Friday Update

Aluminum bottle Update:

When shopping for my favorite tea at the Mustard Seed in Solon, I found that they carried reusable aluminum water bottles right next to the tea. How did I miss them last month? They are very similar to the ones I purchased online and apparently paid too much for. They are a little smaller but a lot cheaper. They also carry plastic water bottles that are said to be toxin free. They are very inexpensive. I also found a cool water bottle made of corn. It will eventually break down after 90 washings. You can't throw it in the dishwasher so that wouldn't work for me. Too many germs at the playground for me. Gotta have the sani rinse.

Worm Update:

Now that I have spilled the beans about being pregnant, you can understand one more reason I couldn't continue the worm composting. The smell was killing me. When I am pregnant, any smell is magnified. Food that is breaking down or rotting gives off a pungent odor. I had trouble opening the container because of the smell.

Today my little boy was watching a robin pull out worms from our backyard. Out of the blue he said "Mommy, I hope that bird isn't eating our kitchen worms." Good thing I got rid of them as quick as I did. I had no idea the boys were so attached.

Cupcake Update:

Today, while my youngest son was at speech therapy and my other son had a playdate, I quickly ran to the grocery store for one thing. Cupcakes. Pink frosted, white cupcakes. I purchased another package and hid them in the car until the kids were playing their video game. I smuggled them in and hid them in a cloth bag to make no noise. If I keep this up, I will gain 70 lbs with this pregnancy. Oh, but what fun!

All is Good

This morning, I had a medical scare. I won't go into details but I thought I was miscarrying my baby. I dropped my oldest off at school, called the doctor, my husband and then had to wait. I had to wait over an hour or so to get into the doctor for an ultrasound. It was a very long hour. I am usually an optimist. But, I didn't have a good feeling about this. So, I sat patiently watching my youngest son play at a park near the doctor's office. My husband was meeting me there to watch my son.

So, as I sat at a park waiting for my doctor appointment, I felt a warm sensation on my right shoulder. It took a minute to register since I was busy thinking about my baby. The warm sensation was bird poop. A bird pooped on my shirt while I was sitting and thinking about my family's future. My pessimism turned to optimism. I called my sister "If a bird poops on you, isn't it good luck?" She sure was confused since I was nearly crying five minutes before on the phone with her. "Yes, I think it is."

I have no idea why people say it is good luck but it made me laugh. I went from tears of sadness to tears of laughter in one minute. Good luck or just silly? Well, my ultrasound showed a very healthy, heart beating baby. So, I will say good luck.

Madge Still Has It

Last week, Madonna released Hard Candy. I tried to resist buying it. I really did. I felt that I outgrew Madonna. She moved to England and I grew up. I was so over Madonna. Well, I was over her until she hooked up with Justin Timberlake and Timberland. I love her new song "4 Minutes" with Justin Timberlake. I started to read reviews and to my surprise, they were good. And just my luck, the CD was on sale at Target for $9.99. How could I walk on by and not give it a shot?


So, instead of running errands, I hurried through the album listening to each song. It is really good and I was shocked. If you exercise to music, you need this CD. Almost every song is a dance song with a great beat. Justin Timberlake helped write a lot of the songs and sings on a few. The Neptunes along with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake helped produce the album. Kanye West helps out on a great dance song "Beat Goes On." Madonna surrounded herself with current players and created a very modern, danceable CD.


When was the last time you bought a CD? Are you listening to children's music in your van? You deserve something modern and adult. Do it. Take a chance on some Hard Candy. Madonna will satisfy.

No Test Needed

Cupcakes. I am smuggling cupcakes. I will not share cupcakes with anyone. I hide them from my children. I hide them from my husband. I have been smuggling them for about eight weeks or so. Vanilla cupcakes. Can’t be chocolate or foo foo flavored. Store bought too. I don’t care much for homemade cupcakes. I like the icky, sweet icing too. None of that whipped icing. I like the old fashioned sweet, sweet icing.

I always love cupcakes or cake but I really crave it when I am pregnant. Yes, you read that correctly. We are pregnant with our third child. And from guessing from how I am feeling and what I have been eating, I am going on the record that it is a boy. My third boy.

Another thing that I eat when I am pregnant is meat. I normally am not a huge meat eater. But the week before I knew I was pregnant, I came home from the grocery store with five dinners planned with meat. Red meat. Steak. Hamburgers. That is so not me. My husband noticed and I brushed it off. How did I miss that sign? I hardly ever buy steaks or red meat.

So, while I have attempted to post about silly things going on my life, I was dying to tell you about my cupcakes and meat. I needed to share the information first with the people around me first. Now that most of them know, I can be more honest and open with what is going on. Now, you must excuse me, I have two cupcakes left that are calling my name.

Things Not to Teach Just Yet

When my oldest son was nearly 2, a dear friend came out of our bathroom and proudly said, "I just taught Ryan how to flush the toilet." She didn't have kids yet and thought she was doing me a favor.

A few weeks ago, my dear husband showed my oldest son how to give a wet willy. While my husband gets to escape daily to work, I am left with a five year old who thinks it is the funniest thing in the world to do to mom.

A couple of days ago, my dear husband was tickling our sons. I looked over and he was getting ready to give Ryan a wedgie. Yes, a wedgie. I gave him the look from hell. Luckily he stopped.

Yes, kids will learn the good and and the bad in time. We can't protect them or ourselves from everything. It is all about timing and survival.

Go To Jail & Do Not Collect $200

"Mommy, are you peeding?" said Kyle who has a problem with articulation.

"Kyle, do mean speeding?"

"Yes. Are you speeding, mommy?"

"No, why?" I asked.

"Because I want you to go to jail."

"Did you say jail?"

"Yes. I want you to go to jail," said Kyle.

"Why do you want me to go to jail?"

"Because when you are in jail, I want Daddy to take me to Chuck E. Cheese."

"Can't mommy just go shopping or take a nap?"

Kids Don't Scream For Icecream

Last evening, my sister and I met at our childhood home to meet for dinner. We had a hankering for Don Pancho's in Alliance. It isn't the best Mexican restaurant we've ever been to but it is consistently good and cheap. It is loud and a little obnoxious. Perfect place to bring 4 preschoolers and a newborn. We talked our Dad into going with us. When we walked in, I could feel the whole restaurant cringe. We looked like a mob. The kids ran ahead following the greeter and I ran behind them screaming for them to wait for us.


Dinner went well. Better than can be expected. Lack of volume control when talking was really the only problem. No worries. Well until an older couple came over to us. I thought she looked unhappy. It took me a minute to figure out what she was saying. She said her husband was worried when we sat down with so many kids and wanted to change seats. But they couldn't believe how good our kids were being. They wanted to send icecream over to the table to thank the children. Isn't that great?


We didn't want the tide to turn. So we quickly finished up our meal, grabbed the check and herded the flock towards the door. It was a great evening with our Dad and children that I am sure none of us will ever forget.



Note: Jessica asked yesterday where I bought my aluminum bottles. There are many sites. I went with Online Fitness. I wanted a different color for each child and myself so we could keep them straight. I also liked the sports top of the bottles of the Sport Classic. On some sites, you have to order the sports tops separately. You also have to pay an extra $5 per bottle for the tops on some sites. Hope this helps!