Shhh - don't tell

Today I'm playing hookey. (Is that how you spell hookey?) Anyway - took the boys to have dinner with friends last night. They ran around and played, yelling and screaming and just having a great time. The baby, too. And I got a chance to talk with a friend of mine. Perfect combo.

Jay had this CRAZY idea earlier in the day. My cousin, Luke, who's on leave from the Army (mentioned him at the birthday party) and his girlfriend, and another cousin, Suze, and some of her friends and boyfriend were going out to have some drinks before he heads back to Iraq. Two of my brothers were going to be there, too, and Jay had this great idea that he could use two hours of PTO and we could go join them. At 10:30. PM.

Now, I haven't left to go out at 10:30 in years. Let alone ever looked for a sitter who could watch our kids at 10:00 on a Thursday night. And given that most of my family was going to be there, well, that left me with some pretty limited options.

So I called Mom. I felt pretty bad, knowing that she has to work two jobs today, but she said it was no big deal, that it was worth it to go hang out with a cousin I so rarely get to see. Tom came, too - I'm always at a loss to explain who Tom is - "Mom's boyfriend" is too simplistic, and really, boyfriend isn't the right word. My Mother's keeper? Babysitter? More like, "the-one-who's-there-for-her-at-any-time-of-the-day-or-night-regardless-as-to-how-my-mother-treats-him-or-what-she-says". Sound like there are some issues there? There are. Mama drama. May God strike me down if I ever do the same things to my kids...

But I digress. So Mom & Tom came over together and got my two rug rats in bed. Because, see, at 10:00, they were still awake. The baby slept all the way home from my friends' house. It's nearly an hour drive. Nick talked the whole way home, a sure sign that he was super-duper tired and that he'd fall into a coma-like sleep the instant he stopped chattering. Will woke up when we pulled in the driveway, as most kids do, and when I got them in the house and got their coats off, they were wide awake.

Then began Gigglefest '08. Part 1 - I'm sure there will be others. But after trying to get them quiet for 10 minutes, I figured "screw it" and enjoyed them laughing and giggling and hugging each other. Its a new thing they do. One grabs the other and they giggle and hug and shriek and generally act ridiculous. Its lovely.

By the time Mom & Tom got here, Gigglefest was winding down, but they were no where near ready to go to bed. What did I do? High tailed it out of there, of course! (They were fine, really.)

We only hung out for two hours and had one drink a piece, but it was worth it. I pray that my cousin will return home safely - I pray all our soldiers will come home in one piece. But we got to have a good time and a few laughs before he heads back to that hell hole.

Another one to pray for today? Tom. His son was killed in August, and the man who stabbed him has final pre-trial today. Actually, pre-trial's probably over already. There will be more info on that subject sometime soon, I'm sure.

So a-hookey I will play. I have the PTO time, and really I wasn't feeling well when I first woke up this morning. Not hung over - just didn't feel well. Could be all this drama making my stomach queasy...ya think?

Who'd have thought that was a felony???

Don't have much time to post today, but came across this nasty story in today's Journal Sentinel. Make sure you read all the way to the end.

Cook accused of stuffing hair into steak

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More Wordless

Weird Crap

I used to be the promo buyer for our firm and am still sent TONS of catalogs. (You know, in addition to the ones I get just cuz I like to look through catalogs.) In them, I often find weird products and feel the need to share them with co-workers. Given that I said everything that needed to be said in last night's post, I am replacing today's regularly scheduled post with my first installment of "Weird Crap". Today's entry found in the Gifts of Spring catalog from LTD Commodities.

Yes, for the woman that truly has everything, it's Decorative Bra Straps. And they're only $4.95/set!

About a boy

Now that I have some more time to write, here's how the weekend went:

Normally, I wouldn't dream of having two parties. (I mean, why would you? Staging one is stressful enough!) But my Grandparents, who have lived in the Phoenix area for the last 10, 12, who knows how many years, now live back in town. Last winter ('06), my Grandma was diagnosed with ALS. At this point, she's wheelchair bound, and every day is a struggle. One of my Aunts stops by in the morning to get her out of bed, to the bathroom and dressed. Grandpa's with her during the day, then another Aunt stops by in the evening and makes sure she gets into bed. I couldn't see having a 1st birthday party for a little boy she loves so much without her. And I also couldn't see inviting other friends and family (that aren't family to her) over to their place. So we had two.

Saturday was my Mom, Jay's Mom and sisters and some of our friends and their kids at our house. In the end, I was up late Friday, then up early on Saturday and didn't get a shower, but the house got cleaned and food was made and kids were dressed (naps had) and everyone had a great time. A few friends stayed late and we played video games and laughed and the house was messy again, but actually, less messy than it was when I started, if you can believe that. (You should...)

Sunday we did it all over again. Except this time we packed everything up and drove 30 minutes to my Grandparents' place and we had two kids that were still tired from the day before. Our group was a little more whiny, but I'm glad we did it. One of my Aunts is visiting from CA with a cousin, and another cousin, who's currently stationed in Iraq, is on leave from the Army. (He told us a highly amusing story about shooting and eating a camel. Yuck.) More cake, more gifts, more laughing.

It was all highly good for the soul, but my body is still tired. And here it's after 11 and I'm still up, typing away and not even scratching the surface of all I wanted to write about this weekend. But I needed to relive the fun we had this weekend cuz did today STINK!

Will had his one year check-up at the doctor's, so I left work a bit early to take him. Now, let me preface this with a tasty tidbit for your funny bone: I wore a pair of khaki pants to work today that had a broken clasp at the waist. It previously broke on me while in the middle of a Target store with two kids crying in the cart and it took a combination of prayer and tucking the top into my underwear to keep those pants up. Why I didn't throw them away is beyond me. But they got washed, dryed and hung in the closet (probably by me) and I blocked the whole experience out of my head. Fast forward to this morning, when I grabbed them in the dark (because there were two small people sleeping in my bed) and didn't notice the broken slidy-claspy-thing until I sat down in my car. At that point, I was running late for work (don't say "AGAIN" in your head like that) and I figured screw it, I have a desk job and no one will see.

Only, like I said, Will had this doctor's appointment. And there wasn't time to stop home and change. And I never imagined that Will would poop his pants in the twenty minutes it took for his Daddy to put him in my truck and for me to drive from downtown to the doctors' office. And I didn't have a diaper.

On top of all that, I had a ROTTEN three year old. Turns out, as Jay told me later, that he had to be woken up from his nap because of said doctors' appointment. He was whiny and sassy and just down right HORRIBLE. To make a long story short, he was rude to me in front of the doctor AND the nurse, and when I stood up to hold down my screaming child so he could get FOUR shots I almost lost my pants.

In the end, sassy boy got three time outs, didn't finish his dinner and did his fake crying bit til I called Daddy at work for him. He said all of 10 words to Daddy, then didn't like what he was being told so he said, "Good night, Daddy. I'm a good boy. I love you." Then handed the phone back to me. OOOOOH my blood boils all over again just writing that!!!

Well, the day is over and more fun awaits tomorrow. I'm posting the above photo to remind myself that he *can* be cute and good and that most days are not like this. (There's no place like home...there's no place like home...there's no place like home...)

G'night!

My first award!!!

I'm so excited! Tismee2 over at Squared Off has handed me my first award!

Thanks, Tismee2!

Overdose of weekend...

I need a weekend to recover from my weekend.

Two birthday parties in a row...lots of cake...lots of gifts...lots of family & friends.

I meant to post a pic this morning of Will wearing his blue frosting yesterday, but alas, I grabbed the wrong cable. (My iPod cable won't transfer pics very easily, turns out. Bummer.) It was a great weekend - one we really needed after so many months of just working, working, working (and school, school, school for Jay) but I would have LOVED an extra day to just lounge around and make up for all the activity!

Anyway - guess I'm too tired to write about it. I'll have to post more later.

"Hold still so I can KISS YOU darnit!"

Just when I think I can't possibly take it any more - and by it, I mean the whining, the diapers that stink up the whole house, the "I-need-a-drink-of-water-and-I-need-patchwick*-and-Mom-he's-making-too-much-noise-and-I-can't-sleep", the working working working, the "my house is never clean, in fact its in complete SHAMBLES and we have people coming over on Saturday for a birthday party", the hubby has to work a double - OVERNIGHT, the - well, the list goes on and on - just THEN I look over and they're all cute and giggling. How could I not giggle, too? And I remember: it's a little boy's (OMG not baby's) birthday party and we'll have cake and ice cream and presents and the kids'll make a mess and it doesn't matter that its been a month and the tile on the bathroom floor still isn't done. I need to let GO and just enjoy what I do have. Oy.

*patchwick: n. otherwise known to English-speaking humans as chapstick

Happy, happy birthday, baby...

Will, three days old

Today is my baby's first birthday. I've spent the last few days feeling pretty sad about it, but I think I'm over it. He's such a sweet, lovable little guy that I realize there's even more fun to come, whatever stage he's in. He's definitely not a baby any longer. Nick told me a few weeks ago, "Mamma, William not a baby any more. He growed big like me." I wanted to cry, both because Nick was so darned cute in saying that and because it was true.

He's all but walking - it's that confidence thing. When he doesn't realize he's doing it, he'll stand by himself for several minutes at a time. And he'll hover around the coffee table, drink from his sippy cup and move at the same time. Any day now and I'll look over and see him walking off after his brother. (Because, let's face it, that's his best motivation, to keep up with his big brother.)

I feel guilt, every single day, about the fact that I'm still working full time. Don't get me wrong - if other folks can handle it, more power to them! But I know I'm "half-assing" everything. I get in to work late, need to leave for appointments, have adjusted my schedule so I can leave early in the afternoons. I have anough PTO after being here for more than five years that it works out OK, but its still not enough time at home, with my kids, to keep up with the housework AND spend the time with them that I'd like. And that they deserve.

So, on my youngest son's first birthday I'm still doing all the things I told myself I wouldn't be doing when I had two kids. The first one was born and it was, "This will work for now. I'll work first shift, he'll work second and once Jay is done with school we can reconsider things. But I won't be working full time when the second one comes along."

Then the second one came along. Jay had switched to first shift when Nick was 18 months old; given that he had off one or two days during the week and was done by 2:00, Nick wasn't going to the sitters' much and that let us have more time together as a family. And it was good.

Then Will was born and Jay went back to second shift. Almost the entire first year of Will's life Jay worked full time and had school full time. He's proven himself to be the most amazing hubby ever in that he still spent time with the boys in ways other Daddies don't usually think to on top of it all. Just recently school's let up a bit and its given me time to breathe. To think, "Why am I still doing this?"

Don't get me wrong - I think I'd go nuts if I didn't work at all. But I'm definitely at a crossroads in my life. Its just hard to think that I may need to give up the comfort of 4+ weeks of PTO, a pretty good salary and a rather flexible schedule. There's safety in that. But my kids will only be little for so long. I'm missing so much!

I don't want this entire post to be about ME. It's Will's birthday, after all. Kids like him are the reason people continue to procreate. He's very friendly, and not shy, but he's one to sit and watch what everyone else is doing and be completely entertained by it. Take last night, for example. We took him to get his one-year pictures taken. At the photo studio, Nick walked up to these two little girls who were dressed in matching (ADORABLE!) dresses and sat RIGHT next to them to watch the movie in the waiting room. After five minutes, the three of them were chatting about whatever things little kids chat about, telling Jay, "Daddy, I like them girls." When Nick went in for his 3-yr pics in November, I think the photographer took about five or six different shots, every one darn near perfect because he's used to having pictures taken and he is such a ham he'll just pose however you tell him to.

Will, on the other hand, sat on my lap, or stood at my feet and watched his brother with those other kids last night. He smiled, crawled half way over, then stopped and just sat and laughed when they did, looking at me to see if I shared in the fun of the situation. The pictures we got were really very cute, but out of probably 25 shots there were two we chose to get prints of. He wasn't unhappy, but rather wanted to watch the photographer move around and make funny faces at him and had a look on his face like, "Huh...what ARE you doing?!?"

He mimics songs we sing - he'll sing the cleanup song, going, "Eeeh-uh, eeeh-uh, eeeh-uh" to the same tune of the music. He lays in his bed at night before falling asleep going, "Da-da-da-da-da-dee-dee-dee-di-di-di". (Never mama, though sometimes nie-nie-nie-ney-ney-ney.) He'll just about be asleep on my lap or in his carseat and he'll just start clapping, or waving bye-bye. We all laughed the other day when, with his eyelids drooping, he sat in his highchair, waving at nobody.

Such is the life of a one-year-old. I love you, little buddy. I only hope I am giving you the wonderful life you deserve!

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Just another manic Monday...

Are you singing it now? HA! Got you!

So my worries about my birthday were all for nothing. I do that a lot. Worry about all the people who say they can't make it and forget about all the GREAT friends I have that would be there for me at 4 a.m. on a Tuesday in January if I needed a ride somewhere. The real day was yesterday and it was great. But first things first - Friday night we went out to eat in true Milwaukee fashion, to celebrate with some of our "4 a.m. on Tuesday" friends.

Now, for those of you not from the midwest, Friday night fish fries are BIG here. In case you don't want to read the whole article:

Lotsa German & Polish Immigrants + Catholic Faith (and no meat on Fridays during Lent) + being near a big body of water = Friday Fish Fry

They're so big here that there is a place, the American Serb Hall, that boasts they hold the world's largest fish fry. They even offer a drive through. I know from experience that their drive through is likely to wrap around the block and that a person could just about eat in the dining room in less time than it takes to wait in that looong line.

We went to Don's Pub. They have a great fish fry and operate in a location that's been around since prohibition ended. How's that for history? I sorta feel more cultured, eh, since eatin' there dontcha know.

After lots of fish, steak fries and beer, we went to the ol' neighborhood bowling alley. I haven't bowled in SO LONG.

The bowling alley offered lots of high class libations, such as the Pabst Blue Ribbon and Blatz shown here. Oh, and karaoke. The only thing missing was our old-school bowling shirts. I've always wanted one with "Dottie" embroidered on the front over the left-hand pocket. (Friends - jot that down on your "list of crap to get Colleen" list. I know you have one.)

Oh, and we found our new favorite shot. "Hot Sex in the Butt". Its yummier than it sounds - Hot Sex and butterscotch schnapps.

After our two hours of bowling were up, of course we'd had enough to drink to actually do karaoke.

Here are Steph, me and Emily singing "Manic Monday". There was much more singing after that, but this is the only one I'll own up to.

And yes, I was hung over on Saturday. Because, like, when do I ever drink? And why do I ever think its a good idea to do shots?

The rest of the weekend was nice. Jay worked - Mom came over on Sunday, made dinner and cleaned up afterward. That's just about the best thing ever. Until you get to Monday.

I took the day off work yesterday. Steph took the day off cuz it was President's Day she needed time to be properly thankful for all our presidents. (*snort*) Emily doesn't work on Mondays, she's a beauty operator (that's a hair dresser to the rest of you folks), and the three of us had a girl's day.

I woke up slowly, hung out and snuggled with the fam in bed. Then went in my PJs to Steph's house and Emily gave us both highlights. (I love you, Emily!) I didn't take any pictures of the "after", but trust me, we're cute. We finally got showered (separately - get yer mind outta tha gutta), dressed and got out of the house in time for a late lunch where we stuffed ourselves with sushi. The girls paid as their treat for my bday (love you guys AGAIN). We were so full that we walked around Stein Mart for awhile to walk it all off and they made me try on dresses. Barf. O. Rama. Not dresses in general as much as the dresses they thought I should try. (Yellow? Are you serious?!?)

Then it was off to get pedicures. It may be -40 outside, but damn, I have cute toes! Its just too bad no one will see my feet until May. I got home around 8:00, in time to give Nick hugs and kisses and tuck him in bed and watched I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry with Jay.

And lovely hubby that he is, Jay also got me a car charger/thing-that-lets-you-listen-to-your-iPod-through-your-radio thing for my iPod. Thing. It was the perfect birthday!

Random thoughts

Happy Friday.

The Milwaukee area is due to get another 6-13" of snow on Sunday. There's a storm watch issued, AGAIN, but at this point it's the equivalent of putting up a deer crossing sign.

For people not from this area, these signs are posted in more rural areas where deer are likely to cross, such as near cornfields or Christmas tree farms. The state of Wisconsin is filled with little country highways, and on just about any trip you make into any part of the state you will see them. Often, these babies appear every few miles, and they're accompanied by a small sign underneath with the number of miles through which you should be more aware. I've often said that one BIG sign should just be posted on each road coming into the state and we should get rid of all the others. Its just a given that there will be deer. And just because a sign isn't posted won't keep them from crossing somewhere. I've seen the buggars near rather busy city areas. In fact, I've doubted my own eyesight when coming across deer in the road a half block away from Wal-mart. Think about all the money that would save...putting up a dozen or so signs instead of thousands. But I digress...

My point is that at this point, let's, for the sake of saving our own breath, issue a freakin' winter weather warning until April. We'll revisit it at that point and see if the snow has stopped. Do you sense a bit of crabbiness in my voice? Guess what? There is.

If you haven't heard by now of the shooting at Northern Illinois University, you can read coverage of the story here. Is it me, or does this seem to be happening more and more? I'm glad they haven't released the shooter's name - and I hope they never do. Most of these kids, that's what they want...almost all of them leave a note of some sort saying something to the effect of, "if I'm going out I'm taking as many of you %@&#! with me and getting my 15 minutes along with it". Take away the fame factor...will that make it a less attractive or romantic way to go? Just what is the draw? I guess as a non-criminal, I lack the capacity to "get" it.

And finally, Valentine's Day was low-key at our house. It always is. We don't "do" Valentine's Day, or Sweetest Day. We make it a point to do something together without the kids, but we're just too practical to buy a gift just because someone says we should. And flowers? No way. DO NOT spend $50 on a dozen roses that'll be dead in two days. I shudder at the thought of waiting for an hour at an over-crowded restaurant for an overpriced meal just because the date is Feb 14. I'd rather get a pizza and a movie and stay home to cuddle on the couch. I had the boys make a card for Daddy, and by that I mean I put took a piece of cardstock, folded it in half and put the boys handprints on the inside, then let Nick color and put stickers all over it. Daddy said it was perfect. I got the best Valentine's gift - Daddy gave the boys a bath yesterday morning so I wouldn't have to do it last night. That's real love right there!

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And the award goes to...

I am the luckiest girl alive.

I could sit here and write about the night I had last night - the sick baby, the poopy diapers that soaked through all his clothes, the vomiting all over the living room, the crabby three-year-old who sat in time-out four times - but I won't. Instead I'll tell you about the greatest husband on the planet.

I've mentioned before he works until midnight. When we talked at 11, I was up to my elbows - well, I'll just leave it at that. On his way home, he stopped at the store for Pedialyte and more Tylenol and was home by 1. And then he took over.

He let a weary Mommy sleep. You guys want to know the way to a woman's heart? That's it. Sleep. Yummy, yummy sleep. It'll get me every time. With the exception of a three-year-old who woke up around 3:00 who came in our bed to cuddle, I slept while he dealt with the fussy, whiny, feverish baby.

I called in to work this morning saying I'd be late and I'd be working from home. (I'm just THAT lucky that I can do that - plus we're getting another 5" or so of snow that's making the morning commute absolute hell.) When I stretched and slowly padded out of the bedroom, there was my laptop, powered up, plugged in, waiting ready, cooshy desk chair beside it, waiting for me. And, grasp at my pearls - COFFEE. Lucious, lovely, wonderful coffee. Hot liquid energy in a cup. And he made toaster waffles. Not gourmet by any standards, but better than the "nothing" in the menu I had planned.

The baby's fever is down. Life is returning to whatever semblance of normal we had yesterday. But I love my husband. This, folks, is why I'd marry him all over again.

Remind me of this in May when he wants to buy a new fishing boat.

The crap I've been watching

Perhaps not surprisingly, I've been watching very little TV lately, despite the weather that's kept me indoors. (OK, I should reword that - "Adult" TV. And by "adult" I do not mean the "bowm-chicka-wow-wow" type. I just mean not cartoons. Or Blues Clues. Or Sesame Street.) I did not watch the Grammys. I rarely watch awards shows. But I didn't watch the Pro Bowl, either. That's not really sports, anyway. I *did* watch American Gladiator last night. It took me all of four minutes to declare it was the worst crap I'd ever seen on TV. (That man Wolf takes his role waaay too seriously. Doesn't his mullet SCREAM of needing to prove his manliness?)

So, for no other reason than because I want to, here are five of my guiltiest TV pleasures, proving that my review of American Gladiator may really hold no merit.

1) My Big Redneck Wedding, CMT
I originally loved My Big Fat Fabulous Wedding and Bridezillas, but this show takes the concept to a whole new level. Instead of watching spoiled daddy's girls spend $4 mil on chocolate fountains and hand-made chandeliers, you can watch daddy's little redneck spend $40 on a new matress for matress surfing.

2) MXC, Spike
If you don't know about MXC already, here's a recap. Japanese game show + English voice overs = HYSTERICAL TV. When I say game show I mean people doing ridiculous physical stunts. Think - person in a velcro suit vaulting over a pond of dirty water trying to stick to a velcro wall on the other side. Hilarity ensues. Watch it.

3) Jon & Kate Plus Eight, TLC
If you don't know of Jon & Kate yet, they have twin 7-yr-old girls and 3-yr-old sextuplets. Kate is a bit anal to say the least, but if that's all she has to show for dealing with all those kids every day, I say "Go witchyo self, woman!" I'm like that some days and I only have two.

4) Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Travel Channel
Bad-attitude chef travels & eats. Somehow its a great combo for me - I like this along with Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods. Can't really say why.

5) Sex and the City, TBS
When TBS bought the rights to show re-runs of this and The Sopranos, I thought, "What a gip!" How could they possibly do justice to two great shows and take out all of the stuff that made them great? Well, enter the writers' strike and look what I'm reduced to. Still good, but probably because I remember all the stuff they cut out.

Oh, and next week's gem? My Dad is Better than Your Dad. Could be real funny - let's hope some overzealous dads get hurt. Did I say that?

This is Otis. I love Otis.

I'm crabby today. My 30th birthday is in a few weeks and I've been trying to organize a little get-together for a while now. Nothing big, just a night out with some drinks. But only one friend and her boyfriend can make it. Replies from my other friends were along the lines of, "Sorry, can't make it...can we get together for lunch instead?"

Why does everyone want to go out for lunch?

Don't get me wrong. Lunch is good. I like lunch. But lunch, at least with my friends, rarely turns into a laugh-till-your-sides-hurt-drink-too-much-eat-too-much outing. Dinner and drinks holds the prospect of staying out too late but having the sort of great-ass time that you will talk about on later lunch dates. "Oh, remember that one time, we did that one thing? That was awesome." Is this a sign we're getting old? I REFUSE!
So, aforementioned friend sent me the photo below to cheer me up. It worked.

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Poops McGee Strikes AGAIN!

First, let me properly introduce you. This is Poops McGee (a.k.a. Will):

Cute, ain't he? Looks can be deceiving...

This is the elder boy, Nick:

Yes, he's very photogenic, much unlike his mother. (You'll see later, trust me - the profile pic was a fluke. It happens sometimes.) Cutest picture EVER of Nick from last night:

He was trying so hard to be a good boy, go potty by himself and wash his hands. He just sort of forgot a step.

And this is me and Poops McGee:

So, as I said, Poops struck again. Only this time, we were at the library for story time...and wait, I get ahead of myself.

As I posted earlier, most of southeastern Wisconsin and northeastern Illinois are getting a hell of a storm tonight and tomorrow, and well, it'll probably just go on snowing forever. (The weather service has changed their earlier predictions and said we could now get 20" of snow. Yes, I gasped out loud when I read this earlier today, but we'll just see how "on" that prediction is tomorrow night. Or Thursday morning. Or whenever the damned snow stops.)

So, hubby meets me at work - we typically switch cars, or transfer the boys from one vehicle to the other before he heads off to work and I head home or toward whatever errands await me. Only today I get to the end of the block and realize I've left my purse in my desk in my office.

I work in the U.S. Bank building - the only high rise building in Milwaukee, but regardless as to whether we have one or 57, it made it no less pleasant to circle the block, park, then drag two small boys through the snow, (because of course I have no stroller in my car and I'm carrying the 25 lb baby) through the parking structure, up an elevator, across the lobby (literally equal to about 2 city blocks), up another elevator, down a long hallway to my office. Got the purse, said required "hellos" and "look how big they're gettings" to my co-workers, then back down the hall...etcetera. You get the idea. (Oh, and the freakin' DOG is sitting about six inches from me, staring at me while I write this - so if I type "GO AWAY!!!" in the middle of any of this, I'm not talkin' to you...sorry.)

Story time at the library started tonight. After mentioning this to Nick last night and putting up with distracting him from whining about class not being last night it was apparently DIRE that we go tonight, come hell or high water, or 72 feet of snow. Not wanting to go home for the 45 minutes I had left between previously described hell and the library, we went to Mickey D's. All are happy, all is well, we get to the library early (for a change) and head for one of the wonderful family bathrooms in the wonderful children's section of the library. We do our business, Will gets a new diaper and life is wonderful. Wonderful!

BUT...not even five minutes later the story time teacher rings her little bell and Nick goes happily scampering off (GET!) and I look over to where Will is standing at the little play table smashing a lego with gusto to realize that his face is a familiar shade of red. And I just put him in the one diaper I had.

Story time is only half an hour, right?

Well, it doesn't go long or anything, but it turns out my friend's sister's daughter is in the same class and we're all chatty and I'm trying to keep her from noticing my baby's stench. By that I mean I'm mentally trying to will her and all other library patrons to simply not smell it. Didn't work - she says nicely, "Don't worry - I have a cold," and smiles. She's been there.

Just when you think the story is over, ah ha! Surprise! There's more!

So I'm wrestling kids back into coats and hats and mittens and we're still chit-chatting and "oh, yeah, that'd be fun...blah blah blah..." when Will sneezes. Friend's eyes go wide.

"Uh - there's a little snot on his lip."

I look down. My child had been slimed.

And I was too late to keep him from rubbing it around into his eyes and hair and all over his cheeks.

"Oh. My. GOD!"

Again, thank God for baby wipes. I had exactly one left. What is it with the freakin' bodily functions lately??? And how does THAT MUCH snot come out of a nose that SMALL???

Let it blow, let it blow, let it blow...

Well, I'm about to be sick. The National Weather Service is calling for another foot of snow for our area. Aren't we done with this crap yet??? The Milwaukee JournalSentinel says this is only the 40th snowiest winter on record, but I'd like to see stats on the largest number of snow falls for one season. We'd certainly be right up there. My hubby said to me the other night, "Thanks for agreeing to get a new snow blower this year." To think that if I hadn't, he may have suffered a heart attack by now!

I got some of the greatest pictures last night, but lo and behold I forgot the danged camera at home this morning. (That's what you get when you leave the house before 7 a.m.) I swear this blog won't be just text - I have grand intentions of posting photos, too. I certainly take a lot of them!

Me & Poops McGee

So, I start a new Blog on a Friday only to find over the weekend that somehow I can't seem to post from my home computer. I'll have to have my nerd computer networking friend try and fix that.

Aside from the Super Bowl and a bit of sledding on Friday, it was a pretty low-key weekend at our house. Hubster worked and I didn't. (I have a M-F job first shift, he works a rotating schedule second shift. Its nice in that we don't need day care, but stinks in that we don't see each other much. ) So I was with the boys most of the weekend by myself. With all of this snow we've been getting, I'd rather step on legos barefoot than wrestle the young ones into boots and mittens just to get out of the house. So we hung out. Don't ask where the time went.

But the baby is teething again. Know how I know? Both my kids get the poops when they're teething. Thankfully, the older one has all of his teeth (he's three) but the baby is 11 months old and EEEEWWW. Why is it that the days he craps himself to the point where you wonder just where that all could have been stored inside his teenie body not once but TWICE are the days that I'm at home? Is there some sort of cosmic force at work? Do I give off some hormone that signals its time to "let go"? Is he really not a toddler but an evil genius? It's ungodly. He got more from his father than just his eyes.

All poop aside, I've recently been made aware that you're not anyone until you post a "100 things about me" in your Blog. Lemme just put that on the ol' "to do" pile. Seriously? 100 things? Half of it might just end up being things like, "I have two legs."

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Best of

Top 10 posts sure to make you laugh (in no particular order)

Maybe they're trying to tell me something.
(My kids play Dirty Jobs. Do yours?)

Top 10 reasons you should never paint after midnight.

Remember that time Uncle Al fell off the roof?

I'm pretty sure I'm going to hell for this.

Deja vu all over again

From the top of the TMI file

Small children are really just tiny insane people.

Colorful characters

Peep tea

A thank you and a laugh.
(a.k.a. "BUT YOU SAID WE COULD GO TO KINDERGARTEN!!!")

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Welcome!

My first post...mmmm...do ya love the new Blog smell?

I've had a blog on another site I've kept for the past year and a half, but I guess I felt the need to break away from the updates on the kids and find my own place to write about whatever fancies me. Don't get me wrong - I'll still talk about my kids more than enough - but this gives me a more sophisticated place to find other bloggers and online readers (ha! sophisticated! me?).

With that note, I'll start out by cheating. Below I'm posting the uh, post, I uh, posted just this morning in afore-mentioned other blog post. (Darn it - I'm turning into John Madden!)

I read somewhere recently (probably GoodHousekeeping - yeah, I'm a dork) that January 1st is the absolute WORST time to make resolutions. After eating and partying so much over the holidays, what a better way to depress yourself and set yourself up for failure by plunging into the depths of the complete opposite of the world you had been living in? December 31st its cocktails and h'ors doeuvres and staying up too late, then January 1st comes and BAM! its "I will eat right and not drink and lose 20 pounds..." The article went on to suggest that the beginning of Febraury was the right time for such resolutions, and that they shouldn't be set so high as to set oneself up for failure. Setting "mini-goals" is more achievable, plus accomplishing those goals makes you feel good and more likely to keep going toward the next goal. I sat down today while on a conference call at work to make my own list of resolutions. Some are big, some are small, but I'm making them anyway.

1) Go out with the girls once a month.

I figure this won't be hard - I try to do this now. But sometimes I let months go by only to feel that its waaay overdue. Even if its a night out to dinner with one pal, I think I can stick with this!

2) Go out with Jay once a month.

Again, something we try to do now but for the occassional lapse. Shouldn't be a problem but its good for us! (This year is 5 years!!!)

3) Join a gym or take a class.

I've been debating the gym vs. yoga, but either way I should do *something*. Sure, there's the exercise I get chasing after the kids, but it probably doesn't add up to much of a physical workout. But first I MUST take care of the problems I've been having with my back. I'm due to see a PT on Wednesday.

4) Eat dinner at the dining room table more often.

I'm horrible. Most nights, while Jay is at work, Nick, Will & I eat dinner in front of the TV in the living room. While I certainly feel its OK to do this occassionally, "occassionally" for us has become five nights a week. The source of the problem is all the CRAP I tend to let build up on the dining room table. There's just too much mail and coupons and other crap stuff I might need and I'm TERRIBLE about handling it all. In fact, I irritate myself with that horrendous pile. Maybe this is two resolutions in one, but I will keep the dining room table clear(ish) and eat at the table more. I certainly can tell the difference in mealtimes - both in Nick's attitude and the speed at which he eats - when we sit at the table.

5) Take a family vacation.

This is something I had begun thinking about last year sometime. We didn't go anywhere last year but to the lake for a day. Then, my Dad announced on Christmas Day that he had made reservations for the entire family to go fishing in northern MN the last week in May. Should make this an easy item to check off!

6) MOVE!

OK, a big item, sure. But we are far past capacity for our home and at the point that both Jay & I are irritated with our lack of space. We'll just be patient...

7) Don't let more than (3) loads of laundry sit waiting in the basement.

Sound easy to you? I have a tendency to clean-clean-clean for days or weeks on end, then tire myself out and justify several days of doing absolutely nothing. Somehow, the dishes and laundry that pile up in those few days is 3x the amount that piles up on days I don't do nothing. Don't ask me how that works, but I figure the 3-load rule (whatever fits in our sorter down there) is fair and I won't overstress but won't over-slack, either.

8) Take a trip with my friends.

I had begun talking with some of my friends about two years ago about taking a trip the year we turned 30. Fast forward to a few months ago, and I suggested NYC. I found airfare for less than $200/person. I received replies like, "I thought we were going somewhere warm!" and "I don't really want to go to New York City." Fine. Long story short, I don't care where we go so long as we go together and have a darned good time doing it. Recently, Steph suggested going to a spa in the Dells or Door County for a girlie pamper weekend. Sounds fine to me!

9) Go to church more.

Again, something I tend to do sporadically. I should *not* let 2 months pass between Masses I attend.

10) Pay off credit card bills.

We, like many people, I assume, have this low balance on a few of our credit cards. We'll pay them off only to find a few months later a couple of hundred dollars on one or more of them. Why do we do that? I then constantly think in my head that I've paid them off, only to accrue late fees because, oh yeah, we charged that one thing we needed that one day when the next paycheck was a week away. I HATE THAT! So, no more of that. Credit cards = emergency.

So, long enough post, I know. Wish me luck and I'll keep my blog readers updated on them regularly.

Meet the Mommy

Colleen Vanier is a thirty-something working Momma of two boys who lives in southeast Wisconsin. She lives in the 'burbs and commutes to the city every day. She loves music, obscure pop culture references and used book stores. And movies that typically make 12-year-old boys laugh. And coffee. And high heels.

She always thought she'd be a writer, and despite the rather IT-laden job she holds professionally, she's actually doing it. Here.

See her 100 Things About Me and Non-Life List Life List posts for more.
Updated 3/1/11