Surviving the Domestic Jungle

As I was doing the dishwasher this evening, I noticed the suggested serving size on my cereal. I am a big cereal advocate. I love to have it for breakfast but only healthy, fiberful cereals as I am getting older and fruit loops just don’t do it for me anymore. Anyway, I was looking at the nutrition info and saw the suggested serving is 3/4 cup. Who the hell eats 3/4 cup of cereal? Really?? I want to know who eats that much?? That is like ten pieces of cereal!!! Who makes these sizes anyway? Leprechauns? Pixies? Elves? Certainly not a human being. If I ate 3/4 cup of cereal, I would eat another one five minutes later. All in all, to equal a bowl of cereal for a normal person, I would probably need three of their servings. This is why I don’t look at nutrition information anymore. It just depresses me to know how much fat and how many calories are in a serving and being I usually will eat three, it makes that information even more depressing. I am not a supermodel and I am not trying to look like one, but I am trying to make it to lunch where the vicious cycle of depression and worry happens all over again. I do not eat a lot in general but when I do eat, I eat healthily. Wow, Im surprised healthily is a word….my computer didn’t underline it in red as a misspell! If there is junk food in the house, except for chocolate which I consider a necessity of life, it is my husbands and the kids. I was not allowed to eat junk when I was a kid and sugar cereals at Christmas was the highlight of our indulgences. I only had Rice Krispies, Cheerios and Corn Flakes. There were never chips or soda and there were only the occasional homemade cookies. When I would go to my friends houses, I would go nuts eating magical foods with sugar! I decided I wasn’t going to do that to my kids. I let my kids eat crap and I introduce them to “exotic” foods as well. My oldest loves salad and would eat it everyday. My middle child loves broccoli, cucumber and apples! They are pretty healthy but they also feel comfortable having junk food. I don’t present it as a treat in the hopes that they will build healthy eating habits. Food is not a reward even though I justified my lowfat ice cream sandwich earlier when I was annoyed with my husband I had non sugary cereals as a kid! Cut me some slack!!! Anyway, when I wake up tomorrow, I will be having enough breakfast for three smurfs and I will love every bite!

I am so happy that I am having repeat readers from all over the country! I have some overseas readers but I am pretty convinced they are just spam. It is literally one of the brightest parts of my day to see repeat readers. Something I am doing is right! I want to take this opportunity to tell people to feel free to comment or email me or even ask me questions about myself. I know that people must have comments and I welcome them all! I really enjoy hearing from the readers and wish I did more often but I understand if some of you are shy. Don’t be shy! I’m a very nice person and no matter what you have to say, I am so humbled and grateful for your effort. The idea for this blog started a few years back when I almost burnt down my kitchen and in the 3 years since then, I have created a blog I am quite proud of. Being a housewife is not easy and it is not easily learned. Being a mother came easily to me but a housewife was another story. I had to learn how to be a housewife and believe me, there were bumps, no potholes, along the way!! I am still not great at it but I am learning and through my many experiences, I am learning to focus on the humor in them instead of the stress. If you cant laugh doing this, you will go insane! So, with that said, feel free to tell me your stories, ask questions or just participate in general. If you just want to read and keep to yourself, that’s ok too. Again, I am humbled and grateful for every person that clicks on my website and supports what I do! My grammar may be occasionally terrible but my stories are true and I speak from my heart!

Dinner was a smashing success and full of laughs and an overall great time! No drama or fighting and left feeling fat and happy! As I was driving home, I had a realization about myself that was quite interesting. As I drove, I realized I am a total grandma when I drive at night. I cant see anything and am so much more timid than during the day. My husband is a chronic road rager and it is to the point where I cannot stand being in a car with him! We drive so differently that all we do is annoy each other. I look at driving as an enjoyable experience. Turn on some good tunes, the kids are strapped in ONE place and it is a moment of serenity and peace for me. He, on the other hand, acts like everywhere he is going is some sort of medical emergency and he is late. If someone is going one mile under the speed limit, he is damn near ramming into their car, throwing up his arms, yelling at them. Oh it is so painful for me! I want to scream at him that they cant hear him nor do they care and chances are, they probably don’t even notice him having a total tantrum. They are probably lost in thought while listening to Britney Spears and couldn’t give a rats patoot about the jerk behind them. What a waste of energy. I could never get that angry about something so trivial. I decided I like being the grandma driver. I have precious cargo in my car and I am not worried about people like my husband because I am safe inside my serenity force-field! I would get that “Baby on Board” sticker for my window because people make fun of them for some reason but I think they are great. Its my way of saying that I am driving like this for a reason and it is a good reason so go around me! We have never taken a road-trip together and to be honest, we would probably be divorced at the end of it! We are just too different behind the wheel and he is getting progressively worse and I am getting progressively worse but in different ways! At least dinner was a success.

I am one of five children and when we all get together, it is quite a production. I have my two older brothers, both married, one has 2 girls and the other has one daughter. There’s me, married with three kids and then there are my two younger sisters. Tonight we are celebrating one of my brothers birthdays even though it was 10 days ago. I talked to my mom earlier and the head count has ballooned as my dad got on the phone and invited some of his friends and some of my brothers friends and now we have a huge party at a restaurant. Ahhh, I can feel the drama coming. There are some BIG personalities in my family. I am the mellow one of my family and I am not that mellow. Throw a little alcohol in the mix and you have a recipe for family drama. I occasionally enjoy it but sometimes it has gone too far. I love my family but my goodness sometimes they are drama queens. They occasionally act like their performances will land them an Oscar! I’m not saying I don’t have my Oscar worthy moments, because I do, but I spend most get together’s watching my kids. I do not drink so for me to sit back and watch the nonsense is sometimes more fun than actually joining in on it. As we age and the more children that are added in, things become so much more fun. Me and my sister in laws all had a baby within a couple of months of each other so as the babies grow, it should become a whole different experience. I love my family and I especially love spending time with them but I know it has been an adjustment for the “marry-ins”. My husband does well with it and one of my sister in laws does as well but one I know is overwhelmed by it all. My sister is bringing her new boyfriend to dinner so this should be fun! I love to see the fresh meat either drown or jump right in. My sister may be single after tonight’s dinner! I will have to write about it tonight when I get home. Stay tuned!

Gay marriage was legalized in New York state recently and I have to ask, why is this an accomplishment? Why is this even an issue???!! Why are we stuck in the stone age on this topic?? We have wasted so much time, money and emotion on something that shouldn’t even be an issue. If someone wants to be married and condemn themselves to a lifetime of compromise and fights about ridiculous stuff, then so be it! How about this, make straight marriage illegal because with one in every two marriages failing, maybe we can learn something from the gay folks! Straight people have taken marriage, a sacred commitment, and turned it into something we do for a few weeks and then move on! Some people commit and stay together forever but nowadays, multiple marriages and broken homes are the norm. Maybe the gays will do a better job! A friend of mine had posted some picture on facebook that said something about how straight people need to stop making gay babies if they have such a problem with gay marriage. I thought that was cute because its true! I’m sorry all you religious people who believe God is against it but I have a question. Did you see God and ask him personally? Are you just believing something someone said thousands of years ago about what God said? Perhaps something got lost in translation because being gay is NOT new and has been going on since, well a long time. It may seem like there are a lot of gay people in this world but finally they are allowed to say they are gay! Imagine all those people in the past who hid who they were their whole lives because as a whole, society is one closed minded hate machine. To be honest, the straight people scare me when it comes to sex, not the gay people. There are some FREAKS out there! I don’t care what you do behind closed doors, I care about who you are. If someone decided I was a bad person because I have sex with my husband, they can just take their ideas and walk away. If we ALL stopped judging each other over things that are NONE of our business, this world would be a better place. Why is this even a topic in 2011? How about making electric cars legal or perhaps making recycling mandatory?! Something of substance. Something that is a real problem!! Again, all the straight people should not even talk with the statistics on their marriages. Equal rights for every man, woman and child regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation should be made legal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im on a bit of a self discovery journey these days. I think it is good to stop and review yourself, where you have been and where you are going. Getting to really know yourself can be a challenge. I think some men have these moments and buy a corvette and some women do and get a younger boyfriend or a facelift but ultimately we need to look no where but inward. All the answers we need are inside us. A corvette and younger boyfriend are just another way we try to not actually deal with our ‘stuff’. I am enjoying getting to know who I actually am. It is a fun, interesting yet occasionally scary experience. As I have mentioned, I am a believer of past lives so I am incorporating the ones I know about in my self discovery. You have to know where you have been to understand where you are and where you are going in my opinion. I like knowing about who I was and how it is made me who I am. I recently found out the link to my intense fear of water and since finding it out, I actually feel a weight has been lifted. I am still nervous of water but it was getting to the point where I found it scary to be on a beach or even near an ocean. I was about to move to the Rockies just to escape the ocean!! Not really but it was becoming a debilitating fear. I now know why I fear it and slowly I am letting go of the fear. I would tell the story but it is a private thing that I am not willing to be judged for believing in. Some people think past lives are crap and while you are entitled to your beliefs, I am too. I do not try to convert anyone to my belief system and I ask for the respect that no one try and convert me. I think that self discovery is just about yourself and there for a private thing although you can be open about it. I am really only open about it with my mom because she raised me so our beliefs are similar, but at the same time, it is a safe place for me to open up because my mom does not judge me at all. She will never tell me I am crazy or wrong. Everybody needs someone like that in their lives. I’m lucky my mom is like that and I try to be that for my kids. I learned a long time ago to stop sharing myself with people who only judge me. They are not my friends and not to be trusted with my deepest emotions. I do not judge my real friends and I encourage all my readers to do the same. Its funny because I had total writers block this morning yet somehow pulled through and have a lot to say! Ill leave it at what I have already said but just know as I go along on my journey, my posts might get pretty colorful!

After the dental extravaganza, we went to get my oldest daughters ears pierced. She had them done when she was four but got an infection, took them out and that was that. I told her then that we would do it again when she was older. Fast forward to two weeks ago and she started asking and begging and pleading and becoming annoying which was exactly what I wanted. I wanted her to REALLY want to do it so that we wouldn’t have another episode of removal. I am only taking her twice to do this! We got there and she got them done and was so proud of herself and did really well. I was really proud. Hopefully they heal well and we never have to do it again. I am not one of those moms who pierces their newborns ears. I just do not believe in it. I think it is one of those things that are purely aesthetic and I just cant justify it. I just don’t see the point of hurting your baby, risking them pulling it and tearing their little ears. I have not done any of my children’s ears and mine weren’t done as a baby. I don’t actually remember it being done to babies where I grew up as much as it is done in Texas. My husband wanted to do our daughter but I just couldn’t stomach it. I can not hurt my children unless it is medically necessary or at the very least, not a decision made because “it’s cute”. I think it is much better for a little girl to come to her mom and them go together and share the experience. Sometimes share the experience twice. I feel like the minority about this topic. I don’t see many celebrities piercing their kids ears, not that celebrities are real people (j/k) or a good source of information! I guess it’s a personal choice just like everything else!

Today I am taking my 2 year old, Hailey, for her first dental appointment and I have to say I am a little anxious. My oldest, Avery, loves the dentist and actually asks to go. She is cooperative and pretty mellow. Hailey on the other hand, I worry about being difficult. She tends to listen to other people more than she listens to me so maybe all will go well. The dentist has changed a lot since I was a kid. I DREADED the dentist just because of the fluoride they made you put in your mouth in the little uncomfortable tray and they flavored it like bubble gum which made me sick to my stomach. Just reminiscing about it makes me not want to talk about it! I used to just drool all over myself and count the moments until it was over. Well, that procedure of torture is from yesteryear thank god. I don’t mind the dentist now but I could never do their job. I have clean teeth and my kids do as well but some people are not so good about their teeth and actually I would probably throw up if I had to clean some of those peoples teeth. I would literally wear a hazmat suit and a breathing apparatus if I had to do that job. UGGHHHH gross!!! No wonder the dentist is so expensive!! I would charge an arm and a leg so I never had any patients so I wouldn’t have to be grossed out. Through my blogs, I have discovered I would be a terrible President and dentist. Still searching for the perfect career I suppose but no time to worry about it now. Off to the dentist! Remember to brush your teeth!!

I have a fascination with ghosts that borders on crippling fear. Recently I have been having the desire to go tour old, historic haunted houses! Gives me the creeps just typing that. Im not sure why it scares me so much. I guess the whole ‘unknown’ element of there being someone there that you cant see and are they even really there or are you just so scared you are letting your mind play tricks. I 100% believe in ghosts and have had a few incidents in my time but nothing major. It literally scares me so badly I will sleep with every light on if I watch a ghost show too close to bedtime. My favorite ghost show is, “Ghost Adventures”, which is a fabulous show. I believe I have written about in many months ago. It scares the crap out of me and I only allow myself to watch it occasionally on a Saturday morning. By watching it in the morning, I have the whole day to forget about it and by watching it on a Saturday, my husband is home and I feel safer than if I were alone. It just fascinates me but I could never do what those guys do. For millions I would, but not a penny less. To satiate my desire for the dead, I researched my city and found out how boring it is on the haunted house circuit. A hotel, a restaurant and a nightclub pretty much were the only options. Boring. My goal is to get to New Orleans because it has a rather colorful history and is known for haunted houses. It will terrify me to the core, but that’s what makes it fun! Do you believe in ghosts?

I try to keep up with health trends when it comes to food. I know about Acai berries and low carb. Eggs are good, then bad, then good again and I honestly dont know the census on them right now. I know that pasta was the devil and a t-bone steak was considered health food. Ahhh the 90′s and the zone diet. I’ve heard of diets that are based on your blood type and diets based on a caveman’s diet. I occasionally jump on the health kick bandwagons and try various things. Tonight I caved and tried coconut water and let me tell you, it does not taste like coconut the way I associate it to taste. My coconut taste is riddled with sugar and the water was not. It tasted like dirty palm tree leaves. Not that I have actually tasted them but should I ever be asked to, I will say no because I feel like I already know the flavor! Anyway, I do not recommend the coconut water. I’d rather eat the steak. I have pretty much lost all my baby weight (2ish pounds are lingering) and I didnt lose the weight because I am an O+ blood type. I lost it because I watch what I eat and try and stay active. Try is the key word. I am always cautious of eating too much junk because I dont have a sweet tooth, I have a whole sweet mouth. My teeth are white because they are coated in sugar! I do love the sweets….I digress. My point was, I try to be good and it pays off. Like everything in life that is worth having, it takes work. I try and skate by with doing the least amount humanly possible when it comes to exercise because it is just too hot to go outside and I feel like a jack ass doing a work out video. There have been times I have watched workout videos from the sofa. Embarrassing but true! I guess my point is that you can eat at the acai berries and steak you want but ultimately you just need to live a well rounded healthy lifestyle.