Reason #156 That I Need New Glasses

I went to bed quite late last night. I went through my nightly routine--taking my contacts out, getting my pajamas on, etc. I put toothpaste on my toothbrush and started to brush my teeth. I quickly realized that something was not right. The toothpaste tasted strange and my mouth started to feel funny. I picked up the "toothpaste" and realized I had made a small error. I was brushing my teeth with the Benadryl anti-itch cream that I was using to treat Allison's rash.

Tho if I talk with a lithp you'll underthtand why. My tongue ith a little numb.

News from the front

It's official.

The parents took a huge hit tonight in the sleeping wars. The battle was almost lost. Enemy #1 and Enemy #2 pulled out the heavy artillery--the piercing, shrieking cry of Enemy #2 AND the bum-scratching-rash-that-keeps-her-awake-and-smelling-like-stinky-rear-end of Enemy #1.

It was a lengthy battle, one full of tears, yelling, and temper-tantrums--from both the parents and their pint-size enemies. The parents had to fight with limited resources. One of the parent soldiers was MIA because he took the night off and spent it taking care of injured kids at the hospital. That left the cranky, emotional female soldier, and she is currently experiencing a little PTSD. And a little PMS.

We're thinking about calling in back up. If the Super-Nanny isn't available, then we might have to call in the Marines.

Help.

An Inconvenient Truth

Tonight I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few last minute items. It was getting late and I had both the girls with me. After hurriedly finishing my shopping, I walked out and loaded Lindsay into the car. I was about to take Allison out of the cart and put her into her car seat when I spotted it. The pair of Leggs Black Silk Mist pantyhose that I had not paid for. Sitting in the bottom of the cart.

Since I have been shopping with two kids in the cart, this has occurred with increasing frequency. Grocery items get stuck under Lindsay's car seat in the shopping cart ALL THE TIME. I don't realize that the unpaid-for item is still in my shopping cart until I get out to the car. Hauling my kids back into the store to either pay for the food or to hand it to the customer service desk is painful.

I've considered leaving with the item in question, but I just can't. I know that my conscience would bug me until I would have to return to the store at 2 am (this is when my conscience is most active)and pay for it.

Luckily there was a Kroger employee gathering carts tonight. I gave him the nylons and drove away in peace. Sometimes being honest is a real pain in the neck.

Falling . . .

I love fall.

There is something so quiet and reflective about my favorite season. I love the changes that heighten my senses as summer turns to autumn.

I love the sound of the wind as it rustles the leaves. I love the way the wind stings when it hits my face. I feel alive on a windy day. Autumn's cold breezes waken a part of me that won't surface any other time of year.

I love the sights of fall. Colors seem crisper and brighter. The leaves on the trees with their riotous colors dance like flames in the air. The sky is always a brighter, clearer blue against those trees.

I love the textures of fall--the fuzzy sweaters, the brittle leaves, the bumpy lumpy gourds and pumpkins. I love the firm smooth texture of apples. The tastes and smells of fall overload my senses. Hot chili, hearty soups, and steaming apple cider make my mouth water. Fall always smells like cinnamon and pumpkin to me, but I also love the cold smell of the decaying leaves and dirt.

Okay, enough dreaming. It's time to face the piles of laundry and dishes.

Tagged

Hey, we've been tagged by my good friend Lindsay. I thought I would post my results and then I'll post Steve's answers later--just for fun. I've been after him to post something for a while, but he's just been too busy. After all it is the Gammon family blog. Anyway here are my answers:

4 jobs I've had . . .
Greaseball #4 -- Digging trenches for my dad's landscaping company.
Salad Girl -- Stocking the salad bar at an old-time saloon. Who knew that cowboys liked salad?
Old Man Bum wiper -- Nurse's aide at the Veteran's hospital.
Registered Nurse -- Still wiping bums, but getting paid more to do it!

4 movies I could watch over and over. . .
Roman Holiday
Goonies
Pirates of the Caribbean--I'm a sucker for pirates, AARGH!
Little Mermaid-- Oh, wait. That's not me, that's Allison. Over and over and over.

4 places I've lived . . .
St. Louis, MO
Cincinnati, OH
American Fork, UT
Saskatchewan, Canada -- Okay, so it's just wishful thinking.

4 favorite television shows . . .
So You Think You Can Dance
Lost
Sesame Street--It let's me take a shower in the morning, how awesome is that?
American Idol

4 places I've been . . .
Sharon, Vermont
Matewan, West Virginia
Key Largo, Florida
Havasu Falls, Arizona

4 favorite foods . . .
Grilled squash and onions
Rachel Cobia's chicken fajitas
Homemade bread and raspberry jam
Vegetable lasagna

4 websites I check often . . .
hotmail.com
kraftfoods.com
msnbc.com
craigslist.com

4 hobbies I enjoy
reading
jogging--okay so I don't enjoy this right now, but I will once I get back into shape.
cooking and feeding people
quilting

4 people I tag . . .
Jesse and Rachel
Leslie M.
Heather P.
Shayleen L.

You're it!

Change is good

A few months ago I saw something on the Oprah show that really made me think. A pastor of a church in Kansas City who preached a sermon about speaking positively and the effects of complaining. At the end of his sermon he handed out some plastic bracelets to the congregation and gave them a challenge. He challenged them to wear the bracelet on their right wrist as a reminder to not complain, speak negatively, or gossip. The challenge was to go 21 days without complaining or speaking negatively thereby creating a habit of positive thinking and speech. If the member of the congregation messed up, then he or she was to move the bracelet to the other arm and start over. Apparently a large portion of his congregation have taken the challenge and have succeeded.

I was so inspired by the story of this congregation. I complain ALL THE TIME. I knew it was time to start working on it. So I got on the church's website and ordered a bracelet. (It was free!) It came in the mail a few weeks ago and I started the challenge immediately. Then I gave up after changing my bracelet to a different arm at least 5 times in about three hours. I decided to give it a little time and then start over.

Last weekend I had a little breakdown. Steve was on call the majority of the weekend and both girls were quite a handful. So when Steve came home Monday and told me that he had to study all night, I lost it. Unfortunately, Allison was the unwilling witness to my breakdown (Steve had gone to bed) and I think it frightened her. After I put her down for a nap too I had a little time to reflect. Here is what I came up with:

I have lost touch with what is really important. I've allowed myself to wallow in my "poor me" mode and forgotten all the good things I have in my life. I've also allowed myself to only focus on just getting by and I've forgotten to do the things that help me to thrive. I read something this week that reminded me that feeding myself spiritually should be my highest priority. Whether that means reading my scriptures, or taking time to really ENJOY my family, I need to take care of myself. I am truly blessed and when I feel spiritually awake and alive I can recognize my blessings. When I am not taking care of myself spiritually, I perseverate on all of my "problems."

So I've come up with some things that I can do to help myself. And I will try again with the "A Complaint Free World" bracelets in the near future. Hopefully I will be a little more successful the next time I try it.

And I wonder where those chubby cheeks came from . . .

Lindsay has been so smiley this week. I have tried to catch it with my camera all week, but this is the best I can do. I guess I can scratch becoming a professional photographer off my list off my list of careers I'd like to have. She really is much cuter when she smiles than this fat-cheeked picture shows!

I want to tell my mom how proud I am of her in this somewhat public forum. She is on a backpacking trip in the Uintahs right now--probably being eaten by mosquitoes. Anyway, this is a pretty major accomplishment for her. She has been getting up early the last few months and walking or hiking 2-3 miles. Mom, I am inspired by your diligence. Now if I could just follow your example.

I found an awesome treat when I was at the grocery store the other day. I generally don't buy into the "100 calorie" treats--way too expensive and a waste of good calories. But I was walking by the Hostess treats section of the store and I saw, you guessed it, 100 calorie packs of Ding-Dongs. What the . . . Ding Dongs? So I closed my eyes to the price tag and bought some. They come with three tiny little cupcakes per portion. I tried some when I got home, and they were pretty good. By the end of the night, however, I came to a realization. Hmmm. . . four 100 calorie packs equals 400 calories. Whoops! So the moral of the story is: 100 calorie packs of Ding Dongs--good. Eating 4 portions of them--not so good. ( I failed to mention that each pack had 5 grams of fiber. Which made my tummy VERY unhappy.)

Okay, time for bed. Or maybe laundry. (Can you guess that Steve's on-call?)

My Greenish-Brown Thumb

Steve is on call tonight. This pediatric rotation has been tougher than he thought it would be. He spends a lot of time at work and then has meetings, projects, and studying to do once he is done with his 12-14 hour day. He really likes his work, however, and still thinks that this might be "his thing."

I took one of the first squash off the zucchini plant tonight. It seems that a small animal has decided to raid our garden. My bet is a squirrel, though I have seen rabbits in our yard. Our tomatoes and peppers have perfectly round bite marks in them. I'm not sure what to do to get rid of the pests. When I first moved to Missouri I thought they were cute. Now I am trying to decide if I should purchase a 12 gauge shot gun or try rat poison. Our garden is pretty sad right now. Steve's job was to water the plants, but he has been too busy to do so. I have also neglected them, but my goal is to start watering every day--at least our planters. I went to water Rachel's plants today (she is out of town) and her plants are beautiful. I'm trying to take inspiration from her diligent care for her plants. Dad will probably disown me if he sees our yard! Where did the Ellison green thumb go?

Allison fell down and skinned her knee while we were at Rachel's apartment today. We were going out to our car and she took off running straight out to the parking lot. I yelled at her to stop, but she just kept going. As soon as I started to go after her, she biffed it. (Is "biffed" really a word? I'll have to look that one up.) I think I must be a bad parent because what I wanted to say was "Serves you right!" I tried to reign in that instinct, but I had a hard time being sympathetic. A skinned knee is very dramatic to my little 2-year old. She kept showing me her boo-boo and wanting kisses all day. My heart warmed just a little bit when she wanted to kiss Lindsay's "boo-boo" better when Lindsay started crying tonight.

I had better end this now. I have the hardest time going to bed when Steve's on call. I mop the floor, I read a book, I work on a project, and now I write in a blog. I guess I need to stop procrastinating the inevitable. Good night!