Minivan Moments

What do you get when you take a houseful of early risers, stir in a cranky, teething toddler, add a touch of printer screwup, pour on a "honey, I forgot to take the garbage to the curb," whip up a banana bread, dab on scrubbing the stains out of cream-colored grout, mix in a "Toddler's Nap on the Go," throw in some homeschooling, errands, a creative project, push-up ice cream pops in the car... followed by car seat dismantling and scrubbing (like I needed more laundry), playing outside with the sand box, which leads to supervising three children washing sand off, cooking up a homemade meatloaf (which was YUM! by the way!), packing hubby up for a wedding weekend away, running and emptying the dishwasher TWICE, dodging refinancing offers from the mortgage company and cable "bundle" packages from the internet company, and planning for a field trip with the preschool? Umm, well, you get a pretty worn-out Family Manager. And then I found out my Farmer's...

I am so excited because our Farmer's Markets open on Thursday!  Last autumn, as many of you probably know, I read a wonderfully eye-opening book about the food we eat.  And while I hesitate to agree with them 100% on the humans-aren't-carnivores issue, I am in FULL agreement with them on the health of the foods we put into our bodies. I cannot wait to get locally-grown produce and family-farmed meats and dairy and eggs!! YAY!   Now, many of you will roll your eyes at this post, especially those of you who knew the horrors of the animal-to-food cycle already – and if you did, SHAME ON YOU!!   I, however, was completely naive to the goings on in the factory farms. Oh, was I in for a very rude awakening! If you still do not know of what I speak, I highly recommend you get a copy of the book I read, The Skinny Bitch (thanks Corey and Mom for the book!). It will tell you all you need to know. It will also advise veganism, but I leave that to your own discretion. I am pe...

We have had a relaxing weekend, but we have stayed pretty busy... of course, we have 3 children under the age of 10 in this house, so how could we not stay busy?? Today, we got quite a bit of off-and-on drizzle, so we spent a good deal of time indoors. So, I decided to tackle The Dining Room Table That Was ! Our dining room table got covered with stuff for two reasons: Dania could not reach up here so stuff we didn't want her to touch went upon it; and some stuff doesn't have an immediate "home" when it comes in the door, so it gets parked on the table. Because of this, my husband commented last week, "What dining room table?? We don't have a dining room table, we have a craft table!" And he was right. Well, today, I unearthed it! I can see the beautiful wood, and I can almost claim it to be cleaned off! Certainly by the end of Tuesday, we will have our Dining Room Table back.... At least temporarily. Once I get The Dining Room Table cleared of al...

Are you a gambler? Do you enjoy playing the odds? Is gambling legal where you live? Anyone can gamble in Alaska. With his life. Have you seen the many shows on The Discovery Channel about Alaska?? I think this was Alaska Week or something, but I am still amazed at the things people do for "fun"... or whatever you'd call it. Not being a gambler at all myself, the idea of putting my life in the ante is a tad radical. Somehow, various people find value in discovering if they can survive in the Alaskan wilderness - whether their danger comes from a "mock" accident or a hypothetical scenario. Avid explorers drop into near-freezing water to see how their bodies react to the cold (umm, the body gets really cold, really fast), fling themselves down snowy hills from the back of snowmobiles to determine how to find shelter in the dark, dark, dark Alaskan night (by building an igloo - okay, that was cool info), and cause an avalanche to bury one of their team - on pu...

Yup. The name pretty much says it all. My day started with my eight- and five-year-olds deciding to experiment with the art supplies. My son put his finger in the hole-puncher and my daughter punched a hole in it. Commence wailing, bleeding, and panicking. "Quin got cut" was the first explanation. Then, "Calysta used the hole-punch on my finger" and "He told me to do it" and "No, I didn't!" Sob, sob, sob, bleed, bleed, bleed. Yeah, well, 12 minutes later, the bleeding isn't slowing with the crying, so the our Pediatrician's office advises us to take a trip the to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Emergency Room. Really?!?! Jack that panicking up a few notches, folks, and off we go! About 3 1/2 hours later, we are on our way home with a $75 bandage. Mmm-hmmm. An ER trip that results in the doctor washing the cut out with WATER and putting a gauze BANDAGE on my not-so-smart son's finger. The good news is that there was no...

Okay, today I decided to clean out the minivan. Yeah, I know, I was feeling energetic. So, we had too many toys, too many books, too much trash, too many empty water bottles, too many half-eaten bags of snack, and too many CD cases. Why is my old wallet still in the car... empty? Why do my children think the floor is the trash? Why does my toddler have 3 socks under her seat... and none of them made a single pair! There were crushed Goldfish, stale graham crackers, smooshed Junior Mints, and Jeepers! people, did you know that french fries do not mold? We haven't eaten at McDonald's in almost a month, and that french fry still looked exactly the same!! What are they made out of??? Glad we gave those up, I can tell you that! Well, we finally got it cleaned out, vacuumed and put back together. 412 trips into the house with miscellaneous stuff, 208 jaunts to the garbage can with often unidentifiable ick, 39 trips around the van with the vacuum cleaner cord, and 583 halts to...

The early bird may get the worm, but he can have it if he just lets me sleep! Another restless night and early morning toddler alarm started the day for me today. Dania was in full-cute form, though, and was impossible to ignore! As we tickled and snuggled our way to complete wakefulness, the sun (and older children) arose to greet us. So, naturally, I flung food into hungry mouths at the speed of light, tackled mountains of laundry, conquered the retail Superdome, shoveled some lunch, convinced the toddler to take a siesta, educated the second-grader, restocked hubby's favorite restaurant salsa, and narrowly escaped sunburn at the homeschool park day. All before dinner. Now, the little ones are nestled all snug in their beds, and I am fading fast. Sunshine, fresh air, early start, busy day.... sure makes a sleepy mommy. My least favorite thing about bedtime? Once I fall asleep, my next conscious thought will be that it is time to do it all again. See you tomorrow, Angie