What Would You Do?

This parenting thing is ever-rewarding but rarely easy...more like figure it out as you go, use common sense, give unconditional love, inspire wonder, pray and repeat, repeat, repeat.

Fudge came home today with an invitation for a birthday sleepover this weekend...for a kid we barely know and parents we've never yet. My girls reading this who know me well know exactly what went through my head when Fudge beamed at the invitation ("Not only no, but oh-hell-no!"). Of course I couldn't say that, so I was much more sedate with "let's take a look at what you have there." Fudge does sleepovers with a couple of best buddies and family- we don't have issues with separation, bed wetting, etc, so the experience for him has been positive so far. I fully recognize each kid develops differently and not all on the cusp of 8 are ready for a sleepover- totally respect that. But what about this sleepover party business?

I took the direct and rational approach: I'm sure so and so is a very nice boy and has nice parents, but we don't know them and we're not comfortable with a sleepover. Part of the party is being held at a local event site and I told Fudge we would take him and stay so he could participate there and wish his friend a happy birthday, but that's about all. His response shocked me..."ok Mama." No pleading his case, only one alternative suggestion ("you could call and introduce yourself and meet them"), but then Fudge said, "Yeah, I really only stay with like-a-family or best friends." I certainly don't think I'd handle it as well at almost 8 years old. As a parent I'm challenged with how to communicate that yes, we should be making new friends (and not being exclusive or "cliquish") and at the same time denying participation in another kid's party as visions of sleepover disasters and news clips run through my mind.

I'm confortable with my decision, discussed it with the hubs when he got home, and we're all on the same page. Poor hubs- I told him he was the lucky winner of calling the parents and letting them know how Fudge would like to participate in celebrating his friend.

Back to the title of the post- what would you do? Have you been in a similar situation? What was the outcome?

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Fudge has the sniffles and woke up grumpy since he couldn't breathe through his nose.

Fudge: "Mama, I need an inhaler!"

Me: "Oh, where did you learn about inhalers?"

Fudge: "GOONIES!"

Ah, that explains it.

"The Yolk's on You!"

Fudge has this shirt I'm not crazy about (no, I did not buy it for him). It has a picture of two stick figures, one with egg on him, and the shirt says "The Yolk's on You!" Really, I hate the stupid shirt so it's usually "lost" or still in the dirty clothes, etc. Well, this time, the "yolk's" on Fudge.

We've struggled to find a breakfast he likes but we've landed on a homemade smoothie which I've slyly been making with almond milk...and his Ovaltine last night was with almond milk...and tonight, when I was out of regular milk, he got a cup of straight up almond milk. Drumroll please, HE LIKES IT! We are using Silk Original Almond Milk with 50% more calcium.

The smoothie? 1 cup almond milk, one fresh banana, one scoop Designer Whey vanilla protein powder, 2 Tbsp. peanut butter. Blend and serve- well over 20 grams of protein and almost 50% of calcium for the day.

Healthy, quick breakfast ideas from your home?

A Little Change Goes a Long Way

Someone, ahem, recently reminded me that is has been "ages" since I've blogged...and for me, I guess it has- LAST MAY! As you can imagine, there is quite a bit of living and adventure packed into the last eight months. Brief highlights include a new job (same company), a Disney cruise (divine), a visit to Universal Studios/Resort, turning 37, adventures in Lancaster, PA, Fudge starting 2nd grade, my brother moving to Florida, hosting Thanksgiving, Christmas with the family, and soccer, soccer, and more soccer. Oh, and basketball too. Whew!

So why the photo of a bucket of money? We have an old water cooler bottle that sits in our living room, somewhat hidden behind a chair. The hubs and I throw spare change in there and when we're really living on the edge, paper currency too. I'd say that Fudge throws money in there too, but who are we kidding? He hoards in his piggy bank, which is fine by me. We recently took advantage of Fudge's late January semester break, combined with a wicked good offer from Disney, to head down to see the Mouse and friends for about a week. I decided it was time to trade in the water cooler funds, so I transferred it to a beach bucket and off Fudge and Poppy went to the bank.

Any guesses? Once we weeded out the Mexican pesos and Kuwaiti paper currency (I can explain Mexico but Kuwait? I have no idea.) we had over 36 POUNDS of coins in that beach bucket. Fudge came home from his trip to the bank looking like a little mobster fanning out his cash- about $300! Not a bad jump on spending money for the week, and now the cooler sits empty waiting to be filled up again to put a financial dent in a future adventure.

Where else can a little change go a long way? I've got two major challenges before me this year- getting my home/schedule organized and getting the # on the scale down. Both are really posts of their own, but I've asked myself, what small steps, when added up, make a big contribution? For my JMU grad school buddies "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts!"

On the homefront, OCD me is excited that my dad has agreed to build a closet in some wasted space in our master bedroom, which will mean "his" and "hers" closets...as in not-sharing-a-closet-with-the-hubs-anymore! Really, is it Christmas already? Now I just need to get the room cleaned up enough that this work can be planned and started. I also had my favorite bubba cabinet maker out to draw up some sketches for cabinets/shelves flanking the fireplace, and I just anted up the bucks (ouch) for my first Erin Condren Life Planner. I thought my level of anticipation for this planner was just not normal, but I've found online I'm in very good company as I wait for this beauty to arrive. The tipping point for me being willing to give it a try, beyond the rave reviews, was the offer for $20 OFF through February 28th- just use promo code XOXO20.

What changes are you hoping will go a long way in 2013?

FNL- The Let's Dance Edition

Holy confusion Blogger- what happened to my dashboard? Why won't you function properly on my laptop? Since I'm now attempting this from my iPad, I don't have the Friday Night Leftovers image, but I'll give it a go. Where the hell did the bullets function go?

• Fudge had a birthday party to attend last night and the music was fantastic! Makes me miss the days of a wedding every weekend and some good dancing. Cupid Shuffle anyone?
• Speaking of dancing, we had a folk dance night at Fudge's school this week, which was a great deal of fun and laughter. The next day Fudge told me he was a little disappointed: "I thought it was going to be a real dance, in the dark, with a disco ball and crazy lights, so I could show off my moves." Then he showed his moves- looked like a cross between the Elaine on Seinfeld and some odd break dancing. No lack of confidence there.
•  I've kissed 10 pounds goodbye! The only thing I am craving? Pizza. Who would have thought?
• I am exactly 90 days away from being on more than just a few days of island time. Ahhhh! Speaking of island time, my parents are in Hawaii and cruising for three weeks. Fudge misses Nonna & Poppy, but it's nice to recognize what a bond they have. He's counting the days until we meet them at the airport.
• Summer camp craziness is almost settled...I'd rather run the NFL draft- that's got to be easier than the camp planning shuffle.
• Danifred, I owe you my Disney planning spreadsheet. PM (via FB) your email and I'll send you the Excel file. Ok, off to volunteer this afternoon and more soccer this weekend. Make it a good one!

Friday Night Leftovers- Case of the Hootypuckers Edition

No doubt, we've had better weeks. Here's to the end of the work and school week...

• Champ, Fudge's parakeet, died. Equally devastated are Fudge, me, and Buddy, our other 'keet. We dug a grave last evening in a beautifully sunny spot in the yard, buried poor Champ, and Fudge painted a tombstone. Buddy has not chirped or blessed us with his song since Champ passed :(

• Any parents of sleepwalkers out there? Fudge's latest the other night was a 3am wander into the bathroom and pee in the trash can. At least it wasn't the clothes bin.





• I awoke at 2am- as in WIDE AWAKE. On the upside, I now have a cleaned out pantry and the birds/squirrels/rabbits/raccoons/'possums have some new snacks...even tried homemade suet (at 4am) and got a jump on preparing weekend meals. It's one of the only times this year you can call me Martha. Oldest thing in the back of the rounder cabinet- any guesses? Unopened seaweed sheets from 2005!





• Weekend plans include celebrating my brother's birthday this evening (I can almost taste that margarita), soccer, and hopefully some sunshine and free time to enjoy it. Oh and some sleep, that would be nice. The motto around here is "you can sleep when you're dead."





• Just realized I have a stack of overdue library items...dear YCPL- I think your email alert system needs some bugs worked out. I don't need to know the stuff due in two weeks, I need to know what's due now.





• Some big wins at work this week- now to sustain them.





• Not much of a TV watcher and while I lose enthusiasm for Revenge, I am hooked on Missing. Last week's episode reminded me all over again why I just love the city of Prague! Scandal is intriguing as well.





• I need to wrap up the summer camp registration hustle...it's intense here...reminds me of bidding on a house. In the interim, I lost my mind and said yes to a fantastic camp I attended as a kid...which means commuting 90 miles EACH way for a week, on top of the hefty camp fee. I must really love Fudge.





• Speaking of houses, remind me why I left my wonderful townhome 10 years ago? I hate keeping up with this @#^%&*( yard!

Want to share in the FNL love? Visit our wonderful host and super-mom to three, Danifred.

Friday Night Leftovers- The Dazed Edition

Actually, the title should probably be the "dazed and confused" edition...

• Spring break was just what we needed- fresh air, sunshine, adventure, and back to nature. Ok, maybe a little too much nature for this city girl, but nature nonetheless. It ranged from having a camel in my car, a moose trying to kiss me, a big snake right near our feet in the river, and a precariously teetering (but fun) swinging bridge.




• Today is my Dad's 60th, so I had his yard "flocked" with flamingos, skel-a-mingos, and tombstones. It was my Mama, however, who surprised me with the text requested for the yard sign: "Shut the flock up- Bob's 60!"




• Soccer season is in full swing, and as I posted on Facebook the other night, "It must be parent asshat night at youth soccer." You should have heard the parents SCREAMING at their kids. I'm not talking about encouraging shouting, but full out rage screaming- "[Child's Name] YOU DON'T LET ANYONE PAST YOU WITH THAT BALL, DO YOU HEAR ME?" Lady, the whole effin' sports complex can hear you! Were we in an episode of What Would You Do, or maybe The Twilight Zone? And it went like that for the whole game; I had to stifle myself with the parents/grandparents behind me. All I could think was how sad for that kid and would these people please take their obnoxious (Long Island?) accents back to where they came from. Unfortunately, about half of the parents from that team behaved in the same manner. These are a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds, not Manchester United.




• I pulled the muscles in my lower back, so while I am getting relief, I feel like Molly Ringwald's older sister in 16 Candles. Surely you remember the one, who could hardly function thanks to some good drugs? Oops, is that drool on the keyboard?

Want to join the FNL fun? Stop by and see our lovely and talented host, Danifred, along with allof the other ladies from FNL.