Quick Hello – Perfect Housewife

I know it’s been awhile and I apologize for that.  I have been busy, sick, celebrating – you name it!  I guess if I was really  the Perfect Housewife, then I would have had this blog kinda fall to the wayside.  However, as I’ve clearly proven, there is no such thing as the PH!  Even my chore routine has slacked.  The Princess has taken my crown and become Queen and man is she a tornadoe.  One that comes several times a day and doesn’t miss a spot in my house.  I’m just too tired to clean up after her.

As I said this will not be long.  I still have soooo much to do before my Hubby whisks me away to ITALY!!!  We have been married for 10 years, have some really awesome babysitting grandparents, and I’m okay with letting other things fall to the wayside for the next 10 days or so.

So, a quick overview of my time since I last wrote.  Most IMPORTANTLY, I had a birthday!!! I started the day off with an awesome run ALL BY MYSELF, then I got my bagel with lox and my high calorie, White Chocolate Latte from Starbucks!

I told my hubby no gifts, I’d be spending enough money in Italy to equate a gift for me!  He still  wrapped up a European plug for me.  Also, he had the boys get me some lotion.  He just wanted me to have something to unwrap because you all have no idea how much I LOVE unwrapping gifts.  My Mom and MIL think a lot alike and gave me money for my trip.  My MIL also bought me a beautiful necklace and a sophisticated traveling wallet, not the cool martini glass covered one I had chosen because well, it was less that $3.00.  I love Kohl’s.  Hubby made me a delicious dinner of grilled steaks and sides!!  It was a pretty damn awesome birthday!

I got my hair done, roots touched up (yes, I have some grays, don’t judge me) and I had some layers put in (kept my length, I want to keep it growing till I’m 40, a challenge to myself since I turned 35).  Finally, I had some Peek-a-boos put in.  These are highlights that you only see when you put our hair up.  At first, they were a peek-a-boo, but I didn’t like them.  I called to have a redo with a very small window of time.  Originally, the first time around I was at the hairdressers for over 5 hours.  It’s a school, so they take longer.  I only had two hours before I had to pick up Hunter and let me tell you, these hairdressers worked their asses, or I guess fingers, off and really pulled off exactly what I wanted!  I love the Paul Mitchell Temple School for Cosmetology.  Now, I have peek-a-BOOs!

Hubby and I went to the Beer and Bacon festival the weekend after my birthday.  We go every year to celebrate my birthday.  It’s a lot of fun and we got REALLY drunk in less than an hour!  Thank goodness for wonderful MIL’s who will not only watch your kids, but also drop and pick you off at a drunkfest!  I’d post pictures, but I look really bad in the two I took because, as I stated previously, I was super drunk.  Thank you to my Hubby for cutting me off early because I had a Birthday party to take the kiddos too and I really needed to be sure I was sober (which I was)!

This past Monday I woke up and went running, but my stomach was upset.  I figured it was because I just really wasn’t in the mood to run.  Less than an hour later I was immobile on the couch.  Hubby was working from home and he took the kids to school, picked Hunter up, and made dinner.  He also kept the kids out of my hair, all the while working.  I have never been hit like this.  Hubby has no idea how I slept all day and still slept more than 8 hours that night.  If I wasn’t sleeping, I was in the bathroom or shaking from the chills, or moaning about the body aches.  Hubby mentioned that I had said I sometimes wished for this type of illness because it’s a quick way to lose weight and though I loss four pounds, I never thought it would be that bad!  I went to bed before 830 and woke a few hours later crying because my body was just in so much pain.  Finally, I woke up at 530am and I felt so much better.  I was ready to take on the world, then I got really tired really quickly.  So, I was a little lethargic for the day, but I got stronger as the day went all and now I am 100%.  I’m just happy it happened before we left for Italy and that it didn’t jump to anyone else in the family.  At least not while I was still in the country! (Sorry, Grandmas – hope all stay well while you are babysitting)

So, I must say goodbye for now.  I have lots to do before we leave for the airport around lunchtime.  I’ll do my best to keep this blog going, but that won’t be until I return.  Arrivederci!

Have a pleasant day! – Audrey Reed

 

Bitch, Bitch, and Complain Tuesday – Perfect Housewife

I’ve been feeling really overwhelmed lately.  I can’t seem to catch my breath or catch a break and it’s not just because I’ve had this stupid cold for over a week.  I know I’ll be in Italy in 23 days, maybe that’s the issue.  The closer I get to getting away, the tighter I wind.  I’m so tightly wound, I’m about to snap and there is nothing neither I, nor my dear husband can do about it.  He tried, Hubby is so good about asking me what he can do to make my life easier.  It is not fair for me to impede on his time when he already has so much of it taken up by chores that are a priority at this time.  The ducks need an outdoor home and the only way they are going to get that is if my hubby builds the coop and run (which he has finished, just needs to build the inside part of the coop).  The ducks have been moved in the garage, they are still in the dog crate, but out of the playroom.  That playroom smells so much better now.  I think the chicks are even digging the better scent.  The ducks spent most of their day, today, out in the run.  They loved being outside and they now have a pool, which they can’t quite climb into or out of, but really enjoy when they are supervised.  Just call me the Ducky Lifeguard.  I know this overwhelming feeling is a cumulative of all the things going on in my life, but the problem is, these “things” are not things I can just get rid of, or decide not to do, these “things” are my family, my responsibilities.  When  I began this blog, trying to be the PH, after the first week, I was really doing a pretty damn good job.  My house was clean, my laundry was folded, and there was always a yummy dinner happening.  My husband was telling me house nice the house was looking on a daily basis.  I can’t remember the last time he said that.  And I understand why!  My house is a disaster, I had a load of clean laundry sit in a basket, unfolded, for THREE DAYS!!!  I feel like I do chores all day and yet I get nothing done.  I’m working toward an impossible goal.

Recently, our local Princess has decided to make this home her own, every square inch.  You can tell what Lenora’s been doing all day, just by following the trail of toys she leaves throughout the house.  Hunter does whatever he can to antagonize his little brother.  He is going through this faze (it’s called being a boy, personally, I don’t like it) where he thinks he’s funny.  He says things like, “your face!” or “you sat on a banana peel”.  So many nonsensical words that only make sense to him and annoy the rest of us.  I’m not sure which one of us rolls our eyes more these days.  Oh and Grey, cries over everything and anything as long as it is the most trivial thing in the world.  The other night, he sobbed, like my cat just died sobbed, because I wouldn’t come upstairs, at that very moment and make his bed.  I told him I’d be up when Daddy and I were finished watching T.V. and you would have thought I had told him we were selling him to the lowest bidder to keep him forever.  He told me I had hurt his feelings and “Mom, my heart is smaller”  I’m sorry, what?  “It’s an expression, MOOOMMMMM”  Don’t worry, he said the same thing to his Grandmother when she wouldn’t let him play on his tablet anymore, but his heart wasn’t smaller, it was broken.  Oh, Geeze (eye roll).   That boy and his Caillou voice are going to be the death of me.  Don’t let these faces fool you, they are both headaches.  Ones I tend to keep around and not take any drugs to get rid of, but headaches none the less.

I was tagged in an article this morning.  The picture was the first thing you saw when this article came up.  It was a picture of a carpet with visible vacuum lines.  Before even reading the article, all I could think was, I wish I had lines like that.  I had just vacuumed my living room the night before, 8pm, after all the kids were in bed.  Here it is, the next morning, no kids are awake yet, and my vaccum lines are gone, vanished, Hell, I’m not sure they ever existed and this make me want to cry.  The article was about a young mother who visited an older lady’s home and saw these vacuum lines.  She was consumed with the same feelings of jealousy as I had.  She never saw vacuum lines either because her kids toys were scattered all over the floor.   When she did get a chance to clean up, it only lasted moments before once again it was a war zone.  This woman, like mine, had a perpetually messy house because she had three tornados living with her disguised as children.  The article goes on to say how the Older lady told the young mom to enjoy her messy house because slowly, without you noticing, the mess goes away, and with the mess goes the children who made it.  It’s a very true article and I’d like to say enlightening, I mean it made me think.  However, it is hard to imagine missing the mess, when you can’t imagine the mess EVER GOING AWAY.  I know I’d be less overwhelmed if I just took stock and said, “This is my life and it’s going to be messy.” I just can’t seem to get there.  I can now understand my Dad’s OCD with cleanliness.  I get it Daddy.  I don’t have any idea how my mom stayed sane.  She too had three children, same age difference as mine, and I don’t ever remember her losing it. I mean she hardly ever yelled.  I don’t remember her ever yelling when I was really little.  I’m afraid that is all my kids will remember, my constant yelling, losing my temper,my  noticeable annoyance towards them.  I love my children, I know it may not seem like it with all the complaints in this blog, but I do.  They are my heart and obviously, my whole world.  I know I’m going to miss this time.  How do I know, because I miss other things I never thought I would.  The late night feedings while watching House Hunters.  Their excitement every time they peed in the potty.  I happiness that shone from their eyes every time I entered the room, it didn’t matter if I’d literally been gone for a tenth of a second.  Their half words, half babble language that only I could understand.  I miss sharing my room with them.  These are all things I found tiring, and overwhelming.  I saw it as broken sleep with never getting enough.   Or the endless rain of accidents and cleanups that always occurred right after they sat on the potty and nothing happened.  Their clinginess, never being able to leave their sight, not even for a tenth of a second.  Oh why, oh why, won’t you just speak English.  ALL times I couldn’t wait to pass, but now I miss.  But just as I couldn’t see a future with calm then, I can’t see it now.  I try to enjoy the moment, I try every second of every day.  Sometimes I get lucky, I take a deep breath and I allow myself to drown in that particular moment.  To savor whatever is happening at that very moment.  However, more often than not, I once again get that overwhelming feeling and all I want to do is SCREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just have to learn, it’s okay, scream, let it out.  Just try to do it where your kids won’t look at you like it’s time to put you in a white cushioned wall room.

Before I say goodnight, I guess I should give you all the results of my cleanse.  The morning I began this Zero Belly Cleanse, I weighed in at 150.4   I morning after I completed this cleanse, I weighed in at 143.4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yep, 7 pounds!  I also, had measured myself 2 weeks prior to this cleanse and once again the day after I completed it.  I lose at least an inch off every single body part I measure!  I borrowed the Zero Belly Diet cookbook from the library and I’m trying to continue with the regiment.  I allow myself a little leeway now that I’m past the cleanse.  This worked for me, it may not work for you, but then again it may.   Good Luck.

Have a Pleasant Day! – Audrey Read

Not very exciting Thursday – Perfect Housewife

I have to admit, I’ve been super lazy the past few days.  I went two days in a row without working out!  That’s 3 days this week.  Then again, I have been sick.  I’m getting better, I’m a lot better today.  But the past two days, boy was I lazy.  I haven’t taken any pictures.  Seriously, these are the only pictures I’ve taken and that was last night.

I even opted out of not changing sheets on the beds yesterday, though it was one of the weekly chores for Wednesday.  Ok, so I worked out this morning, and I’m changing the sheets today, to catch up a little.  I had all intentions of getting up early and running Wednesday since Hubby opted to stay home. I even awoke 20 minutes before my alarm.  Mainly because I couldn’t breath and I was drowning in my sweat because I was so hot.  I moved to the couch, where I promptly fell asleep for another 45 minutes.  I was a hung over Audrey/Holly without the alcohol.  There was no running, I was barely breathing.  I did take a walk later with Lenora.  It was a little wet, but nothing that could spoil our little time with nature.

What did spoil the day, was Lenora’s epic shit!  One of the reasons I’m sure Donna Reed only had teenagers living in her house.  They didn’t want to show that even the most PH can lose it during certain situations.  I thought we were past the pooping out of diapers.  I was wrong.  This may be TMI, but it was so bad that as I changed her diaper, I heard Hunter hollar, “EWWWW, I just stepped in poop!”  It wasn’t animal poop either.   A ball of poop had come out of her diaper, slid down her leg, and fell out the bottom of her pants.  GROSS!  Another thing or things in this house that releases a lot of poop are our ducks!  OMG – not only are they messier than a toddler after eating a plate of spaghetti, but they smell!  I cannot wait till they are old enough to be placed outside.  Just need Hubby to finish the coop and run and all will be smelling nice again.  It should be completed by the end of next week.  Of course, with this rain, who knows if that will happen.

I’m sitting here now, in the T.V. room with Lenora, whiles she leans against my arm holding tight onto her Monkey and her Bear.  She is watching every child’s seemingly favorite preschooler and every adult’s worse nightmare.  Caillou the kid with the whiniest voice, which makes me want to drink wine.  He whines a lot and is really a brat!  Who ever thought that the sound of his voice (which is played by a 4 year old girl) would be tempting or pleasing to anyone.  Yet, I catch myself watching it.  I must enjoy torture!

I am on day 5 of my 7 day Zero Belly Cleanse.  I’m doing pretty well.  I’m hoping when I complete this, I’ll do better with my snacking during the day.  I snack a lot, especially when I’m preparing dinner.  However, I didn’t cheat once this whole week (besides my coffee) and I’m really happy with the results thus far.  I’m not letting you know, not yet.  A really good thing I’ve started doing on this cleanse, is when I’m hungry, since I can’t snack, I drink water, though I spend a lot more time peeing, it seems to help a lot.  I give you another update when it is all over, Saturday, which means you all won’t hear till Monday or maybe Tuesday.  Until next time.

Have a Pleasant Day! -Audrey Reed

 

Tuesday Sickday – Perfect Housewife

Don’t you hate it when you go to grab a tissue and not only is it the last one in the box, but it’s also torn!  I hate being sick, this one came on so suddenly. I went from feeling a little out of it Sunday afternoon, to waking up in the middle of the night with so much congestion my head throbbed.  I did lots of extra chores on Monday, yet I didn’t do any of the ones on my chart, except laundry because that is always a must.  I googled “Donna Reed Sick” episodes, because I couldn’t remember ever seeing an episode where Donna is sick.  I needed suggestions on how to continue my PH lifestyle and recoup.  (I haven’t put a drop of makeup on in TWO DAYS!!!  And I’ve been out of the house!)  There was never an episode where Donna played the sick mother/housewife.  I started with a work out yesterday morning, but took this morning off.  It’s hard to run when you can’t breathe normally.    I also did a lot of my chores for today, well half of them.  I am in the middle of helping the boys paint their teacher gifts.  More like, they paint and I repaint.  They are trying.  It’s been a long day with the boys off of school.

Sorry, I didn’t post last night, but I was, I don’t even know what I was.  I couldn’t sleep, though I was exhausted.  However, when you can’t breathe, sleeping is harder to come by.  I read until I couldn’t keep my eyes open.  If that isn’t bad enough, I lost my sense of taste last night and still can’t taste my only glorious cup of coffee for the day.  Hubby thinks it’s strange that I lose all taste sensation when I’m congested.  It’s a family trait, it happens to everyone in my family  My mom, dad, and siblings.  I’m sure we are not the only ones it happens to, hell, I think it’s strange that it doesn’t happen to hubby.  Wait, go back PH, did you say only ONE cup of coffee???  ONE?  And you mentioned just a minute ago that the boys are home from school.  You Cra-Cra girl!  Maybe I am, but I’m doing a 7 day cleanse.  I’m sure I’m not suppose to have coffee at all, but that is CRAZY!  I researched a cleanse that would help me clean my body, but also keep me from losing muscle mass.  With this cleanse, (The Zero Belly Cleanse) you drink two smoothies a day.  They give you some options and they are all very good.  There is a snack between lunch and dinner.  A fruit with 2 TBS of your favorite natural nut butter or veggies with 2 TBS of Hummus.  Then there is your dinner.  6oz protein (cooked with only 1 tsp of coconut oil or olive oil), lots of veggies, and a healthy fat, if it isn’t already in the meal.  You also, like with every cleanse, drink at least 8 glasses of water.  

That’s the green monster smoothie.  It is really delicious.  I’m not even craving sweets.  Though I am craving wine.  I miss my wine, but it’s only 7 days.  I can last that long, right?  Oh, and you only eat between the hours of 10-7, and you take a walk every morning, whether you do other exercise or not.  I’ve really enjoyed the walks.  The whole family has started joining me on them.  I’ll let you all know how the rest of the week goes.

We have started setting up our garden.  The herb/melon garden is finished.  Lenora loves the dirt.  She really enjoyed the big pile of dirt Hubby had delivered a few days back.  There isn’t much left, but she is enjoying it.

She also love her pink cowboys boots and the Princess Chair we picked up for $3.50.  Consignment sale WIN!

We spent a lot of time outside this weekend.  Who wouldn’t have, it was beautiful.  Hubby and Hunter went camping with the Boy Scouts.  Since Hubby and Hunter were having time together, Grey and I decided to have a date.  He told me it was the best date ever and if I wasn’t already married, he’d marry me.  He also said I was the most beautiful girl in the world.  And he meant it, until I mentioned Lainy, then I was the second most beautiful girl in the world.  It was a pretty good date, even with the take-back on the compliment.  We saw Kung Fu Panda 3 and Grey ate the majority of the popcorn.  I couldn’t believe it!  And he’s been 38 pounds for 2 years!  I have no idea where he keeps all that food he eats.

Originally, we were suppose to have sushi after movie, but with all that popcorn he scarfed down, it’s no wonder he prefered to go play at the park.  He couldn’t believe we were playing in the park, “at night”.  It was actually still light out, but it was later than norm.  While we were there, Grey began playing with a little boy who was being watched by his grandmother.  At least she was watching him, until she told him she wanted to get her coat from the car and to “stay right where he was until she got back” because she was moving her car from one side of the park to the other.  HE WAS SIX!!!  And she left him there.  I know I live in a safe place, but I still wouldn’t leave any of my kids to get my coat, let alone, MOVE MY CAR!  So what was I to do?  I stayed and kept an eye on the kid.  He was playing with Grey anyway.  She was gone about 20 minutes!  She had to drive around the park twice, yes twice, just to realize there were no spots where she wanted to park and had to park in the same spot she was in before!  TWENTY MINUTES!!!!  As Grey and I left the park, we walked past the Grandmother, I said, “I kept an eye on him for you.” She thanked me and said, “I couldn’t find a spot.”  Yeah, I got that when I saw you circle twice.  No, I didn’t say it like that, but I was thinking that as I said something in a more kinder tone.  I was thinking a lot of really mean things while she was gone.  I mean, she hadn’t even parked the first time in view of the playground, nor did she the second time.    Anywho, that pushed our time back and we didn’t make it to Wegman’s till after 8pm.   I find Wegman’s has good sushi that you can get very quickly.  I didn’t want to go to a restaurant any more because it was getting late and I still wanted my glass of wine (if my date doesn’t drink, then I won’t either – at least not till he’s in bed).  Also, I had some shopping to complete for this cleanse I was beginning.  I figured, might as well get it done while I only have one kid to drag through the isles.  Grey kind of enjoyed the sushi, which he is always asking me for.  He liked it once he removed the cream cheese, the cucumber, and the seaweed and rice it was wrapped in.  So, all he ate was the salmon piece out of the Philadelphia Salmon Roll.

Oh and he had a Ninja Turtle Face cupcake.  That he ate the whole thing, even licked the icing out of the container.  He is so my kid!  We finally arrived home late and it was off to bed for Grey and a glass of wine for me.  Ahhhh…..it was nice.

The next morning brought on immediate concern.  I could not remember putting the Almond milk (a main ingredient to all my smoothies) in the fridge.  Sure enough it was not in my fridge, nor was it on my counter.  I prayed it was cold enough last night that it stayed good in my car.  Well, it wasn’t in my car either!  I had left it at the store, in it’s bag, in my cart.  That’s what happened when you are out past 8pm on a weekend, with no alcohol to keep your brain sharp.  So, I had to drag Lenora and Grey to the store before 9am anyhow.  This cleanse has pretty specific eating and smoothie times.  My first is at 10am.  I couldn’t believe I had to go back.  Wegmans has a binder that has all this information behind Customer Service; I guess one of the sections is “Groceries Found Out and About” I didn’t actually see the name of the section, but I assume they call it something close to that.  They had it listed, my milk and waffles.  I hadn’t even remembered the waffles!  HA!

That was the most exciting part of my day, Sunday.  I did bring the chicks and ducks outside to play together.  They did okay.  I can’t wait till our coop is finished.  OH MY GOODNESS do those ducks SMELL.  Hubby tells me it’s gotten worse, but I’m lucky, I can’t smell anything with my congestion.  Guess this cold is good for something!

Have a Pleasant Day! – Audrey Reed

Friday – Perfect Housewife

My hubby and I are sitting with the boys watching Jurassic Park, the original.  The boys have never seen it and they have been asking to for weeks.  I finally found it on cable and DVR’d it so they could watch the “nicer” version.  At this point, the T-Rex has just escaped during the rainstorm and is trying to eat the grandchildren, but can’t break through the roof top plexi glass of the electronic car.  And this my fans, is the most excitement I have had in the past two days.  

You may think my spontaneous trip to Dunkin’ Donuts with the kids, yesterday morning, was exciting, but alas it was not.  Unless you think my youngest son, running across one of the busiest and smallest parking lots I’ve seen, without looking or telling me, is exciting.  It just pissed me off.  I still let each of the boys choose two donuts, I got Lenora two glazed donut holes, and myself an Iced Coconut Coffee.  I ended up also choosing two Boston Creams which happen to be my hubby’s favorite.  It was cheaper to buy six, then 4 individual donuts and donut holes.   The guy had put two extra donut holes in Lenora’s bag, so I ate one.  Only one, and well maybe the half of the other.  I also didn’t touch the Boston Cream, but neither did my hubby, so the boys each had one this morning.

The DD employee asked if I wanted cream and sugar in my Iced Coffee.  I told him cream, but since the coconut flavoring was made with sugar, then I doubted I needed sugar.  He assured me, the coconut did not have sugar.  So, I told him I would like cream and sugar.   BULLSHIT there isn’t sugar in the coconut flavoring.  If there isn’t, then the barista made my coffee with liquid sugar and milk.  I mean, wow!  I couldn’t even drink it all.

I went to a consignment sale today.  It was not as impressive as I usually find them.  I am a consignment junkie, even when I don’t need anything, I still go.  I know I’ll find something, I always do.  This was no exception.  A couple movies, shorts for Hunter, a swim coverup for Lenora, and shoes of course.  She loves her shoes.

When Grey got home from school, it was raining, so the cardboard house I told him I’d help make, wasn’t happening.  Not only were we going to build it in our driveway, but he had left the cardboard out and it was all soaking wet.  I made up for it by making a huge tent in his room out of sheets.  He seems to love it.

Since I was so behind last week on my chores, I used Monday and Tuesday to catch up.  This all made the last two days really easy in the chore department.  I had only one load of laundry today, just one!  I wonder if Donna Reed ever got it that easy?  I got my herb garden shaped and dirt spread.  Just need to actually plant the herbs.  I’ve been keeping up with our ducks and chicks.  The chicks are starting to get feathers.  They are just so cute.  The ducks are messy, I mean really messy.  They go through two things of water daily.  Not because they drink that much, but because they splash around in it and soak their entire cage.  I can’t wait till I don’t have to clean their cages daily anymore.  Paul has finished the shed we are using for a coop.  Now he just needs to put the details inside and attach a run for the chicks.  Then, I’ll be able to put the ducks outside where I won’t have to clean up after them daily.

This weekend Hunter and Hubby are going on their first boys scout camping trip.  Greyson and I are going to have a date.  He wants Sushi and a movie.  I’ll let you all know how it goes.  We are both very excited about it.

As I said, not much exciting happened these past two days, so I’m going to say goodbye for the night and weekend.  Till next time.

Have a pleasant day! -Audrey Reed

Work it Wednesday – Perfect Housewife

I gave myself a break this morning.  I didn’t workout, I didn’t fold clothes while I sipped my coffee.  I didn’t even make my bed, well that’s not true.  It was clean sheets day, so I stripped my bed, then made it.  Also stripped the kids beds and the guest room.  However, I didn’t remember I had to make the boys’ beds until Grey was upstairs getting ready for bed.  Then I remembered the guest bed when I went to check on the boys just a few minutes ago.  I decided I’d wait till tomorrow to make it, or on the next clean sheets day, or the next time we have an overnight guest.  This PH is just going with the flow for that particular chore.

Do you ever think that you’re slacking, then you think about all you’ve accomplished that day and you start thinking, “I ROCK TODAY!” instead of, “Damn, I sucked today.”  This afternoon, as I went to fold some laundry, I was thinking how I hadn’t really done anything.  Then I thought about it again, maybe I only had laundry, clean sheets, and clean microwave on my PH Chore List, but I had done so much more.  I went through Lenora’s old clothes and organized them into different groups.  Donate to new mom, consign, and save to turn into quilt (yeah, I’m saving some of mine and her favorite outfits she’s worn and incorporating them into a quilt, I hope).  I also emptied, loaded, and ran the dishwasher.  I made the ducks a play area outside so they could spend a few hours in the sun.  I put together my herb garden area.  I cleaned the duck and chick cages.  I sat outside with a glass of wine and watched my baby girl play in the afternoon sun.  This all on top of the things I already do daily.

Oh and I treated a bee sting.  Greyson got his very first bee sting.  Well, that isn’t true.  He got one when he was about 6 months old.  We were on a playground, there were a lot of bees, one came near his carrier/stroller and I swatted at it.  Unfortunately, I swatted it right into Grey’s carrier and it stung him.  He doesn’t remember and I’m not going to remind him.  All he needs is more ammo to pull from when he’s a teenager.  Anywho, we were in the garage, cutting the bottom of a large box to make a “cage” for the ducks.  Then Grey says, “OW, a bee stung me.”  My reply, “A bee didn’t sting you.” To be fair, he wasn’t crying, he was hardly complaining, and he wasn’t using his whiney voice.  For those of you who know Greyson, you know his whiney voice, HE ALWAYS USES IT!  Then he tells me how he had caught the bee in his hand, but let it go immediately, only to have it buzz up to his neck and sting him.  “But it’s ok mom, it’s a wood bee, you said they don’t hurt you.”  IF YOU LEAVE THEM ALONE GREYSON.  Not, if you antagonize them by capturing them – in your fist.  Sure enough, there was a tiny red puffy dot on his neck.  At least I know he’s not allergic to them.

After the bee sting, Grey would only come outside if he was “protected” from the bees.  So he wore his hoodie, the kind that cover half your face. He didn’t want anymore stings, though it didn’t really hurt.  We let the ducks play for awhile. Hubby and I even introduced Cider to the little guys.  Hubby held the ducks, while I held Cider back with a firm grip on her leash.  We don’t know if she likes them or not, as a friend or dinner.

I made Chicken Caprese this evening, once again a pinterest find.  It was very tasty and surprisingly easy to make.  Though, I’d say to leave the dish in the oven for 50 minutes instead of 40.  These had to be the kind of meals Donna made.  She had to do tasty and quick if she was to keep her house clean, solve the show’s main problem, and look good doing it all.  I also made some potatoes and brussel sprouts.  If you are not a brussel sprout fan, try them this way, and I promise you will fall in love.  Spread foil on a cookie pan.  Cut the ends of the sprouts then cut them in half, vertically.  Throw them on the cookie sheet, include any leaves that fall loose (those are the best part).  Drizzle olive oil over the sprouts, sprinkle pepper and salt to taste.  Put in the oven at about 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.  OH MY YUM!!!  

That was this PH’s day.  Not too exciting, but I got a lot accomplished and even got to capture some Audrey Hepburn vibes while I chilled with a glass of wine, a large glass of wine, before dinner!  Till next time.

Have a pleasant day! – Audrey Reed

Tuesday – Perfect Housewife

Last you all read, there was a mouse loose in my house.  Well, never fear, the mouse has been found.  Princess the Cat has finally done her job.  The little mouse was lying dead next to the litter box.  As much as I wanted to set it outside to live in the wild, alive, it’s nice to know I don’t have to worry about a mouse running across my chest in the middle of the night (thanks for that image mom). Of course, maybe the dead mouse was just a bonus mouse and the mouse I saw is still running free in my room.  OH man!  I guess I’m not sleeping tonight.

Sorry, I didn’t post last night.  I had every intention to, I even left my computer in my room so when hubby and I were finished with t.v. time, I’d be ready to post.  Well….I guess I had other priorities.  Yep, that’s right – SLEEP!  I was so freaking tired last night.  Get your minds outta the gutter!  Yes, some other things might have occurred, but sleep was the real reason I didn’t post.  I enjoy sleep, unlike my daughter who took a nap (outside of her car seat) for the first time today in about 10 days.  I know, it’s the beginning of the end!  So sad.

My sister returned to Costa Rica today.  I miss her already, but I’m really glad we all got to spend time together.  Grey, Lenora, and I, met my sister and our parents at my Grandmother’s & Aunt’s house on Saturday.  It was great to get to hang out with the whole family like we use to every Easter.  Also, I didn’t have to cook or clean a single dish.  I tried to help, but I just broke a glass instead of cleaning it.

Ignore my double chin, that’s a bad angle.  The bald grumpy guy?  That’s my dad and no, it’s not a bad angle, he’s always grumpy (love you Daddy).  I went home and spent Sunday with the my little family.  We even got to go to church and I got to sit and listen to our pastor, though with my lack of sleep, I struggled to stay awake.  However, I had to leave the Princess screaming and crying in the church childcare.  Never fear, at pick up, I was informed she did stop crying and had a great time.  That afternoon, I laid Lenora down for a nap (HA HA HA) and then switched the chicks out of the plastic bin and into our old dog crate.   They seemed very happy and comfy.  They are growing, but not nearly as quickly as the ducks.

The chicks seem to really enjoy their bigger space.  However, when I went to check on them on Monday, two of the chicks were out of the crate.  As soon as they saw me, they jumped back in through those little squares.  I thought they were too big for the square, but I was wrong.  So, I went about switching the chicks and ducks.  Now, the ducks are in the dog crate and try as they might, they ARE too big for the little squares and cannot escape.  The chicks are in an extra big plastic bin.  Hubby is building the coop now, so soon the little guys will have a lot more room and get to roam outside without the fear of hawk attacks.  Lenora seems to love the ducks and chicks.  Every time I take her in their room, she stands at their cages and looks at them.  Then she waves frantically and goes, “Ducks, Ducks, Ducks!”  It is so incredibly cute!

With my sister in town, visiting with my family, and taking care of the chicks and ducks as well as my family, I am or was, extremely behind in my chores.  I have been working, I mean cleaning, non stop for the past two days to catch up.  Donna Reed would be so proud, though I’m sure she never fell behind on her chores.  The only thing I have not completed on my ridiculously long list of chores is cleaning the microwave.  But since it’s pretty clean, I think I’m all caught up.  Until tomorrow, when it all starts ALL OVER AGAIN!  Oh, and now we have about a ton of dirt in our yard for our garden, which we are expanding.  So, planting a garden is another item to add to my list of chores this week.  I also want to consign some of the kids’ clothes, so we’ll fit that in somewhere too.  Who needs 5 hours of sleep a night anyway.  I can live off 2?  My friend B has lived off less for a longer amount of time, so I’m sure I can too.  Right?  Of course, hers isn’t by choice.  I think she said, once, she and her husband went about 11 days with only 2 hours of sleep.  Maybe it was 2 days with 11 hours of sleep.  That doesn’t sound right, that sounds restful, so it has to be the first.  One of their kids doesn’t really like to sleep, no matter how tired she is.  It’s a long story and not mine to tell.  Anywho, I can maintain this PH thing, I can, I just may have to try a different cover up for the increasing dark circles under my eyes.

I know there were funny moments over the weekend, there always are when my family gets together.  However, I can’t seem to think of them right now.  I will tell you that I made an ALL FAMILY LIKES MEAL!!!  My hubby is not a meatball fan, but this meal he enjoyed.  I made green beans and mash potatoes with scallions and garlic as sides.  Both the boys ate second helpings (not of the potatoes or green beans). Lenora scarfed it down quicker than either of the boys and wouldn’t even give Cider any.  That’s the true indicator on whether the Princess really likes something or not, if she feeds it to the dog or keeps it all to herself; this meal, she kept all to herself.  Here is the recipe for Mouthwatering Parmesan Meatballs.    I hope you enjoy.  Little hint, always add more cheese, it makes everything better.

Have a pleasant day! – Audrey Reed

NO EDIT FRIDAY – Perfect Housewife

(Before you begin this post, it is really late, I am really tired, so I did not edit this post at all.  I apologize and pray you can all still read it.)

I was up quite late last night, but my sister is well worth it. Why start there though, let’s begin with my morning and the mouse chase.  Yes, I said it – mouse.  We’ve had several, I’m told that is what is to be expected in the county.  They don’t scare me, I use to have them as pets when I was younger.  However, they do poop a lot and I already have chicks and ducks, oh and children, who poop enough to satisfy any unlikely desire for poop clean up.  I wonder if Donna Reed has mice?  I’m sure Holly did, she lived in NYC, she probably had rats.  Hell, that “cat” she had in the movie, it was probably just a really big rat, a case of mistaken pet identity.  Anywho, I had just poured myself that first delectable cup of coffee after my workout and was walking into our t.v. room when I saw a movement.  I just stopped and stared at the spot where I thought I saw something jump.  I really had no idea what it was, it could have been the glare off of the top corner of our copper fireplace frame.  Maybe it was a reflection or a flash of light from the t.v. screen just coming alive.  I was standing there staring when hubby came out of our bedroom.  “Uhh..Honey, what are you doing?” he asked.  “I swear I just saw something over on the wall.  I think it was a mouse.”  I answered him.  “Well, I don’t have time to check.  I have to get to work.”  So that was that, except as he walked out the door to leave for work, he mentioned he though he saw movement behind our shelf next to the fireplace.  I checked, but it’s such a dark web of wires back there, couldn’t have seen anything and I really wanted to just drink my coffee, so I gave up and sat down.  I figured, if there was a mouse, when it chewed through the wires in it’s hiding place, I’d lose cable or internet, the mouse would get electrocuted and it would be a win, win.  Then the kids woke up and the tornado which is our routine to get ready for school happened and all rodents were swept from my mind, until…I was yelling for Hunter to hurry and as I turned I saw a little brown dust ball run behind Lenora and into our guest bathroom.  Of course this all happened as we were suppose to be walking out the door for school.  However, as luck would have it, Mr. Mouse ran into a small bathroom and cornered himself.  Hunter and I trapped the, not as little as I thought, guy and took him outside and down our front yard hill and let him run across the street into our neighbors trees.  Happy Ending for all, I was not expecting a sequel.

I spent the rest of the day getting my house ready for my sister’s visit.  I cleaned my messy ducks and my chirping chicks.  Lenora went another day without napping.  Here is some happy times from Thursday!

While the boys were at karate, Lenora and I went to the airport to pick up my sister.   I made sure to park at Southwest, the airline my sister was flying in on.  The arrival screen said that her bags would be claimed at turnstyle 3.  After 10 minutes of waiting, I finally asked the nice lady at the information desk if the Costa Rica flight was in.  She was kind enough to inform that international flights came in at 16, at the other end of the airport.  ALL the way at the other end of the airport!  Why that baggage claim had my sister’s flight listed on it’s personal screen, no idea.  Something even unknown to the nice info desk lady.  It took me about 10 minutes to walk, speedwalk, to the other end of the airport.  When the lady told me the other end, she meant the very end.  There was my lovely sister, just sitting there waiting for me.  Her cell phone doesn’t work in the states and we had not decided on a place to meet prior to her boarding her flight.  However, when we arrived back at my house, and Hubby, sister, and I were sitting at the kitchen table talking, I got a FB message from my sister letting me know she had arrived.  It took almost 2 hours for her international phone to send it to my domestic phone.  Who knows.

Friday morning was semi-relaxing.  I kind of slept in till 6.  I awoke around 5 because our cat was going crazy in the t.v. room.  Of course, I think, Shit – she’s chasing a mouse.  Of course the one I caught yesterday probably has babies!   Then the cat settled down and I thought, either she was just restless or the mouse ran under the door and is now hiding in our room.   I forced myself to half sleep and half listen for mouse noise until a little before six.  I hot out of bed and enjoyed the peace and quiet and mouse free time I had folding sheets and watching some t.v.  The boys were excited to see their Aunt and talked her ear off.  I did all my morning regular chores.  I went into my room to put my face on since this PH does not leave the house with a naked face anymore.  I remembered my sister, who lives in Costa Rica, so this nice weather is cold for her, might want to borrow a long sleeve shirt.  Their current drawer, since reorganizing, is a space on my floor.  I picked them up and a smaller dust ball flew out from under my shirts and under my bed.  DAMN IT!  Hunter rushes in to help, as does Greyson, so I have no help at all.  The cat rushes under the base heater and is lost to us.  We spend 15 minutes looking for this little speed mouser, and nothing.  I text hubby and he tells me to put our cat in our room.  That did nothing.  I realized that I have noticed the mice since our other cat died a year ago.  I never saw a mouse in this house in the 4.5 years I’ve lived hear until last September.  Zeus (my fur bff) dies last April.  Princess, our remaining cat, who I have nicknamed the fat cat, is not a mouse cat.  She gets bored with them.  Zeus was a mouse catcher, and I now know he must have had a regular mouse diet, because though I may have found evidence of mice, I never saw an actual mouse while Zeus was on the prowl.  Here it is almost 11 o’clock at night, my room is finally back to normal after I dumped the contents that was under my bed onto the top of my bed in an effort to find this mouse; yet, the mouse has not been spotted again.  Our cat has been locked in our room, off and on, all day.  We even gave the dog an opportunity to sniff out the mouse.  NOTHING!  So, I’m sitting here, typing this post and stopping every time I hear any type of scuttle or squeak, and sitting quietly for several minutes hoping to hear the little dust devil so I can catch it.  I told hubby not to be surprised if I wake him by jumping out of bed in the middle of the night because I hear the sounds of a lost mouse.  I know it’s late, but I doubt I’m going to sleep well knowing there is a mouse loose, most likely, in my room.  I think our next pet will be a snake and I may not keep it in a cage.  Of course, I’m not a bog fan of snakes after watching the Chamber of Secrets for our movie tonight.  So, that is what is going on in this PH’s life right now. A lot more happened today.  I had some great sister time today.  Breakfast, shopping, and visiting the orphanage where our Grandmother was raised, but I’ll save that.  I’m exhausted.  I’ll be spending the weekend with my sister and family, I hope you all get to do the same.

On a completely different topic, but it gave me a great laugh this morning.  Every morning Grey forgets to put on clean underwear, every morning I remind him.  Well, once again, this morning, Grey had gotten dressed without putting on clean underwear.  He went upstairs to change his tighty whities and also put the dirty clothes down the laundry shoot.  When I came upstairs with Lenora to dress her, I asked Grey is he had put his dirty underwear in the laundry shoot.  His reply, “Well no mom, because I just put my clean underwear over top the ones I was already wearing.”  Slap hand to my forehead.  “Grey, no, you can’t do that.  You have to wear one pair, and it should be the clean pair.” I reply.  “Well, let me show you mom, let me show you what it looks like.”  Grey precedes to remove his pants and show me that he has a pair of his underoos on over top of his spiderman boxer briefs.  I have to say, it was very amusing.  I was almost going to let him stay in them all day.  Then I thought the combination and wearing pants probably wouldn’t be very comfortable.  I’ll leave you all with that humorous story.  See you all Monday.  Hope you have a great weekend.

Have a very pleasant day! – Audrey Reed

 

Wednesday – Perfect Housewife

I slept in today, didn’t set my alarm, decided not to workout, I slept till 6:08am!  I know, I’m a rebel!  You’d think I was a regular girl just coming from Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  Nope, I’m much more a Donna Reed because by the time my hubby woke up, 40 minutes later, I had put away the dishes, made coffee, let the dog out, fed the dog, started a load of laundry, cleaned (I mean really cleaned) the litter box, and then sat down to drink my coffee and read about being a chicks and ducks mommy!  I was quite busy today.  I had to actually wake the Princess, since she didn’t really nap yesterday, she decided to try and sleep in.  I say “try” because I wasn’t going to let her, this PH needs her baby to sleep or the chores will never get completed.  I have extra duties now being a mommy to 8 winged babies.  I am lucky enough to have a wonderful seven year old son who loves his baby sister lots.  He sat with Lenora at breakfast for I could jump in the shower.   I may not have gotten the chance to shave my legs (but since I’m up this late writing a blog, it’s not like shaved legs would be doing me any favors tonight)but I’m clean.

I got to have coffee with my girls this morning.  We went to J’s since she was getting a new door in today.  She was so excited – it was so cute.  I have to admit, it was a pretty nice door.  The Princess got to play with her future husband today – J’s son, A.  Aren’t they cute?  This is not their first date, it is only one of many.  J and I even have the church picked out for their wedding.  We decided the wedding can’t take place till they have both completed at least a bachelor’s degree.  We may be in to the whole arranged marriages thing, but we’re not crazy.  Our kids need an education before they need love, from sources outside of their immediate family.

I spent the afternoon running errands and completing chores.  During the entire day I only got to sit if I was driving or eating dinner.  I said dinner, not lunch, I ate that standing at my kitchen sink.  Oh wait, I got to sit down for a few minutes after lunch, so I  could cut cardboard into pieces for duck bedding.  My winged babies needed their plastic bin rooms cleaned.  It is really hot in their room, (have to keep it between 90 – 95 degrees) I was sweating after only a few minutes in there.  I love my little ducks.  They may be harder to take care of at this time than my darling children, but hey, they don’t talk back or get an attitude with me and they sleep.

Lenora didn’t nap. I even kept her up later than usually so she would.  SHe didn’t.  I left her in her crib while I did my chores, hoping she’d fall asleep.  She didn’t.  Instead, I got her up and she, Grey, and I went to pick up Hunter.  Of course, before I left I got these pictures.  Greyson enjoying the wonderful weather and, of course, the water table.

Oh, he knows the outfit is on backwards.  That’s the way he wanted it, so he told me.  He did take it off before we picked up Hunter, though I was hoping he would keep it on.  I miss how he use to wear his costumes around everywhere even when it wasn’t Halloween.  He was a pumpkin at the mall and Spiderman at, I think,Target.  I can’t wait till Lenora wants to wear her Princess, or fairies, or superhero costumes wherever we go.  I might just dress up to!  Those who know me, that shouldn’t surprise you.

Lenora decided to dress up while all three boys were at karate.  She just makes me smile every day.  This picture might make up for 3 days of not napping. Look how little her feet are.  The costume swallows her.  It’s really cute, but I still wish she’d nap.

I’m not going to be posting tomorrow.  Sorry L, but my sister is coming into town and I’m going to pick her up from the airport which will put me home, late.  Then we’ll talk and laugh and it will already be past my bedtime.  Guess I won’t need to shave my legs tomorrow either.  I need my sleep, if my napping place yesterday isn’t an indicator of that, than I don’t know what is.  So, I guess I’ll post Friday.  Until then…

Have a pleasant day! – Audrey Reed

Tuesday Newsday – Perfect Housewife

I know, I know, it seems as if I haven’t posted in forever!  I didn’t post yesterday, but you can all blame my BFF, L!  She kept me out way too late, I mean we didn’t get out of the restaurant till 8pm!!!!  I had to get a grande latte just to be sure I could make the 90 minute drive home.  That’s a long drive after a three day weekend.  HA HA!  You think weekend, you think no work, laid back, ahhh….. I think, OH SHIT, the kids are off for three days in a row.  What the hell am I going to do????  I was so excited to end my three day experience with some snuggle nephew time and of course, BFF time.  She’s worth it, but honestly if she didn’t have my nephew, I’d still make her meet me halfway!  Of course, all these years L and I have been friends (about 10) she has always been the one to go out of her way to meet me.  I was the one with the kids, so she just wanted to make my life easier.  Now, I’m very happy to be able to do the same for her.  To repay her for her awesome friendship by driving to her for a few months.  There is always a bonus of seeing MAO & BFM!  I can’t tell you what those initials stand for, that would be a breach of privacy, but they are what I use for my little nephew (yes, L, I know you hate it) and L’s hubby.  That is all you need to know.  L and I had a nice fattening dinner, fried pickles (not as good as my dad’s), beer, and I had a Black Bean Burger.  I know, you’re thinking, PH that’s not fat.  Way to keep a lookout on that figure!  Um..now I must mention the humongous FRIED onion ring that topped the veggie patty.  Yeah, not that great either.  L and I talked a lot.  She’s a new mom and though she has been listening to me go on and on about my kids, the greats, the worsts, she didn’t get to really experience it outside of babysitting here and there.  It’s so wonderful to hear her experiences and talk about what she is going through.   Though all babies seem to do the same things all mom’s experiences are very different.

That was weird, I completed most my chores and then played a game with Greyson at the kitchen table.  When he went to finish Phineas and Ferb in the other room, I layed my head on the  kitchen table and I fell asleep and I’m not sure for how long.  Wow, talk about sleep deprived.  I even ran three miles this morning, you’d think I should have tons of energy.   (Picture – me with my coffee after my run).  Instead, I’m literally falling asleep where I sit.  Greyson was actually pretty well behaved today.  I think it’s because hubby got the water table out yesterday for the season and all the kids seem to love it.  We also played with bubbles and took a ride around the neighborhood, kind of.  The boys rode their bikes down our steep hill of a driveway.  The Princess saw this and wanted to ride her rocket down, but she couldn’t get the rocket to face downhill without rolling, long enough to climb on.  It was so funny watching her.  It didn’t make up for her not napping, but it did make me laugh while I videotaped her frustration.  These pictures (below) are from Monday, while I was enjoying time with my BFF.  Lenora decided napping wasn’t for her yesterday and today.  I hope this does not mean she is giving up on naps because there is no way in HELL this mommy is giving up on them.

 

Soooo, REALLY EXCITING NEWS HERE!  Once I climbed out of my sleeping kitchen chair and woke myself up, we picked up Hunter, then, wait for it, you won’t believe this, WE ALL WENT AND BOUGHT CHICKENS AND DUCKS!!!!!!!  WHY??????    Well, I needed to add more chores to this PH’s daily life.  I mean, I also had to one-up Donna Reed.  She never had chickens and ducks.  Baby chicks and ducks are a lot of work for about 4 weeks, but hey I’ve raised 3 kids and they have all made it past 4 weeks of life.  How hard can these new babies be?  You’ll all will learn soon enough.

This is Sinatra, Flyers, & Bob

No names yet!

The ducks are the first picture.  The one all the way in the back is mine and Lenora’s – we named him Sinatra (or her).  I’ve just always wanted to name something, animal or human, Sinatra.  The little brown one is Greyson’s.  He kept trying to steal the names that Hunter and I had picked, but he finally came up with Flyer Muck Muck  Then he was named Quackers, but as we said goodnight to the ducks, Grey decided Flyers was the duck’s name.  Then Hunter named the other yellow duck (who is darker than Sinatra) Bob the Duck.  Simple, cute, Manley?  The chickens, there are five, don’t have names yet.  They are all girls.  I told Hubby we should name them after Disney Princesses.  He wasn’t too keen on that idea. I’ll let you know when we decide.  They are all now happy in their big tupperware bin homes in our 90 degree playroom.  Gotta keep that warm and away from Cider and Princess.  We’ll see how it goes.  Sorry Mom and Dad, they may have to come with me when we come to the beach.  I’m so excited about this adventure!  We will only eat the eggs and I may become a vegetarian after all this.

I tried a new meal today.  Bourbon Chicken, it was easy and okay.  Lenora liked it, but of course, the boys didn’t.  I once again pulled it from someone’s blog that had posted it on pinterest.   I love pinterest!  What else do I have to tell you?  Not much, I mean baby chickens and ducks are a big deal, I don’t think I can top that.  I leave you all with some adorable pictures of my kids, because well, come on…

If you can’t tell, Lenora is at the fridge, she was just so stylish I had to take the pic.  I had another outfit picked out for her, but she really wanted to wear the pink sweater, so I had to readjust my plans.  Then there is Grey and Lenora playing in what’s left of the box we were using to make bedding for the chicks and ducks.  Finally, that’s Lenora on Sunday sitting, yes sitting, on our cat Princess.  And my Princess wonders why the cat runs whenever she sees Lenora.  Hmmm….let’s ponder that for a moment.  Well, I hope you all had a great day.  Keep clucking and quacking.

Have a pleasant day! – Audrey Reed