Confessions of a Shopaholic

I am not a shopper.  I'd like to think it stems from the fact that I am careful with my money (yeah, ok I'm cheap!).  I also find it exhausting to walk around from store to store looking for 'a steal'.  Throw trying clothes on, forget it, what's your return policy, I'll do this at home when I have the time.  Now that I have three munckins I find shopping even more exhausting.  But it's got to be done, right?

So today I venture out into the world of shopping with my three girls.  I had to exchange a pair of pants I had purchased for my 3 year old that ended up being way too big.  So I needed her there to try on the next size down since I did not want to return to exchange the same darn pants again. I also wanted to find a fall (and maybe winter) hat for my 6 year old.  I mean we have lots of hats, but apparently they cannot have any poof on the top.  I figure there is no sense in my forcing her to wear something to school that she doesn't like, cause we know the second she steps on that bus it's going to disappear into her bag. 

As soon as we enter the store my 6 year old dives for the first thing she sees that she likes.

"Can I have it?" she asks.

"No" I say simply.

"awwwwwww" she whines.

(and so it begins)

I take the girls into the change room (luckily it's a children's store, so we all fit) but my 6 year old, who is becoming more and more independent, ducks out again.

"I'm going to wait out here." she declares. 

"Why don't you go and find the hats and see if you can find one you like." I say to her.

"Okay!" she response with utter delight.

We finish up in the change room, with success, and go in search of my 6 year old.  Not a big store so she was easy to find.  Of course the fact that as soon as she spotted me she was bouncing up and down with three hats in her hand....

"Mommy! Mommy! I like this one and this one, and can I see that one." She squeals excitedly.

She tries on one of the hats and I ask her to go look in a mirror to see if she likes it.  Since there didn't seem to be any mirrors around us I directed her to the change room to look in the mirror there.  I though I asked her to do something simple, but apparently I gave her permission to do something as exciting as 'eat this whole big bowl of smarties as fast as you can'.  There began a slew of her sister and her running back and forth from me and the change room trying on different hats.  Laughter and giggles filled the store, other parents may have found it annoying, but I didn't care my girls were having a blast.  My 6 year old eyes were as big as saucers, she was grinning from ear to ear when she finally chose two hats.  I think I have myself a future shopaholic.

"Mommy, I think I need gloves too."

All I Want for my Birthday is.....

Ah, the wish list has come to me, I asked my soon to be 7 year old to make out a list for her birthday and Christmas wishes.  I've given translation for those who don't read grade 2 writing, but if you say it phonetically you can usually understand what they are saying.

Wish List for Birthday

zoo zoo pets,

zoo zoo pet climre (climber),

zoo zoo pet clowse (clothes),

clowse for me,

costchooms (costumes),

and most importintly (importantly) munny munny (money)!

So apparently she really wants some of these zoo zoo pets, some kind of interactive fad toy hamsters they have on the market right now.  She loves her clothes and costumes comes from the fact that we are in the midst of hallowe'en.  The last thing on the list made me chuckle to myself since my daughter has no strong concept of money yet nor how much things really cost, so I wonder what she is planning on buying?

All in all a pretty reasonable list, I think.  No big ticket items or unreasonable demands.  She has always been more of the heat of the moment kind of girl.  Wants something but the thought quickly fades as time passes.  Hasn't really held onto an idea for very long, except for her Nintendo DS and she got that last year for Christmas.

Bye-bye Summer

Fall is probably my favorite season.  The trees are beautiful.  The days are cooler but still bright and sunny (usually).  About the only thing I don't like about this time of year, when the days get a little cooler, but they look warm and inviting, is that I am constantly saying...

"You can't wear that it's not summer anymore."

"No, it's too cold today to wear that."

"You need to wear socks and shoes and don't forget your sweater."

"Didn't I have that top put up and away already?"

Ugh, my girls love their summer clothes.  Sometimes I feel like I'm wrestling my 6 year old's tank tops and summer dresses from her hands (sometimes I physically am).  Reminds me of those women who race around those big wedding dress discount sales and attack each other to get the one they want.  I try and put the clothes away, tuck them in the back of the closet or place them on the high shelf in the closet.  But my sneaky fashion diva manages to find them and will sweetly imply that she found it in her drawer.  I've bought them a few new outfits for fall, which they love but certainly not the first thing they look for ("Mommy, where's my purple dress?"). 

But I agree, no outfit is more exciting for a young girl than that frilly summer dress that twirls just right.

Ah, the Birthday Party

My oldest girl will be turning 7 in about 6 weeks.  Time to start planning her birthday party.  I've told her it's not going to be a big party this year, she had her big hoopla last year.  I gave her the option of taking a couple of girlfriends to a movie or having a small gathering in our basement, she chose the basement (darn that means more work for me).

I thought this year since she's 7 then maybe she could help me with the party ideas.  I suggested a theme and asked her for ideas on activities, loot bags and such.  WOW! that girl has some imagination and ideas galore, I had to bring her down to reality a few times and steer her more into a reasonable direction.  I'm sure the party will be even more exciting for her since she has been involved in the planning details, although I couldn't imagine her more excited.

Today I was dabbling with my computer and created an invitation for her, can't wait to show her tomorrow and see if she likes it.  She wants a pinata this year so I've started looking for design ideas and will have to get started on that this week so it has time to dry.  The nice thing about the timing of her party is that it's after Hallowe'en so I can easily get small candy to fill a pinata.  I've decided to create a cupcake cake instead of an actual cake it makes it so much easier to serve and what kid doesn't love cupcakes (well, the icing at least).  We'll do snacks since I find most kids are too excited to eat anything so when you try and serve them a meal a lot of food goes to waste.  I think my biggest pitfall with every birthday has been the activities, how to keep a bunch of excited children organized.  I try to have a craft, which works but then some kids are done before others and they start running amok, while others are still busy crafting.  Or you plan on an activity lasting a certain length of time only to have it flop and then your left with a hole of time, and once again the kids are off ...amok, amok, amok, but they don't mind (it's my ears that are ready to explode).  Lots to do and tons of ideas running through my head, luckily I've given myself lots of time to get organized (I hope).

..Just think by the time my baby is turning 7 I'll be able to plan a birthday party blindfolded, hands tied behind my back, and with 2 days notice. ;)

Sniffling, Sneezing, Coughing, Mommy's heart is aching....

My kids are sick.  So far it's only two of them, hopefully my eldest will be lucky and not get this cold.  It started with me and soon my 3 year old and baby followed.  I find dealing with sickness one of the hardest mommy jobs.  Aren't mommies suppose to be able to take a child's ailments away with her magic kisses. 

When I hear my 3 year old cough that raspy, painful, dry hacking cough I just want to scoop her into my arms and take it away. She's asleep though, as awful and painful as her cough sounds she at least sleeps through it.  I've given her an herbal cough and cold tonic, since it's not recommended to give young children cold medication anymore.  It helps a little, I'm sure it soothes her throat but it doesn't take the cough away completely.  I also try to get her a drink of cold water but she is so sleepy she only takes a little bit.  So, although I get woken up frequently in the night due to her cough she seems to get a good sleep.

My baby did not fair as well, she was up more frequently.  She not only has the nasty cough but also a stuffy nose and runny yucky eyes.  Basically there is goo coming out of her everywhere.  She uses a soother to fall asleep, which is hard to do when you can't breath out of your nose.  I've pretty much nursed her every time she woken up because I find it helps drain her sinus and lets her breath a little easier (if only for a short time).  We do have a vaporizer but I hate using it since it makes a mess, soaking everything in the room.  I've played with the idea of getting a cold mist humidifier but have always put it off wondering, 'will it really make that much of a difference?'.   But two days ago, when my baby woke up from her nap coughing and sneezing, I decided that I was going to get one that day.  That night she slept so much better and didn't cough nearly as much (had one of those, why didn't I do this sooner moments).  

Last night both girls were about the same.  My 3 year old was a little better, coughing slightly while sleeping.  My baby still stuffy and coughing but still able to sleep better.  That is once I figured out one of her sisters had been playing with the dial on the new humidifier and had it turned right down. So, I'm thinking maybe I'll be able to get a better sleep? .....

My 6 year old wakes me up at 3 am, "Mommy, I had a nightmare."

Sigh, a better sleep will have to wait for yet another night.

Snack Attack

My 3 year old loves to snack, when it comes to snacks she is never full (if only dinner was the same).  I really have to try and limit her snacking to twice a day. Although she does seem to eat for a good part of the morning, but sometimes she hardly touches her breakfast so I give her one thing at a time and if she's still hungry we'll add something else, and then another thing until I finally have to say "okay, that's enough sweetie".  The one good thing is that she is great about eating healthy snacks.  If you put a bowl of strawberries and a bowl of pudding in front of her she would gobble up the strawberries in a heartbeat.  Of course when she was finished she would ask, "Now can I have the pudding?"

She takes an absolute fit when I tell her she cannot have a snack.  One day I was in the middle of preparing lunch when she asked for a snack,

"No hun, I'm making lunch right now." I reply.

She pouted and said with a whine, "I don't want any lunch, I want a snack." (huh?)

All day I hear...

"but I'm hungry"

"Can I have a snack, plllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaasssssseee!"

If I tell her no she cannot have a snack usually 2 minutes later she is asking for gum (word of warning; do not get one of those cute little novelty gum ball machines, it's not worth the drama.)  I've threatened on many occasions to throw the gum away if she doesn't stop asking me every 2 minutes. (maybe it was worth it...leverage!...wahaha)

So yesterday she has been asking for a snack over and over again.  It's 11:00 am and she has already had a bowl of cereal, a banana, a piece of toast (which she didn't finish), and a yogurt tube.  I mean the girl is not wasting away, but she is having a absolute fit.  So I start on lunch and decide it won't hurt to eat a little early.  

"Do you want an apple with your noodles today?" I ask

"Yes, can I have an apple and an orange?" she replies

"Okay." I can do that. So I give her half an apple and half an orange (shhh don't tell her).  She gobbles up all her food and looks up at me, she has these squinting playful eyes, and says "Can I have a snack?" 

I look at her plate and giggle, "Yes honey, go ahead."

"Yeah!" she cheers as she hops off her chair and heads into the cupboard.

I think we'll change the name of supper in our house to 'Snack Time'.

Laundry - I will defeat thee

Alas, although I continually battle laundry I am loosing hope that I will ever win the war. With five us in the household we, of course, have a lot of laundry.  With the youngest two, although their clothes are tiny they both make lots of messes and therefore where twice as many outfits.  With my 6 year old she produces extra laundry, well, because she's a girl and 1 outfit a day isn't enough, and even though it's only been on for 2 hours it still ends up crumpled on the floor or a miracle happens and it actually gets put in the hamper by someone other than me.  Now if I had all the time in the world I would probably check the clothes as I pick them up off the floor for cleanness but it seems easier just to toss them in the hamper.  That's all the clothes I need to wash then there is towels and wash cloths which make up another load a week.  And with four beds there are sheets, sheets and more sheets (but I'm embarrassed to say the beds rarely get changed weekly).  I also use cloth diapers and need to wash them every 2-3 days. 

I use to wash our clothes in the easiest way possible. I would do a load of laundry based on who's it was.  Wash everything together (all colours included) in cold water and do a medium dry.  Unfortunately I'm finding that some of the clothes coming out of storage are not usable, too worn or the elastic is shot.  I've decided that I will take a different approach to washing our clothes in order to take better care of them and hopefully lengthen their life span, especially now that I hope some will be passed down twice.  My new approach is to sort based on colours and cycle.  There is of course a lot more sorting required, especially before hand.  Now I have whites, colours, and then darks.  I still wash everything in cold, but now I have gentle cycle, regular cycle, dry on low, dry on medium, hang to dry.  I've created more work for myself but I don't think I've increased the amount of loads (at least that's what I'm going to tell myself).

So this week I was doing pretty good at keeping up with the laundry, when I noticed that my 6 year old's poison ivy seems to have made a come back.  Up I go to strip her bedding again and have successfully set myself back 2 more loads of laundry (it's okay breath, it will be okay).

I have a laundry line full of sheets and they have been enjoying the sun for about an hour, when I hear snap. I take a look outside, the line has broken and all my laundry is laying on the ground.  Did I mention that my husband was able to get the lawn mowed today, so my laundry is laying on the freshly mowed grass (my lower lip quivers as I fight the tears of despair)

The whole family comes out to help me pick up the mess.  Everybody is carrying something back up to the house.  I look down at my 3 year old's sock feet as she skips back up the house.  "sigh"  I just shake my head and smile....

"someday, I will conquer our laundry"