The Grease Cutting Power of Dawn

  I try to make a regular habit of showering and I thought today would be a good day to knock the funk off.  It was refreshing and I was cautiously optimistic as I dried off, hoping that I may have a productive day.  Not so much.  Lil' Bit had other plans for me.  When I stepped out of the bathroom, I found him sitting square in the middle of my bed COVERED IN EUCERIN CREAM!! 

  Now, Eucerin Cream is not like regular lotion.  It's heavy and greasy and a major Pain in the Ass to rub in, wipe off or clean up in any fashion.  I am surprised my youngest offspring has any skin remaining on his body.  I plunked him in the tub immediately and proceeded to scrub him with grease fighting dish soap and a washcloth.
 
  Most of the afternoon passed without incident, but once Handsome got home and my attention was diverted, the Bit struck again!  He snagged a can of hairspray and snuck upstairs with it.  I haven't found any pools of stickiness yet, but the entire 2nd story of our house smells like John Freida Extra Hold hairspray.

That's not the end of it though.

  This evening, Lil' Bit wanted some peanut butter.  No problem, he's usually pretty good with it, so I gave him a spoonful.  He got some on his hands so I told him to go to the bathroom and wash up.  He be-bopped to the bathroom and I heard the water running for about a minute.  I didn't think much about it after that because the water was no longer running.  My mistake.  A few moments later, here comes the Bit completely COVERED IN ANTIBACTERIAL HANDSOAP!!

He got another bath.
 

Workin' Girl

  I think I have adjusted to the Stay-at-Home-Mom thing pretty well. This blog was started back when I was still trying to figure out how to fit into the routine of NOT going to work every morning.  I like being home now.  I have friends that I can call and meet with for playdates, coffee or $1 movies.  The boys and I are on a decent routine of playtime, housekeeping, dinner fixin' and adventures around town.  It's taken some adjusting to make everything work on one income, but I think it's been worth it. 

Just when everything is going great I go and GET A JOB!

  Before you freak out, it was only temporary.  "The Office" I used to work in called and asked if I would fill in for the receptionist while she was out on maternity leave.  I jumped at the chance to go back.  I love those folks and being there again felt comfortable, like my favorite t-shirt & jeans.  Being in "The Office" again, around the familiar hustle & bustle of the working world, made me crave that life again.

  I spent a few nights seriously contemplating if I should start looking for a job and I realized a few things.  I realized that the only time I miss working, is while I'm working.  I don't want just ANY job.  I want THE job.  One that is worth it to my whole family to put Lil' Bit & Big Red into the care of others.  A job that would be fulfilling enough that I would enjoy waking up each morning and going in.  Coworkers that are the kind of folks I want to spend 40+ hours of my life with each & every week.  I don't think there are many jobs out there that meet my demands criteria. 

  "The Office" does. 

  I spent a few more nights debating, thinking and bouncing scenarios off of Handsome before I decided I would formally express my interest in employment with "The Office."  I'm going to dust off the resume, take a couple of classes to fulfill the educational requirements and make sure my ducks are in a row, just in case.  I don't know when a position may open up, but I know that I want to at least be considered when it does.

  In the mean time, I'm enjoying each day with my boys and perfecting my photography skills. 

Mommisaurus Movie Review: CARS 2

CARS 2
Mommisaurus Movie Review: B+

   We all enjoyed the movie very much but it was NOT a true continuation of Cars 1.  The nostalgic, wistful feeling of the first movie is not present in this one and I have to say I think it was smart not to try and bring it back.  I don't think it really could have been done with equal success so I was relieved to see this episode go in an entirely different direction.  The best friend sappiness between McQueen and Mater is the only part that I thought was grossly overdone.  There is no memorable soundtrack, which I think is disappointing because of how AWESOME it was in the last movie.  The action was good and there was enough witty humor to make it enjoyable for adults.  We will be purchasing the DVD when it comes out and I am sure it will be watched over and over and over again much like Finding Nemo, Bolt and Megamind.

  About halfway through the film, Lil' Bit was fed up with sitting still.  He stood up and was peering between 2 seats of the next row completely fixated on the screen.  It was only a few moments before he started screeching and kicking his feet while hitting the back of the seats.  He had managed to smash his head through the opening and couldn't pull it back out.  I had to pick him up, sliding his head free over the top of the chairs and then console him as he cried holding his ears.  It was pitiful and thankfully short lived.  He was quickly focused again on the movie and forgot all about his ears and the trauma of being trapped in between the seats.

  Sometimes, I think we are more entertaining than the movies we go to see.



  
 

The Finish Line

  It amazes me sometimes how crossing a finishing line is motivation in and of itself to step up to the next starting line.

  In my case, I literally crossed a finish line.  I committed to completing 4 5k races in 2011 and I did my first one in Tulsa, OK on April 9th.  This run holds a very special place for me because it was at the Mpix Meetup, a photography conference that I have been trying to attend for 3 years!  The folks that participated alongside me were friends and mentors, people whose photography has inspired me and whose words have encouraged my development as an artist.  I enjoyed EVERYTHING about that conference and will do whatever it takes to make it every year from now on.  If I had to pick one favorite moment though, it would have to be crossing the finish line Saturday morning.

 
   The weekend after I returned, the tornado hit and the chaos that followed threw a major wrench in my training plan.  I re-started the Couch to 5k program with a neighbor in our new neighborhood but 3 days into it, Lil' Bit and I got hit with a severe allergy attack that is just now subsiding.  The few mornings I did go, I felt I could do more but it was so easy to say the "plan" says this and if you're going to follow it, it's best not to skip ahead.  The neighbor I was running with is just beginning and I also didn't want to discourage her efforts. 

  This morning I woke up feeling like I had actually slept and the temperature hadn't yet reached 200 degrees so I went for a run.  I thought about my route and decided to go the whole way around, even if I had to walk some of it.  I headed down the street and made my first turn.  That was the only point that I had to hype myself up to keep running, once past that point my breathing settled into a good rhythm and the burn in my legs turned to warmth.  I found the groove in my music and for the first time EVER I understand why people enjoy running.  Usually, I spend the entire time talking myself into continuing.  Today, my thoughts were about the run in Tulsa and that I had finished it.   If I can do that, I can run 1.6 miles around the neighborhood.  Easy-Peasy.  I kept running until I reached my front porch.  Sweaty and tired I did my own little happy dance, singing to myself, "I did it, I did it!" 

The search is on for my next starting line. 

Wordless Wednesday

  Today I was feeling the itch to do some photography but it was WAY to HOT to drag Lil' Bit around town.  Not to mention, I don't like sweating unless I'm doing it on purpose and just walking to the bus stop this morning was making me bead up.  I mulled around aimlessly for a while trying to come up with something inspiring I could do inside the house and between loads of laundry.  Nothing was coming to mind so I logged onto facebook and saw that one of my photography buddies was online.  She suggested that I do a "day in the life" sort of thing and added that I could even blog about it. 
So here it is, my day in images. 

Thanks Rosemary!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  I'm thinking this may become a regular thing that I do.  It was easy, fun and out of the normal routine even though it's all about my normal routine.  Thanks for stopping by and I promise I'll actually write again sometime soon!

The Cheese-Burglar

We are all getting settled nicely into our new home and neighborhood.  There are tons of kids all around us and the boys are making friends quickly.  We recently met the folks across the alley whose house backs up to ours.  They have 3 kids very close in age to Big Red & Lil' Bit. 

The adults were standing around making small talk and the kiddos were running around wildly having fun.  At one point, all 5 kids disappear into the neighbor's house and moments later only 4 of them emerge.  I realized it was the Bit that remained inside and kept one eye on the back door expecting him to come out at any moment.  About the time I was going to send in a search team, he came sauntering out, eating a slice of cheese.  Lil' Bit had taken it upon himself to go rooting around their fridge and help himself to a snack. 

I apologized profusely and assured the neighbors that I do in fact feed my children everyday - multiple times a day. 

Gone With the Wind

  At approximately 7:05pm on April 16th, 2011 our home was hit by an F3 tornado.  Thankfully, we were all at a wedding reception in Williamsburg.  A few folks at the reception received news alerts on their phones and rumor starting spreading about a tornado hitting a school in Gloucester.  We didn't stress too much about it at the time and a short while later Handsome rounded up the boys to take them home.  When he got to his truck and checked his phone, he had DOZENS of missed calls.  He spoke with the landlord and found out the roads were closed and the house had suffered damage during the storm.  He headed to the base to get a room in billeting for the night.  I went to walmart to grab a change of clothes for each of us and necessary items like toothbrushes and diapers.  I called my friend Deb and asked if she would go scope out the house and let me know how bad it was.  She described the neighborhood as a war zone and I could tell by the tone of her voice that things were not good at the house. 
  It was the following afternoon before we could get out there and look around.  The Sheriff's set up a blockade and were only letting residents into the neighborhood.  We had to park a few blocks away and walk because the emergency crews were clearing power lines and cutting up downed trees.  Deb's war zone description was accurate and our house was one of the worst hit.  Five different trees had fallen into various parts of the house.  We had to wait on the chainsaw crew to cut and haul the trees out before we could go into the house.  When we could get inside and survey the damage, it was pretty overwhelming. 

    The next few days are a blur in my memory: sorting what could be saved, hauling things to the dump that couldn't.  We had such wonderful support from so many people, it was truly amazing.  Friends, co-workers, acquaintances and even total strangers came out to help.  Words cannot describe how thankful we are for the kindness everyone showed to us.  My fellow military wives did everything from watch the boys, to wash clothes and organize meals.  Handsome's command worked with the housing folks to get us into a home right away and Air Force Aid came through with an interest free loan to pay the deposit on the new place.  An entire crew from Handsome's office came out to the house and helped us clean, pack and load everything into a U-haul.  They worked so fast, it was like a second tornado had come through.   
  Big Red had to move to a new school.  I took him for one last day at his old one and his classmates had a party for him.  I had to stand out in the hallway to gain my composure when I saw how much they had done.  Not just for him but his brother as well.  There were boxes full of toys and clothes.
  It still makes me tear up when I think about the lengths that people have gone to for us.  We're not used to be on the receiving end of such generosity and it's very humbling.  We have always tried to be good people, and pay it forward so to speak and this experience has definitely reaffirmed that for us.