Diapers and Deadlines: Musings of a Media Mom

Exhausted!

2009-06-28T21:49:00.002-05:00

Great visit with my brother Mike and his wife Jen.

Saw a movie last night... Angels & Demons... ROCKED!

Batteries in the camera are dead... no pictures to post till they are charged.

Book club tomorrow night, then more visitors this weekend for Alex's birthday! This time we'll have Craig's side of the family. It will be fun to have everyone here for the holiday and the birthday.

Time for bed now.

Let the visits begin!

2009-06-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

So we're gearing up for some great visits from family this summer. It starts off right now... with my brother Mike and his wife Jen visiting this weekend. Then next weekend Craig's parents will be here to ring in the 4th of July and help celebrate Alex's birthday. The week after that we head back to a family reunion for my late grandfather's side of the family. Later this summer I'm hoping to squeeze in visits with a few old friends from high school... well, actually I've known these babes since KINDERGARTEN! And maybe another trip back to Illinois later in the summer too, before it's time for Alex to start school in the fall. I promise to take lots of pictures and post them along the way!

What are you looking forward to this summer? Today was the first day it actually felt like summer. It was hot and sticky. I'm grateful I didn't have to spend the day in it, but it was great to get a little sweaty while working on my poor, heat stressed flowers tonight. We even had a nice surprise with the first strawberries of the season. I'm hoping to have enough to make some jam this year.

Lots of Reading Lately

2009-06-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

I have been tearing through books lately. I finished my book club read, "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I won't discuss it in too much detail, as my book club hasn't met to talk about it yet (next Monday! Can't wait!) but just simply... I LOVED THIS BOOK! Pick it up or get it from the library. It's worth it.

I've also read "Something Borrowed" by Emily Giffin. This was another great, quick read. It's chick lit, for sure, but I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. It's the story of two best friends... one of whom sleeps with the other's fiance. Much drama, heartbreak, and soul searching ensue. An online group I'm in at GoodReads had a fascinating discussion about it. It's so interesting to read other peoples interpretations of the book, and reading which character people most identify with and why. I think it says quite a bit about the high quality of the writing that it sparked so many emotions with people. It's chick lit, but far from fluffy.

"Mrs. Kimble" was another one that I absolutely tore through. I mean I couldn't put this book down. It's a complex story about three women who are married to the same man chronologically. You meet the tragic first wife, the second wife, and the third wife who tries to clean up the husband's mess. To say the man had issue is a huge understatement, but this was an amazing character study. It's nearly 400 pages long, but I read it in only a few days. It was a total page turner!

I'm currently reading "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See. This is another one that I'm asking myself "What took me so long to read this book??" This book is beautifully written. So descriptive! It's about two best friends in China who are bound together in a special friendship called "laotong." They are basically bound together for life as friends. I haven't been able to put this one down either.

None of these books are new, but I've just been tearing through them lately... which is good considering that I have about 3 shelves full of books I haven't read yet! Tell me what you've been reading lately!

Cut the Cliches

2009-06-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

Okay, this is a minor rant, but I have something I want to get off my chest.
What is it with people taking pictures of their feet at the beach and then posting them online?
I don't want to see your feet at the beach! I've seen these all over blogs, social networking sites, whatever. I simply don't get it.

I'm happy to look at a picture of you at the beach. I'm happier to just see a picture of the beautiful beach you went to that I probably haven't been to or won't get to go to for awhile. Thank goodness your pedicure is fresh, but seriously. Feet at the beach pictures have now become cliche. I don't need to see your feet, or your alcoholic beverage at the beach.

Sorry. Rant over.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T20:57:00.002-05:00

Happy Father's Day!

We had a fairly quiet Father's Day... just the way Craig wanted it! We got up... opened cards and presents, made some cinnamon rolls (nothing fancy, just the yummy refrigerated dough kind that I like a little too much), went to church, came home, ate some lunch and hung out. Craig did all the things he likes to do... work outside, watch some baseball. I got some reading done. The three of us ran some errands after naptime, then headed over to Steak n' Shake for dinner. (Craig's favorite, plus kids eat free on weekends. Woo Hoo!) We each got to talk to our Dad's for a little bit today to wish them "Happy Father's Day." All in all it was a pretty great day!

Yet another reason to be skeptical about what you read on blogs...

2009-06-20T20:18:00.002-05:00

This story totally caught my eye this week. It's about a woman who created a fake, high risk pregnancy, then took to the blogosphere to write about it. Along the way, she rounded up hundreds of followers, placed ads on her blogs, tried to drive up traffic to make some $$$, and it all blew up in her face when she got busted. It's a really sad commentary. It also serves as a warning not to believe everything you read on blogs... or online for that matter!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-baby-hoax-12jun12,0,5601624.story

I'm not getting jaded about blogging. I know I've been kind of hit or miss lately with posts. I just don't feel like I have a lot to say. But this article compelled me to write something. Don't believe everything you read. Have compassion for people, but realize that this is not the real world. That sob story you just read may not be real. That person bragging about their wonderful home-based business, might not have a business at all. Before you add a button linking to someone elses blog, make sure you're not being taken advantage of... they may just want the extra traffic to drive up their numbers. I'm not saying everyone is a fake. Just exercise caution both in what you read and what you put out there.

Gardener for Hire

2009-05-31T21:01:00.003-05:00

His rates are pretty good, but he has the attention span of a flea! Serious inquiries only.

*No child labor laws were violated in the planting of these flowers.

Flower Time!

2009-05-30T13:20:00.003-05:00

20 Geraniums (violet)
6 Vinca vines
9 Begonias (pink w/green leaves)
4 Marigolds (orange)
8 Dusty Miller
3 super asters (blue)
3 Bama Music Daylilies (pink, I think)
3 cotton candy grass plants
+1 candy corn plant
----------------------
A busy weekend!

Still needed:
3 Black Lilies (on order)
1 flowering bush to replace the one that died, possibly a butterfly bush or hydrangea
1 hosta to replace one that accidentally got weed whacked last year (oops)

Tulip and Dafodil Bulbs... but not till much later in the summer

Pictures once most of it is planted!

Poor Shadow!

2009-05-22T17:00:00.002-05:00

My poor puppy is injured! She and Craig were playing fetch one morning earlier this week when all of a sudden we heard a gut wrenching cry from our little pooch. She was limping and cowering and crying and it nearly broke my heart. Once we calmed her down, we determined that her leg bones weren't broken but we knew something was really wrong with her hind foot.

So we crated her for the day and decided to call the vet at the end of the day. Well, we didn't get to calling the vet till after they had closed. Felt really guilty. She was still favoring the leg and avoiding putting any weight on it. We babied her quite a bit... but she mostly just kept to herself, hiding under the kitchen or dining room table. She even went to bed for a little bit, but eventually came to sit at our feet.

I had to go in early the next morning, so Craig got up and called to vet to get her in. Turns out she was a little bit better. She ate her breakfast and put a little weight on the foot. The vet says she's injured her ACL. So our poor puppy has a football injury! Right now she's on anti-inflammatories for a week. We'll help limit her activity to give it time to rest and hopefully heal.

We're hopeful that it's just a pull or a strain and not a tear. If it's just a pull or strain, she won't have to have surgery. She's only five years old, so we're hoping she'll bounce back pretty quickly.

Great Book Club!

2009-05-19T21:41:00.004-05:00

Had another great book club meeting last night.

We discussed my latest pick, "Loving Frank." I highly, highly recommend this book. It was a fascinating read, a fictionalized account of Frank Lloyd Wright and his love affair with Mamah Borthwick Cheney. I've long been fascinated by Wright and his architecture (for awhile in junior high and high school, I thought about becoming an architect) so this was really an enjoyable read. Makes me want to visit some of the nearby write architecture here in Wisconsin. His home in Spring Green, Taliesen is just a few hours away from here. Wingspread, a conference center he design for SC Johnson, is in Racine. He designed the Annuciation Greek Orthodox Church here, which is right by my house. There's also a group of homes on the South Side of Milwaukee that are open for tours. And don't even get me started about the idea of road tripping to Chicago and Oak Park to check out all of his works down there!

-Sigh-

The book is heartbreaking and fascinating all at the same time. I don't want to wreck it... all I can say is, if you're going to read the book DO NOT GOOGLE WRIGHT and DO NOT READ HIS BIO ON WIKIPEDIA! It will wreck the story! (Sorry I didn't warn you sooner, Therese!)

Our next pick is "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society." It looks like another good one... just ordered it from Amazon.com because I can't wait for it at the library. I'm really looking forward to it!

I also hit an amazing milestone on GoodReads today. I now have 1000 books on my list. Now, I've only read just over half of them...I think I'm at 507, cruising toward 508. It's kind of a daunting "to read" list, but since I discovered the site almost 18 months ago, I haven't once had to say "what am I going to read now?!" I have a list I can keep going back to that is helping me feed my reading habit!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T21:40:00.006-05:00

Before I went to bed last night, I told Craig that all I wanted was to sleep in for Mother's Day. Alex has made a habit of getting up about 6AM on weekends, and looking for me. I usually pull him into bed to snuggle between us, but 3 year olds are wiggly, and when he's up, he's up. Usually I get an extra 15 minutes of rest then it's "Mom, can I watch something?"

So today, I was supposed to get to sleep in... sans boy. Well... he came in. He snuggled, Craig got up. Alex was left with me. -sigh- Oh well.

The good news is it was a wonderful day! Alex was very excited for me to get up and start celebrating Mother's Day. I got a card and a present.

My two boys were sneaky and did a little art project without me knowing. It's a picture frame. It's painted in Marquette colors. (Where I did my Master's Degree)

We went to church and they were selling roses afterwards. Alex announced he wanted to buy me a flower, so I got a rose.

Then we went out to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants... Guadalupe. Alex calls this place Lupe Lupe. He downed nearly a whole bowl of salsa by himself.

We tried to take a picture to put in the picture frame. We took one and I've got my famous stressed out mom - crooked smile.

This one isn't bad, but Alex's eyes look crazy... or borderline crossed. We'll try again when he's not feeling so silly I guess. We spent a lot of time just hanging out. Watched "Toy Story" together tonight. I think about 6 times Alex wished me a "Happy Mother's Day." (He did wish Craig a "Happy Mother's Day" once.) It was fun to spend so much time with my boys. I felt very special.

Happy Mother's Day to all my friends who are mom's or will become mom's soon!

Pre-Mother's Day Funnies

2009-05-09T14:41:00.002-05:00

When Craig got home from work yesterday, Alex was eating his dinner and called into the kitchen, "Hi Daddy! Happy Mother's Day!"

Then today, I got up about 6AM with Alex. Then when Craig got up, I went back to sleep. I haven't been sleeping well the last week. When I woke up, my boys were gone. They left a note saying they were running errands.

Alex came home with baseball cards (his newest obsession to which I have ABSOLUTELY no objection!) and a mini Brewers helmet. He proudly announced "We got you a card but it's a secret!"

I have no idea what my boys have planned for Mother's Day tomorrow. I know we'll get up and go to church together. From there, we'll see where the day takes us!

I also want to take this second to wish my mom and mother-in-law a wonderful Mother's Day! They are both very special, important ladies and I don't know where we'd be without them!

I also want to wish all my friends who are mom's a happy day as well!

Took some time off...

2009-05-05T19:38:00.003-05:00

I know it's been awhile since I've posted. Life has kind of gotten in the way. I've been kind of trying to evaluate what I want to do with the blog. Part of me loves having an outlet to talk about things, but another part of me wonders why I'm doing this. Call it an existential blog crisis. I'm just not sure I want be putting myself "out there" for anyone to read anymore. Hopefully I'll get it figured out.

Honestly it's been kind of nice to not worry about scheduling and writing posts. I've actually spent significantly less time online the last couple of weeks. The weather has turned nice. We've gone hunting flowers in the yard. Alex is fascinated by the daffodils and tulips that have popped up. He also is enjoying the greens of the Lilies of the Valley, Day Lillies, and other plants that have sprouted. So we've spent a lot of time enjoying warmer weather after a long winter.

I've been crocheting and reading too. Spending time on the phone with friends. We took a trip to Indiana to see my middle nephew make his First Communion. We also got to see two of the three boys play baseball. It was great because Alex adores his cousins. Took a side trip to Notre Dame on the way home to see the campus in bloom. I hadn't been there since grade school and it was just as beautiful as I remember. Growing up Catholic, Notre Dame was kind of the dream college... and for most it remains a dream! But it's cool to just go and walk around the campus. The Basilica on campus is gorgeous, and we stopped at the grotto behind the church to light a candle and say a prayer. The grotto is very similar to Lourdes in France. It was so peaceful back there.

We're hoping to get Alex's school registration wrapped up soon. He'll be going to K4 next year and is SOOOO excited.

Work has also kept me busy... but only during the day. So far they have not given me a laptop, so I really can't do work from home in the evening. I am NOT complaining at all. It's just a really busy time of year.

So that catches me up for now. I'll try to get back into the swing of things, but that's my therapy session for the evening.

Once a week is better than nothing...

2009-04-18T09:09:00.002-05:00

I've been struggling with fitting exercise back into my routine. I was supremely spoiled last year... with being able to workout at work, during the work day. It helped me train for and complete three 5ks last year, something I never would have though possible due to being extremely out of shape and with my hatred of running.

With this new job, my schedule is the same, but there's no working out at work (other than trips to the cafeteria for lunch and walks around the building on the way to meetings). I'm usually exhausted in the evening, and too tired in the morning. So I'm stuck with weekend workouts. Last weekend I had a great workout... 35 minutes on the elliptical, and almost all the arm and upper body weight machines. I'm on my way out the door right now for another workout. I think I'm going to treadmill it today and see how it goes.

I am happy to report that I did sign Alex up for one more parent-child swimming class, which is turning into a great workout for me. We did one of these classes when he was two. It was fun, but not much stayed with him. He's doing great, and I'm doing water aerobics with a 35 pound weight one night a week. So I guess techincally I'm getting two workouts in a week, but I need to do better. I need to stop hitting snooze in the morning. I know it will make me feel better in the long run and it will definitely boost my energy.

I'll keep you posted!

My T-Shirts are Famous!

2009-04-16T19:05:00.001-05:00

Earlier this month I posted about a website called TeeCycle.org.
Another one of my shirts has been posted! Check both of them out here and here.

I can't say enough about this really cool site. Vintage, pre-loved t-shirts at great prices... for a great cause.

In fact, TeeCycle.org is a finalist for a pitch contest at SXSW that's sponsored by Pepsi. Check out the pitch here, and vote for Tim and TeeCycle!

Check them out if you have time, and help spread the word!

More Alex Funnies

2009-04-15T19:01:00.001-05:00

"Dad/Mom you need to go to the naughty corner!"
---------------
"Mom what's this?" - picks up bra off my floor.
"It's a bra. Mommies wear them."
"Look, sunglasses! Just like Wall-E!" - puts bra over face... just like the adorable little robot from "Wall-E"
----------------
"Mom, how many bones do I have?"
The questions are getting bigger and more difficult to answer!
----------------
"Mom I have to tell you one more thing."
"What's that?"
"I love you. If you're really nice to me I'll give you a treat."
-------------------
"Mom, did you remember to pack the wody bash?"
(I bought some kid-friendly body wash to take to the Y for after swimming lessons. Alex got his letters a little confused.)

Yet another parenting lesson learned

2009-04-14T18:53:00.001-05:00

Once a week I have to go in to work early. And one week a month, it's twice that I have to go in early. Is it a pain, kind of. It means I have to get up extra early and miss my morning snuggle time with Alex. But I really love my new job, and this is the only drawback so far.

I have made a habit out of warning Alex that I won't be there in the morning. Mainly because Alex would get really mad and be difficult for Craig in the morning after finding out I wasn't there.

At first, this seemed to work okay. But lately, he's been waking up in the middle of the night when I have to go in early. Sunday-Monday he woke up 3 times... 3:00, 3:30, and 4:30 AM. The first time I rolled over from a dead sleep and saw a back-lit 3 year old hovering by my bedside. As soon as I opened my eyes, I heard "Hi Mommy." Scared the bejeezus out of me.

Craig dealt with him the first two times (God bless him! Seriously...) but the third time I went in there and told Alex this was enough. I said, "I love you, but you're a big boy. Daddy takes good care of you in the morning. There's nothing to cry about. I'll pick you up after school like always." He sniffed a really pathetic, "Okay." I rubbed his back for a minute then stumbled back to bed for a precious additional 30 minutes of sleep.

So I think there's a parenting lesson in this... don't underestimate the element of surprise!

Yarn update

2009-04-13T05:00:00.000-05:00

Last spring when I was just getting going with crocheting, Alex asked me to make him a blanket. We picked out the yarn together (he insisted on orange, I insisted on something to mix with the orange), I started it, then got bored with it. I discovered the joy of smaller projects. Then I got knitting looms for Christmas and I have been making stuff for people left and right. Alex asked when I was going to make him something. So I started to feel guilty. A few weekends ago while we were at Craig's parents house, I picked the blankie back up, and got more than half of it done. So I've been working on it a little each night, and I'm happy to report it's finally done!
It's a very basic pattern. All single crochected with a giant hook. The border is also single crochet... I did three rows around each edge.

I am happy to report that Alex loves his new blankie. He's been sleeping with it at night, and dragging it around the house. I don't think it will replace his real blankie, but it's at least a loveable alternative. I'm working on crocheting right now, taking a bit of a break from loom knitting, and hoping to re-learn needle knitting this summer. I either need to get a good book to learn from or I need to sign up for a class. Either way, I really want to get knitting down.

Too Much Cuteness

2009-04-08T06:15:00.000-05:00

Seriously, are these not the cutest pajamas you have ever seen?? And the cutest boy? I love fleece jammies! We thought it was funny that Alex has a lion that matches his PJs.

Old Friends Are The Best!

2009-04-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

As a bonus to our weekend trip home, I got to see one of my best friends and her kids! Amy and I have known each other since grade-school basketball camp and College -for- Kids at Knox College. We were practically inseparable through high school, were bridesmaids in each others weddings. She the kind of friend who could write a book about you, but won't because she knows to much. We can go months without talking on the phone, pick right back up where we left off, and chat for hours! Thank goodness for email, so those marathon conversations only happen occassionally. (Funny that in high school we tried to dress alike, and now that we're grown up we still dress alike. Notice we both decided to wear grey sweaters.)

In a strange twist of fate, Amy lives about 4 blocks from Craig's brother and sister-in-law! So before we went to Payton's birthday party, Alex and I paid a visit to Amy, Brandon, Camille and Layton. It was great having this kids play and I hope they make good on their plan to come up here for a game at Miller Park this summer!

Don't the kids look just a little too comfortable bellied up to the bar? My excuse is every house in Milwaukee has a bar in the basement!

Wow... I took a week off from blogging!

2009-04-05T22:28:00.005-05:00

I didn't blog for nearly a week and now I feel totally behind! We went to visit Craig's parents a couple of weekends ago. Our nephew Payton turned one, so there was a big birthday party for him. It was so great to see him, as well as proud parents Brian and Sarah, and the grandparents. We also saw Craig's grandpa, which was nice. He turned 86 last week and is still going strong!
I'm still working on upload pictures (I promise to send them!) but here are a couple from the weekend.

Grandma and Grandpa with their boys... Patyon and Alex. (Plus Maggie the dog.)

All of us post-party. It's hard taking a picture with wiggly kids!

Just In Time for Earth Month...

2009-04-04T11:56:00.003-05:00

There's this super cool business in Milwaukee that I initially heard about on the radio, but then I ended up working with one of the founders of this company, who is a freelance writer here in Milwaukee.

It's called TeeCycle.org. They take super-cool, quirky used t-shirts and re-sell them. $1 from the sale of each t-shirt goes to the River Revitalization Foundation. I encourage everyone to check this site out! Not only are the shirts cool, you're recycling, and you're helping a great cause. Why buy faux vintage shirts, which seem to be all the rage right now, when you can get an actual vintage shirt with character?? At a great price???!!

This winter when I was doing a clothing purge, I donated a couple of shirts to Tee-Cycle. I live through the early 90s, when even if you were a size 4, you bought a large or extra-large shirt because everything was oversized. So I had some new, barely worn shirts that I felt were kinda quiry. The first of the shirts is up. Check it out my former shirt!

http://www.teecycle.org/Teecycle.org/Miller_High_Life.html

So there's my shout-out to TeeCycle.org! Cool stuff!

Meet My Fan Club

2009-03-26T06:00:00.001-05:00

Sometimes when I get out of the shower and open the bathroom door, I'm greeted by my fan club. From left to right is Blue Peep, Tiger, Blankie, Mickey Mouse (a bath puppet that has never been in the bath) and Lion. Alex wasn't too creative with naming his stuffed animals at first, but now there are others that have more exciting names... like Lou the Sock Monkey, Melman and FiFi the giraffes, and a teddy bear whose name is Susan for unknown reasons, but I digress.

Alex is usually waiting with the stuffed animals, but this particular morning he left all the animals waiting patiently to greet me. It just struck me funny!

You Made Banana Bread in a What?

2009-03-25T06:00:00.001-05:00

Okay... I have a somewhat odd way of making banana bread. Only it's not odd to me, because this is how my mom made it growing up. In fact, I didn't make banana bread the traditional way until I moved out and was living on my own.

I make banana bread in my crockpot. I have this little insert that you can bake in. I only have the one recipe for the banana bread... though I believe somewhere my mom has an entire cookbook dedicated to the cake-baker-insert-thingy. It makes the best, most moist banana bread ever.

I have searched the internet for this insert, and outside of e-bay, I can't find it. But I'm telling you, if you ever find one, snatch it up. Here's the recipe for banana bread. You will thank me!

Crock-pot Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter or margerine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 small, very ripe bananas (mashed)
3 tablespoons water or milk
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Cream butter and sugar till fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add water and bananas. Thoroughly mix in flour, soda and nuts (if desired). Pour into greased Bread-and-Cake Bake and cover. Bake in covered crock pot on high for 2-3 hours until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Can also mix in 1/2 cup chocolate chips before baking for Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.

Voila! Banana bread in your crock pot!

Great Weekend Weather and Now This??

2009-03-23T18:34:00.003-05:00

We enjoyed some great weather this weekend. It was warm and above freezing... the sun was out... that equals some nice weather for March! Now we're back to chilly, damp, and grey... which is more typical March weather here in Wisconsin. We did get out and enjoy the weekend though. Alex and I dragged out the sidewald chalk on Saturday. We colored up the whole sidewalk in front of our house (forgot to bring the camera outside with me, and was having so much fun I didn't think to go inside to grab it). Took a walk with both Alex and Shadow.

Sunday after church and lunch we decided to head to the Milwaukee County Zoo. We love the zoo, and it wasn't crowded at all since it's still a little early in the season for the Zoo.

Got to see most of my favorites... the cheetahs, elephants and giraffes. And of course we stopped in the primate house to see Mahal, the cutest orangutan baby EVER! He was totally showing off, as were the spider monkeys. But it was great. The fresh air did all of us in. It was group nap time when we got home. I love days like that though... it's so much fun to do stuff as a family and take advantage not only of the great weather, but of the great things to do right here in Milwaukee!