Wednesday, January 30, 2013

What's wrong with my $5 t-shirt?

As I sat and rocked my whiny, hot, sweaty, sniffling, snotty, coughing 2 1/2 year old, I had a moment of clarity.

Last weekend I went to a CABi show. If you haven't heard of CABi, well, it's like a clothing equivalent to tupperware parties. You go to someones house where they buy you clothes. It's nice in theory to have the shopping come to you. The clothes are cute... but pricey, too. They also have lots of white tops and flowing blouses. People always ooo and ahhh over the white blouses. I always think of the amount of minutes it would take for myself or my child to wreck that 50 buck shirt.

I did buy a blouse. Hey, I like to dress cute. But, whenever I wear something expensive and hand washable I take it off the moment I get home. I put on one of my clearance wrack Eddie Bauer outlet t-shirts.

I started doing this when Baby C was born, simply because spit up and silk don't go together. But, what I hadn't expected was that I would continue this practice. I remembered why I wear cheap 5 buck t-shirts and was thankful today.

Baby C is sick with a cold. I put him down for a nap and he woke up 30 minutes later. He soaked his diaper, pants and was hot. By the time I changed his pull-up and pants he was still sobbing. After 30 mins of rocking him in the rocking chair, he was still whiny and ... well... not asleep.

I decided that he needed sleep more than anything and went to get him some tylenol. He was still sobbing and spit it out all over me. I was thankful for my 5 buck shirt, that will never be the same after grape tylenol, I'm sure.

So, is it cheap-ness... I mean, frugal-ness or brilliance that I wear 5 buck t-shirts around the house on any given day? Of course, I prefer to think of it as brilliance, but that's just me.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Did your kid just sneeze on my kid?


In case you didn't the memo ... people in general are jerks. (I would use another choice word, but I'm trying really hard to be PG here.... Is "turd" officially a bad word?...I digress)

Evidence of this can be seen at daycares all across the nation. One of the things that has always driven me insane with daycare is the jerky people (and when I say jerky people it's mostly super skinny bitchy Mom's) that drop their kids off sick. Yes, you have to work (uhhh... so do the rest of us... which is why we ... uhh.... have JOBS?). 

But, what happens is that these jerky types drop their kids off to infect everyone at daycare. I, on the other hand, understand that if my kid is sick, he should be hanging at home with me, resting on couch, eating soup. I try not to be a jerk and expect other people to be responsible for my kid... just a little pet peeve of mine that I like to call "being responsible". 

Two weeks ago Baby C had weird virus involving a fever and a rash. He stayed home all week with either myself or my husband so he could get better. I called the daycare and found out that literally his entire pre-school class was sick with the stomach flu. Half of the kids were home sick and the other half were throwing up at the daycare. (Can you imagine 5 kids throwing up at the same time?... I shudder.) What's amazing to me is that when some of these parents were called to come get their kid they just said "I can't get off of work". You can't leave work? But you can let someone else clean up your kid's throw up? Which option is more of an inconvenience?

Everyone has to work at some point in time in some way, shape or form, so cry me a river that your kid is sick. Your sick kid is getting everyone else's kid sick. I get that you have to work, but I also get that you have sick days that you can use for a sick kid.  

I'm thinking about this today as I'm laying in bed with my son, watching "Go, Diego, Go!" for the millionth time on netflix. He has a cold today so I decided to keep him home from daycare today. I consider that my contribution to society today... You're welcome.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

How to wash your face with oil!

I took an aromatherapy class a few weeks ago. While discussing essential oils and their benefits, we discussed skin care. And here's what I learned: Soap is bad for your skin. It strips your skin of it's natural oil and does damage to the top layer of skin. (What the heck, Dove? 1/4 moisturizer, my butt!)

So, what's the best way to wash your face? ... With oil!

My instructor recommended using olive oil to wash your face. At first I thought he was nuts, but after trying this for a week, I can say that my skin looks really good in the morning!

Here's how you wash your face with olive oil:

1) Go into your kitchen and get about 2 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil.

2) Give yourself a little face message with the olive oil - you can even use it to remove your eye makeup.

2) Soak a wash cloth in the hot water.

3) Use the warm wash cloth to gently wipe away the oil. It also feels really good to let the wash cloth stay on your face for a bit and steam those pores.

That's it.

How many times have you purchased something that is expensive and doesn't really clean your skin? If you're like me, the answer is: many times. This solution is cheap and works! What could be better?

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Petty Stupid Little Games

One of the most surprising things about being a Step Mom is not the angst or the eye rolling. I knew that I signed up to be the 2nd favorite person in the house. The most surprising thing has been my husbands Ex's petty stupid little games.

My least favorite (and most prevalent) game recently is sending my husband's call to voice mail... EVERY TIME HE CALLS.

When my step son Jay is with us, however, she calls...  EVERY DAY. And expects to talk to him for an hour at a time. Not only does she call my husband's phone, she calls my phone, the house phone, every phone she can get her hands on... and acts like it's her right to talk with Jay. But what about my husband's rights?

Apparently, he's supposed to just send the child support check and not expect anything in return? I understand that divorce is complicated, however, there are innocent kids involved. When Jay came to visit us over Christmas, he was so excited about his Christmas presents that he took my phone and called his mother (ask me how happy I am about that one). The Wicked Witch of the West (WWW) did what she always does with my calls ... sends them to voice mail. You should have seen my step son's face.

He said "why wouldn't she pick up the phone"?

I told him, "she thought it was me".

He responded "oh yea, she doesn't answer the phone when you or Dad call".

This drives me crazy... this is the legacy you're leaving your kid? That his Dad is a deadbeat because.... why? Because he got tired of all the stupid petty little games played by you (Wife #1) and you're ticked that you lost your meal ticket and have to (GASP) WORK now. So, you're teaching your kid that his father isn't worth enough to answer the phone?

When I was pregnant with Baby C, I went in for my ultrasound with my husband. When I saw his tiny little feet and tiny little hands I cried... I cried through the entire ultrasound. I was suddenly overwhelmed with love and joy and a sense that this little person is my responsibility. That every little thing I do is being absorbed by this adorable boy and he'll emulate that in his life.

I came to a realization that I needed to be a better person for him... so that he would be a better person than me. I'm still trying to be a better person for him. That being said, I just don't understand why someone would want their child to be petty and play these same stupid little games. The only reason why I think they would want this is ...well, she's crazy.

What I'm learning about having this type of lunatic ex wife in the mix is that it's not uncommon. Apparently,  my husband's ex is cut from the same cloth as many money grubbing, white trash women in this world. For every one of them there has to be someone like me, who's tired of the petty stupid little games.

So, for those of you who have been dealing with the same garbage on a daily basis, I feel your pain. Fight on, ladies.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Who knew coupons were an intelligence test?


I use coupons… a lot. I figure, it’s money in the bank. Most of the time I download coupons while watching TV. I’m just sitting there on the couch anyway, why not be productive, too. I digress… I love coupons, and more importantly, love a good deal.

So when I saw that my favorite hippie organic granola (yea, I eat granola) was 2 bucks off at the store through today. I also remembered that I had a coupon for $1 buck off of 2 boxes, so I made sure to stop by the store last night after picking up Baby C from daycare. 

The granola had an additional coupon on each box for $1 off 2 boxes (score: more coupons!). I figured I’d put the new ones in my stash and use the one I already have. I happily went to check out, thinking that I got a good deal this week. 

I put all of my items on the belt and put my coupon on one of the boxes of granola. The checker started scanning. After she scanned the 2 boxes of granola, I noticed that the coupon didn’t show up on the computer (yes, I’m THAT woman in line at the grocery store), so I asked the checker if she scanned the coupon. She said “what coupon”? I reached down and handed her the coupon, that was still on the belt. 

She said “but this is for 2 boxes” and looked very confused. She looked at the coupon, looked at the box that she still had in her hand, looked at the coupon and looked back at he box. I said “yes, I have 2 boxes”. She looked at the items she just scanned, including 2 boxes of granola. The checker then noticed that each box had another “buy 2 get $1 buck off” coupon. 

Again, confusion set in. She proceeded to take the coupon off of the box and look at the first coupon, and then look at the 2nd coupon (that she just took off the box). Keep in mind, it’s the same coupon on each box. The bagger seemed to be equally confused and proceeded to take the coupon off of the 2nd box. He looked at me very puzzled and asked “did you want this”? After I said “yes” they both tried to put the coupons back on the boxes.

I tried my best to be nice, honestly I did. It took me a few minutes, but I finally got the whole situation squared away. It’s a good thing I didn’t have a 2nd coupon in the mix, otherwise it might have gotten really confusing.

Stay in school, kids.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Life: Then and now

My cousin came to visit this week. I don't have any sisters, so she's like my little sister. My much taller, skinny, gorgeous little sister (she's so pretty that if I didn't love her, I'd have to hate her). When my cousin's in town we gossip about family like we're teenagers and drink like I did when I was back in college.

We were in the car, laughing about silly stuff, when my gorgeous cousin reminded me of how I was BC... before children. Apparently, I used to get very annoyed at loud children in restaurant, especially, those who were screaming and ignored by their parents. I would huff and say things like "why don't they just take the kids OUT of the restaurant". I remember this about myself.

The whole conversation made me stop and think about myself then... and now.

Before my baby boy, I was... let's just say... very self focused. But for someone who has never had to take care of someone else, it's easy to understand. I had never had to be responsible for someone other than myself. I had never been up all night with a baby or had to leave a restaurant in a hurry because a 2 year old was having a melt down. I didn't get it.

And now, I get it.

Since having my son I've come to an understanding about life. It has it's phases. I didn't understand my married friends when I was single. I thought that they drank the cool aid. I had one friend who went from closing down bars to making pies. She went through the single phase, and then she was in the family phase. I get it.

I, too, make pies, although my boys prefer muffins. That doesn't mean that I drank the cool aid. That means that I'm a Mom and I do whatever I can to make my people happy.  There's something about being a mother that makes you understand that not everything in life is about you. You're responsible for the adorable, tiny, screaming little bundle of joy and it's your job, as a Mom, to love and protect them.

While my cousin reminded me that life has changed. And some things haven't changed. I'm still annoyed when parents ignore their kids in a restaurant.