One of THOSE mornings...

Yep... it was one of THOSE mornings this morning. Started out great. Got the girls breakfast, dressed, playing nicely.  We decided we had time to do a quick toenail polish and then take a walk. (Mistake number one... never think you have time to do a "quick" anything... that's when things always go wrong!). We got the nail polish bag (a ziplock with all the bottles, remover and stained rags in it) and started scrubbing. Both girls had the old off, the new on. Everything was going according to plan (Mistake number two... things never go according to plan, at least not in my world). The ziploc bag fell off the couch and the bottles spilled out of the bag onto the carpet. No big deal, right? Just closed bottles. So the youngest got down and started putting them back in the bag, while I worked on finishing the oldest. Then I heard a word not always good to hear when working with nail polish... "uh-oh". I looked down and there was red polish all over her hand. Uh oh is right. Then I looked for the source, thinking a lid came off somewhere. But I wasn't so lucky. I found the source... a bottle broke when hitting another one on the way down. Ok... so clean her hand off, and then deal with the bag. Easy enough. Except when I moved the bag I noticed the polish on the carpet. Great. Fantastic. So I moved the bag off of the spot, and pursued cleaning a little polished palm and fingers. That done, I moved the bag to get it taken care of, and noticed another spot on the carpet under the bag. What?!?! How did that get there? Looking closer I notice the bag doesn't just have polish on the inside and outside, it's leaking...dripping... on the carpet. Fabulous. I rush the bag to the bathroom sink... think twice and put it in the trash can. Figured it could stay there while I work on the carpet. How do you get it off the carpet? I look it up online, to find that you should use non-acetone remover. But of course all I have is acetone... I try it. Kind of works, but it smears all over. Great. I look up other methods. Try Windex, one says.. and use a cold wet cloth. I do (all the while keeping the girls out of the mess, which for whatever reason they gravitate towards it like flies to fly paper).  It kind of works, so I figure I can cut out whatever doesn't get out. That fire out I'm feeling okay. Then I remember the mess in the trash can still yet to deal with. I could just throw it away, but I'd be tossing 20 bottles of different colors... tempting... instead I opt for cleaning it out, with a big sigh, I grab the bag and decide it would be smart to get latex gloves on. And of course the box is empty. Ugh. One by one I clean the bottles of nail polish, and opt to throw out the last 3 that's swimming in the bottom of the bag. Then I clean the sink as it has polish in it from the leaking ziploc bag. Lastly I clean my hands, which are full of polish as well. In the end, the toes got polished, the walk didn't happen, and I got a cleaning lesson. Oh.. and yes, red was the color of the polish, tan is the color of the carpet. Things never go according to plan.

The perk of a small town

I've lived in many cities... some big, some little, and some in between. Where we are now is one of the smallest I've called myself an actual resident. Moving from a 150,000 population to a 6,000 population has had it's ups and downs. There are some differences, believe it or not, to living in the smaller town. Some of the difference are things we never would have thought about until living here. Yes, we miss great restaurants, coffee shops that are open late, and the like. We all know there's no traffic to compare to the big city. Nope... can't compare that one at all.  One sign you're in a small town... there's no wait to get your driver's license, or to pay for your license plates. In the big town you take a number, wait an hour or so, and then are handed a plate. In the small town, you don't wait more than 2 minutes, and then when you do get to pay, they actually help you pick out your plates numbers and letters. Another perk to small town living... the local donut shop. I went there one day and learned I didn't have cash on me... they don't take credit. But they will take your word that you'll pay the next day. Crazy, right? I don't think that ever would happen in the big town... even if you were best friends with the cashier and was in-laws with the baker. In the small town you can go to the clothing store and take a dress "on approval"... that is, take it home. If you like it, come back and pay for it. If not, just return. Pretty sure that's not allowed at JC Penny or the Buckle last time I checked. Living in a small town you do need to be creative sometimes with things to do, especially in the winter when the weather is crummy. Tonight we went to Cabelas, and walked around. The highlight for the girls was trying on life jackets for the boat, and then "sweeping" the floor with pink snow brushes. Hey... whatever works, right? Life in a small town can sometimes be frustrating, but taking a step back to look at life, forcing one to slow down can be a good thing.

A color wheel? Really?!?!?

As a parent, we do things we didn't think not only we'd be doing, but we find ourselves discussing them, in great detail, to other parents. Who, in return, have just as good of stories to tell back. You know what I'm talking about... the gross stuff. The boogies, the burps, the vomits, and yes, the poops. What's interesting is that pre-kid, you wouldn't really talk about it. After kids, bring it on! And if you can find someone to share it with you, even better. I found myself talking with a friend about such subjects the other day, and the wonderful subject of poo came up. Not just about it, but the color of it. Amazing stuff it is (and now, if you're not into kids or a parent, this is where you will probably stop reading... no hurt feelings). In fact, it's so amazing and intriguing, that if you google such key words, you will get over 639,000 webpages addressing such topic. Just over the color. And did you know, you can even get a color wheel, explaining it all? A color wheel? What?!?! I thought those are just in art class to teach primarys, secondarys, blends... not to decipher poop color. And now, you too, are intruigued, and just make look at the color wheel yourself. And if you want to discuss it, I'm open to such talks. Yep, I'm a mom. And proud of those little "talks". Bring it on.

Oh man! I forgot it again!

Have you ever had a day where you swear you left your memory somewhere... like in another town, in bed, your other pants... somewhere besides in your head? I often think this (more often than I want to admit really). I had this thought today when grocery shopping. I was feeling fairly good at having found most of what was on my list, even a few things I had forgotten (big surprise, right?) to write down. We head to the check out and realize I forgot some crackers. So we head all the way to the back corner of the store, pick them up, and head back to the check out. We get all the way there and realize that we forgot (there's that word again) to get some juice. Where's the juice but in the far back corner, one aisle down from the crackers. So back we go. Got the juice, and back to the check out. Keep in mind that I had the super long bus cart that has the extra 2 seats attached for the girls to ride in. Overall it goes faster in the big cart, but momma gets a good workout with that thing! It's not like the store is 5 miles long, but when you're pushing a full cart plus 2 kids in it at a pretty good pace, you can really burn some calories! We check out, get home and go on with our day (praying we didn't forget anything. And as I'm writing this I remember that I forgot (yep... again) that I left softener salt out on the back porch, just waiting to be brought in. Now if I could only remember where I put the...

Oh wait....

We decided that we needed to finally get rid of our 70's style doors in our house. You know... the hollow, stained with time and paint, mini-dented up doors with bright yellow brass handles. (Works for some, but not for us).  We were up for it, being somewhat do-it-yourselfers (probably not a real word, but you get it). So we got to work. We discovered most doors were standard size, but two of them were too narrow and had to be special ordered. So we ordered them, didn't really have a choice. I guess we could leave half our doors replaced and half old.... not really. The store called this week that they were in, so we took a trip to Sterling to pick them up from that big orange store. Quick trip in and out. (yeah right... how many times does that really happen?)  Already paid for the doors upon ordering so all we have to do is pick them up, and take them home. Oh wait... while hubby gets the doors, can I pick up some clay pots for the aquarium? No problem, those are cheap. Oh wait... and while you're doing that... can you look for some stones to put in for the fish? No problem, in the next area, those are easy too. Oh wait... and while you're in that area, can you get me a small plant for my office? No problem, easy.  So off I go with the girls, and on my way I spot some cleaner for the shower, put that in the cart too. Got the plant, check. Pots, check. Stones, check. Let's get out of here. Oh wait... while we're here let's just LOOK at exterior doors for the front and see what's in stock, what we may need to order, etc. Let's just look . And we do. And we find a door that's 50% off. And not damaged. Unheard of. We debate for about 2 min and go for it. That also means new door hardwear, and oh yeah, you'll need to paint a UV coating on it to protect it from sun damage. Check.  Oh, and the threshold that comes with the door is that bright yellow gold you were trying to get rid of on the old doors, so we'll need to fix that somehow... Finally, 45 min later, what should have been an in and out trip ended up being a few more things. Funny how that happens in that store. Somehow the possibilities of newer carpet, different paint, fixtures, inspires us to pile on more projects, that we somehow don't have time for but eventually get done. And every time we swear the next house will not be a fixer upper.

Call me "Anastasia"

I found out that I'm from Russia the other day. Yep... turns out I'm really a mail-order bride. That's right... a mail-order bride... from Russia. St. Petersburg to be exact. My husband ordered me (www.russianbrides.com) to save me and my parents from the Gulag... (that's basically the Soviet prison camps). He brought us to beautiful America. However, my parents have no working Visa (shhh... don't tell anyone), so they live the in basement of our house in hiding. Occasionally we let them out to play in the back yard, but have to keep it quiet so they aren't found and sent back.They are great dog poop scoopers, though.  I'm safe due to marriage. But my husband didn't want us to be embarrassed or have others know how we met, so he didn't let me out much either until my English was at the level of most American's and I could disguise my Russian accent. If you listen, occasionally if I get frustrated it will sneak out.

What?!?!?? (you say to yourself) When did this happen? Wow! You're good! Really?!? I've been to your house and have never seen anyone living in the basement??!!?! Yep, we're that good. Truth is, that's the story my husband told at a work team-building event the other day. And now everyone thinks I'm a mail order bride from Russia. So I better work on some Russian stories. I'll just google some phrases and places so I can fake it, I guess... ironic isn't it? An American faking to be a Russian who's faking to be an American? I had to look up Gulag to learn about wherxcde and when, etc.... or did I?

Rest in Peace, Tadpole Cece

Needed to have a funeral today in our bathroom... our tadpole Cece passed away this afternoon... somewhere around 2 p.m. Not sure if she was survived by any family... not sure if she was a she... Cece came to us in the mail, which is probably what made the outcome. You see, we purchased a Grow a Frog kit for our 3 year old's birthday. It's pretty cool . Comes with a "tadpool" for them to grow in, food, sand, and a mail in certificate that you send in to get your tadpole. Unfortunetly for Cece, (named by the 3 year old, who by the way names everything Cece), she came on New Years Eve, and we weren't home. Of course. And of course that was on a Saturday, which means the post office is closed on Sunday, and then Monday for the holiday. So we expected her on Tuesday. Only to find out that the little slip that says "we missed you" has fine print... our mail carrier didn't mark anything so we assumed it would just come the next day. Never assume. When it didn't arrive we discovered the fine print. You now have to go online, fill out a bunch of info, and tell them if you will pick it up or have it delivered. We chose delievered. So by the time the holidays were over, the mix up was figured out, poor Cece had been in a plastic bag inside of a styrofoam for cube for 16 days. Yikes! We carefully pulled the little bag out, and it was still moving! Hope... Read the instructions and discovered that you can't use tap or purified water, you must use spring water in it's little pool. Not sure about anyone else, but we don't really keep that in stock at our house. Better run to the store. $.89 for a gallon, not bad. Get the pool all set up, dump the tad pole in and watch it swim... and then sink... and then not move. Uh oh. If you bump the tank a little it moves, so we breathe a sigh of relief and leave it alone. And watch. First it sits there, then it starts to slowly tip and lay at a 45 degree angle. Now I have no experience what so ever with tadpoles, but I'm thinking that's not a good thing. About 30 minutes later we check on Cece, and she's swimming around, mainly at the top. Is this a good thing? Aren't they supposed to be head down, tail up and swimming down? Oh well... swimming is better than being still. In the morning the poor thing is still alive, but not moving as well. And this time we're not sinking... we're floating at the top, sometimes swimming and sometimes floating... but the mouth is still moving so that's some action, right? Later in the afternoon it's time to feed Cece. So I bring her out, and this time for sure she's dead. She doesn't respond, is floating at a 45, but her mouth moves a little. Again, hope... it's getting smaller that hope, but still there. We feed her in hopes it will excite, but pretty sure it's too late. We go for a walk. When we return, Cece has passed. It's be fun, the 24 hours we knew her. So full of life, she wanted to see the world (maybe). And now it's time to call the company and see if we can somehow get another one and try again. Maybe this time it will arrive faster, and maybe this time it will grow legs. It will probably be named Cece.

My nose is addicted to kleenex

I got the crud. The horrible worse than normal common cold crud. Ugh. I haven't been this sick in awhile. I suppose I was due. Normally it starts with the sore throat, but this time the sneezes hit. I was caught off guard! Then I lost my voice for 2 days. It was sad telling my girls no story time as I had no voice to tell a story with. Then came the cough... wet, or dry and itchy, they are all bad. So to the drug area of the store I go. Menthol, non menthol, daytime, nighttime, generic, name brand. Does it ever work? Tried to go the natural route with a syrup with honey. Didn't work. Went through 4 bags of Reeeeeeeeeeeee-cola though! And i think I have enough tea in my veins to be considered a Chinese herbalist... except I'm not Chinese... so maybe just an herbalist? Ended up with standard NyQuil to knock me out. Worked wonders. Amazing what sleep will do. Next time I'll just go straight to the strong drugs and forget the rest! Lesson learned.