What a Tree-asco
Two days ago, Curtis was gonna put up the Christmas lights outside. "Gonna" being the operative word here. I realize it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but you see, we live in the weather-crazy midwest. It snowed on October 10th of this year. So you never know when we're going to get slammed with a big slick snowstorm and then boom - no Christmas lights on the house. (Plus, like, most of our neighbors have already done theirs and we didn't want to look like the slackers.)The day was sunny and even on the verge of warm. But as much as I nagged  bitched  helpfully reminded him that he'd said he was going to

There's No "Me" in "Pee"
I'm sleep-deprived. That's natural for someone with a two-month-old, right?But what's not natural is that it isn't the two-month-old who interrupts my sleep on the regular - it's my four year old.Colin has never been what you'd call a good sleeper. He only sleeps through the night once or twice a week. That would be fine if he just got up and silently wandered around for a little bit, or went

Poor Parenting on Parade
This past weekend was our town's holiday ("it's-not-PC-to-say-Christmas") parade. And let me tell you, there's nothing like a parade to make me feel like the worst. Parent. EVER.Fail #1 was the kids' attire. The sun was shining. It was supposed to be in the low 60s. Nice day, right? I even stepped outside myself to gauge the temperature before I dressed the boys - and granted, I'd been hurrying around and was kinda warm, but the weather felt really nice. So I put them in T-shirts with long-sleeved shirts over them.But then we got downtown (where we parked, like, eighteen miles away from our actual destination - and realized Fail #2: we forgot

"Stuff I Like" Sunday: Un-Smeary Eyes
When I think of my mom, several things immediately come to mind:- The phrase "Just look, don't touch," which I heard everysingleday of my childhood and, while annoying as hell back then, I find myself using with my children.- Jergens lotion and cherry Chap-Stick, which is what she smelled like when I was little.- Her relentless and unwavering campaign to make damn sure that I never, ever went to bed with makeup on my face. Especially my eyes.I'm sure that last one is a big part of the reason that my mom, though in her early sixties, still has beautiful skin with minimal signs of aging. She looks way younger tha

Close Encounters of the Weird Kind
When you buy your groceries at Hy-Vee *cue mysterious voice* strange things happen. (Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic. Today I bought my groceries at Hy-Vee. And something strange happened.)Curtis and the boys and I managed a relatively smooth trip there this afternoon. I swear, we're still struggling with the logistics of this "three little kids" thing - so sometimes I'm exhausted and short-tempered by the time I even get them all dressed to leave the house - but we had a pretty easy day today (insert Hallelujah chorus here). Anyway, we completed our necessary shopping and made it out of there for under $30 (woot!). I