Wishful Wednesday

So, Wednesdays are my window shopping (or for-real shopping) days most of the time.  I don't work at the office on Wednesdays, so I generally run errands or stay home and do laundry (gah!) and do any  online chores I need to take care of.  This inevitably ends with my buying something online or filling up a shopping cart somewhere and then deleting it because holy crap, I cannot spend $600 on shoes.  Well, I can, but I can't do that all at once or my AmEx will throw up.  

Here's a list of things I am loving/wishing for right now:

These fabulous shoes from Bensimon. I have been a TOM's lover for many years, but they recently changed the sizing and my narrow foot cannot compensate.  I've been drooling over these slip ons, but sandal weather is here...not sure I can pull the trigger on these yet.

Aqua nail polish. The woman that own the nail salon I frequent recommended this color for my pedicure and before I left my appointment, everyone in the salon was wanting the bottle.  Perfect for spring.

This wonderful shower gel. I recently got a sample in a GWP, and I am sad that it is almost gone.  I am also sad that it costs $35 a tube because, hello! It's shower gel.  Smells divine.

And of course, I have to list a dress...I am the biggest fan of dresses and am so glad that it is almost sundress weather....I love this from Gap, but I can just about guarantee it would be too short, or I would have to order a big size to accommodate my not-narrow shoulders and then it would be baggy at the bottom. This one from Anthro is adorable, but I'm again not sure about the length.  I really do have to try dresses on...this fact wars with the fact that I like to shop online.  Sigh.  

On to sofas, something that I really am about to purchase.  Does someone have a spare $4k I can borrow? Seriously though, I love the style of that.  I am wanting something tailored for sure.  Unfortunately, with two messy kids and two messy dogs, something like this, this, or this is more likely.  I know you get what you pay for with sofas.  I have a sofa now that I paid $1K for 14 years ago this month and it is just now past repair (thank you slipcover for helping out the past 5 years).  I just need something to tide me over for a few years!

What's on your wish list today??

TV Tuesday

So, what kind of TV do we watch around here? Some days the answer is none! In fact, the electricity blinked here on Sunday night and I still haven't reset the satellite server.  The kids watch very little during the week and maybe a couple of shows on the weekend.

J and I like TV a LOT.  We generally try to watch at night and we never watch until the kids go to bed.  Some of our favorites:

• The Good Wife (this is my #1)
• The Americans
• Homeland (when it's on)
• True Detective (when it's on)
• Being Human
• NCIS
• NCIS:LA (my #2)
• The Mentalist

J watches way more than I do - he likes a lot of reality shows - the ones about logging and swamps and mining for gold.  They totally drive me crazy.

When the kids watch, they like some cartoons and a couple of Disney shows.  They also like Duck Dynasty and some Swamp Monsters show.  I don't try to keep up.

What do you watch at your house?

Mealtime Monday

So, on Mondays, I want to post what I am "planning" to cook during the week.  I used quotes because our plans change with very little notice all the time.  I do buy the ingredients for all of these meals on the weekend so I can cook if able.  If I'm not able, I just shift that recipe to the next week and put the meat in the freezer, if needed.

I'm going to post this past weekend today, too.  I will link to recipes if possible.  Maybe soon I will start putting my own recipes in my posts!

Saturday - I made a yummy egg and ham and asparagus casserole.  Mother came and ate with us.

Sunday - Kids and I ate out after lunch and then they at dinner (meatball subs) at church. I ate...well, you don't even want to know.  Nothing nutritious. I eat terribly when I'm flying solo.
 
Monday - (normally we have soccer AND volleyball tonight, but soccer got rained out so we had more time) tonight we had these chicken drumsticks, as recommended by Mary at Owlhaven...http://www.owlhaven.net/2014/03/24/monday-menu/ I made slaw to go with and the kids also had applesauce

Tuesday - Crock Pot Beef Roast and Kentucky Spoonbread (basically a corn pudding).  I will cook veggies with the roast and probably make some rolls or biscuits.

Wednesday - the kids eat at their Awana clubs at church.  Sometimes I eat at church and sometimes I just eat some cereal when we get home.

Thursday - (this is a soccer AND volleyball night and I work all day and then visit my dad before I get the kids from school - no dinner prep time unless I use the crock pot) This will probably be a mac n cheese (Annie's from the box) and chicken sausages kind of night.  Maybe even sandwiches.

Friday - the kids are going with Mother to a race so MAYBE J and I will catch dinner out together.  Or maybe we will order in sushi.  Either way, I'm NOT cooking.

Saturday - (man, we eat out a lot!) We are supposed to go to a dinner that night with some friends, but J has an event at the college, so I'm not sure that will happen.  If not, we will probably make homemade pizzas!

For breakfasts, the kids will eat cereal, oatmeal, biscuits, or eggs and toast. Their lunches consist of sandwiches or leftovers, plus fruit and other goodies.  My lunch is usually nothing or a frozen meal(I know, so bad and sodium laden) and J either eats out or at the college cafeteria.  Neither J nor I really ever eat much for breakfast.

So, what's on your menu?

I hope this isn't too vague...

Random thoughts to begin a new week:

• I totally and completely cannot stand "vague-booking".  The quickest way to get yourself hidden from my Facebook feed is to post attention-seeking posts that cause people to ask if you are ok or what's wrong.  JUST SAY WHAT YOU MEAN.  I am personally very guarded about what I put on Facebook, but if I post a status, it's not going to leave doubt in anyone's mind about what is going on. 

• Cancer sucks.  It truly does.  My dad was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in January and has been fighting so hard.  He wound up in the hospital two weeks ago with multiple compression fractures in his spine but is doing so well and working so hard in rehab. Thanks for continued prayer.

• Travel season has begun for J.  He will be traveling more often than not over the next three months...I do okay once we get in the groove but these first couple of trips are hardest. Also, it's cold at night when I'm sleeping alone! I forget that every time!
• I'm trying to get on a better schedule with blogging.  It's been tough to just get the basics covered while helping with my dad's care, so hopefully this week will be better.

Snow (Ice) Day!

We got a big dose of ice here in the metro area last night, so no school for the kids today (or tomorrow). Dad was out today too, since the college wisely shuttered the campus.  I'm always off on Mondays, which throws my mojo out the window, but it's been a lazy day at home. I watched Dallas Buyers Club and last nights episode of True Detective and attempted a nap.  And I cooked - always have to cook on a snow day!

Meal planning?  Well, I try.  This time of year is so difficult.  We have something almost every night. 

This week -
Monday - I made chicken and dumplings, cornbread and lemon icebox pie since we were all home
Tuesday - we are all scheduled to be home again, so I think I will make salmon patties (a fave around here), roasted potatoes, and some sort of veggie
Wednesday - the kids eat at Awana, I usually don't eat, and J usually fends for himself.
Thursday - crazy day - soccer, a meeting for me, and an uncertain schedule for J.  Probably will do something on the run or sandwiches for the car.  Who knows.
Friday - L has a birthday sleepover, so H and J and I might grab pizza or something.  I don't cook on Fridays
Saturday - we have a wedding (whole family in attendance) at 5p, so we will take our chances on eating at the reception.

I hate how hectic our schedule is, but it does slow down (sort of) by early May. We like to eat pretty clean and very local but are not always successful when life is crazy.  I just do the best I can at the moment and try not to beat myself up about it...

In the Still of the Night

What does night time look like at Casa de Mad Mama? 

Well, it's pretty crazy until at least 8:30! We have soccer at least twice a week, so with late school dismissal (4pm), we are fairly rushed to get home, do homework, eat a snack (or early dinner) and get to practice.  We have church on Wednesdays, so our only evenings at home are, well, non-existent.  This time of year is the worst...Soccer for H, Volleyball for L, political events, fundraisers, meetings for J and I both. This week, we have had something every single night.  Tomorrow night is a (freezing cold) soccer game.  It's pretty exhausting, but we try to have the kids home and in bed by 8:30 every single night and we almost always keep that routine.  Oh, and basketball - NBA basketball that is.  Can't forget that we have season tickets, which keeps the two who go to the game out until 10pm once a week or so(we skip a lot during the winter - it's cold and late!).

Once the kids are in bed and it's quiet, I like to catch up on my DVR, take a bath, or read.  Sometimes all three.  J is away from the house probably 3 weeknights every week, when he isn't traveling.  If he does happen to be here, he's working until 9:30 or so.  We like to try to watch a show or at least Jimmy Fallon together every night. I TRY to get to sleep by 11 every night but a lot of times it's closer to midnight. 

Speaking of schedules, I am thinking of doing some weekly posts about things I love or am interested in...something like this:

Mondays - Meal planning for the week...my meals are pretty boring due to our crazy schedule, but I like having a plan!

Tuesdays - TV!! I love TV and watch WAYYYYYY too much...maybe just a little chatting about TV land?

Wednesdays - Wishful thinking - links to things (probably clothes and shoes!!) that I love.

Thursday - Thoughts for the week - what's going on around here, what's bugging me, what's new in my world...

Friday - Books! What I'm reading or hoping to read soon.

The weekends will either be blog-less or just random content...what do you think? (I'm not sure who I think will comment, as I haven't shared this with a soul - YET!)

Surely you aren't interested...

I can't imagine that anyone else loves to hear about mundane everyday life, but I love to read details about other bloggers' lives.  I thought maybe I would share about my days...they are never the same twice in a row, but my morning routine is consistently inconsistent!

My alarm is set for 6am, 7 days a week.  It is rare for the alarm to actually wake me, however.  We have an elderly dog who needs to go out most days by 5:15, so I generally wake to her complaints and lay there for a few minutes to see if she is going to hush or not.  Mainly not.  I get up, let both dogs out, turn on the Keurig and usually restart the dryer from the night before.  Let the dogs in, make my coffee and read on the internet until 6:30am or so.  Sometimes I empty the dishwasher (if I remember to run it the night before) and set out the lunch boxes, but sometimes I am just lazy.  Usually H is up by 6:30, so I chat with him a minute, fold some laundry and try to get in the shower by 6:45...we really kick it into high gear at 7.  Breakfast for the kids, husband up and in the shower, everyone getting dressed, packing backpacks, lunches, gym bags.  Husband leaves around 7:30 and I finish getting myself dressed and ready.  I work three days a week, but on the other two, I still get dressed.  On my work days, we leave by 8am...drop the kids at my parents and I head to work.  Their schools start at 9, so my parents take them for me (such a blessing).  On my non-work days, we leave the house at 8:15, drop H for breakfast at his school and head to the middle school car line.  Late start schools have some advantages, but it's not an easy schedule for working parents. 

Today is a work day, so I better finish up and hit the shower.  Although, my space heater and coffee cup are so very tempting...

Not sure how this happened...

Somehow, I have become a soccer mom over the last 5 years.  My son, H, plays competitive soccer.  I told my husband just today that sometimes I just wish my kids didn't play sports at all.  It's all too heart-wrenching for me.  I don't want them to lose, don't want them to cause their team to lose, don't want them to get hurt, don't want them to get yelled at by the coach.  But, at the same time, I know that sports are important, that they are learning a ton about life and how the world works.  Mainly, they LOVE to play.  If they didn't, we'd go on and go to the house.  There are plenty of books to read and my DVR is full.

Today began a new season of club soccer.  We pretty much play only in tournaments 2-3 weekends a month.  This is also a concern, because we are a regular church attending/mom works at the church/my kids actually love our church kind of family.  H has to miss quite a bit because of soccer.  So far, we have made it work, but I'm not sure when the sacrifice will become too much.  Right now it works.

L, our daughter, plays basketball and volleyball.  She is hoping to make her school teams next school year, so we are doing instructional and recreational leagues and camps this summer to help her develop her skills.

In case you were wondering, I am the LEAST athletic person ever.  I played recreational sports growing up, but I liked the socializing and snacks.  I am not personally competitive at all.  As in, I never really cared if we lost 85-10 in basketball, not a single bit.  Give me a run at the concession stand and a friend to talk to, and I was a happy girl.

On the other hand, my husband is very athletic.  He is competitive and super knowledgeable about ALL sports.  He played basketball, baseball, and soccer (and probably other stuff too) for a very long time.  Thankfully, our kids got his athletic ability.  

So, for now, I will be the soccer mom.  I'll make sure the uniforms are washed and ready (alternate jersey in the bag), the cleats fit and the water jug full.  I'll get them to practice and games and hold my breath when H has to play keeper or L has to shoot free throws.  I'll cringe as part of my heart runs his little legs off or battles against girls twice her size under the basket.  I'll be their biggest cheerleader and the one who will do her best to be on the sideline every game and give out hugs no matter the outcome.  Hopefully, they will look back one day and say, "My mom loved to watch me play."

Begin at the beginning...

Beginnings...makes me think of the song "Closing Time"....
       "Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings' end"
Or something to that effect.

This is my blog.  A place to dump the words.  Every time I write a lengthy diatribe on Facebook, someone will say, "Do you have a blog?" I love to write.  Love the written word.  Grammar rules, vocabulary, etymology...all of it makes me happy.  

Which brings me to the title..."Mad Mama Writes"...I'm not really "mad."  Not in a general way.  I GET mad, but I am uneasy about so many things in the world, in my life, in the place where I live.  I am also "mad" in the nutty sense, mainly because my life is so chaotic.

Which leads me to my intro...I'm Stephanie, wife to J, and mother to L and H.  Not sure yet if I will share their names on the blog, as they have VERY distinctive names and my husband is an elected official.  Not so sure I want to be that available at this point! We live in a small, southern suburb connected to a large city.  I work part-time as the Director of a preschool but work ALL THE TIME as the manager of our household, our schedules, and pretty much everything else that occurs around here.  Our commitments are big and important, and I hope to be able to share a little "slice of life" - it's real, it's not always (or usually) pretty, but it's who I am.

What is the point of this blog? As stated above, I intend for this blog to be a "slice of life"...a picture of my days.  I want to share the things I love with others.  Let's just see how it goes,  Hope you stay along for the ride!