of the question. Hence, the frump.

How can a new mommy (who isn't one of those nauseating people who goes right back to normal immediately after giving birth) avoid the frump? Am I being too hard on myself or have I been letting myself go? What are my options? I mean, obviously getting back into shape will help things, but in the meantime, do I have to go to the grocery store looking like a character from My Name is Earl?

Seriously. I want to know your thoughts. I'm getting disgusted with myself.