What Was Once Lost Has Now Been Found...

Some really amazing things are happening in my life at the moment, and as it all whirlwinds around me I remembered I hadn't been by here in awhile to share. I had started a post a few months ago and never finished it. So here it is, in a half assed finished format, as per usual ;)

I have a sense of humor, a good one.. no a great one (at least that's what I think, for whatever it's worth!). In addition I have a goofy side, except I don't consider it to be very inventive. It's there, it's just a bit deeper down inside. As far as I can tell, my child has inherited my sense of humor as well as the goofiness. The difference here is that her goofiness resides near her surface. Maybe that's because she is a kid, and kids hide nothing. Why it is isn't really that important though. I love everything about her, but I have to say this is one of my favorites. So I'd like to share some things she has done recently that I deem worthy of sharing.

A few nights ago we went out to dinner with my best friend. As many of you likely know, going to dinner with a toddler is quite the adventure. I have to laugh at the thought of how silly I must look when we are sitting in a restaurant and my arms are flailing all over the place in an attempt to grab sharp objects and breakables before she hurts herself or someone else. All the while saying things like: 'No no, don't eat that napkin! Or that crayon!' and 'Leave your pants on!' Needless to say at this point I'm sure, but it can take sometime to actually look at a menu and pick out what I want to eat and it takes twice that amount of time to find something for her to eat. Lately I've been trying to involve her in that process a bit and I'm starting to wonder if that's a mistake when all I hear is: 'I want chickens mommy!'

Onward to my point... As I attempted to get a glimpse at the menu and pick something, I failed to notice what S was doing. As I placed my order, I took a look in her direction just in time to catch her coloring her feet. Yes my child had taken off her shoes and her socks and was coloring her toes with a yellow crayon. Now I'm sure this behavior is not considered part of the 'Good Table Manners' handbook, but that didn't stop me from laughing. I'm sure some parents would call her behavior as well as mine completely inappropriate. But I look at it a little differently. While I don't think dinner guests would necessarily appreciate her coloring her feet at the table, I think they'd also understand she's 21 months old. She's too young to be expected to know what the phrase 'table manners' even means. In addition, we both have time to get this down, and I'm sure a little giggle from me won't set us back too far! For any parent reading this who is horrified.... I did ask her to stop and put her shoes back on... after I laughed.. yeah I said it... After I laughed.

There you have it... this post was one I started back around Christmas time, or was it just after Christmas... I can't remember. Either way, it's been sitting in here untouched for months now and I had completely forgotten about it until I just happened to go in to edit my last post (seen below) today. Originally I had notes to share a few other stories, but I think this is just fine for now. I'm so glad I found this post, what a fun little story/night to remember!

I do better with lists!

It seems that many women today have a Pinterest addiction. I have to admit it's a neat little site and useful for sure, but I have yet to become completely addicted (thank goodness!). I hadn't been on it for several weeks and recently started getting emails letting me know about all of my new followers. So I decided to jump on and see what's happening on there. Plus I needed to find a recipe to make for dinner tomorrow night. And 2 hours later here I sit without a clue about what I am making for dinner tomorrow but now armed with this cool list (that has nothing to do with cooking or eating). The purpose of this post is to hold me to doing every one of the things listed with Sky before this year is over. Good thing I already have a head start! This morning she helped me 'clean' the bathroom by playing in the toilet with a wash cloth... I'm thinking I can probably cross off #32... right? Oh and if anyone knows what the heck #18 is... a little help please!?!?

1. Color
2. Blow Bubbles
3. Play Hide-and-Seek
4. Peek-a-Boo
5. Play Chase
6. Do Finger-plays
7. Sing a song
8. Collect rocks in a basket
9. Make an obstacle course out of cushions and/or furniture
10. Make a fort out of cushions and sheets
11. Go for a Walk
12. Make a Car out of a Box
13. Read a book
14. Go to the park
15. Finger-paint
16. Play with Play-Dough
17. Toss Bean bags into a Bucket
18. Play the shell and pea game
19. Dance to music
20. Download games for toddlers from the Internet
21. Practice putting things in and taking things out of boxes and bags
22. Make a temporary slide out of a table leaf and your couch
23. Roll a ball back and forth on the floor
24. Scoop dirt or sand into a child's bucket (or use a serving spoon and bowl)
25. Practice climbing by stacking boxes on top of each other (only with adult supervision)
26. Put on a puppet show
27. Go fishing with a yard stick and yarn
28. Make a Horseshoe game
29. Make a Shape Puzzle
30. Play paper basketball
31. Run through a Sprinkler
32. Play with a bucket of water and a sponge (PLEASE WATCH CHILD AT ALL TIMES!)
33. Make a Drum out of an oatmeal box
34. Play with a kazoo
35. Wash windows together
36. Bang on Pots and Pans with a spoon
37. Brush each other's teeth
38. Play dress-up with stuffed animals and your child's clothes
39. Stack canned or boxed food on top of each other
40. Let child stack mixing bowls inside each other
41. Make a playhouse out of a large box
42. Let child play with a sticker sheet (make sure your child doesn't eat them!)
43. Put stickers on fingers for finger puppets
44. Play a musical instrument together- i.e.recorder, piano, etc.
45. Go on a Smelling Hunt
46. Frost Cookies
47. Plant a flower or vegetable plant together
48. Roll a tennis ball into an empty trash can or bucket
49. Draw on a mirror with dry-erase markers
50. Play hide and seek together- trying to find a stuffed animal or other object
51. Have a splash party together in the bathtub
52. Put a leash on a stuffed animal and walk around the house
53. Record each other on a tape recorder (great for scrapbooks or journals!)
54. Make and try on paper hats
55. Give a piggy-back ride
56. Play "Horsey"
57. Talk into an electric fan (it distorts your voice)
58. Play tug-of-war with a blanket
59. Collect flowers (felt, artificial, real...)
60. Make a camera and go on a Safari
61. Play games with frozen juice lids
62. Disconnect your phone and pretend to make phone calls to relatives
63. Leave your phone connected and really make phone calls to relatives- let your child talk too
64. String large beads onto or along a shoelace
65. Squirt each other with squirt bottles
66. Glue shapes onto paper
67. Make sock puppets
68. Make paper puppets
69. Fill an old purse with toys
70. Use a paper towel tube as a megaphone
71. Make binoculars and go "Bird Watching" or "Stuffed Animal Watching"
72. Put snacks in different fun containers (paper sacks, empty canisters, etc.)
73. Act out a story from a book
74. Walk on a balance beam- use a 2x4 placed on the ground
75. Draw with chalk on the sidewalk
76. Sketch an outline of your child on the sidewalk or paper with chalk
77. Paint child's palms with tempura paint and blot on paper. Makes a great card for loved ones!
78. Put lipstick on child and kiss a mirror
79. Make a puddle on cement and splash barefoot in it
80. Let child decorate and eat an open peanut butter sandwich
81. Make a toilet paper barricade for child to go under, over, or through
82. Do the Hokey Pokey
83. Make a super-hero costume out of household items
84. Do Knee-Bouncing Rhymes
85. Play "Red Light, Green Light" saying "Go" and "Stop"
86. Make a shoe-box train for stuffed animals
87. Make a pillow pile to jump on (keep it clear from any hard surfaces, including walls!)
88. Make an easy puzzle with felt and Velcro
89. Make bracelets or collars for stuffed animals out of pipe cleaners and jingle bells
90. Learn numbers from a deck of cards
91. Play the matching game with a deck of cards
92. Make a domino chain
93. Have a picnic in the park, backyard, or living room!
94. Play dress up in Mommy or Daddy's clothes
95. Make a tin cup telephone and talk to each other in it
96. Make a nature collage
97. Mirror each other
98. Make a "Mummy Mommy" with toilet paper
99. Make a tape recording of short music selections and instructions to move in different ways
100. Make and walk along a toilet paper trail
101. TAKE A NAP!

What's in a number anyway?

A couple of weeks ago my birthday rolled around once again and I turned 29. All I heard in the days leading up to, the day of and for a few days after were phrases like this one 'Last year of your 20's! Before you know it, you'll be 30!' (apparently people think I can't count). I don't care much about getting older (although I did have a mini freak out when I turned 25, but for the sake of this post, we'll pretend that never happened). So when 29 rolled around this year, I thought 'eh, another year, whatever.'

You know the saying 'Age is just a number'?

Let's talk about that saying...

People often say it and right after say: 'I may be 60 but I feel 21!!!' <--- yeah right, this is complete and total bull shit. You may 'act' like you're 21 but I'm pretty sure at 60 you don't 'feel' like your 21 anymore. I do agree with the statement 'age is just a number'...... to an extent. Let's just do a little comparison of what a typical Friday night (like tonight) was like for me in my early 20's compared to now...


Early 20's
Done work by 5 (likely sooner)
Head home, grab a beer from the fridge and hang out for a bit
7-8ish - Take a shower/get ready
9-10ish - head to the bar
2am - Hit up Jack in the Box
3am - Video games!
5-6am - Bed

At 29 (more specifically tonight)
5-7 - Dinner at my Aunt's house
7:45 - Wrestling match ensues to get pajamas on
7:50 - Wrestling match comes to an abrupt halt as she vomits all over my bed, me,and herself
7:52-8:15 - Bath and clean up of bedding (There is nothing worse than mash potato vomit *gag*)
8:15-8:45 - Cuddles
8:45-9 - Begin working
9 - 9:30 - More puke, more clean up
9:30 - Commence working
*check on baby every 10 5 minutes*

.... and that brings me to now, about 11:15. I'll most likely be going to bed after I write this. Although I may stay up and work more.

So is age really 'just a number'? I suppose it kind of is, because I could be 18, 20, or 22 and doing what I did tonight. My life sure is drastically different today than it was when I was 22. I suppose that comes from a lifestyle change we mothers make. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.. I chose to become a mother and I do love it... even when I am cleaning potato and carrot chunks from my blanket. *gag*

By the way, if anyone has tips on how to clean a TV remote control after it has been puked on, I'm dying to hear them!

Return of the Rambler.. Yadda Yadda and Blah Blah Blah!

Woah woah woah, it's been a bit eh? I've been seriously neglecting this public chalkboard of mine! As I was thinking about it last week, I realized how much has happened since my last sch-peel and I wanted to slap myself for not coming here to ramble more often. My life may not be excitement to the max, but I have a way (as does my daughter) of colliding with the humorous side of life. When I started this blog my intention was to use it as a 'memory book' of life's little happenings, more specifically all things involving S. Somewhere along the line I got off track, but hey, life has been busy for this chick! Unfortunately for my craptastic memory, I missed out on several months (some of the best months at that) of the amazingness known as S. Therefore, from this day forward, I'm making a deal with myself to make a better effort at updating more often. I'd say that this 'deal' involves me updating at least once a week, but I've never been good at keeping deals with myself....

Now that all that mumbo jumbly jumble is taken care of, there are a few things that happened during my hiatus that have stuck out in my mind. I'd like to share all of these things, but that would make for an incredibly long ramble that no one cares to even begin to read I'm sure. So instead, I'm going to pick one story to tell now and save the others for another day. It'll still be long, and I'll be amazed if anyone reads it thru.. but this is more about me anyway ;)

Since I have been gone for awhile, naturally things have changed a lot. Since moving I am now in school full time and working part time. I used to be convinced my time management skills were top notch, but over the last 7 months I realized this theory needs some serious re-evaluation. So lets just say these skills are no longer exceptional (as I used to 'think') but now just a notch above suck. I'm not sure why or how this happened, but I'm becoming more and more convinced it has to do with the 1,000+ new thoughts a day that come along with being a Mom.

This new found 'suck level' of time management has required some creative adjustments in my life. One example of an adjustment made involves my study time. I try to study in advance when I know I have a test coming, but sometimes I get bogged down in work or other homework and studying often becomes the red headed step child in my world of priorities. I know, I know, it's a horrible habit to wait until the last minute, but I'll admit it happens. A few months ago this exact situation occurred. I studied some for an Anatomy test I had coming up, but realized the day of that it had not been nearly enough.  

Pet Peeve - People who interrupt. I even get a bit annoyed when I interrupt myself like I'm about to do to give a Quick background - My anatomy class is twice a week in the afternoon into the evening. S's daycare closes at 5:30... so on the days I have a class in the afternoon I have to go and pick her up before class (since my class isn't out until 7). Thank goodness I have such a wonderful sister and brother-in-law (<----- these 2 watch her for me while I go to class!) So I pick her up and bring her from daycare to my sister's house and then go on to class. 

Back on track... So the day of my anatomy test I studied in the morning until my first class and then studied after that class up until I had to leave school to pick S up. As I drove to daycare, I repeated random facts out loud (Car Studying) in hopes that would somehow magically implant everything I needed to know into my brain. Once I picked S up and had her in the car with me, I continued my car study session. Within seconds of me calling out the parts of the heart, arteries and veins, S pipes in and the conversation ensues as follows:

Me: "Atria, Ventricles..."
S: "Mommy!"
Me: "What?"
S: (Says nothing/is quiet)
Me: "Superior Vena Cava, Aorta, Pulmonary..."
S: "Momma!"
Me: "What hunny?"
S: (Says nothing/is quiet)
Me: "Auricles... wait, is that it? Or is it...."
S: (yelling this time) "Mommy!!"
Me: "What is it monkey?"
S: (Says nothing/is quiet)
Me: "Cordae Tendenae, valves... hmmm.. what are the valves.. oh yea... Bicusp.."
S: (even louder now) "Mommy!!!!"
Me: "What is it Sky? Do you not like Mommy talking? Do you want me to be quiet?"
S: "Uh..............Yes!"
Me: "Well ok then!"

The rest of our ride I was quiet and so was she. Apparently she is not a fan of car studying! I don't know if she dislikes me talking so much or if she was irritated I was talking over 'her' music. You'd think she'd be okay with listening to me talk once in awhile, it's not like I do it that often.... geez!