My Infidelity

Dear Publix -

What we had... what we HAVE... is special. You had me at "Can I deliver that cake to your party?", and ever since then we have had a pure and monogamous relationship. But now things are different somehow... (dare I say it?) strained.

I know what the problem is. Every relationship has it at some point and time, some worse than others. Money issues. 

I shudder to play into the current paranoia, but in This Present Economy everyone's trying to find a few ways to trim the fat. Unfortunately, the HH's bacon is supplied by one in the non-profit sector - fundraising of all things! - and one in the finance sector. Not only that, but the finance gig happens to be one that is continuously mentioned on MSNBC, CNN, FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS, and PBS. Did I say continuously? I meant they seem to cover nothing else. 

So I slipped up. It wasn't my fault really. 

I was minding my own business: running errands, returning library books, pumping gas, etc. - when the seductive whispers began. 

Double coupons... the velvet voice said. 

"So?? I already have that!  You got nothing, Scissors," I replied. 

Double race car carts... IN FRONT!  the voice slyly retorts. 

"Um... I have that too. Except not in front," I lamely shoot back. 

Size matters - I have a LARGER organic selection... the whisper was like a caress. 

"Mmmm... So? I'm OK with an average size." My resolve was weakening.

And then Kroger went to work sowing more seeds of doubt, listing all of your weak points:

Publix doesn't have your favorite soup. 

(Campbell's low-sodium vegetable made with beef stock)

Remember the day when that pharmacist was mean to you?

And then the axe fell - the final sultry poison barb.

Come on, baby... they are so much more EXPENSIVE! 

I was devastated and ashamed, my dear Publix, because I knew that Kroger was right.  We had grown apart and let money divide us. You couldn't compete with the way I lusted after loading my coupons straight onto the KrogerPlus card online. No more clipping for me. And the satisfaction I felt at the check out line at Kroger left you feeling small and insignificant. 

At first I thought I could get away with just a few visits on the side, but I know now I'm hooked. 

So... do what you can to win me back, Publix. 

Until then, I think it's best that we just be friends. 

Where Did January & February Go?

I've been a bad blogger lately, and I blame work. By the time I finally get home I'm exhausted and want the free time I have to spend with the Family. The end is in sight, however! After next weekend I'll get a little respite from the deluge of authors visiting the library. 

Until then, I'm taking the easy way out & doing a photo post. 

The weather has been warm the past few weeks, and we took advantage by visiting the playground for a picnic. Of course, proper playground attire is Halloween costumes - didn't you know that? Finn went as a Knight in Shining Armor. 

Finn's First Dentist Visit - it went well, thanks to the promise of "prizes". He got one for getting his teeth cleaned and one for getting X-rays done. Fortunately, he picked out a toy for his brother. The whole ordeal produced a few tears, but they were mainly power struggles and not true fear. 

Happy Valentine's Day! We spent a lazy Saturday at home. Not terribly romantic but extremely restful! (At the risk of sounding sappy, every day is Valentine's Day at the Hotwheel Hacienda!)

Finn likes to "rock out" on the way to school each morning. Here he is playing air guitar to Dire Straits' 'Money for Nothing'. He has his Papa's taste in music. 

Also - I'm officially addicted to SwapMamas. If you haven't already, head over and check it out! I have some books & toys up to swap and am getting ready to post some clothes. 

It's Just Routine, Ma'am

Here at the Hotwheel Hacienda, we live and die round our routines. It's been that way ever since Finn was born, and I was reading mass quantities of parenting books like The Baby Whisperer, The Sleep Solution, and The Happiest Baby on the Block. (As a library professional, I tend to go a little overboard on the reading-to-be-prepared front.) All of these books had one common element - the value of routine in a baby/toddler/kid's life. 

Plus it makes them good sleepers. That was a KEY issue at our house. We might have become parents but sleep was the one commodity we were determined to hang on to... as best we could. 

So we stuck to the suggested methods and have very good sleepers, in their own beds, and at an early age. The only problem is, we have drilled their routine into them so well, Finn and Eli are.... er..., let's just say less than flexible. It's all well and good when we are able to plan around their routine, but if something unexpected or special happens it can be a major pain in the butt. 

BEDTIME ROUTINE

When they were babies I was devout about the "5 B's" - bath, books, boobie/bottle, binky, bed. Now it's as follows:

• Eat dinner around 5:30. Play until 6:30 or 7:00. 
• Bath, done exactly the same way every night: Eli gets undressed, puts his clothes in the hamper and gets in the tub. We yell at Finn to GET-IN-HERE-RIGHT-NOW-THIS-IS-THE-4TH-TIME-WE'VE-ASKED-YOU. He gets undressed, puts his clothes in the hamper and gets in the tub. 
  
• After the scrub down, Eli gets out, is wrapped in a towel and asks to be 'rocked like a baby'. We rock him while singing Wagon Wheel by OCMS and tickling him. 
• Teeth are brushed, the whole thing is repeated for Finn, and both boys watch cartoons on our bed for 10 minutes before getting tucked in. 
• It's is 8:00 PM, and Caleb and I have the rest of the night to unwind and have grown up time. Which we utilize by going to bed at 9:00 most nights. (Oh, the excitement!)

Same way... every night. There's even a Tucking In routine that if we don't follow exactly Finn goes to pieces. 

So that's great, right? 

Most of the time.

Except for when it's Christmas and there's a million shindigs we need to attend and they're all on one day and there's no time for the daily nap.  We either miss the shindig or have a horrible time because the boys are Pure Evil due to the missed nap. 

Or when my good friend Amy calls and says she scored free tickets to "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and would Finn and I like to double date with her and Kieran? And the show starts at 8:00 PM. If we go Finn will be all sleepy and unable to focus on following directions like "Don't run into the road" or "Stop climbing over your seat into the lap of that guy that looks like Grandaddy but really isn't." So we pass on the tickets. 

Or when cousin Anna is in a pageant and Eli and I are supposed to go, but it started at 4:30 and now it's 4:00 and Eli is still asleep and if I wake him up and rush to get there everyone in that room will be sorry and I will be that Poor Woman Who Can't Control Her Kid. So we miss the pageant. 

Cartoons by Andertoons

I'm hoping this is just the price all parents pay for having kids, that we can't do it all, and need to be selective about the things we decide to participate in, especially when they are 4 and 2. But that's hard to explain to family & friends when our presence is required. Sometimes it sounds like we're trying to get out of something or snub them. Actually, we're just trying to get by. 

If we have done this to you, our sincere apologies. If we haven't, just give us time - I'm sure we'll snub you soon enough.