Men (and Women) at Work (or not)

Labor Day has become one of those holidays that nobody really understands. Frankly, I don't think I was ever really TAUGHT the origins or history of the holiday. For most Americans, it's simply become a date that marks the symbolic end of summer, the time to close up summer homes, close down swimming pools, and pack the white shoes away for the winter.

I guess it's good that we have a long weekend to allow us to do all that, even though for those of us in the midwest, we're as likely to have an 85 degree day throughout September as we are to have 60 and 70 degree days.

Kids get a day off school, parents get a day off work. The federal government shuts down and the US Postal Service doesn't deliver or pick up mail.

I suppose if I'd grown up in a union family, I may have a better appreciation for the meaning of the holiday, but then again, who knows.

Clearly they're still not teaching kids the reason for the school holiday.

Yesterday The Tweenager asked if he had to empty the dishwasher on Monday, since it was Labor Day and nobody had to work.

Diva Nana told him "Sure! But then your mom doesn't have to work at all either. No cooking, no laundry, no cleaning."

I think I'd like a Labor Day like that.

Post-It Note Tuesday

For more Post-It Note Tuesdays and How to Make Your Own, visit SupahMommy!

Make No Small Plans

It's going to take more than a bit of putting this


Into this


So we can put these


Onto them.


Yep. We're planning a trip a little over a year from now. I'm really excited for many reasons. First, it's Disney for Pete's (Dragon) sake...it's the Happiest Place on Earth (just for you, NJ!)!

Second, both boys will be old enough to ride and enjoy everything and young enough to not be too cool for a pair of mouse ears.

Third, we're hopefully meeting up with family friends, which promises to be lots of fun!

Finally, this time, I have the most fabulous of all of the Disney Princesses herself helping with the planning. She's not Cinderella, Princess Aurora, Mulan or Jasmine. She's not Pocahontas or Princess Tiana.

She is my favorite princess ever, HRH Princess Frugal-Ears herself!

Princess Frugal-Ears has been to WDW more times than I can count and she knows how to stretch a dollar like Mrs. Incredible. She knows the best places to stay on property, which restaurants are a hit with kiddos and what attractions are "ears up".

I'll be sharing my planning with you over the next twelve or so months and, with Princess Frugal-Ears' permission, will share her tips with you as well!

Sing it with me kids!

"M-I-C...
See ya real soon!
K-E-Y...
Why? Because we LIKE you!
M-O-U-S-E!"

Music Monday

Well, it's back to the routine today and I have just one word to say.

AmenandthankyouJesus!

Yeah, one word.

Don't get me wrong. I do FULLY appreciate having had the last two weeks off. It's the longest vacation I've ever taken from work. And since Diva U. was actually closed for the last week, I don't feel like I'm wading through everything that happened while I was gone.

Because nothing happened.

I have to say, though, having been home for two weeks with my boys, and getting the sweetest kisses and hugs from The Manimal, I knew I'd miss that part. So just as I'm getting back into my routine, Diva Husband calls with his morning check-in.

DH: "The Manimal got up about 8:20 this morning."

Me: "Wow! He slept really well."

DH: "Yeah. As soon as he found out you were gone, he cried for 15 minutes."

Me: *uncontrollable sobbing*

Sigh.

Back to routine, I guess.

Nothing like a little blast from the past to cheer you up though.

Enjoy.

Fragmentation

It's Friday, it's Friday!

Today is my LAST day of work for a whole week. I don't have to come back until DECEMBER 1st! :)

DH and I were watching Letterman last night. Dave's not been really funny in quite a long time, but for some reason, we keep coming back. So we've come up with this new game. Lately his three favorite topics have been Bernie Madoff, Sarah Palin and Paul Shaffer's new book. He's bound to mention at least one of them, and if he mentions all three, we figure he's hit the Late Night Trifecta.

Two nights ago, it was all Sarah, all night.

Last night, twelve minutes into the show, he brought up Sarah Palin.

Eight minutes later, he was pushing Paul's book. We waited with baited breath, hoping he'd be batting a thousand.

Sadly, we only went two for three last night. No Bernie.

The Manimal was "eckercising" last night. He was using a drawer handle (that DH had purchased) as a barbell, and pretending to "lift weights". Now, just to be clear, this is the SAME drawer handle that he has been told multiple times NOT to touch. I told him to go show his father, that daddy would LOVE it.

He walked into Daddy's office, grunting and straining as though he were a champion lifter. DH told him to go put the drawer handle away RIGHT NOW.

The Manimal walked by me quickly, handle in hand and muttered, "He didn't love it."

"Twilight New Moon" premiered last night (or more accurately, this morning). I didn't see it. I won't see it. I haven't read the books. I have no intention of reading the books. Bella, Edward and Jacob really have no appeal to me.

I must be getting old.

Tuesday Top Ten

It's not Letterman's Top Ten, but welcome to Ten on Tuesday!

Ten Things I'm Loving Right Now

1. Il Moscato

A delicious, budget friendly version of my fave sparkling moscato. Trader Joe's has it for $9.99 a bottle. Yum-O! An odd little quirk with this brand, which also has Il Prosecco, if you're so inclined, is that it doesn't have a cork. Rather, it must be opened with a bottle opener, so if you're the only one enjoying a bit of the bubbly, be sure to pick up one of these vacuum stoppers to keep it fizzy for next time.

Or you could just finish off the bottle. However, then next morning, you might need this.

2. Home Depot

While I'm not usually a big fan of superstores in general, I don't mind going to Home Depot to pick up the random item for Diva Husband. Last week, Homer and the gang ran this fabulous deal for $3 off LED Christmas Lights. Since DH does light duty in our home, he sent me to pick up lights for our new tree (See below).

3. Ginormous Christmas Trees

Our family room ceiling is 18' tall. For five years, DH has lamented the fact that our Christmas Tree, in all of it's 8' glory, was lost in the height of the room. Thanks to Craigslist, we are the proud owners of an almost-new 12' tree. And our pocketbook is $50 lighter.

Not a bad deal. Pics to follow.

4. Patient (If a wee bit dumb) Dogs

If you've read my musings for any length of time, you'll be familiar with Princess (the Wonder Dog)and her archnemesis, The Manimal. I had really hoped that, with Christmas coming, we could use the age-old threat: "Santa only visits good little boys."

It's not working. Poor pup.

5. Fall Weather

I love Autumn. It's my favorite season of the year. The gorgeous fall colors, crisp air, Friday night bonfires. The whole package. I enjoy the occasional Indian Summer weekend, but I especially love Autumn.

Particularly when Mother Nature remembers that Autumn weather should occur in October/November.

6. A Nine Year-Old Boy

I love SS#1 with all my heart. He's my first, my baby, my little Squirtle. I'm not loving this "I'm always right" stage. But I do love my boy. I love my boy. I love my sweet stubborn boy.

7. Finding the Perfect Gift

I found the absolute perfect gift for my parents. Unfortunately, I can't even give you a clue, since BOTH of them read my blog. I also found the perfect gifts for The Lawyer and my Wonderful SIL, and my nephews, Tex, Sir Falls-a-Lot and Baby Bean. Well, I haven't really found the one for Baby Bean yet, but I'm hoping my luck holds out.

I can give you a leetle clue on my gift for The Lawyer and Wonderful SIL. She actually introduced me to this company. Prices are reasonable and I found a 35% discount code which made my personalization and shipping FREE! :)

And that leads me to...

8. Online Discount Codes

I'm late to the party on this one, I'm sure, but did you know that you can Google to find discount codes for online shopping? They don't always work, and sometimes they bring up expired codes, but it's SO worth trying! I just enter the business name and "discount code" or "coupon" and it brings up the results.

Saving money AND finding great gifts. Merry Christmas to me!

9. Good Books

I've recently finished reading the Mitford books, by Jan Karon. When I was 7, I received the Little House on the Prairie Boxed Set for my birthday. I read them so many times that my mom had to put them away for awhile so I'd read other books.

Last year, she gave them back to me.

I've re-read them twice since then.

I'm pretty sure Mitford is becoming my grown-up version of the Little House books.

10. Vacation

I have exactly four days of work left before I'm off for A WHOLE WEEK. Three days if you don't count today. Then I work for fourteen days and I'm off for TWO MORE WEEKS.

Vacation/PTO days are one of the few best perks of my job! :)

File this under: "I'm really glad there are only two of them"

Children are never dull. In defense of that statement, I offer the following:

On Sunday evening, after a deafening burst of quiet emanated from our upstairs bathroom, Diva Husband found The Manimal STANDING on the bathroom counter unscrewing the light bulbs.

Shortly thereafter, I went to inspect another rumble of too much quiet and found the same child sitting IN the powder room sink playing in the water trying to "wash" the willow branches that are in a vase on the counter.

Last night, in a fit of motherly frustration, I told him that if he didn't eat his chicken, he wouldn't get a treat. IMMEDIATELY after finishing his chicken, he announced "I ate all my dinner! Now I get a treat!" I got the ice cream out of the freezer and he said "Yay! Ice cream! Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!"

The Manimal loves to play upstairs in his room, and was doing so. We could hear him singing to himself and talking to the trains. This went on for some time, until the doorbell rang. There he stood, clad only in his undershorts and a grin. He'd apparently slipped out the garage door and taken a bike ride up the street. I'm considering installing an invisible fence...


Lest you think The Manimal is the only entertaining one of my two...

Sweet Son #1, after being the main entree on the mosquitos' evening buffet, came in and pitifully asked "Can't we move to a place where there aren't any bugs?"

Logic is clearly not a strong suit among the nearly-nine set. When we were gathering items for our garage sale last weekend, he decided he would pack up and sell some of his beloved Legos.Which was all well and good until he announced he would use the money from the sale of said Legos to, you guessed it, buy more Legos.

A budding man of the world, while getting his hair cut on Sunday, I heard the hairstylist ask SS#1 if he would be practicing any schoolwork this summer (seriously, what kind of question is that?!). I quietly thanked my lucky stars that he didn't just snort in laughter, and then he responded "No, I don't think I'll have enough time, because I'll be travelling a lot this summer."He'll be with the Diva Grandparents and Diva Godparents for most of July, then will indeed take a little car trip down to Tennessee at the end of the month. But "traveling a lot"? I guess it's all in your perspective.

Happy New Year!

Wowza! It's been a long time since I went a week without a blog post!

I can 'splain, though. :) We've been spending some vacay time with Diva Nana and Diva Papa. We're having an absolutely marvelous time, and getting to reconnect with some old friends while we're here. More on that later!

The Manimal and SS#1 are thrilled with their "haul" from DN and DP. The Manimal has been playing NON-STOP with Thomas the Train (don't get me started on the Thomas racket...a post for another day!). Sweet Son #1, while he loves the Legos (oy...more of the deadly little bricks!), has really been having a blast with DN and DP's Wii Fit. Have to say, I'm enjoying it myself and if I had an extra $500, one of those would be going home with us! :)

Meanwhile, we had some tasty crab legs to ring in the New Year (a sort of Diva family tradition) and will be enjoying homemade tamales tonight--Diva Nana and Diva Papa love them, so I decided to make them the other day. Nana made the beef and we searched all over town for the masa preparada. We FINALLY found it! Can't wait to try them tonight! :)

Well, I'm off to have SS#1 beat me soundly in bowling! Hope you and yours are enjoying a wonderful kickoff to the New Year! More later!

Camp, Camp, Camp...Everybody Here's a Champ!

Other than part-time jobs, I've always worked for educational organizations, so my adult schedule seems to have focused on a school year calendar. Consequently, August always brings with it a sentimental feeling. The summer is ending and the school year beginning. Today as I dropped off SS#1 at day camp, I recalled six amazing summers of my own.

I did my fair share of camping as a kid. Girl scout camps, church camps, pop-up trailer camping with the fam. You name it, we did it. I have some really wonderful memories of being a camper.

None of those memories, however, compare with the six summers I spent as camp counselor. In 1989, one of my college friends introduced me to Culver Summer Camps. She had attended as a camper and was working as a counselor. She encouraged me to apply for a counselor position.

If you're not familiar with Culver, it is a renowned Military Academy and Girls Academy during the academic year, and a fabulous 6 week summer camp during the "off season".

My parents could never have afforded to send me to camp there, but for six blissful summers, I lived vicariously through my campers. Even though I was in college and teaching when I was there, for six weeks, I was a kid again, with no worries except to have fun. It was not as much work, as work disguised as fun.

Here's to the summer memories!

The Simple Woman's Daybook--August 4th

For Today...

Outside my Window...is the warm Atlanta sunshine, beautiful green trees and the horses of the backyard neighbor. 

I am thinking...how nice it is to not have to be at work! 

I am thankful for...dear friends, lots of wonderful children, and the love of an awesome God.

From the kitchen...yummy green smoothies and homemade bread. 

I am wearing...flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt.

I am reading...nothing seriously at the moment, but a ton of titles are at my bedside, thanks to my dear friend and her daughter!

I am hoping...to pick up some baking supplies at Breadbeckers.

I am hearing..."The Backyardigans" and three happy children playing together.

Around the house...my house is hopefully still clean, since it's just DH at home!

One of my favorite things...spending precious time with friends who are like family.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...enjoying my vacay, gym time, story time with the kids, getting a delicious taste of being a "stay-at-home mom".

In Which I Try to Accomplish Everything So I Can Go On Vacation...

I'd post my "to-do" list, but it might scare you away. So before I hunker down and tackle the thing, I thought I'd procrastinate just a bit more.

Tomorrow, SS#1 leaves on his Texas adventure. He is, unfortunately, flying an airline which shall not be named, but has, at some point in their advertising past, claimed to be "something special in the air." Not.

Just for the record, two other airlines, one of which rhymes with "Melta" and the other (sadly) associated with Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", also charge exhorbitant fees for unaccompanied minors.

At any rate, he's headed to the Lone Star State tomorrow (and is very excited about it), then The Manimal and I are leaving (obscenely early) on Saturday on an 11 hour road trip to the Peachtree State to stay with my BFF, The Music Man, Firecracker Princess, CCM and The Look-Alike for a blissful week of no working.

Of course, bliss like this never comes without a price. So today, I have a ton of stuff to accomplish, and I'm not sure when we'll chat again. While I'm losing my mind, check out some of my favorite blogosphere friends.

Mrs. Fussypants

Rae & Chinua in India

Sarah

Rue

Ashley

I'm Running Away to Join the Circus!

Hah! Gotcha there, didn't I? Actually, my life is a bit of circus of its own right now with The Manimal, Sweet Son #1 (temporarily renamed "Mr. Snottyfacepants"), Princess (the Wonder Dog Who Thinks She's a Human), and The Husband.

I would, however, like to run away to the Ranch. And become a Pioneer Woman-in-Training. If you haven't ever visited Ree, you absolutely must. She's absolutely amazing, and she cooks too! Maybe she'll take boarders. Just me, of course, because it wouldn't be running away if I had to take the circus performers with me!

I've been feeling the cooking bug the last few days. Mostly it's been making the normal dinners, cooking in advance to save time, etc. But I really went out on a limb and decided to make beef tamales. From scratch. By myself.

A bit of history.

The Husband's family is Mexican. I have learned how to make many Mexican dishes, which have, over the years, improved (which is a good thing for all concerned). I do a mean red rice, make refried beans, regular frijoles (the precursor to a good refried bean dish), chile reallnos, tacos, flan. You get the idea. I have made tamales only once before and it was with his mother.

The concept is pretty easy. Take a corn husk, soak it in water for about 20 minutes, pat it dry, smear some masa (pre-mixed corn meal, salt, shortening)into it, add some meat, roll that puppy up and steam the heck out of it. Unfortunately, there are some nuances in the rolling, and, oh, did I mention that you have to steam them for about 40 minutes or so?

Lesson learned? Don't start steaming tamales at 8:30 pm when you have to get up for work the next morning.

The upside of being awake steaming tamales until almost midnight? They didn't turn out half bad! AND I don't have to cook dinner tonight. Just heat up some tamales!

Because this was the maiden solo tamales voyage, I didn't take pictures. Because, quite frankly, while they taste yummy, they're not quite ready to be Tamales en Fotografias. And I'm not really a neat cook. When I was done, my kitchen looked like Mexico City, post-earthquake.

A bit of trivia. Did you know that a single of a group of tamales is called a "tamal"? Not a "tamale" as I (and most of the other gringos) call it! Who knew?

And don't think I've forgotten about my MouseLand postings. I haven't. I promise. They'll just take a bit longer. And show up when you least expect them. In between posting about tamales and Webkinz (don't even ask...).

The Manimal and His Twin

You know those commercials where the photos live in digital cameras for years? I promise to try and NOT be one of those camera owners, but the vacay photos are indeed still in my camera!

So I decided to share a story for which I have no pictures. Of course, it was one incident where we SHOULD have taken photos, so amazing was the resemblance.

On Day 2 of our Disney Excursion, we ventured to Animal Kingdom with our VIP Guide, Matthew (more on the VIP program later, but Tiny and Matthew? They ROCK!). We made a quick pit stop at the potties before we headed into the wild. Nana kept an eye on The Manimal while I powdered my nose, and when I came out, I saw double.

Standing next to my red-striped shirt and tan shorts clad child was his doppelganger. Dressed in an identical outfit, right down to his monkey backpack (but, shh, it's really a harness!) and curly brown hair! Manimal #2's family was wildly snapping pictures, but the Diva family? We all just stared, mouths agape. A quick conversation with Manimal #2's mom confirmed that we frequented the same stores for kids' clothes, and believe it or not, the twin was only about 10 days The Manimal's senior!

The boys, of course, didn't seem to be as in awe of the resemblance as did the families. They both just stood there, eyes glazed over, wondering why everyone was taking pictures and pointing. Put some mouse ears on them and people would've thought they were part of the park attraction.

If you're headed to Animal Kingdom, I highly recommend the "Festival of the Lion King" show. A.Ma.Zing. Fabulous show, enjoyed by all. "It's Hard to Be a Bug" was a big hit as well, as was "Expedition Everest". We did some of the kiddie rides too, but they're, well, kiddie rides. The safari was nice, but I can't imagine waiting in a long line for it. All in all, a "Hakuna Matata" kind of day!

Out of the Loop

Wow, going away for six days really wreaks havoc on one's routine! I was doing so well posting every day, and now we've been home for five days and I've posted one measley little update. I have got to do better.

No pics yet, because I've been working every day since we got home. MouseLand was fabulous.
Of course, now we're all laid low with the mother of all head colds, but I guess that's the penalty we pay for enjoying the MOST GORGEOUS weather while our fellow Chicagoans dug themselves out of one of the worst winters ever.

We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort in Animal Kingdom. Nice place, if not a little bizarrely decorated. My mom wondered if they were in the process of redecorating the bathrooms or if the decorator was just drunk. Picture, if you will, an orange, red and blue striped shower curtain, weird geometric Aztec-print border in same colors, and a wallpaper in a black and white stairstep geometric pattern. I, however, thought it was the most beautiful place in the world, since the Manimal chose that very toilet to pee in FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! Don't get too excited, though. He's really not ready for the full potty training yet, but he does sit on the toilet, flush, wash his hands and get really excited. Peeing in the pot was a fluke, but boy did we go crazy!

As previously mentioned, the weather was spectacular. Every day, the temperature hovered right around 85 degrees, with sunshine and beautiful blue skies. We were in Heaven! Sweet Son #1 decided that he'd like to move to Florida, especially if it meant we'd not have to deal with snow. I reminded him that Central Florida was prone to some nasty rainstorms and had to deal with the occasional hurricane residue, but that didn't seem to sway his seven-year-old mind. Of course, he might've been under the influence of a mouse and his friends.

More to come, I promise. I'll regale you with tales such as The Manimal and His Twin, Meltdown of a Five-Year-Old, Meal-Sharing With Donald, VIP Tours: The Only Way to Meet the Mouse, Why Not to Eat at the Rainforest Cafe, Attack of the Chicken Nuggets, The Fastest Three Seconds EVER, and more!

Home Sweet Home

Just a quick note to say that we're finally home. I'll be posting more later (with photos, of course!), but suffice it to say, the kids were thrilled, the trip was wonderful, the weather was fabulous, and Chicago got snow.

So Long, Farewell!

Well, it just occurred to me that this visit to MouseLand will likely throw my Blog365 commitment into a tailspin. Ah, well. Mickey's worth it! :)

So here's the weather prediction for tomorrow here at home:

SatFeb 2
Cloudy
32°/19°
20% chance for precipitation (SNOW)

And tomorrow for MouseLand:

SatFeb 2
Sunny
79°/61°
10% chance for precipitation (RAIN)

Where would YOU rather be?! With any luck, the Winter Storm Warning that is STILL in effect for Chicagoland (hello, I woke up to about EIGHT INCHES of the white stuff) won't affect our flight plans for tomorrow.

I'll do my best to post this week, but rest assured, I'll have pictures when we return! :)

"M-I-C See ya real soon! K-E-Y Why? Because we like you! M-O-U-S-E!"

Notsomuch

Well, the good news is that my nasty head cold has yet to go "full-blown". The bad news is it's hanging around like a bad penny. You know the symptoms. Scratchy throat, stuffy head, snotty nose, tired, tired, tired. Have moved on to Zicam.

With the wannabe-cold hanging around, and the PILES of work on my desk and the TRIP looming large, I don't really have anything fabulous to tell you. Oh, and did I mention that the Man is on a business trip until Friday, leaving me alone with the boys in the midst of the craziness?

Enough whining. Check out some more of my fave blog reads while you're procrastinating.

Confessions of a Pioneer Woman

Daring Young Mom

Food Network Addict

Figs, Lavender and Cheese

A Study of Schoolbooks and Shoes

Chased By Children

Probably the Best Blog You'll Ever Read

Suddenly Christian

Especially Heather

Pensieve

Barely Keeping It All Together

That's enough to keep y'all busy for awhile. As you can see, my taste in blogs is either wildly diverse or quirkily eclectic. You decide.

Scatterbrain

I have a head cold. A real honest-to-goodness head cold. Can't remember the last time that happened. I'm taking Alka-Seltzer Cold three times a day, popping extra Multi-Vitamins, and mainlining Vitamin C in an attempt to stave off the beast.

Consequently, my thoughts are all over the place. What you see is the result of my inability to form a coherent string of thoughts.

We leave for MouseLand a week from today. The shuttle is picking us up at 5:00 IN THE MORNING. In order to get the brood ready, this means I'll have to get up at 3:45 IN THE MORNING. I'm tired just thinking about that.

I have yet to hear from "Guest Communications" regarding my transportation rant.

So my Man is traveling to Las Vegas to attend a trade show for work. On Tuesday we found out that the convention and lodging was booked for the Monte Carlo Resort. On Friday the hotel caught fire.

They moved the convention and lodging.

I'm traveling to Las Vegas in March for a professional association meeting. I'm presenting a session and have yet to create it. Did I mention my co-presenter won't be able to attend the conference so I'm flying solo?

Tonight I left the Man home with the boys and went to my first church small group meeting. It was so nice to have intelligent conversation with other adults. For fun. Not related to work. With no children. Woo-Hoo!

Went to Wal-Mart today. A sign above a dairy case said something about the products in that case and referred to "our's". This was a REAL sign, not handmade for the occasion, but an honest-to-goodness corporate sign. Sigh.

It All Began With a Mouse

Well, we're at T minus 13 days and counting until my characters meet this character:

So I may have mentioned that there will be six adults and five boys, ages 4 months to 7 years. We went with the vacation packages and we're staying on property. We will be there for six days, with the intention of hitting all four parks throughout the week. Keeping all of that in mind, I'm open to suggestions from any Disney veterans/aficionados that might make our trip more enjoyable.

The Accidental Tourist

I'm all about credit where credit is due, so I have to tell you that I got this idea from Mel. Of course, her list is a bit more interesting than mine! :)

I love to travel. I don't get very many places, but it's always fun to reminisce, so here's where I visited in 2007.

Amherst, NY
Antigo, WI
Baltimore, MD
Keller, TX
Niagara Falls, Canada
North Richland Hills, TX
Williamsville, NY
Xenia, OH

In 2008, I'm headed to a few of the above destinations, but also to the following:

Las Vegas, NV
Orlando, FL
West Lafayette, IN

Oh, how I'd love to be a jet-setter, heading off to places more far-flung. Like Paris, London, Venice, Washington D.C., NYC, Boston, Toronto, San Diego, Honolulu. I could go on! Of course, then I'd have to travel to all of those fab locations with children.

Not sure I'm quite ready for that yet!