What were those chicks eating?

Today has been a day I have spent wishing I had returned to work. I started out pretty low on patience since I've been sick all week and am still trying to get over it. Emily quickly drained my low reserves this morning when she climbed to the third shelf of the linen closet and pushed all the folded sheets out of her way so she could "sleep" there. After I got her down, she followed up her opening act by climbing to the top of her bookcase and then climbing into Jane's crib so she could investigate her mobile.

And then things started to go downhill. We visited the local ranch supply store so Emily could gawk at the baby chicks. As we were leaving, I noticed a mystery greenish paste on the knees of her pants. I can only assume it was chick poop. We got home just in time for both girls to be hungry for lunch. After changing Emily's pants and considering the best method to remove bird feces from clothing, I fed Emily, fed Jane and figured I could do fine with a cookie for lunch. Then I started in on the hand-me downs. Jane is quickly outgrowing her 3 month sizes, so I retrieved the carefully packed box labeled "6 months" from the basement only to discover that although the clothes looked clean 2 years ago, the residual spit-up has caused an amazing yellowing effect over time. I'm still not sure if it will ever come out.

But as I was reading to Emily before her nap, something happened that made me glad I was at home today instead of at work. Emily and I were sitting on the bed and Jane was laying next to us investigating a toy lamb. She is at that stage where the first thing she wants to do with any toy is to stick it in her mouth. She is getting very good at grabbing things with her hand and getting them in her mouth. That's why I was surprised and elated when she pushed the toy lamb to her mouth with her little arm. Although we have been encouraging her to use her little arm, this is the first time I have seen her use it without any prompting to play with something. I'm glad I'm the one who got to see that. It wouldn't have meant much to a daycare provider, but to me it was another sign that Jane will be okay. And for now, that's exactly what I need.

How the serpent got Eve to take a bite

Although I try very hard to avoid falling for corporate America's ploys to get me to spend more money than is necessary, I admit I occasionally fall prey to the impulse buy. Lately, my Achilles heel has been Cadbury Cream Eggs. Because, you know, that bunny only cranks them out from February to April and if I don't take advantage of them now, I will most certainly regret it.

Last week, as I was doing my weekly grocery shopping, a new item was strategically placed in order to force me into another impulse buy. There I was, minding my own business in the produce section, when suddenly I noticed the clamshell case holding four small fuji apples. Not just any apples - Grapples. Apples that taste like grapes?! I had to buy this product. Because I had to know if the claim on the package was true. Did I care that the net weight was only 20 oz. and the price was $4? Of course not! Can you really put a price on fruit that tastes like other fruit?

When I reached home, I rushed to put the groceries away so I could tear open that clamshell case. As you can see, the Grapple is like any other apple. And, disappointingly, it is not purple on the inside. Does it really taste like a grape? Yes. But very subtly. To be honest, it tasted more like an apple than a grape. By a long shot. And a fuji apple doesn't have a very strong flavor to begin with. Needless to say, this week's shopping trip will not include any more Grapples. Now if they could just make a lemon flavored banana... that is something I would buy in a heartbeat.

Lamest Blog Ever

Someday, I will live a fascinating life. Someday my kids will be grown and I will travel and take up interesting hobbies and my friends will be regaled by stories of my life. Today is not that day. Today I am going to blog about my new washer and dryer and try to communicate the excitement I feel about these major appliances. Because I am very excited.

When Chris and I had only been married a couple years, we moved into our first rental house with washer and dryer hookups. Since the move was unexpected, we didn't have anything saved for said appliances. Accordingly, we purchased the least expensive set that Whirlpool made. And I was happy that I didn't have to feed quarters into the machine to do my laundry. I did four loads of laundry a week and had no complaints about my washer and dryer.

Fast forward six years... Now that we have two kids, one of which thinks it's fun to foul my shirts with spitup, I found myself doing two or three loads of laundry a day. The washer smelled like mold and the dryer took three cycles to get our clothes to damp. So when I realized we would be getting a nice tax refund this year, I immediately set about convincing Chris about how I thought it should be spent. He didn't need any convincing.




A few days ago, our new washer and dryer arrived. My life will never be the same again. They are incredibly quiet, they smell like a new car, the washer does a great job cleaning and the dryer only takes about an hour to work its magic. Best of all, they are HUGE. (We selected the Maytag Bravos, which is the largest top load we could find.) Half an hour ago, my laundry room was overflowing. Now all that laundry is spinning quietly in my beautiful new washer.

So there it is, the lamest blog post ever. I hope you enjoyed it. And if not, stay tuned. I promise my life will be more interesting once my kids are out of diapers.