Don't Call it a Comeback

A few weeks ago, I tried to think of what made me happy and satisfied. The real stuff that makes me happy. Not the superficial stuff that makes me happy for a hour like a new lipstick. But, what makes my life feel more complete. So I made a list of stuff I needed to do. On this list was to make more of an effort to get together with friends. So, I called together my girlfriends for a wine night. And then I said yes to another girl friend that wanted us to all get together for dinner. My calendar started to fill up, I was getting out and I am feeling very happy.

Last night at dinner with friends, my old blog came up. I was encouraged to keep writing. When you write, you assume no one really is reading or caring if you do. So instead, I have exercised at night instead of writing and have been completely obsessed by Bejeweled. (A Facebook game or an app that you can download. Beware: You will be unable to function if you download it and get even a tiny bit good at it. If you are competitive, you will spend hours trying to beat your friends and relatives.)

So, I am attempting a come back here. No major promises. I will just see how it goes. With Elle, I am still finding it extremely difficult to keep up. As I write, two basket full of clothes sit in my hallway and I have a sink full of dishes (and a broken dishwasher). But, one of my friends says you make time for things that are important to you. I guess I can squeeze a few minutes in on my main computer to write and put the iPad down for Bejeweled. And if you start playing, I will see you on main score page and I hope to beat you.

Vegas Baby!

Imagine walking into a casino and hitting the jackpot the first time. Wow! You'd think you had the magic touch and that everyone else were losers. Being a parent is sort of like a slot machine. You may come up a winner in the sleep and eating category but your baby has poop issues. Or if you have a good pooper, I bet you had trouble potting training. Or if your baby doesn't have any issues yet, hold on because you will hate the toddler years. Still none? Good luck with the teenage years.


You get lucky once and awhile. Elle is a great sleeper most of the time. Thank goodness. This mama is too tired for anything like Ryan threw at me as a baby (or even sometimes now). I am not a better mother as you may have said in your mind. I have done nothing at all different. SHE is different.


When you only have one child and your child is a good sleeper, you think you are the master of all things sleep. If you have an eater, you think the parents of the bad eater are wimps. And if you are parent of a child that hates the vacuum, you Google. Yep, you Google to find out that you are not alone.


Elle is DEATHLY AFRAID of anything that makes white noise. Yes, sensory issues the experts would say. I have tried a bunch of solutions that I found online. I hit rock bottom yesterday when a surprise guest showed up at 9 am at my TRASHED, and I mean TRASHED house. Floors unvacuumed for a least a month. Breakfast and lunch stuff everywhere. I wanted to die. If you know me, you know there is nothing worse than people seeing our house a mess. Yes, the spoiled life of a housewife in Ohio. Such troubles. But really, it makes me absolutely crazy.



I hit rock bottom with the mess. I introduced Elle to the evil sweeper. I let her touch it. We covered our ears to show it would be loud. I told her I was plugging it in. And we vacuumed the front room together quickly while holding her and singing. And I gave her four M & M's to bribe her to do it again. And guess what? It worked. And mama is much happier. She didn't even cry. So today, we are onto the living room and tomorrow, my bedroom. One room a day until she is used to it.

So I write this so that other mothers with 15 month old babies will find this online. You can vacuum your house with a baby that hates vacuums. Just try. And for the mothers out there with other kid and baby issues. Please know that experienced mothers know that we all struggle with something. My husband and I always try to remind ourselves that this is a stage. It will pass. They won't go to college in diapers. Well, at least we hope.

It Gets Better

I love that so many people are speaking out in this country. We have celebrities like Ellen, Anderson Cooper and so many more making statements against bullying. Regular people are also speaking out. I found this clip today and I just love it. I hope you will too. Spread the word. Beautiful like a Rainbow.

Visit this link to watch a video clip that will make your heart smile and cry all at the same time.

Watch for more than the first minute! I love when everyone joins in at the end.

Something Different

Time with little children can go painfully slow on a lazy Saturday or Sunday. We like to get out of the house and do something. For us, it is having lunch or dinner out. We eat out quite a bit for a family with three kids. I have had enough of the usual. I used to like bar food. But after 8 years of taking the kids to a fast, noisy kind of restaurant, I am getting tired of it.

Recently, we had a friend in from Cinci. He is the person that got us saying "I am not talking about it, I am just saying." We took a gamble and decided to try a newer restaurant. I am so glad that we did. You MUST visit Brewsters in Twinsburg.

When we first moved here, they were located next to Giant Eagle and it was called Arabica. Then, they changed their name. They then moved next to Gander Mountain down by the China Buffet and the highway. They took the Beef O'Brady restaurant and made it cozy with booths and better decor.

Why is it worth the trip (especially for you Solon people who don't like to drive ten minutes South into Twinsburg)? Their food is amazing. They take bar food and they kick it up a notch (or three notches). I was so shocked that I think my husband wanted to tell me to quit talking about how surprised I was. I ordered the turkey pesto panini and the chili combo. Awesome. The kids loved their food. Husband loved the sports on the TV's and our guest loved the beer. This past weekend, I saw on Twitter (You can follow them to see their specials) that they had a Browns burger, fries and beer combo during the Browns game for $5.00. Got to love Twinsburg prices.

The quality of the food is fantastic. And for all of you party animals, they have music on the weekends and great prices on wine and martinis. Prices are perfect and you will be pleasantly surprised. You must try Brewsters.

I have received nothing for this post. I just wanted to share the love. And if you have kids, ask your server to let you know what they have on their "kids menu." For some reason, they don't have it printed out. Totally kid friendly but for some reason, they are missing the paper version.

The Universe is Still Speaking to Me

OK. This past weekend, I wrote about feeling good about who I am. I have received a lot of feedback from my readers. I like to write and it shocks me that anyone likes to read my posts. So thank you to everyone that reached out through Facebook and email to let me know how much they enjoyed reading my post.




I was watching the news last night. I love Diane Sawyer almost as much as Oprah. She had on a great news clip from Sesame Street. You must see it. Click here to see a new character they just added. I apologize for the horrible toilet paper commercial you have to sit through to see the clip. The commercial is really awful and I might write about that another day. That is the best they can do for moms? And the moms are so frumpy. You'll see.

And here is the Sesame Street song without the news report. I loved the story that went with it. So, I think both clips are worth seeing.

The universe is still speaking to us. I am enough. You are enough. We are enough. Exactly how we are. Right now. We are enough.

Getting Closer

"She is so weird." I heard a dear friend say about me in college. At the time, it broke my heart. I was crushed. Back then, I didn't realize we are all weird. Only as I have grown up do I realize that we are all weird in some way or another. My friend T says we all have our "thing." For some it may be a lifelong fight with body image, a medical condition, family relations or a strong dislike of veggies. We all have our thing. She is so right.

Tonight I was reading "The Mixed-Up Chamelon" by Eric Carle chosen by Kyle. And Ryan picked out "A Bad Case of Stripes" by David Shannon. Both books deal with self-image and being true to yourself. For those of you without children, imagine "Closer to Fine" by the Indigo Girls in child book format. I thought it was strange that both children picked out books with the same message and on the same night. Then I started to get paranoid and wondered what message the universe was sending me tonight.

I am 38 and I am still working on being closer to fine. It is a constant struggle to ignore the self doubt, the negative messages that I say to myself and be who I am. Doesn't it sometimes seem like the rest of the world doesn't feel the same way? Does Heidi Klum wake up and feel ugly sometimes? Does Hillary Clinton ever forget the essential grocery item to complete a recipe? Does Oprah ever feel unfulfilled in her life? I am sure all have our insecurities and struggle. It just doesn't feel that way sometimes.

So you know, tonight, I am throwing my "things" out into the universe. I struggle with the following in no particular order: old acne scars, a tummy that is never flat enough, I don't eat healthy enough, I should go to church more, I am bad about calling friends, I spend too much time on the internet, my junk drawers in my kitchen are a mess, my kids toys are a real mess, their rooms are too, my room is a mess too right now, I can't get clothes put away after I wash my laundry, I miss some old friends, I wish I had more money, I sometimes want to work, I like when the kids get on the bus and I am home with just the baby, I drink too much tea, I eat too much sugar, I wish I could go to Las Vegas every other month, I love dancing at clubs, I drink too much when out dancing, I laugh too loud, I watch too much TV, I love crappy Real Housewives crummy TV, I don't like books that Oprah recommends, I listen to almost everything Oprah says, I am critical of people, I wonder about God and the starving people in the world, I wish I was a better person that volunteered with the poor, I color my hair too often, I can't stand clutter, I have a tooth that needs bleached and it drives me crazy, I dress like an old lady sometimes...

See how crazy this all is? It is the negative self-talk that I could come up with in only three minutes. Nuts. It is and I know we all do it. So, yes, I am weird dear friends. We all are. And I am OK with it. I am getting there. Slowly. And that is OK with me.

If you'd like to hear Closer to Fine click on this link. Love the Indigo Girls!

Peace My Friends

About 20 years ago, I was in a peace project called the Ulster Project. They bring Catholic and Protestant teenagers to America, pair them up with American teenagers and plan a month of really fun activities. I was paired with Emily and soon began a wonderful friendship that has lasted twenty years.

A couple of months ago, I received an invite to Emily's wedding. It sat. And sat. I just couldn't send back the reply. I knew that I wanted to go but how could I? It would be expensive and crazy to try. And then one day, I found a super cheap flight. Called my husband and begged. It would be over Labor Day and I would be gone only two work days. I could cover it so that it would somehow work. Then I called dad and he said he'd come too. Then my sister said she had to come and my little sister said she couldn't stay at home if we were in Ireland.

So, this weekend, Indy's family will journey on some crazy timed cheapo flights and land in Dublin where we will be greeted by two of the nicest women we know. We will then stay with them and take in a wonderful small town near Belfast. We will meet up with Ulster Project friends and show Dad the wonderful place he has sent us so many times. And he will stay for a couple of weeks and get to know Ireland.

I am so grateful that I have this chance to go. After losing my mom two years ago, I am more aware that this is a once in a lifetime chance to get to travel to Ireland with my dad. So a huge thank you to my husband for making this dream trip a reality. It means more to me than anyone would ever know. And to my friends in Ireland who are letting us stay with them, thank you. We could never pay to stay somewhere for all of the days. You are blessing us with your company and hospitality. In the Ulster Project, we had a song called "Friends and Friends Forever." I remember crying when Emily left and feeling a huge void that I thought would never be filled. We have truly made our friendships last. I am so blessed.

My family and one of our Irish teens back in the late 80's. I am the goofy one with plaid shorts.