Strange things are happening

Being pregnant changes things. I'm not talking about my protruding belly or my constant need for a nap or my inability to remember things or think clearly. Being pregnant has changed things that are part of my basic makeup.

For example:

I have been a vegetarian (if you don't count a little bacon every now and then, lol) for as long as I remember. I have never liked meat. Never wanted meat. It's never sounded remotely appetizing. But, since I've been pregnant, I have craved Five Guys burgers like crazy. I could eat them several times a week, and be totally happy. Just the thought makes me start salivating. It's a good thing that my family is happy (maybe a little too happy for the sake of our health?) to support this craving. I try to keep our visits to once every two weeks or so, but occasionally I'll sneak away for a lunch (or breakfast, lol) alone.

 

Other cravings:

Slimfast. I've had Slimfast every morning for breakfast for a long time now, but with this pregnancy, especially when I was really nauseous, Slimfast was what sounded better than anything else. Poor Travis. He would be willing to make anything to please me, but what did I want? Chocolate Slimfast. (Incidentally, if we were ranking foods by how easy/pleasant they are to throw up, Slimfast tops the list. TMI?)

Ritters Frozen Custard. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who knows me or anyone who has ever met me or talked to me or even ever heard of me). It just about killed me when they were closed for the winter (mid December - February 1), but I'm making up for it now. There are very few problems that can't be solved with a dish of Ritters chocolate custard. Okay, so maybe this craving isn't so strange...

And then, there are a bunch of other things that I normally love that I can't stand the thought of eating. Yogurt, cottage cheese, apple sauce. I can't even lick the spoon after dishing them up for the kids. 

Hopefully things will return to normal in a few months, but until then, does anyone want a burger?

What's a mother to do, part 2

Last week I posted about Megan's penchant for coloring on things that shouldn't be colored on. And I received a lot of helpful advice. And I thought that we were maybe over this hump, that she understood why she needed to be careful to only doodle on paper. For Valentine's Day I bought her a couple of little notebooks, just for her, so she would always have easy access. All good, right?

And yet, yesterday afternoon, she colored with marker on the couch. She said it was because I was on the phone and she wanted to talk to me.

Sigh...

As a consequence, she had to scrub the couch. Which, because she used washable markers, and the couch is microfiber, took all of 3 seconds. So then I had her scrub spots out of the carpet. Travis grounded her from markers for the rest of her life. I'll probably reduce that sentence to a couple of weeks. Maybe.

What am I missing?!

Darn You, Jen!

Darn you, Jen for recommending a really good book to me that kept me up reading way too late last night. A book that made me laugh out loud in the doctor's office, not once, but multiple times. People thought I was rather weird, sitting in the corner, chuckling to myself. It made me cry, not just tear up, but cry big wet tears that rolled down my cheeks and dripped off my nose.My husband kept asking me if I was okay, but he already knows I'm weird, so it's okay. I usually avoid books that have any potential to make me cry like they were carrying the plague but this one was worth it. (Of course, some of the crying might be due to my crazy pregnancy hormones, considering I cried through the last couple of chapters of the 4th Wheel of Time book last week...)

I'm not going to tell you any details about the story, but I do recommend Shannon Hale's The Actor and the Housewife. But I will say that it made me think. It reminded me just how much I love my sweet husband for his kindness and patience and solid, steady strength. It reminded me how much I love being a mom, even on those crazy-frustrating-less-than-perfect days. It reminded me that I'm not the only person with a truce with the dust on the entertainment center. It reminded me how grateful I am for my faith, my religion, and my testimony.

Happy reading!

What's a mother to do?

Megan LOVES art. Crayons, pencils, paints, glue, scissors, tape, anything. She loves it all. And she is really creative. She can take a popsicle box and turn it into a puppet faster than you could believe. I love that about her and I want to foster her interest.

BUT...

Ever since she was tiny, she has insisted on coloring and cutting things that shouldn't be colored or cut. Walls, her clothes, the couch, her face. Our usual consequence has been to ground her from using art supplies for a given period of time. It was frustrating when she was little, but now she's almost 8. You'd think she would know better, but last week she got in trouble and got grounded from art supplies for a week. She was really good all week, she didn't even beg or try to sneak them into her room or anything. So on Monday, she asked me if she could be ungrounded. We sat together on the couch and talked about why she had been in trouble. And what the expectations were. And she seemed to understand.

UNTIL...

While we were still talking, she picked up a pencil. And absently started doodling on the table. Right on the table. She didn't even realize what she was doing.

What is a mother supposed to do? I wanted to scream and yell and pull my hair out.

So, what would you do?

New Class at Scrap Girls

Online Class - Totally Touchable Textures
Wednesdays, February 16 and 23, 6 PM MT

Rough, smooth, soft, hard, bumpy, lumpy, textures are all around us. They can add depth and interest they add to scrapbook layouts. And with digital scrapbooking, you can use them without worrying if items are acid free, what kind of adhesive to use, or whether they are too bulky to fit into page protectors.

This digital scrapbooking class looks at the plethora of textures available to us as digital scrapbookers. It is packed with tricks to make digital embellishments look realistic. You will learn six different techniques, creating completely customized textures using ScrapSimple products and the default tools included in Photoshop Elements.


For more information, check out the listing in the Scrap Girls boutique.

It's Karma

Travis played this for me the other day. I thought it was hilarious, especially hearing everyone freak out about the "extremely cold weather" that was coming.



However, yesterday I was reminded that just because precautions seem silly for one region, they aren't so silly in others. Between the power outages and broken pipes, it was a long, long day. So, I guess the next time a "severe weather warning" is issued, I'll only laugh a little. And then I'll go wrap my pipes.

And today I'll be grateful for heat. And running water. And power to run my computer. And having kids in school. And chocolate-chocolate cupcakes from Ooh La La.

Top Ten Things I've Learned from Fly Lady

First of all, let me preface this by saying that my house isn't always clean. It isn't usually clean. Things don't always go like clockwork. I have overdue library books and run out of milk and can't always find the phone numbers I need. My desk is buried beneath a mountain of papers.

But, my sink is shiny.

Thank you, Fly Lady! Thanks for teaching me a few things about myself, for helping me adjust how I think about cleaning and organizing and prioritizing and just living in general.

1. I am not behind. 
2. I don't have to be perfect today.
3. I'm not cleaning my house or doing the dishes. I am blessing my family.
4. Even housework (and yard work and laundry and everything else) done imperfectly blesses my family.
5. 15 minutes makes a difference. Or 5 minutes. Or 2 minutes. Work with the time you have.
6. It's easier to maintain than to catch up.
7. Stick to your routine. It's easier to function on autopilot than to have to figure it out anew every day.
8. You can't organize clutter.
9. A well thought-out plan can save your bacon. Literally. It can also save you from having to wash underwear at 5:30 in the morning.
10. Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps.