Busy, busy bee, that's me!

So, if I'm gonna be completely honest (and a blog is a good place to do so), I am normally lazy enough to give myself plenty of time on the good ol' 'puter. Often my cute little HP Mini is another appendage. (Sending out this quick shout-out to my Hubster for the ever-so-thoughtful birthday gift!) However, the past few days I've actually been busy.

~Saturday I helped Husby with the Tacoma Wedding Expo. Afterwards, we had dinner out with D, T & Lex at Adriatic Grill.

~Sunday was a baby shower for my soon-to-be-born-Goddaughter (daughter of D & T). :) That was an all day affair. Okay, the shower wasn't all day, but I did help with set up, some of the tear down & had LOTS of visiting.

~Monday my grandparents came over for dinner. I planned on making meatloaf. Meatloaf requires the oven. Upon preheating the oven to make lunch for my husband and daughter, I noticed while rushing around doing the oh-my-goodness-someone-is-coming-over-so-I-gotta-clean-and clean-fast shuffle that my oven had smoke billowing out of it. So, the kid & the hubster got PB&J & I got to go research to to clean a gas oven.

I am ashamed to say that I've never "actually" cleaned an oven. Yeah, I've got the gunk out, but not really used real, grown up, oven cleaner & scrubbed. But, I had to on Monday. My husband reheated some pizza in the oven, directly on the rack. While he swears that it wasn't his pizza (and all the oil that MUST have dripped off of it) that made the oven smoke, it didn't smoke BEFORE he reheated his pizza. I'm just sayin'.

AnyHOO - I made turkey meatloaf (amazing, if I do say so myself), mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli, & rolls. Had a great visit with my grandparents.

~Tuesday we had some Ang & Kyle over for dinner. I made lasagna. This was only my 2nd attempt at making lasagna, but I'm not tooting my own horn when I say that I think I did pretty damned good. Ang & Kyle brought salad & dessert (brownie bites & Tahitian Vanilla Bean gelato). Dinner was grubbin' & company was RAD. We played Catch Phrase. Girls won 2 out of 3 rounds. Hell yeah!

~Wednesday (today) we started the day out with tax prep. Yeah, we should be done. But we're SO not. Ugh. Help Hubster out with that for a while, had some de-lish leftover lasagna, then the cable guy arrived. Our Internets connection had been unstable at best. It's now fixed.

While the cable guy worked on cable-y things & Hubster did tax stuff, I organized my closet, part of the top of my dresser (it's the ULTIMATE catch-all), and also hit my bathroom counter & vanity. I feel a bit less like an upcoming episode of Hoarders (or Buried Alive: Hoarders) after that. I then TRULY deep cleaned the oven, did some dishes & rewarded myself with some cookies (Luscious Lemon Tea Cookies - eating the rest now). I worked on a bit of laundry, but decided that I was done cleaning for the night.

Made a VERY gourmet meal for Loodle & I tonight - lil' smokies, mac & cheese, & raw carrots. The BEST part of the meal... Loodle requested the carrots!

Did some more dishes (why did I cook ANYTHING?!?!?!), some more laundry,too. While doing more laundry, I noticed how TOTALLY messy the 1/2 bath downstairs looked. So, I dusted the walls, dusted the pictures & shelves (nick-knacks, too), rearranged the nick-knacks, cleaned the toilet, mirror & sink. I didn't clean the floor because it gets cleaned a few times a week - when Loodle pees on it. :) Guess I shouldn't complain - I'd rather she pee on the tile floor instead of the carpet. (Aaahhh - the joys of potty training!)

Truly, I'm done now. Not with the whole house. Oh, far from it. I'm just hoping that I can have more energy tomorrow. It would be GREAT to get some more Spring Cleaning done. Here's hoping that I can go thru the whole house. Do me a favor & cross you fingers for me. And keep 'em crossed, okay? (Because that's what it will take, folks)

~Thursday (tomorrow) we have a roof guy coming. He's got to go into our attic (thus the cleaning of the closet - the access point is thru the closet ceiling) to check out the possible mold situation. Yep - we found out that our roof isn't properly vented (too MANY vents = improper air circulation) and as a result may have mold issues. Aaaahhhh - the joys of home ownership. I also have another tax-date with the hubster in the AM. (Don't be jealous) After that, I'm hoping for more spring cleaning. Yay!

In family news - I have a new sister. My dad & step mom adopted a beautiful little girl. That makes my total sibling count 6 (3 sisters, 3 brothers). Yes, I am 30... with a sister that's 1 year old. Mine is a very modern family. My family pretty much rocks. I love my family.

In Loodle news - I am pretty certain of the following fact: she gets cooler each day. AND sassier. And I'm also pretty sure she gets cuter daily, too. She is REALLY into a hugging & kissing stage right now. She adores cuddles, too. I am very pleased that she offers up so many hugs & kisses lately that I don't think I could even count the number of free hugs & kisses I get.

We're also doing a new bedtime routine. After brushing teeth, washing face & combing hair (willingly on her part, I might add), we go to bed... rather she goes to bed and I get her room ready. I turn on her various night lights & the local jazz station (used to be classical, but the station doesn't come in well) and tuck her in. We then share more hugs & kisses, sing a song or two (it's been "Peter Cottontail" lately), & talk about "happy things."

She used to not offer up any "happy things," by that wasn't the case tonight:

Mommy: Tell me one happy thing...
Loodle: EASTER BUNNY!
Mommy: EASTER BUNNY?!?!?! Can you tell me one more happy thing?
Loodle: I pway with Audrey. (Audrey is a friend she met a few weeks ago)
Mommy: Yes, you did!
Loodle: An Oxin & Rocksan (Austin & Roxanne)
Mommy: Yes, Audrey's mommy & daddy. Can you tell me another happy thing?
Loodle: *taps her chin thoughtfully*
Mommy: Is helping a happy thing?
Loodle: Yes! I help with forks an' knives an' spoons!
Mommy: You do help me with dishes!
Loodle: An' laundry an' cwean my toys inna wivingwoom.
Mommy: You are my good helper.
Loodle: You are my FAY-BRIT mommy inna WHOLE world!!!
Mommy: *beams, hugs & smooches simultaneously*

Closing note: Must have hit the mouse pad & hit 'publish post' - kinda freaked out until I realized that I can at least do spell check. I almost lost my head for a minute... phew! VERY tired tho, so making zero promises on grammar and/or content. I just got razzed by Amy and felt like I'd better blog something tonight. I think I'll go eat some grapes & then hit the hay! No wonder the numbers on the scale keep going up...

Geriatrics, Idiots & Construction – Oh my!

Aside from falling asleep at 3:20 am and waking up at 8 am, today started out pretty well. Since I was up late doing dishes (or rather blogging and watching Hoarders), I made my coffee last night so that all I had to do was turn on the pot this morning. First problem solved. I’m a firm believer that chance favors the prepared mind. Perhaps someday I’ll be a firm practicer instead of just a believer. Heh, I’ll put that on my list of things to get to, someday.

Anyhoo…

It became apparent while helping Sir Handsome the Hubster get ready for the upcoming wedding show that I would have to go to the store for supplies, namely mints. So, as Hub was getting ready to leave to help set up the show, I got Loodle ready to head to Wal-Mart.
I feel the need to preface the following section by saying that I have nothing against older folks. Matter of fact, I get older each day. I do have something against older folks that drive but shouldn’t. It IS possible to be TOO cautious and cause an accident as a result of said caution.
On the plus side, it wasn’t a weekend. So, the crowds were much better than they could have been. On the downside – it must have been National Geriatric Driving Day. (Damn it, I didn’t send out cards!) On 4 separate occasions I got stuck behind either someone far too old and cautious to still be driving or just a general idiot.

(Cranky + Tired + Hungry Kid) (Road Construction +Geriatrics + Idiots) = Cussing Mom

The formula might not be written correctly, but regardless how you work it out, the answer is still the same.

Wal-Mart went pretty well, aside from the fact that I had about 5 items on my list and came out having spent around $100 (biz purchase of $12, personal purchase of $88, the giant, GIANT hairdo I saw at Wal-Mart - Priceless). Really expected my husband to flip his ever-lovin’ lid, but he took it well. I didn’t get anything too extravagant. Most of it was groceries… and none of it wonderful-fatty-goodness snacks.

After working my way past geriatrics, idiots & construction (oh my) – we hit up the bank.

Loodle KNOWS the TRUE purpose of banks. They’re the place that you visit for a free sucker (just like all 7-11’s are called “Slurkee” and all Starbucks are “Cookie House”). She was all over the place in the bank and must have lost her hearing the moment we stepped thru the doors, because she didn’t listen to me once. So that must be why she didn’t hear me say, “Girls who don’t listen to their mommies don’t get suckers at the bank.”

So, the fact that she didn’t get a sucker didn’t register until we were leaving. And then the meltdown happened.

“Oh NO! My suckah, my suckah!”

“You weren’t a good girl, so you don’t get a sucker”

{Hysterical sobbing}

“What my gon do NOW?”

{More sobbing as car seat is buckled}

“Vers nuffing to DO!”

You see, my 2 year old isn’t turning 3 on her next birthday. She’s actually going to be 14. She constantly tells me, “Vers nuffing to do.” She also got on my case in Wally-world today saying (whilst holding up her hand like a crossing guard making traffic stop), “Don’t make me MAD!” She’s also got pelvic moves better than me. Okay, maybe not quite better than me, but better than me at 16. I can thank “Alex Madamasmar” for that (aka Alex the Lion from Madagascar). She also talks on the phone like a CHAMP. Not always the real phone, mind you. She’s very hot & cold with that. But, when she’s on her play phone, she’ll pace the floor, switch ears & use phrases that Mom & Dad use. Thankfully they’ve all been good so far.

~~~~~
Brief break for Loodle’s bath
~~~~~

Tonight whilst bathing my daughter, I discovered one of her new vocab words. She grabbed the colloidal oatmeal from under the cupboard and informed me, “It’s hell-fee” (that was ‘healthy’ – in Loodle speak) I mean, I know it helps soothe her poor, eczema ridden skin. But to hear that phrase coming from her mouth…

After the bath, she informs me of the following fact, “Mommy, you’re my best fwiend.”

And on that sweet note – I’ll close. Can’t compete with THAT!

Well... it's 'officially' tomorrow...

... and that means that I resisted the urge to blog twice in one day. It was hard, but I did it. What, you may wonder, was so exciting about my day that I felt the urge to shout it from... well, somewhere really great/high/exciting? Nothing. Not a thing. It just comes back to that 'obsessive' thing. Why, for the love of everything holy, can't this quirk manifest itself in the cleanliness of my home? {insert dejected sigh here}

Ah well. I digress.

So, as it turns out, getting overly jazzed on vitamins, caffeine & 5-Hour Energy kinda makes it hard to focus. Okay, okay... maybe I already knew that. I would love to be able to report that my house is in such a state that it's fit for Better Homes & Gardens or Real Simple (both of which I love). But it's not. I did get a few things done - laundry is mostly caught up, pantry is somewhat organized, dishes are done & folks can traverse the living room without breaking their necks (what can I say... I love to leave my Little People toys all over!), my bed has fresh sheets and my dining room table is cleared off. This may not seem like a lot to some... but it is for this gal.

Now, as a reward, I'm indulging in one of my other obsessions - Hoarders. It's an amazing show on TLC. Okay.. maybe I'm overselling it. I am fully fascinated with it. It kinda motivates me to clean. And, if I'm gonna be completely honest, it makes me feel like I don't do such a bad job at my housekeeping. No, I'm not judging these people. They have a disorder. I'm just saying that on the spectrum of embarrassingly messy houses, mine is on the pretty mild side.

In Loodle News - she fascinates me daily (daily occurrences aren't news, I know). Of course, all parents say that. I also know that it would be cliche' to say that she's extraordinary and different from other kids. The truth of the matter is that each person... adult or kid... is different from every other person on earth. What I can say with confidence is that I'm glad that I'm biologically wired to be fascinated with my kid. It would really suck to spend day after day (after day after day) with someone that I didn't love to the core of my very being. And I'm pretty much in love with this kid.

So... what, you may ask did she do that was so awe inspiring today? Well... we had about 45 minutes of 'whisper time.' Not because I was playing the quiet game. No... that wasn't the case. SHE instituted it. Any time I tried to talk above a whisper, she very firmly reminded me to be quiet. What this whole game tells me is that I might have a future quiet game champ on my hands. Score!

She also is somewhat under the weather. Something every parent hates to see. But... there's this part of me that really enjoys the extra cuddles I get when she's sick. And I like hearing her say, "I need you." Also on the plus side is the fact that she's only got the sniffles, which is nothing, really.

Yowza. It's been an hour since I started this blog. Guess that's what happens when watching TV, blogging and trying to stay awake. On that note, I think I'll head to bed. Heck, who knows if this blog even makes sense. I'll probably read it tomorrow and shake my head in shame. Oh well. :oP

This blog goes out to Amy, queen of the world.

Well... my fist blog is off to a wonderful start. When I SHOULD be cleaning, I hit "publish" on my blog and lose the whole dag-blasted thing. Crap. I'll never be as insightful as I was before. Ah well... here's the poor-man's version of my previously splendiferous entry:

Those of you who know me, know that I'm an obsessive sort of gal. This is not a fact that I'm proud of... but if you should chose to read this blog with any regularity, it will become apparent rather quickly. Thus, I'm just gonna put it right out there.

One of my more recent obsessions was with my friend Amy's blog. I found it rather fun to read as she's a very clever and witty lady. You should read it, too. Upon reading her entire blog history (again, I'm obsessive), I decided to do my own blog. And so, here we are.

Additionally, as I've finished Amy's blog (until she makes another entry... hint hint), I'm looking for my next obsession. Any volunteers???

(As I'm writing this, I'm increasingly bothered by the lost blog that I almost had published. This one is FAR more lame. Crap.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And on to my ever-exciting life....

Today is a day-o-cleaning in this house. Spring cleaning, no. Out of absolute necessity, somewhat. Truly, today I will clean because I've ingested artificial energy in order to get my hiney in gear. Thank goodness for B-vitamins, caffeine, and 5-Hour Energy. Yep. I may be a housewife, but I'll never claim to be good at it. So, I look for 'fake' energy in order to motivate myself to do the things that most people do on a daily basis.

Since I lost all the tasty nuggets that I had in my lost post, I feel that I need to close with something great. And... since I'm drawing a blank, I'm gonna steal one of Amy's techniques and close with something that my daughter said/did. Something that made my mommy-heart simultaneously melt, burst with pride & swell with love all at the same time. Enjoy!

(I'll set the scene - Loodle and I are playing with her play jewelry on the floor... specifically her rings.)

Loodle: With dis ring, I vee wed. (places a ring on my pinky)
Me: (smiles so wide my face started to split)