Being a Mommy Takes Ninja Mind Tricks

When my son is trying to do something he is not supposed to (e.g., smush all the toothpaste out of the tube), he gets very quiet.

So then I go check on him.

I quietly approach him.

He has his back to me.

I say quietly, "What are you doing?"

Parker stands still. He looks over his shoulder. He whispers in a menacing tone:

"Go away."

I always laugh.

So, the other day, I decided to use his own trick on him.

He was nagging, as small children do, while I was cooking dinner. It was annoying. I looked over at him over my shoulder.

"Go away," I said in a quiet, menacing voice.

"Uugghh!" he scoffed at me.

When it was dinnertime, my boy said:

"I sit by Daddy. Mommy is being cranky at me."

Whatever works.

That Outside Feeling

Spring fever is starting. I feel restless and low on concentration. Makes it kind of hard to produce spectacular writing and blogging!

When I get home from work, my boy wants to be OUTSIDE playing, playing, playing. Sometimes he can be out there on his own, but sometimes supervision is necessary.



Like when you are terrorizing the neighborhood in your McQueen car while spraying silly string (I mean, SPIDER WEBS) at reckless speeds.

I am linking up with Kristi at Live and Love Out Loud for Wordless Wednesday!

Party Animals

Yesterday was a BIG day!

My boy turned 4 and had a fabulous Spiderman birthday party. The house was full with friends from preschool and daycare.



I told Parker, "My favorite part of the party was watching you have so much fun with your friends!"



Parker said his favorite part was swinging and sliding on his new swingset from Grandma!



The pinata was fun too.





We made up for Santa's mistake at Christmas and bought Parker the amazing Bat Cave he's been asking for.



Not only that, then we went to hockey!



You may not believe this, but I am TIRED. Happy Sunday, everyone!

Wanna Play?

Something wonderful has happened around here!

For the first time, my boy was asked by a neighbor kid to play outside.

We are entering into an era where The Child can play outside, and I can keep an eye on things here and there while I'm inside.

My son is an only so it sure is nice that he has some other kids to play with, and they're not in my house fighting like brothers and sisters do.

He was so excited by playing with kids outside, he emphatically nodded his head saying, "Yes, Mommy," as I told him, "No going in the street!"

As the kids ran around the front yard, I could see Parker run by in a flash with his hand out in front "spraying" spider webs and shouting, "Here comes Spider Man!"

It's amazing how he's getting older and bigger at lightning speed. His fourth birthday is next week, and it is the first age where being a "big kid" is very important to him.

Obviously, we have not yet hit the phase where being "cool" is extremely important. Thank God.

Very Important Questions, Very Important Answers

I am linking up today with Sweaty at Do Sweat the Small Stuff.

I charged 11 Tag-ees with the following questions, so it would only be fair if I answered them as well, no? (Hush, you're right, doing this is easier than thinking of a new, original, spectacular post today.)

What do you think is the funniest movie of all time?

To the chagrin of my parents who never appreciated British humor, I have to go with Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail.

"I'm French! Why do you think I have this OUTRAGEOUS accent, you silly king?!"

What is your most frequent, daily worry?

That I am gaining weight. I know. Totally vain and slave to the ridiculous double standard in our society for women. But, tis true.

Best travel destination?

A warm beach - usually Mexico.

Name one big adventure you would like to still accomplish.

Publish a book. Travel off the North American continent.

What is your favorite weekend activity?

Going out to eat.

What could be a song on the soundtrack of your life?

Come on Eileen by Dexy Midnight Runners! Freaking LOVE that song. So much fun, so dance-able. It is MY song, people. If you hear it, look around, I may be nearby, dancing like no one's watching.

"We are far too young and clever!"

When do you feel most energetic?

On weekend mid-mornings after coffee and getting ready to work out.

What book are you currently reading?

I just finished Bossypants by Tina Fey and loved it!

"My obstetrician suggested...that perhaps I hadn't rested enough during my pregnancy and that was why she was so small. 'What a cunt,' I thought to myself in what was either a flash of postpartum hormones or an accurate assessment of my doctor's personality."

Good stuff, people.

What would be your luxury item if you went on Survivor?

I do not know the rules and parameters around Survivor luxury items, but I would have to go with WINE.

Biggest turn on in the opposite sex?

Confidence (not arrogance), sense of humor

Biggest turn off in the opposite sex?

Bad hygiene, being self-absorbed, narrow-mindedness and feeling threatened by things outside of their comfort zone

Google images

Wine a Bit. You'll Feel Better.

The RemembeRED memoir prompt at Write on Edge this week is to write about wine, coffee, or chocolate.

One of the best vacations my husband and I have ever taken was in the wine country. Are you surprised? I didn’t think so.



We talk about it all the time like it is part of an era gone by. Vacations are a whole lot different nowadays with a child.

We had been to Sonoma before this trip. This particular trip was more off-the-beaten-path, north of Sonoma/Napa, north of Santa Rosa. We were in the Dry Creek and Russian River Valley around Healdsburg and Windsor. We stayed an entire week at a small resort and mostly did biking tours of the surrounding wineries. (It helps that I have experience with biking and drinking as I explained here.)



Although I would never call myself an athletic-type, I can kick ass physically sometimes. I just typically keep my prowess on the down low.

The hazy memories I can recollect include the fact that a majority of the pourers at the wineries were intoxicated at some level. Rarely, did we pay for a tasting, and the pours were typically generous.

The most memorable winery was Christopher Creek. We happened upon it by accident down a gravel road. The pourer was a warm, friendly man with a generous spirit. The grounds were simple, but the views amazing, so we bought a bottle and picnicked there.



Armida was interesting as well. The vineyard dog greeted us at the entrance and walked us up to the tasting room. Once inside, he passed out at our feet. The pourer inside was blasting Pearl Jam and seemed to be quite intoxicated. He sold us on a special vintage called “Poizin” – a Zinfandel.

We biked over this bridge a few times on our journeys over the Russian River.



We took two days off from biking while we were there to enjoy the resort pool. So, if we were not drinking and biking, we were drinking and swimming.





We had no child at the time. We would roll up to the pool with our cooler and plastic cups. When laying in the sun, I listened to my iPod. At the time, I listened a lot to Gorillaz, specifically Clint Eastwood:

"I ain't happy but, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine, in a bag
I'm useless, but not for long
The future is coming on...

Finally someone let me out of my cage!
Now, time for me is nothing 'cause I'm counting no age."

I could barely hear Richard laughing at me as I sang and rapped along to the tune no one could hear but me.

I am now totally lost in reverie, hoping for warmer weather and moments of lying like broccoli with ENTIRE VINEYARDS of wine nearby. Sigh. Summer?? Vacation?? I need you now…

Tagged

I've been tagged by Kara at Nest Candy for 11 Random Things!



I'm a playful type, and I don't mind the occasional tag, so here goes.

Here's how it works:

-Post these rules
-Post 11 random things about yourself
-Answer the questions set for you in their post.
-Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
-Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them.

My 11 Random Things:
1. I just updated my "Best of" page up above there. Go ahead. Check out some of the best of Pampers and Pinot!

2. I really like cheese.

3. I long for the ocean.

4. My least favorite time of day is 3-5 pm. Every day, I'd prefer to just skip it and get right to dinner.

5. I don't really have a sweet tooth. I did when I was pregnant.

6. I'm going to go to Target later to get some things and stuff.

7. I love listening to my music in the car really really loud. I have a problem with blowing out speakers. I'm totally that lady rolling up to the grocery store blasting my def tunes.

8. I have really vivid dreams every night. I have a few different homes around the world that I revisit in my dreams here and there. I try to play games with my dreams and think about what I want to dream about before I go to bed, and then I see if I dream about it. Most of the time I do. Sometimes I don't.

9. I'm afraid of the novel I'm writing. It's very ambitious. I don't know if I have it in me. But, I actually take that as a good sign that I'm on the right track.

10. My favorite game on my smart phone is Ant Smashers. I find it very satisfying.

11. I love to laugh, and I love trying to find the humor in almost everything.

Google images

My answers to Kara's questions:

1. If you could travel back in time, where would you go?

I cannot decide between two things.

I would want to go back to a day with my grandma when I was young. We had been at the beach all day. After getting clean in the shower and having that sun-kissed, tired feeling, I would enjoy the smell of her home and the fresh air outside. She had big bird cages, a tree swing, a pool, and strawberry plants. I would curl up with her and enjoy just being with her.

Another time would be a weekend I lived in Iowa on a not-too-hot summer evening. My husband and I lived in the country. We would have friends come over, have a bonfire, watch the lightning bugs (man, I miss lightning bugs), and then laze about together the rest of the weekend. I would take long walks by myself down to Wolf Creek on a gravel road.

How many books do you think you have read (just for fun)?

There is absolutely no way I could determine a guess - thousands upon thousands!!! I have always been a big reader from an early age and am NEVER not in the middle of a book.

Are you a Mac or PC person?

PC, but it is not something I am passionate about. I don't really care. Just give me something to use, and I'll freaking use it.

Have you ever ridden a train?

Yes.

Dark or milk chocolate?

Milk, I guess. Not really a chocolate crazy person. I know, I know, I'm a freak.

Running - Love it? or Hate it?

I WISH I could. Honestly. I enjoy exercising and do so regularly, but whenever I try to run, I have horrible, splitting pain throughout my calves. The idea of it appeals to me, but I stick to walking, dancing, strength training and Jillian Michael's type stuff.

What three foods could you never give up?

Cheese, bread products, and wine. Absolutely, wine is a food group. In my world.

What's a food you've never tried but would like to?

I'm adventurous with food and can't likely think of anything that I haven't tried that I would want to try. I was most disappointed by oysters. Thought I would like that, but just remembering the experience makes me want to throw up.

What length of socks do you prefer?

Ankle socks for working out; otherwise, I like socks up to my knees. So comfortable. But, I would NEVER wear them like that with exposed legs. There's a trend I do not like.

What was your favorite class in Jr. High or High School?

Nerd alert! Honors English classes. Always my fave.

Do you know a foreign language?

Double nerd alert! I took Japanese in high school because I was always up for a challenge and really enjoyed it! Of course, I don't remember much of it now, only a little.

Google images

My questions for the next group:

What do you think is the funniest movie of all time?
What is your most frequent, daily worry?

Best travel destination?
Name one big adventure you would like to still accomplish.
What is your favorite weekend activity?
What could be a song on the soundtrack of your life?
When do you feel most energetic?
What book are you currently reading?
What would be your luxury item if you went on Survivor?

Biggest turn on in the opposite sex?

Biggest turn off in the opposite sex?

Google images

Tag, you're it!

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