Saturday, May 26, 2012

Easy isn't better sometimes

I just read this article from the Mirror.  And I have to say.. it makes sense.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/women-are-fatter-because-they-do-less-housework-846757

We have SOOO many modern conveniences.  Dishwashers, washers and dryers.  Toss stuff in and its done.  Propelled lawn mowers and snow blowers.  Spray and leave cleaning solutions where scrubbing isn't needed.  The desire to make it easier for women and men has left us bigger. On top of the modern home conveniences, we have tons of fast food options to make it easier for us.  It reminds me the passengers in WALL-E.  Always on the go.  

When was the last time you heard that someone did their laundry by hand? or scrubbed their floors once a week or more? Or used a push mower (no gas or electric here kids, just pure muscle power)?  I remember using a push mower at the cemetery and it was hard.  I used one when we first moved in since the lawn mower we had died.  It was hard.  But it felt good.  I often opt to shovel instead of snowblow .. (I hate dealing with her. she only likes Tim and not me).  Its hard!  Especially when the snow is wet and heavy.

I noticed when I was on a cleaning rampage, my spent calories was way up.  Somewhere between 700 and 1000 for the day.  That's a lot!

So think about it.  Modern cleaning conveniences, fast food and a busy schedule = thicker middle and spending extra money to try to get rid of it.

Doing chores the old fashion way (elbow grease) + ditching the fast food = me loosing a few inches.  I know it works.  I did it.

Go ahead..  bring on the arguments that the new vacuum cleaners, washers, dryers and so on are great time savers freeing up time to do other family things.  There is nothing like a good dance while I hang laundry with Erin.  Or a talk with Tim while we do the dishes.  Or the smiles I get when we tell Tim Erin helped cook dinner.  Now granted, I won't give up the lawn mower or snowblower.  Those are Tim's toys.  And no, you can't have my new washing machine and dryer.  Just move a little more, scrub instead of spray n'leave and skip the drive thru.  That's my plan.


HULK Smash!

for those that follow me on facebook, you know we've had issue with a girl down the street.  Erin has been very brave about this whole thing.  And today, some words against me were spoken by said girl and well, Erin had enough.  She ended it and there were tears and more words.

In the end, I ended up at this girls house  to talk to the mom.  She in fact was not told the whole story and I played the message for her.  She was shocked and embarrassed by what her daughter did.

As we talked like moms, I was told the girl has ADHD and ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder).  It made sense. She was clear it wasn't an excuse for what the girl did.  And I believed her.  And it really sounds like this girl has a learning disorder on top of things.  I'm not a clinician... but from everything I have read, its a possibility.  ODD paired with ADHD is hard.  Now that we know it, we can work with that.  But I called a time out for a month.  When school is out, we can re-group and try again.

So now we have to teach Erin how to deal with ODD and ADHD.  This is something that isn't in the Mom Handbook.  There is no chapter on "How to deal with my ODD friends".  I have books on how to deal with "difficult" kids.  They came in handy with Erin when she was little - simple tricks on how to defuse the situation.  But how can a 9 year old be asked to do that?  I told Erin the honest truth about ODD.  She wants to give it a try.  She wants to try again with this girl knowing that the ODD is out in the open and there ways to stop the conflict. She wants to help.  I think I did something right with Erin.


Friday, May 25, 2012

still here

I am still here.  Just off doing other things.  Its crunch time for the kiddo's dance school.  Not to mention exams for school.  So life has taken the front seat.  But its calming down now so I thought I'd get this in while I can.

We took a trip to Rochester to the Strong Museum of Play.  A friend of Tim was part of the Super Hero exhibit so we stopped by to see it.  They had a video game up in that section.. yes.. my loves together playing a video game


There is a full Video game room as well.  We turned the kid on to Gauntlet.  YES!  3 is way better than 2 when you are playing that game.

And of course, she had to ride the Merry Go Round... but she opted to sit with 2 little kids in the round spinny seat.  She wanted to make sure they were ok.  

She  struck up a conversation with kids and made sure she sat by the door.  So they wouldn't fall out.  I must have done something right with this kid.


Thursday, May 03, 2012

picture perfect

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Wouldn't you love to live here??  Sigh.. planning my next trip already

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(I just really like these photos.. the lighting and color was perfect)

notions

I love to sew.  My closet in my dining room proves it.  I have fabric and notions all over the place.  But look at this:

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And this


general store Fabric

How awesome is that?!  Pardon me while I drool..

I love this Kitchen


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Originally uploaded by melblackrose
This is from the Octogon house located at Genesee Country Museum. Circa late 1800s. The crocks on the floor, the open layout and the tile floor. Love it!

Is it time yet?

I know I have to wait a bit longer to get the garden going.. but I need to behave.  Made a stop at Home Depot today to pick up a plant for a teacher gift.  I know, I know.. Support the local grower.  I will.  But Home Depot was there and I had time while Erin was in Dance.

The herbs and some veggies are out on display.  Lemon Verbana smells soo good.  But what the hell do I use it with?  I want more Rosemary, Basil, Mint and Thyme.. stuff I use all the time.  A tomato plant for Tim and lettuce for Erin.  My strawberries need to be moved into a bigger pot and I'm thinking of blueberries so I can freeze them.  I'd like to plant some carrots in pots so they have room to grow.

And the flowers...  oh I really need to get into my garden. It needs to be weeded and expanded and fenced...  Oh! Maybe corn....  that would be interesting... Corn.