one brick shy

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce my mother.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:09:24 -0500

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce my mother.

Home is where other people hold your baby and love them as much...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:37:50 -0500

Home is where other people hold your baby and love them as much as you do. I. Love. My. Mommy. Heavenly stuff, this family business.

Oh, and that bandage on my mom’s head? My nephew hit her in the head with a hammer. No joke. The grandma thing was more hazardous than I thought.

On the road to Milwaukee for our flight to Denver and family...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:11:00 -0500

On the road to Milwaukee for our flight to Denver and family time. Happy day! Did I mention Husband is a genius with that scheduling his business trip at the same time so he can help me through security? (he’s joining us Wednesday). Just a few more hours until mommy time for the mommy!!!

Photo

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:05:11 -0500

Husband has jsut become deathly ill, I’m flying solo...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:57:11 -0500

Husband has jsut become deathly ill, I’m flying solo tomorrow to Denver to spend the holiday with my fam (he’ll join us later) and the prospect of packing has my head spinning. My MIL just called us today to inform us that we’ll be getting a package next week of all the stuff we left at her place on our last trip. My solution? This time I’m taking camera phone pix of all the kid’s clothes that I’m taking so I’ll know what I need to find to bring back.

Dang it’s mundane, but if you have kids you know how terrifying the day before a flight is - will they behave? Will I remember everything I need in the diaper bag and not discover after the Dude vomits alllll over himself on the plane that I didn’t pack any extra clothes?? Really, mundane.

So to distract me, I’m posting this AMAZING dress DownEast Basics just put out. They’s so cheap that stuff like this goes super fast, and I’m really tempted. What a fabulous color! I’ll be dreaming of this tomorrow as I jet off into the wild blue yonder with two potentially hysterical children….

Points of interest and irritation:

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:30:32 -0500

1. Hunting season started today. Apparently EVERYONE here does it, which is why I am aware of this for the first time in my life. There’s neon orange jumpsuits all over the place. I think it’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever witnessed. People, there’s a grocery store down the street with dead animals in it, go buy them instead of sitting in the cold damp outdoors trying to find some unsuspecting animal to shoot to make you feel all manly. What, you can’t afford to buy the meat at the store and THAT’S why you and your buddies just spent a thousand bucks on guns and beer and gear? Go to college, get a degree and a job that will give you enough money to buy the dead animals.

I’m not a vegetarian, just a suburbanite. Living out in the sticks is just weirding me out like crazy today.

2. There was a lovely little parade in Baraboo for the opening of the Christmas season. They sure do know how to do these little things all cute and dandy in the small towns. No one shot at us though, so that was nice.

3. The crazy people across the street REALLY want us to buy their house. Crazy, old people who have a good case - they paid too much for the house, and already own a farm or something somewhere else and want to move back there to be near their daughter who has cancer. I get it, and I feel for them. But I just got through selling a house and the LAST thing I want to do is go buying a house here in the Middle Of Nowhere before we know where Husband’s job is going (stay here, or relocate, who the heck knows) and then have to try and sell a house out here in the Middle Of Nowhere. Nooooo thankee.

But they keep coming over to give us presents and tell us to come look at the house. I am a shallow little libra with a love language of gifts and even I am sick of getting these guilt gifts!! STOPPIT!!!! She comes over a ever few days, hands me a bag of stuff and starts talking a mile a minute - she’s NUTS, people. In fact, she saw the missionaries by our place this week and talked to them, and when she found out that WE were Mormon and knew them, she tried to talk them in to talking us into buying their house. WILL THE MADNESS NEVER END?!?!

4. That is all. I’m hitting the hay.

I don’t know the story, but I do know someone is selling...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:19:33 -0500

I don’t know the story, but I do know someone is selling these Laptop Steering Wheel Desks on Amazon - and some very funny people think it’s just as bad of an idea you and I do, so the comments section is full of comedy gold. Think the Three Howling Wolves t-shirt hilarity. Read the reviews for a laugh (and the photos added by customers), my personal favorite ( I couldn’t stop laughing for a good minute) was this one.

"The characters in this movie should be arrested for loitering with intent to moan."

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:19:07 -0500

“The characters in this movie should be arrested for loitering with intent to moan.”

- Ebert!!! on the new twilight %$#%. (via goldenfiddle,halffiction,inothernews,anonanimal)

That rock star thing. Yachting. Flying. Learn to speak Italian,...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:55:06 -0500

That rock star thing.
Yachting.
Flying.
Learn to speak Italian, just for an excuse to go there.
Suzuki master teacher.
Tap dancing and/or Irish dancing.
Take a cooking class.
Try to decorate my home.
Ride Husband’s scooter, alone.
Get another masters in music therapy.
Sing.

You?

GPOYW This mom and maid job get infinitely more difficult when...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:30:03 -0500

GPOYW

This mom and maid job get infinitely more difficult when babies refuse to be put down and girls miss their Nana so much they can’t see straight. Luggage should be unpacked, the mystery smell in the kitchen should be found and dealt with, and at some point today I should have put on clothes. But for right now, all I can do is mother. It stinks that when Huaband comes home, it’ll look like all I did was sit on the floor all day. Which I did, because that’s what they needed. I wish mothering all day looked as accomplished as a clean kitchen does.

We sold our house today. I would have cried more, except the...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:30:00 -0500

We sold our house today. I would have cried more, except the closing attorney had Girardelli (sp?) chocolates. And now we’re back on the road.

It feels so bittersweet. I really, really miss Atlanta, and I don’t want to put down roots anywhere else just to have them pulled up again. If Atlanta isn’t my home, where is home? It was only home for 2 2 year stints, but it felt the most like home yet. I met my husband there, got pregnant there twice, though never gave birth there. Sigh…

So tonight I’m just phoning it in. Literally, since I’ve been posting via my iPhone....

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:09:27 -0500

So tonight I’m just phoning it in. Literally, since I’ve been posting via my iPhone. See, this is why I don’t post everyday. Some days are spectacular and post-worthy and some are blahdy busy. But NaBloPoMo marches on.

Tomorrow we (hopefully) sell our house and leave the south for Iceburg once more. The weather has been amazing and so have our friends… remind me again why we left? Oh yes, we like having an income. Silly us.

Husband with Grandpa. This is my future - those guys are twins....

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:23:21 -0500

Husband with Grandpa. This is my future - those guys are twins. Rowr.

So you know how when you get to go home to visit and you have all this stuff planned to do bit then it turns out there is nowhere near enough time to see everyone and do everything? I’m exhausted! I’m starting to understand the logic in not telling anyone you’re in town…

But tonight is special. I’m staying overnight with one of my favorite violin student’s houses. The mom is like a computer hacker but for motherhood and the girl is one of WG’s best friends. And of course they adore Dude, who wouldn’t?? Surrounded by family and friends, I haven’t seen WG this honestly happy since we moved 5 months ago. It makes my heart ache and I don’t want to leave all these people who love her. Also, these guys just supplied all of Dude’s wardrobe for the next 2 years. It’s gooood to have friends like these. And I feel all empowered, I just packed up a bag and took 2 kids on an overnighter. Like a mom who knows what she’s doing. One more day in the paradise we call the south…

I’m going on a date!! We’re going to my all-time...

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:13:48 -0500

I’m going on a date!! We’re going to my all-time favorite sushi place with some friends then crashing a wedding reception for an old friend. I miss this so so much…

I’m wearing my sweet new dress and these purple tights for fun. Husband thinks I look like a witch, but I feel all kinds of fun. What else can you wear purple tights with anyway?

Hello Madison airport. We’re heading to the ATL to do the...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:35:48 -0500

Hello Madison airport. We’re heading to the ATL to do the closing on our house. !!!!! We’ve only been through security but I’m already doubting my ability to be able to wrangle two kids by myself when we hit Denver for Thanksgiving, but if the payoff is mommy time, I’ll suffer gladly. Vocally too, but we already knew that.

Now onto shushing 2 kids for 2 flights. I’m already getting looks from fellow passengers who are annoyed I’ve got kids. Little do they know I have the BEST kids ever. My kids may not eat broccoli everyday, but they know how to jet set, boy howdy.

I had a bad night. I had a bad morning. I was crying all over...

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:49:00 -0500

I had a bad night. I had a bad morning. I was crying all over the grocery store and house, and wondering who I could vent to, to get this sad OUT. Of course there’s always blogging which is a fabulous stress reliever, but I was so worked up I knew spending 20 minutes reliving it and typing it up would get me even more wound up. So I video blogged about it. If you have 4 minutes and 39 seconds to kill, it’s the mundane drama of a housewife/mom. And you know what? I feel much better.

*edit* it works now. Duh.

Thanks!

GPOYW When I was dressing up for Halloween, I discovered...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:40:06 -0500

GPOYW

When I was dressing up for Halloween, I discovered something shocking - I don’t own a single tube of lipstick. That’ll flabbergast any of you who knew me way back when, especially during the unfortunate Sally Jessy Raphael glasses years with firetruck red lipstick to match ‘em every day. The years passed, the lipstick became mostly for concerts and dates, but when I met my husband lipstick just got in the way of making out, so I stopped wearing it altogether. Two kids later and with flu season on us, I think I’ve only gotten lip action once in the last 2 weeks, so I realized it was time to return to my roots. Today when I stopped at the drugstore to get a new tube of mascara, there was a BOGOfree sale with all the cosmetics… and I went all retro and got something called “Temptation.”

The only drawback so far is all the smooching I give the Dude makes him look like he was on the loosing side of a food fight. Tomatoes, mostly. Heh.

viamusichistory:postpunk: Sesame Street - C Is For Cookie...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:13:33 -0500

viamusichistory:postpunk:

Sesame Street - C Is For Cookie (Larry Levan remix)

Egg City Radio recently posted some Sesame Street disco LPs, and I was quite pleased to find a remix by Paradise Garage legend Larry Levan. (Granted, “Me Lost Me Cookie At The Disco” is equally wonderful.)

Busy day here, more substantial post in the morrow. For now,...

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:43:36 -0500

Busy day here, more substantial post in the morrow. For now, I’m currently digging on this song - one of the extras from the new Weezer album, and wishing I’d had a song so sweet written for me once upon a time. So my ears are one part happy, and one part whistful. Dang, how does Rivers Cuomo write stuff like this? I want a piece of that talent.

Our challenges, including those we create by our own decisions,...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:13:23 -0500

Our challenges, including those we create by our own decisions, are part of our test in mortality. Let me assure you that your situation is not beyond the reach of our Savior. Through Him, every struggle can be for our experience and our good (see D&C 122:7). Each temptation we overcome is to strengthen us, not destroy us. The Lord will never allow us to suffer beyond what we can endure (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).” - Robert D. Hales

I was recently called “too perfect” by someone who only knows me by my statistics - wife, mother, educated, middle class, etc. Quite the wake up call in remembering that we all have it rough, but can hopefully end up polished. No matter what our strength level is, we all are carrying a heavy load - whether a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers, it’s still a pound.

So just sayin’, before you assume they’re wearing their shades because they think they are da bomb, maybe they are trying to cover up their puffy eyes, same as you.