paint chips

I can remember the exact name of almost every color of wall paint I used in my house. I realized this today in my bathroom where I have a plethora of paint chips slid between the trim & wall next to the window. I find this odd, since I frequently can't remember where I put my phone, keys, shoes, etc. (thankfully, I haven't had this problem with my children, yet).
For instance, my kitchen is a moss green called "urban loft." I think urban loft sounds hip & refined. My living room is a light tan color called "almond paste," and its just as neutral as it sounds. My bedroom is painted "vanilla steam." Basically, its off white. Caleb's room, a slate blue, is called "Nantucket breeze," which sounds kind of preppy to me. Ellie's room is a shade of brown called "brown teepee" which rhymes with brown peepee, which is gross, but a lovely bedroom it is, anyway. "Coconut Scent" is the color of our other upstairs bathroom, a refreshing shade of yellow. And refreshing & clean is the vibe you want with a potty training toddler & a spaghetti sauce ring around the bathtub...
I have a good reason for not knowing the color of the downstairs bathroom, aka the jungle bathroom. you can thank the paint man at lowes for that. You know that comerical where people bring in real flowers, and shoes, & stuffed walruses & the friendly paint lady at lowes' waves her magic wand over it & mixes up the exact color? Well, in actuality, if you bring in your jungle themed shower curtain & request they mix up a color resembling the hibiscus amid all the animals, the elderly paint man looks at you funny, and says "what do you want?" I think I mumbled something like "I saw it on t.v." & was thinking to myself... dang, maybe that was the home depot comercial. Then, paint man walks over to the rack of paint chips & proceeds to hold several red paint chips up to my shower curtain. Needless to say, I didn't keep the paint chip for sentimental reasons. I let Pete pick the color of the family room in the basement, I think he called it "Pats silver" because it was the shade of gray on his football team's (the Patriots) helment. What a man. So I don't know color's correct moniker.... which brings me back to my bathroom... its called silver winter or winter something. Pete & I hate it. Pete calls it a girls bathroom, but i think thats because he's sort of color blind, he frequently thinks light blue is purple, & purple is gray, etc... I don't like it because its feels cold & unwelcoming, like the name suggests. I can't decide which shade of taupe/brown I like better, "wool coat" which is darker of the 2 shades, or "seagull beach." Wool coat sounds kind of classic, like wearing a pea coat. Seagull beach sounds like you're at the beach & trying to eat that sub you brought for lunch & the seagulls are swooping down on you. And on that note... I think I'm decided. Thanks for your help.

before there were blogs

I think its been more than a month since I did this. I was having computer troubles. I was trying to fix computer troubles & created new computer troubles by dropping laptop on the battery plug so that the battery doesn't charge unless you physically hold the thing in there, rendering me unable to type. I'm of the Mavis Beacon school of typing (thank you, United States Army for sending me to 6 weeks of military occupation specialty training, spending 2 weeks trying to type fast enough so that the penguins wouldn't fall off the ice bergs, then four weeks mowing grass). Go Army.
So I installed new RAM on my desktop, so I wouldn't have to think about the broken laptop. I use the term "I" loosely, because I gave up & had Pete do it. Apparently, I have clumsy fingers. So, here I am on the desktop.
In my almost, computer-less month, I had withdrawl... mainly facebook, but I also found myself composing blogs in my head. I wouldn't have admitted to it because this makes me sound crazy; but then I had an epiphany. Before blogs exsisted, they called those thoughts in your head DAYDREAMING... and I felt better.

potty time

Lately I'm prone to think my child may be the very child who inspired the Manneken Pis. When Caleb successfully answered the call of nature, it was if the clouds parted & the sun was streaming directly into our bathroom window, the birds chirped, & Caleb was transformed into a a bronze garden statute delightfully urinating in a lovely flower garden. I used to think those sorts of statues were creepy. Obviously, you need a potty training toddler to appreciate the charm.

toys

Thank you, mom & dad, and the makers of the Bob the Builder Toolbench! I would like to congratulate you on the fact that your gift/product has driven me to the brink of insanity... My two year-old has used the cordless drill to drill everything from our walls to his belly-button. I breathed a deeeeeep sigh of relief when that thing ran out of batteries. Only to suck it all back in again, raising my blood pressure & displaying that bulging vain in my forhead, in the process, when Caleb figured that he could make an efficient & recognizable drill noise himself, as he jabbed the 3-in drill bit into his sister's ribs.

here it is

I've got a blog now. Why? Well, because I got the slightest bit of encouragement to do so. It started with my sister-in-law, and then her sister, & I love the feedback I get from facebook, especially when people leave horror stories of their own children. So that's the who & why. That leaves the where, when, & how...
Where: I'll use any semi-clean surface to park the laptop & type.

When: During Ellie's morning nap when Sesame Street is conveintly aired, for caleb's sake (10-11 am). There, Ellie-sleep. Caleb-boob tube. Hopefully, once every week or so. So, if someone would please tell my daughter that now really isn't the best time for her to transition to 1 nap a day, I'd greatly appreciate that...

How: Your guess is as good as mine. My brain is usually in some sort of haze, between sucking down the morning coffee, & adapting to the latest breed of unacceptable (albeit hilarious behavior) & the physical hazard waiting to happen.

My only concession is that you ignore my improper grammar usage, spelling disasters, and immproper word usage... which all could be avoided if there were an extra hour in the day (but I probably would use that extra hour for sleep, not proof-reading and corrections, honestly). And my hope is that other moms will find humor (maybe even say...wow, I'm glad my kids aren't that bad), teenagers will say...I'm really not ready for kids yet. And others will just laugh... see there's something here for everyone.