Hodge Podge Happenings

So life has been nuts and if I don't have time to at least get my Hodge Podge post up then I have to much going on in my life :)  So here is to simpler times and doing less and maybe if I say it enough times it will happen - judging by my entire family not likely.

1.  So, do you like beer? 

No.  Once upon a time long long ago I did but I no longer drink.

2.  What's your least favorite repetitive task? 

Cleaning bathrooms.  If you are new to reading my blog no worries I am sure I will rant about it soon - in my defense I have three boys to clean up after... I think that entitles me to a few rants every now and then.

3.  When was the last time you rode a bus?  Where was it headed? 

The last time I rode a bus was to swimming lessons with my son's class at school.

4.  What song from your childhood or from your own children's childhood could make a parent's nerves stand on end? 

I think there is one something about a song that never ends which is annoying but what really irritates me these days are my kids running around screaming Braundo commercials that they saw on you tube...

5.  The US Presidential election cycle is drawing to a close (can I get an AMEN??), and the third and final debate was held last night...what was the last thing you 'debated about'?

Hmmm....well I don't know that we 'debated it' but conversations were held about where to hold my son's upcoming birthday party.

6.  Can a person make too much money?  How much is too much?

Is there something like too much money?  It seems like we and the world always need more.  Seriously though yes, I think that a lot of celebrities and athletes make way to much and often have little to show for it.  I know lots of people donate to charity and all which is great but if you have ever watched an episode of Cribs on MTV you know that someone has too much $$ and time on his hands after you see a few of those houses.  How many gold plated sinks do you need?  How about a few normal high end sinks and buy groceries for some peeps?  Just sayin


7.  Pop-soda-coke-something else...what's it called where you live?

Joyce could probably answer this questions better than me as she speaks fluid England Speak :)  Where I grew up though we always said drink or coke....so you might say, "hey want to go get a coke?" but you might get chocolate milk or ice tea.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I am full of random thoughts today.  I am slightly overwhelmed at attempting to do this B Day party when I seriously just did a blow out Mario party for my other son about a week ago.  Two B Days in October is sometimes rough.
My niece is in the hospital delivering my new great niece tonight and I cannot wait to see pictures and really wish I could be there in person.
After two years of working on a medical problem of my son's with a variety of Dr.'s I feel like we are finally making some progress.  Prayers are being answered and I am beyond grateful and feel very blessed.
Lastly, it is super foggy again today and I would rather curl up on my couch and read and/or sleep all day but out into it I go.  This is not one of my favorite things about being here.

Hot glue = no more pockets for children in my house!

So, last night as I was moving the 100th load of laundry out of the dryer (well it felt like the 100th but was probably more like the 15th...) there was a sock that did not come tumbling out when I pulled everything else out and it was stuck.  For about 2 seconds I was puzzled over what would make a sock stick in the dryer, until I noticed the bubble gum wrapper sticking up out of the lint filter. Upon further investigation discovered the melted gum in the back of the dryer.  The brand new dryer.
I find stuff allllllll the time in the washer and dryer from the boys.  Legos, rocks, more rocks, more Legos, crayons. It makes me crazy and I constantly request they do not use their pockets and that they empty them prior to taking off their pants and putting them into the dirty laundry.  Still  I do check their pockets but apparently not thoroughly enough.
 So I have decided that little boys pants should not have pockets at all in them.  I will be hot gluing my kids shut today... yes hot glue because they have a lot of pants and i don't have time or ambition to sew all those.
Seriously why should they have pockets?  They do not have wallets to carry... they don't put toys in their pockets they either carry them, throw them in a backpack or most commonly trick their mothers into schlepping them around.  Boys are gross and pick up gross things... I say down with pockets until they are doing their own laundry.

Finally back at Hodge Podge

I am so happy to be back to posting and happy to be participating in Hodge Podge again!  Thank you Joyce for easing me back into blogging again with great questions :)  Check her out over at:

From This Side of The Pond.

1. The Wednesday Hodgepodge this week falls on John Chapman's birth date.  He's more famously known as Johnny Appleseed...what's your favorite variety of apple? 

I really like Grapples. (Apples that taste slightly like grapes)  You can check it out more here

.

2.   When did you last say 'ick'? 

Yesterday when I cleaned my kids bathroom - no dry heaving this time though so I was happy about that.

3.   Do you think there's a generation gap?  Explain. 

This question requires too much thought right now :)  I didn't use to think there was but as I get older and see teenagers I think there must be.

4.  What's on your computer screen saver?  Do you leave it alone or change it often? 

A family picture and I like to change it periodically.  I am to lazy and busy to do it often but I like change.

5.  If you had the attention of the entire world for two minutes, what would you say? 

I would say stop, be grateful and be kind.

6.  Four fashion trends to try this fall are-brocade/jacquard (fancy printed fabrics), peplum, lace, and printed pants...which of these four would you be most likely to wear? 

Well I did purchase a peplum dress which I really like & I think out of the others I would most go for lace.  I just don't know if I can pull of the printed pants.

7.  What can make your bad day better?

A hug from my kids and chocolate.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

Well, it has been ages since I posted on my blog, let alone to the Hodge Podge.  August was an insanity filled month and September has been a little nuts also.  I really am hoping that life has slowed down and that we are finally getting back into routine around these parts and yay for finally having internet so I can rejoin you!!!

Hodge Podge & Moving Madness

Well I am taking a QUICK break from packing to join in on the great Hodge Podge questions.  Please stop by Joyce's blog after reading and commenting here to find other great blogs and join in!  

1. I'm joining my daughter1 in the 101 in 1001 challenge. Essentially you create a list of 101 things you hope to do or accomplish in the next 1001 days. What's one thing you'd put on your list?

Publish an e-book

2. How many remote controls do you have in your house? What's one item in your home you wish could be operated by remote control?

Four remotes & I wish I could control.....my oven turning on by remote.

3. What does having it all mean to you? Is it attainable?

I don't know if truly having it all is attainable because there is never enough time, or money, etc.  BUT, depending on your personal definition of having it all you might.   I have a home, food, a car and an amazing family who is all pretty healthy.  My husband has a secure job and we live in an amazing place.  I think we pretty much do have it all.

4. What's your favorite movie soundtrack?

There are numerous amazing soundtracks & I love music.  Not sure if I can narrow it to one.  Growing up we use to listen to The Jazz Singer all the time so I really like that.  Jurassic Park has some amazing music on and it and I like some of the Twilight music as well.

5. Describe the best view you've seen from a rooftop.

When we lived in Japan our first apartment had a rooptop area that we could go and watch the sunrise and sunset.  It was amazing to sit there and look out over the Ocean etc.    No idea where on the computer those picture are and I don't have time to look as I am suppose to be packing my heart out.  Sorry!

6. What's your least favorite thing about summer?

Mosquitos and snakes.

7. Our weekly Hodgepodge falls on the first day of August. In ten words or less sum up your July.

Wet, funny, chaotic, laughter, tears, new.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Found out last night that we are moving in 7 days and the only thing packed up so far is my husband's dresser and nightstand.  So the next few days might be a bit frantic. We are doing it all ourselves in the midst of summer camp, the dog's surgery (which we travel 3 hours each way for starting at 4am) and all the other things life has to throw at you.  I know this is the best thing for my family but I am not excited about it and feeling a bit panicky.  So, if you are a prayer, pray that I don't lose my schmidt in the next three weeks.   
For something lighter here is a hilarious picture of my husband and dog swinging at the park.  Yes my dog loves to swing.  Who knew?  I am so glad I had my camera so I could capture this because it will make me laugh for forever :)

Music Monday published on Tuesday

So because I am lazy but still want to post more than I do I decided to do Music Monday.  Super original right?  I also LOVE music so there is that :)  My tastes are super super varied.  I listen to just about all of it.  Country, pop, classical, rock, and even some rap.

I stumbled upon this song and I really love it and play it over and over.  My kids want to listen to Alvin & the Chipmunks but there are only so many times I can hear that before I want to throw it out the window.  It almost took flight last week.  So I have been declaring large portions of time these days
as "mommy music time".

I love the song because it is just upbeat and happy.  I smile every time I hear it.  I also love the lyrics.

Make You Smile by Catherine Papworth

We know nobody's perfect

We all gotta work at it

No one can see you, show us the real you

Oh and I just want to see you smile,

So hang with me awhile and soon you'll be laughing out loud

Stand up child because better things are coming your way

Sing it out loud no matter what they all say

Those are part of the lyrics.  I like it because I am really trying to teach my kids right now some of those very things.  No one is perfect and we are all trying to do better.  Stand up, be yourself no matter what.  I think being confident in being you is one of the key things a child needs to learn, feel and do.  I am in my thirties and I still work at being comfortable in my own skins sometimes or in new situation.  I struggle and I don't want them to do it so if a song can help that is fabulous.

Here are two links to the song.  It is much better if you can hear it rather than just read about it but I had a hard time finding a really good link so here is two.  One is a live recording. 

website

 If you have a song that you are loving right now leave the title and artist in the comments so I can check it out.  Hope your week brings you lots of smiles!  

Back to our regularly scheduled whining... I mean venting

So when summer rolled around I was ready to do nothing for a week or two because I was exhausted from the end of the year running.  We did that well.

I then read several great blogs about summer schedules and thought it was genius... we don't do well here left to our own devices at times. 

 So I made a plan, at least in my head & we did not do it in June.  I blame this partly on my husband's business trip (I am very good at rationalizing my lazy & poor behavior/parenting).

For July I had big plans.  Well it is now the 26th and well we have not done so well this month either.  The boys are playing a lot and well together more times than expected which is great.  But, we have not tried a new recipe each week with them helping me cook nor done an art day each week or the other things we had planned.  But I still have time people and I will make some of this stuff happen even if it kills us all :)

In other failure news here is this tidbit.  Last night at about 11:30 when I was checking my email and getting ready to blog (the hubs was super excited about that by the way) I said, " I need to pick when I am doing book club ... I could do it this day before school starts but then we have only been in the new house like a week so I probably won't be ready or I could do it the week school starts but will that be okay with people?" And Bill said, "What?"  So I explained it all again and he was looking at me like I was insane so I said, "What?  What do you think?"  He said well I would go with the second since the first one is my birthday.  Then he walked/stalked away... and I was yelling, " I would have remembered soon ya know"

In my defense it was late, I was tired and had only had 2 cokes that day.  In his defense he has every right to be super irritated because he always wants to go to bed early and I never do, I often forget important dates like our anniversary, his birthday and lastly I am not great at birthdays.  I would be irritated too.  In fact if he mistakenly was thinking of planning something on my birthday I would probably flip out...he just looked at me like I was nuts.  Because I am.

So honey when/if you read this I am sorry that you are married to such a flaky night owl.  Much love!

Big plans for August people ... BIG plans :)

Oh and since I am so good at making plans and sticking to them I am going to do a list of 101 things in 1001 days.  I discovered the idea via Joyce who found it via her daughter Shannon.  Who wants to join in and see if we can accomplish something?  Or 101 things :)

Olympic Hodge Podge

I am super excited for the Olympics to start.  I love watching the opening and closing ceremonies and seeing the athletes do amazing things.  Wasn't it amazing what Michael Phelps did?  I think we all become a bit entranced by various aspects of it.   I look forward to sharing parts of it with my kids this year who are getting older and starting to be interested in sports & things besides Nick Jr.   If you are new & are unfamiliar with the drill, read my answers, leave me a comment, then head over to Joyce's great blog where you can link in or find other great blogs to check out.  

1. The Summer Olympics officially begin this Friday...will you be watching? If you could see just one event in person which one would you pick?


Just one huh?  Well.....I think Gymnastics because I use to do gymnastics and I am fascinated by the strength they have & how they flip around.  We have a friend who got tickets for synchronized swimming and is not super excited but I think that would also be pretty cool.


2. Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?


Well I am lazy so many days are lazy days...lol.  But, I really only like planned lazy days and it being an actual lazy day where you get to read all day or have a movie marathon.  If you can't do that and really enjoy it and unwind that I feel unproductive.

3. July 25 is 'officially' Threading the Needle day...can you sew? On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being not at all and 10 being Betsy Ross-like, how would you rate your skill with a needle and thread?


I can sew barely.  I can do straight lines well :)  I wish I had really stuck with sewing lessons as a child and I am working on picking it back up.  I would rate my skill as a 4.

4. Threading the Needle can also mean to walk a fine line between two things or issues (think awkward social situation). When was the last time you had to 'thread the needle', figuratively speaking?


Well, the one that sticks out the most in my mind is the following tale.  I was getting ready to go to a work dinner with my husband & when I was getting dressed he said, "that ribbon belt makes your dress weird" but I wore it anyway.  Then after the dinner his boss, (who had been gone for a few months in his defense) said, "So when is this happening" and pointed to my stomach.  I had no idea what he was talking about initially.  He said, "oh come on you know these things do have a time limit" and I still was clueless.  So I was looking really confused and I said, "what Sir?"  and he said,  "the baby".  I replied, "he is three months old"  In the meantime my good friend who had quickly caught on had walked away laughing hysterically while I stood there with no idea what was happening.  The guy once he realized what had happened was more embarrassed then me I think and apologized and left very quickly.  In the moment I was just embarrassed that I still looked so pregnant which I had not realized I guess in that dress & now it is just something to laugh about.

5. Kidney, pinto, black, or navy-your favorite bean?

Black beans.


6. Have you ever hosted a garage sale? Was it more success or bust?


Yes I have.  I have had success and bust ones.  I think if you can do it with another person it can be good because then you have a variety of items and help.  Plus it just depends on location & weather.  I think the best ones I have been to have been community sales where there are a lot of people.


7. What makes you roll your eyes?

Currently my husband who is giving me lip about finishing this at 11:30pm rather than go to bed. 

8. Random Thought....

I am losing the battle of the soda war again.  My husband and I were talking last night about if we just don't buy it then we don't drink it.  He said he would not buy anymore and I looked at him like he was crazy I am sure.  I was thinking I don't think you want me off my meds like that when we are getting ready to move.  Yes I refer to soda as my meds, my kids refer to it as "mommy juice".
  So today of course I was out so I went and bought more and found myself thinking well when we move I will quit.  Then I think well once we get all unpacked and settled I will quit and then after that I am sure I will find another excuse and another deadline.  It is just so hard to stop drinking it and I don't want to be that person who gives in and just keeps doing it.  Sigh.  We shall see.  Soda won the battle today but it will not win the war :)