Apparently I am missing something

Can someone please explain to me the wonderfulness of bubble baths? Everyone keeps telling me to treat myself to a bubble bath. Even Dove has gotten into the game! 

 WTF people?!

Judging by the amount of people who have told me to treat myself to a bubble bath, I am, apparently, of a very small minority who doesn’t get it. Perhaps my bathtub is too small? Although, once on vacation we had a big Jacuzzi tub and I wasn’t all that impressed. So what is so special about bubble baths. Do people really find them relaxing? I just feel like there is so many more things I could be doing. Is it just me?

Lily

Why I Suck at Life

I’m a procrastinator. Like an uber-procrastinator. This time I’ve really screwed myself. My in-laws watch our kids all year but ask for a few months off in the summer so they can enjoy life travel and just relax. I knew that come July we’d need to have another babysitter in place. I knew this. Yet, here I am 5 days from needing a new babysitter and I don’t have one. In my defense I have called around and no one is available but perhaps I would have had better odds if I made those calls before this week.

Not only am I a procrastinator but I’m also a terrible decision maker. So is the husband. Together we suck. We procrastinate until we absolutely have to do something, then we never know what the right decision is so we procrastinate some more. I’m not certain how our kids have survived. It’s really a vicious cycle.

So now here I am, days away from certain death, and I have no idea what to do. We’d like to have someone who lives in our town, that way in an emergency my in-laws are close (and I’m 20 minutes away), but one of the downsides of living in a small town and knowing everyone’s business is that you are well aware of people’s issues and don’t want to get involved in that mess. Ignorance is bliss when in desperate need of childcare sometimes.

So I’m praying to the childcare gods to plop someone in our laps (clearly this is a very effective childcare search tool) and save us from ourselves by next week. Hmmm, I wonder how much vacation time I have saved up. I might be (cough cough) sick on Monday…maybe even the next two months. I’m sure my boss would totally be ok if I called in sick for two months straight. 

Lily

So I will continue to be a pack rat

I am a pack rat. I keep everything just in case. My pack rat ways always seem to be reinforced just when I think I get a handle on it. You know how you get a new checkbook register each time you order checkbooks? You know how many lines each register has? The answer is a lot more than the number of checks in each checkbook. I was getting quite a collection of registers so I finally decided to throw them away. I felt a little triumphant tossing them in the garbage, like I was finally doing something about my hoarding. Until the following week when I realized I was at the end of my current register. Now I have no register and I still have three whole check books left. Figures.

I've learned another lesson too. Sticky notes come in handy when you run out of space in your checkbook register. Also, a person cannot have too many sticky notes. 

Lily

Pimp My Ride

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The time is coming for me to get a new car. Mine is slowly but surely on its way out. It’s 10 years old now and steadily there is more and more going wrong like the external temperature display isn’t working…the horror!. We’ve done a lot of soul searching discussing and we’ve determined that we need more than 5 seats. Yes, we are a family of 4 but we often have people riding with us and as we look to the future and our kids start having friends over we are going to need to fit more people in our car (especially with the bulky car seats being required until 80 pounds. My kids will be in high school before they are out of a booster). Not to mention that when my parents come up we have to take two cars to go somewhere, someone gets left behind, or one of us sits in the trunk. (It’s super safe, I swear. The spare tire that is in there because the latch broke that keeps it under the car is really good at keeping movement to a minimum.)

So we have been pouring over car websites trying to determine what is best for us. We could go with 7 passengers and get something like the Sorrento or the Explorer. We could go 8 passenger and get a Pilot or a Traverse. Or…we could…gulp…get a minivan. AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Perhaps the thought of a minivan wouldn’t be so traumatic if I wasn’t also turning 30 this year. It’s just, the thought of turning 30 and driving a minivan makes me…I don’t know, sad. I’m not a soccer mom! Next thing you know I’ll be buying mom jeans and getting excited about my husband building a shed in our backyard. Shit, that’s already happened. Why do minivans have to be so darn practical? It’s really rather inconvenient.

We haven’t decided one way or another yet but so far I’ve determined that if I’m going to give in and be a soccer mom get a minivan, I’m not going to settle. It’s the Honda Odyssey or nothing. Have you seen those things? It’s like a super pimped out mom-mobile! Add a little hydraulics and some sparkly paint and I could cruise even the toughest neighborhoods and get the respect of all those that laid eyes on my ride. Not to mention that I could keep the kids distracted while we roll past the drug dealers and working girls with the built-in DVD players with surround sound. Holla! (I should mention that we’d have to drive a long way to find any neighborhoods with drug dealers and working girls roaming the streets but look how handy those built-in DVD players would be so we could make the ride in peace!)

Now, the pimped out mom-mobile doesn’t come cheap. Actually it’s just as expensive as the nicest Pilot or Traverse you can get, so really, is it worth my anguish of owning a minivan? We shall see. Until then I will secretly daydream about cruisin’ ‘round town in my pimped out mom-mobile and cry in my mom jeans about what my life is coming to.

Lily

Instagram and...yeah, that's it, just Instagram

I have so many good stories from this weekend and the last few days. But meh, maybe I’ll tell you later. I don’t have the story telling juices right now. I’ve started 100 different blog posts in my head over the last several days but none of them seem to pan out. My mind goes in 1,000 directions all at once and it just seems like too much trouble.

I was hoping by just writing things would come to me but yeah, not so much.

Oh, I just remembered! I’m on Instagram now so if you have it you can search for me. I’m momnextdoorblog. Hit me up because it’s boring being there all by myself. I see the potential but kind of like a blog…and life, it’s more fun when you have friends.

Lily

 

Here kitty kitty

Via

So anyone who knows me knows I’m not an animal person. (I know! Stop throwing rotten vegetables! Or at least throw them at my parents, I blame them. It’s easier that way.) Being the non-animal lover that I am I don’t think I’m missing out on anything not having a pet.

But here’s the deal.

My kids LOVE cats. They see a cat and they get all excited and squeaky (which maybe would explain why cats love them back. They become rather mouse-like.) I feel it’s my motherly duty to “enrich” their lives by getting them their own brand new, shiny kitty.

Here’s the problem.

The husband…he does not feel it’s his fatherly duty to get a cat. (He’d much prefer a dog but he, and I agree, thinks that it’s just not a good time to have a dog.) I really don’t want to be cleaning up after a cat (God, that might mean I have to vacuum more than never!) and cleaning the litter box would not be high on my list of fun things to do with the extra 3.5 seconds I have in my day. I don’t even know what cleaning a litter box entails. I suspect it’s not pleasurable.

Oh, and did I mention that I have allergies? When I was a child I tested positive for cat and dog allergies (and also oranges, June grass, and chocolate – however, I ignore the recommendation to stay away from chocolate). My allergies come in handy when arguing against picking up a stray. But. My motherly instincts are telling me my children need a cat. (Or Bud might be sneaking into my room and whispering subliminal messages in my ear while I’m sleeping. I’m not positive.)

I don’t know who is going to “win” this argument. And really, will there be any winners? I guess my kids, but I think either way I lose. I’m either a horrible mother or I have to clean up after a cat. Neither situation is appealing.

The debate rages on…

Lily

I'm still alive

I'm not dead, just busy. Sorry I've been neglectful. I blame my job. It's being all inconsiderate and forcing me to do work instead of what I really want to do (blogging of course). I've been so busy I haven't even had anything interesting happen all week. I played volleyball but I didn't upstage a middle schooler (a shame really). Aaaaand, that's about it.


Oh, Bud did get in trouble for putting his hands down his pants in school again...three times in one day! He just makes me so proud!! (Sigh)


I should be back on Monday as long as all hell doesn't break loose and the students don't stage a registration revolt. 


Until then...
Lily

Fresh Look or Scary Eyesore?

So? What do you think? Do you like the new look? It all started because I wanted to create a new header. I really like how it came out (the pictures) (Thank you for your help Daily Mom!) but I didn’t like the new header with my old background picture. It just didn’t go. I browsed through the Blogger templates but I really want it to be “my own”, ya know? So the purple with the white is what I came up with in Paint. (Yes, I used MS Paint, aren’t I creative?) I went through like 7 or 8 editions before my eye started twitching  settling on this one. I’m not in love with it but I haven’t come up with anything better yet. I want it to be kind of simple but also have a little pizzazz to it. If any of you creative people  have any suggestions I’d like to hear them!




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UPDATE: I'd really like to take credit for the current background but I can't. My paint version lasted a day before a wonderful reader suggested this photo instead. Although I liked showing off my mad MSPaint skillz, I am just not that creative or talented! :-)

Lily

My inner artist...or a poor attempt to take a nice picture

I love to take pictures. I’m not especially talented (and completely incompetent when it comes to people subjects) but every now and then I manage to get a really great inanimate shot. (It helps that I have a super awesome camera now.) Here are some of my favorites.

 (My husband, kids, and me made this bird feeder from scratch)

 (This is a nicer picture when it's bigger. If you look closely you can see the splash just left of center.)

Lily

Explanation and Random thoughts...

I’ve been a bad blogger. I’ve been neglectful and I fear it will only get worse before it gets better. I’m about 4 days back on my blog reading list and I don’t seem to be making any headway.

On Monday I’m starting a writing course and I haven’t bought my books yet. (Have I ever mentioned I’m a procrastinator?) The class is MWF during my lunch hour (prime blogging time) and then add on the homework that I’ll get and my schedule isn’t looking good.

Not to mention my new iPod.

I’m not making excuses, I like to think of it as explanations.

So I hope you will all bear with me. I have to think that being in a writing class with college students is going to make for some fun blog posts so stay tuned! :-)

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In other news, more praying for my husband please. We get our hopes up on each new job lead and then they usually come crashing down. I’m hoping if I can get the entire internet praying for him it’s got to give him some good luck, right? If my grandmother and my co-workers mother’s prayers (They both have a direct line to God. I think they have him on speed dial.) aren’t enough to overcome his bad luck then we need as much as we can get!

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In more other news, my parents are leaving tomorrow for a 6 day camping/white water rafting trip in Colorado. Sometimes I think they are like the parents in that car commercial with the son that thinks they are in bed sleeping when they are really living it up on the town. I hope I’m cool like them when I grow up.

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In more, more other news, I have mosquito bites all over my feet and ankles. (Note to self: don’t stay outside at night talking to neighbors) The good news is that my heels are so dry and cracked that they make an excellent scratching apparatus. You’re welcome for that bit of information.

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Yup, that’s about it for today. Have a good one!

Lily

1000 baby!

One more page view and I reach 1000 total. So if you're reading this you might be my 1000th viewer! Thanks everyone for being so fabulous! I wish I could figure out who it was and give you a prize. Instead you'll just have to take my big 'ol THANK YOU!!

Lily

Why I gain weight

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I don’t know if they really come from Sweden and I know they sure as hell don’t come from fish but by God I love me some Swedish Fish. I kind of wish I was pregnant right now (not really) just so I could have an excuse for my intense cravings of this delectable treat. With just the right amount of sweetness and the perfect amount of chewiness…I’m killing myself just writing this. Did you know it’s a Fat Free Food! It says so right on the package! So it can’t really be bad for me. Right? I’m going to go with Yes on that one.

Alas, I have run out of the sugary goodness. Why oh why have you forsaken me Swedish Fish? And why oh why did I not run out and buy more? And why oh why does the work day have to be so long when Swedish Fish are not part of it? This is an unfair world.

Lily