Hygienically Challenged

You know your hygienically challenged when you say to your husband,

"You don't mind if I go shower, do you?"

and he responds by saying,

"Mel...you know I ALWAYS encourage you to shower."

I admit it...I stink...a lot.

I'm a mother of 4 children.  4 BOYS to be exact.  And showering is not always my #1 priority during that small block of time during the day when they are completely zombie-d out (aka attached to the computer or TV screen).

Most of the time I reserve that for my workout.

And...if I DO attempt to do it any other time of the day, I run the risk of A. the house burning down  B.  the boys beating each other up C.  food pulled out of every crevice in the house, in which it's either consumed in its entirety or thrown all over the floor  or D. all of the above.

It really is a deterrent.

But in my defense...I usually give people fair warning when they come near me.

P.S.
If you are one of those moms that wakes up every morning, showers, and gets ready for the day (instead of hanging out in your stinky workout clothes), always looking put together and cute AND you can still manage to maintain a healthy weight without ever reserving time to exercise your body...I hate you.  I really do.  :)
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Bedtime funnies

While I'm putting the kids to bed tonight Mini Rob (3) says to me,

"Mom"  "Mom"  "When I eight, I be a grownup like [G-McBabe] (almost 8).....then I play Kung Fu Panda."

He was so excited.

I chose not to burst his bubble by A.  informing him that when he is 8 years old he will not yet be a "grown up"  or B.  that I hope when he IS finally "grown up" he will truly have better things to do with his time than play video games  (Now if only I could convince his father of this....who, by the way, is sitting, at this precise moment, playing his XBOX 360 behind me...ahem).

and then there was G-McBabe...

"Mom...can you come snuggle with me?"...upon observing my "I've had a long day, I just want to sit down and relax and nothing else" look, he adds "for just like one or two minutes."

Then...he give me the "please...it's not too much to ask after all the hell you have put me through over the last few years" look.

Touché.

He's got me there.

  

To reward him for his ingenious tactics, I obliged.

Yeah...I'm that nice.
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Attack of the flying bugs leads to desperate use of duct tape

Now, I'm not one to get squeamish about a few bugs here and there.

Yes, I kill spiders (even squish them with my hands or bare feet), I pick up praying mantis's, I'll hold a handful of rolly polly's while my 3 year old uses the bathroom at the park,  but I do not....I repeat, DO NOT like infestations of any kind.  You know...a large gathering of small-ish creepy things.  It makes me feel vulnerable and itchy all over.

Among my least favorites are ants (now that's a good story for later), lice, maggots, and swarming winged ones of any kind.


That's why I spent some time this morning repairing holes in some window and door screens (and when I use the term "repair" I mean jimmy rigging things with duct tape because I don't believe in spending money on things unless I absolutely have to (exceptions being any sort of  sugary goodness) because I have a pack of male rugrats who are determined to destroy anything in their path, so until they are grown and out of the house or we become millionaires and can afford to keep up on repairs I will continue to patch things up with a large roll of duct tape that cost me no more than $6 at old Walmart-O).

(Let's see...where was I?)

Right...so...in summers past, at night, when it would finally get dark enough to turn the lights on inside, we would get all sort of winged friends coming in to play.  They'd enjoy swarming, particularly around the dining room light fixture, and then laying their bodies to rest (dying) on the table for us all to enjoy with our breakfasts the next morning.

But this year (I assume because of the wetter spring and the holes in the screens) we not only have them gathering in the dining room, but the kitchen, the windows throughout the house, and my bedroom ceiling.  I swear I went to bed last night with nightmares of waking up to a "blanket" of bugs.

UGH!  So disgusting.


So...the screen door got a bit of work done on her (notice the handle missing?  Yeah...the kids broke that off two summers ago...so last year I jimmy rigged a "handle" down lower where they could reach it and, wouldn't you know, they'd rather just tear a whole in the screen and open and close the door with the frame instead...yeah...that's why I don't replace things).  Now she's all patched and looking perty don't cha think?(We'll see how long it lasts.)

 The other major repair was on the large kitchen window screen.  Earlier this year I just happened to lock myself out of my car at Costco.  Yeah...Rob was out of town with the three older boys so Mr. Golden Locks and I were stuck...really stuck.  Luckily I have a good friend who was willing to break into my house (thank goodness I left a window open) and grab a spare set of keys.  Unfortunately, those screens are extremely difficult to get out (which is a good thing otherwise any crazy might try to get in) and I gave her permission to bend it if she needed to.  So she did...(no don't feel bad) and came to my rescue.  Long story...well, long....the screen was bent and the bugs have had a super easy time getting in.  

Until today...

With a little bit of muscle and, you guessed it, duct tape, the screen is back in place and doing its job quite nicely.    

Now before you go on judging me, just keep in mind that these repairs, although somewhat "trashy" looking,  cost me no more than $.15 cents.

How's that for "frugal" home improvement?  

And, even better,...so far so good on lessening the amount of little buggies buzzing around my head right now. 

That makes me happy....very happy. 

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Finding joy in a sparkling john

In an effort to find happiness in the ever recurring, mundane tasks of motherhood, I have started a monumental task of focusing on "little successes" for my sense of daily accomplishment and validity.

Some days I feel good about myself because I get in a workout, other days, for sitting long enough to read a book to my kids, and on other days, just surviving until bedtime without too many tears.


I often ask myself, "What do I need to do today in order to feel worthwhile and successful (like there's an actual purpose to my existence)?"

Today...it was taking a scrub brush (and chisel) to the disgusting-ness that was the kids bathroom (man...it's been a while...remember?).

It took a little elbow grease but i finally got all the fuzz (aka nasty mold from our disgusting local water) out of the john.

(I'm exaggerating, of course...the fuzz actually comes off fairly easily.)

I just love it when my toilet is sparkly.  :)  Makes me all giddy happy!



The kids and I left the house for a few hours and came home to the permeating scent of Lysol and toilet bowl cleaner.

I took a deep breath....ahhhh.....the smell of success!

I love it!


What kinds of "little things" make you  feel worthwhile and happy? 


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Recipe-Easy Granola Bars

I love this recipe.  It's fast and easy and HIGHLY adaptable.  I'm always on the lookout for something like this since we can't buy a whole lot of granola bars at the store (nut allergies in the house).  This one is awesome.

Easy Granola Bars  (Thanks Brandage)

adapted from allrecipes.com

3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (can use fat free).
2 TBSP butter, melted (optional...I've never used it)
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup sliced almonds (again, because of allergies, we leave this out)
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan (I double the recipe and use a cookie sheet).  In a large bowl, mix ingredients with your hands until well blended.  Press flat into the prepared pan.  Bake 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven, depending on how crunchy you want them.  Lightly browned just around the edges will give you moist, chewy bars.  Let cool for 5 minutes, cut into squares then let cool completely before serving.

**You can totally play with this recipe.  Try adding wheat germ and or ground flax.  Add a little whole wheat flour if you want.  My kids LOVE the Peanut Butter Milk chocolate chip ones I make.  Just add a large dollop of peanut butter, omitting dried fruit, and switch out the semi sweet chips for milk chocolate ones.  They are super tasty.  We've also used raisins instead of cranberries (more cost effective, ya know).  Mix it up...have fun. 

Please share any tasty combos you come up with.  :)