I won!!!

I won!!  $4.00!! WooHoo! Ok, so I should really say “we” since I went in with other family members.

Yes, I joined the other millions on the bandwagon and bought a few powerball tickets for last night’s drawing.

Yes, I know that the chance of winning was 1:175 million plus, but it was that 1 that got me hooked. You can’t win if you don’t play.

Yes, I understand that I am throwing that money away, but for a few days I got to dream what it would be like to wake up an instant multimillionaire.  It was fun. It gives you a little bit of hope that your financial worries could be over, or at least your worries would shift.

What would I do with millions? Pay off all my debt. Quit my job. Finish our house that has been a work in progress for 6 years!  Take a very long vacation. Someday open my own business because I want too not because I have to.  Give to charity. Relax. And then live life as I always have, just with a bit more free time and financial stability! Oh the dreams. It was fun but I guess it’s over now….until next week when I buy 2 more tickets with the $4.00 we won.  Only because splitting $4.00 doesn’t go far.  

Congrats to the lucky bastards people that won in Missouri and Arizona. I wish you the best and hope you put your millions to good use.

Did you play? What were your dreams?

Trees, Margs and Balls!! Oh My!!

I love this time of year.  Not sure what part I love the most; the extra days off of work, spending time with the family, good food and drinks, or the Christmas music!  I love it all.  We went to the local tree farm to cut down our Christmas tree this past weekend. It is the earliest we have had a tree up and I love it. It will make the holiday season seem a bit longer.  The tree picking out process took a long time as it does every year. I haven't quite figured out why it is so hard to pick the perfect tree. It seemed like a really long time with the girls "helping" us!  We took the wagon for them to ride in which they sat in for about 2 minutes and we carried them the other hour!   Oh the many joys of parenthood! 

Dad can do it all! Carry the tree and the baby!

The real excitement came when we got the tree home. Both girls went down for a long nap, which left me armed with a margarita in one hand, balls in the other and Raffi Christmas playing in the background (best Christmas CD EVER!).  I was in heaven!

Margaritas and balls! oh Yea!



The pretty tree!



Momnesia

Momnesia  - (definition)  A mother’s  loss of memory of a previous bad public outing with her children.  It makes her believe the next trip out is going to be wonderful.   If it were not for momnesia she would never leave the house with children in tow.

I had a case of momnesia. I decided last Friday to take both my girls on a shopping trip for new shoes. My toddler, Greta, loves shoes.  It would be so much fun to let her try on and pick out her own shoes. I even gave her the speech if you are good, you will get to buy new shoes. She told me she was so excited! I loaded both girls up with wonderful images of how much fun we were going to have.  I was going to be that mom who can do it all!! I see other mom’s with little ones out at stores with their well-behaved children, why can’t I do it?  Of course in the back of my mind I knew I was crazy. Let’s just say my girls have spunk.  They are bursting with personality and are so much fun to be around. But along with that great spunk comes stubbornness and downright orneriness at times. While Greta had fun running through the store yelling “Try to get me”, I did not.  People were staring (some laughing) as I pushed the double stroller with one kid in it through the aisles trying to find and catch her without any luck. I finally decided it was best if I sat on a bench and waited for her little game to be over.  I ended up carrying her out shoeless (as they had been thrown when handed to her to put on). I won’t even go into the kicking and screaming on the floor that went on in the previous store (obviously I should have given up then).  Needless to say we bought no shoes.

She really is cute though.

In the end, my only regret is not taking a picture or video…..the momnesia is already setting in again!

Pig and Candy Corn

I know this is a little late to be posting the kids in their Halloween costumes. It is better late than never. 

Classic Greta face!





A little background story on the costumes. I found them on craigslist less than a week before Halloween. When I received the email that they were still available it got this mommy-blogger-wanna-be excited! Not because my kids were going to be a pig and a candy corn (which is pretty cool!) but because the costumes belonged to one of my favorite bloggers....mommymishmash herself! YEAH!! Check out her blog HERE and on the Iowa City Press Citizen.  I love her sense of humor and her adventures as a mom. She has made me laugh and cry.  I immediately sent a text to my sister and asked if she thought it would be completely creepy if I told her that I loved her and she could be my best friend  loved the blog. My husband thought I should take my picture with her. Mommy Mishmash is probably very thankful right now that I didn't whip out my phone for a quick pic :) I did end up telling her I was a big fan of her blog. She was very nice about it and didn't act like I was creepy at all. Who knows what she thought when I walked out the door (most likely locking it behind me)!  Thanks to her my kids were the cutest pig and candy corn!

Manic Monday

Monday recap:

·         Girls are in their car seats on time!!! Woohooo! Start the car…nope car won’t start. Car only makes strange noises.  Side note, van is less than a year old and 30,00 miles. Really??!!

·         Self-Pity Party – I did manage to make it to work, late of course.  Start the pity party.  I have for the most part accepted that I will not get to be a stay at home mom, my dream job. A crazy hard job that I want with all my heart. My girls go to a great day care two times a week and the other two days spend it with a grandma they are crazy about. I know they are in wonderful hands and they are happy. I still have days when the pain of leaving them is real. My head knows this is what I must do for my family, but my heart begs to differ. It longs to spend the whole day with them, not a couple hours at night.  I think my tears today were building up slowly; starting with running into an old co-worker who quit after her first child was born. She asked if I was still working and when I told her I was, she said “I don’t know how you do it.” Do I have a choice?  You have to do it, whether you are a full time working mom, stay at home mom or somewhere in between you do what you have to.  That one encounter got me thinking all over again how much I want to stay at home with them. They are only little once. Then maybe it was my little one clinging to me as I tried to drop her off or my two year old telling me daily when I pick her up "I cry - want mommy get here".  Maybe it is the darn time change that has me in a funk, at any rate, it hurts but I must wipe the tears and move on.

·         The real stinker of the day…SKUNK!! The dogs were sprayed up close and personal by a skunk. They were determined to catch the black and white "kitty".  It smelled for at least a mile down the road. This happens all within minutes of the tow truck coming to take the car away.  2 home concoctions, 2 shampoos and 1 miracle skunk odor remover later they were welcomed back into the house.  Still slightly smelly but hopefully not enough to stink up the whole house.  I was not about to let my spoiled fur babies sleep out in the cold (although I almost asked the hubby too as he smelled as bad as them!). They are not cut out for the cold as they are used to sleeping in our bed under the covers. As a result we may all smell a little skunky for days!   

Manic Monday

I wish it was Sunday

‘Cause that’s my funday

My I don’t have to runday

It’s just another manic Monday

Lets all hope for a better Tuesday!!!