Toddler Randomness

Toddler: Mommy **in panicked voice** can you get chocolate donuts?

Me: Babe, I don't have any chocolate donuts

Toddler: Me EITHER **arms thrown out in despair**  **stomps away** we need to find chocolate donuts.

Not sure where this came from, as she is watching cartoons (with no mention of anything chocolate, or donut, or food) and I am working on the laptop. She sure is cute.

Becoming a greener family

Greener? More green? Hmmm, should probably work on that title.

Anyway, regardless of my poor grammar, I am super excited about this new program we are doing. I got a heads up about it a couple weeks ago via twitter (yeah for social networking!!). The basics of the program - since King County is one of the greenest counties in America, GLAD is teaming up with the blogging community and the city of Seattle for their "Waste Less" program.

The other day, I got a visit from the UPS man (not the hubs, note). He brought us all these boxes; a special delivery from GLAD to help us get started:

Once I could pry them away from the toddler, who was convinced they were her presents, we found a stainless steel, motion sensor recycling bin, a years supply of tall kitchen recycling bags, a compost bin and a years supply of liners for said bin. All this for agreeing to blog about something that I know our family will totally get behind. Pretty freakin' awesome!!

Tonight, Tom Watson, who runs the eco-consumer division of King County, will be coming by to discuss waste less tips and techniques, and how we can be more conscientious of what we recycle vs throw in the garbage. It's kind of exciting!

I thought this project was something we could all get behind as a family, something we could work on together. Especially because the teenager is very aware of recycling and has been trying to get us to be better at it, trying to get us to start composting (in general, telling us what we are doing wrong, as teenagers do). So, as a family, we are vowing to fill up our recycle and yard waste bins to the brim each week, and to waste less in the process. I'll keep you posted on how we are doing. Let me know in the comment section if any of y'all have tips for us!

Hot DOG!

There is nothing cuter than a two year old quoting her favorite cartoons.

Toddler: Mom, my blankets are so very very heavy. And you're so STRONG (complete with the arms flexed over her head). Can you come help me move them?

Me: Sure honey.

As we get up and head down the hall, she starts running and does a little hop.

Toddler: Hot diggity dog!

Fun kid conversations

The highlights of my day; quotes from the kids.

TODDLER
My tween has a bit of a focus problem at times and you can often hear the hubs or I telling him to focus. Apparently we say it a lot because the toddler tells him to focus fairly often as well. This afternoon, while holding her magic wand she kept yelling "focus focus". This, seemingly, is how she has translated "hocus pocus".

TWEEN 
On the way to the tweens soccer practice, I realized I had forgotten to give him his allergy meds. He has hay fever pretty bad and practice is on a grass field, which tends to trigger swollen, itchy eyes. So I told him if they got too bad we would leave practice early. This is what he says:

Tween: mom, you know who Louie Armstrong is?

Me: umm ... yes

Tween: Well, he had a heart attack once, and when he was all better and he left the hospital, the doctor told him he couldn't play his trumpet anymore. And he said that'd he'd rather die than stop playing his trumpet. Well, that's how I feel about soccer, mom. I'm going to play no matter what.

TODDLER
While at the above soccer practice, the toddler called me from the hubs cell phone. Apparently, while chatting with me, she had wandered away from her dad and set the phone down. I kept calling, loudly, "hello?" and finally she answered me:

"Shhh mommy, be quiet." Then the shuffling sound of the phone moving. "Hold still."

TEEN 
The teenager has recently discovered the fashion world. Here are his current fashion icons, with the wardrobe he prefers:

That would be White Collar's Neal on the left, and Glee's Kurt on the right

He's also quite smart and likes to use big words in every day conversations. He prefers to shop at Nordrstrom, but unfortunately we don't live in a Nordstrom world here at our house. So today I introduced him to Ross. I dropped him off so he could do some shoe shopping as he has been needing a pair. He called me to give me an update.

"They have Calvin Klien here. This is monumentous."

If you don't know him that may seem strange, but to those of us that know him, it just made me chuckle and nod. Welcome to the thrifty world honey.

Mama Kat inspiring me

A couple weeks ago I went to Bloggy Boot Camp (I wrote a couple posts about it here and here). One of the local mom bloggers that was there to speak, Mama Kat, was featured on Evening Magazine recently. Here is her segment, it's a great way to show you all why I do what I do. There are clips from the conference towards the end too.


 
Kat inspires me to keep blogging - she makes me laugh. She posts weekly writing prompts, which I love. But recently, in a blog she wrote about the benefits of blogging, she wrote this:

"Best Mom Ever! How many of us have mothers who documented the things we did or said on a nearly daily basis? How many of us had moms who had the camera ready at all times to capture every special moment we shared together? Not many. But our kids will. Blogging has made it possible for us to create the ultimate baby book for our kids. What better gift could they ask for from their mothers? You know…besides a car."

And this, I need to remind myself, THIS is why I blog.

Wordless (ish) Wednesday

I have seen a lot of posts today titled Wordless Wednesday - where bloggers take this day to tell a story in pictures, or a variation of this idea. This seems like a great plan today, as I have have been out of bed since 3:30 am (after being awakened by the toddler for the third time). My plan to nap with her this afternoon was foiled when she decided she didn't actually NEED to nap. Needless to say, its been a long long day. I haven't even showered, though I'm pretty sure I brushed my teeth. I think.

In honor of Wordless Wednesday, but mostly because I can't really think of anything nice to say right now, here is my story within pictures of the toddler and the hubs trip to the ocean last week.

Racing for a Cure

These are not particularly flattering photos, but since it was for a good cause, and since I'm wearing a super cute tutu, I figured it was worth the embarrassment.

As always, it was a really fun day at the Seattle Race for the Cure. Over all the race itself brought in 1.6 million dollars. That's a crapload of money for this cause - go Seattle!! Our little team raised over $2500 (yeah Team Bacon Salt!). My cousin put together a team, Real Charitable Housewives of Seattle, and her team was one of the top 100 fundraising teams with over $5K towards the cause. So awesome, I'm proud of everyone!!

It's such an amazing day, I really think everyone should be a part of it!! Next year, people, I expect to see you all there.

My most sobering moment was when I ran into an old client of mine. His wife was diagnosed with breast cancer after a surprise pregnancy caused them to go in for extra testing. She went through chemo while she was pregnant (safe, shockingly). After the baby was born, she had surgery, but eventually lost her battle. She left behind a husband and three boys - including a little newborn. Seeing all of them at the race stopped me in my tracks and almost brought tears to my eyes. The baby is probably about 4 years old now. Being raised without a mommy.

Holy hell that just sucks.

There are thousands of these stories, and thousands of survivors too. I'm proud of the small amount I am able to do to help fight this damn battle. Because this is so personal, and has touched my family too, I am going to put together a team for the Portland race in September. Watch out because I'm going to be recruiting you all soon.

Seriously. Be prepared. I'm on a mission.

Becoming a better blogger - get over yourself

I'm a little behind in the blogging world; most of my new friends have already shared their favorite parts of the Bloggy Boot Camp Conference we went to this weekend. It was a lot of fun, I learned a lot and had a great time putting faces to the names of bloggers and twitter handles I've been following.


Just a smattering of the bloggers I met this weekend!

Here are my favorite tidbits of advice from the weekend - to be applied in any area of life.

From Jenny on the Spot, super blogger
* Be honest with yourself
* Ask for feedback
* Don't be too wordy
* For every ten tweets, make one about business, the other nine engaging
* Evaluate your stuff often - is it interesting to others?

From Carol Schiller, on how to write a pitch that doesn't suck.
* Figure out what you can do for the person/brand you are trying to pitch - chances are you are pitching to someone who just wants to keep their job
* Be the solution to their problem
* Tell them what you can offer that is unique
* Don't do something for free without at least getting a testimonial
* Be concise
* Be your own advocate
* Know your audience
* Give them closure when all is said and done

From Denae Handy (here too), on how to be a better writer
* Develop your voice
* Eliminate extraneous language
* Tighten up the structure
* If it sounds like writing, rewrite it
* Don't do it alone - having a cheering section can help you succeed

From Marlynn Schotland, graphic designer and social media entrepreneur
* Define your priorities and write them down
* Figure out how you spend your time - everything you do should tie back to your priorities
* Delegate
* Getting rid of the clutter in your house would eliminate 40% of your housework

My favorite favorite favorite line was this:

get over yourself

Hearing this in the context of the event really struck me, and I think I can apply it to any part of my life. Get over yourself ... meaning get over the things inside you that are holding you back. Don't be your own worst enemy. Embrace this life, love it, live it, own it.

The girl with the leopard print purse

I'm writing this post mainly to get the h@#$ off twitter because I have accomplished absolutely nothing today. I'm hoping that once I hit publish, I will be able to close the laptop, put down the phone and open a door or something. We'd planned to go to the park, it's finally sunny. But no, I'm having too much fun on twitter to actually leave the house. I'll try to get in a walk later today, probably a short one (you know, to the school to pick up the tween). For now, the toddler is watching Beauty and the Beast for the first time and she's loving it and dancing and a little worried about Belle. And I have responded to two tweets since starting this post.

Tomorrow I will be attending Bloggy Boot Camp and I'm beyond excited. And so nervous I might throw up. Social situations, walking in to a room where I don't know anyone, kind of freak me out. They bring out the wallflower in me. But thanks to twitter this morning, I will now be "the girl with the leopard print purse" (thanks to my twitter friend for the tagline), which gives me an identity to own as I introduce myself. Because, as it is, walking in to this room full of fabulous bloggers, I am the newby (okay, I'm sure most of these folks don't know each other, but I just started blogging so that makes me insecure) and my natural instict is to hide, to sit back and watch. But now! Now I can walk into that conference room, to my assigned seat, and own that purse and that identity! Go me! Go, Girl with the Leopard Print Purse!

Following this most fabulous, full day event, I get to set the alarm clock AGAIN Sunday morning. It's for a good cause though, I will be running in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. It's my third year on Team Bacon Salt and I love it every year. It's a good cause, one that is close to my heart because people I love have been touched by breast cancer. It's an emotional, powerful day that celebrates women and the search for a cure. Thanks to those of you that have donated!!

For now, as the credits roll on the movie, I will close the laptop and go make some lunch. But first, I have to respond to one more tweet ...

Butter

I was flipping through my phone pics in a moment of boredom and found this shot from a couple nights ago. The toddler has eaten her bread from the middle out because that is where all the butter is.



She has just asked us for more butter to put on the remains.

Sometimes, when she wants a snack, she will ask for butter. We do not give her butter as a snack, but she is sneaky and we sometimes find her poking her finger in the stick we keep on the counter.


"Mmmmmm," she says. "That's good stuff."



Finding the silver lining in these grey clouds

Welcome to June in Seattle. It's raining. And 57. There is thunder in the forecast tonight. It's been gloomy this spring, I still haven't packed away my heavy winter clothes (though on one of the few sunny days I did break out the capris and short sleeves).

Today, we decided to have an adventure; any outing is an adventure with the two year old. She's a bit bossy. And demanding. But she's cute and I know it will pass (right??). So we attempted to leave the house and run errands.

Our first stop was the book store, we needed a new charger for the nook (my luggage was 'inspected' on my flight home and my cord went missing, as did one of my rings. Lame). I noticed a lot of toddlers in the kids area, so we hung around and caught story time. Well, we caught half of story time. She wouldn't let any of the other toddlers sit next to her ("that's MY seat. You can't sit there!"). And she kept talking in her outside voice. So we left.

From there we walked to the grocery store. On the way, we passed by the pet store, and they were grooming a bunch of dogs in the front window. She was fascinated.

While she stood there watching, another mom and her two toddlers ran up to stand next to her and watch. One was a girl, a little younger than mine. My little princess introduced herself. Then she stared at her for a minute and, little charmer that she is, said "I'm angry with you. Don't stand next to me."

At least she didn't swear at her, right?

The highlight of our adventures was the puddles though. There is nothing better than jumping up and down and dancing in puddles.

Happy Wednesday!!