I promise to write more about my fabulous five day trip to Orlando for my Disney Cruise Line Reunion, but until then, here's a little teaser for you:
You'd never know that it's been TEN YEARS since we all last boogied together - it's nice to see that we can still shake it on a dance floor.... sort of!
As you can probably tell, I had a BLAST :)
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
The 4th of July - Mariposa Style
Since I'm hopelessly behind on my blogging, I thought I'd put some pictures up that pretty much speak for themselves:
We spent Saturday at the Merced River, which was wonderful. It reminded me so much of being at the rivers up by Humboldt State. At one point, Hoby had taken Rory over to the tide pools to look for pollywogs and I was laying out on a rock in the sun, drinking a cold beer and dipping my feet in the water. Sighhhhh, it was pure heaven. For a few minutes, I was daydreaming that I been transported back in time to my carefree college days...until my darling son came over and quickly brought me back to reality with a splash of cold river water. Thanks, Ro.
Of course, the men had to show off for the kids by jumping off some rocks into the river. If there was ever any doubt these guys are brothers, well, there isn't now! Check out these photos:
At first I thought I took the same picture twice! But that's Brandon jumping in the first photo and Hoby jumping in the second one. They are in the exact same position - how weird is that?!
So, what else do people do on 4th of July weekend up in the mountains? Well, we waved some sparklers,
washed Uncle Brandon's van,
watered the plants in the buff (not all of us, just Rory! Besides, real mountain men don't need no stinkin' clothes!):
And after a LOOOOOOOONG day of playing with cousins, shooting BB guns, throwing rocks, jumping in and out of the pool and eating the steady stream of sugar provided by Grandma Judy, we CRASHED:
Yup, I'd say it was a good time had by all...
We spent Saturday at the Merced River, which was wonderful. It reminded me so much of being at the rivers up by Humboldt State. At one point, Hoby had taken Rory over to the tide pools to look for pollywogs and I was laying out on a rock in the sun, drinking a cold beer and dipping my feet in the water. Sighhhhh, it was pure heaven. For a few minutes, I was daydreaming that I been transported back in time to my carefree college days...until my darling son came over and quickly brought me back to reality with a splash of cold river water. Thanks, Ro.
Of course, the men had to show off for the kids by jumping off some rocks into the river. If there was ever any doubt these guys are brothers, well, there isn't now! Check out these photos:
At first I thought I took the same picture twice! But that's Brandon jumping in the first photo and Hoby jumping in the second one. They are in the exact same position - how weird is that?!
So, what else do people do on 4th of July weekend up in the mountains? Well, we waved some sparklers,
washed Uncle Brandon's van,
watered the plants in the buff (not all of us, just Rory! Besides, real mountain men don't need no stinkin' clothes!):
And after a LOOOOOOOONG day of playing with cousins, shooting BB guns, throwing rocks, jumping in and out of the pool and eating the steady stream of sugar provided by Grandma Judy, we CRASHED:
Yup, I'd say it was a good time had by all...
Friday, June 20, 2008
Warning: This Post is About Poop
I am proud to announce that Rory has been wearing his big boy underpants now for five days in a row. FIVE FABULOUS DAYS! This is pretty amazing considering the fact that I was utterly convinced my son would NEVER be potty trained, and that I would be sending him off to college some day with a duffel bag full of diapers.
He's had the pee part of things down for quite some time now, but pooping was a whole different ball game. He outright REFUSED to poop in a toilet. He would tinkle in the toilet all day long without a hitch, but when it was time to do the big "P", he would come and beg for a diaper. And I mean BEG - crying, pleading, throwing himself on the floor like he was going to die - that kind of begging. And no amount of bribary would make him budge. Jelly beans, water balloons, lollipops, promises of toys galore - nothing worked. The furthest I could get with him on a regular basis was to have him sit on the pot IN HIS DIAPER and poop. How silly is that?
But finally, FINALLY, today, he pooped on the toilet ALL BY HIMSELF - and prepare yourself, because here is the picture to prove it:
Way to go, Ro!
He's had the pee part of things down for quite some time now, but pooping was a whole different ball game. He outright REFUSED to poop in a toilet. He would tinkle in the toilet all day long without a hitch, but when it was time to do the big "P", he would come and beg for a diaper. And I mean BEG - crying, pleading, throwing himself on the floor like he was going to die - that kind of begging. And no amount of bribary would make him budge. Jelly beans, water balloons, lollipops, promises of toys galore - nothing worked. The furthest I could get with him on a regular basis was to have him sit on the pot IN HIS DIAPER and poop. How silly is that?
But finally, FINALLY, today, he pooped on the toilet ALL BY HIMSELF - and prepare yourself, because here is the picture to prove it:
Way to go, Ro!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
A Look into the Future...
We took Rory to one of the summer concerts in the park a few weekends ago, and of course, he wanted to be as close to the stage as possible to soak it all in. He plastered himself to the fencing around the stage and kept saying, "Mom, I wish I could go up there!":
He was so obviously thrilled by being so close to the music that one of the musicians even noticed. He kept looking at Rory and smiling, and Ro of course was smiling his little head off. So, during the second set, the guy came over and asked if he could bring Rory up on stage. I didn't even have time to answer before Rory threw himself at the man without a moments hesitation and went up on stage in front of a couple thousand people! I've never seen him smile so big!
I imagine it won't be long before our little guy is up on stage playing music on his own...
He was so obviously thrilled by being so close to the music that one of the musicians even noticed. He kept looking at Rory and smiling, and Ro of course was smiling his little head off. So, during the second set, the guy came over and asked if he could bring Rory up on stage. I didn't even have time to answer before Rory threw himself at the man without a moments hesitation and went up on stage in front of a couple thousand people! I've never seen him smile so big!
I imagine it won't be long before our little guy is up on stage playing music on his own...
Monday, June 02, 2008
Touché!
I haven't blogged in almost a month, mostly due to being busy with my now nap-less child, however last night something happened that was so worth blogging about that I just had to jump back on the bandwagon.
We were all playing on the floor and Hoby playfully asked Rory, "Hey, do you know what my name is?" And Rory looks at him with a big smile on his face and says, "Yup - it's WUSS!"
Heard that word from his daddy no doubt and then served it right back to him on a silver platter.
Needless to say, I LAUGHED MY BUTT OFF.
We were all playing on the floor and Hoby playfully asked Rory, "Hey, do you know what my name is?" And Rory looks at him with a big smile on his face and says, "Yup - it's WUSS!"
Heard that word from his daddy no doubt and then served it right back to him on a silver platter.
Needless to say, I LAUGHED MY BUTT OFF.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Introducing the Next Big Thing...
So I know I've been a bit behind with my newsletters, but perhaps this will tide you over...
Yup, my kids ROCKS.
Yup, my kids ROCKS.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Adventures in Obnoxious Parenting
The past few days, I have seen some parenting skills that have really made me shake my head in disbelief - and of course, I have to share:
1) There is a 4 year old boy that we know - let's just call him Wild Child - who is completely out of control. Now, normally I try to give kids the benefit of the doubt (maybe they are having a bad day, didn't take a nap, etc.), but after watching this little hellion down five Coke Classics in a row at a BBQ and then eat two bowls of ice cream with a popscicle chaser, all while his mother looked on without so much as batting an eye, I realized that this kid's problem is actually a serious lack of parenting. He's consistently disruptive, pitches a fit when he doesn't get his way, and rarely does his mother even look in his direction, let alone try to curb his behavior. The last time we ran into him, Wild Child decided to make Rory his new "best bud"" and was constantly jumping on him, putting him into a strangle hold and trying to get him to be his partner in crime. Hoby and I kept having to step in and pull Wild Child off of our son and tell him to quiet down - and to my utter disbelief, his parents were NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. And trust me, I looked. AND LOOKED. Who the heck leaves their hyper-active four year old son without direct supervision for 40 minutes? UNBELIEVABLE!
2. Shortly after that, we took Rory to an outdoor mall where they have a cool little fountain/wading pool that keeps him happily occupied hours. As we were sitting there keeping an eye on Ro, we saw a little girl slip and fall down on the pavement pretty hard. I mean, she REALLY ate it. I quickly looked over at her parents, who were sitting across the fountain from us, and then jumped up to see if she was okay. I helped her up, and again looked over at her parents because this girl is obviously upset and probably hurt and astonishingly, her parents are not even moving! They don't come over to see if she's okay, don't call to her, no reaction at all! And it's not like they didn't see what happened or couldn't hear her crying. They just sat there and watched us. Uh, don't bother to get up or anything, people - feel free to let a perfect stranger look after your injured child while you finish your soda. Sheesh!
3. And last, but certainly not least... Yesterday Rory and I went to an indoor play area called Playsource. There weren't a lot of kids there, but being the social butterfly that he is, Rory went over and started to try and play with the only two little girls in there, who were probably around five years old. I was sitting right next to both of their mothers watching the kids interact, when I suddenly hear one of the girls say to Rory, "You're a LOSER and I don't play with losers, so get lost!" I was totally stunned - I actually think my mouth may have dropped open in surprise - and poor Rory had no idea what she meant but I could tell he knew she had said something mean. So I looked at her mother, expecting her to say something to chastise her little bully-in-training, but all she does is turn to me, shrug her shoulders and say with a smile, "Kids these days! They just say the darndest things, don't they?" Uh, WHAT? That's it?! Are you KIDDING?
Now, obviously, I'm not exactly in the running for "Parent of the Year" either, but when I see crap like this take place, it actually helps me realize that I may not be doing such a bad job after all...
1) There is a 4 year old boy that we know - let's just call him Wild Child - who is completely out of control. Now, normally I try to give kids the benefit of the doubt (maybe they are having a bad day, didn't take a nap, etc.), but after watching this little hellion down five Coke Classics in a row at a BBQ and then eat two bowls of ice cream with a popscicle chaser, all while his mother looked on without so much as batting an eye, I realized that this kid's problem is actually a serious lack of parenting. He's consistently disruptive, pitches a fit when he doesn't get his way, and rarely does his mother even look in his direction, let alone try to curb his behavior. The last time we ran into him, Wild Child decided to make Rory his new "best bud"" and was constantly jumping on him, putting him into a strangle hold and trying to get him to be his partner in crime. Hoby and I kept having to step in and pull Wild Child off of our son and tell him to quiet down - and to my utter disbelief, his parents were NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. And trust me, I looked. AND LOOKED. Who the heck leaves their hyper-active four year old son without direct supervision for 40 minutes? UNBELIEVABLE!
2. Shortly after that, we took Rory to an outdoor mall where they have a cool little fountain/wading pool that keeps him happily occupied hours. As we were sitting there keeping an eye on Ro, we saw a little girl slip and fall down on the pavement pretty hard. I mean, she REALLY ate it. I quickly looked over at her parents, who were sitting across the fountain from us, and then jumped up to see if she was okay. I helped her up, and again looked over at her parents because this girl is obviously upset and probably hurt and astonishingly, her parents are not even moving! They don't come over to see if she's okay, don't call to her, no reaction at all! And it's not like they didn't see what happened or couldn't hear her crying. They just sat there and watched us. Uh, don't bother to get up or anything, people - feel free to let a perfect stranger look after your injured child while you finish your soda. Sheesh!
3. And last, but certainly not least... Yesterday Rory and I went to an indoor play area called Playsource. There weren't a lot of kids there, but being the social butterfly that he is, Rory went over and started to try and play with the only two little girls in there, who were probably around five years old. I was sitting right next to both of their mothers watching the kids interact, when I suddenly hear one of the girls say to Rory, "You're a LOSER and I don't play with losers, so get lost!" I was totally stunned - I actually think my mouth may have dropped open in surprise - and poor Rory had no idea what she meant but I could tell he knew she had said something mean. So I looked at her mother, expecting her to say something to chastise her little bully-in-training, but all she does is turn to me, shrug her shoulders and say with a smile, "Kids these days! They just say the darndest things, don't they?" Uh, WHAT? That's it?! Are you KIDDING?
Now, obviously, I'm not exactly in the running for "Parent of the Year" either, but when I see crap like this take place, it actually helps me realize that I may not be doing such a bad job after all...
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Saving Your Bucks at the 'Bucks
Can't live without your daily stop at The Mother of All Coffee Houses? You and me both! It's been a painful (and expensive) adjustment now that I'm no longer working at a coffee shop and getting my drinks for free. However, there are a few tricks I've learned over the years that will help you save some green while still getting your daily fix of caffeine.
1) Take advantage of refills! Did you know that you can get refills of coffee, iced coffee and iced tea for only fifty cents? While this technically is only supposed to apply to refills during a single visit, they will rarely question you if you show up with your cup from a previous visit and ask for a refill. So remember that saving your cup means saving money.
2) Bring your own cup. Okay, so bringing in your own travel mug only gives you a ten cent discount, but if you get coffee every day, this will eventually add up to big savings. And it helps save the environment, too.
3) Taking your kids to the 'Bucks for a blended ice cold treat? Order a Venti of their favorite Frappuccino and ask to have it split into two small cups. You'll save several dollars without sacrificing a single sip of sugary goodness.
4) Your little ones want hot chocolate but you're a little low on cash. No problem! Ask for child sized hot cocoas (or vanilla steamers) - they only cost a dollar and ten cents each and are the perfect size for tiny tummies.
5) Are you one of those people who always has to dump some of your coffee out in the trash so you can add just the right amount of cream? Next time, ask for them to put your coffee in the next cup size up (for example, "Can I have a grande drip in a venti cup please?") so you can add as much cream as you like without having to dump any coffee. You get a couple of extra sips that are your perfect blend of cream and coffee, and your favorite barista will be happy that they don't have to drag soggy trash bags across the store. Trust me, happy baristas = better coffee!
Okay, so now that you know all my tricks... go out there and get your daily fix for less!
1) Take advantage of refills! Did you know that you can get refills of coffee, iced coffee and iced tea for only fifty cents? While this technically is only supposed to apply to refills during a single visit, they will rarely question you if you show up with your cup from a previous visit and ask for a refill. So remember that saving your cup means saving money.
2) Bring your own cup. Okay, so bringing in your own travel mug only gives you a ten cent discount, but if you get coffee every day, this will eventually add up to big savings. And it helps save the environment, too.
3) Taking your kids to the 'Bucks for a blended ice cold treat? Order a Venti of their favorite Frappuccino and ask to have it split into two small cups. You'll save several dollars without sacrificing a single sip of sugary goodness.
4) Your little ones want hot chocolate but you're a little low on cash. No problem! Ask for child sized hot cocoas (or vanilla steamers) - they only cost a dollar and ten cents each and are the perfect size for tiny tummies.
5) Are you one of those people who always has to dump some of your coffee out in the trash so you can add just the right amount of cream? Next time, ask for them to put your coffee in the next cup size up (for example, "Can I have a grande drip in a venti cup please?") so you can add as much cream as you like without having to dump any coffee. You get a couple of extra sips that are your perfect blend of cream and coffee, and your favorite barista will be happy that they don't have to drag soggy trash bags across the store. Trust me, happy baristas = better coffee!
Okay, so now that you know all my tricks... go out there and get your daily fix for less!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Winning the Food Fight
My son is a finicky eater, especially when it comes to dinner. It's gotten to the point where I wonder why I even bother to try and put food in front of him when we sit down for dinner. Things he WILL eat: veggie corn dogs, lollipops, fruit popscicles - are we seeing a trend here? So I finally got the brilliant idea last night to shove some of the chicken we were eating on a stick - and lo and behold, the kid ate it! Not only did he gobble it up, he even asked for more.
I guess the trick is in the stick!
I guess the trick is in the stick!
Sunday, April 06, 2008
A Near Death Experience at Chipotle
How crazy would it be if my husband had to tell people that his wife choked to death on a tortilla chip at Chipotle? Well, today it seriously almost happened!
I was snacking on some chips and salsa at lunch today when suddenly, I felt a piece of chip get stuck in my throat. I wasn't too worried about it at first. I grabbed for a drink and took a big sip to wash it down. But instead of going down, the drink actually backed up in my throat. And suddenly, I couldn't breathe.
Cue panic! I tried to calm down because I knew that panicking would only make my throat close up even more, but let me tell ya, it was HARD to do. Hoby saw I was choking and started pounding me on the back, and finally, after more than a few hard wacks, the chip started to very slowly scratch it's way down my throat. OUCH.
What did Rory think of all this? Well, let's put it this way, when we tried to put him down for a nap after all the excitement of the day, the King of Procrastination grabbed his throat and said, "I can't go to sleep, Mama - I'm choking!". So while I might not be interested in eating chips again anytime soon, at least I provided my darling son with another way of putting off his naptime!
I was snacking on some chips and salsa at lunch today when suddenly, I felt a piece of chip get stuck in my throat. I wasn't too worried about it at first. I grabbed for a drink and took a big sip to wash it down. But instead of going down, the drink actually backed up in my throat. And suddenly, I couldn't breathe.
Cue panic! I tried to calm down because I knew that panicking would only make my throat close up even more, but let me tell ya, it was HARD to do. Hoby saw I was choking and started pounding me on the back, and finally, after more than a few hard wacks, the chip started to very slowly scratch it's way down my throat. OUCH.
What did Rory think of all this? Well, let's put it this way, when we tried to put him down for a nap after all the excitement of the day, the King of Procrastination grabbed his throat and said, "I can't go to sleep, Mama - I'm choking!". So while I might not be interested in eating chips again anytime soon, at least I provided my darling son with another way of putting off his naptime!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
We Love Wii!
Our family loves our Wii. It's a regular evening activity at our house and is a definite crowd pleaser when family and friends come over. (We should warn you - a few hours at our house may cause you to run out and buy a Wii of your own!)
And now, I have a whole NEW reason to love Wii! Wii Fitness is coming out on May 19th and it looks pretty awesome. Here is the game description from Amazon.com:
Happy Wii-ing!
And now, I have a whole NEW reason to love Wii! Wii Fitness is coming out on May 19th and it looks pretty awesome. Here is the game description from Amazon.com:
The active-play phenomenon started by Wii Sports now spreads to your whole body thanks to a pressure-sensitive Wii balance board, which comes packed with Wii Fit. The board is used for an extensive array of fun and dynamic activities, including aerobics, yoga, muscle stretches and games. Many of these activities focus towards providing a "core" workout, a popular exercise method that emphasizes slower, controlled motions. Family members will have fun staying active and talking about and comparing their results and progress on a new channel on the Wii Menu.Check out a demo video here (also compliments of Amazon).:
Happy Wii-ing!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Make Your Life Easier - Getting Rid Of Clutter
In my last post, I talked about how one of my main New Year's resolutions was to try and get rid of all the useless clutter in my life. It's amazing how quickly clutter can take over a household, but unfortunately, getting rid of it can seem like it's a never-ending task. You know how it is - you clean your house out in preparation for a garage sale, and two days after the Salvation Army has picked up your left overs, you already have a new pile of clutter building up in the corner of your closet. It's a vicious cycle.
Let me start by saying that the only way to really stop clutter in your house is to stop buying more stuff and recycle what you already own into new things that you need.
But now that I've said that, let's be real. While that's definitely something to strive for, if your house is anything like mine (with a kid who is constantly outgrowing things, a husband who likes gadgets, and well, let's be honest, I like to shop!), that's probably not going to happen any time soon. So the only other de-cluttering options around here are to organize it or get rid of it.
There are two web sites that I've found that have been providing me with the weapons I need to constantly battle the clutter in my house: FlyLady.net and ClutterDiet.com.
FlyLady.net is definitely worth a look. There is a lot of great information on the site itself, (although they will encourage you to join FlyLady, a daily email subscription, which is free). The main idea behind FlyLady is to break down the huge job of cleaning and de-cluttering your home into small, easy to do tasks so that eventually your home clutter is under control. There is a TON of useful information on the web site - and I mean A TON. In fact, so much so that's it's a bit overwhelming. In the third paragraph down on the first page of the site, there is a link to a section called Flying Lessons - and I highly recommend starting there. And truthfully, that may be all you need for some great, motivating ideas. However, if you want to dive deeper, head back to the main page and scroll down to the sections called "Reinforce Your Habits" and "What Kind of FlyBaby Are You?". I actually joined FlyLady to see if their emails would be useful, and although I liked the daily reminders to do things, the emails were so darn long (and very repetitive!) that I unsubscribed within a week. No need to move from household clutter to email clutter! But I still think this is a great resource to get you started on a living a clutter-free life.
Now onto ClutterDiet.com. Although joining ClutterDiet.com, a subscription service, is not free (it costs $14.95 per month for access to a team of professional organizers online), there is actually quite a bit of free information available on the site, and it's SO much easier to read and navigate than FlyLady. Even better than the actual ClutterDiet site is the blog of Lorie Marrero, a professional organizer and the creator of The ClutterDiet. Her blog is filled with useful tips for creating a clutterless life and best of all, it's totally free. Instead of subscribing to the site, I recommend subscribing to the RSS feed of the blog (at no charge, of course) - I have yet to read an idea that I didn't think was useful.
Now I'm off to de-clutter my kitchen junk drawer... happy spring cleaning!
Let me start by saying that the only way to really stop clutter in your house is to stop buying more stuff and recycle what you already own into new things that you need.
But now that I've said that, let's be real. While that's definitely something to strive for, if your house is anything like mine (with a kid who is constantly outgrowing things, a husband who likes gadgets, and well, let's be honest, I like to shop!), that's probably not going to happen any time soon. So the only other de-cluttering options around here are to organize it or get rid of it.
There are two web sites that I've found that have been providing me with the weapons I need to constantly battle the clutter in my house: FlyLady.net and ClutterDiet.com.
FlyLady.net is definitely worth a look. There is a lot of great information on the site itself, (although they will encourage you to join FlyLady, a daily email subscription, which is free). The main idea behind FlyLady is to break down the huge job of cleaning and de-cluttering your home into small, easy to do tasks so that eventually your home clutter is under control. There is a TON of useful information on the web site - and I mean A TON. In fact, so much so that's it's a bit overwhelming. In the third paragraph down on the first page of the site, there is a link to a section called Flying Lessons - and I highly recommend starting there. And truthfully, that may be all you need for some great, motivating ideas. However, if you want to dive deeper, head back to the main page and scroll down to the sections called "Reinforce Your Habits" and "What Kind of FlyBaby Are You?". I actually joined FlyLady to see if their emails would be useful, and although I liked the daily reminders to do things, the emails were so darn long (and very repetitive!) that I unsubscribed within a week. No need to move from household clutter to email clutter! But I still think this is a great resource to get you started on a living a clutter-free life.
Now onto ClutterDiet.com. Although joining ClutterDiet.com, a subscription service, is not free (it costs $14.95 per month for access to a team of professional organizers online), there is actually quite a bit of free information available on the site, and it's SO much easier to read and navigate than FlyLady. Even better than the actual ClutterDiet site is the blog of Lorie Marrero, a professional organizer and the creator of The ClutterDiet. Her blog is filled with useful tips for creating a clutterless life and best of all, it's totally free. Instead of subscribing to the site, I recommend subscribing to the RSS feed of the blog (at no charge, of course) - I have yet to read an idea that I didn't think was useful.
Now I'm off to de-clutter my kitchen junk drawer... happy spring cleaning!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The Start of Something New
Hello, my name is Stacy and I am a magazine junkie.
I've always loved magazines, but my true addiction started a little over three years ago when my son was born. I have been an avid reader all my life - the librarian in the town where I grew up used to call me "The Human Book Vacuum". I typically would read a book or two a week, and when I was on a vacation or at the beach, I could easily devour a book every couple of days. I'm one of those people who gets so absorbed in what I'm reading that I completely tune out the rest of the world (I can just imagine my husband rolling his eyes right now and nodding his head in frustrated agreement!).
However, once Rory was born (and as you all probably know by now, he's a force to be reckoned with!), I couldn't focus on ANYTHING longer than a few minutes at a time, let alone try and read a whole book. And so my passion for magazines began. Glossy pages with a variety of interesting and relevant topics, all that can be read in five minutes or less? The perfect mini-escape for a busy mom!
I don't know about you, but I am always finding little tidbits in magazines that I read and think, "Wow, this is great useful information - I bet it will come in handy one of these days!" and so I fold the page over, promising myself that I'll remember to come back to it someday. But even with the best of intentions, I now have several stacks of magazines saved up, all with at least one or two pages folded down, if not more!
One of my new year's resolutions this year was to try and rid myself of useless clutter. I've been attacking my house with gusto, gleefully getting rid of old clothes we don't wear anymore, clearing through boxes in the garage, throwing out of papers in the office, even going so far as to take four full bags of Rory's old baby clothes - organized by size and season, mind you! - to a consignment shop. However, when it came to my stacks of magazines, with all of their folded pages peaking out at me, I just couldn't make myself get rid of them. I mean, just think of all that USEFUL INFORMATION! So USEFUL! Just waiting to be USED!!!
And so I got an idea. What if I tore out all the folded pages and put them into categories - and then created a new section of my blog to showcase all this amazingly USEFUL INFORMATION? No more stacks of magazines cluttering the nooks and crannies of my family room! And maybe, just maybe, I could feel like all this USEFUL INFORMATION would actually be getting USED!
So, to make a LOOOONG story short, I have decided to start a new area of my blog called "The Filing Cabinet". This section will include snappy headings (thought of by yours truly over the past few nights during my latest bout of insomnia) such as Worth It Web Sites, Make Your Life Easier (Tips and Tricks), The Mindful Mama (Parenting Help), and Going Green Gracefully. My hope is to essentially put the majority of this USEFUL information to the test in my own life and then let you know how it goes. If nothing else, I'm sure it will provide some entertaining blogging material! And if you also happen to test out any of these ideas or tips, I'd love to hear if it ended up being useful to you. Because in case you haven't noticed, USEFULNESS is kind of a theme here...
Here's to the start of something new!
I've always loved magazines, but my true addiction started a little over three years ago when my son was born. I have been an avid reader all my life - the librarian in the town where I grew up used to call me "The Human Book Vacuum". I typically would read a book or two a week, and when I was on a vacation or at the beach, I could easily devour a book every couple of days. I'm one of those people who gets so absorbed in what I'm reading that I completely tune out the rest of the world (I can just imagine my husband rolling his eyes right now and nodding his head in frustrated agreement!).
However, once Rory was born (and as you all probably know by now, he's a force to be reckoned with!), I couldn't focus on ANYTHING longer than a few minutes at a time, let alone try and read a whole book. And so my passion for magazines began. Glossy pages with a variety of interesting and relevant topics, all that can be read in five minutes or less? The perfect mini-escape for a busy mom!
I don't know about you, but I am always finding little tidbits in magazines that I read and think, "Wow, this is great useful information - I bet it will come in handy one of these days!" and so I fold the page over, promising myself that I'll remember to come back to it someday. But even with the best of intentions, I now have several stacks of magazines saved up, all with at least one or two pages folded down, if not more!
One of my new year's resolutions this year was to try and rid myself of useless clutter. I've been attacking my house with gusto, gleefully getting rid of old clothes we don't wear anymore, clearing through boxes in the garage, throwing out of papers in the office, even going so far as to take four full bags of Rory's old baby clothes - organized by size and season, mind you! - to a consignment shop. However, when it came to my stacks of magazines, with all of their folded pages peaking out at me, I just couldn't make myself get rid of them. I mean, just think of all that USEFUL INFORMATION! So USEFUL! Just waiting to be USED!!!
And so I got an idea. What if I tore out all the folded pages and put them into categories - and then created a new section of my blog to showcase all this amazingly USEFUL INFORMATION? No more stacks of magazines cluttering the nooks and crannies of my family room! And maybe, just maybe, I could feel like all this USEFUL INFORMATION would actually be getting USED!
So, to make a LOOOONG story short, I have decided to start a new area of my blog called "The Filing Cabinet". This section will include snappy headings (thought of by yours truly over the past few nights during my latest bout of insomnia) such as Worth It Web Sites, Make Your Life Easier (Tips and Tricks), The Mindful Mama (Parenting Help), and Going Green Gracefully. My hope is to essentially put the majority of this USEFUL information to the test in my own life and then let you know how it goes. If nothing else, I'm sure it will provide some entertaining blogging material! And if you also happen to test out any of these ideas or tips, I'd love to hear if it ended up being useful to you. Because in case you haven't noticed, USEFULNESS is kind of a theme here...
Here's to the start of something new!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Newsletter 3.0 (Happy 3rd Birthday, Rory!)
Okay, so I’m a little late writing this (two weeks late, to be exact), but there was so much going on around the time of your birthday that, quite honestly, this is the first real chance I’ve had to catch my breath.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Ahhhh – that’s much better! Now let’s get down to business.
You, my friend, had what I will now always refer to as “The Endless Birthday.” It started on the Thursday before your actual birth date when you had a party at your preschool to celebrate your Hebrew birthday. Because apparently, since the Hebrew calendar is different than the standard calendar that we all use (because there is that little matter of B.C. and A.D. that understandably doesn’t figure into the Jewish way of thinking), your Hebrew birthday doesn’t always fall on the same day as what the rest of the world considers your birthday. So you, being the lucky little devil that you are, got TWO birthdays.
Your father and I went to your school to see you celebrate with all of your classmates and the Rabbi by wearing a birthday crown and eating a nice kosher birthday cake.
You loved the special attention and the fact that you got to lick honey off of a picture of the Hebrew alphabet to signify that learning Hebrew (which you officially get to start when you turn three) is a sweet privilege. And so the enormous intake of sugar began…
That night, your Grandma Judy and your Granny Dudley came into town and with them came loads of fun, and of course, more sugar. By the time your birthday party on Sunday began, I don’t think a single nutritious item had passed through your lips in almost 72 hours. But isn’t that part of what birthdays are all about?
Your OTHER party this year was at a place called Playsource, which is basically an indoor play place that has tons of stuff to keep little people like you busy. This year, we planned your party with your buddy, Paxton, who was not only born on the same day as you, he was also born at the very same hospital. It was a bit on the crazy side, because between the two of you, we were expecting 35 kids (12 from us, 23 from them), not to mention, all of their parents. THAT IS A LOT OF PEOPLE. I have to admit that I was a bit overwhelmed by the thought of it, and I was more than a little worried that you weren’t going to feel like it was your special day. But, as usual, I worried for nothing and you had a terrific time. The only thing that bothered you about sharing your party was that when everyone sang Happy Birthday, they sang, “Happy Birthday to Paxton and Rory! Happy Birthday to you!” and afterwards you said to me, “Mamma, I didn’t like the ‘Paxton and Rory’ song, I wanted them to say, ‘Just Rory’!” So, note to self, if we ever have a shared party again (which is highly unlikely!) make sure that we sing a separate birthday song for each kid. Sheesh!
As with any party, we ended up having a ton of food left over, especially cupcakes (Paxton’s mom and I made all 85 of them ourselves, by the way!). So for every night after your party that we still had cupcakes left, you made us put a candle in one for you and sing, “Happy Birthday to JUST RORY! Happy Birthday to YOU!”. This went on for at least four nights (hence the “Endless Birthday” theme), so I think that MORE than made up for the song transgression, don’t you?
I can’t talk about your birthday, of course, without mentioning some of your favorite presents. Your Nana and Poppi gave you a “big boy bicycle” with training wheels, and you were so excited that you immediately jumped on it and started pedaling your little heart out. We are so impressed by how fast you got the hang of it, and now I spend at least part of every day huffing and puffing as I chase you around the neighborhood. Good exercise for both of us! I get such a kick out of watching you (for those of you with kids, it kinda reminds me a bit of what Elmo looks like when he rides a bike on Sesame Street!), it’s so darn cute to see your little legs going round and round! And sometimes, my chest puffs up with so much pride that I can’t even breathe – but somehow I still manage to have a silly grin on my face anyway…
Your other favorite gifts are High School Musical related (are you surprised?), especially the new Wii game that your father and I bought you that lets you sing along to all of your favorite HSM songs karaoke style with your very own microphone. For you, it just doesn’t get any better than that! And even though we probably wouldn’t admit this in public, your father and I think it’s pretty cool, too. Where else is our vast knowledge of High School Musical songs going to come in handy? And now we will have an endless source of entertainment at our fingertips that looks a little something like this:
Happy Birthday, big guy!
Love,
Mama
Inhale.
Exhale.
Ahhhh – that’s much better! Now let’s get down to business.
You, my friend, had what I will now always refer to as “The Endless Birthday.” It started on the Thursday before your actual birth date when you had a party at your preschool to celebrate your Hebrew birthday. Because apparently, since the Hebrew calendar is different than the standard calendar that we all use (because there is that little matter of B.C. and A.D. that understandably doesn’t figure into the Jewish way of thinking), your Hebrew birthday doesn’t always fall on the same day as what the rest of the world considers your birthday. So you, being the lucky little devil that you are, got TWO birthdays.
Your father and I went to your school to see you celebrate with all of your classmates and the Rabbi by wearing a birthday crown and eating a nice kosher birthday cake.
You loved the special attention and the fact that you got to lick honey off of a picture of the Hebrew alphabet to signify that learning Hebrew (which you officially get to start when you turn three) is a sweet privilege. And so the enormous intake of sugar began…
That night, your Grandma Judy and your Granny Dudley came into town and with them came loads of fun, and of course, more sugar. By the time your birthday party on Sunday began, I don’t think a single nutritious item had passed through your lips in almost 72 hours. But isn’t that part of what birthdays are all about?
Your OTHER party this year was at a place called Playsource, which is basically an indoor play place that has tons of stuff to keep little people like you busy. This year, we planned your party with your buddy, Paxton, who was not only born on the same day as you, he was also born at the very same hospital. It was a bit on the crazy side, because between the two of you, we were expecting 35 kids (12 from us, 23 from them), not to mention, all of their parents. THAT IS A LOT OF PEOPLE. I have to admit that I was a bit overwhelmed by the thought of it, and I was more than a little worried that you weren’t going to feel like it was your special day. But, as usual, I worried for nothing and you had a terrific time. The only thing that bothered you about sharing your party was that when everyone sang Happy Birthday, they sang, “Happy Birthday to Paxton and Rory! Happy Birthday to you!” and afterwards you said to me, “Mamma, I didn’t like the ‘Paxton and Rory’ song, I wanted them to say, ‘Just Rory’!” So, note to self, if we ever have a shared party again (which is highly unlikely!) make sure that we sing a separate birthday song for each kid. Sheesh!
As with any party, we ended up having a ton of food left over, especially cupcakes (Paxton’s mom and I made all 85 of them ourselves, by the way!). So for every night after your party that we still had cupcakes left, you made us put a candle in one for you and sing, “Happy Birthday to JUST RORY! Happy Birthday to YOU!”. This went on for at least four nights (hence the “Endless Birthday” theme), so I think that MORE than made up for the song transgression, don’t you?
I can’t talk about your birthday, of course, without mentioning some of your favorite presents. Your Nana and Poppi gave you a “big boy bicycle” with training wheels, and you were so excited that you immediately jumped on it and started pedaling your little heart out. We are so impressed by how fast you got the hang of it, and now I spend at least part of every day huffing and puffing as I chase you around the neighborhood. Good exercise for both of us! I get such a kick out of watching you (for those of you with kids, it kinda reminds me a bit of what Elmo looks like when he rides a bike on Sesame Street!), it’s so darn cute to see your little legs going round and round! And sometimes, my chest puffs up with so much pride that I can’t even breathe – but somehow I still manage to have a silly grin on my face anyway…
Your other favorite gifts are High School Musical related (are you surprised?), especially the new Wii game that your father and I bought you that lets you sing along to all of your favorite HSM songs karaoke style with your very own microphone. For you, it just doesn’t get any better than that! And even though we probably wouldn’t admit this in public, your father and I think it’s pretty cool, too. Where else is our vast knowledge of High School Musical songs going to come in handy? And now we will have an endless source of entertainment at our fingertips that looks a little something like this:
Happy Birthday, big guy!
Love,
Mama
Thursday, March 20, 2008
It's a Small World...
Back when I was working at the Mother of All Coffee Houses, I was taking a girl's order and asked for her name. She said it was Marin, which happens to be my niece's name as well. So I said conversationally, "You know, Marin is a name you don't hear very often, but I have a Marin in my family. And the funny thing is, her name is Marin Pearce and there is actually another Marin Pearce that lives in Ventura, the same town as her. Crazy, eh?" The girl gets this really weird look on her face and she says, "Are you kidding?! That's my name! I'm the other Marin Pearce in Ventura!"
Now what are the chances of that?
Now what are the chances of that?
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
A Golf Pro in the Making
Our entertainment for the evening:
Perhaps we should start saving for a set of golf clubs, although the back scratcher is kind of a nice throw back to my husband's Mariposa roots. Just kidding, honey!
Perhaps we should start saving for a set of golf clubs, although the back scratcher is kind of a nice throw back to my husband's Mariposa roots. Just kidding, honey!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Girl, Interrupted
Just a quick note to let everyone know that my email address with AOL has been frozen, which essentially means that life as I know it has come to screeching halt. Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but it sure FEELS that way. So here I am in the first few weeks of adjusting to my new stay at home mom status and then Rory gets sick. Sinus infection, double ear infection, snot everywhere sick. We are basically confined to our house for five days and not only am I drowning in a pile of dirty Kleenex, I'm also totally climbing the walls. And now, to add insult to injury, I CAN'T GET MY STINKIN' EMAIL! My lifeline to the outside world has been cut off!
Here's the story: Today I go to log into my AOL email and I get this error message that says, "This account has been frozen for security reasons. Please have the account holder contact AOL." Uh, what? I've had this same email address since AOL first came out FIFTEEN years ago and I've never had this problem. So I call AOL's service line to see what the deal is and when they ask for my name to verify that I'm the account holder, there is a long pause. The guy comes back and tells me that the account holder is actually my father. You see, all those years ago, my dad set up my email address as part of a family account and apparently that was never changed. The guy also tells me that only my dad can call to get the account re-instated. UH OH.
Now, usually that wouldn't be a big problem, except of course my parents just left for a two week trip to Rwanda to see gorillas (yes, totally random, I know) and seeing as how they are in the middle a jungle somewhere retracing the steps of Diane Fossey, well, they are sort of UNREACHABLE.
ARRRRRGGGGH!
So what the heck am I supposed to do for two weeks? I can't even send everyone an email to tell them to use a temporary email address because my contact list is in my AOL account. WHICH IS FROZEN.
Soooo, just in case any of YOU are trying to get in touch with me via email, please use my Yahoo address, which is rorysmama@yahoo.com until further notice.
If I can survive that long...
Here's the story: Today I go to log into my AOL email and I get this error message that says, "This account has been frozen for security reasons. Please have the account holder contact AOL." Uh, what? I've had this same email address since AOL first came out FIFTEEN years ago and I've never had this problem. So I call AOL's service line to see what the deal is and when they ask for my name to verify that I'm the account holder, there is a long pause. The guy comes back and tells me that the account holder is actually my father. You see, all those years ago, my dad set up my email address as part of a family account and apparently that was never changed. The guy also tells me that only my dad can call to get the account re-instated. UH OH.
Now, usually that wouldn't be a big problem, except of course my parents just left for a two week trip to Rwanda to see gorillas (yes, totally random, I know) and seeing as how they are in the middle a jungle somewhere retracing the steps of Diane Fossey, well, they are sort of UNREACHABLE.
ARRRRRGGGGH!
So what the heck am I supposed to do for two weeks? I can't even send everyone an email to tell them to use a temporary email address because my contact list is in my AOL account. WHICH IS FROZEN.
Soooo, just in case any of YOU are trying to get in touch with me via email, please use my Yahoo address, which is rorysmama@yahoo.com until further notice.
If I can survive that long...
Monday, February 25, 2008
Newsletter 2.11
Dear Rory -
Well, the invitations are out and it's official, in two weeks you are going to be turning three. THREE! I know that I will probably say this almost every time you have a birthday, but where did this year go? I've always heard that time really starts to fly when you have children, but no one told me that it moved at WARP SPEED.
I get dizzy just thinking about.
Although I have to admit that I'm not THAT sad that you are leaving your terrible twos behind (you ARE, right?) because they most definitely have not been all sunshine and roses! But perhaps all the fussiness is a result of the amazing changes that take place between ages two and three - there is no doubt that this year has seen you change from a little toddler to a BOY. It's darn impressive to think of how far you've come in the last twelve months - you think for yourself now, you have the words to tell us just about anything you want to (a skill you certainly practice ALL THE TIME!), and you're constantly telling us that that you want to do everything "all by myself!". You have become our little Mr. Independent.
Some of your quirks of the moment include:
- A sudden, intense dislike of freeways (where on Earth did that come from?) so much so that if we want any peace and quiet in the car, we have to find back roads to everywhere. So if we are late for something these days, you know why!
- Picking your nose and telling me that you are trying to get the "stuffies" out.
- Grabbing your guitar and singing a quick song about whatever activity you are about to do next. (For example, today it was, "I'm gonna take a nap now, a nap now, a nap now. I'm gonna take a nap now, in my bed today! Thank you, everyone! Goodnight!")
- Trying to imitate the dance moves from "High School Musical" because you already have ALL the words to the songs memorized.
- Finding a new favorite stuffed animal (or "buddy" as you call it) to hug for the week that ultimately ends up in your bed. To date, you have Monks, Lili, Baby Bear, Sunny and Dewey all sleeping with you (and I hate to tell you this, but your "big boy bed" really isn't THAT BIG.)
- Talking to your imaginary friends, Doe and Dee, on your phone
- And last but not least - telling us, "Not now, but soon!" everytime we ask you to do something, you little procrastinator!
It's been quite a year, Ro - not an easy one for me by any stretch of the imagination, but I forgive you for your part in that because, well, you can't help that you were a two year old. And you had that whole " terrible twos" image to live up to, right? (Super job with that, by the way!) And although I've heard that year three can sometimes be even harder (HARDER???), I can at least count on the fact that it's going to be interesting. Because with you, Ro, there is NEVER a dull moment.
And honestly, I don't think I'd want it any other way.
Love,
Mama
Well, the invitations are out and it's official, in two weeks you are going to be turning three. THREE! I know that I will probably say this almost every time you have a birthday, but where did this year go? I've always heard that time really starts to fly when you have children, but no one told me that it moved at WARP SPEED.
I get dizzy just thinking about.
Although I have to admit that I'm not THAT sad that you are leaving your terrible twos behind (you ARE, right?) because they most definitely have not been all sunshine and roses! But perhaps all the fussiness is a result of the amazing changes that take place between ages two and three - there is no doubt that this year has seen you change from a little toddler to a BOY. It's darn impressive to think of how far you've come in the last twelve months - you think for yourself now, you have the words to tell us just about anything you want to (a skill you certainly practice ALL THE TIME!), and you're constantly telling us that that you want to do everything "all by myself!". You have become our little Mr. Independent.
Some of your quirks of the moment include:
- A sudden, intense dislike of freeways (where on Earth did that come from?) so much so that if we want any peace and quiet in the car, we have to find back roads to everywhere. So if we are late for something these days, you know why!
- Picking your nose and telling me that you are trying to get the "stuffies" out.
- Grabbing your guitar and singing a quick song about whatever activity you are about to do next. (For example, today it was, "I'm gonna take a nap now, a nap now, a nap now. I'm gonna take a nap now, in my bed today! Thank you, everyone! Goodnight!")
- Trying to imitate the dance moves from "High School Musical" because you already have ALL the words to the songs memorized.
- Finding a new favorite stuffed animal (or "buddy" as you call it) to hug for the week that ultimately ends up in your bed. To date, you have Monks, Lili, Baby Bear, Sunny and Dewey all sleeping with you (and I hate to tell you this, but your "big boy bed" really isn't THAT BIG.)
- Talking to your imaginary friends, Doe and Dee, on your phone
- And last but not least - telling us, "Not now, but soon!" everytime we ask you to do something, you little procrastinator!
It's been quite a year, Ro - not an easy one for me by any stretch of the imagination, but I forgive you for your part in that because, well, you can't help that you were a two year old. And you had that whole " terrible twos" image to live up to, right? (Super job with that, by the way!) And although I've heard that year three can sometimes be even harder (HARDER???), I can at least count on the fact that it's going to be interesting. Because with you, Ro, there is NEVER a dull moment.
And honestly, I don't think I'd want it any other way.
Love,
Mama
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Panic Attack
We've been working hard at getting Rory to go to sleep in his big boy bed by himself, and I mistakenly thought we were finally getting things under control. Last night, Hoby put him to bed, and since he didn't take a nap, it wasn't a surprise when everything got quiet upstairs fairly quickly. Hoby and I actually had a few hours together and I was patting myself on the back for getting back into some semblence of a routine.
Two hours later, we head up to bed, and Hoby goes to check on our sleepy head while I go put on my pajamas. Two seconds later, I hear Hoby say rather loudly, "Stacy, WHERE IS RORY?!". And I think, kinda late for a joke, isn't it? Hoby appears at our bedroom door and says, "No, really - WHERE IS RORY? He's not in his room!" and I can see by the look on his face that he's TOTALLY NOT KIDDING. And suddenly, I can't breathe.
We start to look in all the other rooms upstairs - the bathroom (maybe he's in the bathtub sleeping?), the laundry room (did he climb into the dryer?), until finally, Hoby opens the door to his office (which is off limits to Rory) and there is he is - fast asleep on the couch. And once my lungs had a chance to re-inflate, and all of the horrible visions of missing children ads on milk cartons stopped blurring my vision, I smothered my Rory with kisses until we tucked him back into his bed, safe and sound.
Rory, don't ever scare your Mama like that again!
Two hours later, we head up to bed, and Hoby goes to check on our sleepy head while I go put on my pajamas. Two seconds later, I hear Hoby say rather loudly, "Stacy, WHERE IS RORY?!". And I think, kinda late for a joke, isn't it? Hoby appears at our bedroom door and says, "No, really - WHERE IS RORY? He's not in his room!" and I can see by the look on his face that he's TOTALLY NOT KIDDING. And suddenly, I can't breathe.
We start to look in all the other rooms upstairs - the bathroom (maybe he's in the bathtub sleeping?), the laundry room (did he climb into the dryer?), until finally, Hoby opens the door to his office (which is off limits to Rory) and there is he is - fast asleep on the couch. And once my lungs had a chance to re-inflate, and all of the horrible visions of missing children ads on milk cartons stopped blurring my vision, I smothered my Rory with kisses until we tucked him back into his bed, safe and sound.
Rory, don't ever scare your Mama like that again!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Passing on the Love of Target
Recently I bought Rory a little book in the dollar section of Target called "Bye Bye Pacifier." We've been trying to work up the guts to get rid of his "chewie" as he calls it, and I thought this book might be a way to start the process. So I'm reading Rory the story this afternoon before naptime and it goes a little something like this:
After I finished reading this little gem to Rory, I say to him, "Hey Ro, how would you like to give your chewies to some babies that need them?"
He shakes his head and says, "No, that's okay, Mama. Their mommies can just buy them some at Target."
So much for THAT idea.
Bye bye Chewie? (Actually, it says pacifier, but you get the idea.)
No! I love my chewie!
I take it with me everywhere,
but sometimes it gets in the way.
My mommy is always so happy
when I take my chewie out of my mouth.
One day she asked me if I would mail my chewie
to a baby that needs one,
so I took my chewie out and put it in an envelope.
Mommy and Daddy are so proud of me!
They say I'm a big boy now!
After I finished reading this little gem to Rory, I say to him, "Hey Ro, how would you like to give your chewies to some babies that need them?"
He shakes his head and says, "No, that's okay, Mama. Their mommies can just buy them some at Target."
So much for THAT idea.
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