Overheard

10 year old daughter to 6 year old daughter: "I was very surprised that Mom never embarrassed me one bit on the field trip today."

Power Play

You never want to put the words "Arizona" "summer" and "power outage" in the same sentence, but, it happens sometimes.

So, it was about 2 p.m., maybe around 107 outside when the power went out yesterday, and the temperature inside started climbing WAY too fast.

Luckily, we have a pool.

And, of course, I was forced to forget about work for the afternoon, since I couldn't log in to my remote computer.

Also, of course, we were forced to BBQ since we couldn't use the oven or microwave.

So, for us, the around-6-hour power loss went like this:
Groan and worry: 4 minutes
Hang out in pool with cousins and a couple neighbors: 5 hours
BBQ and make s'mores: 26 minutes

It turned out to be a fun afternoon. And when the power eventually came back on, my kids were actually really disappointed because we were just about to go spend the night at Grandma's (2 of them ended up going anyway, they just couldn't stand it! - thanks Grandma!)

Here's to the unexpected!

Ye Olden Times

It's spirit week at the elementary school. Today is 70s & 80s day:



Girls just wanna have fun!
She wouldn't let me tease her hair :(



Far out.

And More on Frugality...

Speaking of frugality, my kids have coined a phrase: "Curse your frugal nature, Mother!" Mostly spoken when:

* They want to go to the movies and I say let's wait until it comes out on Redbox.

* They want to go get a haircut and I say then what do we have this awesome haircutting kit for?

* I ask Trevin to make me some laundry soap and he wonders, yet again, if I have ever thought of the grocery store as a source for laundering goods.

* They want to toss tonight's veggies that nobody ate and I say no, I'll put it in some soup which nobody will eat.

* We splurge on fast food and I only buy 3 packs of fries and make everyone split one. I'm told we're the only family where everyone doesn't get their very own pack of fries. Plus, I save the ketchup packets.

But, what can I say? I spring from the loins of someone who washes and saves her disposable plates!

P.S. Other great ways to save money:

Use Groupon deals - sign up for and buy deals now for cities you plan to visit this summer on vacation.

Always go through Ebates to shop online. You'll get cash back on all your purchases at places like Staples, Old Navy, Walmart, and yes, even Groupon!

Make Swagbucks your home page for searching the web. When you search on Swagbucks, you will be randomly awarded points from time to time, and those points can be redeemed for goodies or gift cards to places like Amazon. It's amazing how fast the points add up. Right now I'm using my points to buy diapers on AmazonMom, where shipping is free and I can almost always find a 20% off coupon in those free baby magazines they keep in the doctor's office.

Do You Really Need a Written Reminder?

Which one of my children felt the need to post this reminder inside the medicine cabinet in the hall bath? It's been there for three months, I'm not sure what that means.

Maybe...

Grammy and Aunt Kristin came over to visit the other day, and the girls and I noticed that they arrived in separate cars.

"I wonder why they drove separately," I said.

"Well," replied AJ, "maybe one of them stinks."

Thank You, Connie

Thank you, Connie, for the beautiful photos of Alyza. I don't post photos here very often, but here is just a sample of the beautiful work Connie did for me:

I'm going to miss you and your family when you move :(

My So-Called Christmas Card

A Quick Rundown of 2010:

D-Dawg (16) is "driving" his mom and dad to tears. Tears of joy, that is, since he's running all their errands for them. TLC (13) has recently taken a part-time job as a stalker, or at least that's what we have to assume after seeing his photo above. Bananalyn (9) is looking forward to being in double digits soon, and has subscribed to AARP magazine in preparation for the big day. AJ, aka Squinty, (5) begins every day with the same phrase: "Can I invite a friend over?", and ends every day with the equally endearing phrase, "I need a drink." We're planning an intervention. And little Tator Tot (7 weeks) thinks Christmas is totally over-commercialized and refuses to participate.

JByrd recently received a mug for his birthday that says "World's Best Dad". He was surprised because he didn't know the voting had ended, but he wants all you other dads to know that he totally respects you, even though you didn't win. (losers). And I recently saved 15% or more on my car insurance, so I'm feeling pretty good about that.

Merry Christmas!

My little tator tot

Well, it's been 5 years since I've had a new baby in the house. Of course, I knew before she was born that I had gotten very used to sleeping through the night, to eating dinner without being interrupted by a squalling baby, and to quiet Sundays where the older kids read and the younger ones play together (semi) nicely. I wondered how I was going to handle my plunge back into babydom, the land of ultimate (if forced) unselfishness. Here is how it has been:

Every breath she has taken, every minute that's gone by, every late night feeding and diaper changed - I want it all back, I desperately want it all to quit flying away so fast. Not a day has gone by that I haven't wished I was in the hospital again, that she had just been born, and that I could have every minute of her life to live over again. That's how much I love her.

Oh, Man, It's Over

It's over! I'm 18 weeks and FINALLY feeling better. I still have a little nausea, but just like a little car sickness, nothing like what I've been dealing with.

The kids just got out of school for the summer, so my return to health came just in time. I love having my kiddies around during the summer, and it always goes by too fast. This summer we are playing it cheap and easy. Here's how the summer works at Casa Currant Pie:

Gotta have a chore chart of course! It's a self-directed reward system, so I don't have to spend all summer nagging. If your chores are done by noon you get 3 points. If they are done correctly you get 2 more points. Add 2 extra points if your room is clean and your bed is made. They are working together to reach 900 points (which should happen towards the end of July) and then we all get to go to Big Surf water park for the day! This worked like a charm for us last year, and the payoff was loads of fun.

Every week there is a designated Laundry Captain, Chef, and Pool Boy/Girl. The kids learn how to cook and do laundry, etc., which is good for them, although the results are sometimes a little iffy!

Monday is library day, with a stop off a Sonic for half price slushies on the way home.

Tuesday is Peter Piper Pizza day. Dad works at the corporate office and we get comps, so hooray for free pizza and video games.

Wednesday is $1 movie day at Cinemark.

The rest of the week is for chillin' and swimmin' at home, assuming we can keep our pool blue and a good supply of popsicles on hand. 

In between I visit the office a couple times a week and do the rest of my work from home. Have I ever mentioned how grateful I am for my job? I worked outside the home for about 15 years, and I feel so blessed now that my current company allows me to work most of my hours at home. It has truly changed my life and brought me so much joy.

Have a happy summer!

Finally...Someone Noticed!

During the past few weeks while I've been sick, my family has been trying to pick up the slack for me. Emphasis on trying ;), but their efforts have been sincere and appreciated.

For Mother's Day, Hubby lined the kids up and had them say nice things about me and what I do for them. My oldest made my day when he said, "Well, she must do a lot, because there are 5 of us, and we haven't been able to keep up with what she used to do by herself before she got sick!"

Rock On

I love to rock. Not rock out, although I do play a pretty mean Guitar Hero. What I love is rocking in a rocking chair. By myself is okay, but I particularly like it if a little tyke is in my arms, snuggled up to me while I sing little songs my mom taught me when she rocked me, so long ago.

Okay, that's the wonderland version. Here's how it really goes:

"C'mere sleepyhead, let's rock for a few minutes before you go to bed." Child climbs up on lap. Child wants to play "Ride a Pony" on Mom's knees. Mom bounces for a couple seconds, then gently tries to press Child's head down onto her shoulder for a rest.

Child strains neck to see what dad's watching on TV. Mom sings lullabye at unnaturally loud volume. Child covers Mom's mouth with her hand. Child's hand tastes like peanut butter and sweat, and Mom spits. Dad glances over just then and asks Mom to mind her manners.

Child has to go potty. Mom continues rocking and is almost asleep by the time Child returns, but is abruptly awakened by Child's knee hitting her diaphragm. Immediate response upon being awakened is more singing.

Child can't get comfortable. Due to constant fidgeting, neither can Mom. Mom sighs, and tells Child to close her eyes right away. Child closes them, just not both of them at the same time. Child finds this hilariously funny, Mom less so.

Mom falls asleep. Child turns around and watches TV until Dad tells her to go to bed, around 11 p.m.

Mom and Child are both a little cranky in the morning, and one of them also has a stiff neck.

The End.

Despite all this, I still love rocking. Here's my terrible confession: a little teeny part of me likes it when my kids are sick, because then they let me rock them.

I think I might need to get a cat.

Glee-ful

When my 15-year-0ld son was four, he liked to watch Barney. A lot. We had all the videos (yes, VHS), and they pretty much got worn out. If D-Dawg felt like singing, it was Barney songs he belted out. "Mr. Sun" and "Drivin' in my Car" were two special favorites. Ipods hadn't been invented yet, but he certainly didn't have a Walkman or a BoomBox. He accompanied his own singing with some artful jumping and twirling.

Now that my youngest is four, things are a little different. See, she has a 15-year-old brother. And a 12-year-old brother. And an 8-year-old sister. They don't like Barney. They like Selena Gomez, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift and the YouTube clip of the Glee football players dancing to Single Ladies. (I have to admit, I like that one, too). Little AJ still jumps and twirls, just like her older brother did all those years ago, but she does it with his Ipod stuck in her ears, and she's bustin' a move to Life is a Highway.

I miss the innocence of my oldest. If I could, I would keep all my kids from any knowledge of the outside world until they start kindergarten. I haven't found an effective way to do that, but when they're sick and half-alseep on the couch, and I sit down to rub their foreheads, I still sing "Mr. Sun". D-Dawg rolls his eyes, but I'm pretty sure I see him mouthing the words right along with me.

P.S. Check out that hilarious YouTube clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ornIWg0VG7g

Games for the Tired

Ever have one of those days where you're just too tired to play with your kids? Maybe you had a long day at work, or maybe you were up all night with a sick baby, or maybe, like me, you just finished your weekly triathlon. Anyway, the point is, you're tired, and the kids want to play.

Never fear, the Currant Pie Official List of Games to Play When You Are Tired is here:

Car Alert: I just played this one today. In my version of this little-known game, you take some blankets and pillows out to the front yard and get cozy with your kids. Everyone needs part of a blanket to cover up with. Whenever you hear a car coming down the road, you scream "Car Alert!" and you all cover your heads, as if you will blow up if the people in the car see you. Once the car has passed, you can poke your head out again. If you want a really brilliant variation, make it a rule that you can only listen for cars, not watch. This guarantees a little shut-eye for you while you play.

I'm the Baby, You're the Mom: You can't walk or talk, all you can do is recline on the couch and have your kids feed you a pretend bottle and rub your forehead and sing you lullabies. Their goal is to get their "baby" down for her nap. Let them succeed.

Sleeping Monster: You sit in a chair or on the couch and close your eyes (see how good I am about this closed eyes thing?). Your children have to muster enough courage to come close to the sleeping monster and risk waking her up. When they are very close, open your eyes and tickle whoever you can grab. You are not allowed to run after them, you can only tickle the ones you can reach from your sitting position. Repeat until someone wets their pants, then send them to Dad.

Tickle Monster: A close cousin of the Sleeping Monster, the Tickle Monster sits perfectly still in a chair with two arms. One child decides to sit in the "comfy looking chair" they have found. When they sit on your lap, you suddenly come to life and start tickling them. As soon as they fall out of the chair, you go back into statue mode (closed eyes optional).

Speed Bump: You lie on the floor and pretend to be a speed bump that your race car children must navigate as they crawl around the room. I recommend lying on your stomach for this one so you don't get the breath knocked out of you by an errant knee. Also, the face-down position will mostly hide the fact that your eyes are, yet again, closed.

Dead Man: You pretend to be dead while all your little doctors work to revive you. A word of caution - keep your lips tightly closed, as you never know what they'll decide to use for "medicine". Of course, this game requires that every few minutes you actually do revive, but then you can quickly have a relapse, and the fun begins all over again.

I am suddenly starting to feel some shame for how quickly these games are coming to me. It only took me about four minutes to list those six games, and I'm pretty sure I could come up with several more, if only I wasn't so doggone tired right now.

The Six Best Words

I know you can picture it. You're in the checkout line at the grocery store with your 3-year-old when he spots the foot long Nerds rope. He has to have it. It is the most glorious item he has ever seen, and he can't possibly live one minute longer without it. He tells you this using that very toddler-specific language of shrieking. The particular kind of shriek that suddenly makes every other adult's private thoughts appear in a bubble above their heads. The bubbles say: "What a brat." "I can't believe she lets her kid act that way." "Get that snot-nosed ankle biter out of here!" Some bubble thoughts are much worse than that and cannot be recreated here.

You think you have outgrown that phase with your 7-year-old. But then Halloween comes, and you are at Target, and suddenly the angel costume you already have in the closet at home from years past will not do. It has to be Hannah Montana, full-on with the wig and fake mic and everything. You also find out that, to make the outfit complete, you will have to dress up as a backup singer and follow Hannah around the neighborhood singing harmony to "Best of Both Worlds". Your sweet 7-year-old loses any concept of how to leave a store with some composure. Not so much shrieking this time, but plenty of sobbing. Pretty much the same bubble thoughts spring up all around you.

Surely teenagers have more self-control, right? (My older sisters are laughing out loud right now). Okay, we can get through the candy aisle without too much trouble, and Halloween costumes are no longer cool, but please don't let me happen to pass Electronics with my teenager in tow. No shrieks or sobs, just a certain kind of glare that tells me I am definitely the worst mom in the history of the world if I don't break open my pocketbook, and quick.

Luckily, a miracle occurred in my life several years ago, at a time when I'd completely had it with all those checkout lane showdowns. I somehow stumbled onto the six best words in the annals of parenting: "I'll keep it in my mind". If it is close to my child's birthday, I say, "Wow, that is a really great toy. I'll keep it in my mind for your birthday." If it's closer to Christmas, I say the same thing, replacing birthday with Christmas.

The best part - my kids believe me. The only time I've ever had a problem with it was on that Target shopping trip last year. Don't get me wrong, I tried. But somehow, "Wow, that is a really great Hannah Montana costume. I'll keep it in my mind for Christmas," just didn't cut it.

What works for you? If you have a great tip, you can be sure that I'll keep it in my mind. After all, I've had lots of practice!

High School Football From a Mom's Perspective

Training, Day 1: "Okay, honey, I washed and pressed your practice uniform. Try not to get it too dirty, k? And don't get hurt!"

Training, Day 7: "The most essential thing I must accomplish today is to put together a carpool. These 5:30 a.m. practices are killing me!" Insert sarcastic comment from teenage son here about who these practices are really killing.

Training, Day 14: "You have to sell how many fundraising coupon cards? 15?! What, the $400 we already gave the school for the privilege of summer weight training and football camp isn't enough to get you guys through a season? Geez louise."

Training, Day 21: "A white t-shirt? You don't have any white t-shirts. I have given up trying to make your t-shirts white. Coach will just have to live with you showing up in a brown and green streaked formerly white t-shirt. You're lucky I still wash them at all."

1st game of the season: "Yeah, buddy, I'll be there. So will Dad, 2 sets of grandparents, 3 aunts, 2 uncles and one neighbor twice removed. By the way, you look so super cute in your uniform!" Inject a gagging noise from teenage son here.

2nd game of the season: "Umm, yeah, I'm coming. Is the coach thinking of letting you play this time? Well, can you ask him exactly when? If I come at halftime I get in free."

3rd game of the season: "Okay, well, I for one am glad you never get to play. I don't have the money for crutches and casts and things anyway."

4th game of the season: "No, he didn't get to play, but did I tell you he has straight A's?"

5th game of the season: Note to self - post ad on Craigslist to sell 2 stadium seats, 3 fundraising coupon cards, and 27 used-to-be-white t-shirts. I can't wait for track season.

A Season of Selling

If you need some extra money, think of selling things. A wise sage once told me, "You can make money when you sell stuff. " That was either a wise sage or my friend Craig Slist, I can't remember. Anyway, my family decided to try it out.

DDawg sold homemade soft pretzels and made enough money to pay for football camp.

TLC whipped together a few ingredients and made his own laundry soap, earning enough to pay for scout camp.

Angelface conned her great-grandma into saving pop cans for her, and she earned enough to put up a tent in the living room and eat marshmallows, as if she were at camp.

AJ didn't sell anything, but she's cute and people (aka her grandmas) give her money all the time. She has enough for a pint of Ben & Jerry's, although she's too young to appreciate that fact.

I tried to sell my autograph on Ebay, because my friend at work told me autographs bring big money on Ebay. Nobody bought mine, though. Maybe my reserve was too high.

My failure prompted Hubby to buy me some Tony Robbins CDs (on Ebay, of course. It seems like everyone is making money there but me). Apparently Tony thinks I can do anything I put my mind to, so Hubby suggested I listen to the T-Rob every morning while styling my hair. I just started yesterday, but it turns out he was right! Just for fun, I started thinking about those old beehive hairdos people used to have, and I ended up making the BIGGEST hairdo ever! It was so crazy! Still no money though.

In my sorrow I walked down the street to commiserate with my sister-in-law, but she was busy helping her 6-year-old with a lemonade stand. They made $26. Man, I should have thought of that.

Summer Fun

Summer's coming
Better gear up.
Do jumping jacks,
Get a tummy tuck.

Enroll those kids
In swim team, now!
If you hesitate
You'll be left out.

Must, must, must
Go to EFY.
Everyone's going, Mom,
That's why.

Dance lessons, really?
It's such a joke.
My 3-yr-old plies,
While I go broke.

Horse riding, piano,
Gymnastics, bale hay.
Private cooking classes,
Make things out of clay.

We'll be bored, we must go,
My kids cry and sob!
What else can I do?
I get them all jobs!

Give Your Laundry A Little TLC

I don't remember going on any $300 field trips when I was a kid. Actually, I don't remember going on any field trips, but that's probably because they weren't of the $300 variety, and so were not very memorable.

TLC has one of these absurdly expensive field trips coming up. His whole grade is going on some sort of oceanic exploration trip in San Diego. Of course, attendance is optional. But when you've been subjected to the nostril flare of total rejection by your 11-year-old child, it kind of takes the fun out of optional.

What to do? What to do? TLC, an entrepreneur at heart, decided to take matters into his own hands. He tried to get a little space at the Christmas shop at his school for some wooden bead bracelets he made, but he got shot down by the PTA. Strike one. His brother's had good success selling his homemade soft pretzels, so he set me to work trying to replicate the Krispy Kreme donut recipe. Three or four recipes and several pounds later, strike two. Finally, after reading a book called The Toothpaste Millionaire, about a boy who makes toothpaste that works and is way cheaper than the paste at the store and, natch, makes a million, he whipped up a batch of homemade laundry detergent.

I used it today on all my laundry. It was actually pretty great! It has a nice mild, clean smell and my clothes got just as clean as ever. It didn't get out the tar that somehow got on Lynnie's pant leg, but hey, it's detergent, not boric acid. The best part is, it's only $1.50 a gallon (that's enough for 32 loads in a top loading washer or 64 loads in a front loading washer). Leave me a comment if you want some, he's taking orders!

My Funny Valentine ('s Day)

Ever watch Jon & Kate Plus 8 on TV? Well, if not, it's a reality show that follows a couple who have a set of twins about 5 or 6 years old, and a set of sextuplets who are maybe 3. This is how they celebrated Valentine's Day:

Jon and Kate bought each other lovely, thoughtful gifts. They were beautifully wrapped. Kate took the extra time to cut out and paste little hearts all over her present to Jon.

Kate made heart shaped pancakes for breakfast. Then she made heart shaped sandwiches for lunch. I can't remember what she made for dinner, but I'm guessing it was spaghetti with all the little noodles tied together to make hearts.

The kids all had little backpacks on their chairs when they came down for breakfast. The bags (red and white, of course) were filled with V-Day goodies.

Jon and Kate put together a little treasure hunt for the children. They wrote and hid clues all over the house, with the treasure being this huge (and beautifully wrapped) box full of dollar store toys for them to choose from.

It was a wonderful day for them. Our clan also celebrated Valentine's Day. Here is what we did:

We waited for TLC to get home from his scout campout and then left immediately for his basketball game, where he was given a personal foul for smelling like smoke/day old clothes/dutch oven cobbler.

From there we went to Lynnie's basketball game, where she would have loved to get a foul, but she's still learning that you only stick to your "man" like glue when you're on DEFENSE!

Mom realized she forgot to give AJ any breakfast and that might account for her crankiness at said basketball games, so we all went home for some festive peanut butter sandwiches, not cut into hearts, but made with almost no complaining by mom.

Mom took D-Dawg to buy some running shorts for track. These shorts had to be a particular shade of maroon. VERY particular. In a fit of rage, Mom cut the shorts D-Dawg was wearing into little heart shaped scraps while he was in the changing room.

Mom went to a baptism, where she thought about the shorts incident with regret. Dad forced the kids to do chores while she was gone.

Mom picked up Mexican food, our Valentine's Day tradition, took it home, and served it on a table that she decorated with a little red votive candle left by a concerned visiting teacher, who noted Mom's lack of holiday decorating back at Thanksgiving.

Dad and Mom gave everyone a chocolate bar that said I Love You on it and we all made s'mores in the fireplace, which I've heard can be toxic and maybe even deadly.

I'm really glad no TV crews were following us.