To call it a vacation would just be wrong

1 Road Trip…

2 Moms…

3 Days…

4 Kids…

Need I say more? Okay, just a little. But I have to keep it brief since I’m so exhausted!

For some strange reason my friend Teri and I thought it would be fun to load up our kids (two 3 year olds and two 1 year olds) for a three-day/two-night trip to Everett, WA to shop at Chelsea Premium Outlets.

Out of the three days on our road trip, I think we spent about three hours actually shopping. What stands out most in my head is…

- Cassie’s split lip and blood covered face (it happened while I was watching her – Teri will never leave me to watch her daughter again while grabbing Starbucks!)

- Four kids screaming, crying and making tons of noise in the minivan (not to mention a headache that nothing will cure!)

- Sitting outside of the motel room looking over the I5 while waiting for the kids to actually fall asleep at night

- The nasty semi-truck driver speeding up to try and run us off the on-ramp and into a concrete barrier (thanks to Teri’s good reaction skills we survived unscathed, no accident, but seriously stressed - or maybe the stress was from the kids...)

- Trying to find the petting zoo when I didn’t write down directions, an address, or even the general area (thank goodness for seven-11s and a friend with an innate sense of direction and stellar memory for Mukilteo Blvd.!)

We must have done something right, because after being home for only three hours, Devin asked me when we were going to do it again.

“You had fun?” I asked her, thinking about how much the girls bickered, screamed and cried during the trip.

“Yeah. Can we go on another vacation tomorrow?” she said.

Since we were in the middle of dinner and bedtime was just around the corner, I did what any good mother would do to get out of the situation unscathed - I lied.

“We’ll do it again sometime soon,” I said.

“Tomorrow?”

“Sometime soon,” I said, thinking that next time it might have to be the dads doing the road trip while us moms enjoy a bit of an actual vacation!

Great web site for mutlitasking moms!

I found a great web site that I just have to share with everyone! It's called Pageflakes.com.

This web site enables you to have EVERYTHING on one main page. For example, my page has the weather, a calendar, a to do list and a section to write notes to myself. It also has news feeds, blog feeds from my favourite blogs, and a sudoku game! Everything I need is right there when I open the Internet.

Check it out!

Are you a shopaholic mom?

Here's a great article about turning into a shopaholic after having a baby:

Becoming a Postpartum Shopaholic New moms confess how "retail therapy" became an addiction
By Janene Mascarella
Parenting.com

My ideal mom-mobile

I just read a funny article about what a mom’s ideal car would be in a new magazine I just discovered, Hybrid Mom magazine. It got me thinking about what special features I wish my car had.

Here is a wish list for my ideal car:

Privacy screen – I can’t think of a time that I’ve been out and haven’t wished for a nice piece of glass to slide up and separate me from the sounds of crying or whining.

Mini fridge – I need a place to keep milk and snacks cold.

Bottle warmer – For when I need to warm up Jordan’s formula.

A conveyer belt – I need a conveyer belt to distribute snacks, drinks and toys while I’m driving.

An intelligent DVD player – Wouldn’t it be great to have a DVD system that could respond to, “I want to watch Nemo!” – something that would just magically find the video, skip past the ads and setup options and quickly play the video. Oh, and something that knows when the fast forward the scary parts (like when Nemo’s mom dies”.

Autopilot – I’d love to have a car that drives itself so that I could take care of other things, like making dentist appointments, doctor’s appointments, planning out life in my day planner, etc. With the privacy screen up and the intelligent DVD player taking care of the kids, I’d actually have a minute to think.

What would you add to this awesome mom-mobile?

You know it's going to be a long day when...

This morning set the tone for the day. After getting the kids fed and settled in the playroom, I sat down to eat my well desired breakfast in a little bit of peace. As I was enjoying my oatmeal, my darling daughter toddled over to me, put her chubby little hands on my lap, looked lovingly into my eyes and proceeded to grunt, grown and push out a particularly foul smelling you-know-what. The tone was set.

Right now it’s 9 p.m. and that same little angel is still awake. She should have been asleep two hours ago and has been fighting sleep since then.

I don’t have the energy to go through all the happenings of today, but let’s just say that I’m really ready for my husband to come home (he’s off riding his mountain bike).

When will this day end?

As a side note, it's amazing how cute my kids can be even when I wish they would sleep. I'm watching SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and Jordan is trying to dance with the contestants, which is totally cute!

RC2 Corp. Recalls Various Thomas & Friends™ Wooden Railway Toys Due to Lead Poisoning Hazard

I heard about this recall from my mom after she watched the noon news the other day. Here's a link to find out more about the recall, which is due to lead paint on some of the toys. There is a list of the dangrous toys on the recall site.

New Radio Station

I was wondering what happened to Z 95.3. Here's an article from the Vancouver Sun that talk about the new station on 95.3 called Crave. Here's a link to their new web site.

This switch has answered a long time question of mine. I've always wondered how old people go from listening to current music to the oldy station. Now I know. Their current station figures out that their listeners are getting older and slowly changes into an oldy station. Instead of switching stations, listeners feel comfortable and start grooving to old stuff.

Now I'm faced with a dilemma. Do I continue listening to 95.3 or do I switch to a station that plays only current stuff? Do I start following the change to an oldy station or do I try to stay current?

Shopping is no fun when it makes you feel fat

On Saturday I decided that I was going to spend the $50 gift certificate to Plum that’s been burning a whole in my pocket since October. Why wasn’t it spent sooner? Well, I’ve been struggling with my weight and promised that I would wait until I lost a bit of weight. So with around 20 lbs lost since that time, I felt like Saturday was the perfect day to go shopping.

I wanted to get a cute little summer dress that I could dress up or down, depending on the occasion. I wanted something that was pretty, flattering and comfortable. I didn’t think I was asking for too much.

I was excited when I got there due to the amazing selection of sundresses. This was going to be a snap! So I grabbed every single dress I could find in my newest size and headed to the change room.

Here is one of the first dresses I tried on in a long line of dresses of this style. I could barely get the size 8 dress zipped up over my chest and was horrified to discover that it made me look pregnant! My youngest is a year old, so the pregnant look is a look that I’m trying to get away from now. After six dresses in this style continued to make me look pregnant, I tossed them on the reject rack and decided to try on a different style.


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This style is what I like to call “Grandma Style”. Although the dress looks beautiful in the photo and totally cute on the rack, it was horrific to wear. Not only did it make me look pregnant, and not zip up all the way in the bust, again, but it also made me look like a grandma without a sense of style.

Not one to learn quickly, I tried on four other dresses of this cut and style, thinking that perhaps a different colour or pattern would change something. It didn’t.

With the reject rack now heavy with clothes that looked beautiful on the hangers, a sales lady came over to help. I could tell by her size 2 build that this was going to turn into an even more mortifying experience pretty soon.

After I explained the problem with the reject dresses, she said she’d find me something and returned with some hideous looking dresses. Apparently the other ones just weren’t made for my “build”. These ones were – they were “very forgiving”.

Now I don’t want to go off on a tangent here, but I don’t really feel as though I’m particularly fat (even though I want to lose 15 lbs more in order to get back to my pre-babies weight) and was a little surprised to learn that my size 8 “build” needed a specific dress that was more figure flattering. But with my saggy boobs, the little pouch on my tummy and my slightly larger thighs, I understand the need for figure flattering clothes.

So I tried on this dress and was actually very happy with how it fit. I didn’t look pregnant, only slightly grandma-ish and could wear a normal bra with it. But it was pretty thin and the pattern didn’t take me breath away. Plus, I really didn’t think the price tag of $89 was worth it. I’d have to wear it a lot at that price.


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I tried on this wrap dress and liked it too, but it was way too thin. So thin that I wouldn’t even feel comfortable wearing it with a slip underneath. The sales chick suggested some control top undergarment might make me feel more comfortable, which made me wonder how fat I really look right now. So it joined the other dress on the reject pile.

Since I was bound and determined to get a dress, I finally settled on one that the sales clerk said made me look one size smaller. I couldn’t find a picture of it to show you, but it did look okay. After charging the $90 dress I walked out of the store with an acute sense of buyer’s remorse.

The problem with the dress was that it felt restrictive and a little too fancy to be chasing kids in. I could barely get the zipper done up over my chest, but there was no way I would consider going up a size! Not when I’ve been working so hard to get down to an 8. Another mark against the dress was that it needed a nice pair of black high heel shoes, which I don’t currently own.

With all that in mind, I decided that the dress wasn’t for me and returned it on Sunday afternoon.

I still want a summer dress, but I guess I’ll have to look elsewhere. Is there a good store out there that makes clothes specifically for “my build”? If not, I’ll get back to you about shopping once I’ve lost a bit more weight.

You know Devin’s tired when:

She yells, “Pee, pee pee!” and then just stands there waiting for someone to do something about it. If we don’t move fast enough, it usually ends with an accident and lots of crying.

Nothing satisfies her – from watermelon to blueberries to strawberries to a peanut butter sandwich.

She argues about everything, including whether or not it’s actually raining outside.

She runs into everything, walls, doors, doorknobs, counters and closets.

She throws a tantrum over the simplest things, like putting on her shoes, shouting, “I can’t do it!”

She wants a second helping of cake before anyone else and then cries when she gets what she wants.

She goes to bed at night without a fight.

When a good day turns ugly

Today started off as a good day, but went downhill seriously fast this afternoon. This morning the girls and I got out of the house for a play date at a friend’s house and stayed for a lunch of Macaroni and Cheese (Devin’s favourite). Shortly after lunch, we headed home for a naptime that just wasn’t meant to be.

Now Devin doesn’t nap much anymore, which is usually fine. But I felt that she really needed a nap today since she was up way too late last night and way too early this morning. She was getting whiny and cranky and definitely needed some downtime. So with the tantalizing thought of having some time to myself when both kids were bed for an afternoon nap, I tiptoed off to my bedroom to check my email in peace and quite. I guess that’s when my good day went disastrously wrong.

Devin has what I like to refer to as a iron will. Once she gets something in her head, almost nothing can sway her from her chosen course of action. This afternoon she made it her mission to ruin naptime.

After I spent an hour chasing Devin back into her bed and soothing her screaming baby sister who was not happy about the constant ruckas during naptime (or perhaps was more upset about being trapped in her crib and unable to contribute to the rukas) I decided that it was better to send Devin downstairs and salvage what was left of naptime for Jordan.

Now after playing battle of wills for an hour and winning, Devin wasn’t going to let me off the hook so easily and refused to play quietly. Instead she yelled and screamed and banged around the house while I tried to recharged with a little bit of alone time before facing the three-year-old terror once again.

Before too long the whirlwind of noise made her way upstairs and woke up Jordan before she really got much of a nap. By then I knew the whole idea of my naptime paradise was a futile dream and hauled the kids downstairs for snacks in the hope that the day would take a positive turn. It didn’t.

I had developed a pounding headache that was deeply aggravated by each word my loquacious daughter said, and it was obviously that her chatter wasn’t going to come to an end anytime soon. So I did what anyone else would do in such a dire situation. I called my mom and headed over there for moral support.

My mom could probably see the headache on my face, or the look of sanity slowly leaving my eyes, when I arrived and made sure that I got some time alone. She took the kids for a walk and I jogged out my frustration on her treadmill. By the time they got back, I was better prepared to face the evening.

I managed to make a delicious dinner of blueberry pancakes and got the girls up to bed promptly at 7 p.m. Then I called Ken for a pep talk (wish he wasn't away right now). Here’s hoping that tomorrow afternoon goes a little bit better!

Is there anything these two men can't do?

Seriously, they make interior design look easy, dress us up without tons of drama and now they are designing outdoor spaces! What's next?

Oh, and in case you didn't know, I just love Steven and am convinced that anything he touches turns to gold.

Why won't my weight go down?

I’m feeling a little frustrated today and am really glad that I have a coaching session tomorrow with Leslie Salmon Jones, a personal trainer and wellness coach (I write her quarterly newsletter and always learn lots when working on each issue).

Yes, I’ve lost a fair amount of weight lately and I’m happy about that. But to be honest, I’ve worked my butt off for every pound that I’ve lost. In training for my triathlon I’ve been jogging three days a week, swimming two days a week and biking two or three days a week. I also walk all over town and chase kids around all day. Yet, since January I’ve only lost around 25 lbs. I know that’s something to be proud of, but I still have another 15 lbs (at least) to go! And the problem is that it’s not going. In fact, nothing has been working since the end of March.

Enter my mother-in-law. She pops by today looking great. Her pants are baggy, her face is looking slender and she’s two pounds lighter than me! Instead of working out, she’s going to Herbal Magic and the weight is dropping off like nothing else.

So after our little visit, I loaded the kids in the car and headed up to the gym to sweat out my frustrations with a jog. Although I did break out into a very perfuse sweat, my frustrations didn’t make it out.

I’m looking forward to my coaching session tomorrow but am a little jealous about how easily the pounds are coming off my mother-in-law. I hope Leslie has some good words of wisdom for me, because I’m getting a little tired of working so hard and getting so little out of it.

Here’s the really depressing part, I’m going up to the Okanogan at the end of the month to stay with my mother-in-law for a week while Ken’s out of town. I figure it will be nice for the girls to get some time in with their Nana and hopefully I’ll get a little bit of a break while Nana plays with them. But now I’m afraid that she’s going to look way better in a bathing suit than I am if she keeps on losing weight while I hang out at this plateau. I know, it’s nothing life or death, but my self-esteem really doesn’t need that kind of a beating right now. You know?

Sugar and spice and everything nice?

You know that poem about girls being made of “sugar and spice and everything nice” and boys are made of “snakes and snails and puppy dog tails”? Well, I always assumed there must be some truth to that poem. That is until Devin came along.

Almost since day one her bowl movements have been a big deal. As a baby she didn’t just fill diapers, her poop exploded out of every different brand on a daily basis all the way up to her neck and down to her toes. It was seriously gross.

I thought that we were done with the bowel movement grossness now that she’s potty trained, but today she proved me wrong.

She currently thinks going pee on the grass in our backyard is fun (we are working on changing that). So every time I see her drop her drawers and squat outside I yell at her to use the potty, which is precisely what happened this afternoon. Well, maybe not precisely.

Once she ran in the house and got on the potty, she called to say she pooped, which was fine and good. The gross part comes next.

Once we wiped, she said, “I’m sorry I pooped on the grass like a doggy, mommy.”

“What?” I asked, praying that she was just pretending.

Sure enough, we went outside and she pointed out her pile of poop on the grass just like a dog. Gross. Isn’t this something a little boy would do instead of a pretty little princess?

Now to be perfectly honest, her little pile on the lawn is the main reasons we don’t have a dog. I gag easily and have a fierce dislike of picking you-know-what up off the ground.

Yet there I was, cleaning up the yard after my daughter. As I fought back a gag, I thought, “Sugar and spice and everything nice? I don’t think so!”