Ten on Tuesday

1. Facebook sends you e-mails when people comment on your status updates or after you commented on someone else's page. Whatever. I have always had them sent to my hotmail account with no issues what-so-ever. Last week, out of the blue, hotmail decided that anything from Facebook is junk mail. Is hotmail trying to tell me something about my habits? Is it really that smart?

2. I made a new recipe in the crock pot today, Herbed Artichoke Chicken. A yummy looking mix of diced tomatoes, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, white wine, and various herbs and spices. As I reached for my dried basil, I realized that the bottle was Ralph's brand. The trouble with moving, and with buying generic? I instantly knew how old this basil must be. I haven't lived near a Ralph's since early 2005. At least I finally finished my last spice from Lucky's (went out of business in 1999). Yummo cooking at our house!

3. 2010 is officially the "Year of Giselle Feeling Old." This month I've had weird spotting and back aches. Debilitating back aches. Time for Mikey to start climbing out of his crib...pronto. And why exactly do I suddenly feel like I'll be turning 83 this August instead of 33? Perhaps it is time to exercise and give my body a fighting chance. ;) And seriously. Still can't spell exercise. How can I be expected to DO it if I can't even SPELL it? Always want to spell it exersize. Again with the turning 83...

4. My husband loves me, which is a wonderful thing. But it is kind of irritating how unrealistic he is...how he doesn't acknowledge the rose-colored glasses that he wears. I was looking at swim suits, and he suggested that I get a rash guard (skin cancer runs in the family) with a bikini top to go underneath. And then I can have 2 swimsuits kind of. Um, hello? Bikini top? Have we seen the war zone that was my abdomen? My belly button doesn't even look belly button-ish anymore. Ew...just...EW. But sweet, in a way.

5. Shadow is an amazing dog. She looks like a puppy, doesn't come upstairs, hardly ever barks in the house, sleeps in her kennel like a champ, and is amazingly well behaved with the ear-grabbers that we call children. But with the advent of spring each year, we are reminded that despite all her wonderful traits, Shadow has zero social skills with other dogs. She doesn't allow the normal sniffing of the nether-regions and bowing in play signals...her back hair raises and she goes directly for the jugular. Unfortunately, because she looks like a puppy to other humans, the owners of wandering dogs assure me that it is okay, that the dogs will get along. I shake my head knowingly, but sometimes allow a meeting to occur. Perhaps she is mellowing with age, I tell myself. Perhaps THIS year will be the year Shadow barks but doesn't go for the kill. And then she snaps at the other dog's throat and their owner grabs the dog away with a gasp at how AWFUL my sweet-looking puppy is. She is a grouchy 40-something old maid. Maybe next year...

6. I need popsicles...I buy them in boxes of 500...you know the type...they come unfrozen in plastic sleeves...you freeze and then cut the tops off to enjoy. I love that they don't drip, I love that I can store them unfrozen, I love. We enjoy them in the summer by the dozens each week, and in the winter they are my catch-all boo-boo curing devices. But because I buy such enormous quantities, I never know where to get them once I'm out. They are not kept in the freezer aisle like the other popsicles. Juice aisle? Summer aisle? Special end of aisle random crap shelves? And when I shop with 3 children, there is no tracking-back. So each trip I check one place and then move on determined to find them the next trip. Haven't found them yet...Le-sigh.

7. I have been having dreams about babies. Apparently my sub-conscious is not aware of the chaos that 3 children have had on my existence and thinks it would be a great idea to add another kremlin to the mix. A few nights ago I had a dream that I was cradling and cooing to Tori Spelling's baby. And I only thought it slightly odd that Tori had put fake eyelashes on the teeny tiny baby before handing her over to me. ??? Where oh where did my Matthew Fox on a beach shirtless dreams go?

8. We are in the final planning/ordering stages of making over our kitchen. I cannot tell you how excited this project is making me. I cannot tell you how depressing it is that new cabinets are the most interesting things going on over here. ;) I promise I'll post before and after shots of the kitchen. But don't get too excited...we aren't doing it until the end of June. We move Sllloooooowwwwlllyyyy over here.

9. I read an article last fall about how to treat yourself to something special. The part that rang most true to me was that people tend to buy things that they wish they could use, and then what was supposed to be a treat ends up being a frustration. Like buying a new craft, when you don't have the time to do it. Or a manicure if you are going to ruin it with housework in a day or so. The article suggested looking at what you do a lot and then upgrading something. Like, if you are in the kitchen a lot, buy a really top grade chopping knife to make you happy while you work. So I went out and bought myself a fun little winter mug to have my coffee in each morning. Lame, I know. But it made me happy to look at my little snowmen each morning. Not so much anymore. So I am on the hunt for a springy/summery mug. No more than $5. Tougher than you'd think.

10. I find I am reading less and less to the children. I am a mother full of faulty parenting, but I've always felt good about how much reading I've exposed them too. But they are all in such different stages of reading, and I'm having a hard time finding sufficient time to settle them in for a read. While I'm reading a board book to Mikey about trucks, he is distracted by the wrestle/scream/fight fest that blossoms in front of us as Lily and Andrew try to amuse themselves. Or if I get them quietly coloring or watching tv, he just wants to do what THEY are doing...screw reading. Lily wants regular picture books, but nothing too wordy. She also has zero tolerance to Michael crumpling the pages or Andrew helping me to read. Andrew either wants to read or he wants a chapter book or he wants very detailed non-fiction that his siblings can't follow. -sigh- Why does reading even have to be difficult.