I have an irrational attachment to bedding

Here's where I admit some of my own quirkiness.....I love bedding. I love new bedding. I love nice bedding.

I fully admit that I have expensive taste when it comes to what I sleep on. Trouble is, I don't have the money to buy what I really want (which is something like 600 thread count egyptian cotton). So I was pretty excited when I (1) realized we had quite a bit of cashback bonus built up on our Discover cards, and (2) that JC Penny was having a very nice sale on their bedding sets. Now, I still couldn't afford the really nice stuff, but I did manage to get a $300 (regular retail) comforter set that also had a matching "bonus" quilt, and a 400 thread count cotton sateen sheet set to match.....for only $20 out of my own pocket, once I used my cashback. Not too shabby! I ordered online, which made me a bit nervous, sight unseen.

It arrived today. The comforter and quilt are both so pretty! Not sure yet what I'm going to do with this quilt...but I'll figure something out. I can not wait to get in my bed tonight. It is going to be SO comfortable, not to mention rewarding, after all the work I had to do.

You see, I'm incapable of simply putting new sheets and covers on my bed. Oh no...that would be far too simple. I must first completely clean my room (and of course, wash the new bedding). I stripped the bed (obviously), and pulled everything out from under it. I swept under there (seriously I don't know when the last time I did that was....it was a jungle under there!), swiffered, and then put everything back where it belonged. I also dusted everything, and mopped the floor (we have wood floors). You know, when I do cleaning like this, one thing always leads to another. When all was said and done, I'd spent 2 hours in that room! Did I mention that I also vacuumed the matress itself? The only thing I didn't get to was the curtains....I'll save that for another day.

Now, all of this could have probably been done in half the time....had I not had 2 small children "helping" me. Jacob was just being a pest tonight, getting in to things he shouldn't have, being obnoxious, and well, being three. And Simon....well, it seems that Simon's love for household supplies goes way beyond the plunger. I literally had to fight him for the broom, swiffer, vacuum, and mop. Holy moly....it was a scene! He was quite literally trying to pull the stuff out of my hands while I was using it! Of course, the result of all of this was that I "won" the tug of war, and Simon ended up screaming and crying while Jacob continued to act like a mad-man.

Oh, and to top it all off, the basement flooded in the midst of all of this. I was at the point of no return in my room (you know, when all of the crap is loaded on top of the bed, and I couldn't just stop what I was doing....it had to get done). So Brian was in the basement trying to unclog the drain and get all the muck and grime off of the floor down there, so I was on my own upstairs with 2 screaming kids and a bedroom that looked like it had exploded. Oh yeah....and we were quickly approaching bed time.

But now both kids are in bed (only one is asleep....Simon wore himself out cleaning I guess. Jacob has been in bed for 2 hours, but I just saw him 10 minutes ago taking his millionth trip to the potty. He's a master staller). My room is cleaner than it's been in months. I'm showered and exhausted, so I'll be climbing in between my nice, new sheets very soon.

The only thing that I need (well, want) now is new curtains to match my pretty new bedding. Not sure when I'll be able to buy that though....could be a while. Of course, I'm not sure I can handle them right now....I'd have to do another deep clean in my room, which I'm not going to be up to for quite some time!

Our Tuesday Afternoon (a little story)

Simon has a new obsession. I can't seem to keep him away from it. I try very hard to keep the bathroom door close/locked, but with a 3 year old who needs pretty much constant access to the potty, and a 1 year old who is way too fast for his own good....well, let's just say I can't be everywhere at once. Perhaps he wants to be a plumber?

"Who, Me?"

In order to keep Simon occupied (and Jacob happy)

we decided to take the boys outside to play. Jacob did a great job keeping Simon entertained. As you can see, they were both having a blast! Jacob is such a good brother (when he wants to be, that is)! Corky was just chillin' while the kiddos played.

Later, Jacob was worn out!

He chilled on the couch watching a movie. But while we were all relaxing.....

I found Simon doing this

I swear, I had just shut this door!

I am blessed

Well, I made it to the grocery last night. It was tiring, and I ended up standing in line for what seemed like forever. It was exhausting putting all the stuff away when I got home. But as I was doing just that, I started thinking about how truly lucky I am. I am able to stock my cabinets, fridge and freezer to overflowing twice a month. The food I buy is of decent quality and will feed us all 3 meals a day plus some extras (I bought stuff to make choclate chip cookies and pudding, as well as some chips and goldfish crackers this time). How many people in this county/world can't do that? Too many.

I'm blessed in that I don't have to choose between paying my bills and feeding my kids. I can afford both, every month. We even have a modest Christmas and vacation budget each month, as well as "fun" money (to go out to eat, rent movies, etc) with a small amount left over for savings. Granted, things would be much tighter if we had to pay a mortage or utilities (which we don't thanks to Brian's job), but that alone makes me even more thankful...that we don't have to deal with these payments right now, as we attempt to pay down our (ever decreasing) debt.

Yes, I am very lucky. We have food on our table, a roof over our heads, clothes to wear....but most of all we have each other. I have two wonderfully healthy, happy kids and a husband who is truly the love of my life. We have a huge extended family, most of which would drop everything to help us if we needed it.

So next time I start to get disgruntled over having to do such boring tasks like putting away groceries or sitting down to pay the bills, or even give the kids a bath or change a stinky diaper, I will remind myself how very blessed I am.

menu planning and shopping off of a list

So for the last few weeks, I've tried my hand at actual menu planning. I make a list of about 2 weeks worth of meals (I don't worry much about which meal goes with which day), make a grocery list of what I will need for those meals, and head to the grocery store. It works great. The trouble is, today I just don't want to go to the store. I simply don't feel like it. I'll grumble about it a bit, but eventually I will get there. Why? Because we are essentially out of food at this house. Well, that's not exactly true. We did make a trip to the farmers market and the butcher shop yesterday, so we have meat and a drawer full of fresh produce. Too bad I don't have more essentials. Anyway, I thought it would help if I motivated myself further by typing out my meals. This always makes me excited about the meals of the coming weeks. These are just my dinner ideas, as lunch and breakfast are much less formal, and I just make sure to keep a variety of lunch foods on hand.

Meal #1
peppersteak & rice
green beans
rolls

Meal #2
crock pot chicken tacos
mexican rice

Meal #3
pork chops and apple sauce
mac-n-cheese

Meal #4
turkey sloppy joes
tater tots

Meal #5
oven baked panko chicken nuggets
carrots
rice-a-roni

Meal #6
crockpot lasagna
garlic bread
salad

Meal #7
chicken fried rice
egg rolls

Meal #8
honey baked lentils with sausage
basil tomato/cucumber salad
carrots

Meal#8
tilapia piccata
baked potatos
broccoli

Meal #9
Italian pork chops
Rosemary potatos
salad

Meal #10
sweet & sour pork
asian veggies
jasmine rice

Meal #11
grilled pork tenderloin
corn
baked beans

Some of this stuff is really basic. I need at least a few meals like that for the days I work later than normal, or days that I'm just plain tired. That happens a lot as a working mom! The nice thing about doing it like this, is that I have a list to shop off of, and should be able to get most of the things I will need for the next 2 weeks in one trip. I'll need to make a few side trips for milk, bread, and juice, as we don't have the storage space to keep all of that sort of stuff for a whole 2 weeks. We go through a LOT of milk and juice!

My husband and me

Uh....It seems I don't have any decent pictures of either of us by ourselves. In fact, the only halfway decent picture of myself is on your right, and it was taken well over a year ago! Anyway, I'll introduce myself here. I'm Mandy. I struggle with exactly how to identify myself sometimes, as it seems that everything that defines me connects me to another person or place. I'm wife to Brian and mom to two great kids. I work 30 hours a week as a physical therapist assistant at a nursing home. I like my job well enough, but I'm pretty sure I could make a full time job out of just keeping this house in order. Of course, keeping any sense of order in this house would require my kids to remain in day care at least part time anyway, since I can't get a thing done with them here. I'm hoping that is just an age thing with them, and that as they get older, I'll be able to trust them to play by themselves for a decent amount of time without disasterous consequences! Before the kiddos came along, I was a memeber of my city's philharmonic chorus. I love to sing, and I especially love choral music. It moves me. I quit that when I was pregnant with Jacob (standing too long just wore me out). I havn't gone back yet, but I'm hoping to make a return when my kids are a bit older and less demanding of my time.

My husband works in residence life at a local university. To get a picture of what he looks like, just look at Jacob's picture and add 27 years. We met 11 years ago while we were both students in college (actually, the same university that he works at now!). It's funny, we havn't even moved out of the immediate neighborhood. As part of his job compensation, we live in university housing (thankfully we are now in a house, instead of trying to raise the kids in a residence hall, which is where we lived at first). We married a year after we graduated, and are about to celebrate our 5th anniverary. So much has changed in our lives in those 5 short years, yet I still love him as much as I ever did. I am so lucky to have him in my life!

And this is the little one

This is Simon (age 1), doing what he loves most....eating! This child loves food. Most of it anyway. And what he doesn't like, he is sure to let us know by simply picking it up and dropping it off the side of his high chair. I think he's figured out that whatever lands on the floor gets immediately eaten by the dog. Now Simon is a kid after my own heart. Not only does he love food, but he likes to sleep in in the mornings. In fact, if it weren't for his brother waking so early, I think he might sleep until noon (ok, maybe not, but at least 9:30 or so)! Now, if only I could get him to sleep all night, instead of waking 3 or 4 times. He's a happy little guy, and spends most of his days trying desperately to keep up with his big brother (who he thinks hung the moon).

Meet my oldest

Look at those blue eyes! This is Jacob. He's 3 1/2. He's what I refer to as my "spirited child" (and I use that term quite endearingly). He wears his emotions on his sleeve. I wish I had just a quarter of the energy this child has. It would make it possible for me to not only exist, but to thrive on the amount of sleep I'm "allowed" to get each night. He wakes each morning way before the rest of us are ready to get going, and he is ready to start his day. Immediately. Mark my words, he will never require a cup of coffee to function for the day. And he goes full throttle all. day. long. He does stop for a nap, but only because his day care makes him (and I follow suit on the weekends, mostly for my own sanity).

Jumping in the "blog" wagon

I've heard much about this blogging thing. Honestly, I never thought much about it. But as I've read a few blogs as I've surfed the net, it occured to me. Hey....I have thoughts! Maybe, just maybe someone might find them interesting.



Or....maybe not. Of course, I'm "just" a mom. My life can be pretty, well, predictable. Afterall, my life goes pretty much like this: I wake up. I get the kids ready for their day (well, my dear husband helps with that part, bless him). I drive the kids to day care. I go to work. If I'm lucky, I get off work with enough time to stop home and collect my thoughts (or clean a room, or get dinner pre-started). I pick up the kids, come home, eat dinner, clean up dinner, bathe kids, and put them to bed. If I'm lucky, I can steal some time to be with my husband, or just with myself, before I go to bed and get barely enough sleep to start all over again.

But it's in this day to day activity that I'm finding, more often than not, my life really is an exciting adventure - at least to me. I'm watching my boys grow up more and more every day. They are truly amazing little guys. They make me laugh, cry, and everything in between every day. I'm learning about myself and even amazing myself at what I can accomplish.

So why start blogging? I've always loved the idea of journaling. I enjoy getting my thoughts out on paper. But it seems almost silly to me. No one's ever going to read the stuff I write, so what's the point, really? At least with this, I can pretend that someone's reading. And hey, maybe someone is. And maybe that someone will get a little enjoyement out of reaind about my daily ponderings (or weekly....let's not kid ourselve. Like I'll have time for this every day!).

Anyway, whoever's reading....hope you enjoy!