what I miss most (part I)

You know what I miss most about being single?

Dancing.

Now I'm not talking professional or even serious dancing...just the "getting your groove on" type. Serious or not, however, the mere thought of a good ol' hip-shakin' dance makes my heart ache something fierce. I don't know why, but it seems once I got married my opportunities for shaking my booty anywhere other then my kitchen just disappeared. I can count on one hand how many time I've done real-live public dancing since tying the know. O.n.e. h.a.n.d. folks, in over 6 years of marriage. Coming from someone who would go to at least one official dance a month in my single days (not to mention the innumerable spontaneous dances that seem to pop up like daisies when you're young), that is a drastic drop. I don't know that things are really going to change anytime soon. As I wasn't really the clubbing type pre-marriage (most of mine were done at at church or school functions or friends' houses), it seems a little silly to start that up three kids later. I've toyed with the idea of trying out a dance class (I just looove the idea of belly dancing), but lack of money and time have always kiboshed that. Really, though, it's not organized dancing I'm looking for. Instead, I long for the times when I could stand in a crowd of hot, sticky bodies and let the music move my body. Hip-hop, techno, country, oldies, even the ever-difficult-to-dance-to alternative...I loved and still love them all. And so, 6 years into my dance-less existence, I find myself, like a sneaky addict, trying to get a few mini-hits in when I can (in the car on the way to preschool, next to the stove stirring dinner, in my bedroom while getting dressed)...and still mourning the loss of it all.


How 'bout y'all? What do you miss most?

FYI: Recall

There's been a massive Similac recall for all of you who use formula or know someone who uses formula.

The formula I just bought yesterday is in this category.

To see if your formula is recalled go here: http://similac.com/recall/lookup.aspx

Sick Husband

My husband stayed home sick from work yesterday. He caught the respiratory virus that is going around and of course thought he was dying. Does anyone else's husband do this?

I was nice and made him breakfast, drugged him up, and took the kids out to the Zoo that morning so he could rest in peace and quiet. I was kind of excited to have my husband home, even if he was an invalid.

Then I realized how much having my husband home disrupts my day. Not only did I have my children demanding my attention, but now had my sick husband demanding my attention. He wanted to cuddle and watch movies all day since he wasn't feeling good, which would have been fine if our very active children would have desired the same thing. I felt like I couldn't get anything done. My email went unchecked, the house was ignored, and the kids wanted Daddy to play with them. My routine was completely gone.

By mid-afternoon I wanted him to go back to work. Instead I took a nice, long, hot shower. I was going to get some benefit out of him being at home! Does anyone else have this problem? Husbands disrupting the weekday schedule?

Whatever you do, don't drink the icky soap.

Yesterday evening, in the post-dinner rush (which is nothing like the pre-dinner rush, the pre-bedtime rush, the lunchtime rush, or the mid-morning rush, of course), Toddler mysteriously disappeared. I found her a short time later trying to wipe off her tongue with our kitchen towel. I followed her into the bathroom where she tried to wash out her mouth. When I asked her what was the matter, she informed me "soap icky." I agreed that yes, soap was icky, that she probably shouldn't eat it again in the future and went on my merry way. I know, I know, I probably should've been at least slightly concerned, but I had a Ralphie-esque from The Christmas Story picture running through my head enabling me to dismiss all worries ("It... It 'twas... soap poisoning!").

It wasn't until a couple of minutes later that I began to suspect a bigger problem. I picked Toddler up and noticed a distinct un-soap like smell on her breath so I told her to lead me to the "icky soap." Turns out what she decided to guzzle wasn't soap...but hand sanitizer.


big oops.

Figuring now was a good time for alarm, versus my usual live and let live mothering philosophy, I called in the cavalry...Poison Control (bless their hearts, they've been there for me countless times). We went through the stats: up to .5 oz of hand sanitizer (she emptied what was left in the bottle) of 63% ethyl alcohol in a 20-21lbs 22mo old (yes, she's small) equals what could possibly be one very drunk toddler. In the worst case scenario (where she drank everything left in the bottle), she would've had an alcohol blood level of .12something. To give all you other non-drinkers out there a reference point, the legal blood alcohol limit is .08. Let's just say she most likely would not pass the Walk Down The Line test. Brent (nice, non-judgmental Poison Control worker) told me to watch for staggering, extreme drowsiness, vomiting, or even table dancing.

As luck would have it, Scarlett had managed to spit out most of the hand sanitizer she put in her mouth and the aforementioned symptoms never came to pass (thank heavens). While she might have been a little tipsy (there was a lot of "ooo, look at the sky" wide-eyed moments going on), she was not, in fact, completely sloshed.

We'll have to leave the shirtless table dancing for some other time.


How about y'all? What's the craziest thing your kid has consumed?

Ladies Night

Whitney and I decided it was time for a girl's night out. So, we packed our bags, kissed our husbands good-bye, and went to downtown Kansas City.

We changed our outfits numerous times, ate junk food, got in and out of the car without having to pack around diaper bags, strollers, car seats and kids, and acted like single girls our age do (except for the martinis and one-night stands).

We stayed at the Q Hotel,

walked around the Plaza,

and grabbed a bite to eat at Brio.

We looked at the many fountains in Kansas City and went to the local art museum and drooled over Rodin, Monet, and Oldenburg. What can I say? We had a love affair with art.

Aubrey in front of one of the Plaza's many fountains

One of our favorites painted by Mr. Vincent van Gogh himself
*dreamy sigh*

Badminton, anyone?

Whitney marching along with the metal pedestrians

We talked about EVERYTHING under the sun, stayed up past 2am, and just sat back and enjoyed ourselves.

It was exactly what we needed and I highly recommend it to others. What do you need? Here's a couple ideas: A best friend... or two... or three. A nice hotel, go ahead and spoil yourselves, especially when splitting the costs. Junk food (you know, the kind you gorged yourselves on as teenagers) and a couple very fun public place you can go and really enjoy without the kids. The only rule: no guilt. Don't feel like you're leaving your family behind, chances are the kids are having some great bonding time with their dads, and you will be coming home a much happier Mom.

One last thing: a BIG thank you to our husbands for encouraging our little weekend and letting us shrug off the Mom-ness for 24 hours. Where would we be without your love and support?