The Age Factor

So I've been wondering a lot lately, "When are you truly considered old? At what point are you no longer young and do others consider you an old person." Perhaps this thought has been haunting my brain because many of my friends, and me (I guess) are quickly approaching 40. When I was a kid, 40 was ancient. Someone who was 40 probably had a pet dinosaur in their youth. Sometimes my kids will make the comment that I'm old. I quickly shoot them the look like, "You better find someone to make you dinner, because I'm sure not doing it." I even asked my mother recently if she considers herself old. She said that she still felt like she was really active, but her body was tired. She thought she acted much more youthful than her mother did at 68.

I had just seen probably one of the funniest movies ever, The Hangover (http://hangovermovie.warnerbros.com/). I laughed so hard throughout the entire film that at certain times I wasn't sure if I had gone into labor. I even think at one point that I wet my pants a little (which is completely normal when you are pregnant with your 4th, right?) Well, the next day I called my mom and one of my sisters and told them both to go see the movie. I knew they'd love it. My sister couldn't believe I told my mom to see it. "She won't think it's funny." I just kept telling myself that there's no way you couldn't think this movie was funny. Then my mom planned a ladies night out with 2 of her friends to go see the movie. My sister had me paranoid. "Oh crap, what if they hated it?" I would be responsible for ruining their big night out.

I called my mom the next day at 8 AM. "What did you think of the movie?" I blurted out.

"It was okay, I didn't think it was that funny. I mean it was funny in parts." My sister was right. My mother was past that point in her life of thinking irresponsible behavior is funny. A younger person will always think someone that is older has "old person" behaviors. It goes something like this - 20 is old to a 10 year old. 40 is old to a 30 year old, 80 is old to a 70 year old and so on. I guess I can't blame my mom for not thinking it wasn't that funny, it's inevitable. But, at least she tries.

Happy Shopping!

I have a gift for everyone today.  In this bad economy I think we can all use a little savings.  Here's a link for 30% off at Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta, Gap Outlet and Banana Republic outlet from July 30 to August 2.  Pamper yourself. 

 Happy Shopping!   http://gap.m.delivery.net/w/webView?cid=15789113780&mid=1857185807&pid=770280&vid=13665&email=hillarina%40comcast.net&si=&mv=H&bv=H&oc=N&k=1kicWF

Oh, by the way, they will donate 5% of your purchase to your favorite charity too.  

Annual Block Party

On Saturday night we had our annual block party.  The night consisted of eating, drinking, and fun for the kids.  We started with a visit from our local fire department.  The highlight was the kids getting to play in water that shoots out from the firetruck hoses.  We rented a bounce house for the first time and it was like hiring a babysitter for the entire night.  The kids jumped until about 11 PM.  We had a Dora pinata that was about 3 feet tall.  The very young kiddos refused to hit it because they were traumatized by "hitting and hurting" Dora.  The older kiddos were thrilled to be able to hit a cartoon character that they were way too cool to be associated with.  Our final planned activity was a Peppumber toss.  My husband and I planted our first garden this summer with the kids.  Our cucumbers cross-pollinated with our banana peppers and we grew a totally new vegetable - the peppumber.  Since we had an entire bag of these unusual veggies, we decided to entertain the neighborhood by seeing who could throw them the farthest.  The night was a hit and the kids are already talking about next year's block party.  

Horrible Threes

I am convinced the Horrible Threes are the Terrible Twos on steroids.  My daughter has probably wasted a total of $300 in beauty products by rubbing them on her body, into the carpet, on the furniture, or anywhere else they can be rubbed.  Her beauty product of choice today is my mascara.  What a disaster!  You can see in the picture how proud she is of her work.  She has also decided that she no longer needs pull-ups at night.  I'm not sure her wet sheets would agree.  She has found a new use for her pull-ups and her sister is helping with the display!

Girls, Girls, Girls

My 8 year old son's distress over our family situation began when I was pregnant with our 3rd child.  After having a baby sister, who he thoroughly enjoys torturing on a regular basis, he had high hopes for a baby brother.  His number one plan was naming the baby Obi-Wan Kenobi.   We thought it would be a great experience for him to go to the sonogram and see the baby growing inside of me.  But, when the sonographer announced, "It's a girl!"  Our moment of joy quickly turned somber.  Tears filled my son's eyes.  "I can't name it Obi-Wan."  The sonogram tech comforted him with, "You could name her Princess Leia."  He didn't think that was a good idea.  

When we announced one day 3 years later that we were again having a baby, I saw that familiar sparkle in my son's eyes.  Once again he would have a chance at a baby brother.  He was sure it was a boy.  At this point, he was over his Star Wars fetish, but he couldn't wait to teach his brother all about the importance of being a boy - legos, swimming, nerf guns.  When 20 weeks gestation rolled around and it was time to get the sonogram to find out the sex of the baby, my son was so excited.  My husband and I decided that we would go alone this time.  It was a good thing because once again, my son was getting another sister.  We decided that my husband would break the news.  As I expected, there were tears.  

Although the sadness has worn off, lately I have found him saying, "Mom, you know, doctor's are wrong sometimes.  It could still be a boy."  He has already chosen a friend down the street that he plans to move in with if the situation of 3 sisters is too rough.  I think we might be in trouble because the girls always seem to be changing clothes, which results in a lot of running around naked.  My son keeps complaining about how disgusting it is around our house.  I find myself saying, "You better get used to it, there will be a lot more nakedness once your 3rd sister is here."  I'm pretty sure his bags are already packed!

An Unusual Proposal

I'm not sure if I think a marriage proposal I saw on the news this morning is creepy or funny.  When my husband proposed about 12 years ago, it was a quiet affair in a small restaurant.  I realized that day that I didn't like people staring at me.  Throughout the proposal, I was more concerned with whether the diners around me were watching than with the fact that my future husband was asking me to spend the rest of my life with him.  This guy must really love his underwear and his future bride.  Check it out.   What do you think? http://gmy.news.yahoo.com/vid/14547285.

The T-shirt Trend

There's a new trend going on in my household.  I think these trends almost always start with the oldest child doing something and all the siblings following because they think it's the new cool thing to do.  Well suddenly my kids are raiding my husband's t-shirt drawer and wearing his t-shirts to bed in place of their nightgowns or boxers.   My son has chosen to rotate between an assortment of my husbands triathlon racing shirts.  My daughter, on the other hand, dug deep into the bowels of the drawer and has selected her favorite shirt.  She thinks it's from a swim shop because the lady on the front is wearing a snorkel and mask.  She doesn't understand why I laughed so hard when she appeared wearing it, but now she is wearing it every night.  When my husband returned from a recent business trip our conversation went like this,

T- "Who messed up my t-shirt drawer?"  

M-"The kids, they are wearing your shirts to bed."

(Weird look on my husbands face.)

M-"The best part is the one your daughter chose, perhaps you should explain it's origin to her."

(Another weird look.)

That evening my daughter emerged from her bath wearing her new favorite night garment.  My husband and I laughed.  In reality is was from a certain "Gentlemen's Club" called Sammy's that my husband had acquired during college on one of his wild spring break trips to Florida.  My daughter was proud to be wearing her father's shirt.  For now we'd let her keep thinking it was from a swim shop.

Skating Babies

I finally figured out what this baby is doing in my stomach.  It moves so much that I was a little worried that it has some syndrome or something.  My doctor tried to tell me that after 4 babies growing inside of me that everything is very stretched out and so it's easier to feel movement.  I can now prove her wrong.  Watch this youtube video and see for yourself -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQcVllWpwGs

Mom My Ride

Recently I was in the car (a minivan, of course) with the kids and my husband was in his car in front of us.  I still don't understand how this happened, but all of a sudden he started backing up, full speed, and crashed into my car.  I sat there in complete bewilderment, wondering how, with sensors in the back of his car that beep when something is behind him, could he hit me?  Well, he did and now I have a saggy front bumper and a headlight that droops (kinda sounds like my body right now).   My front bumper suddenly matches the back because I backed into my neighbor's tree a few years ago when I was turning around to go back and pick up a forgotten sippy cup.   Well to add to the beauty of my car, I decided to try and squeeze into a parking space that was partly occupied while picking up a pizza at Pizza Hut.  It didn't quite work and I hit the back bumper of the car next to me, further adding decor to my already colorful front bumper.  

My car desperately needs to go to the shop to get fixed.  There is a piece of plastic dangling down and it sounds like an airplane is landing when I stop.  I knew it was bad when a guy driving next to me motioned for me to roll down my window and when I did he said, "You know you have a piece hanging down under your car?"  I let him know that I was on my way home to fix it with duct tape - real classy!  The duct tape isn't working so I guess we will be getting it fixed soon.  In the meantime, I will just have innocent drivers around me terrified that an airplane is making an emergency landing next to them. 

All of this car drama reminded me of a Youtube video that my friend Hillary sent me a couple of years ago.  It's called "Mom My Ride".  It's a must see and will help all husbands understand why their wives cars are completely destroyed by the kids. Check it out - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEFE3B0Rje0

The Girdle is Back!

Okay, so I think I have been tagged on yahoo.  I decided that with my fourth pregnancy I was going to take control of my out of control, stretched out stomach after the baby came.  I started doing some research.  First I typed in "belly band after baby" into the search engine.  I was looking for some magic band that you wear around your waist that sucks in all the stretchy skin and makes your stomach go back to it's original shape within weeks.  I came across a site www.bellybandit.com which sells just what I was looking for.  Even better, it is endorsed by all kinds of celebs that have worn it and have remarkable bodies in just weeks.  (It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that they have tons of money and can pay for a personal trainer to work out with them for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, could it?)  After reading about the belly bandit, It sounded great, but a little pricey, $65.95 for the most cozy one which is made from bamboo fiber (I figure I have been pregnant for 36 months of my life and if I'm going to get one, I should be comfortable wearing it, right?).  They also suggest you buy two because when you wash one, you still need to wear one, so now I'd be spending $131.90.  I was pretty much sold, but decided to look into other options on the web.  But, what else do you call these waist cinchers?  Suddenly it dawned on me, as I remembered back to my childhood, sitting in my mother's bedroom while she got ready to go out, that she would squeeze herself into a girdle.  Whatever happened to the girdle?  I never hear of people wearing girdles anymore.  I decided to search for girdles.  They were everywhere, they just aren't called girdles anymore.  The more PC term for them is "Waist Nipper".   JCPenny sold them.  Target sold them.  Anyone who sold intimate women's apparel offered waist nippers.  I looked into many of the options out there and they seemed similar to the belly bandit in that they all held in the stomach, but there were lots of negative reviews about comfort (comfort is key for me after giving birth).  I've decided to splurge on the belly bandit.  And by the way, when I open my search engine page now, I am bombarded with ads for waist nippers.  Like I said, I've been tagged.  I've officially become my mother.  I will also be wearing a girdle.  I'll let you know how it works!

The Trial Run

Okay, here I go.  I'm going to write my first blog post.  I'm currently working on my site with my super talented, neighbor.  He's the computer/graphics guy that's going to make it all look really cool.  But until I get together with him, I just thought I'd get started.  In the meantime, I will just write and experiment with the whole blog thing.  I guess my goal with the blog is to talk about everyday life stuff, post cool stuff that I find, and feature various artists who are making really great things that I have bought or hope to buy.  

I have 3 kids and one on the way.  My oldest is 8 and he just got braces today.  Oh, I hated braces.  I do not look forward to the morning when he gets up.  That's when the pain really begins.  I just performed surgery with the wax.  All of you past braces wearers, do you remember the wax?  Well, I couldn't get it to stick on the part that is hurting him, so I had to shove a cotton  ball up into his mouth to keep everything dry.  Now he is fully waxed up.  Let's say a prayer that it all stays for a while.   Since he's 8, he's too cool to take a normal pic, but here's one of him with the new braces.  

I had a conversation over e-mail earlier with my sister-in-law.  She wanted to send back all of the hand-me-downs that I sent her when I thought I was done having babies.  Now I'm having a fourth and she thinks she needs to send it all back.  I told her not to bother.  Doesn't the fourth just wear a diaper all day?  That's my plan right now.