deals, delight, discovery

All good things must come to an end...

Going to my mother's house is always a delight. The kids wake up, I send them out to Grandma and I stay in bed. I have good intentions of helping with the mealtime dishes, but she always has them done before I even get up out of my chair. All of the classic, perfect meals from my youth were laid before me, for seven straight days. Two nights in a row, I went out without my usual accessories of 3 small children. The first night, I called, checked on the kids, thought of them throughout dinner and hurried back to Grandma's house.
Night number two involved some shopping.....for myself! I was slowly, methodically looking through each and every rack of clothes. My husband, exasperated with my leisurely perusing, asked what was taking me so long.........
Do you know how long it had been since I entered a store without a child in tow? I don't know either, but a very, very long time. I didn't have to stay near the center of the aisles, to ensure little sticky hands did not grasp things they shouldn't. No one needed to go potty, right now! No one forgot to tell me they needed to go potty before it was too late.
Of course, there was a down side too. My usual shopping adventures include a constant dialogue regarding everything around us. This keeps the kids from getting too distracted and delays the inevitable "she's squishing meeeee!" "he won't scoot oooooverrrr!" from inside the shopping carts. I found myself creating constant pre-school dialogue with my husband. I think he thinks I'm nuts. Oh-well. After 8 years of being married to me, I don't think he was too surprised. Oh look! I see Cinderella shoes over there. Look at all the colors of shirts. How many colors do you see?
He has commented recently that I talk to him like a child..... I have strongly disagreed. I am afraid that this post solidifies his correctness and my need for daily adult interaction. I digress.
My once-forgotten shopping skills were re-discovered. I found these jeans for $8.75 and these jeans for $14.99. Thank you. That is right. Camille is back. All thanks to this store.

Shopping without my children. I was giddy. Dare I say I almost skipped down the aisles? It was heaven. Yes, I do in fact imagine heaven to include my children whom I adore and can't handle being away from, but interspersed with mini-shopping trips while Grandma tucks the children safely into their beds.

We arrived back to our own home last night. For once, we had left it spotless. Coming home was so nice. The kids tried to figure out who had painted our walls and cleaned while we were gone. We should clean more often. Along with our bare counter tops and floors, the cupboards and fridge are also empty.
How much nutrition have my children received from their 3 meals they have had since returning? Peanut butter and apricot jelly, meal 1.
Peanut butter and raspberry jam, meal 2.
Peanut butter and honey, meal 3.
I am all about variety.
I think we have to go to the grocery store this afternoon. Back to reality, shopping with 3 children and playing a competitive round of "I spy with my little eye...." in the produce aisle.

What is on your "back to reality" schedule today?

job hazards

Is it just me or...................

Do you ever watch the news stories detailing living conditions in which CPS, (Child Protective Services), finds neglected children? A few weeks ago, the local station showed a shot of the deplorable, (normal), mess that was on a baby bouncer found in a tragic home.
Really, have you ever had a baby in the blow-out stage? My home has had it's own moments of deplorable standards. (Moments, days, weeks, months; who's counting?)

Have you ever wondered if your own home could make it onto the news? This morning, I picked my babe out of the high chair and discovered she had been sitting in her own waste. Meanwhile, the older two were ignoring all safety precautions with antics such as this:

Did you notice that the 3-year-old is only partly dressed?

The cleanliness of the rooms in the background?

Or, how about the crying baby in the distance?

Will I watch this clip in 20 years and realize how it all went wrong?

Oh no, because you see, I love it. All of it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Even the poop. It stinks, but I guess it just comes as one of the hazards to the best job in the world.

What might I find happily hazardous in your home today?

when things backfire

It all ended with a sigh from him and a "Why does everything I do seem to backfire?"
Me, "Oh, nothing bac..."
Silence.
In fact, quite technically, things did backfire tonight.

911, flames, firetrucks and all.
As I started my nightly ritual of blog checks and the local news, I heard a crackling noise. Muting the tv, I really heard a crackling noise. Jumping up to the window, I saw HUGE flames on the side of our property. When I say HUGE, I mean it. Taller than our house flames. Not a second to analyze, just pick up the phone and dial 911, flames.

On the side of our property are, (were), very tall, very wide, very ugly shrubs. Earlier in the day, (like 5 hours earlier), my husband set out on a few Honey-Do tasks. Burn a few weeds here, burn a few weeds there. Wonderful smokey smell in the crisp cool air and dried ugly weeds around the yard no more. Hooray!
Who knew that while the kids were playing fire trucks and fire fighters in the house, things were smoldering and brewing outside. The kids rarely play with the toy firetrucks & firehouse.

Irony. Love it. Loathe it.

Within minutes, before any of the rural volunteer firemen could arrive, the flames had all but disappeared. My panic & the dispatchers' instructions to describe the fire were contained too. The shrubs are near our "pump house" and well. Somehow, we now have no water. Hopefully the electrician will be here ASAP. Until he does arrive though, the dirty dishes that I chose not to do right after dinner, (or lunch, for that matter), will be hidden away in an undisclosed location.

I have always thought that I could play it cool in an emergency.

Yeah...um.....not so much. This wasn't even an emergency, emergency. There was a chance the house could have caught on fire, but I had ample time to get the kids out. No one was in grave danger, yet I still couldn't form complete, coherent sentences with the 911 dispatcher.

"How high are the flames ma'am?"
Uh....ah....um...high!
"Are there any structures nearby ma'am?"
um...well...our house...you need to get a fire truck here....yes!
"How close is your home to the flames?"
I duuuuu....nnnnooo... maybe um, uh...20 feet...um...or...

Seriously. The flames started to die down as fast as they had flared up, but at that point, with no water in case things started up again, the firemen soaked and soaked and soaked the side of our yard. You know what is really ridiculous? The whole time, (once it was it was clear we were out of danger), I was thinking, I should take a picture of this to post. The firemen putting out the fire that no longer existed, the kids staring intently out the window at the truck's lights. The neighbors SLOWLY driving by to see why a fire truck was spraying water at a pretend fire (It was there, I promise! It was really big, bad, and scary too- just not for long.) I digress.
Where was I? Oh, yes- pictures. My camera was out in the car. Somehow, I didn't think the firemen would appreciate the need for me to go out into the bitter cold to fetch my camera for some great blogging photos. Oh-well. Use your imagination. Picture a huge firetruck and 4 men fighting a blaze no bigger than the flame of a candle. Nice.
And all that effort will cost us a pretty penny in an insurance premium.
Really though, I am beyond thankful that nothing tragic occurred. Losing the big ugly shrubs only costs me a little privacy from the neighbors, but that's ok. I like them. Maybe they will let me wash some dirty dishes before Grandma comes to see the damage. After all, they helped me out with my last non-emergency too.

Oh- and just a tip: You know how they always say shrubs area fire hazard. Well, "they" are right. I can't even imagine if that had all been right next to my home. Reality is, I can imagine, and that is all I have been doing. There have been more than a few prayers of gratitude around here tonight.

Please forgive the incoherent sentences in this post. My hands are still trembling and apparently, so is my brain.

Have you ever had to dial 911? Did you keep it calm and collected? Panicked and frazzled?

CHALLENGE.....Prioritize

Do I fix the kids breakfast or have cereal bars while watching Curious George? Clean the house or read some books? Yard work or dishes? Groceries or gas? Work or stay home? Vitamins or force-fed broccoli?
In the past few weeks, I have read many blogs about the struggle a lot of women have in the great debate of where our time is best spent.
For the most part, my current state in life is extremely flexible. My children are young enough to not be involved in a lot of activities. They are completely satisfied with a Ramen Noodle dinner or a banquet. Their boredom can be solved with the push of a button. Literally. I can hand them a banana and some crackers, turn on the flat-screened babysitter and blog/surf/veg all day long. And sometimes I do. Not always, but probably more often than needed.
I decided a few days ago to not post a challenge this week on the afore-designated Tuesday. Why not? Five years from now, will it really make any difference whatsoever that I blogged every Tuesday morning? I highly doubt it. 5 days from now it won't make much of a difference. The baby and I snuggled half the morning. The kids and I all settled in the cold morning air under an ocean of blankets for the latest in the adventures of a large purple dinosaur. Oh! How I swore I would never let my children watch Barney!
We talked together, danced together and cleaned together. And we had fun! Sure, I do some of these things everyday, but today, there were no pressing concerns on my mind. We were just simply being a family, nothing more and most importantly, nothing less.

CHALLENGE.......Prioritize


Pick something in your life that is "fluff." Let it slide to the back burner for a while. Let yourself de-emphasize the unnecessary and re-emphasize the simple, the what really counts.....the what will I really be glad that I did when I look back in 5 years. Will I be glad that I did the dishes or snuggled with my kids on the couch? Maybe you are always on the phone. It doesn't matter if you have kids or not. Before kids, I spent way too many extra minutes at work straightening the pencils in their drawer. Maybe a certain book series with a movie coming out in a few weeks has captured your being.

I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time in the past few years with my husband's grandmother. She passed away a few months ago after living for nearly a century. She was an immaculate housekeeper, good cook and quick to share her thoughts. Grandma remembered more things from her youth in her nineties than I remember of mine- and I am still in my twenties! My small children and I took over her home at least weekly for the past few years. Sometimes we were there several afternoons each week. In her life, she was meticulous in how she kept her home. She cleaned things that I didn't know needed cleaning. The filters in her furnace were actually changed before the recommended time. The rugs were beat and the light fixtures polished. I always felt inadequate in my homemaking skills until about a year ago when she told me something that I will never forget.
As my kids ran around the many breakable things in her home, she told me that she wondered if maybe all that housework really wasn't as important as she thought it was when she was raising her children. I don't remember her exact wording, but the point was that the most text-book perfect homemaker that I had ever met was saying that all those things (dusting, dishes, laundry, etc.) really didn't matter. I felt validated. I felt so happy walking in to my cluttered home that day.
It is nice to get the work done. It is nice to spend time on my own little projects.
It is even nicer to put that all aside for a while to just be.....................and maybe dance to "Pump Up the Jam" with the happiest 5-year-old in Idaho.

Please don't think twice when you see that frazzled mom head-banging with a baby on her hip. She is just getting her priorities straight.

Anyone in?

a vision of helping

Remember all of the rush, the hustle & bustle to help out "NieNie?" The NieNie auctions became a very "in" thing to be involved with. Even the Today Show was "in" on the action. There are so many tragic stories out there. You only have to look for a few moments and you will find someone who could use your help- even a simple smile, a heartfelt prayer.
There is another mom in need of our help. I don't want this blog to become the voice of doom and gloom, but I think it is so important, so very very important to use the internet to find entertainment and joy, but to also be used as a tool for sharing in one another's burdens.
Carol is a mom a little more on the blog level of you and me. She has her little blog, posts about her beautiful little family and just had a new baby. This is where the commonalities take a major detour.
From her husband: "Carol Decker, my wife, had an emergency cesarean section on June 10, 2008. After the surgery she developed life-threatening hypotension from a septic pneumonia infection. After fighting for several weeks, the medicine she was on to save her life had the unfortunate side effect of blocking blood flow to her legs, left arm and eyes.
Since then, Carol has had both legs below the knee amputated, her left arm amputated and she is blind."


When you look at your family today, look with new eyes. I am looking around my house right now, looking at the disasters my kids have created, looking at the banana peels in the family room and the juice spilled across the table. I am looking....... and I am tearful......and I am ecstatic that I have the ability to be right in the middle of all of the mess.

There are a few auctions being held for the benefit of the Decker family here.

Thank you, Rachel, for bringing this story to our attention.

salsa making, the PC way

that's Ponytail Challenge way, not politically correct (because I'm not) and not personal computer (because I don't have one)

Yes, the Ponytail Challenge way- full of pain, sweat and tears....but not necessarily in that order.

1- Gather your peppers and tomatoes. All that your garden or market has to offer. When you think that you have enough tomatoes for salsa making, go back and get twice as many. When referring to the web to find out an accurate way to measure 20 lbs. of tomatoes, you will receive answers that vary from 2 cups = 1 pound, all the way to 8 cups = 3 pounds, 16 cups = 20 pounds. Hmmm.....might be time to just buy a scale.


Notice the gloves.

2- Start chopping. Chop and chop. Then, chop some more.
2.5- Stop, change baby's dirty diaper, hand children box of dry cereal to eat for lunch. Wash hands.



3- The tears part...... it is always good to have a good cry. Lots and lots of tears.



4- Get really annoyed at chopping and pull out the food processor to do it for you. It might be wise to skip right past #2 to this step. I suggest leaving your gloves on. Chop up your peppers.



5- Decide that maybe you should check the "hotness" level of the unknown variety of peppers you picked from your garden. Touch the tip of your tongue to pepper- ever so quickly.


Notice the lack of gloves.

6- Run to sink- ever so quickly. Drink a lot of cold water.
6.5- Pretend that you don't hear your baby crying to be picked up.

7- Make the wise, educated decision that maybe you have enough peppers in your salsa.
7.5- Try to yell- I mean calmly tell- your children to stop jumping on your bed- while your tongue and lips are swollen, burning, tingling and slightly numb.

8- Place everything in to your biggest pot.



9- Your pot is not big enough. Now, place everything in to your 2 biggest pots.
9.5- Give your children the bag of jumbo marshmallows for the great nutritional content.

10- The sweat. Feel as if you haven't showered in weeks because you have are been standing in a hot steamy kitchen for 6 hours.

11- Forget to take anymore pictures and the rest of the day, because at this point you are so tired and sick of salsa that your brain has switched to auto mode.
11.5- Auto mode brain allows you to pretend that you didn't know that your children ate the whole bag of marshmallows and that you *gasp* can't believe they did that......when really, you are glad it held them off for an hour so that you could finish up your project.

12- Curse for not having any tortilla chips to eat the salsa that should have only taken a few hours to make, but took all day.

13- Realize that maybe your children could use their mother when your 4-year-old asks at the end of the day, "Mom, can you watch the baby for a minute while I go to the bathroom?" Roll reversal maybe?

14- Look at the sink of dirty dishes, turn around and walk away......... just walk away.



15- The pain...... Hold a bag of frozen vegetables all night long because you weren't smart enough to wear gloves while handling hot peppers.



Pain, sweat, and tears. I have had a few requests for the recipe- I'll see how it turns out and then decide if I should "share the wealth."
Must. Buy. Chips. Now.

mommy dearest

Obviously, I didn't post a challenge this week for the first time.
I would like to give you some dramatic, deep, soul-searching reason, but I don't have one. I simply didn't do it. I'm not going to. You can't make me. And if you want to ground me to my room, the idea of being sent to my bed actually sounds quite heavenly.
I did, however, have a few random realizations this last weekend.

It has been apparent for a month or so, my lack of coolness. Hitting up a few Labor Day sales however, really iced the cake. Brand names. I have no and I mean absolutely no idea what brands are in or what brands are out. I used to be very up on the in.

In high school, my best friend Bridget and I would work our tails off to support our weekly shopping trips to the trendiest stores in town. My oh-so-cool college roommates introduced me to a slightly more refined and expensive taste. Now though- I have no clue. It has been a long.....very, very long time since I went in to a store to buy jeans. We are talking several kids ago long time. Of the two good pairs I own, one was for $6 from a thrift shop and happens to be the pair from flab to fab. The other was ordered on line off of a clearance sale.
I ramble.
So, shopping on Monday. I first realized that the brand of jeans that I would list as a "go-to, never-fail" brand is now sold at Wal-Mart. Ugh. Wal-Mart. Now I can't buy them. They are not "not cool" because they are sold at Wal-Mart, I just have major Wal-Mart issues.
Next, I went to a "cool" store. Many, many brands. Who knows? Definitely not me.
The best part? I don't even care. Button them up without any major muffin toppage and I am a happy momma.

Against all of my teenage will, I am slowly, but surely, turning in to my mother.
There are shirts hanging in my closet that I wore 10+ years ago. Vintage baby!
I give my kids and husband "the look."
My 2nd daughter is super cute. Just like my mom I tell ya. (and yes, my 1st daughter is cute too, and so is my older sister.)

So, I am wondering.....am I normal? Are any of you turning in to your mother? What do you do that you swore you would never do?

CHALLENGE.......Bon Appetit

I was very tempted to not post a challenge today. I am still having too much fun reading the comments from yesterday! But, alas, rules are rules, and Tuesdays are new challenge day.



On the days that I actually act like a "proper" housewife and cook my family a "proper" homemade meal, rarely do I actually get to eat it while it is still hot.

A typical dinner would be the rush of the short order cooking, dishing up everyone's meals, pause for prayer, sit down to eat..... oh- wait, the 2-year-old needs a new fork. Now, I can eat.

Oops. Forgot the kids' milk. Ok. Done.
Now milk spills. Clean-up time.

Finally, sit down, raise first now-luke-warm bite to mouth....interruption....."I gotta go potty......"
Help 2-year-old, come back to eat. Now, 4-year-old needs second servings. The baby needs nursed. Eventually, usually after everyone else is nearing completion of their meal, I begin mine.

After almost 5 years of my housewife gig, daddy dearest has started to notice this mealtime regime, and is enforcing the "wait for mom before you eat" rule. But, then everyone's meals end up cold- so, I tell them to go ahead.

Is this just my house? Is this normal? Why, when it comes to dinnertime, am I always left on the back burner?

Then, there are the simple meals.

A peanut butter sandwich for the kids:




The remnants that I eat:




Again, is this just me? Hopefully not- or this challenge is going to leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Man, I am on a roll with all of these foodisms.



CHALLENGE........Bon Appetit



Treat yourself to a luxury meal. For me, this means sitting at the table, (not standing at the counter with a baby on my hip), and eating fresh food. Fresh as in, immediately after it is prepared- not when everyone else is prepared for me to enjoy it.

Make something that YOU like to eat. (gasp)

Serve yourself first. (bigger gasp)

Back in my career days, most meals were spent at my desk or stuffing my face between stoplights while going to see clients. Imagine going to a restaurant or even a shady park and actually relaxing for a quick break. Most of us spend so much time serving others- this is the week to serve ourselves- or at least our stomachs.

I might even eat breakfast before 10 a.m. It might even be something more than a few handfuls of dry cereal or scrambled eggs (not handfuls of eggs, in case you were confused. Except, actually, I guess I do technically pick the leftover bits out of the pan after I dish up the kids' plates). I wonder if my body will go into shock from being fed well and on a somewhat scheduled basis this week?!

What is your favorite meal? When was the last time you actually got to eat it? How about the last time you got to enjoy it?

I have.

Thankful Monday

My mind is racing with thoughts tonight.
So many questions I am pondering.
It is one of those late nights where the idea of my head hitting the pillow is feared, for I know that my thoughts will consume me.

It all started on Friday. My little babe broke out in hives before my eyes after taking the kids swimming. Within minutes, her entire forehead was covered in blotches and her eyes had started to swell. Allergies run strong in our family and I was not willing to take chances with my 6-month-old. We were minutes away from the urgent care, and I rushed over- wet clothes and all.
Me: a mom in a panicked fear, a knowledge that my baby was probably fine, but the nagging "what- if."
The receptionist: calmly and slowly begins handing me form after form. Clickety-clacking away on her keyboard, she momentarily lifted her eyes from the screen to say, oh-so-nonchalantly, "We see babies with rashes all the time..."
This was not a rash. THIS was the potential for a serious problem. THIS was causing my eyes to brim with tears. Didn't she get it? THIS was a BIG DEAL to me. THIS was not ok and I was not ok and my baby was NOT OK. I was handing over some cash for my co-pay. I was paying for it to be a BIG DEAL to someone. Urgent care. Urgent. Didn't she get it? I thought we needed immediate help. I could fill out those forms later. My baby might or might not have had a throat swelling at that very moment. Finally, she understood that the real emergency was that this mamma was about to go ballistic even if the baby was likely fine. She quickly went and got someone to check my babe's oxygen levels, which were fine. The hives seemed to start disappearing as quickly as they came. It may have been luck. It may have not have been an allergic reaction at all. It may have been an answer to my silent pleading prayer. I don't know. I won't ever know, but I was thankful for what it wasn't. I was ridiculously thankful, but I kept letting myself think, "what if?"

Next up, Saturday night. It was my birthday & we took the kids to celebrate with some friends from out-of-town. After feasting on hot bread and pasta, we downed some Krispy Kremes and headed to the friends' hotel to let the kids swim. It was all fun and games until someone got hurt. There were 4 adults. 3 of us close to my 2-year-old, 3 of us who didn't see her step into the deep water. 3 of us who kept chatting while her chubby little feet found the bottom of the pool. It was my husband, the furthest away that noticed her little hands reaching for the surface of the water- literally inches away from me. She was fine. A major scare, but she was fine. I was RIGHT NEXT to her and didn't even see her go under. I didn't even realize she was by me. How did I not see her? What if......?
It became increasingly apparent to me this weekend how much divine help we receive in everything that we do. Not just the extreme situations, but ALL THE TIME. It really only takes a matter of moments for things to change. As I type, I am letting the tears stream, snot run and the lump in my throat grows with each sentence.

Sunday: nothing monumental occurred. A basic Sunday for our household. Church, naps, snacks all day long, and watching the Olympics. My husband and I seemed to both be on edge with each other. As I reflect, I think it probably has to do with the roller coaster of emotions we have felt this weekend and realizing how close we came to having it be a very non-basic Sunday for us. When we do have an argument, it is usually about the same things. I think this is typical for most couples. Today though was different. It was the same tension as always, the same topic. But, somehow, we both just let it go. Without saying anything, we both knew that today just wasn't the day for it.
But now, as my mind is racing, I reflect and realize, is there really ever a day for it? Can't I just let things go? He doesn't always think before he speaks. I over-analyze everything that he says. Can't I just leave it at that? Do I need to be so defensive all the time? There are 3 little someones so much more important than our petty bickering. Wouldn't it be just as easy to "let it go" and just have fun with the kids instead?

It is a good day for a Thankful Monday for me.

There are a few blogs I have discovered in the past few months of families who have experienced the recent loss of a small child. This weekend I became so close to becoming one of these mother's. It is so easy to take for granted what I have............ So easy to be annoyed with the tantrums instead of useing them as a chance to pick up my hysterical daughter and hold her close until she is ready to giggle again. How often do I exasperatedly nurse my babe yet once again in hopes that she will finally take a nap. Wouldn't it be just as easy to turn on some music and dance with her? I expect so much out of my oldest. I have high expectations for him and he gets "the look" all too often. Can't I just remember that he is only 4- and to let him be only 4?
I am so thankful today for these mother's blogs that I have read recently that have shared their loss, their pain, their strength, their joys. (I am requesting their permission to add links, and will add them here)
This weekend has been a TREMENDOUS reminder for me to hold dear to what I have and forget about what I "have not." I have a home. I have a family. I have a tender knowledge that my daughters were protected this weekend. I do not need to wonder "what if?," but "what now?" For me, this is a week to hug a little more, speak a little softer, snuggle a little longer, and forgive a little quicker. My tears have dried up now, and my soft pillow awaits.

What about you? What are you thankful for today that you might usually take for granted?

#1...the Ponytail Challenge

Ponytails: Excuses, excuses.
The old standby.
The "I'm running late and don't have time to wash my hair."
The "I'm not going anywhere today, so why bother?"
The "I don't have time to do my hair."
The "My hair looks better up anyways."

Start today. (Whenever today is that you are reading this). No ponytails allowed ......for a week.....straight. You heard me. (Or would it be you read me?) None. Zilch. Zero. You must do your hair everyday for a week! AND it has to be done before noon.

If this challenge confuses you, then this blog is not for you.... unless "letting yourself go" also included a very very short haircut, then you still can be in on the action!

I want you all to know this challenge is going to be very hard for me, if not nearly impossible. However, I, Camille accept the challenge and encourage (make that request...ok beg) for the rest of you to accept too. Leave a comment accepting the challenge and here we go...... a full week of hair do's. Wow. I haven't done that since I was 20. Good luck!

Oh-yeah. No "alligator clips" either. No cheating! If the hair is up and didn't include at least a little effort, it is not a hair do, it is a "I let myself go" do. You all deserve to feel good about yourselves, so do it!