the end

I have completely shocked myself that I have posted something every. single. day. in November. When Shireen suggested I join her, I honestly didn't give it much thought. I just thought, sure, why not? But deep down, I knew I would not follow-through. I knew I would start strong, but would eventually forget or just say screw it and just stop.

But I didn't. Sure, some of my posts are completely throw away posts that I have considered deleting when December rolls around, but I have learned a few things about myself and about this blogging thing. I realize now, I won't be deleting them. For they show that I stuck with it and even when I didn't want to continue, I did. In the past, I would have never considered posting such filler, because what's the point? and no one wants to read that. And that would have made it easier to not post the next day or the next.

I have learned that it's okay to be myself.
To write what I want to write.
To not worry about what other people might think.

I learned that even though I wanted to be organized about this month's posts, and write some things ahead, that is not who I am.
I think I already knew that.

I have learned that very few people comment on blogs these days.
And that it's a lot less fun when there are no comments.

I have also learned how important it is for me to leave comments on other blogs I read.
Even if it's not much more than I really liked this post. Thanks for sharing.

I learned that I just have to sit down and start typing.
And stop worrying.
Or being self-conscious.

I learned that I do enjoy blogging. Though I don't really like rules.

So, I think what all this means is that I will be blogging more than I used to (though that is not difficult).
And I hope that I can find more of my own rhythm.
And reveal more of who I really am.

just write: first look

I notice it before you do. 

I point you towards the glass door so that you can see it too.

Your eyes grow wider, your lips form a huge smile.

Though I'm not fond of it, seeing your joy in discovering it melts my heart.

You let out a rambunctious cheer, "Woohoo!"

And so it begins. 

The ground is soon covered in a thin layer of white.

You dream about building snowmen and having snowball fights.

I dream about snuggling down with a blanket and cup of coffee.

Winter has arrived.

Linking to Heather of the EO's Just Write.

cyber monday: what a "deal"

It never ceases to amaze me what some people will buy, just because it's on sale. 

Today, as I was checking out the Lightning Deals on Amazon, it became apparent that many, many people were jumping onto Cyber Monday "deals" without a second thought. 

If you're unfamiliar with how these deals work, Amazon will tease you with a picture or description of an item that will soon be on sale. Many times, it lists the current selling price under the description. When the time comes for the deal to start, that price will (usually --see below) be replaced with the retail price, which will then be crossed out and the new sale price will be displayed along with the % savings. Keep in mind, the % savings is based off the retail price, not the price you could have purchased the same item for minutes ago (since many items on Amazon are already on sale every day). Many of these deals will actually be only a few dollars different than Amazon's normal sale price.

My favorite example of this was for a Bucket-O-Balls, which was selling for $19.99 just a few minutes before Noon PST. Once the lightning deal started, the deal price was suddenly $29.99. Only Amazon forgot to update the retail price to the $39.99 price (which you would find if you clicked on the picture). So instead, the % savings was actually a negative 50% off. Yes, it read NEGATIVE.

And people still bought the deal.

I didn't actually click on this item before the lightning deal began, so it's possible that the $19.99 is the actual typo. However, if someone was interested in purchasing this, you would think that the negative savings would make anyone pause and wonder what was going on. You would also think said person would click through to the reviews to determine if this was a product worth $30. According to many reviews, it doesn't appear this product was even worth the $20. And yet, by the time the deal was over, 100% of these products had been claimed.

In a few weeks, when I need a good laugh, I may have to go back and read more reviews after these have been delivered...

what i've learned from #nablopomo - part 1

I've learned that there is very little chance I will be posting on the weekends in the future.

cell phone saturday

Punkin enjoying the arrival of Santa & his reindeer & Christmas Tree Lighting at Clay Terrace.
Photos via cell phone

thankful

I am thankful for the floors that need vacuumed.
I am thankful for the piles and piles of laundry.

I am thankful for the never-ending questions.
I am thankful for the mid-night wakings.

I am thankful for the toys that need picked up.
I am thankful for the toilets that need scrubbed.

I am thankful for the dishes that need washed.
I am thankful for the beds that need made.

I am so thankful for the house that is our home, the clothes that keep us warm, the everyday things we take for granted.

I am even more thankful for the son who loves to learn and discover, the husband who provides and loves so much, the God who has blessed us so.

happy thanksgiving

Hope you are surrounded by those you love.

Happy Thanksgiving!

thanksgiving "feast"

Turkey, mashed potatoes, some gravy, a roll, and pumpkin mousse. Sounds delicious to me. Unfortunately, Punkin did not agree.

I should have taken an "after" picture. Oh wait, just look above, it would be nearly the same. (He did eat about half of the roll and the mousse.)

Here's Punkin before seeing his plate. Before the tears welled up. Before the red, splotchy face.

You would have thought we were asking him to take a big bite of rat poop the way he reacted to trying gravy. (And besides, he had a choice of potatoes without gravy or with gravy. We compromised down to just trying the gravy on its own.) And he still couldn't really bring himself to do it. He finally did lick some off his fork, but it was so traumatic, I don't think he could even register the taste. I wish I knew why he can't process trying new things... or new things that aren't dessert anyway, because he totally tried that pumpkin mousse with no issues whatsoever.

And, of course, I felt frustrated and guilty for making the whole thing unpleasant to begin with. I knew going in that he wouldn't want any of the foods they were having and yet, I couldn't resist trying to get him to at least taste it. My goal next time will be to completely ignore the food altogether and hope we can all have a better time.

You can't really see it in this picture, but each child wrote what they were thankful for. Punkin's mentions he is thankful for his family. I hope he still feels the same way!

dentist the menace

I went to the dentist today.

I hate going to the dentist.

The smells, the sounds.

The scraping, the polishing, the flossing.

The small talk. How do you have a conversation with someone who constantly has their fingers in your mouth anyway?

The weather is always terrible when I go to the dentist.

The raining. (Or the snowing.) Never the sunshine.

The new toothbrush. The new floss. Those aren't so bad.

The Starbucks giftcard... what's that? "Thank you for being our patient."

Huh, I love going to the dentist.

on high alert

Words you are never quite prepared to hear from your five-year old:

"Mama, do you know what a lock down drill is?"

I had read tweets about schools doing these drills a couple of weeks back, but it never crossed my mind that Punkin would be participating in them at preschool too.

It's a fine line to dance with - wanting your child to be smart and prepared if he ever found himself in a dangerous situation but also wanting to protect his innocence and not live in fear of the what ifs.

I'm glad his school did the drill, and apparently with a certain level of ease rather than alarm, as it was at least three days before Punkin even mentioned it. I'm also glad that when I told him that these drills are so we're prepared "just in case" and not something that we need to worry about every day that it's true and he believed me.

(I really don't want one more excuse for a middle of the night wake-up!)

is it spring yet?

repin this

I mentioned pinterest in a previous post. It's quickly become a great resource that I use for organizing recipes, gift ideas, projects I'd like to attempt, and so on and so on... (along with a huge time suck when I don't feel like doing much of anything else).

Some day, I'll write a post with the different things I've attempted and how they turned out.

But for now, I thought I'd share with all of you the pin of mine that others have repinned the most times. I always like to see what other people are repinning and I see this one get repinned so many times, that I thought it might be something you'd like as well.

It's such a simple idea. Maybe that's why people like it so much.

Reindeer Beer / Reindeer Root Beer

photo credit: Life of a Modern Mom

Here's the link to the pin for your repinning pleasure.
And again, another link to Life of a Modern Mom where the pin comes from.

Such a cute idea, don't you think?

five minute friday: grow

---------

When I was a child, I wanted to be a grown up so badly. I remember if we had company over, I always wanted to hang around the grown ups. (Looking back, I'm sure they weren't so thrilled to have a kid hanging around.) But there was something I found so fascinating about those who were older than me. I wanted to know what it was like. I wanted to be "important". To be responsible. And to be in the know. I didn't want to miss a thing. How little I realized what it truly meant to be a grown up. So many burdens to carry. How overbearing those responsibilities I thought would make me important truly are.

And yet, now that I'm a supposed grownup, I still look around and think, "Wait, this is it? Surely I've missed something." Like - when will I be the one cooking the Thanksgiving turkey? Because if it's up to me, that day will be never. I can't imagine having to stick my hand in that bird, remove whatever is in there that needs to be removed, and having to wash it, and then having to cook it to be the most perfect, tender turkey everyone had ever consumed. (Because if I was in charge, it would have to be perfect, of course.)

But yeah, I don't really want that responsibility. I can't picture myself as the one that everyone else looks to to provide the meal for the extended family. Yet I don't give it a second thought that my mom has done it for years. When do you grow up into that? Or maybe some of us don't. Cooking is not my gift after all. Sometimes I think it'd be fun to be more creative in the kitchen, but any time I get into preparing a meal with more than two components, I tend to think, "Why am I doing this? I am not enjoying this at all."

So yeah, perhaps, I'll never be fully grown.

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Linking up with the gypsy mama - go there to read more masterpieces written in just five minutes.

dance, monkey, dance

I'm in a mood.

You could really help me out by leaving your favorite joke or something to make me laugh in the comments.

Don't make me beg.

PLEASE.

exhibit a

I present to you Exhibit A in the case of Getting a New Dishwasher vs. Keeping the Old Dishwasher:

Why, yes, that is a bread bag twisty tie holding it together.

Case closed.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday at 5 minutes for mom and two of a kind.

what's for dinner?

Punkin has always been a tough case when it comes to eating. I'm sure I screwed something up in the timeline of introducing him to various foods, but he is a very picky eater. He has had an aversion to many textures for as long as I can remember. We never made it to stage 3 baby food, because they were no longer the finely pureed mush of stage 1 and stage 2. Anything with chunks? Forget about it.

Even at age 5, his aversion continues. I know a lot of people would think I'm silly or just plain ridiculous, but I honestly believe he is afraid of many foods/textures. Getting him to try something new is a major feat. I don't think you would believe me unless you saw it for yourself.

Here is a list of foods a "typical kid" loves, but Punkin will not consider eating for even a second. In fact, if they are on his plate, you can see his demeanor change and his body recoil at the sight. 

• Pizza
• Hamburger
• Cheese
• Mac & Cheese
• Plain Noodles
• Mashed Potatoes
• Deli Meat of any variety
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich

The list used to be much longer, so I can say, thankfully, that he has made some progress.

Some foods that he now does eat that he used to turn down:

• Fruit of any kind
• Ketchup
• Carrots (raw only)
• Honey
• Bread (plain) and only if there's nothing else that he likes to eat

I try not to get too worked up about it. I'm hopeful that at some point, he will start to be a little more adventurous and he'll eventually add some more variety to his diet. I figure it's not going to do anyone any good if every meal is a battle. 

So in the meantime, who wants some chicken nuggets and french fries? I know Punkin does!

it's not about the shoes

Why is it that the attitude and behavior of a five-year-old can turn a grown woman into a five-year-old?

"I don't know what shoes to wear!" As if this is life's greatest problem.

"If you don't get a pair of shoes on right now, I will take away all your shoes except one pair and you will not have a choice of what shoes to wear." As if this is the rational way of helping a child learn to make choices in the middle of a meltdown.

Actually, now that I think about it, not knowing what shoes to wear might be Punkin's biggest problem on any given day. And for that, I am grateful.

Sometimes these emotions and meltdowns come out of nowhere. And they take me by complete surprise. And sometimes I handle them poorly. But sometimes I don't. 

I think I may get a tattoo of He's only five! on my right hand so that I can see it often and be reminded that oftentimes my expectations of him are way too high (insert list of many, many other things besides above shoe example). And that he needs grace. I mean, really, who doesn't?

Wouldn't the world be a much nicer place if everyone responded in grace, rather than in impatience and frustration and lack of empathy? Can you even imagine?

And thankfully, tomorrow (or later today, really) will provide another chance to practice giving grace. I may not be able to change the world, but I can start changing myself...

seven

I found him whom my heart loves.

Song of Solomon 3:4

 

I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine.

Song of Solomon 6:3

Seven down, a lifetime to go.

tune in tomorrow...

...for an actual blog post...

promise.

xoxo

tired

long week

blogging

hubs traveling

blogging

work overload

blogging

cleaning house (always and forever)

blogging

running

blogging

moms group

blogging

shopping

blogging

party

last minute blogging