Posts Tagged ‘cleaning’
I apologize for my cranky blog entry yesterday, but I sure felt better after venting. It was just one of those days. My post was very real, actually. Lots of times, I feel like I’m *always* writing sunny and cheery things here (or not truly expressing what I’m feeling because I don’t want anyone to think that I’m a bad mom). So it felt good to get some frustrations out for a change.
I’ve been up cooking since 7:30 this morning and am *loving* every minute of it! The cranberry sauce (recipe from Carol) is done, as are the pumpkin pies, most of the veggie and cheese tray, and the Thanksgiving Cake (a traditional family recipe). This afternoon, I’m going to prepare my grandma’s mashed potatoes for baking tomorrow. Aside from that, the vegetables can be done tomorrow right beforehand, and the crackers just need to be placed onto the tray along with the with dip. Yay for being prepared! :) I absolutely *love* the day before Thanksgiving. It’s *so* much fun to be at home cooking up a storm!
Stopped by Big Lots this morning to get a few things (I secretly *love* Big Lots ~ OK, so it’s not a secret anymore!). I was out of shampoo and conditioner and found some VO5 Moisture Milks Strawberries & Cream for only 79 cents apiece. What I *really* wanted was the Suave kind, but I haven’t seen that for a while in our stores. I always loved the fragrance and how it made my hair smell like strawberries all day long!
By the way, I’m still knitting but have hit a snag (pun intended!). I can cast on just fine and knit the first row, but every row past that is *so* freaking tight. Also, it seems like the first half of the stitches look just fine, but then the yarn becomes *very* dense ~ like something is getting twisted? I have no clue. I’m going to play around with it some more later, but the rest of today will be spent cleaning!
One final note: my *sincere* sympathies go out to Rachel, who lost her grandfather on Friday. I was *so* sad to hear that news. I know what it’s like ~ my grandpa passed away back in February. My heart really goes out to her. It’s hard to think about how he won’t get to see this Thanksgiving.
You may be wondering why I recently uploaded pictures of our dirty stove to Flickr. I love Mr. Clean Magic Erasers *so* much that the company actually mailed me a box full of free goodies! Included were the supplies for conducting a test to see whether Mr. Clean Magic Erasers clean things around the house better than “the leading brand,” which is Clorox spray cleaner with bleach. We’ve been using Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for a long time now ~ well, ever since having children! LOL! :) They’re wonderful. No need to convince me that they absolutely rock. But they sent a new fragrance that I hadn’t tried yet … Citrus & Light. Mmm, very nice for the kitchen! It was fun trying something new! There was a nice letter from a lady on their marketing staff, too.
Anyway, first I used both products to clean soap scum off two tiles they provided. The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser worked *so* much better, although I wonder whether the tiles were actually covered with a soap material or whether it was some kind of “simulation.” Regardless, I’ve used Mr. Clean Magic Erasers in our bathroom, and they work like a charm.
Next, I used the Crayola marker that they provided to draw on each tile. Both products worked exactly the same to remove the red marker, although I think that the Magic Eraser was a bit neater (no spray everywhere). Also, they provided me with a box of Crayola crayons to draw on a blank wall to see which brand removed the crayon marks better. Without a doubt, it was the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Lucas went through a phase (around age two) when he colored on everything ~ most often, our walls. For a while, Mr. Clean Magic Erasers were the only thing that saved my sanity! LOL! :)
The company even sent me a wooden spoon with a recipe card attached. The directions said, “Use the enclosed wooden spoon to prepare Mr. Clean’s chili recipe and make a mess!” LOL! :) So, I did. (Well, I actually made my own chili recipe with ground turkey.) I then did a test to see which product cleaned our dirty stove better. Honestly, they both did a good job, but I think that the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser did a little bit better. We usually use a liquid flat-top stove cleaner, but the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser was much more convenient. The only thing that I’m wondering is whether Mr. Clean Magic Erasers could be manufactured with antibacterial properties? That would be super nice for the kitchen and bathrooms, in particular.
My favorite Mr. Clean Magic Eraser fragrance is the Meadows & Rain. So refreshing and makes our house smell *so* good. We also use the liquid cleaner (diluted) in order to wash things around the house, such as wood floors and kitchen tile. One thing I noticed in the marketing information they sent me, though, is that there’s also another fragrance: Lavender Vanilla & Comfort. I *definitely* want to try that one but haven’t seen it in our stores yet. Also, I didn’t know that Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Wipes existed. That’s awesome! The website also gives good tips for how to use everything.
It was *so* cool to receive a free “test” in the mail. Just a note ~ the company isn’t paying me to review these products on my blog. I just wanted to share the results of the test because I am a sucker for nifty cleaning supplies (and these work wonderfully). I highly recommend Mr. Clean Magic Erasers to anyone ~ especially to those of you out there who have children! :)
Greetings from the land of the stuffed up, clogged, congested ~ whatever you want to call it. Yes, I’m still not quite 100 percent ~ but I’m doing much better now, thank goodness. I can hear a little more, and my head doesn’t ache like it did before. One of the moms at Lucas’s preschool had this same virus, and so did the husband of the teaching assistant. Yesterday when I dropped Luke off, they were both going on and on about how bad the virus was (especially the vertigo that comes with it). They understood perfectly why I wasn’t able to get into the car and drop Luke off at school last Thursday.
Anyway, today will be spent going to the post office to mail a few eBay packages that are completely late, working on designing this 2009 calendar for our town, setting up interview appointments for two feature stories I need to write by the end of the month, and doing whatever cleaning I can. It’s hard to believe that our families will be here next week! Yikes ~ so much to get done.
Today is Wordless Wednesday, so I’ll leave you with a picture from our recent trip to Canada. I think that some Picnik is in order for this shot, although I haven’t had a chance yet!
I have a cold, and I believe that our dear daughter passed it along to me. Lucas seems to have it, too, because this morning on our way to Dunkin’ Donuts, I had to pull over two times in order to give him a Kleenex and make sure that he wiped his nose. It’s definitely a head cold … my ears, nose, and throat feel sore as well as my entire head. I’ve been tired lately, too, despite going to bed at pretty reasonable hours. (Sometimes I wish that I were brave enough to try Lasik so that I wouldn’t have to bother taking my contact lenses out if I’m feeling sleepy.) We’re all sneezing like crazy, too. I treated myself to a Coffee Coolatta this morning, and even though it was a bit sugary for my taste, the coolness felt great on my throat. I had them make it with skim milk, so it wasn’t *too* unhealthy, right? :)
I’m looking forward to picking up our CSA share this afternoon and seeing what’s available at our town’s farmers’ market. Tonight is homemade pizza night, and I’m hoping to score some yummy produce to make a vegetable pizza. (Maybe the kids will eat their veggies if they’re covered with cheese!) I baked some banana-zucchini-raisin bread earlier in the week as well as some lemon pound cake to sell at the market, but there aren’t too many pieces left. I think that a mouse might have gotten hungry in the middle of the night. :)
Tomorrow morning is Lucas’s preschool open house, and a friend has generously offered to watch Meredith while we’re there. Not sure what else is on tap … probably a good bit of cleaning and organizing. I’m feverishly working on a freelance editing assignment. Oh, and it’s *so* strange to see the school bus pass by our house again. I can’t believe that autumn is *so* close. In the near future, I hope to write a blog entry recapping our summer and looking forward to the fall season. What are you looking forward to about autumn’s arrival?
A *very* happy second wedding anniversary today to our good friends Sara and Matt in Wisconsin! And a *very* happy third birthday today to Amanda, the daughter of an online mom friend of mine (Carrie in Massachusetts). And a *very* happy 33rd birthday today to one of my oldest friends, Carrie (we went to school together from kindergarten all the way through high school!). Lots of special reasons to celebrate today!
I’m doing a bunch of cooking today for two families in our church. One family has a daughter who has been battling leukemia for several years now (ugh ~ I just *cannot* imagine what they’re going through), and our moms’ group is helping them by bringing meals over to their house. I’m also preparing a meal for Karen, a fellow moms’ group member who just had a baby girl not too long ago (but unfortunately with some health problems). I made a huge batch of pasta salad (not sure what else I’m going to make, though), and for their dessert I made some chocolate-peanut butter fudge from Rachael Ray’s latest magazine issue. (Talk about a sugar attack … two sticks of butter, an entire jar of creamy peanut butter, six ounces of chocolate, three cups of powdered sugar … need I say more?) Bring on the diet pills! LOL! :)
I’m also trying to get our house clean (the downstairs, anyway!) for Thursday, when some members of our moms’ group come over for brunch. It’ll be a small group, and I think that one of the other moms suffers from anxiety, as well, so we’re going to share our experiences. I’m really looking forward to it. I get to cook again ~ and I think that I’m going to make that zesty brunch quiche that I blogged about the other day.
P.S. My husband’s root canal was scheduled for today, but his dentist went into labor! So, therefore, his appointment will have to be rescheduled. Oh, come on … why can’t she perform a root canal in between contractions? haha :)
My parents are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary today! Back on August 4, 1973, they tied the knot in a little church in Nashville, IN ~ the same town where Jeff and I got married in June 2000. They honeymooned in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN, and today they’re jetting off to Las Vegas for a fantastic anniversary vacation. I hope that they take *lots* of pictures, because I can’t wait to see them! They’re going to visit with our cousin Jo, who lives in Boulder City, and they’re also going to see the Grand Canyon ~ including stepping out onto the glass Skywalk on the canyon’s west side. I sure hope that they have safe travels and enjoy themselves. Thirty-five years is quite a milestone!
This morning, I put Meredith onto one of our kitchen island stools in order to feed her breakfast. And that’s when I noticed a bull’s eye-looking rash on her left upper arm. CRAP. I just couldn’t believe it. First Jeff, then Lucas, and now Meredith! I called her doctor’s office immediately and took her in for a checkup. Actually, the pediatrician said that in order to diagnose Lyme Disease, the rash has to be a certain diameter. She drew a circle around Meri’s bite and said that if it gets any bigger, we should bring her back in. Her temperature this morning was 99 degrees, and she isn’t acting like Lucas was when he had it. We’re going to keep a close eye on her. When we got to the doctor’s office, it didn’t look so much like a bull’s eye anymore. So I don’t know. Hopefully it’ll be good news, but we just have to wait and see what happens. Meredith was *not* happy about being examined. She clung to me for dear life and cried a lot. But for one brief moment, she did play with the faucets in the exam room. LOL! :)
This week is going to be *very* busy. Today, I have to work on some last-minute stories for the newspaper that I do freelance work for. I’m also taking meals over to two members of our moms’ group. We need to get going with making a hotel reservation for our upcoming Montreal vacation. I have a birthday gift to purchase and wrap. I need to prepare a meal and get our house clean for some moms’ group friends who are coming over for brunch on Thursday. Saturday is our town’s historic celebration, and I’ve volunteered to make some Native American-themed dishes for that event and also for our town’s farmers’ market on Friday. Oh man … I’m tired just thinking about everything!
I feel overwhelmed right now. Pulled in *so* many different directions. This morning, I was invited to a lake get-together at the home of one of our moms’ group mentors ~ and I had a *blast* there with Lucas and Meredith last year. But this morning, I woke up *totally* exhausted. I didn’t sleep very much at all the night before last, and it caught up with me today. I decided not to go. Plus, I felt *very* nervous about watching two toddlers at the same time and making sure that they don’t run away or go too far into the water. (We need to buy them arm floaties!) It’s also incredibly humid outside here today ~ not like Indiana humid, but heavy air. I think that we’ll be spending most of our time indoors today. (I’m *so* grateful to my grandpa, who paid for our air conditioning to be installed a few years ago!) I also felt *so* tired last night (and my back hurt off and on) that just I wasn’t able to gather together all of the things that we’d need for a lake outing this morning. It made me tired just thinking about it. Hopefully everyone who goes will have a nice time, though.
But back to feeling overwhelmed … there’s just *so* much that I want (and need) to get done. But I feel like I can’t keep up. Sometimes I just don’t even know where to start. I’m behind on a freelancing assignment, and getting it done is my main priority right now. I also have a few feature stories due this month. Our house is a wreck (well, except for our dining room and living room, which are in great shape). There are just a ton of things that I’d like to accomplish (some little, some big), but I feel like every day I *barely* make a dent in my to-do list. (Heck, with two toddlers, some days I can’t even sit down to *write* a to-do list!) These days, I go to sleep at night thinking about what absolutely *has* to get done tomorrow, and then I figure that if any other stuff gets done, too, it’s a bonus! I guess that I just need to go easier on myself.
Hey, another heads up ~ I found some more neat stuff on sale at Buy.com. I *love* our photo printer, but something like this ~ a fax, printer, copier, and scanner all in one ~ would rock. It’s only $99.99 and has been reconditioned. (Our scanner isn’t working at the moment.) My husband actually just bought us a GPS system (refurbished) the other day ~ I’m *so* excited! I’m horrible with directions, and this will *really* help.
Speaking of traveling, we’re headed to Montreal soon for a family vacation! It’s going to be *so* much fun! We’re not sure when yet, but there’s a children’s festival in August. And it takes place in a park that has a beach and just looks *awesome* from what I’ve read on the website. We’ve been wanting to go to Montreal, and it’s pretty close to where we live. Now we just need to figure out what stuff we’ll need in order to get into Canada (driving). So if you’ve been to Montreal before, we’d love to hear any travel advice that you might have. Hey, I’ll get to practice my French again, too! :)
Spur of the moment, we decided to attend the eighth annual People’s Parade in Kinderhook, NY on Friday. And I’m really glad that we did, because it was lots of fun. Anyone could march in the parade, and the whole idea was to celebrate the contributions and efforts of citizens that led to the establishment of our country and our system of democracy ~ as well as to commemorate our constant duty to maintain it. People decorated tractors, cars, bikes, wheelchairs, emergency vehicles, trucks, you name it. (Isn’t there just something so special and exciting about a parade? They’re always so invigorating and happy!)
Right after the parade, everyone enjoyed refreshments and then greeted the Kinderhook militia, who marched in and read the Declaration of Independence. (See the guy on the left? Is he smokin’ hot or what???) It felt wonderful to hear the declaration read aloud ~ made me truly remember what the holiday was all about. Very inspiring. The militia then prepared its rifles and fired ~ directly at the Kinderhook Bank building! LOL! :)
We stopped for ice cream after that. (What Fourth of July would be complete without ice cream?) I enjoyed a waffle cone filled with two scoops of ginger-flavored ice cream, and let me tell you … I was hesitant at first, but it was some of the most delicious ice cream I’ve ever had. Jeff and the kids shared some raspberry sorbet and killer chocolate. For the rest of the afternoon, we pretty much just stuck around home and cleaned/reorganized things. I am so psyched at the amount of work that we got done! It feels so good to make order from chaos, and now we have lots more storage space. We also gathered a bunch of stuff to offer through Freecycle. Being organized puts me into a good mood! :)
For dinner, I fixed pork chops and hamburgers as well as corn on the cob, fruit salad, sparkling lemonade, and a way-too-rich chocolate-peanut butter candy dessert (this indulgent eating will stop as of tomorrow!). Finally, we headed over to East Greenbush, NY, to watch Albany’s downtown fireworks from a distance on the lawn of the Holiday Inn Express hotel. We spread out a blanket, enjoyed the fresh summer air, and watched a gorgeous sun disappear below the horizon. It was a nice vantage point. I took a few pictures but wasn’t able to capture much because I didn’t have a tripod with me. (Plus, I figured that a fast shutter speed would work best for fireworks ~ whereas it’s actually slower shutter speeds that create more of an artistic effect. Thanks for that tip, Christina!) I sure enjoyed snuggling with Meri on my lap (it got kind of chilly) and spending time together as a family. (Plus, my anxiety didn’t bother me once ~ yeah!)
Here’s one of my absolute favorite photos of the entire day. An older boy was running around in the grass right in front of us while we were waiting for the fireworks show to begin (there were lots of people running around with air tools ~ a.k.a., Frisbees!), and I knew that it would make a fantastic picture. I hoped that I could catch a nice silhouette, and I think that I definitely did:
What a wonderful day and a fabulous way to celebrate the Fourth ~ fun, fireworks, (yummy) food, family ~ and freedom!
Thank you, everyone, for caring so much about Lucas and for offering your support regarding his Lyme Disease diagnosis. All of your best wishes were just amazing and really meant a lot to us. I’m happy to report that he’s doing tons better now that he’s taking this antibiotic. The red splotch on his right leg is virtually nonexistent, and the pinkish area along his left cheek has disappeared. He has plenty of energy, no more droopy eyes or exhaustion, and is really back to his regular self now. It was totally heart-wrenching to see our son feeling completely miserable. What a relief that he now has medicine to treat the disease and that he’s on the mend. What a scary experience. Every time I’ve taken the kids outside so far this week, I’ve put hats and long pants on them and sprayed them down with insect repellent. I mowed our grass this morning and made sure to carefully check for ticks when I came inside. We’re just going to have to be even more vigilant about protection and prevention. (I hope that our cookout guests on Saturday won’t be frightened to come over to our house.)
Speaking of that (on a much lighter note), thank you to everyone who responded to my “Recipe 911″ dilemma. I’ve decided to go with Christina’s pasta recipe, but I’m definitely keeping the other suggestions in mind. I’m looking forward to doing some cooking and preparing for our cookout (I think that we have a menu pretty much set), but at the moment I just feel incredibly stressed out with a bunch of things going on at the moment. I hope that everything will work out OK (and that my anxiety won’t flare up this weekend). Maybe I can enjoy a relaxing bubble bath this evening. (Hey, a girl can dream, right?)
And finally, on a really lighter note, isn’t this necklace beautiful? Buy.com is having a big sale at the moment ~ lots of good weekly deals listed. There are TVs, computer equipment, grills, and much more, but that necklace really caught my eye. One thing that I love about their store is that they accept PayPal. (I wish that more websites did.) I had no idea that they had a baby store, either. I love backpack purses … not sure what happened to the old one that I used to carry! And holy cow, the Canon Rebel XSi is on sale big time. I think that I’m going to save my pennies for a nice zoom lens down the road. Oh, and they’re offering an illuminated keyboard for just $8.99 (after rebate). I love finding awesome deals! The one thing that I wish Buy.com would offer, though, is PayPal as a means of paying for gift certificates. Otherwise, it’s a very cool site for finding bargains and neat stuff.
Gotta go … I need to work on my current freelance projects and of course do more cleaning in preparation for Claire’s arrival tomorrow. Hope you’re having a nice day today!
I woke up this morning to a nice phone call from one of my moms’ group mentors. We talked for quite a while. She calls every so often to check on me and to see how I’m doing, and that means so much to me. What a sweet, kind, and thoughtful thing to do. She also told me that she prays about my anxiety, and it must be working because I really feel that things have been better lately. Of course, tomorrow might be horrible anxiety-wise ~ there’s no way of knowing, really. But I’m awfully proud of myself for the social things that I’ve been doing lately. We had a nice anniversary evening last night … a yummy dinner of lasagna, yeast rolls, veggies, and shortbread cookies drizzled with chocolate for dessert. And Jeff gave me such a gorgeous pair of earrings! (Bronze, to match the eighth anniversary “theme.”) Awesome!!!
I’m nervous today about Lucas, though, and his ear infection. The poor guy really isn’t feeling good. I scheduled an appointment with his pediatrician at 2:15 this afternoon, so we’ll know more then. He called out in the middle of the night last night, and I realized that he was dreaming. He said something about Meredith stealing his orange car! LOL! :) So he wanted me to go downstairs and get it for him. I snuggled in bed with him after that. He hasn’t really moved from our bonus room so far today. He’s currently on the futon watching “Dora.” You can just see in his face that he’s not feeling well. He is eating toast and a banana for breakfast, though, so that’s good. I’m sure the pediatrician will prescribe an antibiotic for him. I just hope that he feels better soon.
Me? I feel pretty overwhelmed today. Just by everything that needs to get done. I’m not sure how many e-mails are in my inbox at the moment, but most of them involve something that I need to take care of. And then, there’s cleaning ~ oh, I’m tired of cleaning. I’m trying to get our house in tip-top shape for the Fourth of July cookout that we’re having on the 28th ~ and my sophomore year college roommate will be staying with us for a few days. It’s just so hard keeping everything clean with two toddlers running about. Plus, I tend to bite off more than I can chew. I agree to doing so much stuff because I want to do it and have such idealistic thoughts about getting it all finished ~ but then I feel stressed when it doesn’t happen. :( I guess that I need to make a list of priorities for today ~ things that absolutely have to get done ~ and just go from there. And as far as cleaning, I should just tackle one room at a time and not think about the entire house all at once. I need to go easier on myself, but that’s hard for me to do sometimes. I feel like I just woke up a few minutes ago, yet it’s already 11 a.m.! How did that happen?!? I also feel a bit “blah” because it’s “that time of the month” for me. What I want to do today is lounge around in a comfy chair outside with a cool, frosty drink and a new magazine while watching the kids run around and play and have fun.
Well, something else cheered me up this morning ~ a big pink box from my friend Shannon arrived! Yay! Inside were all kinds of neat treats, both for me and the kids. (As you can see in the photo, the kids have scribbled all over our coffee tables! LOL!) Can’t wait to use them! Thank you! :)
