House of Estrogen

My Pride and Joy

A conversation in our house this afternoon...

J.C.: So, how did it go?

Me: We were able to finish delivering all the neighborhood cookies except for three houses where nobody was home.

J.C.: Great! That's excellent.

Nina: I can lick my underarm!

 

So there you have it... my middle child has talent. The Miss America Pageant folks should be knocking on our door any day now.

A Real Mom

Somehow, Elise, Nina, and I managed to eek out medical clearance to travel to Dallas for a few days. We flew out this morning, and this afternoon, we walked to a park. The girls were swinging. I was half-comatose on a park bench after being up all night with Addie with an ear infection. After begging me to push her (which I refused to do because she knows how to pump), Nina yelled out, "You're not acting like a REAL MOM!!!"  which brought on a cascade of giggles from the other moms at the park. I didn't budge from my spot and yelled back, "Oh I'm acting EXACTLY like a real mom!" which brought on a another round of laughs. One mom was dutifully pushing her toddler daughters on the swings, so I said to Nina, "That mom over there... she is pushing her kids because they don't know how to pump yet. YOU can pump, so I get to sit."

What was going through my mind was, "You want a real mom? How about your mom who has in the past six days has taken care of children and a husband with norovirus (x3), strep throat, and an ear infection, and still brought your butt to the playground even though she is desperate for sleep." Dude... if that isn't a real mom then I don't want to know what is!

The Curse of the Rainbow Cake

I've been an absentee blogger lately. You may have assumed my Girl Scout Cookie Mom duties were keeping me away from the computer. The seven cookie booths to be coordinated, six transfers from other troops, one warehouse pick-up, and countless emails certainly contributed to my absence. If only it had been confined to that though... sigh. The past week has been spent dealing with stomach bugs in J.C. and Nina (one spewing nastiness from up top, the other from down under). Then Addison decided it was time to get croup. My body was clearly handling the stress well when my neck went in to spasm. Then last night, about two hours after I baked a rainbow cake for Nina's birthday party that had been postponed due to weather, Elise caught the double-whammy. I have no words to describe what was coming out of her body in every different direction for seven hours straight. I think I went through an entire bottle of Clorox Clean-up this morning sanitizing every square inch of our bathroom.

When you think about having children, people may tell you about the dirty diapers you'll change on your infant, or they may mention the spit-up that you'll wear on your shoulder every day with a newborn. They do NOT; however, warn you about dealing with stomach bugs in older children! You don't think about how becoming a Mommy makes you THE MOMMY who is responsible during these times. You may remember having a stomach bug as a child, but you were probably feeling too rotten have any memories of what your mom and dad were doing during that time. Now I know. They were gagging from the smell while trying to stay in close proximity to you. They repeatedly washed their hands to the point of scrubbing off the top 32 layers of skin. They cleaned up all your messes and told you everything was going to be OK. They rubbed your head and gave you towels to use as pillows on the bathroom floor. They did 864 loads of laundry. They worried about how dehydrated you were getting but kept you from drinking water too fast. Then they scoured the house from top to bottom, and they didn't even have Lysol wipes back then.... brutal! These are the things people don't tell you because you would never have children if you thought about it too much. Really, there is no better birth control than a stomach bug spiraling out of control through your family!

We seem to have muddled through and survived though, and now once again, I found myself today with a rainbow cake baked and ready to roll and a cancelled birthday party. There are just too many germs pulsing through our family right now to host a party in good conscience. To salvage the afternoon, I whipped up some frosting and let Nina go at it again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stupid cursed rainbow cake. If we schedule this party a third time, I'm picking up ready-made cupcakes at Sam's Club!

Behind the Scenes

Last year, I gave you a glimpse into the world of a cookie mom on cookie delivery day. This year, I thought I would take you a little further behind the scenes in the secret life of a Girl Scout cookie.

Before heading to the cookie pickup location, there was a little prep work that needed to happen at home.

J.C. was not at all amused that our driveway was the only one in the cul-de-sac that needed shoveling. How does that happen, anyway? I don't know what our liability insurance covers for accidents caused by idiot homeowners who don't shovel their driveways when they are going to have people trudging 300+ cases of cookies up and down the driveway all day. We didn't want to find out, so J.C. spent his morning cursing and shoveling the one snowy driveway in the neighborhood.

Of course, there was the all-important cookie delivery day attire to be donned prior to the big event.

Once everything was set at home, I was off for my rendezvous with some cookies. I met up with the four other vehicles from our troop, and we caravanned over to the fire house. This was our view from outside the fire house waiting our turn.

Once we pulled in, the volunteers got busy loading (check out that gorgeous shiny new car o' mine!)

 

Mountain of Thin Mints, anyone?

They had us loaded in minutes, and then it was back home where the stash in my garage was feeling seriously inadequate compared to those stacks in the fire house.

 
 
It all looked so neat and tidy until we separated them out into each girl's order. Sidewalk chalk is my friend.

 
 
Three days later, my garage was empty save a few lone boxes of Daisy-Go-Rounds and Peanut Butter Sandwiches. We're gearing up for another weekend of booths though, so I have been loading up with transfers from other troops.

I will be glad when they are all gone, and I can take a nap.  Yawwwwnnnnn.... 

I think I may need to retire from this cookie mom gig. I'm wiped out.

 
 

Simple Woman's Daybook, February 15, 2010

For Today...

Outside my window... the day started out so pretty, but as soon as I dropped off Elise and Nina at a cookie booth this morning, it started to sprinkle. Now it is all drizzly and grey.

I am thinking... that we should only sell cookies at the university from now on. My girls sold 250+ boxes of cookies this morning at a booth near the parking deck at the university. They would have sold many more than that, but they ran out of Caramel Delights and Thin Mints way before the booth was over!

I am thankful for... the girls being tracked out of school right now while I'm swamped with cookie duties. Not having to worry about homework, backpacks, and school forms is saving me!

From the kitchen... maybe spaghetti? I need to run to the grocery store.

I am wearing... jeans, a big warm sweatshirt, and socks my mom made.

I am creating... hopefully balanced cookie spreadsheets. This morning's booth was crazy!

I am going... a little cross-eyed, spending too much time staring at spreadsheets.

I am reading... I'm going to plead the fifth on this one. When it takes weeks for me to get through a fluff chick lit book, it just gets a little embarrassing. I'll answer this once I'm reading something new!

 I am hoping... to get some transfers of cookies from other troops for our booths this weekend. We started out with 720 boxes for booths and are down to 30.

I am hearing... the hard drive whirring.

Around the house... do you have to ask? Cookies. Yes, I know you are tired of hearing about the cookies, but this is my life right now. Quit reading the blog for a couple more weeks if you can't stand the cookie babble.

One of my favorite things... frozen margaritas with salt.

A few plans for the rest of the week.... see "around the house", "I am hoping", "I am going", and "I am creating" above.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... This picture cracks me up. All of these girls are in kindergarten and between the ages of 5.5 and 6. The one in the middle is an average height kindergartener. Check out the height differences!

 
 
 
 
  
  
  To read more Daybook posts or learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook. 

Poor Neglected Blog

I like to blog.

I want to blog.

I'm too tired to blog.

It is February. The cookies have taken over my life. Bear with me.

Simple Woman's Daybook, February 8, 2010

For Today...

Outside my window... it is chilly but sunny with a bright blue sky.

I am thinking... it is only Monday morning, and I'm already exhausted. This is not a good way to start the week.

I am thankful for... no snow in the forecast and a regular school schedule this week.

From the kitchen... flank steak on the grill, mashed potatos, and something green - maybe slaw? Not that icky ol' mayonaisey cole slaw, it would be my grandmother's recipe for vinegar-based slaw. Although, I'm not sure I can claim it is her recipe since I've never mastered her measurements of "handful", "splash", and "pinch", but I try.

I am wearing... jeans, a tank, and a long sleeve tee.

I am creating... finishing up helping the girls with their Valentines for their school parties later this week. 

I am going... to try to make my house look slightly presentable today. It looks like a cookie tornado came through.

I am reading... Sorcery and the Single Girl by Mindy Klasky, although I've only read about two pages per night, so that's hardly reading. I think I've read more People magazine this week than I have of that book.

 I am hoping... that the cookies left in my garage, car, and dining room reconcile with how much money we earned at booths over the weekend. I haven't actually gone through to count yet to make sure all my spreadsheets balance.

I am hearing... a bird cheeping... maybe spring is on the way!

Around the house... cookies, what else?

One of my favorite things... sleep.

A few plans for the rest of the week.... picking up cookies, counting cookies, sorting cookies, re-counting cookies, delivering cookies, selling cookies. Ugh. Just shoot me now.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... Nina creating necklaces for her Valentine's Workshop at school. The weeklong Valentine's Workshop is the highlight of kindergarten fun every year. I volunteered as a helper during it on Saturday, and I am again today.

 
 
 
  
  
  To read more Daybook posts or learn how to participate, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook. 

Rockin' Valentines

I've never really been one to have the kids make homemade Valentines. I might throw out some red and pink paper and doilies to let them make cards for grandparents, but when it comes to school Valentine's Day parties, I typically go for the el-cheapo princess, Tinkerbell, or High School Musical Valentines that you pick up at Walgreen's. I usually don't even add any candy. I get so tired of all the candy that comes home from school functions. Call me a Valentine's Day Scrooge if you will, but it just isn't my thing.

That is, until my friend V showed me the Valentines she was making with her daughter this year from the Family Fun website... suddenly, I turned into uber-crafty mom, and the girls and I raced out to buy supplies. Truly, I don't know what got into me.  I had absolutely no intentions of doing anything fancier than junky iCarly Valentines. How did we suddenly end up spending the entire afternoon making these? It is a mystery.

I can take absolutely no credit for the creativity behind these, but I did think they turned out rather cute.

 
 
 
 

Kindergarten Romance

I've mentioned Nina's crush, C, many times on this blog. She has some serious heart pitter-patter feelings over that little guy. Of course, I had no idea whether he felt the same or if this was unrequited love. Today, I got my answer. When I volunteered this morning in Nina's classroom, C's mom was there too. She told me that C came home one day and said, "Nina is my girlfriend. Mom, she is the tallest, smartest, prettiest, nicest girl in the whole class!"  

Sounds like a nice guy, huh? Guess I need to start saving my pennies for the wedding!

Recipe for a Really Bad Night

Has life just been going too well for you lately? Is everyone in your family well-rested and happy? Are your children all getting along beautifully? Maybe you need a break from all that cheer.

I can personally guarantee that following these steps will result in a really bad night.

1. Make absolutely no plans for dinner. None. Don't even think about it.

2. Wait until it is past your usual dinner time to start thinking about it when everyone is already really hungry and grouchy.

3. Cram five people into a car that only has room for four because it is filled with 30 cases of Girl Scout cookies. This is sure to produce whining from your children.

4. Choose a restaurant that requires driving through lots of traffic and sitting through 5 light cycles of a single traffic light. Your hungry children will be fighting the entire way making you wish you were jabbing pencils in your eyes rather than sitting in that car.

5. After eating a gourmet Dairy Queen meal, order Dilly Bars for your two older children and a simple cup of vanilla ice cream for the toddler since a Dilly Bar would be too messy for her. She will notice this injustice and get mad. Very mad. This will result in much screaming. Really. Loud. Screaming.

6. Treat yourself to a Reece's Cup Blizzard to take home with you in an attempt to salvage the evening. Then forget it at Dairy Queen.

7. When you make a U-turn to go back to get the Blizzard, make a really sharp turn so that an avalanche of Girl Scout cookie cases tumbles on to your six year old. This too will result in much screaming. Really. Loud. Screaming.

8. When you get home and finally get all the children in bed, sit down to relax and watch a movie. Choose a really bad one. I recommend "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" - bad script, bad acting, just plain bad.

We just finished the movie, so I can't tell you the next steps, but those 8 should be enough to really ruin your night.

Good night. I'm going to bed before I get to 9 or 10.