Yes, Olivia, there is a Santa Claus...

And he's really nice but his elf is an a*# head!

I debated on writing this post, since it is the week before Christmas and we are all full of holiday cheer, but I was just to ticked to let this one go!

We have had multiple opportunities to see Jolly ol' Saint Nick for free this season. Of course, each and every time something came up that stopped me from being able to bring both girls. And 99% of the time, it was because one or all of us was sick. But I was determined to get a Santa photo with both of my girls dressed in their holiday finest. I figured Clara would be crying, she hates anything remotely "scary" (like the menacing Chick Fil A cow) but I had been prepping her by showing Santa on tv and talking to her in that high pitched voice you use when you really want a toddler to "get" something. Clara...see Santa? Santa's nice! We like Santa! Santa brings presents! Santa's nice! We get to visit Santa! Santa's nice! And so on and so forth.

I planned to hit the downtown Santa area on Sunday morning, see Santa, get pictures, go the Hall of Fame for crafts, and grab an early lunch at the Chocolate Cafe. As we were all getting ready I had the brilliant idea to have Mike check the times for Sundays. Thank goodness, since Santa doesn't come out until noon on Sunday, and then he's there until 4. So, slight change of plans, but I figure we're going to be flexible, and it's no problem! Let's cheerfully play some board games with Olivia, get Clara down for an early nap, and head out later.

Later comes. Everyone is fed, dressed, and happy. We make the 20 minute drive to downtown, find a spot to park, and unload the kids. We head over the couple of blocks to Santa's house. I see a line, but nothing too major. We walk by where Santa should be, but he's "on break." We get to the end of the line and there is an "elf" standing there. He says to me "Santa's house closes." I respond, "yes, at 4 right?" Now, just for reference, it is 3:15 right now, and there are maybe 10-12 families in front of us. Mr Elf responds, "yes, but the line is closed, I have to draw the line somewhere." Wha-huh? It's 45 minutes before closing time, your Santa is on break (lovely that he can't make 4 hours sitting on his butt) and you're not allowing any more people into line? Seriously? This is so symptomatic of what is wrong with South Bend. They try to draw people into downtown and then when we make the considerable effort to get there, they alienate us. I said a few things, but nothing too crazy since there were children present and we left. Olivia of course was crying since she couldn't understand why Santa wouldn't see her.

My fabulous Mike makes the quick decision to pull us into the Chocolate Cafe. We ordered chocolate and the lady at the counter asks us about Santa. I told her we weren't able to see him and why. I guess it could be worse though, since she tells us that another mother had come in the week before, she was allowed in line, but the other kids took too long, and since it was 4:02 when her son got to Santa, he didn't get to see him. Yes, they closed Santa with a little kids standing there. Wow, South Bend, wow.

After the fabulous Santa debacle, we went to the mall. There were probably 25 people in front of us at the mall, we got through with pictures in 45 minutes, and there was much rejoicing. I just told Olivia that Santa had to leave downtown to make it to the mall in time to see her, and she was fine with that. Next year, we're heading to the mall and skipping downtown. And the best part, Clara didn't cry....

You got WHAT in the mail?

Oh Heaven! Guess what I just got in the mail? My annual shipment of lefse. Most people look at me like I have two heads when I tell them I love lefse, but it's just obvious to me they were neglected as children. Well that, or maybe they don't come from a Norwegian heritage. I'm leaning more towards the first though.

My background is about 50/50 German and Norwegian. My family loves to eat, but a lot of the "traditional" foods I love other people won't even taste. Or taste once, and then never again! Lefse is NOT one of those foods. It's actually a delicious tortilla like flat bread, but  it's made with potatoes instead of flour. Once it's done you can use it in a sandwich type roll, but our favorite method of serving it is spreading it with butter and sprinkling sugar on it. 

Making lefse is a long process, it takes many days and a kitchen full of special equipment. I think I was the only one on my street who's mom had a ridged rolling pin as standard equipment in her kitchen. As a child, we had lefse only at major holiday dinners.  Think Thanksgiving, Christmas, and maybe if we were lucky, Easter. 

I sadly never made lefse with my mom, so I have no idea how to do it. I do however know how to internet shop, so I put those skills to work 3 years ago when I had a 2 year old daughter who I just had to share lefse with. I scoured the internet, and chose the vendor I thought looked the closest to my family lefse. I ordered, it arrived, and the box smelled amazing. (Thanks Freddy's Lefse!). Ever since I order 3 packs for the holidays. Lefse freezes well so I put two packs away and save it for company. Because this time, you won't turn your nose up at my traditional food. Promise!

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas

Okay, maybe not an actual hippopotamus, but what I do want feels almost as impossible to obtain. All I want for Christmas is a healthy family. No, we don't have any chronic or serious illnesses, and for that, I am extremely grateful. We have however, seemed to pick up a knack for finding any illness in a 10 foot vicinity, and since we love each other so much, we do a great job spreading it around too! Over the past 6-7 weeks, we have had 4 fully healthy family members for no more than 3 days in a row. The latest bouts this week were pink eye (me), fever (Olivia & me), and sore tummies (Olivia & Clara). Since we've been so unlucky lately, I thought I would post our Christmas wish list. Just in case some of you are thinking about how to make our holidays a little brighter, here are our Christmas top 8.

8. Masks

No, we're not going all MJ on you. Masks are great at keeping germs in. And since (see above) my family likes to spread their germs, masks might cut down on that problem. Of course, we'd have to convince a 21 month old to keep a mask on her face. How hard could that be. Right?

7. Bleach wipes

Yep, self explanatory. Just used a couple hundred or so of these puppies in the past two months. Nothing says I love you like a case of bleach wipes.

6.  Hand Sanitizer

Love this stuff! And now I have Clara addicted to it too. Her sanitizer is in a pink jelly roll. And hey, since you're all such great friends, let me go ahead and give YOU a Purell jelly roll instead. Just leave a comment on this post, and we'll pick one of you to win this great green jelly roll. Perfect to take with you anywhere (if we ever left our house, I'd confirm that!)

5. Vitamin D Spray

I heard from a friend this can help prevent illness. One squirt under the tongue once a day. So now I just need   a gallon size container and we'll be good to go.

4. Non Latex Gloves

We're not allergic to latex, but I'm trying to be considerate of any guests I might have! Let me just say, thank the Lord for my husband. I know I'm a nurse, but I went into community health for a reason. I love educating and counseling, and I hate any bodily fluids. Yes, I CAN deal with them, but usually my first response is to run away while calling Mike's name loudly. And he always comes to my rescue. Love you boo!

3. Computer antivirus or Andrew Martin living in my basement

Yes, sadly, even my computer is not immune to the illness parade. For the first time ever, my computer got a virus not stopped by our antivirus software. I lost a fabulous blog post (and you'll have to just take my word for it, since it's GONE). I think because of the failure of our antivirus, I'd rather have Andrew Martin in our basement to fix the problems, so let's just change that wish to the second part.

2. A subscription to the "disease of the month" club

Great way to spice up our illness offerings. How many times can I tell people Olivia has a fever before it starts to get boring? But if I said she had Leishmaniasis, you might take a second to google it and send a get well card!

1. A bubble

Really, if you get me this gift, you can cross off all the others above. How great would it be to live in a bubble? It needs to be roomy enough for 4, climate control would be lovely, and how about a clear pinkish tint? The girls will love it, and the germs will be a thing of the past.

p.s.- I started this blog posting, and had to take a break between last night and today to take care of the ol' family. This morning at breakfast, Olivia tells me there's a delivery at the door, but no package. Look what I found outside my front door.......

It's official, Jody is a mind reader and a great friend. Watch out people, it's true!

Irish Green Fail!

There's not much I can say about Friday, except to tell you it involved a very bad decision on my part (cutting Clara's nap short), a trip to the Notre Dame campus, and a screaming baby. Although I had big plans for our super lovely day, we did not get to go to the bookstore, the ice cream shop, the Irish Green, or the band practice. We did make it to the tunnel, and saw the cheerleaders outside of the bookstore. This is definitely one of those days I have to remind myself that the days are long, but the years are short. The "good" pictures showed up on facebook, but here's the one's that are more representational of our day.

 Clara wants down

 She really wants down

 At least the usher behind us is photogenic

She's doing that archy back thing that babies do when they do not want to be buckled into their car seat 

 We've lost Olivia

 Getting better

Now where did Olivia go again?

 Finally. Now we're in a great mood, let's get some daddy pics

 Okay, UNCLE!!! Daddy pics were a bad idea

 A horrible idea!

Mike looks like he's about to beat someone 

 And this is about as good as it gets

Mam Party!

What a busy week we had! It started off great with a fun party sponsored by MAM and child's play parties. The weather in Indiana was pretty dicey last week, so I decided to host my party in a gym to let the little ones have plenty of room to play. Of course there ended up being tons of sunshine, so we opened the doors and let the fresh air in while we partied :)

Here's some pictures of the event:

Bags FULL of all those Mam goodies! Every guest got bottles, pacifier, oral care products, and more! The best part is each item is made with materials that are completely safe for baby, so no worry about harmful chemicals.

 Playtime

Enjoying some delicious sugar cookies

 Look at all those beautiful Mam babies and happy mommas! The mommas loved the stylish Mam products they received, and we all had a great time learning about Mam while competing for awesome prizes.

One busy momma

There’s a reason I chose the name I did for my blog. Busy momma pretty much sums it up nicely! Which is why I have neglected writing a blog post recently. Not that I didn’t want to, just that I have not had a free second for writing. Oh yes, I’ve had some free time. But usually by the time I get it I’ve been through a 14 hour day with my children, including feeding, clothing, play time and listening to One Short Day 20 times. Did I say before I was happy that was Olivia’s dance song? That must have been in the good old days before Clara picked it up as her favorite song. Which means she screams “CITY” at the top of her lungs until I play it in the car. And play it in the car. And play it in the car.

On Saturday we had the audacity to take daddy’s car to gymnastics. No “city” as the cd was in my car. Clara alternately screamed city and sobbed her little heart out, while two grown adults (one who is tone deaf) tried to recreate the song by singing the 10 words we know. Yes, I know I should have it memorized, as I’ve heard it ad naseum for about a month, but I claim post traumatic stress for making me block it from my mind as much as possible.
 
Anyways, I digress. But suffice it to say I have not been in the correct mind frame for coherent writing for quite a while. So besides my children, what has been keeping me busy? Well, as a mom, I know I hardly need any other reasons, but I have them, oh do I have them! See I have this gag reflex over the word no, so if something comes along that looks semi interesting, I jump on it, and therefore I have the overcommitted syndrome.

Here is my list of craziness, in no particular order:

 

1.      My kids. Yes, they’ve been mentioned, but for their ginormous time commitment they deserve another mention. Just sayin’

2.      Ebay. No, I do not have a shopping problem. Just a small internet business reselling my kids outgrown items. August happens to be the busy season for fall and winter clothes. Who knew, right? Washing, ironing, pictures, editing, weighing, descriptions, listings, answering questions, invoicing, shipping, this all adds up to a lot of time. Goodwill sounded good by the end of the season.

3.      The consignment season. This started right after the ebay season. Although technically for me it started long before. I had lots of time spent on coordinating the Twice is Nice Sale advertising with my awesome subcommittee friends. Then I had to prep all my items to sell, as well as my client’s items. Busy but oh so fun.

4.      MOPS. For those not in the “know,” this is not some cult of women who love to clean. Nope, it actually stands for mothers of preschoolers, and it’s a group for any moms who have a kids not in school yet. We moved our MOPS group to a new site this year, and we had to deal with all the logistical challenges that came along with the move, as well as getting a brand new year going. Major shout outs to our awesome steering committee.

5.      Kindergarten. Man, school stinks! (but don’t tell my daughter I said that!) Getting Olivia to school EVERY day, homework, fundraising (b-l-a-h) and kindergarten drama add up to a whole lot of NO FUN. Can we please go back to preschool? On the up side, Olivia is reading about 10 new words on her own, and she learned all the lyrics to “trick or treat, smell my feet…..” in one session on the bus.

6.      Work. Yep, it’s only 2 days. But I spend the day before getting ready, and the day after recovering. Great job, but it’s go, go, go. Of course, if it wasn’t I’d be bored, and I’d probably add a 7 to my list!

From Sin City to the Happiest Place on Earth

So, life is unpredictable, right? For instance, this momma and world famous blogger (okay, okay, maybe not WORLD famous, but I'm working on it!) had a girl's trip all planned for Las Vegas in July. It seemed like the perfect idea, everyone knows Las Vegas is hot, hot, hot, so the deals should be pretty good for anyone crazy enough to visit in the middle of the summer, right? Well, not so much. So after some last minute deliberations, my bff and I decided a change of venue was called for. Now, for what it would have cost for plane tickets alone, we're going to.....Disney World! Be still my heart!

I love Disney. I never went as a child, my family favored vacations that involved fresh air and the great outdoors, but once I was in high school I traveled to Disney Land every year with the band. Yes, I was a total band nerd, so here's your chance to snigger and stare in disbelief (I've come a long way baby!)

I went a few times as an adult with Mike, and once with my brother, but it wasn't until I moved to Indiana and had kids of my own that I contemplated visiting the big Disney, Disney World. We booked a vacation for Olivia's 3rd birthday, and it is hands down the very best trip I've ever taken. Part of it was a fabulous planning site, Tour Guide Mike, part of it was the ol' Disney magic, and seeing that from Olivia's eyes for the first time, but mostly it was the fact that we slowed down, and focused on each other as a family, instead of the television, computer, or blackberry.

I've been begging for a repeat trip, and it's a little known fact that the money I make from all my resale businesses is squirrelled away as I plan to pay for our entire trip with that money. Our current trip date is March 2013, since Mike wants to wait for Clara's 3rd birthday to repeat the magic.

Luckily when I suggested Disney as a potential location to Candace, she was all for it. Her husband hates rides and crowds, so the best chance she has to go to Disney is with me. We booked our hotel and plane tickets last week, and we fly out in July. I feel a little guilty going without Olivia, but mostly excited to ride the rides that she's too small for. It's only a 2 day trip, so we won't see everything, and it's more suited for a quick grown up trip than a kid's vacation anyways.

While I'm there, I'll get a picture with Mickey for you. And if you see Olivia, please don't mention my impending vacation, she thinks I'm going to the beach!

She's going the distance!

Ever thought about the best soundtrack for running? I've been spending a lot of time on this one lately, as I've decided that having music to listen to while I run might help me go farther and faster. Or if not, to at least enjoy the time out there a little more. I want to make my perfect music mix, but so far have only one song.  It's a song from my misspent teenage years, Cake's The Distance.  If you've never heard it, you really should. Click on the link below and at least listen to the beginning, and you'll see why it's a great song for running.

http://youtu.be/__PU5CVSegg

Many of you know I completed my first 5K on Sunday. It was an awesome run, not only because I met my goal and finished the race, but because runner is never a word I would have thought could describe me. I've always been tall, so technically I should be a great runner, but I was also painfully shy and awkward. As a kid, I played a little softball, but I felt so bad when I made a mistake, that I never improved. I just got more and more nervous that I would mess up and let everyone down. After that great team sport experience, I decided to just tuck sports away and be the best student I could be.  At least that's an individual challenge, and to me a lot less stressful.

Through the years my friend Sarah tried to get me to run. In middle school she convinced me to go out for track. It was kind of the perfect sport, since they don't cut anyone, so I knew I could be on the team. I never minded running races and being last place, until my coach decided to put me on the relay team. Oh, and as the anchor. Yes, our team stunk, and I believe the race was over before I even started my lap, but I still had to run my slow, slow way around the track. No more track team for me!

Our senior year in high school, Sarah again tried to get me to run. She would wake me up at ungodly hours to go running. Of course, I was completely out of shape and running was nothing but pain.  I'd heard of the runner's high, but I thought maybe it was a campfire story they make up to convince people that running is fun, because for me, it was anything but.

Fast forward about 10 years. For the past 4 years, I'd been active in Baby Boot Camp. I had gotten in shape and knew I could meet challenges, but I still never wanted to run. In February, Baby Boot Camp started it's 3 month MoLo challenge. Each month you had a different area to focus on, strength, flexibility, and, gasp, running! I did just fine months 1 & 2, but when it came to April and the running portion I was a little nervous.  Of course, I'm also very competitive, so I decided to just start running a little around my neighborhood, so I could improve my half mile times. About halfway through the month, our instructor suggested we all run about 3 miles together. I didn't think I could run the whole way, but I thought it would be fun to hang out with my friends and try.   I did end up making the whole run, and I was hooked.

I signed up for the local 5K, and decided to give it a whirl.  I was pretty nervous, but I didn't want to let anyone know. I went to the race on Sunday morning and hung out with my friend Angel while we waited for the race to start and I tried not to vomit.

And we're off!

The crowd of runners was electric. Every time I thought I needed to slow down, I looked around at the other runners and kept going. The best was when I was able to pass people that got tired, it gave me a boost of confidence!

Most of the race I had a guy in a banana suit in front of me.  I had to sprint at the end so I could beat him, since who wants to be beaten by a banana?

 There I am, behind the guy in the green shirt. Get out your magnifying glasses! And if you look far behind me, you can see Mr Banana!

And done!

The family came out to support me. Olivia was sure I would win, but I don't think she was too disappointed that didn't happen!

Now that the race is complete, I feel like I CAN call myself a runner. And I want to run more races, I'm hooked!