Thinks By Me

I have to admit that life is pretty good when the biggest bummer of the night is that all the reality shows I watch are over. After Memorial Day weekend, and out-of-town company, I hadn't had a spare second to relfect on the fact that Survivor, American Idol, American Inventor, Amazing Race, etc...are all finished. Some finished the way I wanted and some didn't. Just to prove that I really need to get a hobby, I looked up in Wikipedia to identify a list of reality shows of which I have seen at least one episode. Mind you, there are only very few regulars, and I will star those that I intentionally watch so that you don't think I'm a complete moron with way too little to keep me busy. But here they are (drumroll....) Airline Amazing Race*** American Chopper American Idol*** American Inventor*** America's Next Top Model The Anna Nicole Show The Apprentice*** Average Joe The Bachelor (Used to be a ***, but they never stay together so I skipped the last series) Th...

Our house is inhabited by creatures of all sorts, but now we are two less in number. A year ago, Hero Guy and Brainy Boy adopted two silver-dollar-sized painted turtles and we've been caring for them ever since. But due to huge appetites they have doubled their size over the winter and I have decided that the care and keeping is no longer providing adequate anjoyment. I'm speaking both of the enjoyment of the turtles who are getting too big for their habitat and regularly attempt escape and the enjoyment of Sweet Ones on whose behalf the turtles were acquired in the first place. It's not that they aren't adorable, as Sheila and Flippers are quite cute. And it's not that it's so much work, because other than feeding and occasional suctioning goo out of the bottom of the tank, they really don't require a lot of effort, even though Sweet Ones don't do any of it. It's just that with summer pending, the weather getting warmer and the turtles gettin...

You that Lil' Chic and Brainy Boy just learned to ride their bikes . Hero Guy and I decided that with camping trips coming up and summer quickly arriving, he and I also needed to grab us a couple so we could go riding as a family. In serious Hero Guy style, no sooner did I mention the idea than we were out of the house in a flash to scope out the selection, not at a proper bike shop, but the the old favorite 'have-anything-you-need from bread to socks' Walmart. The selection proved to be good, the price proved to be right, and the color proved to be suitable. We each found budget-variety, run-of-the-mill bikes for around $70. No sooner had we gotten them loaded into the back of the monster truck than we were planning our first outing for as soon as the kiddos arrived home from school. A quick trek over to the local park with riding path proved that $70 gets you a bike frame, two wheels and not much more. We looked good, but the riding was a bit rough. First of all,...

I was minding my own business, cleaning (what I should have been doing) or blogging (what I probably was actually doing) when the action happened. I didn't hear anything, didn't notice anything, didn't have any reason to suspect anything out of the ordinary. I meandered downstairs to replenish my supply of paper towels when I noticed that Hyperdog had made a mess out of one of the cat toys. I didn't remember having a cat toy with so many feathers on it, and generally, when we buy feathered cat toys, the feathers are bright--like pink, or blue even green. These were brown, and there were just so many. All over the living room carpet. Generally when hyperdog destroys one of the cat toys, she looks very satisfied, like she has again doled out the proper punishment for leaving the toy around where it doesn't belong. For some reason, in this instance, both Hyperdog and Monsterpaw (THE paws) were looking pleased and self-satisfied. Closer inspection revealed th...

This guy's my uncle. He's 8 years older than me. With my dad being the oldest of 10 kids, my grandma still had kids at home by the time my dad was getting started with life. This guy was my hero when I was growing up--sort of the big brother role, but with a little more novelty than a constant bully and boss hanging around. He certainly did his share of bossing and bullying, but I took it all in stride since I thought he was an incredibly big deal. Since he was the youngest of 10 kids, but older than all the grandkids, he took full advantage and made the best of his position in life. One aspect of him being more 'mature and world-wise' was that he required treatment of proper respect and authority. Thus, I, and my cousins, were expected to boost his ego by calling him by his rightful name "Huncle". This classy moniker had the unique combination of the relationship (uncle) and his self-proclamation of him being a teenage 'hunk'. Since growing up,...

Brainy boy has flat feet. Not just any flat feet, but flaaaaat feet. I became aware of this when he was about 4, and my sister snickered as he stepped out of the swimming pool. "What?" I asked realizing that something about my perfect little angel struck her funny. We both peered down at the water-print from his feet. Something about the fact that the print was more like a little triangle rather than a heel print with a skinny part leading to the front of the foot made us giggle. Looking back, I realized that his baby prints from the hospital were pretty much the same, so he apparently was born with this little anomoly. At the next scheduled physical I made a note to ask the pediatrician if this was a big deal, and she assured me that pes planus (the medical term) is actually quite common and generally not problematic. The next couple of years showed no symptoms, until about two years ago. Suddenly, Brainy Boy, who doesn't carry much interest in organized sports ...

Five things in my purse: 1) Dental floss. 2) Cuticle oil for my fingernails (and I use it at least once a day). 3) Fisherman's Friend throat lozenges (left over from my laryngitis). 4) Pocket calendar. (I keep this one in addition to the one on my computer desk, the one on my fridge, and the one I tote around with me to meetings). 5) Last week's grocery list with accompanying receipt. Five things in my closet: 1) At least 12 workout shirts with coordinating shorts. 2) The same number of pants that currently do not fit me, that hopefully will in the next six weeks. 3) An extra vacuum cleaner than has no proper foot (but it vacuums goofed-up haircut remains really well). 4) The Kitty Wiz (the failed attempt at toilet training my cat). 5) A step stool (to shove the ill-fitting shorts to the very back of the closet shelf and then reach them when I'm in the mood to try them on for size). Five things in my fridge: 1) Slimfast Optima (which promises to make me 3 inches taller and...

I found this cute site called " Monday Madness " where a question is posed every Monday and you can answer it in your blog. Today's question is: How many simple things have you learned to appreciate more for one reason or another? 1) Warm Saturday mornings where the breeze is blowing, the sun is shining and I can sit on the porch drinking my coffee, reading book. 2) Watching the hummingbirds drink from the feeder attached to my sliding glass door. 3) Hearing my kids burst through the door after school in the afternoons, all excited to be home. 4) Having my husband IM me from work just to say 'hi'. 5) A new set of workout clothes.

Based on last night's birthday sleepover of three 10-year olds and an 11-year-old boy, in the last 24 hours, they are made of: 2 large cheese pizzas, two 2-liters of soda, an 8-pack of Sunny D, another 8-pack of chocolate milk, 1/2-gallon of white milk, 1/2 of a 1/4-sheet cake, 4 boxes of Cracker Jacks, 8 packages of assorted Grips snacks, 4 packages of cheese/peanut butter crackers, 20 chocolate chip pancakes, 8 waffles with syrup, 1 can of chicken noodle soup, four packages of Easy Mac and whatever else that got eaten too quickly for me to inventory. In addition, all these ingredients can survive on 2 hours of sleep, 10 hours of XBOX along with four rounds of 'army' and a game of 'touchdown' for fuel. Lucky for me, one little sister begged to take Little Chic home for the night, so I didn't have a whiney-pot complaining about 'nobody to play with'. As they say, 'A good time was had by all'.

For my regular readers, you might find comments by some new names. I recently joined this group of awesome bloggers - Blogging Chicks...You'll find the blogroll (list of all the members) down on the right if you want to check out the blogs of some of these other girls.

As ill-equipped as I am to have plants flourish under my care, Little Chic has been blessed with an inbred green thumb. She loves plants, tends to them, remembers to water them, fusses over them every day and they just grow. She was thrilled when I bought her a couple of the little 'water-and-grow' kits where you soak a dried up dirt clod in water and it expands to 10 times its original size and fluffs up into potting soil. The seeds are included along with a miniature clay pot and if you are lucky and the seeds aren't too old, a few days of waiting will produce a flower, herb or whatever variety of plant you've selected. Last Friday afternoon, Caroline followed her directions to the letter and planted her morning glories. After two days of waiting for Eric to plant his kit of forget-me-nots, she took over his flowers and claimed them as her own as well. She was so excited when a few days later, sprouts showed up, and by the end of the week, she had little stalks o...

Picture this....you dash into the grocery store to grab a few needed items, run out in a hurry, unlock the van door with your clicker-thingy, hop in as you toss the bag into the passenger seat next to you and attempt to insert the key into the ignition. The key doesn't fit. WEIRD. You take a quick glance around and realize your groceries are sitting on top of some papers that you don't remember leaving in the passenger seat. You glance behind you quickly, only to realize there is a car seat in the back, and your kids haven't sat in a car seat for several years. It suddenly dawns on you that you are in the twilight zone....No, you are in the wrong vehicle. That actually happened to me today. The strange thing is, it is the second time it has happened to me in the last four years since I bought my van. When we originally shopped around for a van, my first one ever, I had only a couple of requirements. One was that we had to have a passenger door on each side of the va...

A ccent - A little bit northern with a few southern twangs thrown in for good measure. B ook of the Bible - I read the book of Psalms a lot, but I am starting to learn a lot about the book of John and I really like it. C hore I don't like - Empyting the trash. D og or cat - CAT!! E ssential electronic - My microwave (otherwise my kids wouldn't eat)! F avorite cologne - Rice flower and shea body spray from Bath & Body works. G old or silver - Silver (white gold, actually). H andbag - A new & different one for each season and I get rid of them after the season. Current one looks like the top of a pair of jeans complete with real fly, belt, pockets and belt loops courtesy of my sister, Amy. (I'll be keeping that one, of course). I nsomnia - Only if I take an afternoon nap on Sunday or sleep in too late on Saturday. J ob title - SAHM, at-home transcriptionist, PTA president K ids - 2 little people who were individually designed just for me. My brainy boy is 10 a...

I've been the mom to a son for the past 10 Mother's Days. I've had a Mother's Day with a daughter for 8. In reflection on how life changes once you become the caretaker and provider of love and nourishment for another person, I've realized that some experiences happen only to those people who have taken on that role. In honor of my 2 kids, here are 10 things that are great, superb, jolly, good and positive about being a mom, and then 8 things that could be categorized as unfortunate, sad, negative, icky or such. 10a) It's great to have kids who burst through the door every afternoon after school and have their heart jump with joy when they see you. 10b) It's not so great when you're in a restaurant and you realize that you dripped yellow mustard all over the baby's legs, new outfit and it's soaked into your entire lap as well....even worse when the mustard is warm and doesn't smell like mustard should. 9a) It's great to have kids love ...

Bet you've never seen this before: "Feel free to relax. Your children are welcome to wait in our lobby unsupervized while you tan." Well, I saw it. For real. Last night when I went to my local tanning salon. Now, I would actually take advantage of this offer being that my kids are almost 9 yrs and 10 yrs, and they would welcome a chance to sit and play their Gameboys uninterrupted while I soak a few rays. They know they'd have a mean mommy if they caused any trouble while I am fake-baking. But I suppose I figured the receptionist would be hanging around, keeping the kids entertained if needed and out of mischief if required. Apparently cleaning the beds and setting the bed timers while chatting on the phone with your boyfriend requires too much concentration to keep a hairy eyeball on the clients' children while the parent is otherwise occupied. So they say 'We just want you to know, your kids will be 'on their own' but feel free to let them loo...

That would be 'hero' spelled backward. Now normally, I am his biggest fan because of all the macho-bravery stuff he does every day. But today, I'm just a little irked! The story is this. A couple of weeks before Palm Sunday I got a wicked virus that kept me feeling yuck for almost 3 weeks. I went to the Dr. who insisted it was sinus, but it felt more like the flu to me with laryngitis, headache, coughing incessantly and the like. I finally kicked it, but not before missing the church cantata I had a solo in, and passing it on to my beloved. He too, suffered, moaning and groaning for about 3 weeks (much more loudly than I, of course) and went on a business trip before he was fully recovered. He 'forgot' to take with him the remainder of his medicine and came home just about as miserable as he had been at the start of his sickness. His diagnosis, from a different doctor, was Coxsackie Virus (hand, foot, mouth disease) so who knows if we each had the same thin...

Yeah, well, most of you know from previous posts that I am not a real strong candidate in the Home Ec department. I require cleanliness and attempt at tidiness, but the decorating situation at the Olsen's is nothing to make a special trip for. I love having a house that looks like it is from the pages of Home & Garden or even the Log Home catalog, but truly I hate nothing more than getting it that way. Once it's done, I'm all about it, enjoying every minute, but the process of decorating, arranging and fixing up just does not hold any creative appeal for me whatsoever. It is with this preface that I admit that today, yes, May 11, I am just taking down the last of my winter decor. That would include 2 or 3 snowman knickknacks and a couple of garland sprays that have pinecones and other such 'cold weather' connotations. I tell myself and others that I take down my Christmas decorations halfway through January and I take down my snowman stuff before Easter. T...

With Mother's Day coming on the heels of my birthday, Eric's birthday and John's looming right after Mother's Day is over, I've reverted to an age-old, time-tested method of providing reminders and hints via my daughter. I used to have to go right to the source and say that although I was positive John had picked out just the right gift for me, I saw 'so-and-so' that I'd really like. I didn't do this because John slacks in the gift department. He is a fantastic gift selector. I just needed to make sure he actually remembered....for my own peace of mind. Sly boy that he is, he usually had already made some sort of plans, but invariably, he'd add my suggestion to whatever gift he'd already lined up and I wouldn't have to fret all week that he had forgotten. BUT, this year, I found a gift that I'll be giving to my children. It is the "Understand Your Mother peppermint flavor breath spray". I don't need to give it to ...

I came home in a rush today, all out of sync with my routine schedule. Because of a field trip with Brainy Boy on Friday, I missed my regular Friday grocery shopping. We were able to limp through the weekend with the groceries I had on hand, but by today we were 'food-poor'. So between kickboxing and an after-lunch PTA meeting, I jetted to Super Walmart to buy the staples to get us through until Friday rolls around again. Not wanting to leave the groceries in the car through our summer-like afternoon, I zipped into the house to fling the cold stuff into the refrigerator. Being in such a hurry to get the kids from school in time for Brownie Scouts, I didn't give more than a cursory glance inside. Didn't notice anything. Nada. Nuttin'. Zip. When we returned from our various afternoon stops, I proceeded to make dinner. I did notice that the chicken I took out of the refrigerator seemed curiously room-temp. And then I noticed that the cheese had that left-out-...

Little Chic has owned a cat for about two years. It was her dream from the time she was about two years old until she was six when 'Bobcat' arrived at our house. The thing is, John barely toelrates the kitty. He really hates cat fur. I, on the other hand, totally and absolutely uh-dore this animal and I keep trying to 'steal' her away from Little Chic. I think the cat acts hilarious, I think she is beautiful and I think she provides more entertainment than about any other living creature residing in our household. She's actually not really that affectionate, which for some reason, is part of her appeal to me. She is pleasant enough, but in typical cat-like fashion, she chooses if and when she allows you to dote on her. If you even pretend that you are going to get close enough to pet her, she scampers away until she is good and ready to be fondled. As a result, I am on a daily mission to chase her around the house trying to convince her to be my lap cat. It...

I just spent one of the most miserable hours watching a common children's game. Technically it was soccer, but routinely call it 'magnet ball'. I love this term, because it relates to pretty much every sport that the 10-and-under crowd plays. It can be used with basketball, T-ball, soccer, or any other game where the children should be playing as a team. It comes from the tendency for each player to completely forget any drill, practice or position they've learned and just spring into action, glue themselves shoulder-to-shoulder into a little clump and follow the ball around the field. Not much gets accomplished in a game like this, but all the players come off the field smiling because they got lots of glimpses of the ball in between everyone else's feet. The misery wasn't because of the action on the field, but because of the weather. We've had a string of days from paradise, and this morning's blustery, rainy conditions made me slowly freeze to...

As mentioned in an earlier post this week, our weather has been exceedingly beautiful. In fact, every year I live in upstate NY, our weather seems to get milder. We have actually had a decent spring with summer-like temperatures occasionally. With this, brings about profuse complaining from Little Chic who is perpetually hot. Combine that with school buildings that still have their heat on full-blast as if we live at the Arctic Circle. Under normal winter conditions, Little Chic will fuss and whine about having to wear socks of all things with her shoes, protest loudly about having to wear long sleeves much less any sort of jacket and insists that her legs will NOT get cold while wading through snow on the way to church if she wears a dress without stockings. Because of her propensity for imaginary hot flashes I thought it a bit odd that she has been dragging out summer shirts these last few weeks and pairing them with, of all things, pants! Today when I asked why she didn't...

I AM: A reality TV nut I WANT: To be able to run 5 miles without stopping I WISH: I weren't such a procrastinator of things I don't want to do I HATE: Bread pudding I LOVE: Gooey desserts I MISS: My in-laws living in town I FEAR: My kids getting seriously hurt or sick I HEAR: The Xbox and TV running simultaneously I WONDER: Why God has blessed me so much I REGRET: Not having my sister as my maid of honor in my wedding I AM NOT: Artistic I DANCE: Like somebody who never dances I SING: The exact same lullaby twice every single night (Hush Little Baby to each kid) I CRY: When I'm frustrated I AM NOT ALWAYS: Tidy I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: Lots of lists and calendars I WRITE: With little tiny printing I CONFUSE: My kids when I lecture them too much I NEED: To connect with at least one friend every single day I SHOULD: Do more transcription and less web surfing I START: Lots of projects I FINISH: Reading every magazine I can get my hands on (cover to cover)

It's hard to believe, but it's true. I'm the mom to a kid who has been alive a decade. My recent birthday didn't make me feel as old as his 10th does! This little guy was a life-changing blessing to me. I married thinking I didn't ever want kids. Luckily, God knew I did and gave them to me anyway once He knew I was ready. Being a mom to he and his sister revealed the authentic me. I'll never be the same. Here are the top 10 things I love about my kid: 1) He plays army out in the front yard with no self-consciousness of the car passengers thinking he's a nut. 2) He loves to read even more than I do - anything from history books to comic books. 3) He is truly the most spiritually astute child I've ever met. His quirk is that he prays before he eats his bowl of cereal in the morning. Both of them. And then again for his milk. 4) Nothing makes him more upset than when somebody is mean to one of his friends. He's out for justice when that happens...

I've had an embarrassing little secret for the last few years...my kid does not know how to ride his bike. Oh, okay, I'll be honest. Neither of my kids knows how to ride their bikes. The 'situation' started out pretty normal-like when Eric was around 5. Both kids had small two-wheeler bikes with training wheels and although we have no place for them to ride at home, I would haul the bikes into the back of the van and trek us down to the nearest park to practice. After about 15-20 minutes of riding up and down the bike paths, the kids would get distracted by the playground and the biking would be finished. This continued for 2 summers or so and the training wheels never came off. Then last summer, finally John and I got desperate and we bought the kids brand new 'big-kid' bikes without training wheels, new bike helmets and the whole she-bang in order to get the kids all excited. It actually worked for the first 15 minutes or so until they realized that the ...