Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Reality? Check.

Do you think you're ready for a REAL day at the Sanatorium? This is the history of October 19, 2010, unedited version:

Slept in an extra twenty minutes. This may not sound like that big of a deal, but it did put us all behind schedule, since Ben has piano at 7 am.
I drove to piano in my nightgown. And set out the garbage cans in my nighty, too.  Brad was asleep, since he'd been up late doing bishop stuff.

I tried to iron Ben's shirt with my curling iron, but it just didn't have the strength to tackle a job of that magnitude.  How do you lose an iron?  Ours developed legs and walked somewhere.

Hyrum watched hours of TV this morning while I worked on the class I teach and neglected him.  Evie slept the morning away.
Then we ran a few errands.  I got a new iron at Target.  Bought the one my sister Karen recommended.  She said it changed her life (or maybe she said her life is laundry--don't recall).
Something snuck into my bag--okay, I confess.  Five or six times a year I'll cave in and buy People magazine.  Sue me. I bet you do it too.
I have a first birthday so close I can taste the frosting.  I found this little phone at Target and thought it would be perfect for the birthday girl.  The package convinces you that it's easy to convert into a gift box.  I have a college degree, and it took me almost ten minutes to figure out the directions.  But it didn't beat me.  I did it!

Hyrum pitched a fit in the parking lot at Safeway.  Why?  Because I wouldn't take him to Burger King for lunch.  "I hate you!"  "You're the meanest mom in the world!"  "You're weally dumb."  How do you handle such outbursts?  Oh, I forgot.  You're all perfect, so this never happens to you.  My personal philosophy is this:  If we're at home, words like that warrant a dose of vinegar, some time in the corner, and an apology.  If we're in public, I just ignore them and get them in the car as quickly as possible. Drove home to sobbing, kicking, and eventually the silent treatment with folded arms and scowling face.

Since he threw that fit, he was swiftly whisked into bed and I enjoyed a favorite gourmet lunch: Banquet turkey pot pie with ketchup and diet Pepsi.  Blame my dad for both of these shortcomings.  He'll gladly accept the blame. But I did get to savor People magazine over my lunch, effectively procrastinating what I should have been doing during naptime--working on class and ironing. (Is anyone else sad about Courteney Cox and David Arquette?  I'm always sad when kids are involved).
Think it's time to replace these pillows?  I can never seem to find the time to keep them on the couch, let alone recover them.  Why aren't they hidden in some closet?  Stay tuned and you'll see why.
Cute as a button, but those headbands are beginning to turn into toys: chewed, thrown, pulled down around her neck.  Girl, ya better grow some hair or leave the blasted things alone!
What do you think Hyrum had for his snack after naps?  Five dollars to the person who guessed raspberry Crystal Light.  Five dollars to the person who guessed fishy crackers, granola bar, yogurt smoothie, yogurt, and orange cheese.
This is why the pillows stay on the couch.  Like my "tchotchke" closet?  It's not too messy yet.  The door still shuts.  It's been on my list for over 3 months now.  It'll have to wait till November now.  This is the most humiliating admission of the day.  Ouch. I'm cringing.
Around 2:30 I made my to-do list for the day.  That may have been a little tardy, don't you think?  Number three on the list: Self-portrait for this post.  Okay. It took me 10 shots to get a self-portrait where I was even mostly in the shot.  This is what my hair does every day around 2 pm, no matter what I do.  Fine, straight, and thin.  This can be traced back to my dear mother.  Thanks, Mom.  But at least I didn't get her early gray.

2:30 is also about when my daily carb fest begins:  Today it was half a snack bag of Bugles (from who-knows-where), half a sleeve of Ritz crackers and a slice of Havarti, three handfuls of pretzels.

I had forgotten that I had to drive boys to soccer practice at 4:15.  Oops.  So I hurried to the bathroom for a quick pit stop--and stepped barefoot into a puddle at the foot of the toilet.  Two possibilities here--Hyrum missed, or  . . . a quick swipe with a wipe confirmed my second possibility.  Roxy drank out of the toilet.  Never have I been so grateful that Ben forgot to water his dog.

Rounded them boys all up, headed over to the field.
Keeping it real today, right?  Micah is not the star.  He isn't even close.  He was the only kid there without his soccer socks and shin guards.  He doesn't even own cleats. He's six.  It's okay.
What did I do during practice?  Cheer on my kid and appreciate his developing skills?  Nope.  I dropped off handouts for my class to be copied and then I worked on Thursday's presentation.  What? Not what I should have been doing?  I did take his picture!

Since I'd forgotten I was carpool Mom today, we ended up with four brown and orange boxes for dinner--Little Caesar once again saves the day!  Have you had their cheesy Italian bread?  It is a carb-and-fat lover's dream!!  I know fish and shells would have been healthier, but seriously.  When did I have time to cook?

I came home from our Relief Society meeting around 9:15 and headed upstairs to kiss and tuck in my kids.  Hyrum was stirring, so I tucked his silky close around him, rubbed his clean head, and whispered in his ear, "Rum, I love you."  He nestled closer into his pillow and sleepily uttered:  "I know."

Then that means today was perfect.

Here's the link.
Let's see the real you. Are you brave enough?

blog

32 comments:

  1. TOTALLY BRILLIANT...LOVED IT....
    IF I HAD ANY TIME I'D POST SOMETHING...BUT HOUSE FULL OF AUSSIE VISITORS SO TEN TIMES MORE WASHING ETC TO DO...AND IT'S JUST ABOUT PICK UP TIME FROM SCHOOL AND I AM STILL ON THE LAPTOP EATING MUSELI FOR LUNCH...FEELING RIGHTEOUS THAT IT'S NOT CHEERIOS!!

    Melissa x

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  2. holy crap, that was a great post! Loved the realness of it all. Yes, I too buy People or Us about 5 times a year. No, you are not alone :) Thanks for an awesome post!

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  3. Hooray! It sounds more like my days! Glad to hear you're not perfect.

    I don't buy People, but I get women's day and a couple of other magazines delivered (since I got them for free).

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  4. So real...love it!
    We use vinegar to cure the whines and mean words too.
    I read other peoples People and Us and Glamour magazines at work almost every weekend.
    Can't wait to come back later and read some other link-ups!
    Thanks for the fun linky party!

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  5. I want to say that classic line from "So Your Mother Married an Axe Murderer": "Show 'em the one where you [pooped] yourself at Niagara Falls!!"

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  6. I loved this post too. I will join up tomorrow. Keeping track of my day today. I love you even more now. Thanks for keeping it real.
    Dana

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  7. except...

    you still look cute, you got out of the house, you had a warm lunch, you actually went to Relief Society, and you still love your kids.

    you're pretty amazing all the same.

    and to BRAD: there is a movie called "So your MOTHER married an axe murderer"? Where can I get my hands on this film? I've only seen "So I married an axe murderer" and it remains a guilty favorite.

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  8. whew! what a day, and now i'm feeling a little winded for you.
    btw, mini-me's hair didn't come in until she was like 3! so if it takes a while longer for evie, then i know how you feel.
    also, we are a silky family too! mini-me always had a silky...i think it was gone by the time kinder came along, but yeah, i would bear testimony from the pulpit about the power of the silky....well, maybe that's a bit far, but we definitely subscribe to it. (:

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  9. It looks like my life. Very regular. Although, I would never eat the pot pie with ketchup... hahaha, and there is absolutely no reason to be ashamed of a closet containing that many treasures...wow!

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  10. haha glad to know i'm not the only one that even 5 mins of over sleeping can throw off schedule

    (must remember the vinegar bit)

    also glad to know i'm not the only one to do the swipe the floor test...half the time it's the toilet that is wet...ewwwwww

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  11. I think the picture of you is pretty dang cute, actually!

    =)

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  12. I'm starting to read about these on different blogs - very fun challenge.
    I recently had someone seriously ask me if we ever have any problems because our life seems so perfect - Holy Cow - I was so astonished! Am I portraying that in my life? On my blog? Oh boy, perfect challenge for me - I'll be joining in tomorroW!

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  13. I love it! It reminds me of the days when my boys were little! I have a room like that, not a closet! As for the "I hate you!" comments I used to calmly reply, "That's okay, I love you too." or "I love you too." They would say that’s not what they said or repeat it again and I would repeat my sentence and sometimes it would go back and forth like that a couple of times but invariably I would hear a big sigh and an "I love you too mom." It used to frustrate the heck out of them that I did not respond like they expected me to. In other instances where mean things were said or done, I would find a relevant Bible verse and I have them write it several times and then repeat it back to me from memory.

    ~ Tracy

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  14. So sorry about the hair thing. My hair is still the bane of my existence. At age one, Evie has WAY more hair than you did. I kow I told you that I had to glue bows onto your head. Oh, well, she is so darling that it doesn't matter, just like you were.

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  15. This is my first time to your blog. Sue from Sue's News told me I should link my post from today with yours. Although, my post is pretty normal for me. I'll always posting messes! LOL!
    Still, if I had known about this linky sooner, I would have made it extra special for you. :D
    Oh well, my post is just about another normal day!!!

    Super cute blog BTW and loved your post!

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  16. Thank you for hosting this. I love seeing that I'm not the only one living in a little bit of choas and unorganization. I love that perfect to each of us means something different and that we are ok if it doesn't mean the true meaning of perfection. And I love that we can all relate to each other and still love each other even after showing all of our not-so-picture-perfect moments!

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  17. I did it. I read this this morning and it stayed in the back of my mind until I was forced to join in.

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  18. Love this post. So real. Thank you! I do not know if I have the guts to show my closet though.
    Tracy

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  19. I really enjoyed reading about your day. Your portrait was adorable. I'd say I feel for you with thin flat hair but I have the opposite - crunchy/bumpy/frizzy. I've got no sympathies. :)

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  20. so fun! i also bought a similiar toy with the packaging..i must of put it down 3 times before figuring it out! same closet in this house...reminds me of Monica's closet on the show Friends.

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  21. for some reason, i can't link up my post :(

    oh well, here's my link, enjoy.

    frankly my dear i dont give a hoot

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  22. nevermind. got it! toodles. (:

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  23. I'm a day late, but I've added my link. We should do this more often. It's very cathartic.

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  24. I can't believe no one asked...but what brand/make/model is the life changing iron? I may need it! :)

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  25. I love this post! Definitely keeping it real for us readers :) All I can say about your day is that reading it has made me all tired out! I don't know how you do this everyday but I guess seeing all those smiles in the photos you post on your blog makes it all worthwhile :)

    I still need to type up mine and post that up....maybe tomorrow.

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  26. Wait? You ate some havarti? TOTALLY protein, so nothing to worry about there. haha

    Fun post. Wish I'd had time to play along.

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  27. I loved this! Hahaha. And my son totally does the "I hate you" and "Your the worst/meanest mom ever" thing. It's funny because my girls never have. Ever. Oh sure they make it clear when they aren't happy with me, but to carry on and say they hate me, no.

    My hair is fine and thin also. And it has a mind of its own. I have learned to accept it.

    Thanks for letting me into your day.

    PS...I have more than one corner that looks like your closet. *sigh*

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  28. Love it! It's great to be real every once in a while : )

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  29. So weird.. I posted a blog post just the day before that I called Pieces of the 'real' me... so I thought it was such sinchronicity that I came across yours that I just had to link mine! ♥

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  30. This post is amazing! Its nice to know I'm not the only one!

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  31. Wait, is letting your child watch hours of tv in the morning every day not normal???!!! Lol wish I could say it was rare for us, but sigh...we rack up at least 1 1/2 just to get everything functioning in the morning.

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  32. p.s. i read US weekly when ann marie brings me what she's already read. it's worse than people. this is the second time i've read this and it re-checked me into reality. there's nothing i love more than keeping it real.

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