I Spy - from my desk.

I started to write this big Debbie Downer post about how much I hate February (not winter, just February) and how tough things are for me this week. 

You do not want to hear it. 

Instead, here is a little I SPY from my desk today: 

1.  Ibuprofen.  This is heavy in rotation right now.  Lots of headaches.  Too many headaches.  I think in part because the winter light is weird in my office and bounces off my computer screen. 

2.  Two forms of chocolate - traditional Hersheys kisses and a Hazelnut Crisp bar. 

3.  My lego superheros.  Wonder Woman and Superman always make things better. 

4.  Bliss handcreme.  if you are not familar - try it. Its a miracle. 

5.  Hand sanitizer.  If you get me sick, I will cut you. 

6.  Work.  Yes, contracts and documents and notes.  Oh my!

7.  Prayer card.  St Thomas More is the patron saint of lawyers.  I sometimes need his little prayer for grace and calm and wisdom.  Who doesn't need grace and calm and wisdom?

8.  Badger button.  Go big red! 

Ooooh, Love to Love You Baby

I am not a candy and flowers and lace and ribbons kind of girl.  I get a little overwhelmed by everyones creativity for Valentines day - Luke's Angry Birds purchased Valentines were complicated enough for me! 

I did, however, have a big Valentines blessing.  For a long time, I have wanted to do a Diaper Drive.  I know how overwhelming being a mom is for me - and I do not worry about providing the very basics to my kids - food, shelter, clothes, diapers.  I am blessed to have a good job and a hardworking husband. 

I feel those moms that struggle in my heart though.  I think about them when I am having a lousy day.  I wonder what my life would have been like if my kids would have been born when I was 20 instead of 30. 

So to share the love, I asked my friends (who are the kindest and sweetest people) to have a Love Day Party with a Purpose.  We had happy hour and diapers.  I don't think the other bar patrons even knew what hit them - a crowd of folks bringing in diapers and wipes and bottles and soap and lotion and other baby goodies. 

My van?  Stuffed to the gills with all their generosity.  I can't wait to deliver to House of Hope and do our little part to help in this community.  Good people with a plan make a difference and I am so proud of my dear friends.  Forgive the bad photo - there were diapers galore and it was dark!

Are you looking for a way to make a difference?  Host your own diaper drive - get some friends together and collect these baby goodies.  I am sure there is a local transitional housing, womens shelter, church group in your town that would be blessed by your party. 

Sometimes its easy to forget all that we have and all those friends who hold us up.  This was the perfect love day reminder.  Go out and do good with love.

Crazy Love

I don't think Valentines day is really a Ventage type holiday.  No special food, no drinking parties or any of the other things we love.  

In honor of this flop holiday in our world, here are 5 weird things on my love list:

5)  I love the first pickle/olive/nut out of the jar.  The rest?  Fine, but nothing magical like the first one.  

4)  I love fresh sheets on the bed.  If I was totally rich, I would want freshly laundered sheets every day (sorry environmentalist buds).  

3)  I love ethnic Norwegian names.  I lobbied very hard for Bjorn and Hildegard on my baby name list.  As you can see, this is not a love that Mike and I share.

2)  I love talking on the telephone and hate the advent of all things texting.  I don't mind texting but I really prefer chatting on the phone.  

1)  I love old school, twang and heart break country music.  I am doing my damnedest to make sure my kids do too - a little Hank Williams Sr is good for the soul.  

Monday Mania a/k/a things I love that will probably kill me.

I see lots of committments to health on these fine interwebs.  Good for you.  Today I am not in that kind of mood.  So I present to you an important list...

THINGS I LOVE THAT WILL PROBABLY KILL ME.

1.  Chicken Wings.  With ranch and celery.  Hot.  Preferably from The Bar because they are crispy and not goopy from sauce.  In fact, my favorite date nights are for wings. 

2.  Inappropriate amounts of liquor.  Preferably bourbon or gin.  In a fancy glass.  At a party or alone, both are pitch perfect. 

3.  The very best ever rice krispies bars.  I am not a sweet person.  This is the only dessert type item I would consider a vice.  But I love these.  One whole stick of butter, two bags of marshmallows and one small box of rice krispie cereal.  Heaven in a bar form.  

 4.  Cheese and bread.  Above is my most recent favorite way to eat these two.  This recipe may change your life (in an artery clogging but very very happy way).  Best served with friends.  and booze. 

5.  Bloody Marys.  I know that booze got its own entry, but the Bloody Mary is such the height of perfection that it gets its own.  Salty, with snacks.  Appropriate for breakfast.  What is not to love?



I have years of perfecting this list.  If you would be interested in joining me for any of this goodness, say the word.  We can make it happen.

Wrestled my Heart

Wrestling is one of those sports that has no middle ground - you either love it or just don't get it.  My brother was a wrestler, I may have dated a few wrestlers in my dating days, Mike was a wrestler. 

My life prepared me for this mothering moment (SCORE - seems infrequent that my life experience has helped me be a better mom). 

Luke has joined a youth wrestling program.  Well, really our whole family has because it is a real committement from a time and energy perspective.  Two nights a week, Luke and Mike trek to a smaller town with a super program and go to practice. 

Dude is loving it.  He has consistently weighed in at about 62 lbs of 4 year old muscle and naughtiness.  That means, that my Luke, with two months of wrestling experience, is being matched up against 6 and 7 year olds, with lots of experience. 

Not going to let that stop him.  Our Warrior has gotten sooooooooo into it.  He has wrestled in two tournaments, hasn't scored a win yet but has come very close.  He is loving being with boys, being able to be physical and active and strong.  It doesn't matter that he isn't a talker.  He has a man crush on his coach.  The coach who pushes being serious and focused and a good teammate.  The coach who laughs at his intensity and craziness and says, "its most important to have fun, winning comes later" all while teaching my Warrior to do complex moves and strategize. 

It rocks.  I am so proud of him that he hasn't been intimidated by this journey.  Because, wrestling is JUST HIM out on the mat. 

Wrestling becomes a whole family affair, on Sunday we booked it to a tournament.  We were lucky that Barb could join us.  Luke had some very cool fans in attendance. 

Dottie was very glamorous in her leggings, tutu and black combat boot getup.  Charlie wanted to be right there on the mat with the big boys and Barb was a great helper wrangling three kids! 

I am so proud of Luke, and LOVING how much fun he is having...

Ventage Tuesday - I'm THAT Woman

Today's Ventage topic was inspired by this email from me:

I am that lady in the store today.
You know her, the one going 100 mph because she is trying to shop on her lunch hour?
You know, the disheveled needs to shower one?
You know, the one that has so many groceries that the cart looks like a JENGA match?
You know, the one that the lady in the checkout line behind her says - I can't imagine buying that many groceries...how long does that last you?
Um.  One week.  With an additional stop for milk.
Gulp.
I am also that lady at the parcel pickup that is trying to shove a double stroller into a car set so the back of the minivan will hold said JENGA like grocery mound.
Great.
I have officially jumped the shark.

That was my harsh realization from about a week ago.  I spurred a discussion about carts and grocery shopping and grocery habits.  We vowed to share our carts.  Here goes, don't laugh.  

 This was my Saturday trip to Woodmans.  I may or may not have had another cart.  

I had a great little helper:

She likes to put things in the cart and inspecting the fruit is her favorite job.  She would subsist on only fruit if I would let her.  

So what does a JENGA like grocery cart for a family of 5 in Green Bay, Wisconsin have in it?

Photo 1:  rutabagas, whole chicken, rice, flout, canola oil, mini saltines (love those), three kinds of yogurt, sour cream, cheese curds, coffee creamer, noodles, cream cheese, marshmallows, half and half, more whole chickens, fruit soda (special treat!)

Photo 2:  bread, shrimp, tostitos, milk (4 gallons) pizza crusts, mushrooms, lemons, lima, carrots, spaghetti sauce, ricotta cheese, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, corn tortillas, flour tortillas, onions, 

I couldn't capture everything.  Although, I do love the cute husband in the back of photo 2 wiping down the kitchen table.  (sigh).  

Our weekly grocery bill is outrageous.  but we eat almost every meal at home and I do my best to purchase mostly unprocessed food.  I do buy spaghetti sauce and HCFS marshmallows and other not so healthy items but I think we are well rounded.  :)  

I used to love to spy on other peoples carts.  I would have pretty elaborate backstories concocted by the time I reached the check out.  Now?  I want to do my two carts per week, usually with a kid in tow, shopping and get the hell out of there.  

Every week we have the following on our list:
milk,
bread
bananas
coffee creamer
apples
cheese
(lots of cheese).

If you like to spy on carts - I would recommend checking out everyone else's:

Katrina
Em
Barb
Steph

We probably have a lot of variety in our carts - we have some vegetarians, some allergy types, big kids, no kids, babies, it really is a mixed bag!