So I leave you with this for today:

O Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress. (Jeremiah 16:19)

While I’m waiting for J to get the pictures of my colonoscopy on here, I thought I’d pass some time with you all.
Since my colonoscopy on Thursday, initial results are showing that I have Colitis. To what degree? Well, we have to wait on the biopsy results, which will be in on the 27th. So I’m here waiting with the rest of you, except my waiting is more in the bathroom.

In the mean time, I’ve done some research on the subject, and it turns out the company that J works for does the printing for the Chron’s and Colitis foundation. Kinda ironic, don’tcha think?

I’m feeling worse as the days go by, and I’m finding less and less to joke about. I was feeling great right after the “cleanse” because nothing was in my system to irritate my colon, so I ate all the junk food I could. We’re talking Big Boy, and even some chili-cheese dogs from my favorite root beer stand. I still don’t have the guts (pun not intended folks) to try to drink any soda pop. I think I’ll stick to water for now. I’m not even tolerating milk well right now, which is a total bummer because I used to drink a gallon a week- all on my own. I love the stuff.

On the flip side, the summer has ended. It looks like fall is here to stay, with the school year about to begin (and it has already for some of you). In my effort to keep my baby a baby, we’re starting her preschool in October. I’ve worked it out with the director, so it won’t be a problem. It also benefits me, just so that I can get on the right medication so I’m not in the bathroom all the time, especially when I need to go pick her up (or take her there for that matter).

I’ve let the house go by the way-side, and laundry is piling up to the max. I have a really hard time bending over to get the clothes out of the dryer- but bless her little heart- M tries to help me as much as she can. She’s had a few meltdowns here and there, but according to her it’s because she “doesn’t want my butt sick anymore”. It just breaks my heart to hear her say that. It’s the last thing I want my 3 year-old to think about.

But while we’re on the subject of M, I took her for her second trip to the dentist this morning. Her checkup went great, and she was such a trooper when they took her x-rays. No cavities were found! I would have taken pictures, but my camera battery has died, and I haven’t made it to the grocery store in months to pick any up. Maybe that will be my chore for tonight. Head to the grocery store!

In other news, I’m going to be having some amazing reviews and giveaways coming up. So please stay tuned for that. Also, my new blog will hopefully be ready soon too. I’ll keep you updated on that front as well.

Well, I hope that fills you all in on what’s going on with my life. I hope this post finds you all well.

Love & hugs,

Katie

Recently, my family and I were given the honor to review the Deck of Chores game.
I say game because, because it makes dull, boring daily activities into something fun!

Because we are such a small family (there are three of us: J, myself and M), we chose our cards out of the deck, with the reward as one Tootsie Roll for each card completed. M chose first, and got the “Wash the car” and the “Take the garbage out” chore cards. Those were quickly passed to Daddy, as M is only 3! Next she chose “Set the table” and “Clean the windows” chore cards. Now these she can do!
So I gave her the plates, napkins and silverware to place on the table. She was so excited! No whining, no complaining!
Next she moved onto washing the windows. I sprayed the glass cleaner on the window for her, but handed her the paper towels to complete it. She did, and made sure that the entire window was clean!
M grabbed her cards, ran over to me and turned them in to redeem her reward. It was great to have her so excited, for having something physical to turn in (kinda like school work). She had a true sense of accomplishment! It’s amazing to me, that this one little card would do that for her. It was as if she had a task, and was determined to turn in her card- and not only turn it in, but turn it in completed. It makes me so happy, as her mother, to see this kind of determination come out in her.

Deck of Chores comes with 52 cards, with the chore picture and chore name printed on them. This is great, especially for those who cannot read yet. They are in bold, large letters too which is nice to also see. It even includes 4 blank cards- for parent’s choice! This I LOVE. They are so versatile! You can use these to play so many ‘chore games’. The possibilities are endless.

Lately M has been sportin‘ some NASTY tantrums. I don’t know whatever happened to the terrible two’s- but let me tell you- it compares NOTHING to three.

The best part? She (mostly) throws them in public. Oh yeah. They make me look like “Mom of the Year” (please note sarcasm).

She chose to throw a big one on Thursday, in our local mall, in front of my visiting in-laws. While daddy was at work. Heh.

Reason?

She wanted me to buy her a martini glass from Hallmark. I, for the obvious reasons, said no.

Yep, I dared to tell my 3 year-old princess that she was NOT allowed to take home the martini glass.

That was my first mistake.

When she decided she was going to give herself a five-finger discount, and head for the door with said martini glass in hand, I tackled her. I quickly returned said glass to it’s rightful place (no, not in my hand with booze in it, but on the shelf). I let her know that it was time to leave the store. And that was my second mistake.

Turns out M wasn’t ready to leave yet, so she took off to the back of the store. Oh, no she didn’t!!

I grab her by the arm in true “Mom of the Year” style and drag her outside of the store. I placed her firmly (yet gently) up against the wall and began explaining to her the mistakes she made with her so-called decisions.

And that’s when the screaming began. And the kicking. And the hitting. Did I mention the spitting? Nope, didn’t think so.

So what do I do in this situation? I grab my kid underarm in true Q-B fashion and I run like
H-E-L-L.
This is a big feet considering I’m a whole 5’2 and M is well over 3′. The kid’s tall for her age. As her pediatrician says “real tall for her age”.

May I remind you that my husband’s parents are also with us, and the car is parked on the other end of the mall, on a different floor?

Yeah, it keeps getting better.

I make it through the mall, and an entire flagship store (through the china department) without knocking anything over. I have talent!! We make it to the elevator that would take us to our exit, and M grabs my 69 year-old black pearl necklace and starts to pull.
Death was imminent.

So I drop her. Turns out, she’s part cat, and lands on her feet. Yay far me!

Who knew?

Now, let me take a moment to explain to you my avaunt guard parenting style. I don’t spank or hit of any kind. I do not raise my voice. I stay calm. I merely try to reason with the beast.

She wasn’t in the mood for reasoning. And sensing that her life was very possibly in danger for the whole “necklace grabbing incident” she takes off. I was nearly out of breath at this point, so again, I grab her arm and literally drag her out to the car. My in-laws climb in, and they’ve had it at this point. My ever-so-saintly mother in law yells at my kid. Yeah, the woman who NEVER blows her lid, did, and with my kid. Oh greeeeeat.
I calmly, and politely let my MIL know that I don’t yell at M. I just show her what bad mistakes she makes- and I call her father. Uh-oh. M heard me and FREAKS out.

“Don’t call daddy- mommy- please don’t.”

For some reason, she is terrified of her father. Don’t know why, because we live by the same rules. Maybe it’s because he’s bigger than she is. And we pretty much are the same height.

Darn you genetics.

John lets me know that he’s at lunch and will swing by home to put some pressure on M. So I toss the keys at my father in law, and they let themselves in.

At this point, M is spitting at me.

So what does a Domestic Debacler do in this instance?

I simply open all the windows and the car doors and leave her in her car seat, while I watch from a safe distance in a lawn chair a few feet from the car. She, thinking like the athlete she is, decides that I am the worst “Mother of the Year” and that I must be punished. And THE way to do that is to hurl her shoes at me. Well, one at me, and the other at the windshield of our SUV.

Look out Cincinnati Reds. I have your new lefty pitcher- RIGHT HERE!

I can’t help but to burst into laughter! She was so mad, it was comical, until she started calling me names. She pulled out the “S” word. Oh yeah. I’m sure she’s caught it around here, but I don’t exactly make a habit of cussing. For her to remember this- well- she’s got the mind of an elephant. So as I was being screamed at that “YOU’RE A “S” MOMMY”, I was nearly falling out of my lawn chair!!

Then John pulled in with a co-worker in tow. Oh yeah, it became a show! But suddenly M turns into a blubbering mess when she sees her daddy. How he has this effect on her, I’ll simply never know.

He brings her in the house and she promptly apologizes to my in-laws and myself. What?!?! How?!?! I haven’t the slightest clue. Ugh.

Then she announces that she’s going to take a nap- and does so- for the next 4 hours.

Which leads me to today. This afternoon, she didn’t want to take a nap, even though she got up at 6am. So the tantrum started. I turned back into the Domestic Quarter-back and ran her tooshie upstairs to bed, where she’s calling me “stupid mommy” over and over. So what do I do? I call daddy. At the mere mention of his name, she starts apologizing. And how does she do it? By saying “I’m sorry for calling you stupid mommy, but at least it wasn’t S%^&!”. Again, inappropriate laughter on my part, which my DH hears on the other line. We’re all laughing at this point.

Good times in the Domestic Debacle household.

So how does the Domestic Debacler handle tantrums? By calling daddy, and laughing.

That’s how.

Yes, I’m writing about this weekend (I know you couldn’t wait for it, could you?).
On Saturday I threw my best friend her baby shower. It was a great, and entertaining time, had by all. Don’t you love when you can sit back in a room, and think “wow, I have nothing in common with any of these people” but still manage to have a conversation with them? Heh. All of these women were career minded (which there is nothing wrong with that at all) which I am not. I find that I am more about my child-which will always come first for me. Now, I’m not saying that moms who work aren’t putting their kids first. Some have to work to support their family. But, then there are the other moms who simply work so they can have all the extras, and there is nothing wrong with that as well. To each her own! But for me, I believe it’s most important to be there 99% of the time for your child when they are young (I say 99% of the time, because I have a babysitter for date nights).
So here’s what set me aback in a conversation with one of these “career moms”. My husband (the wonderful and HAWT man that he is) catered the whole thing (except for my artichoke chili dip- yummmm). He came in, set up and got the hot hor d’oeurves set out during the party so I could talk, mingle and get the games started. So yeah, basically he was super-hubby for the day. The party-goers were singing the praises of my DH’s handiwork and I mentioned that he wanted to go to culinary school. I also said that I would love for that to happen as well -and when the others asked why not- but unfortunately, it doesn’t pay the bills at this time. So this “career minded mom” jumped on me, saying how awful it was that I would “dare to squash my husband’s dream like that, and she would be thrilled to have her husband quit his job to go to culinary school”. She said it loudly. For the whole room to hear. Talk about blushing on my part! So I immediately think- wow- she just made me look like uber-meanie-wife and okay, what kind of world does this lady live in? Oh yeah, she’s an editor for the largest paper in our area and I’m a lowly housewife. They could probably afford for him to not work. For us though, it’s a little different. I pinch my pennies, shop sales and clip my coupons with gusto. I take our $150 grocery bill and turn it into a $50 grocery bill. It’s what I do- to contribute to my family. My husband goes to work to earn a living so that I am fortunate enough to stay at home with our daughter. I would rather do this than have the extras. My idea of an extra is the free Crocs I get. But back to the story… My response to the mom was “well, culinary school also won’t pay for our daughter’s tuition.” ::crickets crickets:: She immediately says (with much smaller volume) “well we’re telling our girls they have to get good grades to earn their own way into college.” The subject was then changed.
Honestly I don’t even know what to think about this situation. Does a two-income working mom not understand the sacrifices a one-income family has to make? I feel a little embarrassed, and I wish I would have said nothing about my husband’s interest in culinary school to these other women. But then again, who knew I would be judged so harshly? I’ve never seen such judgement from people I hardly knew, and at a baby shower of all places. Clearly I didn’t fit in with any of them as I am only friends with the guest of honor…