Real Life in a Real House

A couple of nights ago, the kids and I had game night. I picked up a new game "Mouse Trap" at Target. Ok, I know this is not a "new" game. It's a favorite from my childhood, but the kids had never played it before. So, hence the whole newness thing. Anyway, we got a fire going in the fireplace, our first this season, and settled in for a real "Family Night".

I had the kids do their chores beforehand (the promise of a new game and some full-on Mommy-time was all the incentive they needed) so that our house would be cleanish and I wouldn't be all skeeved out sitting on the floor. Remember the whole Photoshopping my pictures into life the way I wish it was? Well, I didn't do that with these! So behold the toy corner. That place in the family room where the kids toys are suppose to be neatly stacked. Yeah, that's Toy Mt. Everest!

No self-respecting family game night is complete without pizza, eaten on the floor! We do it right! Sean had his own gluten free, dairy free pizza and I even had a Lean Cuisine bbq chicken one!

Sean took the game VERY seriously. He also WON!

Tad was totally not into having his picture taken. Teenagers! Someday he'll look back and wonder why there are no pictures of him during these years... just like I do now!

Fire, game, GFCF pizza, Ed, Edd & Eddy on cartoon network - Sean has found nirvana!

Back to Daily Blogging aka Getting Real

My blog for the last while has been more of a photo album of What We Did This Month. It's had no real content, just pictures and with captions. That's about it. So much for Real Life. That's about as real as a Norman Rockwell painting. I've just been sharing the rosy bits that I've tweaked up in Photoshop, all blemish free and corrected lighting. Which is fine, if this was Mommy in Real Life-like. I'll still bring in the pictures, and yes there will be some photoshop touching up. But I'm going to have some more real content to. What it's like day in and day out to be a single mom of 5. Cause that is definitely NOT all rosy.

I'm sitting in bed right now, in sweats with socks on, seriously contemplating getting up. And yet, it's cold out there. Last week I paid an insanely high electric bill. It wiped out my bank account (ok, that doesn't really take much!) And that was from the last warm days of summer. We don't have A/C, and I have no explanation for the bill being so outrageous other than PG&E rates just went up, AGAIN. But we are also a family that tends to leave all the lights on. And tvs (and yes, we have several... like seven) and usually have at least three or four on at any given time. Often in empty rooms. And I can get up at 4 a.m. to a fully lit house with multiple tvs blaring. And at least one gaming platform on pause (we have 'em all: Xbox360, PS2, Wii, Gamecube...)

So I had a talk with the kids. This has GOT to stop. I can't afford it. And it means THEY can't afford it. If the family money is going to PG&E, then it's not going to clothes, movies or Christmas presents. They understood that. And when I got up in the wee hours of the morning today, it was to a dark and quiet house. Not a light was on, not a single tv... except mine. Yes, hypocrite that I am, I HAVE to sleep with the tv on. I need the white noise to drown out the sounds of people breaking in my house to murder me in my sleep. I've tried sleeping with it off, but THAT is all I hear. Every sound is the sound of Hannibal Lecter/Jason Voorhees/Michael Myers (no, not the guy from Austin Powers. The slow walking one from Halloween.) It doesn't help that my bedroom is at the front of the house, and so I hear all the noise from the street. I am a Mom and I'm allowed to have a double-standard.

So the house is freezing cold right now, because we've had some sort of bizarro world cold snap and Marin County now thinks it's located in Canada instead of California. Can I just tell you how impossible it is to get out of a warm bed when you can see your breath. Normally that only happens when I'm camping. And then I get to have eggs and bacon for breakfast. Mmmmm.... bacon.... But there will be no eggs and bacon today. And so there is no incentive to get out of bed. And now it's 8 and I'm running late. And I'm cold. And it's Monday. And there is no joy in Whoville.

10 Ways to Waste Time on the Internet

Really? 'Cause I totally NEVER waste time on the internet. Ever. Honest. But, I suppose "other" people do. So here's how I think Other (totally not me) people waste time, top 10. David Letterman style.

10. Looking up their house on Google Earth.
9. Reading the original Julie/Julia Project blog from beginning to end.
8. Getting daily words of wisdom from Sh!tMyDadSays on Twitter.
7. Checking out the latest fashion on PeopleofWalmart.
6. Updating their Facebook status.
5. "Educational" videos on Youtube.
4. Catching up on missed episodes of Desperate Housewives on Television Without Pity.
3. Bejeweled Blitz and Scrambled on Facebook (that's two strikes, FB!!)
2. Stalking haters from the past (definitely not me, I would never do that. Ever. So not my style. I'm just saying that OTHERS might...)
1. One word: Cakewrecks!

And if you want to play along too:

Halloween Town Done Right

What with Halloween being on a Saturday this year, it automatically turned it into a minimum two-day celebration. Friday, the kids dressed up for school.
Here's Tad as grapes. Honest to God, this was his idea!

Tad with his personal airbag system.

Sean wanted to be a race car driver. Thank you Disney stores for combining his two favorite things: Disney Pixar's Cars and race car driver, into one fabu costume! That I did not need to sew. Hurrah!

Skye decided that since her best friend had been a white kitty last Hallowee, she HAD to dress up as a black kitty this year. I did have to sew this one, premade cat costumes were less than Kindergarten appropriate!

Saturday afternoon found the kids suited up again. But before tricks could be treated, we had to go show off to visit the Great Grandparents.

And that meant a stop in to see the Grandparents, at work of course! Dollhouses, Trains & More *plug plug*

Required group shot in the Thomas the tank engine room, before heading off to beg the neighbors for free candy trick or treat!

I have no pictures beyond this as I was in the process of coming down with a horrible head and chest cold. I was completely unconscious before the kids rang their first doorbell!!

Renovations aka More Excuses for Procrastination

I'm in the upgrade process. I was hoping to unveil the new one today. HAHA - like I've had much time to work on it! I amuse myself so much sometimes! Now I'm hoping for sometime this week, but let's face it. Getting it done by January 1st is going to be a good trick! Since I only have 50 gazillion other projects I'm ALSO working on - several of which need finishing before new blog unveiling. The need to hurry up that whole Cloning thing - I could use at least 3 more of me! And that's just to handle the kids! BWAAAHAAAHAAAA!

So, I'm going to still blog here (I'd kinda been stepping back a bit since I was going to do this whole new THANG.) When the transfer happens, it should be seemless, so no reason not to keep posting here. In the words of Doris Day "whatever will be, will be!" and some stuff in spanish.

There will be a Halloween post here later. With pictures and candy and spooky stuff. You'll just have to use your imaginations for now.

Halloween Costume Countdown

Six days to Halloween and counting. I still have a couple of costumes to make. I have Skye's black kitty costume cut out, still needs sewing. I've taken a pattern and changed it (of course, that's what I do) to make it easier, no zipper but velcro instead (I mean, hello! it's a costume, not clothing!) and added a neck collar. We are skipping the hood and I'm attaching ears to a headband. Much cuter and more "little girlie", I think.

More this:


And less this:


She is very excited. She found the envelope for the pattern I'm using and has already picked out next year's costume from the one's pictured on it. Nothing like planning early!! Of course, that will change approximately 12,324,753 times between now and next Halloween! So I won't go buy the fabric just yet.

I have been busy sewing for the past couple of weeks. I've made Sean and Skye each a hooded, zippered sweatshirt, Skye a cute little plaid blouse, two Halloween dresses and crocheted her a hat and poncho.


I have some Halloween pjs cut out for Sean, along with Skye's aforementioned costume. And I still need to make Cali's red satin hooded cape for her demon costume. My mom has commissioned me to make her a 1910s traveling hat and coat. Has that much time passed that the tables have turned and I'm now making my mother's Halloween costume? How did that happen?!


Tad's in a small panic. He has no idea what to be and expects me to come up with something. Greeeaaaaat. How about a box? Or a ghost? Or a straight A student?! With his hair the way it is, maybe I can just throw some aviator glasses and leather pants on him and he can go as Jon Bon Jovi! I'm guessing it should be a costume that 13 year old boys would recognize and not just their mothers!

Maybe I'll just paint dots on a big box and he can go as a die.

My own costume I've kept exceedingly simple. I just got my hair cut into a chin length bob. I have a Steve Young jersey. So I'm going as...

10 Guilty Pleasures

According to Wiki, a Guilty Pleasure is something one enjoys despite feeling guilt for it. Apparently, it is also the second studio album from Ashley Tisdale (did you know she had a first studio album? Me neither!) Go other girl from High School Musical, rock on!! Vanessa who, right?!

So here they are in no particular order:

1. Frozen Junior Mints


2. Rolling down all the windows in my car so I can crank it a little louder when Bon Jovi comes on the radio


3. Reading in the bathtub (only dropped one book so far!) until I run out all the hot water.


4. Movies - I go see anywhere from 1-5 a week, yes I am aware that is a helluva lot of money. They are usually accompanied by #1 (though I do tend to sneak those in my purse!)


5. Coke Zero - I know, I know. I gave it up. But I admit that since the 30 days was up, I've had a couple a week. So shoot me!


6. Bejeweled on Facebook


(not to be confused with Bedazzled starring Brendan Fraser - that is a pleasure I feel no guilt about whatsoever!!)


7. Reading tabloid magazines in line at the grocery store and not buying them.


8. Manis & Pedis (though I would argue these are a necessity!)


9. Spending my day off blog-surfing and watching Food Network instead of doing housework.


10. The Lifetime Channel


And if you want to play along too: