driving and singing loud and eclectic playlists

I've often been accused of having really weird tastes in music (among other things).  My likes really vary so much, I have to admit, it is very eclectic.  I really like to mix it up too -- if you looked at all of my playlists, you might come away feeling a little confused, because there definitely are a lot of genres going on.  And some of you may not appreciate a few of the tunes with explicit lyrics, or stuff that could be all top 40-ish, but hey -- I feel strongly that music is art, so whatever floats your boat is OK with me.  To each his own, right?

So I went up to see Eclipse the other night (OMG, I will never apologize for loving Edward), and I was by myself because Alex was working really late.  And I am kind of a huge fan of going to the movies alone, and driving alone, actually.  Pretty much the only time I get to blast what I like and sing is when I am driving alone. 

My driving alone, blasting and singing strangely eclectic playlist the other night was:

1. CUT Plumb
2. GRAVITY Sara Bareilles
3. SIREN SONG Bat for Lashes
4. LET IT ROCK Kevin Rudolf and Lil Wayne
5. LONELILY Damien Rice
6. BEST I EVER HAD Drake
7. STRONGER Kanye
8. PICTURES OF YOU The Cure
9. VIVA LA VIDA Coldplay
10. JUST DANCE Lady Gaga
11. LET IT ROCK Kevin Rudolf
12. EMPIRE STATE OF MIND Jay Z
13. DON'T DRINK THE WATER Dave Matthews Band
14. I MELT WITH YOU Modern English
15. THE WINDS THAT BLOW Duncan Sheik
16. SHAKE THAT Eminem
17. RUNNING UP THAT HILL Placebo
18. GARDEN GROVE Sublime
19. FOREVER Chris Brown
20. FIDELITY Regina Spektor
21. THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT The Smiths
22. TIME AFTER TIME Cyndi Lauper and Sarah Mclachlin
23. YOUNG FOREVER Jay Z

Quite the mix, huh?  It made me happy anyway.  I actually took the long-cut on the way home and went down past the river, and sat there looking at the big fat orange moon reflecting on the water so I could finish listening.

What do you like to blast when you're alone?

Independence

Hope you all had a happy and safe Independence Day.

Saturday Shout-Out cloverlane

I'm not sure when it was that I stumbled upon this blog by Sarah... but every time I read her (pretty much every day I look for a new post), I come away feeling like I want to say, "Hey, I could have written that exact same thing!"   And she gives awesome tutorials that are so very easy to follow.

I actually wish I knew her in real life, because I'm pretty positive that we could be great friends.  Check her out at:

http://memoriesoncloverlane.blogspot.com/

i take it back

OMG.  I take it back.

So I am backing out of my driveway on my way to the bank to cash a check.  Time was tight, but I would definitely make it before the window closed for the day.  And as I am backing out, I see there is a car coming around the corner, so I wait for her to pass because I didn't want to pull out on her.  Because I am considerate like that.  Come to find out I could have pulled out eleventy-seven times before she actually made it to my driveway, because she was driving so slow.  But whatever.

I live in a neighborhood with a bunch of kids around all of the time, and I definitely appreciate people taking it slow in my development.  Definitely.  But this was like, ridiculous.  Like a SNAIL.  Almost like she was trying to annoy the hell out of me.  Anyway, as I am coming out of the development, I pass my brother-in-law Ty, and we stop to chat for a minute, and I forgot all about the slowpoke.  I stopped to chat because well, I knew I had plenty of time to make it to the bank.

Until I was driving through town (at the speed limit) and ended up catching up to the slowpoke.

Now, my town is pretty small, it's about 3 miles from one end of town to the other -- I know exactly how long it takes to get to the bank, to the grocery to the post office -- I've lived here pretty much my whole life, so I truly know down to the minute.  

I swear, this lady, who was not old (and nervous) and not young (like a new driver) drove SO freaking slow through town, I ended up following her the entire way (there is only one real route to the bank), and I missed it by one minute. 

I was kinda fuming because I really needed cash for later.  And I thought to myself, "you just blogged about how slow drivers no longer bug you," and as I was mentally screaming at this lady to just PLEASE pick up the pace a snitch, I thought, "I AM PRETTY SURE I TAKE IT BACK!!!!"

chores and stuff

Well, summer has officially started...  Seemed like school got out late this year, the very end of June!  I was thinking about my kids, what we will do this summer, how it's all going to play out.  The one thing that I don't want is chaos. 

Me+chaos does not = happiness.

So I don't want to be all crazy, and make all sorts of lists (I love lists), but I do want to have some semblance of a structure.  I think that it's just as good for the kids as it is for me.  I also like feeling that nothing is etched in stone, we can change it up and go with the flow, but if we at least have some type of plan, things will go smoothly.

So I decided that every night after the kids go to bed, I am going to write a few chores for them that they have to do before they go outside and play the next day.  Nothing extravagant, like Brooke's chores for yesterday were: Make bed, put away clean clothes, water indoor plants.  That's not a big deal during summer vacation, right?

I am a firm believer of chores and responsibilities around the house. UNPAID  (gasp!) chores and responsibilities around the house. I really, really, really think that everyone should pitch in, and do it well and do it right the first time.  And if everyone can get them done without complaining I consider it a victory.

I honestly believe that giving our kids chores and tasks help them in their lives, helps shape and mold them into responsible, helpful and hardworking adults.  I mean, if Alex goes off to college, and doesn't know how to throw in a load of laundry, or gets invited to a (future) girlfriend's house for dinner and doesn't clear his own plate, I feel like I have failed some way in his upbringing.  Sure, I could put away Brooke's clothes and her drawers would look nicer, I could make her bed and it would probably be perfect (oooh I do love a perfectly made bed), but if I did that, if I did everything, the kids would feel less of a part of our family, they would feel more entitled to having other people do things for them, and in turn would not learn how it feels to be proud of an accomplishment or completing a task.  I think part of my job as a mom is teaching these guys how to make it in the world, and yes, that means chores and responsibilities.  Because we all have them, don't we?

And also, I hate feeling like the maid.

So what do all of you guys do?  Do I sound like a mean old Mom who could possibly be ruining the fun of vacation by having my kids do a few regular chores? 

wordless wednesday - big yawn

(thanks Kar!)

chicken pox. or is it?

The last time my kids went in the hot tub, two of them got the CHICKEN POX.  

Or so my Pediatrician suspected. 

And I was shocked.  Shocked because both of them had the varicella vaccinations as scheduled, and I kinda thought it would actually prevent them from getting chicken pox. 

So anyway, we were at my sister's in CT and the kids spent their time going from the hot tub to the pool to the hot tub all weekend, and they were having a great old time.  We went home, and everything seemed normal, but then Alex turned up with this rash, all over his belly, and it was spreading.  So I checked the other kids, because I was like, what is this?  And Meg had it too.  I was thinking about what they ate, what they did - trying to figure out why they were having a reaction and what it was related to.  It never once crossed my mind that it could be chicken pox.

So I brought them to the doc because it was irritating, and they were uncomfortable.  And they made us come in through a back door and then SEQUESTERED us in the basement!!  Really, they did!  Because obviously if it was a highly contagious rash, they didn't want to infect any other patients.  I thought they might want to have a better plan in place for such a thing, but who am I to complain.

After a short wait, the Dr. came down and examined them and said they had the freaking chicken pox, and I was like, what?!  Then I felt nervous.  I have never had them, and I know it can be dangerous to adults.  The doctor proceeded to write a note to get the kids out of school for a week, she gave me paperwork on it, and sent me on my merry way.

Ugh.

Of course I called my sisters to tell them, because our kids were together all week, and when I mentioned it to my sister Jen (who is an RN), she said, "I bet it's the hot tub rash, Julian has it too."  I had never heard of it, so I googled it (what else is new?) and sure enough, it looked exactly like the pictures I saw.  Jenney told me that apparently it is easy to make the mistake, because the rashes do look very similar.  Jen was beside herself because she has a pool/hot tub guy that is supposed to make sure everything is maintained properly, and clearly he didn't do his job.  (Jenney has a guy for everything - mowing, shoveling, plowing, pool  maintenance, etc.  I wish I had a guy.)

And to bring this long-winded story to a close, I self diagnosed my kids with the hot tub rash (real name: foliculitis), they cleared up on their own in a few days and Jen drained her hot tub and had it thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.  When I called the doc to suggest the hot tub rash, she wouldn't concur (I love that word), and I know it's because she didn't want to admit she misdiagnosed them.

That's OK though.  I still love her, and besides, I know I was right.

I was reading Jana, from the meanestmom blog, and her post reminded me of this incident. (disclaimer: I am in no way stealing her idea so I can get more readers. Or am I?)

"what up with the gigantic pants?"

...to quote Sam from iCarly.  (don't I just reek of 3 kids under 12, home for summer vacation?)

So I have bad news and good news.  The bad news is, my pants are falling off.  And the good news is... my pants are falling off!

Here is why this is a good thing:  Because I am a fatso and I have needed to lighten up for far too long, and now, finally, the numbers on the scale are creeping down.  Yeehaw!

Here is why this is a bad thing:  Because now I have nothing to wear.  And my being nude, or pantsless for that matter, would scare the skinny teen-agers in the neighborhood.  And possibly scar them for life.  On a good note, getting a good look at the road map of stretch marks that cover me from boob to thigh may actually deter them from premarital sex.  Because everyone knows that with babies come stretch marks.

So, anyway, I guess I need to go buy some new pants.

Saturday Shout Out - The Pioneer Woman

My blog favorites would NEVER be complete without Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman.  Check out her "Love Story," it might make you want to find a cowboy of your very own.  And the recipes, oh the recipes...  And the photography.  I adore the photography. 

Go ahead, click the link.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

boxers or briefs and an unanswered question.

My one unanswered question is this.
Why do tighty-whities have a little pocket in the front of them??  I believe they are incredibly nonfunctional.  Is that even a word?

Really, I have been trying to answer this question for many years, and I just can't seem to come to a great conclusion.  It happens to be a question that I have posed to several people, and the general consensus is that if the man doesn't want to pull his underpants down the whole way he can just go through the little peephole pocket thing.

Really?? 

I mean, why wouldn't a guy pull down his underpants all of the way?  I'm not talking to the floor, but, you know, down the way enough to be comfortable.  Wouldn't it take more effort and maneuvering to get your business through the peephole?  I mean, the angle of the pocket is all skewed and stuff.  I guess I can understand it on boxers, because they are looser fitting than briefs, but, who came up with that dumb design anyway??  I mean, why even give them that option in the first place?

I think it could be a good place to carry loose change if you have no other pockets.  Maybe I should write to the manufacturers about it.