Braindump

Alright, sorry for the pause there.  Haha, no one is reading this (yet?), so it doesn't really matter.  But fake it 'til ya make it right?  Anyway, my mom was here and birthday party and yadda yadda.  When we had Squish, we started refinishing a room in our basement to use as a guest room.  In the past two weeks (yes, Squish is almost one, shut up) we finally got Squish in the nursery, Bug in her big girl room and the guest room moved downstairs.  It was really nice for everyone to have their own space.  My mom is really freaking amazing - she is great with the kids, she can cook, but is ok with being cooked for/doesn't demand meals/certain foods, she does loads of laundry, she takes the kids out, she babysits.  It is really nice having her around.  I am not a naturally schedule-oriented person (all the people who have ever worked with me in the past and are finding this are now spitting coffee out of their nose at that understatement) so even though it is helpful and of course you get used to it, just keeping the kids on a regular daily schedule is something that takes a lot of brain energy for me.  So having someone else around who steps in on that part (and clears the sink) (and rounds up baby socks and discarding hoodies and washes them) is immensely helpful.

So with all of that extra brain energy, here are things that got accomplished while she was here - threw (kick-ass) pirate birthday party, did some quality Marshall's and Costco shopping, came up with next great children's book idea, tested guest room bed and bathroom, got some history about things I have from my grandmother's house, mopped kitchen floor and cleaned up bathrooms, found some delicious cookies, tried (and failed) to show her how to use her Kindle.  Not a bad trip all in all.

Any great children's book ideas?  How about mother or MIL stories? Mid-renovation stories?

Dirty Confession

I'm a little nervous to use that as a post title now because I'm sure there are many things I could confess.  So there maybe be sequels.  Also, I don't want a bunch of crazy pervs to start following me.

It's my favorite time of the year - birthday party planning!  When it comes to birthdays, I'm one of those moms.  Well, not one of those those moms, I don't do $10,000 birthdays or anything - no hired bands or horses or renting out amusement parks.  I do, however, enjoy planning and having my kids' birthdays.  There seems to be a backlash lately over "Pinterest" moms and going overboard with kids activities and crafts.  I get it.  I guess some people might use it as some ammo in some invented mompetition.  I don't feel that way, its just something I enjoy doing.  A friend of mine enjoys keeping a clean house for her family.  I don't.  Sure, when she talks about her house I get a bit envious and maybe I snark for a second in my head.  I am sure my time would be better spent dusting, instead of trying to turn empty toilet paper rolls into a pirate.  I, however, enjoy this as an outlet for creativity though and as long as I'm not hurting anything (except for maybe our monthly budget) I'll keep on keepin' on.  And when my friend talks about mopping her floors two times a day to get all the Cheerios up, well, I try not to let that make me feel bad.

So there might be some party planning talk here.  And if I post any pictures you will probably see my dusty TV and Cheerio-encrusted floor in the background.  Try not to let that distract you from all the pirate-y goodness!