Why isn’t there a Mommy Olympics?

You know, with relays like the 4×100 quadruplet diaper change? The triathlon of making dinner, extracting the popcorn kernel from your toddlers nose, and bouncing the colic-y baby one your hip? I’d surely be a contender for the decathlon of juggling too many projects and so many kids all at once.

In high school, one of my favorite teachers wanted to know what event we’d like to take gold in if we were Olympians. For me then, it was a tie between the gymnastics all-around (It always has been my favorite. I was a tumbler as a kid.) and the individual medley in swimming. Either way, you’re the best of your sport, having mastered all aspects of it.

Looking back now, I’d never be caught dead on global TV in either a leotard or a swimsuit. (That would cause an instant drop in ratings. )

Thankfully, my quest for Mommy gold allows me to wear my pajamas  whatever is clean — and not skin tight.

In what event (dream or real) would you take gold?

I must confess that though Italy’s Andrea Minguzzi
earned his medal, the mom in me
wants the shout, “Get that out of your mouth!”

98 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

I’m not really sure how they scored this thing. Honestly, I’m very, very surprised! Who knew?

How’d you do?

Can you believe I’ve been blogging a whole year now?!

Remember when it looked like this?

Does that mean my husband will bring my flowers? Or diamonds? Or both?!

I know I have just a few faithful readers, but I still enjoy this journey we’re on. It’s like a baby book I’ll never lose. I’m able to type out memories for each child to read when they’re old enough to appreciate them and for me to use to get all misty-eyed as they pass milestone after milestone. They’re growing up way too fast… but you’ll read about it here first.

There are two fairly new products out there that prove to me, once again, that God loves me. Both delicious and fat free! (FREE of FAT!) Yum-o!

The first is Del Monte’s Fruit Chillers — fruit sorbet in little cups. It’s lower in sugar than most things like it, and it has more vitamin C! I actually bought these for my kids, but Nate and I love them. Mmmm.

The second is Breyer’s Free Double-Churned ice cream. I bought some sort of chocolate fudge brownie flavor, and it’s divine. I honestly cannot tell it’s fat free. I read the package three times, just to be sure. Click on the photo here and you’ll even see how it fooled the Consumer Reports panel!

Just to be clear… I’m not being paid by either of these companies to share these ideas with you. Though, I would gladly accept free samples. Try them. You’ll be glad you did.

I absolutely love this time of year.

I love summer, baseball, warm weather, cook-outs, fireworks, family, popsicles, sprinklers, sweet corn, patriotism, the Cubbies, red, white and blue…  all that good stuff and more.

My friend Drew had a couple of cool quizzes about Independence Day on his blog, so (being the good friend that I am,) I’m stealing them. Be sure to come back here and leave your results!

• Citizenship Quiz! So interesting. I’m sure most Americans don’t know these answers.
• Independence Day Quiz.

Be sure to come back here and let me know how you scored.

We mid-westerners have been recycling for a very long time… Longer than it’s been en vogue, that’s for sure.

When I was a kid, we sometimes rode our bikes around the neighborhood asking for everyone’s empty “pop” cans just so we could sell them to the local collector. I’m not sure what he did with them, but he’d give us a very minimal amount for them and we’d then waste our earnings on sugary sweets from the neighborhood Village Pantry. (Wow… We were even giving economic stimulus packages to the dentist back then, too!)

When I was a kid, we made makeshift kites our of plastic garbage bags. We created a slip-and-slide out of a roll of plastic and the garden hose. And we made our bikes cooler by clipping a baseball card against the frame so it flittered in the spokes and sounded like a real moped. (Do those even exist anymore?!)

I remember going to family reunions and seeing salads served out of repurposed ice cream buckets. We bought “vintage” clothes from garage sales and “recycled” them by wearing them ourselves. We drank from Ball jars. (OK, my husband and I still do this… but so does our local steakhouse!) 

So, I may not be Leo DiCaprio now, but I still know a thing or two about living green. I’d explain more, but I’ve got to go. I’m “repurposing” dish soap to fill my kids’ bubble machine.

Tell me, now, what memories do you have of “living green” when you were a kid?

… your children (who have been rummaging around in an old box in the basement) bring you a cassette tape and say, “Mommy, what’s this?!”

I’m a child of the 80’s. The majority of my younger childhood was in the eighties. (Not high school, mind you.) Admittedly, I’m one of those people who actually looks on those years somewhat fondly.

I enjoyed rolling up the sleeves on my T-shirts, doubling up on coordinating colored socks, playing games on my Commodore 64, and watching School House Rock, Picture Page and — my all-time favorite — Secret City with Commander Mark.

There is one trend, however, that should stay in the 80’s. Really.

I’ll admit that when I was about six or seven, I owned Jelly Shoes. You remember them, right? Those hideous translucent plastic shoes that were so thin you felt every rock, pebble and piece of gum you ever stepped on? The ones that cracked and fell apart after you wore them only once? Yeah… those should die. Or be burried in an 80’s time capsule.

But Nooooo. Aparently, I may be the only one who feels that way. Can you believe THIS?

Ugh.

Am I the only one who hopes this throwback dies quickly? Am I wrong for praying my daughters never want a pair? What other trends should die and never return? (Besides Zubas… that’s a given. )

My boys and I recently watched the new Nancy Drew movie. They loved the mystery! In fact, Andy keeps asking us to build a “mystery house with secret passages.” I thought maybe they were ready to be introduced to the Nancy Drew / Hardy Boys series of books.

I thought it would be fun to read a few chapters to them each night. The first night I read about Joe and Frank and how they were 17 and 18. I said, “Just like you guys! When Andy’s 18, Brady will be 17. Maybe you can be mystery solvers, too!” I was hoping to build their interest in the book.

Brady wasn’t having it. “No way, Mommy. I don’t want to be a myster solver. I just want to be a baseball player.” He didn’t want to listen to the story anymore.

By page four, Andy needed to use the bathroom. By page six, he needed a drink. We didn’t make it to page seven.

So, here’s where I need help. I know the boys would enjoy hearing mystery stories, but we need some geared toward a bit younger audience. Anyone know of any? I’d love to get some from the library, but I need help. Please leave suggestions!

This week, Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer is once again hosting her Works for Me Wednesday… and since it’s the first Wednesday of the month, it’s themed. This month’s theme is “Greatest Hits.” She says, “For fun (and to take a load off!), let’s have the Greatest Hits Edition.  From your own archives, re-run one of your favorite of your own WFMWs.  If you only have a handful to choose from, that’s okay.  It will still be fun to read everyone’s best.” So, here’s my oldie-but-a-goody: 

I thought about re-posting my natural diaper rash home remedy, but realized this other idea got way more replies… plus it’s more fun! Our family has a unique (and free!) way of celebrating things. We have “family camp outs” — on our living room floor!

Some good family friends of ours have done this for years and we thought it was idea worth stealing. They started doing it when their oldest child was little as an incentive to get him to try to hit the ball in Little League. “If you get a hit, we all sleep on the floor!” So, we do it, too. We’ve done it to make birthdays more special, to celebrate potty training successes, to mark the end of certain kinds of my husband’s police training, etc.

We push the coffee table aside and we each drag out our sleeping bags and spread them out. I make popcorn and everyone gets a (caffeine free) soft drink while we watch a (pre-screened) family movie. Sometimes we even put up the kids’ small pop-up tent to add to the effect. The kids often fall asleep before the end of the movie, but it’s fun to all wake up in the same room.

We love using this special time as a reward because it’s free, it doesn’t cause cavities like candy, and it promotes family time. It really works for us!

For more great tips, go check out Works for Me Wednesday!