Mama's Mission of The Month: March in Review

So, let me be the first to admit that this month was not a stellar showing on my part. I did get roughly half the things accomplished that I wanted to, however, so I will take comfort in that. It's been a month of trying to develop routines that work, and so far, it has been trial and error. As the month closes out, the ratio of successes to failures is starting to lean more towards success than failure, so I will gladly take it.

PERSONAL

• Find new PCPs and schedule appointments as needed
• Keep all regularly scheduled appointments
• Take medications regularly

PARENTING

• Routines!!! (still a work in progress, but things are falling into place)
• Start chore charts on March 2 (I was late, but they did get done)
• Go to kindergarten round up and find out about Pre-K

HOMEMAKING

• Don't go to bed with any messes! (like the routines, a work in progress)
• Make (and stick to) a meal plan

FINANCIAL

• Finish March budget by bedtime March 1

BLOG/ONLINE STUFF

• Write post ideas down as they come

MISCELLANEOUS

• Clean off/de-clutter the porch

PARENTING

• Routines!!! (see above... this one falls in a grey area)

HOMEMAKING

• Start flying! (postponed to April)
• Don't go to bed with any messes! (progress, but not enough to get marked off as done)

FINANCIAL

• Look into filing bankruptcy
• Save for Christmas and a car

BLOG/ONLINE STUFF

• Blog daily
• Keep up with blogs I used to read

FRIENDS/FAMILY

• Set a date with Cynthia for Ser Steak
• See my mom & Dacey (out of our control... but soon... it's in the works)
• Write 2 letters each to Connor and Tucker (I suck... that is all)

HOMESCHOOLING

• Do the preschool workbooks
• Try ABeCeDarian with at least Ryli
• ABCmouse.com time for each kid every day.

This was the worst part of any of the routine type things I was trying to get done.

MISCELLANEOUS

• Get library cards (Texas weather and my knee... not good)

Personal epiphany

The other night, the kids insisted on sleeping with me.Nothing out of the ordinary there, let's be totally honest. As I was laying there, thinking about all manner of things, I started to think about Ryli's last words before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. She'd been talking about family members and how X and I were lucky because we had so many parents. Needless to say, I will eventually have to explain divorce and remarriage. Although on the parental situation, I have my dad, step-mom, step-dad and mom, and X is the same, but lost his dad in 2011. 

I told her that someday, she could end up with just as many parents, it just depended on whether or not her father and I ever got married to other people. She doesn't know that we were never married to one another. Being the sweet girl that she is, she said she loved me and didn't need another mommy. My heat melted a little.

It was that conversation that caused my thoughts to drift towards the big old scary world of dating and relationships. For the first time in history, I'm not feeling like I have to be with someone. I'm okay with being a single mom. I prefer it to repeating some of my past mistakes. I'd rather just keep going the way we have been going. X was a control freak who had nothing under control. I spent so much time putting out his fires.

I'd rather it be just the kids and me. Maybe someday, someone will change my mind, but I'm acting as if no one will come along. I am fine on my own. With the kids and I, we may not have a lot, but we have enough. I have a male friend or two, but I have permanently banished them to the friend-zone. The only one that could potentially ever be more than a friend is way back home in Iowa, making the possibility of anything ever really starting a geographical impossibility. 

I no longer freak out at the thought of spending the rest of my life single, and it feels good, to be honest. I lived far to long being told that practically everything I did was somehow "wrong". I like the fact that now, the only thing that I do wrong is when I won't buy every last Littlest Pet Shop or dinosaur toy on the planet. I can live with being wrong on that account.

I can now declare myself :"single and loving it", It feels good.

Mad Scientist (insert evil laugh here)

I confess, I typically have a sizeable sweet tooth. Since the grocery trip a few weeks ago, I have come to realizing something pretty appalling, Somehow, besides two packages of brownie mix and some muffin mixes, I neglected to buy anything sweet. Most nights, Ryli and Landry couldn't really care less if there's a dessert, but when they get a hankering, it usually lasts a few days, easily.  When they want something sweet, they are extremely persistent and will not forget.

Sunday night, they weren't asking for dessert. They were outright demanding it, which set off my sweet tooth. The muffin tin and the brownie pan were in the wash and in use, respectively. A crazy idea started to formulate in my warped and tired mind. I grabbed a tube of refrigerated crescent rolls and the honey bear. After rolling half the tube up with just honey, I pulled out the cinnamon and sprinkled that on the honey before rolling them up the second half and cooking as always.

After the allotted 14-17 minutes baking, I yanked them from the oven, and they smelled delicious. I somehow managed to buy them enough time to cool before the kids realized that they were done. I managed to sneak two for myself. Had I known that everyone was going to be so head over heels for the sticky, ooey, gooey, pretty cheap treat, I would have started making them long ago.

We made them again, only this time, I did spray the pan before I laid out the honey-fied goodness to pop them in the oven. I knew from the first batch that the pan would be a horrid, sticky mess without a spray. Day three, and they wanted them again, only this time they made it clear they wanted something other than honey and cinnamon. I was stumped until I remembered the chocolate syrup. That was a hit as well, although somehow proved messier than the honey and cinnamon.

All in all, it was a success. It also made me recall a few little recipes of sweet and/or salty snacks from back in the late 70's- early 80's that I think need to be resurrected.

Mippy Manor's Week in Review: Choas Edition

This week has absolutely flown by. Seriously, I have no idea how it went by as fast as it did, but it is gone, and I know it won't be back

We started off the week with two brand new chore charts up on the wall. I'd tried them before to no avail, but now, the competitiveness is coming out and it is all about collecting those little aluminum star stickers. If I ask them to do something, and they still refuse, I remind them that they need to do it to get the sticker. Works like a charm. The only thing I have to do is hide the stickers where I can get them, but they can't. No easy feat when you still have two climbers on your hands.

Wednesday, the kids got the Easter box from Grandma-Mom (with all the grandparents being remarried, they have 7). They each got $10 in their card, which made the trip to pick up refills and grab a few groceries, so much easier. They're really getting the hang of the bus. Ryli held one of the posts and held on the entire time the bus was in motion. Landry pushed the button for our stop.They're getting better and better at the whole thing.

Thursday was a sit on my butt day. Once again, I tweaked my bum right knee. Whilst sitting on said butt, I found a new primary care physician and scheduled an appointment. I sense leaving that appointment with a referral for an MRI, and I think this one is going to be even worse than the one I had the day I realized that I was late for my period. I found out I was pregnant with Landry the next morning.

The older girls that live in the next building have come by every evening to ask if the kids can play. Ryli and Landry have had no problem sleeping at night, needless to say. They've ridden scooters, played  with Littlest Pet Shop and dinosaurs, drew with 3D chalk, and hit the playground. It's been nice.

The living room was rearranged yesterday. It's a totally new room, with plenty of space for the kids to play dinosaurs or Littlest Pet Shop. It will also prevent as much stuff (pony tail holders and toys) from getting under the couch so much. I'm actually a bit embarrassed that I didn't think of this set-up sooner. Oh well.

Next week is a busy one. The final court date for custody and all of that is Thursday. I'm not nervous about the hearing itself. Its the whole seeing X that makes me stomach turn. Landry gets registered for pre-k on April Fools Day. Personally, I find that slightly amusing and will probably bring that up at least once in his academic career. 

Once a Month Meals, oh how I missed you!

When we moved up to Dallas in 2012, I went on a recipe hunt. Landry wasn't really eating anything aside from baby food yet, Ryli would gobble down anything that was set before her, and X was constantly on my back that I never made anything for dinner outside of my then repertoire. (honestly it was pretty pathetic)

In my hunt for new dishes to try, I ended up following via e-mail a lot of different blogs and their newsletters. My inbox was perpetually stuffed to the virtual gills back in those days. I bookmarked so many recipes that peaked my interest. I even tried a few. Funny thing, though; for as much as X complained that I never cooked anything outside my normal repertoire, he almost always vetoed what I wanted to try in lieu of the usual fare. Go figure, and add that to the litany of reasons I don't miss him.

Flash forward to last summer, when Ryli, Landry and myself were setting up in our new home, with X not allowed. I started to get kitchen implements that I had wanted forever to make things at least a little easier on me, but that X would say no to because he wanted another toy or some other bit of foolishness Nothing that fancy, mind you. Things like a good skillet, a cast iron skillet, a big slow cooker, a food processor (remember, I only have one functional upper limb). The only truly questionable purchase I made was still a money saver. (I bought an air popcorn popper, saving money and entertaining the kids, which is a total win-win)

There was one recipe that I got from Once a Month Meals (it was Once a Month Mom back then) that went over particularly well,yet only made once. I really don't know why I only made it once, but by the time I was making up the grocery list, I google searched until I found Tangy Beef Stroganoff just like I'd remembered. It was made last Friday, with two kids slurping it up with their egg noodles.

When I found the recipe, I couldn't help but remember that I was one of the original subscribers when they started to offer a subscription service. All that time I logged in, just soaking up the delicious sights, and I forgot about it. I was rather disappointed in myself for forgetting that one. They had a few menus every month in 2012 when last I'd looked, but they have grown. It used to be a traditional menu and a few others, like the Glten Free/Dairy Free and Vegetarian. Now, there are those, along with whole food, Paleo, Diet, Allergen, and varying Mini Menus. I admit, I got sucked into the site on several occasions in the past few days.

The goal of the site is rather simple with a membership. Admittedly, I'm still acclimating myself, but there does seem to be more options than I remember. You can still just look up a recipe and cook it on the spt for a meal the same day, but as the name implies, this is meant to be something you do once a month, freezing everything for reheating on the intended day. Now, however, you can customize your month's menu how ever you like, make shopping lists,and have the directions to get you through preparation, cooking, freezing and storing. And if you're like me, and need something that day, and/or lack the space in your freezer, the recipes are in a format where cooking without freezing is always an option.

Right now, I'm planning meals in advance, but I don't have a whole lot of wiggle room as far as what I can somehow manage to cram into the freezer. I long for the day when I have enough space to spread out in, and hope to get a chest freezer so that I can start freezing meals and still have space for everything else. For the time being, I'll continue to plan as I have been. All in good time, I will have the sufficient space and storage tools to be able to do the single cooking days.

Until then, I seriously urge you to click the link below the picture. I swear, you won't regret it. At least, not for any negative reasons!

Check it out here!

Seventeen years ago...

I was waking up in the hospital after a fitful night's sleep, in labor with my oldest son. I was enjoying the last epidural I would ever have while in labor, clueless to the fact that it would no longer be working by afternoon. It was bright and sunny outside, and my mom was entertaining Dacey, my oldest. Mike, my then-husband, was there, trying to keep me amused while I was working. 

Connor was my only child to display his future shyness by way of ultrasound. While all of his siblings were little exabitionists at the 20 week ultrasound, he managed the same feats of activity while keeping at least one hand covering himself, with his little legs crossed tight. At the very end of the ultrasound, the tech declared that she'd take one last look to attempt to determine gender. Connor removed his little hand, uncrossed his legs, and gave us a very brief look, before recrossing his legs. We came so close to having to wait to find out that I was carrying a boy.

By early afternoon, my painless birth started to become uncomfortable. It was at that time that I found out that there was only a single anesthesiologist in that in town hospital. That, coupled with the fact that a float* had returned around 9-10 months earlier meant that the hospital on base and the one that we were at in town were experiencing a baby boom of sorts. There were a lot of women asking/begging for the anesthesiologist to give them their epidurals, as well as other things going on in the hospital.

My mom and Dacey came into see us at about 2:00. I regretfully had to tell my mom that there wasn't a lot of change since I'd spoken with her last. I did get to tell her that I had a new nurse, who was from Anamosa, a town about 15 minutes from where I grew up. We chatted a bit, and mom decided that she would take Dacey across the street to the mall and walk around a bit, and get her hair trimmed. We said our goodbyes, and resumed waiting for that epidural that never came. 

After mom and Dacey left, things started moving fast and furious. My bag of water finally broke. Within minutes of the nurse confirming that it had, I was screaming at poor Mike to get her back, I NEEDED to be checked again. She came in, and as I clung to the bed rails like a drowning rat, we argued. She said that since my water broke, she couldn't just check me, and I had finally made it to a 5 when she had checked. We bickered back and forth, and finally, I convinced her to just look, but not to touch.

What happened next was like a bad comedy. She lifted my left leg, promptly put it down, ran to the door, and called for help, an isolette, and for someone to call the OB's office again, the baby was crowning. She came back, I rolled onto my back, and at 2:46 despite my doing everything in my power to keep him in, Connor entered this world screaming like a banshee, delivered by my fellow Iowa native nurse. The OB made it a few minutes later.

My mom and Dacey returned shortly after 3:00. Connor was in the nursery being cleaned up and taken care of while I was moved to a new room. I will never forget my mom, the registered nurse who at one time worked in labor and delivery, asking if I had made any progress. I looked her dead in the face and said sid something along the lines of "Do I not look like hammered shit? Connor's in the nursery:". We chatted a bit more, then my mom and Dacey were led away to go see Connor.

Here I am, 17 years after the fact. Birthdays are just another day when they are my own, but these past few birthdays of Dacey and Connor make me feel old.

*I was married to a Marine. A float was when Marines were deployed with the Navy on one of their ships. Mike hadn't been on one; Connor just happened to be conceived at the same time as a lot of other babies were, upon homecoming of a parent.

Life With/Life Without Week Two: A Vehicle

Since I was sixteen years old, I can honestly count the periods of time that I was without a car for any prolonged period of time on one hand. It was just one of those things that I always did my utmost to avoid at any costs, and usually managed to do a very good job at that. 

This past November, a mere week before the kids went in for their ENT surgeries (tubes for both, tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy for Landry), I found myself quite unexpectedly without a vehicle. I can't lie, I pretty much freaked out at the time. Then, as the shock subsided, I decided that it couldn't be that bad. I live in one of the bigger cities in the country, and there is quite the public transportation system here. As a matter of fact, I live right on one of the route heavy streets. There's a couple of businesses I frequent within a short walk. For the places not exactly on the beaten path, like doctors' offices and things of the like, there are ways to make public transit work, or other means of transport that I can use.

I have to admit, it has been fun not having a car to a certain degree. Riding the bus with Ryli and Landry is never a dull moment. They even rode their first DART train back in January. They entertain their fellow  riders, that's for sure. Granted, going anywhere takes a bit more planning and advanced notice, but it really isn't all that bad. The only time it's really bad is when it rains, but only while we are at uncovered bus stops and walking from point A to point B. In those circumstances, Landry is happy as a clam jumping from puddle to puddle, and Ryli's fine as long as she has her Hello, Kitty umbrella and one of her raincoats. I tend to be the proverbial wet blanket.

My friend Cynthia has been kind enough to chauffer one day a month (at least) so I can run errands. She's so sweet, she watches the kids in the car while I run and do whatever. Memaw has also helped us out in those binds I have occasionally found ourselves in. 

For now, I will gladly take the "break" in budgeting gas money and all the other incidentals in not having wheels of our own. Soon enough, I will once again find myself dealing first hand with Dallas traffic.Until then, I will plot and plan how to get to where we need to be and just roll with it.

Mippy Manor's Week in Review: (Belated) Solo Saturday Edition

It has been a week of a severe case of the blahs. I will make no excuses for it. Sometimes, you just have one of "those" weeks where it seems eerily similar to Groundhog Day. With the exception of Wednesday, it was a seemingly endless case of S.O.S.D.D. (same ol' shit, different day, to the unfamiliar). I felt like I was constantly picking up messes, breaking up fights, and trying to come up with some ways to break up the tedium. On that front, I think I actually came up with a plan of action, so that will be implemented tomorrow.

Wednesday was a trial run of getting two appointments in neighboring buildings done back-to-back in one day. Epic fail. We left the house at 9:00 so we could run to the corner store for some drink and snacks. Each of the kids took a backpack with toys, and Ryli brought her umbrella, as it rained off and on throughout the day. I had my big purse with several bottles of water in it, and found myself carrying Landry's backpack a good deal of the time. It was not fun. At all. My appointment was at 11:00, and although they assured me I'd have plenty of time for getting across the lot for Ryli's appointment, it was much closer to five minutes. By the time it was all said and done, we were home at nearly 6:00. I neglected to take dinner out of the freezer to thaw, so the three of us made brinner (breakfast for dinner; for us, bacon, scrambled eggs, muffins, orange juice and/or milk), and crashed out soon after.

The Nerd Blocks came this week. Mine came on Tuesday, Landry's came Wednesday, and then Ryli's came yesterday. We each got a matching gag gift set of a whoopee cushion and two "ice cubes" with plastic flies inside. The whoopee cushions have been dubbed "The Farters" and have gotten an extensive workout. Ryli and Landry pranked their grandparents with them yesterday, and then Memaw and Pepaw helped them get their father.

I got a Guardians of The Galaxy magnet, and a set of nesting dolls. Groot is now sitting on the printer, watching me type this, shielding all his fellow guardians. There was also a Shaun of the Dead tee-shirt and a copy of Simon Pegg's auto-biography, Nerd Do Well, a little giraffe figurine that the kids demolished the box to, and the gag set. As soon as I finish off Wolf Hall, I will be reading Nerd Do Well. 

In the Nerd Block Juniors, besides the aforementioned "farters",  Ryli got a Gund Grumpy Cat, which is sleeping on her bed upstairs. Landry got a Digimon figure instead of Grumpy Cat. Then, there was Mega Blocks Spongebob Figurines in blind bags, Lego Friends erasers for Ryli, while Landry got a Lego Chima set, some goo, and a little throwing-stress ball-type thing each. I really like how the boxes for them are just enough alike that none gets overly jealous, yet different enough that they don't fight. Here's to hoping that maybe next month, they'll all get here the same day!

I did get my ink cartridge for my printer. I've almost emptied it already, printing out my To-Do list, my control journal for Fly Lady, recipes that have made it off the bookmark list and to the treasure trove of keeper recipes, and little chore charts for the littles, among other things. Things are falling into place.

This coming week's most difficult feat will start tonight. I have got to kick Ryli and Landry's cuddly little butts out of my bed. I'm too old to sleep in a virtual mosh pit! I've started to look into sleep trainer clocks for their room, to aid in the progress. And, regardless of the weather, I will wear them out this week, as they start their chore charts. Nothing too hard to start, just some things that would be AWESOME to get them into the habit of doing all by themselves. We can build on it from there.

Now, to take a little nap before they return from the weekend's final visitation. Here is to a much improved week! Eroy is in the house, and things are looking better and better. 

Living Life With/ Living Life Without Week One: The Stroke

So, let's just begin this segment by saying that back in the day, I was the consummate wild child, much to damn near every one's dismay. I was given my first wake-up call as January turned into February 1995. A nice case of spinal meningitis landed my ever-partying self in the hospital. It was a far cry from fun. Between the headache, neck ache, and overall feeling of malaise, I had to suffer through a spinal tap. I would like to do my public duty by telling anyone who reads this, unmedicated childbirth is a much more comfortable experience. Just throwing that out there. 

I tried to get my act together once I was discharged from the hospital after a few days. I started working my ass off to finish up the high school diploma that I'd been putting off. I started thinking about going to college, majoring in biology or the like, in hopes of getting intro medical school, or maybe going into the Marine Corps.

That all went headlong out the window the night of February 22, 1995. I was at my parents' house, taking a bath, gleefully reading Rolling Stone. At the ripe old age of 19, I had a stroke. Thankfully, my mom has been a registered nurse longer than I've graced this planet. I lost consciousness as they loaded the gurney onto the back of the ambulance.

Before the stroke, I was very active. If I got upset about something, it wasn't unheard of for me to go to the YMCA to swim laps, or take a jog. I loved driving my little manual transmission Chevy Sprint all over the place. I danced with my girlfriends, partied like a mad woman, and was very much go, go, go. I wrote all the time, whether it be poetry or stories or endless pages of doodles. I could even draw passably well. That all changed that night.

I wasn't supposed to be able to talk again. Looking back, that is absolutely hysterical, as I was telling off the speech therapist within a few weeks. I had to re-learn to walk, and a good indicator of how tired I am or how much pain my right knee is in is by my limp. If all is well, it is very slight, only to become more pronounced with fatigue and/or pain. The right side of my face is still a little bit numb, but that's never an issue unless I'm eating something messy. The kicker of it all is my right hand. My shoulder is good, despite being out of socket the majority of the time (I have double jointed shoulders). As you make your way down my arm, however, it becomes more and more useless with every passing joint. 

I used to be right handed. I had to teach myself to do everything with my left hand. I actually write even better now than I did as a righty, and without the tell-tale ink smudges on the side of my hand. I type faster with my left than I used to with two hands. I can tie my shoes and a myriad of other things that I used to do. I can even pull Ryli's hair up into a ponytail or pig tails. I fix things around the house when they are broken, and I even hang things on the wall using hammer and nails.

I thought that my life was over for the longest time after I had the stroke. I had this huge list built up in my head of things that I would never do or have without my right side working. That led me to a lapse in judgment that led me to getting two of the biggest "I'll Never..." on my list scratched off as done before I made it to the 18 month mark post stroke; marriage and motherhood. I actually am thankful for that, though, because it wouldn't have made me into who I am today. 

Flash forward twenty years, and my life may not be perfect, and I may have taken some pretty brutal knocks along the way, but it is all made me into who I am today. I have five beautiful children and I still have a lot of life left in me. They sat that doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. It may not happen overnight, but in the end, it is the truth. I may have pretty much lost my once dominant right side, but I can do so much now that I used to take for granted. There are some things that I wish I could go back and change, but there are reasons to be equally glad that they happened the way that they did.

Ipsy and Birchbox

Saturday was an EPIC day to hit the mailbox. I had all  my sales ads for grocery stores and my two beauty subscription boxes that I get each month. Ryli knows that when she sees the telltale packages in the mailbox, there is a very chance that she will get made-up before the day is done. Ipsy and Birchbox, making Saturdays for Ryli a blast once a month since September 2014.

I've been subscribing to Ipsy since September of last year. Ten bucks a month for five samples, and sometimes full sized product, or beauty tools. I have a bunch of totally adorable make-up bags to boot. Ryli often times hijacks them for her Littlest Pet Shop toys and accessories, except for the blue and white bag with the orange zipper and pull. Landry claimed that as his.

I got: Mesmerizing Mineral Eye Duo in Apricot Glow (Pixi by Petra). I don't mind the eyeshadow, however all the eyeshadow that I've gotten from Ipsy has sadly been neutral as Switzerland.The NYX Cosmetics Butter Lipstick in Explosif is nice, but almost the exact shade as a NYX Cosmetics lipstick that I'd gotten a few months back. I'll give the Acure day cream a try next time, but it has its work cut out for it to beat the Mitchell and Peach Fine Radiance Face Oil I got last month. That stuff is awesome and smells so damn good! Ipsy once again sent yet another highlighting product that I just don't use in the form of Ivory Lace Highlighter by Chella. Lastly, something I am excited to try, skyn ICELAND's Hydro-Cool Firming Eye Gels. I received their Mini Glacial Cleansing Cloths back in  October. The bag this month is adorable, and I do foresee fighting with Ryli for it.

Here is the Ipsy bag and contents:

Birchbox is also $10 a month, for 5-6 trial size items, with full size thrown in at times. I've been getting it since January and thus far absolutely love it. This months offerings were great. First off, there's a 2 ounce bottle of Oscar Blandi Hair Lift Thickening & Strengthening Mousse.Ryli has the long hair, so once again, she gets to get all pretty. Who knows, we may be able to get her curls to behave for a bit. A little 2 ml bottle of Supergoop! Advanced Anti-Aging Eye Cream. My peepers like the sound of that. I also got a Mirenesse Glossy Kiss in Angel Kiss, which I can't wait to try, along with a Cargo Swimmables Water-Resistant blush in Los Cabos, which is a soft tangerine shade. Lastly, I got Number 4 Clarifying Shampoo and a Reconstructing Masque. 

Here they are, in all their glory:

Don't get me wrong, I do love them both. I just totally re-did my survey for Ipsy, so hopefully, next month will be better than this month's. You can earn points on both Birchbox and Ipsy, however I find that they accumulate much faster on Birchbox. Where Ipsy has several offerings a month that you can spend your points on, Birchbox lets you use them to pay for a month's box, or use in their shop to buy a full-size product. And they have a lot to offer as far as choices. Birchbox also offers add ons. 

I will update this post in all likelihood when I have tried everything. Or used the hair product on Ryli. 

Time Travel by Earthworm

Earlier in the day, the three of us went for a walk to get the mail and then to the little mom and pop corner store for some treats. As I ran around gathering what was needed for the journey, Landry ran out to the dirt path not far from our door, Ryli on his heels for a change. A few minutes later, I heard the excited cries and gave up my hunt for the elusive mailbox keys.

As I stepped through the door, Landry greeted me with one of his bigger and cheesier smiles and proudly proclaimed that he had found an earthworm. He proudly held out his hand, with the earthworm squirming around his palm. Ryli came up, and she asked to hold it. At that point, I momentarily got nervous that she would get her hands on it and declare it was disgusting and toss it. She didn't.

My mind was instantly transported to when I was her age, roughly 35 years ago. Life on the acreage out in the middle of nowhere, where I would collect toads, garter snakes, and other creepy-crawlies. The days before kindergarten, when all of the sudden, playing with those little creatures was taboo, at least for the girls.

I was jolted back to reality when they both started telling me all these facts about earthworms that they'd gotten from Wild Kratts, The Magic School Bus, and the like. They asked if they could keep her, naturally, and I told them that she would be far happier outside where she could continue to make dirt. They agreed, and put her back on the walk. Ryli covered her up with some dirt so no birds would get her. Then, we found my keys and went about our business.

On our way home, they saw our neighbor, Andy, out walking his dogs. They wanted to show him their worm, so I said yes, doubting that they could find it again. My doubt faded as Ryli turned the corner from our courtyard absolutely beaming, her hands cupped together. Landry and Ryli showed her to Andy and bombarded him with much of the same that they had me. Andy and his roommate Cathy happen to have a compost heap outside their apartment, so he offered to take the worm with him, giving her all the food she could eat, relative safety from birds, and lots of friends. The kids said their goodbyes, and we parted ways.

As we walked into our townhouse, the kids once again pelted me with questions about worms and if they could go out and dig for more. I answered everything as best I could and promising that after dark, I would take them out to look for more.

I can wait for kindergarten. I don't want Ryli to feel like to be a girl, she can't go dig in the dirt and find worms, or fear frogs and toads. Snakes I will educate her on, because unlike Iowa, there are poisonous ones here in Texas, but if she wants to pick up a non-venomous snake, I want her to. If she wants to grow up and be whatever her little heart desires, whether it's girly or not. 

Mippy Manor's Week in Review: Chaos Edition

Another week is on the books, and once again, there were more days that I posted than days that I didn't. Even more posts when you take in consideration the two that just flat went out later than initially planned. I've bounced back from the hour that was stolen a week ago, and the kids have, too, maybe.

I got some mail this week from the Dallas Zoo this week.I am now toying with the notion of a family membership. They way it breaks down price wise, it'd be a steal of a deal, and let's face it, we would get a lot of use out of it. All the gorgeous weekends last summer that we just sat at home, and this year, I have weekdays to fill up since they no longer attend daycare. And there's the Giants of the Jurassic thing they've got going on this year. Landry has dinosaurs on the brain. So, I will probably come up with a way to get that membership, and start buying month long bus passes.

We gave Sling TV a trial run on Monday. It is cool.The kids did get tired of it pretty quickly, though. They were both sitting in my computer chair, jockeying for space, so it was no fault of the programming. The Amazon Fire TV stick came on Thursday. I already knew it had to be hooked up in the living room (the only TV we have "new" enough to have HDMI hook-ups). So, I chose to move the rabbit ears and converter box to my room and my rinky-dink television, and the Blu-Ray player will stay in the kids' room. My must watch shows come on after dinner, so that way I will be upstairs so hopefully the kids will start staying in their room.

Fly Lady is still misfiring. As soon as my ink cartridge comes in next week, I'm going to print out my Control Journal and give it yet another go. I'll start tomorrow, regardless. I have somehow managed to go to bed with the downstairs actually pretty much presentable every night this week. Wednesday night was the worst I'd left it, but we were all in bed by 7:30-8:00, after all. I had it all cleaned up except for sweeping, mopping and vacuuming when Miss Diva came downstairs demanding blueberry oatmeal. I just want to get to a point where I don't feel as if I'm cleaning every waking hour of every day.

Starting Wednesday, I'm going to do a series "Life With/Life Without". Every week, I will post about something I live with or without. The stroke, my clotting disorder, being car-less just to name a few topics. It will serve to let the you, the reader learn some of the reasons that I do things like I do. There is a method to all my madness, and it's getting better/easier all the time.

Last night, I decided to try making a batch of barbecue sauce up to get Ryli and Landry to help me finish up the remnants of Tuesdays Dr. Pepper Spicy Shredded Pork. I went to the kitchen under the assumption that I had the kids properly occupied, but Landry was right on my tail. So I took out all the ingredients and measured them and dumped them into the bowl, and Landry whisked them all together. I decided to heat up the sauce to kill time while we waited for the shredded pork to heat up and the french fries to bake. Landry stood on his chair and continued to neatly whisk the sauce. I melted a slice of cheddar onto the English muffins that were serving as buns, broke out the rest of the baby spinach for little salads, and loaded the makeshift buns with shredded pork and barbecue sauce. They both loved it, and now, I have another recipe the next time that pork butt goes on sale like that again.

Today, I think we'll lay low for the most part. Eventually, we'll take a walk up to the store so I can make Irish Soda Bread on St. Patrick's Day. I misjudged what we had on hand when I made the grocery list Monday. I've got some laundry to put away and a few other things that I need to get done upstairs. No playground yet, it will take a few days of Texas sun to dry that mess up. 

So conflicted

It's grey and raining once again. The rational, adult part of me says that it's good. We haven't gotten near enough rain in quite awhile, and water restrictions are getting really old. I want to be able to fill up a pool for the kids without concern for if the day is even or odd. I want to haul the kids to the beach one of these days, and not worry about the smells that can emit from a lake that's low. The rational, adult part of me says bring it on.

The rest of me is singing "Rain rain, go away" on a loop in my head. I want to take the kids outside to play, because that helps them sleep. I want to go and sit in the sun, while they ride on the scooter or frolic on the playground. I want to be able to get the mail and not have to keep telling Landry to get out of the mud puddles (or plain mud) every 15 feet. I want to see the sun through the windows instead of the drab grey of the sky.

So, here I sit, totally torn about the weather that I can't control. I think this just calls for a little ingenuity on my part. Maybe it's time for some indoor forts or something of that sort!

It came today!

We got the Fire Stick today. So far, it's even better than I'd imagined. And as far as getting it out of the box and setting it up, that was a cinch. I honestly think that Ryli could have done it herself  with  a little instruction. Well, that and a step stool to reach everything. Once I entered my wi-fi key in, it set itself up and launched into a tutorial that pretty much told you everything you needed to know to have it run well. 

 The kids watched Disney on Sling while I made dinner. As I  cleaned up from dinner, Landry wanted to watch Ninjago on Netflix. The picture was awesome on both apps, without a single hiccup. I love the remote. It's small, but the back "door" for the batteries is not easy to get off, which is a very good thing with the two tornadoes as housemates.

Before it arrived, I knew it would go in the living room. After all, it is the only TV I have that has HDMI input. I got to thinking as we waited for it to get here, though. I finally decided that I would take the converter box and rabbit ears to my room, and leave the blu-ray player in the kids' room. Easy peasy, every TV in the house has some type entertainment choice available. 

Tomorrow, after the kids wake up, I'll head upstairs to work on the bedrooms and the bathroom. Who knows, I may even dye my hair.

Holy groceries! (and other news)

So, Monday was our belated grocery shopping trip. This time, I had a plan. I made a rough meal plan, and then I kid you not, I did three drafts of my list. The final was broken down into categories, with price estimates for the things I would need that weren't in the sale ad. It was three pages, broken down into departments or clusters of aisles.

I ran and grabbed the big stuff first. All the things that are on the heavy side when you are walking with a folding grocery cart, a three and a half year old, and a brand new five year old. The only "big" things I didn't get at the start were dairy items. I grabbed soda to last the month, and all the meats. Within 15 minutes of starting this semi-kidless shopping trip (Cynthia was in the car with the kids), the cart was already heavy. After the sodas, I grabbed roughly 45 pounds of meats. 

I then went to the entrance and proceeded through the store on my usual route. I updated the price for things as I went, starting from the beginning. I was pleasantly surprised that the majority of my price estimates were way off on the high side, meaning I could get a few things that I'd forgotten to put on the list. The motivation behind this gargantuan shopping trip was simple; get enough to last the month (minus things like milk because we go through a lot of it) and build up my very pathetic excuse of a pantry, which will over time bring down the amount of money that I spend. 

I'd brought my bags, as I'm making a habit out of using them since Dallas now charges a nickle per bag in the city limits.The store I went to just happened to be in Richardson, so not having enough bags wasn't an issue. Once everything was bagged and paid for, the bagger and I each pushed out a cart and loaded up Cynthia's trunk, and the floorboard at my feet. Oh, and my lap.

Cynthia ran her little girl in to use the bathroom while we loaded up. When she got back, I ran Landry and Ryli in, and then we were off to the house. After what seemed like a million runs back and forth between the car and the house, Cynthia headed for home, and I set out on the herculean task of putting all those groceries away while simultaneously keeping the locusts out of the haul.

It took awhile, and the first shake ups to the meal plan, which were expected. There was no way the Boston butt would fit in the freezer, so that slid into the Tuesday slot as Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork, along with the Slow Cooker Carne Asada. I don't have a dutch oven of any size, so I've always made the shredded pork in the slow cooker. I learned that if you get a larger roast than what the recipe calls for (in my defense, they were on sale for $1.99 a pound, and and 8+ pounder was the smallest I could find), the lid to the crockpot will not go on correctly, adding a bit to the cook time.

So, as you can imagine, the house smelled amazing. The carne asada finished up just in time to make some really good nachos. The shredded pork was plucked from the slow cooker after our meeting last night and shredded when it cooled a bit. I suspect it will easily be Saturday before I need to cook again. That, to me, is awesome. It means more time to play dinosaurs with Landry or Littlest Pet Shop with Ryli, or on occasions, the best of both worlds... dinos and LPS coexisting side by side. Win-win in my book!

A VERY productive end to 12 kidless hours

I will admit this here, because the kids can't quite read yet. I cleaned the dickens out of their room while they were with their father... and wandered off to the dumpsters a cart of crap.. The toys that were all broken or missing way too many parts, buy for some reason which escapes me, will NOT part with. I vacuumed their floor. I sorted out all their toys and put them in bins and boxes.

I was waiting for them when Pepaw and Memaw pulled up. I told them I had something to show them, but I had to go upstairs first. They both freaked out. It was priceless. Then I sat down and told them that Eroy had come back because they hadn't been picking up. I explained to them that any toy that wasn't put away would be collected by Eroy and disappear for a bit.

Eroy was my childhood nemesis. I've given him a transformation into an elf who rides a raccoon from the cemetery dwelling monster that my dad and uncle concocted to try and deter myself and my twin brothers from mischief. It worked better with my brothers than me. I was older and Grandma spared me most of the time. I implemented Eroy once before, and it worked out well, so he's getting a reboot. Any toys that aren't put away before they go to sleep will disappear. Mommy is no longer cleaning their room.

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And alas, I feel like a idiot. This was meant to be posted on Sunday evening. This Daylight Savings has me a bit discombobulated.

I loathe DST

It may only be 2:00 on Tuesday afternoon, but I feel like it is midnight or so. I had the bright idea of getting the kids used to going to bed by how dark it was outside. The sun started to go down, and the bedtime routine would commence. After awhile, I had them to sleep by about 8:00. That left me plenty of time to watch one or two shows uninterrupted and clean up. Heck, I'd even get to watch the news if I so desired. Six o'clock in the morning came, but it was a lot easier to take.

Now, I'm faced with the struggle of them not wanting to start getting ready before it's dark enough. They have this thing that they can NOT get ready for bed before the sun does. It was 10:00 before I got them down last night, as opposed to 11:30 the night before. Tonight, we have a resident meeting, and they both got up earlier than they had been, so tonight I'm shooting for 9:00. 

I just can't wait for things to go back to "normal". I hate it went I feel the need to nap during the day. I did take a nap today with Ryli and Landry. Only I just said mommy wanted to cuddle. They wouldn't have laid down had I used that nasty three letter word. Then, we all got up, ate, and went to a housing meeting I just found out about today. I'm watching Chicago Fire, cleaning the kitchen during commercials, and then I'm going to go to bed and take them with me.

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Well, I did exactly what I intended to last night, I just forgot to post. On the bright side, the kids finally went down surprisingly easy, and I actually woke up when my first alarm went off. Yeah for progress, because I'm not feeling a nap coming on.

Mommy's Relief

I love all my kids to the edge of the known universe and back about a bazillion times. Dacey, Connor, and Tucker don't live with me, but I miss them constantly. Landry and Ryli, however, are with me 24/7, with the exception of visitation weekends. Six hours Saturday and Sunday, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends of the month. Then, I surrender them to their grandparents so they can visit their father. Noon until 6:00 on those weekends, I'm kidless.

At first, it was a lot to take in. I spent each six hour stretch worried that their father would take them and not surrender them. From June 17 until August 23, I had them all the time. Following the advice of my attorney, I kept them, save for a few outings that they made with Memaw and Pepaw. I supplied them with the current temporary protective order until we finally went to court August 19 and I was granted the two year order of protection for myself and the kids. The judge put supervised visitation because of his past behaviors.

The first several weekends damn near drove me nuts. I was a mess. After years of threats, it wasn't surprising that I had a bit of trouble at the start. Then, they'd get home, and all was right with the world again, until the next time. It was a tad maddening the things Ryli would come home saying. She'd tell me how much daddy loved and missed me, and that we could get back together if I'd promise to be nice to him. It was hard not to laugh, especially when Landry would weigh in saying "Daddy is a jerk to Mommy". I don't talk about him like that... that was his spontaneous reaction to what Ryli was saying.

Then, he just started buying them pretty much anything that they wanted when he was with them. He successfully undermined the months I'd spent breaking them from expecting something ever time they entered a store. He stopped that, probably because it was costing him too much. He just tells them to ask me. 

Now, I'm used to the visitation. I actually look forward to it. Its nice to be able to get things done without them under foot. I even get a nap in from time to time. I still fret, and I think that I always will. That just comes with motherhood, I think. I'll just continue to do what I do during my little reprieves. 

Mippy Manor's Week in Review: Solo Saturaday Edition

This week has been a tad disappointing, I'm not going to lie. Plans have been postponed due to illness; the weather has been bingeing on an illegal substance (it has been psycho... snow.. in March... in Dallas?); the farce of kindergarten round-up; the general gloom. In short, with the exception of cooking some incredible eats, my get up and go pretty much left me high and dry, following Elvis out the nearest exit. 

There were little bursts of activity. Bills got paid. The kids have been helping in the kitchen, which has been both a blessing and a curse. Our system of doing the dishes actually made me miss them about 15 minutes after Memaw picked them up at noon. It's actually got me pretty proud. I didn't ask for the help. Ryli volunteered and Landry had to get in on the action. 

Fly Lady was an abysmal failure. There's no way to distort reality enough to say that it was even a mild success. I liked the snooze button way too much this week, which honestly threw everything into chaos. Add to that I just never got around to filling out my little to-do lists, and I was not productive at all. I had already figured out I'm much more productive if I fill it out and follow it. I'm as ADD as the sky is blue, and I know that, I'm just not on anything for it. It just gives me a tangible tool to do what I need to do. This was by far the longest stretch I've gone without the list, and NEVER again will I do it.

The Mippy Manor recipe for cabin fever was perfected this week. Monday was to wet from last week to take the kids to the playground. We made due with an Aldi run, but that was it. Tuesday was rainy all day. Ryli and I went to round up while Landry had a sitter. Wednesday was all rain. Memaw was good enough to run us to Kroger. She sat in the car and I made the run I was going to do on Monday. Thursday was Winter Wonderland, Take Two. The kids got to go play in it for a bit and then we ran and checked the mail. Yesterday we were faced with the soggy aftermath. So, at noon today, I turned two rather stir-crazy kiddos to Memaw. 

With the kids gone, I commenced to kicking the downstairs in the hindquarters in peace, without the tornadoes that the kids have been. It took no time at all, and I was nice enough to leave some jobs for Ryli and Landry when they get home. I dumped all the clean clothes out on my bed so the kids are forced to sleep in their room at least for a few hours a piece. 

Tonight, after the work I left them is done, second dinner is eaten, baths are taken, and jammies are on, we'll make cookies.After they're asleep and the laundry is dealt with, the meal plan and shopping list gets redone. There was nothing wrong with the first set, but I found the 12" cast iron skillet I've been wanting cheaper than even Wally World, and I bought a new skillet that I can cook it the oven with. So, now that I have both of those, I can make more of the one dish recipes that I've wanted to try. Woohoo!

So, despite most of the week sucking, we're ending it on a good note. Now to survive loosing an hour tonight! And I think I missed the kids just a smidge. I found a ton of little toys under furniture and in cabinets, so I did this to greet them when they come home:

Well I am impressed about something!

So, the kids were a bit on the awful side yesterday. No biggie, everyone has their off days. It was one of those days where anything I accomplished in the living room was undone the instant I tried to do something in another room. I've been doing this long enough that I think I'd be shocked if it didn't happen. The fact that they go to Memaw and Pepaw's to see their father Saturday and Sunday for the usual six hour visits probably has a little (or a lot) to do with it. 

So, by  the time I was finding myself counting the minutes until I could ship them off to dreamland and get something done, it was time to take care of a few things in the kitchen so I could eventually put them to bed. I thought I did an okay job of getting them occupied, but the second I went into the kitchen, they were at my heels, begging to be put to work. I pulled chairs up to the kitchen sink and set them to rinsing dishes so I could make sure that all the dirties were loaded up. 

There was an accident when I had them help start the dishwasher. The pre-arranged deal was Ryli put the washer pod in the compartment, Landry shut the compartment, and they shut the door together so I could turn the dial. Ryli was a bit over zealous and started lifting the door before Landry bent over low enough to grab the door and she caught him in the chin. That whole debacle was resolved with a tearful Ryli telling him how sorry she was, and kisses from she and I.

Once again, I tried to get them busy in the living room so I could finish off the meal I'd started in the crock pot Wednesday night in the event that the frozen precipitation knocked our power out, then do the sides. Once again, they were so not having it. I got the sauce thickened and put the chicken covered in sauce in the oven to heat it back up and they were back. So, they took turn handing me green beans so I could trim off the ends. They did the same thing as I halved the grape tomatoes, and then I'd hand them back to the hand that gave it to me to make sure the halves were unattached.That was made difficult by the fact that they love grape tomatoes almost as much as they love bananas. 

They watched me on and off as I warmed the butter in the skillet and then dumped in the tomatoes. Ryli grilled me about what I was sprinkling on them. All Landry cared about was I did nothing to make them spicy. When the tomatoes had cooked enough and I added the green beans, they promptly left, as they saw me grab the pineapple, so they knew I was about to open the can. I sent them off to get the table ready while I finished up and to seat themselves. 

They ate all their dinners before helping me clean off my plate and they ate all the pineapple again. And then, without warning, the lull ended until I finally got them to sleep. 

Ryli's Kindergarten Round-Up (so NOT impressed)

I still vaguely remember my kindergarten round-up, even if it was 1981. The prospective kindergartners went to a real kindergarten class, and our future teachers led us through mini-lessons while our moms filled out the paperwork and showed proof of immunizations. With my oldest, in 2001, she was asked to attend, and after the paperwork was out of the way, we got a tour of the school. 

Tuesday rolled around and I knew that I was short a complete shot record, as I accidentally had Ryli's packed away for our impending move when she had her 4 year set of shots. No big deal, right? I'd just call her pediatrician's office and have them fax it over. They'd done it for me in the past. I called around 10:00 and gave them the school's name and their fax number. 

At 2:45, after the sitter arrived for Landry, Ryli and I struck out in a fine drizzle to the school. Not too bad of a walk, and it went by quickly with all of Ryli's endless questions about my experiences in kindergarten. After-school pick up was in full swing when we arrived, so I quickly found the sign indicating the office and in we went to find out where we were supposed to go. I was a little miffed when we were told to go back outside and around the entrance to the cafeteria entrance, but off we went.

Ryli put up her Hello Kitty umbrella and I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt up as we headed to the other entrance. We were early, and there were already a handful of moms and kids waiting. The line built up behind me quickly, and the drizzle turned into a steady rain.

Staff kept sticking their head out the door asking why we were all standing there, and they all looked confused when we told them that we were there for round-up. They kept us outside, each saying "Well I'll find out what's going on". Finally, after about 25 minutes of waiting, 10 minutes passed the scheduled start time, they let us in one by one after giving us a numbered post it note.

We got inside and stayed in line so we could show all of our documentation before being given our enrollment paperwork. When it was our turn, I found out that they had never received the fax from the doctor's office, so we went to a table and I called the office. Apparently, they got a busy signal and never tried to send it again. They finally sent it over 45 minutes later.

Sometime during this wait, someone finally decided to break out coloring sheets and crayons for the future kindergartners we were all told to bring along with us. Apparently, they had nothing planned but the filling out of paperwork.

As I filled out the paperwork I had finally gotten into my hands, they collected all the documentation from us one by one to make copies. I asked about protective orders, and they said the school would need a copy before the first day of school, so I pulled that out and turned it over with the shot record, birth certificate, Social Security card, copy of our lease, and my drivers license. 

After all the paperwork was done, we were then told to go get into another line. Thankfully, they brought out a few cookies while we waited. Finally, it was our turn. We went up to the table and yet again had to present all of our documents so they could be checked off. Then, the freshly done paperwork was gone over to check that everything was filled out. I was then handed a pamphlet on how to prepare my child for kindergarten, and we were sent on our way.

The walk home was nothing short of miserable. Ryli was mad that she didn't at least get to see the classroom. And by mad, I mean up until the point where we came up to the street at the crosswalk, she was threatening an all-out nuclear meltdown. She tripped crossing the street and cried over her hands the rest of the way home. When we got their, she started bragging to her brother that she got to see her school. Go figure.

All and all, I would have to say that was the single most disorganized excuse for a school event that I have ever been to, and I hope that we move to a different area before the school bells ring again for the 2015-2016 school year.

Snow Day

Apparently, Mother Nature has gone off the deep end and had lost track of time and location. What started out as rain with intermittent downpours became freezing rain. That became sleet and snow, and here we are now that the storm has passed with about 3" of accumulation. I live in Dallas, and as you all know, it is March. Right? 

I'm at that stage with the kids that snow days are a lot like any other day. They haven't started school yet, so it hasn't become that awe inspiring thing that it morphs into when you go to school Monday-Friday. Granted, it is nice that they realize that its melting right now, so going anywhere very far is bound to be cold and wet, so they have hunkered down to play and periodically ask for something to drink, or if they can watch something. 

Right this very instant, Landry is content playing with his dinosaurs while watching a cartoon about a boy and his dinosaurs. Ryli keeps threatening to take a nap. All is relatively quiet for now. I think that last Thursday's snow and all the playing in it gave them their fill for the year. Landry complained of being cold for ages it seemed, wrapped in every blanket I could find. Ryli did refuse to take her coat off in case her friends went back out. 

Next year, Ryli for certain will be in kindergarten, with Landry hopefully in pre-k. Whether Landry makes it in or not, a snow day will be a treat for both of them, I'm sure. 

My Favorite To Do List

I have always been, and will in all likelihood, always be a tad scatterbrained. The ADD doesn't help me much in that regard. To do lists have always been recommended, but with me, they always became a page of doodles and half-written things to do, or filled to overflowing, with enough tasks and things to do that Superwoman herself would be hard pressed to get it all done.

In the other blog's preparatory days, I stumbled upon a nice little printable that broke everything down. A section for meals, things to do about the house (with only so many spaces), ideas, everything. I found it at Christian Mommy Blogger. There are two to choose from, one with a homeschooling category, and one without. I love it so much, I am considering laminating a few and using an ultra fine tip dry erase marker on them. 

The best thing for me is the entire bottom section. It's titled "Plan of Attack" and has categories AM, Noon, and PM. I fill one out right before bed or right after I get up, and I tend to not aimlessly drift through my day. Best part of it, hands down, is it means that I have time to relax with the little people and not feel as if I'm slacking.

I keep the one for the day on a full size clipboard. Much easier to keep track of that way. And when I am done with one, they currently go into a drawer in the hutch so that the kids have something other than brand new printer paper to write and draw on. All in all, it works out quite well, and I can tell a difference between days where I use ones and the days that I don't. Soon, I hope that I can go Saturday and Sunday without needing to fill them out.

The plan I have starting on Monday is to fill them out with my Fly Lady tasks for the day, and any other "extra" things that I deem necessary.

And with that, I bid you ado, as I need to add printer ink to my shopping list!

This should be interesting...

So, I have been eyeing Amazon's Fire TV for quite awhile. Then, just before Christmas, the released the Fire TV stick. I instantly started to drool. We do TV the old school way here, we just had to add a digital converter box to our trust rabbit ears. I've also heard whisperings of Sling TV, which sounded really good. Certain cable networks that are available through them for $20 a month. They have add on packs as well, each running $5. Not bad in my book.

Over the weekend, I was perusing Amazon, as I had a gift card. I looked up Fire TV Stick, and they were running a promotion with Sling TV. Sign up for three months of Sling, and you either got a $50 credit to use towards a Fire TV box, or a free Fire TV Stick. Today, even through it won't ship out until March 10, I ordered my Fire TV Stick after I signed up for Sling with the added Kid's pack. And since the order total was enough to get free shipping, I bought a brush for Ryli's curly locks that was highly recommended. Win-win.

After I get the munchkins safely off to Dreamland tonight, I'm going to give Sling a whirl. I already have the app on the laptop, so I may as well start using the service since I'm paid until June! So, soon, you'll have a review of Sling on the computer, and after the Fire TV Stick, I'll review them both. And, as an added bonus, I'll get a 30-day trial of Prime. Yippee!

Here we go again with Fly Lady

Due in part to a couple of awesome ladies I know, a mass purge was done of the townhouse a few weeks back. X didn't really like to throw much of anything away, even broken toys of the kids and outgrown clothes. I had clothes in my closet that I hadn't worn since before Ryli was born, and shoes that I can't/won't wear. It's all done now, and that leaves me with the upkeep.

The first time I ever heard of Fly Lady, it sounded good, but I always got side-tracked, or I'd plan to start it and I'd forget. A thousand and one excuses, and as many failures. My biggest excuse is no longer in the picture, though, so here we go again.

I'm going out to do my errand running later today. I'm going to buy a brand new three-ring binder to stow my Home Control Journal. I also have to get all the cleaning supplies I'm short on and paper goods and all that other fun stuff. And groceries, too, because these kids of mine can eat.

I've already started my Control Journal. I have pens that are perfect for the task. They write very well, and they erase. I'm talking just as good as pencil and eraser. I tend to be a little bit of a perfectionist, as well as a hoarder connoisseur  of pens. Pilot FriXon... I love them. I now have two packs of them, and I'm starting to whittle down my collection. Despite my love of allthings tech, I still keep a pen and paper planner, and these are wonderful. Everything is color coded, and there are no scribbles in the planner (unless Landry somehow got ahold ofit). I digress, let me get back to the topic at hand. 

I have my handy dandy Cozi app on my phone and my tablet, which will show the correct Fly Lady zone as well as my "mission" every day, so I don't need to hop on the computer to have a clue as to just what I need to do. I'll get the kids in on it, too. I am not the only one who lives here, and I'm tired of being the only one to clean. That will probably be fodder for many a post. Ryli has a penchant for the dramatic, and her explanations for why she can't do things will surely be epic. Landry will be a stubborn little mule, but where do you think he got all that stubborn from? They even have Fly Baby things that are geared towards children. 

I am excited about restarting the whole thing. No more living in CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome), and the kids are happier as well. Here's to bigger, better things! And we'll start it all off with Zone 1: Front Porch, Entrance & Dining Room. In our case, it's more like the designated dining area, but it works for us!