Blech, Garage Sales

I hate garage sales. Not going to snoop through other people's stuff and see what I can find, mind you, but putting one on. Today my Mothers&More group is hosting a garage sale, and I have done everything I possibly can to avoid helping out during the sale. Except I can't stop myself and throw out that last life line as I'm dropping stuff off last night. I hear myself saying, "You don't need anyone else for tomorrow do you?" WHAT!! How did that escape my lips? Oh well, it's tomorrow they must have enough people. "Yes, please show up at 11." Nooooo.

I don't know where my garage-sale-aphobia began. We never had one as a child, so maybe it's my lack of experience. Maybe it's that I'm not very social with strangers, so I don't like to haggle over a price. Even when my best garage sale experience when we left NC, I did everything under the sun to avoid being out there. And let me tell you, the southerners know how to garage sale. It starts at 8 and ends at 11. None of this, hanging around all day until 2 in the afternoon. And people will start driving by as you set up. You get the early shoppers, who try to get you while you're setting up, "How much for this clock radio?" You have to fend them off until you are ready for business. Then there is a rush. As all the 'good' stuff will be gone in the first hour. Then you wait as people come in from their 1st choice garage sales and see if you have anything left that is good to them. We had a wonderful experience with a group of women who came in when it was almost closing time. We still had a couch that we didn't want to bring with us, but she was setting up a new apartment. Then her aunt found the rest of a set of china she had bought the previous week that one of our neighbors had brought over. Suddenly there was singing of "Thank you, Jesus!" I guess that was what ruined me for all other garage sales. If you don't have an impromptu gospel choir, I'm not sure I want to garage sale.

Apple a Day

Our house has 3 computers. 1 desktop PC, 1 laptop PC, and my Apple laptop. It is set up with wireless internet, so I get to bring it with me all through the house. It allows me to watch the girls play, but still do my own thing, like blog! So imagine my dismay when after installing the last 'security update' my beloved Apple would not reboot. I feel sorry for Jeremy as I have taken over his laptop to check emails and to put out a few blogs. We have been trying to figure out what went wrong, but Apple has yet to own up to having a problem in their update even though plenty of people have lost ability to boot. Maybe they don't know b/c no one can get on-line to yell at them! Sorry for they delay, but things will be slower until we get it sorted out.

Exquisite Taste

As previously mentioned, my cousin is in town for a visit. We have been having a good time, doing some touristy stuff. Like check out the Microsoft museum, the space needle and, of course, Pike's Place market. While we were wandering around the market famous for it's fish tossing yesterday, lunch time came upon us. We popped over to a quiet corner of the market, and Jeremy asked Cassidy, "What would you like to eat for lunch?" Cassidy stood and seriously thought for a moment, "Um..Lobster!"

Long Day, scratch, Week

I started this post on Monday, when Jeremy had to fly down to Sacramento for business. He was not even be gone for 18 hours, but it still seems like an eternity to me. He left shortly after Keira got up, but before Cassidy was up. After spring break last week, I knew getting her ready and out the door for school was going to be a challenge. Amazingly, Cassidy was in good spirits, ate her breakfast, put her dishes in the sink, and managed to get dressed without shedding a single tear. After dropping her off, I had my next challenge. Keeping Keira awake and happy until we pick up Cassidy from school. We made it through the afternoon without any drama, and had dinner and baths. Keira went down easy, but Cassidy was still up when Jeremy landed at airport. About 10 minutes from home is when she finally passed out. Tuesday was rough, because we were all tired out from Monday. Also, we were trying to get the house ready for photos since we are going to put it on market in a couple of weeks. Cassidy pulled another late nighter, which meant Jeremy and I were up late rearranging furniture and sorting through 'junk' late. Yesterday, was the mad dash to get everything clean and REALLY ready for pictures, plus go view another house. We put Cassidy in the car at 6:15 to drive around so she could fall asleep at a decent hour and get back into her schedule. At 8, quiet was in the house. Now my cousin is arriving today for the weekend. I guess an hour of peace and quiet will have to do this week!

One of those Mornings!

So we are still in the process of recovering from a visit by my brother-in-law. The 3 adults spent way too much time playing cards and staying up late talking politics. So last night I should have gone to bed early to help the recovery process, but I headed out to a Mothers & More meeting. It was a good one and I had a fantastic time, but.... it has turned into 'one of those mornings'. I guess it actually started last night when Cassidy woke up crying and asking for milk, and Jeremy said no, which caused screaming fits. Then he did the 'swap' which usually involves one haggard parent barking at the other haggard parent, "It's YOUR turn" in their nastiest voice. She eventually made it in to bed with us, where we slept as well as can be expected. Until the 5 am wakeup call from Keira, who was hungry b/c she didn't get the snack I suggested before heading off to my meeting. The night wasn't restful, and the sun only brought the harshness of the day. Just the highlights (although I guess they are lowlights): Keira screaming b/c she dropped her snacks on the floor and the dog ate them, Banging my head on countertop while picking up dropped snack bowl, The dog bringing me a half full yogurt in the living room, The girls screaming while I'm on the toilet (thankfully when I did get to check they were just playing in drawer with crayons and books), Coming downstairs to find out what Keira was doing with the crayons from the drawer! And it's only 10am!!!

Visit from Uncle Chris

I love it when people come to visit. . .and I hate it. I love to see people, but I really hate getting routines interrupted. But it's not all bad. This weekend Jeremy's brother came to town, and we did a LOT. Mostly, I did a lot that I normally wouldn't be able to do. Today, all before 2 pm, I had been to Target, done 4 loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, tidied my bedroom and bathroom and fixed Keira's closet doors. Amazing stuff I know. How is it possible that my house isn't always spotless and that we have no 'to-do' list? Well, Uncle Chris and Jeremy were busy playing with the girls, keeping them busy and taking care of all the fussing so that I could get things done.

Censorship

I have been feeling a bit blue for the last 24 hours. Not a bad day blue. Not even a 'kids are driving me nuts' blue. A blue because I was censored. The Mothers & More group that has helped me so tremendously with realizing I'm not alone in the game of Mothering censored me. It was a shocker. The worst part, was what they censored. On their blog (which there is a link to on right) a woman posted a comment that was taken as a slam to all of the bloggers. In our discussion group it was causing a flurry of emails and I thought I would put in my two cents in the blog. Maybe I was a bit harsh or maybe I took on as if to represent the organization, but they took down my blog and never informed me as to why. I realize now that I love my chapter of Mothers & More because it is full of intelligent women who would not censor me even if they whole-heartedly disagreed. Following is the blog that I posted. You be the judge. I can take criticsim and harsh words, but I will not tolerate being 'hushed'.

One of the Mothers & More Moms had this to say to one of the postings on this site.
"I am almost ashamed to be part of Mothers & More after reading the “blog” comments sent in the Mothers Day Campaign email. Why are we mothers? To have the blessing and joy of raising our children. So what if you have to do dishes, take care of them when they’re sick or you get frustrated with your children. Twenty years from now when there are no more noses to wipe, tears to wipe away, or little hands to clean up after, you’ll all be ashamed of yourselves for whining now and not enjoying the little (sometimes unpleasant) things. Let’s stop whining about being “taken for granted” by our husbands and children and start ENJOYING them!!
Comment by Jennifer — 4/5/2005 @ 10:58 am "

I am almost ashamed to have Jennifer in this organization. I don't know what Jennifer signed up for with this group, but I read the Mission Statement before I joined. A refresher: Mothers & More is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of mothers through support, education and advocacy. We address mothers’ needs as individuals and members of society, and promote the value of all the work mothers do.

The real story of Motherhood is not all sunny afternoons making crafts or playing at the park. That is a small part of what we do. If we want to vent our frustration about the tedious, gruesome daily grind that is Motherhood who better than to other Moms who can empathsize and offer us support. Jennifer, I will never be "ashamed" of writing about the hardships of Motherhood. I do it for myself, for others and for my children. 20 years from now I will NOT miss wiping noses and bums and toddlers temper tantrums. Do you know why? Because I can relive it all by rereading my blogs. The good, the bad and the little memories that would fade away into nothing are going to be forever with me.

Spring Time

Spring is in the air, and that means Spring Cleaning. As I have already mentioned nursing is now in the past tense at my house, and today I threw away all the bottles, pumping supplies and hid the Boppy. I would have kept the Boppy out, but Keira knows what it means and will point to it and scream, and in the interest of keeping my sanity I decided to squirrel it away. I have been SOO looking forward to being done with nursing that I didn't think about what it means. I'm DONE with nursing. A little bit of sadness creeped in to my celebration. It hit me as I was tossing the breast shield into the trash can (those things look like another item out of the Amish S&M catalog).

Bribery Works

I gladly admit to bribery as a parenting technique. Worries of giving my kids too many sweets seem to never appear. Maybe it's because we dangle the 'candy carrot' and rarely have to cough it up. For example, last night we ate dinner at a local restaurant and Cassidy started dancing on her seat and generally being a pain. She didn't have a nap, and since she is still getting over the flu, it was about time she should be going to bed. So Jeremy promptly informs her that if she settles down she can have a candy when we get home. She settles. Jeremy looks across table and I say, "If she's still awake". Jeremy puts on his commercial voice, "Offer good for a limited time only. Offer expires at midnight, no subsititutions or rain checks."

Burning Bras!

Well, nursing bras. It has been over 24 hours since I last nursed Keira. I know, TMI (too much information, for those of you way behind the times) for some of you. The point being that it has been 4 years since I have had my body to myself. I have been host to 2 babies, internally and externally, for 4 years! This is a milestone. I was just looking forward to having a normal bra 2 years ago when we found out about Keira. I have not purchased a bra in over 4 years. Nursing bras don't count because they look like something out of a fetish catalog for the Amish. There isn't anything sexy about them except for easy access. I look forward to finding out what cup size I am now.

Mystery Illness

Ok, so the last entry was too soon. Sure, the fever broke, but it was far from over. Cassidy went to school on Wed. and I really hope she wasn't contagious still. She sure seemed like her old self. But after she was home and was a terrible fuss until passing out on couch for a nap, I thought maybe she shouldn't have gone. She stayed home yesterday, and took a nice 3 hour nap in the afternoon and then to bed at normal time last night. She's home today, and I think she might have one last nap in her before she's back to bounding everywhere. After much thinking and worrying, I think it was the flu. Which would explain why no one else in the family has it. Keira got a flu shot, but Cassidy didn't thanks to the shortage. Jeremy and I are fine, so I don't know if we've had it before or what. All I know is that it has not been fun for any of us.

All's Good

Cassidy's fever broke last night (phew!) and she woke us up in the middle of the night to watch Little People and eat Wheat Thins to celebrate. Thankfully she only watched it twice before climbing onto Jeremy's side of the bed and falling asleep again. Which meant Jeremy got to sleep in the big girl bed. But All is Good at Team Noonan.

Fever in the morning, Fever throughout the day

Cassidy came into our room this morning, crying with a bit of wet under her nose, "Momma, I need a tissue." We had a nice Easter with the other Cassidy and her family the night before. The girls had been running around for the last half hour before we left so my kids were beat and went to bed without any fuss last night. I got Cassidy a tissue and snuggled her up into bed with me. It was then that I noticed how hot she felt. This wasn't just a sniffle or a cold. Cassidy fell asleep again, and when she woke up I forced some food on her and gave her Tylenol. She livened up a bit after that, but managed to only jump once today. Which, if you know Cassidy means something was very wrong. She's usually climbing and jumping off of anything that sits still long enough. She took a nap in the afternoon after her second dose of Tylenol. It was hard getting her to eat food today, but we managed to get some dinner in her too. She was so pale and quiet around her normal bedtime, and we were checking WebMD to make sure we weren't missing anything. I just checked on her a scant 2 hours later, and her fever seems to be breaking. Phew. Again, we have been so fortunate that our girls have never been very sick. Here's hoping that Keira doesn't get it tomorrow as Cassidy will stay home from school again, but if she's feeling better she'll be jumping off of everything.

Dyeing Easter Eggs and Why I love Fridays

So many times I try to give you the cute and funny things that the girls did. I'm usually not so good with touching moments, and pleasant memories seem like they will be a bore to others, but I'll write them anway. ;)
I love Fridays! Cassidy goes to school, we come home and have lunch, then it's off to music class. Which both the girls love! We've been hanging around afterward the last few times and playing with the other kids on the playground. Which is great because I get some socializing in as well. Then we head home, get some dinner, and then the babysitter comes over! Woohoo! Last night Jeremy and I hit the book store, and I considered picking up a journal that I could print out my blogs and paste them into. Sort of a way to preserve all the memories in case of a server crash.
Tonght we dyed Easter Eggs. Well, Cassidy and I did. Keira was too busy running around and so Jeremy volunteered to watch TV and play harmonica to keep her busy. I wish I would have taken some pictures, but I guess tomorrow. Anyway, Cassidy did well at following directions, and we only lost 2 to being dropped. She had fun talking to the eggs. "Do you want to go in here? Yes. Ok." Then leaned in over the cup, "He says he wants to come out."

Just one of those days

A lot of stuff has been happening, but I have been too busy to blog it. Cassidy had a play date with a schoolmate of hers on Wed, and the girls played and played. Then I had a book club meeting that night, but Jeremy was late at work, so I had about 20 minutes to pass the kids off to him before heading off. Had a great time, but was feeling tired out from all my socializing today. It was one of those days when you could have taken a shower but choose to watch Live with Regis and Kelly instead. When you could have worked out, done the laundry and vacuumed during the baby's nap, but instead read emails and watched a movie you've seen 3 times before. I was tired and realized if I stayed at home I would lose my mind and the poor girls would be tortured by having to hang with me. So I took them to the library so they could run and pull off all the books they wanted without me yelling. Cassidy never likes to leave, but she decided it would be ok if she got in stroller. So we are heading out of the library, me a zombie (I think I still had mascara that I hadn't properly washed off from the night before to give me the look to suit the spirit!) the girls with spots of berry flavored applesauce on their clothes and Cassidy being fussy when I run into an acquaintance Mom (oddly enough a fellow blogger for Mothers & More). You know, someone who you don't know well enough to excuse your horrific appearance and apparent lack of hygeine on your kids. *sigh* It was just one of those days.

How to deal with your 3 year old

I've read many articles in parents magazines about taking time for yourself. How Moms will resort to things like locking themselves in the bathroom to get a few minutes to themselves, while their toddler is outside banging on door. I knew I would never resort to that, as part of our potty training we have always left doors open. But as Cassidy has become more...of a 3 year old, well, I have found myself locking myself in the bathroom, but with the laptop. In 3 minutes I can check email, read an article or a blog. Then it hits me. When you work outside the home, and you're having a bad day, you can tell everyone, "I have a headache, please contact me by e-mail only today." So I would like to start communicating with Cassidy via e-mail. That way when she wants something I would just get a nice note, "Mommy, I would like some milk". No whining, no asking half way being distracted by a toy and then finishing the thought after I've left the room. And if I say no to a request, and the fussing begins, the email would pop up "Maawwwmmiiee! I want that!" And quickly I could change my status and her email would pop up "I'm currently away from my computer now. If you are in need of immediate assistance please contact Daddy."

The banana and other mysterious food items

This entry is about our high chair. When we moved out of the company housing which had a nice simple Graco high chair we had to purchase our own high chair. We wanted something that would last. So we headed off to Toys R' Us, to surround ourselves with high chairs to make the choice. We pulled them all down, and studied them. Narrowed our choices down. Had the 2 out and were staring when another Mom came passing by. She said, "If you are trying to decide, get the Peg Pergo. I love it." (Note: price tag is much much higher on this 'Italian' brand.) It has served us well, as Keira is using it now, and Cassidy still loves to get in it. Yet, this morning, Keira drew my attention to something I was and wasn't so aware of about the chair. Keira squished up her banana and mushed it into every crevice of the thing. Now, I have to admit I'm not a clean freak like some Moms, and today it was driven home. I would like to say that I now realize I should have demanded a letter of recommendation and references from that Mom in Toys R' Us. For those with weak stomachs, stop reading now. So I get out the paper towels to get rid of the mushed nanner and start cleaning nooks and crannies. I thought I was a clean person, but as chunks of dried bread fell out along with old peas I started to wonder. I didn't feel as bad as I had to dig deeper to get at the banana because it was impossible to get my hand between the sides of the chair. I literally pulled the plastic to try and give enough room to get the towel in there. It was like flossing the high chair! Now, don't get me wrong, the tray and seat are always clean, and these 'nuggets' were coming out of parts of the chair that the kids would not be able to reach. Which is why I don't know how that stuff got in there. My advice, stick to the cheap brand of high chair that's easier to clean.

The power of drugs!

So it all started in the summer of 2001. The little stick had 2 lines, and I went in and told Jeremy we were going to have a baby. At that point, your life changes forever and you have to make sacrifices. Yeah, yeah, the baby will change things, but I'm talking about the REAL sacrifices. Because the baby brings down your immune system, I had cold after cold. The only problem, you can't take anything that might ease your suffering b/c it can affect the baby. Then for the year after Cassidy's birth, I was nursing, and again, anytime I caught something I could not take any drugs. When it finally looked like I would be able to partake of OTC's again (that's Over the Counter drugs for the grandparents who are now wondering where this is all going), we were expecting Keira, and the cycle started all over again. This week, Cassidy brought home a cold and shared it with the family. So last night, I decided that since Keira is down to 1 or 2 nursings a day that I could risk taking some cold medicine to help me breath. So I popped a Sudafed. Whoa! Maybe it was the cold, but I had crazy dreams, waking up every few hours and thankfully a clear nasal passage. When I was asleep I was out like a light. I think I might need to *ease* back into the OTC's.

Props to my blogging brother, Aaron (and Gayle too)

It all started with my ol' college roomie, Gayle. No, I mean it ALL started with Gayle. You see, because Gayle's roomie moved out on her, and I was over 21, the Housing Dept. of Penn State decided that I should move in with Gayle. Turns out the new room was one floor above Jeremy's, and the rest is history, at least for Team Noonan being formed. Blogging though began because of Gayle too. See, she kept telling me to go check out her little bro's blog, and I did. After all he's sort of like my brother too. Well, we share a birthday, not the year (he was in diapers in the 80's instead of rocking out to the Eurythmics) but the day. Well, one thing lead to another, and I finally had to comment on one of his blogs, which forced me to start my own. Ok, now the rest is history. He has a very witty blog (some call it snarky) and you can get to his site by clicking on the title of this entry.
I'm not sure what a single guy in NYC finds interesting about suburban life in WA. Maybe it's the shared bday thing. Anyway, I had to give props to my blogging brother and Gayle (our devoted fan) too.

BabySocks coming soon!

Today was quite a busy day. The whole fam hopped in the car and took Cassidy to a full day of preschool, so that the rest of us could drive down to Tacoma for a meeting with the apparel manufacturer. We had to go over a few things, like measurements and making sure labels would work, etc. Then they whipped up a sample for us. Well, it sounds like it didn't take long at all, but we were there for close to 2 hours. Mind you, this meeting started about the time Keira likes to take her nap. She did very well though until the last half hour, but she got to sleep like a champ on the ride home though. We were able to see our fleece, which was really cool. The colors look even better on a big roll then on the little swatch. We also learned that we will need to order one more thing and then it's off to production. Looks like 6 weeks before we have product. *sigh* It's hard to wait when it's been in our minds for so long. Sort of like waiting for Keira to arrive, seemed like the day would never come! LOL!