though clouds do appear
So, what do you think?
Is this the right color outfit? It doesn’t make my butt look fat, does it? Do you think it brings out my eyes? Does it compliment my figure?
I LOVE IT!
A VERY special thanks to DCRMom over at Musings of a Housewife for doing such a great job of beautifying my blog. Isn’t she awesome? I think so.
Now go on over there and buy some new bloggy clothes for yourself!
…of a mother of 4.
Or really, 3 days.
We have some friends who have 5 children (one is away in the Navy) who went to Vegas* and needed someone to watch their children/house/dogs for a couple of days. This couple did a lot for Husband and I in our dating days, and so when the wife called me up to ask if I would be up to the task of watching her kiddos, I couldn’t have said yes quick enough. Plus, her kids are pretty awesome, so that helps in the decision-making process. This isn’t, however, something I would do for just anyone. Four kids is a big responsibility.
So Monday, in addition to having the four kids for the day (when they weren’t in school), I also had my regular “nanny” responsibility, which includes the 2 year old and 3 year old I’ve mentioned here before. Six children. Four of which are under the age of five. (Note to self: have someone shoot you if you ever have quadruplets.) And it was raining. (Note to self: check the weather report before you agree to house/baby/dog sit again.) Needless to say, between feeding the “four under five” lunch, running the twins to pre-school, going to Wal-Mart, trying to squeeze a nap in for my “nanny” kids, picking all four back up from school, all the while in a conversion van,(Note to self: as practical as they seem, they are never cool, never, please don’t every buy one. Remember that you’d rather carry six children on your back than drive one of these things.) then on to after-school snack, homework, and dinner, I was pretty excited to drive 45 minutes to school to have some adult time. Even though I was being lectured the whole time. (Haha, I made a funny!)
Today was a little less hectic (surprisingly) since I had work and the twins didn’t have preschool and their Aunt watched them until I got off of work. The twins, I mean, the older 2 have school all day every day. Although I still had to cart them home, help with homework, do my own homework and then turn around a take a final (which I think I did alright on).
Tomorrow is the last day I’ll have them. It will resemble today, except that I don’t have class and so I can spend my last night with them, well, with them.
As much as I’ve enjoyed this experience, I gotta tell ya, it is the most effective form of birth control I’ve met yet (As a side note, I really think that condoms are the least effective. Not necessarily because they don’t work, but because they’re not so much fun to use, if you catch my drift. I mean, I hate using them, and so I prefer not to, and I do believe that that is how babies are born. Anyway.). Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to be a mom; I’d jump at the chance if my husband were here and we had a house to actually put a child in; but I would never want to be thrust into it full force, right off the bat. (Just so you know, I do know that that’s not how it usually happens, I’m just saying)
So that’s my day in the life. I hope you’ve enjoyed it, and I’m sure all you moms out there are like yeah, and? But I’m here to tell you that I started with none and did a pretty darn good job with four, by myself for 4-ish days. Accident free. I think that qualifies me for a medal, no?
*Um, they’re not like party people, the husband actually had a conference there** and the wife was allowed to come along for the ride.
**I’m not sure why anyone would schedule a conference in Vegas if they actually want to get anything accomplished.
“You look like Kristin Cavalleri!” she yelled over the crowd
“Really?!”
“Yeah, you really do, she’s your celebrity twin!”
I pride myself in being able to find a person’s celebrity twin. I can’t do it with every person, and sometimes it takes me a while to figure it out, but when I do, I’m always spot on. Seriously. Whenever I finally make a connection and share it with other people, most of them agree with me.
I haven’t been able to figure mine out though. I think it has something to do with the fact that I see myself too frequently or something. But whatever, someone else figured it out for me. I suppose there could be worse people to resemble.
Here’s to you twinny.
From about the second I figured out that I was Italian, and had the ability to think, I have wanted to visit Italy.
Now, I’ll admit, that I’m not as Italian as my pride suggests.
My great grandfather came over from Italy when he was 13. Now, while I know that it’s not terribly far-removed from my generation, it’s the marrying-out of the Italian-ness that has me all blonde, blue-eyed, and whatnot. (Just so you know, I’m fully aware that Northern Italians are in fact blonde and blue-eyed, however, my great-grandfather is from Southern Italy, where the dark-haired, dark-skinned folks are from. Hence, my dilemma.)
Anyway, I’m Italian. And proud. I believe this is what we’ve established so far.
So, I tell you all of that, to tell you this.
My husband is deployed this year. (Newsflash!) He gets leave time, and I’m kind of a demanding wife in that I want to see him when he’s on leave.
So this is what we’ve been able to figure out: It’s freakin’ expensive to fly all the way to where he is, and vice versa. (Not to mention that his current location doesn’t so much inspire happy vacation thoughts in me, this seems to be only me, as most people who know his location think I’m nuts and would LOVE to vacation where he is, but I’m not them, and so I have no interest in it.) So we looked into meeting halfway. And you know what? It’s cheaper for us to meet in Rome, Italy than it is for us to buy a ticket for the other to go all the way to where the other is. Make sense? If not, here’s what I mean in a nutshell……
I’M GOING TO ITALY!!!!!!!
I know, right? I’m totally excited for me, too! It won’t be until LATE in the summer, like say August or so, but who cares? I’ll be able to see my husband! (in Italy!) And spend time with him! (in Italy!) And hang out, and chat, and do….married stuff! (in Italy!) And tour Rome! (in Italy, but that was kind of implied, huh?)
I almost can’t believe it, and probably won’t actually believe it until I land. IN ITALY!
My brother and some of his friends will be accompanying me on this trip for 2 reasons:
1. I hate flying. Instead of totally freaking out a stranger on the plane by digging my nails into his skin and grabbing onto his pants’ legs, I will make sure that it is my brother to whom this torture will belong.
2. He really wants to go to, and so who am I to stop him?
I know what you’re thinking. “You’re brother is going with you to Italy? Where you’ll meet up with your husband after having not seen him for 8 months. Won’t you want some, um, privacy?”
Yes we will. And we will have it.
Y’see, my brother’s, friend’s, parents (did you get that chain of people?) have a time-share, and they’re letting us use it to get TWO rooms (which are separate and apart from one another) and all we have to do is pay the fee (which is like $100-ish) for the week! It’s a steal I tell you, a steal!
So it’s all set. I’m going to Italy.
Oh, and seeing my husband too. Can’t forget that!
I miss you so much.
You’re skeptical, right?
I’ll admit, I was too. Very much so actually. I mean, when you talk to any valid nutritionist, they’ll tell you that you can’t really lose more than TWO pounds in one WEEK, much less 4 in one day.
But I’m here to tell you that it can actually happen.
IT HAPPENED FOR ME!
How you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. This is kind of a long, drawn out process, but it’s worth it for the results I tell you. Heck, I’ll probably keep doing it until I get down to my goal weight!
Ok, so here’s what I did.
For lunch on Wednesday, I had half of a Buffalo Chicken Wrap. It had blue cheese dressing on it, the chicken wasn’t grilled, it was breaded and fried.
Now you’re really skeptical, aren’t you?
So there must have been something bad in that wrap, because from about 9:00 that evening through to 3:30 the next morning, I spent some serious quality time with just about every toilet in my house. (and someone else’s toilet, because it started at a friend’s house, nice right?)
Short of totally grossing you out, I will say that I didn’t know that I had that much…um…..fluids/solids in me at any point throughout the day.
Anyway, I got on the scale the next morning and sure enough, I lost 4 pounds. In. One. Day.
Maybe bulemics have the right idea, no?
Ok, so those of you who know me in real life (and really anyone else whose been reading long enough) knows that if Vera Bradley puts it out, I usually want it.
That included her china patterns, so when I registered for my wedding, I registered for the Java Blue (the Vera flava of the week) china. Except I’m not so crazy about the elephant on the dessert plate, coffee mug, or soup bowl, and so I decided that I didn’t really want any of the porcelain china, just the majolica china in the java blue color. (My logic behind that was that it didn’t make sense to me to only have a porcelain dinner plate and everything else majolica).
Fast forward a bit. I didn’t actually get much of my china. Just some dinner plates, a cake stand, a charger or 2 and the vase that matches it all. I really love(d) it……until, I saw this, which is stunning. (This is the Majolica that goes with it) Plus, I would still be able to paint my dining room (the one that’s in the house that I don’t have yet) chocolate brown, which was something I planned to do to coordinate with the other china.
So my question to you dear internets is this:
What the heck should I do?
Do I sell what I have (except for the vase, you can never have too many GORGEOUS vases) on ebay and delve into (slowly) purchasing the other stuff since it’s obvious that I love it so much?
I haven’t used any of what I have even once AND I still have the original boxes that it all came in. It’s actually all being stored in the boxes as we speak!
Enlighten my as to what my next steps should be friends, for I am lost!
(Although, I’m sure you all know what I really want to do, and that I really just need you to validate what I’m feeling. So go ahead, give me the answer that I want….)
Back in highschool, during one of our Youth Group Retreats, one of my peers stood up to do a comedy routine during our free time. Like every other student present, I was prepared to give a pity laugh here and there, because there was no way that he was actually going to be funny.
Well, he wasn’t.
It turns out that he was “performing” the comedy routine of an actual comedian; one he had memorized, after listening to his CD so many times. It was hilarious. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place, we were all laughing so hard. And crying from laughing. Immediately after he finished, I remember peppering him with questions.
How can I find this CD? Do they still make it? WHO IS THAT GUY?
“Have you ever heard of Brian Regan?” he asked.
“No! Is that who it is?” I replied
“Yup, you should check him out.”
So I did, and then bought the CD right away. I listened to it and laughed some more. I made my family listen to it and they too laughed. We all thought he was so funny. Plus he wasn’t, like, dirty. He rarely uses any profanity and the content is really clean as well. As a family, we were sold. Especially my little brother Ben. He loved him so much, that a couple of years ago, I bought him Brian Regan’s CD for Christmas.
This year, Brian Regan’s tour is bringing him ’round these parts, and for Ben’s birthday (which isn’t actually until June) we’re going to see him live. Tonight.
I am SO excited. So is Ben. I’ll let you know how it goes.
*you won’t actually get this unless you’ve heard his CD, guess you’ll have to buy it and find out!
Green = Go!
Short bleep of my horn = It’s green, and your turn to go, so you should take your turn.
Long-blaring of my horn = DID YOU NOT HEAR THE SHORT BLEEP?! MOVE!
