Linking up with Jen for Quick Takes Friday, because I’m trying to set a world record for most link-ups joined in one week.
~1~
I unloaded the dishwasher, had coffee with Oskar, and cleaned the living room before the kids woke up today. The feelings of accomplishment I’m now experiencing are similar (I imagine) to those one feels after climbing Everest. I’m serious! I usually wake up with the littles and end up treading water cleaning-wise all day. I’ve already given myself 2 gold stars and am going to ride this feeling of productivity as long as it will carry me.
~2~
My cousin and I have been bringing our kids to swim lessons a couple times a week at my mom’s house. Last week, the swim teacher overheard us talking about going home and said she didn’t realize the house didn’t belong to one of us. My parents’ house is NOT a 30 year-old starter house type of place. It’s the kind of place you build after 20 solid years of paying off your first house and working, saving, etc. It is about 3 times as big as the type of place I could afford. After I thought about this a minute, I realized that, to her 17 year-old eyes, I look old enough to own this kind of house. Enter sweeping wave of depression. Being 30 hasn’t been that bad, but knowing I look 30 makes me remember how ancient it seemed when I was 20 and, oh boy, now I feel old.
~3~
Max kept talking about going to see the “festibull of lights” at the north pole and I had no idea what he was referring to. He was going on and on all day about how his friends Jude and Clare were going to come with him on an airplane to the north pole and they would eat popsicles and watch the festibull of lights. Finally, he said the “Aurora Bordalist” was like fireworks and I realized he must have heard about the Aurora Borealis somewhere. Maybe while watching Dinosaur Train? That’s been his poison of choice recently. I’m just thankful that he’s over Jake and the Neverland Pirates, because he was starting to pick up the pirate lingo ( Blahst! Bilge-water!) and refer to Auntie Laura as Mr. Smee. Now he just walks around talking about the adventures of Dinosaur Max. Plus Dinosaur Train is PBS, so that negates any bad TV vibes, right?
~4~
“Regular” has become a bad word around here. Max immediately freaks out if I call something “regular.” Yesterday, for example, I told him he was getting “regular” oatmeal for breakfast, in order to assure him I wasn’t hiding blueberries or walnuts in it because doing so created a freak session last week. He immediately lost it and cried “noooooo, not REGULAR!!” Same thing happened when I told him the water in his sippy cup was regular water, not coconut water. “Noooo! Not REGULAR water! I want FRESH water!” Ok, note to self, “regular” is equivalent to “nasty” in toddler speak. I think this problem started when I began putting Ovaltine in his milk, and suddenly regular milk tasted nasty in comparison. When will I ever learn?
~5~
Too many words! This post needs a picture. Let me see what I can dig up. Oh, here’s something!
From my biggest fan. Myself.
I am a sucker for Trader Joe’s flowers. Well, I’m a sucker for Trader Joe’s anything, really. I go there once a week and do 90% of our grocery shopping (the other 10 percent is divided between Costco every two weeks and my generous mother’s freezer with is bounty of grass-fed meat). I just love having fresh flowers in the house. It makes everything seem brighter, happier and prettier. I think outside things are so much better for the soul than inside things. Is that a good excuse for my house looking like a campsite some days?
~6~
My sister just moved back to the NO and I won’t leave her alone. She’s looking for a job and I am seriously anti. If she is working, how will she be able to come with me on my 3 o’clock Starbucks run? Or come to the Zoo with us on a whim. Maybe I can convince her and her husband to let me hire her as a “ladies companion” and pay her in my everlasting gratitude. And cookies. I will make them lots and lots of cookies.
~7~
I’ve been feeling super frump-dumpular with all the cute skirt-wearing bloggers posting about fashion recently. My favorite catholic mom fashionistas, Rosie, Laura and Grace(via Ain’t no mom jeans) have got me thinking about redoing my mom wardrobe, and I think Oskar is on-board with funding this extreme makeover, Nichole edition. It needs to happen. I sit typing this in a t-shirt of unknown origins and a pair of shorts that would be considered underwear if worn by a male.
I’ll leave you with that lovely mental image. Happy Friday, all! Visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!
