Everyday Things

It is amazing how little every day things can make us so happy. Obviously I could be talking about stolen moments with your children or husband (which do make me very happy) , but actually I’m talking about things.  That probably makes me sound materialistic, but I mostly mean those little things. Like new socks. How awesome are new socks?! That can make my morning!  Or a blanket warm out of the dryer. There are so many little things that can really make our day, we all have them, and I bet a few of ours overlap. But how many of us sit down at our desk and think, “this is SO AWESOME!”?

This kid.

We had been searching for awhile for the perfect desk for his room and found it yesterday. We put it in his room, wiped it down and he spent the next hour “setting it up”. My Little Moo is a quirky kid, and I love that about him. He often gets excited about things that most of us overlook or take for granted.

And guess what, the desk came with extra prizes!

A used folder and half used legal pad that appears to have been bent. He didn’t care, he immediately ask for a pencil so he could write on his new pad of paper at his desk.

It  is even better  when those little things lead to memorable moments with our loved ones. So pay attention to those little things, let them make you happy and enjoy your day!

Some Days…

Some days just don’t start off right. What should have been a slow and relaxing start to the morning just didn’t start off slow or relaxed. Nothing major, just aggravating. Thank goodness Little Moo only has two more weeks of school left! I should know on such mornings there is no such thing as just doing something “real quick” successfully. I should know this, but do I listen to myself?

Ab-so-lutely not!

At a slow point in the morning I went out to move the sprinklers “real quick” and came back to this

Littlest Moo found the cupcakes left over from last night’s BBQ. And, you know, helped himself. I’d had enough this morning, but instead of yelling or getting angry I took a breath and said screw it, and went for my camera.

 

The damage had been done, so I let him eat his cupcake. How terrible would it be to yell, throw them out and no one got to enjoy a cupcake? Some days it is just not worth it, and it is best to just go with the flow. Our morning included an extra cupcake snack!

Enjoy your Monday like a delicious cupcake, attack it with excitement and have no regrets!

No Thank You Means No Too

I was the cranky lady today. My neighbors might thank me, or just think I’m overreacting and being bitchy. But I. Hate. Solicitors. The kind that call while I’m making dinner and make me hang up on them because they wouldn’t take my polite “no thank you” as a conversation ender or the door-to-door salesman that convince me I NEED this item they are selling. At least some people are professional about it, the Schwan’s truck came by once, I politely said “no thanks” they gave me the card and said they won’t bother me again, but feel free to call if I change me mind. Today’s encounter inspired this post.

At about 2:15pm (about 25 minutes after I got Littlest Moo to sleep) someone rang the doorbell. I answered and a man I did not know offered to sell me wholesale meat. He asked if we would like to get steaks for $3-$4lb. I told him we don’t usually eat steak (mostly because I can’t ever bring myself to pay more than a couple dollars a pound for any meat) to which he asked if I would be interested in chicken or pork. I said “No, I’m not interested” he said if it was easier they take credit/debit, food stamps or checks. This did not make me feel better. He did not have a company shirt/logo, a beater white truck (also without any logo/business affiliation) with a woman driving (possibly wife/girlfriend?) chain smoking with a dog hanging out the window. Yes, unidentifiable person, please let me give you my personal info with the promise of “discount meat”. I told him I was not interested. He persisted to which I replied, “I do not buy anything from people who come to my door”. He pointed down the street and said, “Your neighbor does” I told him, “That’s fine for him, but I don’t”. He asked if I would talk to my neighbor about the quality and he could come back and ask again. Now I was getting frustrated because I had politely said “no” multiple times and he would not take no for an answer. I repeated my statement about not buying things from people who come to my door and went back inside. He really bugged me. He had no visible affiliation with ANY company and didn’t even offer a business card but had the gal to harass me about not wanting to buy out of the back of his truck.

Shortly after I had to go pick up Little Moo from the bus stop and saw my opportunity. He was walking away from a house who also said “no thanks”  and I did something I have always regretted not doing. As he walked back past me I said, “You know, this is a no soliciting neighborhood” He of course played stupid and asked “Oh yeah? Where does it say that?” I pointed to the entrance to the community told him there is a no soliciting sign on both sides of the entrance. He looked at me, seemed offended and asked “Have you had a bad experience or something?”

No, I love it when people wake my sleeping toddler, interrupt my day and tell me I must not care about my family if I don’t buy their $1700 (or more) vacuum or go to their church. I simply replied “No, I just don’t like it when people come to my door”. He got in his vehicle and they sped down the street past the kids walking home, not stopping at any other houses.

Here is the thing, I don’t mind people coming to the door, I love to visit with neighbors and friends, stop by anytime!  And if a neighbor kid (the ones I see frequently and are polite) comes by selling overpriced candy for some school something or another I will buy if I have any cash and I would NEVER turn down a Girl Scout! But if you are pushy person selling your wares, politics or church STAY AWAY!

Getting Back On Track

I don’t normally post my coupon deals on the blog, but I’m going to share this one. Is it the very best deal ever, probably not, but it has given me the kick start I needed to get back on track.

Lately I’ve been discouraged by couponing, discouraged budgeting, discouraged saving money, discouraged by…life.

Some might call that depression.

They’d be right.

I’m picking myself up though and going to trek on. This is the deal that got my spirits up

All of this cost $110.91. All of it was on sale AND I used $46.10 in coupons to get the total out of pocket of $64.81. Since it was ALL on sale the savings were even greater, but Fred Meyer doesn’t keep track of total saved on their receipts, so I know I saved even more, just not how much exactly. I spent less than $1 per box of cereal, the cake mix was free and the frosting and brownie mixes were $.20 each. The most expensive things were the soda and peanut butter.

The cashier made a comment as to knowing “how you couponers work” and that she doesn’t use coupons, it isn’t worth her time. She smiled but said somewhat rude things, which was disconcerting. But I don’t care, I saved a bunch and I now have enough cereal to make it to the next school year and a pretty good stockpile of cake mixes and such to make it to the the fall for sure.

But this goes beyond just saving on some groceries. For me it is a step back into saving and rejoining life (or at least the one I want to have) The money saved on groceries helps us to pay off Zippercow’s medical debt, and allows us to add to our savings to protect our financial future.

I’M BAAACK!!!!

One for the Books

I waited a couple days to write this post. You know, so that I can look back and laugh. It took a couple days.

This post is about Mothers Day.

Since I always have to work on Sunday we celebrate Mothers and Fathers Day on the Saturday before.

I can go into the gory details. But I’ll give you an overview.  Mine started with Little Moo waking me sometime before 7am. Way before. He shoved a handmade gift in my face and said “Happy Mothers Day!” then asked to watch TV. Sadly we had been having a week long room cleaning standoff and he wasn’t allowed television until his room was cleaned. Any guesses on what this will mean for the day? Here’s a hint, he wasn’t happy about this consequence. And he let me know. All. Day. I was lucky enough to drop him and Littlest Moo off with Grammy for a few hours only to drag a zombie Zippercow around to local nurseries. Then have the kids shout at me some more, fight, not listen. Little Moo shouted at one point “Mothers Day is when moms are supposed to be nice to their kids!” At one point he threw a tantrum and slammed our slider door and managed to shatter the glass. Then yelled at me some more about his consequences. I cried (a couple times) that day. Sunday after work wasn’t much better. I can safely say the most pleasant time of the weekend was being at work.

It’s my own fault really. I thought that since things have been rough and I’ve had a lot  to deal with since Zippercow has been not well that maybe it might just be a little more special. But duh, he’s still not well so he didn’t really have the energy to pull off his usual magic (he’s usually really good at this sort of thing) let alone add that little something extra. I tried not to get my hopes up, but let’s be honest, I did.

Fortunately for my husband and boys, I know they love me. I know they appreciate me. And we can laugh about it now, the terrible mothers day. The post is not meant to make my husband or boys feel bad. The idea was to share that no matter what, I still love them. Even on the bad days.

Always.

Oh and next year, feel free to make it extra special!

Stuck.

My weight loss journey is…stuck. In the mud. Like, a lot of it. It is frustrating me to no end. I am not really sure how to get my motivation back. I was doing so well, then the holidays came and I just enjoyed myself and now I can’t seem to get back on track. I gained a few pounds back and despite my work I can’t seem to get any traction. I loose a few, then gain them back and am staying pretty static.

With Zippercow being sick for the better half of a year (just one issue compounded on another and another) the stress is definitely taking its toll on me. I shouldn’t let it but measuring food, planning meals and journaling what I eat seems so easy to let go of with all the stress. I haven’t gone crazy with my eating but clearly my choices haven’t been great. I’ve been motivated enough to keep up at the gym and am back to doing weights regularly, but it still isn’t enough. Some days I’m proud that despite the stress I haven’t gone all the way back, that I’ve kept some habits and still have enough sense not to let bags of cookies, chips and candy into my home, But then I get into a social situation and can’t hold back. In the past I would have just let it all go, that’s how I got so heavy in the first place. So, I am proud, proud that even in stressful times I can keep some of my shit  together. Then other days I’m pissed at my weak will. Why didn’t I say no to those cookies on the counter at work (but damn, my coworker makes kickass cookies!)?   And why does a free day or treat turn into a whole weekend of it? I had plans to be at my goal weight by my brother’s wedding (the end of summer) and that goal keeps slipping further and further away.

I’ve also got the added complication of Zippercow’s diet. His diet is SO limited that it requires us to get him certain foods even if they aren’t on sale, which is a stretch on our food budget, but the guy has to eat!  So I frequently skip getting some of the foods that help me to eat healthy.

So…any ideas? I know what I NEED to do but can’t seem to find the motivation. What do you do when you need a burst of motivation? Is it this difficult for everyone? Have you ever stalled for a bit and gotten back on track? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

The Sometimes Useful Useless Stuff We Know

A couple weeks ago a coworker of mine started to recite Dr. Seuss’s The Pale Green Pants to wrangle and quiet a group of unruly 4, 5, and 6 year olds. She told it all from memory and the kids were quite entranced and some of my other coworkers were in awe. But I knew. My first question when she finished was “Was that your son’s favorite?” She laughed and said “yeah”. The coworkers in awe don’t have children so they don’t know all the useless things that fill your brain as a parent. Useless unless of course you have to wrangle a bunch of unruly children, which fortunately worked like a charm.

Today I was reading to a little guy and though the book was missing a page, it didn’t phase me, I know it word for word and probably always will.

This book is the best! I make sure every little one I get gifts for has a copy of this book! Not only do I know it, but both my kids do by heart. It was the first thing Little Moo recited, before any nursery song even.

These are a few of the other random books that will always rattle around my brain.

 

 

 

How about you? Are there any books that you could recite from memory while half asleep rocking a two year old?

Our Melee with Mental Illness

This was a hard one to write. Most of my posts are about our kiddos or random things floating around in my brain. Generally I prefer to be sarcastic (and presumably funny).But this…this is a much more serious topic. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to write about this, but I thought it would be good for me and hopefully helpful to others experiencing a similar situation. And I want others to know there is no shame in getting help for mental illness. The only shame would be not getting the help you need and dealing with what could be dire consequences.

Mental illness is no stranger to Zippercow or myself.  Chronic depression (I’m not really sure what the clinical term is) is prevalent in my family and Zippercow encountered some pretty serious struggles in his teen years. Since then we’ve both managed to keep ourselves put together for the most part. Until recently.

It started with a phone call.  Every Sunday when I’m at work I call and check in with Zippercow and the kids during my morning break. Mostly just to say hi and see if they need me to get anything on the way home. It was different this day. He was REALLY frustrated with the children, not his usual “the kids woke when you left (at 6:10 am) and are being especially “pleasant” as a result” frustrated, this was different. He sounded off. I gave him some ideas for the kids and said “ I don’t care what you do, but find something to occupy them, a movie, candy, whatever works and I will deal with them when I get home”.

When I got home he was sitting in the recliner and his face was void of, well…anything. I was hoping he just really needed a break. I packed up the kids and took them with me grocery shopping. We returned and while he had showered he was back in the recliner and unresponsive. We agreed that a good night’s sleep was needed (since we hadn’t slept well the previous few nights) and we went to bed earlier than usual (at least I think we did?).

The next morning he got up to shower, returned to our room and didn’t come out. As far as I knew he was doing just fine. I was wrong. When I went in he was laying in bed, fully dressed. I asked him if he wasn’t feeling well thinking maybe he had come down with something. “I just can’t do it” he said. “Do what? Go to work?” I asked. “yes” he replied. Now I was really worried. Even on his worst grumpy days (and that is really what his worst days were, just unexplained grumpiness) he still went about his day like normal. This was new, and much more serious. I let him sleep for a little bit but then came in and opened the curtains. I told him “It is fine to take a mental health day, but you will not stay in bed and sleep all day. You can play your game, read your book (which I handed him, Mockingjay if you were curious) or hang out with us but sleeping all day is not an option, it will only make it impossible to sleep at night making your problems worse”. I was calm and kind (but stern) when I said this. I let him be and checked in on him throughout the morning. Around noon he was still in bed but reading. I went in and told him “I think it’s time, today you will call and make an appointment with a someone.” We cried silently together and it was set in motion.

Photo provided by The Gemini Geek

I suppose it would help to know that we’ve always treated our mental illness (or potential for) very matter of factly and have talked about at length that if one or the other of us says it is time to seek professional help we will trust each other and go.

It was time.

I did some research and found someone close to his work and asked him “ Are you going to call or would you like me to?” He opted to have me call and we set it up. Three weeks out, but still, just knowing that relief was on its way seemed to help him.

A little.

Each day since has been a bit of a rollercoaster on the verge of collapse. I would think he was feeling better and without notice his mood would change drastically. It took all of my energy to stay calm and supportive of him and also stay calm for the kids. We joke. He isn’t in the dark of his condition, he is fully aware and just wants to feel better. This at least is promising. Now we need to just get to his appointment in one (if slightly fractured) piece. Unfortunately this happened to be a week of many obligations that required me to be away from home. While I wasn’t concerned that anything would happen to the kids, I certainly didn’t want to leave anything to chance so I worked tirelessly at setting up help and support for Zippercow and arranged a few options in case it was “just too much”.  We made it through the first week mostly. I kind of had a melt down after the first week. In times of trouble or stress I always look to Zippercow for support, this of course is not possible when he is having difficulty dealing with his own stuff, I don’t need to put more on his shoulders, or worse unintentionally make him feel guilty. I have been honest with my feelings with him during the last week but I certainly didn’t unload on him or complain about how tough this has been for me.

But it has been.

I have felt so totally isolated and helpless. And it is has terrified me to see Zippercow this way.Zippercow doesn’t mind if I talk to other adults about it, he is not ashamed of something he has no control over, but he does not want the kids to know, for now. It is about now that I realize I haven’t been all that great of a friend to my friends and feel bad unloading all this on them. How can expect others to be there for me if I haven’t been all that supportive of them?Am I handling this okay? This is just one week, what if this goes on for much longer, if there are problems his treatment? So I start my own spiral. I don’t think my occasional breakdowns are a sign of my own mental illness, but just a release of a weeks worth of keeping things together. It takes so much effort to keep everyone engaged and create some normalcy for the kids.

I’m grateful for my family, for a husband who has the wherewithal to get help when he needs it. A man who loves me and our children and even on the worst days does not lash out at me or the kids. That would cost too much.

Yesterday was a bad day.

And today, well he left work in the middle of the day. Just left.

And came home.

Two weeks left.

Did I mention we also put down a lot of money on a fence Zippercow is supposed to start building next week? And we have a multiple family events to attend during Easter weekend?

I’m trying not to panic. One day at a time. We will take it one day at a time.

**Update** It is a week later and fortunately Zippercow seems to be himself as far as I can tell. I hesitated to post this and wanted his permission and thought it best to wait  until he was feeling more baseline. He still doesn’t trust himself and has asked me to keep him in check but also claims to be feeling much more normal and is currently helping to get our fence in. I’m proud of the steps he’s taken to be healthy and I support his efforts to not only be physically healthy, but mentally healthy for himself and our family.

* I would like to thank our friends and family that have been there for us in many ways. Everyone that helped to dig out the fence line contributed to one of Zippercow’s good days. Also I know posting this may get negative feedback from friends or family who think poorly of those who seek mental health services.

Be Inspired By What Inspires You

What inspires and motivates  you? Is it cute kittens? Motivational Posters with catchy slogans? Sappy quotes? Yeah, most of those things make me go blech. Sure they are great for some but me, I like sarcasm. The more it drips the better. So in honor of that I would like to share some of my favorite blogs. These blogs make my day, make me laugh and remind me that there are LOTS of regular ordinary people that share the same smart ass sense of humor.

The first two are great sarcastic mom sites, because let’s face it, sarcastic humor is the best parenting humor.

Suburban Snapshots

 

The next two are comics, and sarcasm is at its best when it is drawn with bright colorful images!

Warning: These sites may cause laughter, tears and if you are unfit, abdominal pain from raucous laughter.

 

I wish I could write more like these hilarious people. They are my sarcaspiration!

Oh, and I can’t forget

Not quite as sarcastic in nature, but you can find some great jewels like these

I Want to Be a Dad!

The other day Zippercow says to me “ It is too bad you can’t  be a Dad with a baby”. I of course look at him funny because I’m not sure where this story is leading but he continues on to explain that whenever he is alone at a store with the boys (or just Littlest Moo) people are SO nice to him. They open doors for him, talk nice to him and the children, offer to help him and sometimes people offer to let him go first in line. I have noticed this phenomenon as well and all I have to say is…

WTF!?!

If I am a couple feet away looking at something and Zippercow is with the kids at the cart or people can’t  see me they get all kinds of smiles and friendly head nods. Even Zippercow admits that people are not ever that nice to him in public if he does not have the children but you ad kids into the equation then you get lots of people being nice. The equation goes something like this

 Dad+child+toddler= He must be the nicest man ever and how sweet that he has the children so we MUST be extra nice and helpful!

Don’t get me wrong, I love that people treat my husband and children kindly when they go out, I mean look at them they are pretty darn adorable. My question is why do moms out with children not get the same in return????  I can recall multiple occasions when I had Little Moo, barely walking Niecey-Poo and infant Littlest Moo out and we struggled to get through doors with the big double stroller or worse they were not in the stroller which meant I had the carrier, toddler on one hip and Little Moo who still couldn’t get the door open trying to get through a door  and people would watch (it wasn’t that they didn’t notice, they watched like it was a sport! “That’s right Bill she had her opening and was about to score but she fumbled the baby  and dropped the toddler and it was all downhill from there, WHAT. A. SHAME” ) or instead of offering to help hold the door they would use the other set of doors or even worse, stand behind me and give a loud exasperated sigh because I was holding them up. Then while in the store if a child starts crying you get dirty looks as if you are the worst parent in the world. Guess what, sometimes you still have to buy groceries, even if the kids don’t want to. But when Zippercow does it he gets sympathetic looks and offers of assistance or stickers for the kids.  It isn’t I don’t encounter nice people, because there certainly are, but I have heard stories from Zippercow about how people fall all over themselves to be nice and helpful when he has the kids. Even he seems perplexed by it. I know there are plenty of Moms who experience the same things I do and some who do it with far more children but I’m curious what makes Dads so much different?

So now when Little Moo says he wants to be a daddy when he gets older I tell him, “Me too!”.

Son of a Itch!!!!

 

They are beautiful aren’t they? I LOVE flowers and always look forward to their bloom every spring, what I don’t look forward to is the terrible allergies I suffer as a result. This spring I started sneezing and had an itchy throat so I started taking my seasonal allergy medicine of choice Zyrtec. More specifically Cetirizine in the great big Kirkland vat. Well over the last couple months I have been…not myself. I could NOT figure out what it could be and one of the most disturbing things I have been experiencing has been weight gain despite exercise, which has increased so if anything I should be maintaining, but certainly not gaining at such a rapid rate. I did a little research and found that for a small percentage of people rapid (that’s right RAPID!) weight gain is a side effect!!!  So for general information (whether you want it or not) these are some of the side effects of Zyrtec (Cetirizine). I’ve highlighted some of the ones I’ve experienced:

Common side effects of Zyrtec Oral:                                                   Dryness of the Nose                                                                                                                          Dry Mouth
Drowsiness
Throat Dryness

Infrequent side effects of Zyrtec Oral:                                                 Throat Irritation
Chronic Trouble Sleeping

Rare side effects of Zyrtec Oral:                                                        Abnormal Heart Rhythm
Bronchospasm
Hepatitis
Liver Problems
Blockage of Normal Bile Flow
Seizures
Fit
Visible Water Retention
Heart Throbbing or Pounding
Life Threatening Allergic Reaction
Nightmares
Blurred Vision
Problems with Eyesight
Unsteady Walking
Ringing in the Ears
Incomplete or Infrequent Bowel Movements
Sun-Sensitive Skin
Dizzy
Low Energy
Excessive Sweating
Involuntary Quivering
Rash
Loss of Appetite
Weight Gain
Increased Hunger
Nosebleed
Fast Heartbeat
Feel Like Throwing Up
Diarrhea
Difficult or Painful Urination
Stomach Cramps
Decreased sex drive                                                                                                                  Nervous
Confused
Over Excitement

Okay so I’m sure some of those things are a bit personal, but I just wanted to share incase anyone out there is experiencing some of these things. I have been ravenously hungry (even right after I finish eating) tired and gaining weight at ridiculous speed despite increased exercise. And can I just say that there is nothing more defeating than trying to eat well while being stupidly hungry and exercising and still gain weight! I was so off that I had convinced myself that I could be pregnant, which is ludicrous because I had my tubes tied after Littlest Moo but I simple could not figure out why I was experiencing all these symptoms!!!!  Great so I decide to stop taking the medicine. So for some other great information one of the side effects of quitting Zyrtec is itching. I happen to be fortunate enough to be experiencing this delightful side effect of withdrawl. I’ve actually experienced it before and not realized why I was itching so much, but after a little research now I know why. Oh and it is not just a little itchy, but an itch over my entire body that makes it seem like there would be nothing more glorious than to scratch my skin clean off my body. Seriously.  I know it might take a few more days but I am going to just tough it out and get myself off the hard stuff. I’ll still enjoy the flowers, but I might be sneezing while doing it and in time hopefully a little lighter!