Can You Feel The Love?

You all know how I feel about carving pumpkins at Halloween? Well addressing valentines takes a close second. It seems like it should be fun. Cute little valentines, red, pink, and purple everything, and sticker hearts, what’s not to love? It screams everything girly I adore. And as a grade school girl I remember sitting down to my list of nearly thirty classmates and picking just the right valentine for each classmate. But that was the later years, when all my parents had to do was buy the box I’d so carefully chosen and then I’d sit down to the list and do the work.

Yeah, we’re not there yet.

Now, it is just a painful exercise in patience. Really it is just a holiday themed homework assignment. “Don’t forget Uppercase “A” and lowercase “l” and “Use your best writing” This is the first year he had to address them to each student. At least last year all he had to do was sign his name on them (this cut down time on passing them out, man she was an awesome teacher!) but even that was painful. He was done signing his name after the ninth one, still eleven more to go son.

So this year his teacher requested no candy. I believe she said it is so the kids can focus on the valentines and not all the treats (when did Valentine’s Day turn into Halloween  Part Deux?)  So we picked some awesome Cars 2 Valentines that came with tattoos. Cool right? Right???

“Mommy, it’s kind of like a Valentine Factory!”

“This is hard work!” ~ Little Moo

Yeah…I have awesome fine motor skills and even I was struggling getting the little tattoos into the manufacture provided slits.

Sure Little Moo was excited to make them, but it took the ultimate parenting patience to complete them all.

Sigh….the things we do for love!

Yep, I’m a Coward

 

I will apologize up front because I’m sure this might offend some of my friends, especially since I’ve never said this to them in person because…well I’m a chicken. Please know I love you dearly and will in no way reveal who you are, but I’m sure you know who you are. As much as this is a cowardly way to say what has been bothering me to my friends, this is not meant to be my wagging finger at you, this message is for everyone, even if I don’t ride with you.

Please don’t cell phone and drive.

It. Is. Terrifying.

No joke, I’m a terrible passenger. I’m sure I know it is why my husband lets me drive when we are going somewhere as a family, so that we can stay married.  When I am riding as a guest in a vehicle I try to be on my best behavior, but when you pull out your phone to text or talk it is everything I can do to not lose my shit. I find it absolutely terrifying and what’s worse is when we are on the freeway doing 60mph (or 70mph) and you start reaching for your phone in your purse and start reading, texting, or talking on your phone I’m stuck.  Everyone thinks it doesn’t effect their driving, but if you are looking down and not at the road how on earth can you tell? As a passenger I can see that it does effect your driving and all I can do is warn you if you are wandering too far out of the lane, but trust me I’m on pins and needles watching. 

It can . I promise. I have NEVER been with someone in a car who got a call or text that was so important it couldn’t wait. And let me just ad that if it is an emergency you sure as hell shouldn’t be driving when you get that message anyhow.

I know there is a convenience to being in touch with everyone at all times but while you are driving is not the time. Sure, if you have handless with Bluetooth and voice activated everything and can manage not to be distracted looking for buttons go for it, but otherwise feel free to have me (or your passenger) read or answer it if absolutely necessary. Or wait.

I don’t know why I’m such a coward about bringing it up when it happens. Mostly I don’t want to be annoying or high maintenance. Which is just ridiculous. It isn’t high maintenance to want to be safe while careening down the freeway at high speeds or heaven forbid busy streets. I wouldn’t get in a car with someone who had been drinking, and trust me it is just as dangerous. The problem is, unlike someone who has been drinking,  you don’t always know who is a cell- phone- while- driving user until you are already in the car on your way somewhere.

I’m not even just requesting you don’t do it while I’m in your vehicle, I’m asking you not to do it at all. It terrifies me that it is being done while your children are in the vehicle with you, or even when you are by yourself. Nothing is 100% safe, but this is a variable you can control. I PROMISE you will never forgive yourself if you hurt someone in an accident just so you could read the “k” text.

I love you. Be safe!

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?

The Vows I Forgot?

 

There have been some late night as it gets closer to Christmas because…well I procrastinate, but mostly because a lot of the things I need to do either need to be done with no children awake or (like most things) it is just plain easier without the kids bugging me. Last night as we were getting to bed Zippercow was grumbling about how late it was. The conversation goes a little like this:

Me: “You know dear, you can go to bed even if I’m not ready to.”

Zippercow: “No I can’t.”

Me: “Yes you can, you just go to bed.”

Zippercow: “Nope, same bedtime. It says right in our marriage vows, in sickness and health we go to bed at the same time.”

Thanks dear, I clearly forgot that vow??? Reason #2,136 why I love my husband, he can’t go to sleep without me. Not a bad place to be.

Anyone else have a shared bedtime?

Size Matters

Sometimes it’s hard to write about the big things, the serious things. We’ve had a great year, our little family, but we’ve had some big things happen too. I’ve had a bit of a writers block because I haven’t known how to tackle some of it, but I’ve decided I don’t have to cover everything in our blog as it happens. Much like with my crafting I have to do it when creativity strikes and not feel guilt about doing  things out of order or even post about the little things when there are much bigger things going on. You know, telling the perfectionist in me to shut up.

I think that most people would be entertained to be in on conversations that Zippercow and I have. One conversation  we’ve had many times is how things taste better when they aren’t their original size. For instance Saltine Minis.

These are delicious and perfect for pregnant ladies and children. The aren’t as crumbly as their giant predecessors which is a plus for messy children, but also if you are preggers you won’t have a snow storm of saltine crumbs down your front after staving off morning sickness in your car. Best. Thing. Ever.

 

Mmm… Mini Nilla Wafers. Nough said.

But this is the most recent Mini we’ve come across that sparked the latest reprise of our conversation about yummy things that aren’t their original size.

What the what?!?! Triscuit Minis?! We had to try them! Much as we suspected they were delicious…because they are smaller.

It isn’t just when things are smaller that they are better. Sometimes When they are bigger they are better. Like these

They are bigger than their original size so they are better. It’s a fact.

We have a whole list of things that are better than their originals that we of course discuss anytime we come across new things to add to the list. See? Don’t you just wish you were here to discuss the important things with the Hubs and I?

How about you, what are your favorite that are not their original size?

Fall Fun…

Do you ever do something with your kids because it is a family tradition or it seems like you should be doing it? Some activity that should create warm fuzzy family moments, but somehow they fall a little short? That’s how I feel about carving pumpkins. It always seems like a fun fall fun activity but I’m usually wrong, and then the next Halloween comes around and I forget (until I’m halfway through) that I wasn’t going to do that again.

Sure, carving pumpkins can be fun…for about five minutes while the kids are interested, but the other 9o minutes are brutal. There is the repeated yelling at the children to “stop grabbing at the knife blade”or  “please don’t fling the pumpkin guts off your hand”and two minutes later  “no I can’t find your favorite toy or turn on a movie, I’m up to my elbow in pumpkin guts!” then there is the standing over multiple pumpkins scraping them out and carving them. Oh and don’t forget the forty five minutes spent standing over the sink going through pumpkin mush to find pumpkin seeds.

Sure I don’t have to do that part, but something good has to come from all the work and mess right?

It is just SO much work.

For…

Oh right…the kids. They are cute. And I love them. Ugh…guess who will be carving pumpkins again next year!

Forgetting Foam

While dealing with the various medical issues that have plagued Zippercow in the last month one of his complaints was that he wasn’t sleeping well on our terrible mattress. This of course was not news to me because I was not sleeping well either.  Our mattress is terrible despite it being less than three years old.

So me, being the great wife I delusionally think I am, made it my mission to find a mattress pad to bring my poor husband just a bit of comfort*. My evening of searching led me to target where I purchased the Cool Comfort Memory Foam Mattress Topper. Here is the description of the product:

Sleep like you've never slept before on a luxurious memory foam mattress topper by Target Home. Thick mattress pad will fit nicely on top of a queen-sized mattress. Made from synthetic polyurethane foam that's also hypoallergenic. Temperature-sensitive memory foam is designed to adapt to the pressure of your body, making you feel like you're sleeping on a cloud.

Sounds great right? Who wouldn’t want to sleep on a cloud? 

I’m undecided.

My biggest issue with memory foam is how it holds in the heat making me super hot when trying to sleep, but the name of the product assures me that it is cool comfort so I should be set. Oh, and the smell of the foam. But luckily this product is scented like green tea to cover the smell of new memory foam. I actually like the scent and am sad that the smell is dissipating . I also think they rely on the scent to make you think it is cooler, trying to trick your brain into thinking it is cooler. Tricky, tricky.

As for sleeping on a cloud, I’m not so sure.  Sure it is blissful the second you lay down, but here’s the thing, when you add a memory foam topper to an already crappy mattress you are still in the same ridiculous back breaking divot, just two inches higher. Once it “memorizes” you it is no longer comfortable. But if you get up long enough for the mattress to “forget” you and lay back down, there is a brief moment of comfort. So just do that over and over through out the night and you are golden.

That’s conducive to a good night’s sleep right?

*Sadly the same night I brought this home Zippercow’s back pain was so bad he couldn’t lay or sit down. He has yet to make it more than a couple hours in bed since we got this. Poor Zippercow, just can’t catch a break.