Fly on the Wall – Holiday Sentiments

Posted on December 23, 2016 by Cathy O

Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 9 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

I love this challenge so much that I even have my own page for it on my blog HERE.

Buzz around, see what you think, then click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

Baking In A Tornado http://www.bakinginatornado.com/

Menopausal Mother http://www.menopausalmom.com/

Spatulas on Parade http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/

Searching for Sanity http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com

Never Ever Give Up Hope http://batteredhope.blogspot.com

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy http://dinoheromommy.com/

Southern Belle Charm http://www.southernbellecharm.com

A Little Piece of Peace http://little-piece-of-peace.blogspot.com

Thanksgiving Leftovers

My 5 and 7 year old kids had some silly thoughts on what to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. Here’s what they shared as we were driving to Grandma and Grandpa’s house:

Big sister: I’m thankful I’m not an ant, so I won’t get squished.

Little brother: I’m thankful I’m not a tree, then I won’t get cut down. (He was thinking of the evergreen trees that we cut down for our Christmas tree)

Little Brother: I’m thankful that God made candy.

Many of Little Brother’s religious ed classmates also were thankful for candy, though some did say things like, “family, friends, our house.”

Decorating our Home

Little brother: Do you know that this stocking is a sock for a giant?

The kids went crazy decorating the tree. They wanted to put ornaments on so quickly. I just listened as I was nearby:

Big sister: Let’s put the cross next to the angel.

Little brother: Yeah, it’s like God is watching over us.

It was too sweet! I guess he is learning something from church / religious ed besides being thankful for God making candy.

A New Rule

It was a frightfully frigid day with a high of five degrees, so I felt motivated (finally) to make something. We had shredded zucchini in the freezer, so I made zucchini bread. When it came time to eat it, I helped myself to the crust and an inside piece. Little Brother said, “No fair! You got two pieces.” I replied, “Yes, the baker gets two!”

Our Affordable Art Gallery

We have been coloring and painting (as usual), and I wanted to finally clean up our creations. Little Brother and I decided to hang up some of our favorites in an “art gallery” in our home. We have two display areas. Here they are:

I overheard Little Brother talking to Daddy O. about the gallery, and he said, “Yeah, I think we should charge 299 for some pictures.” Then he paused, “or maybe 199.” I am not sure if he meant $299 and $199 or $2.99 and $1.99. Either way, some of his priceless works are saved in a storage bin under his bed.

Santa, You are the Best

FINALLY after five and seven years, respectively, the kids are okay with visiting Santa this year. Here they were with him earlier this month:

Little brother and Big sister hanging with Santa

Big sister has been consistent in asking Santa and writing about what she wants: “I want a puppy that eats its own poop.”

Santa’s response, “We’ll try.”

Bless your heart Santa! This ACTUALLY is a real toy. See Target, FurReal Friends Pax, My Poopin’ Pup. The food that you can feed it is actually then pooped out, and I believe you then feed the same pellets to the dog. Sigh.

She has been so consistent in asking for this toy, writing a letter to Santa over the weekend and asking for the same thing. I told her today that I emailed her letter to Santa, since it wouldn’t reach the North Pole in time via the postal service.

Santa’s response was cute –

“I see you’d like a special friend for Christmas. Now one thing about a puppy, real, or even pretend, is that flying in my sleigh can be a bit scary for them….. Now you know I will try my best for you, but I will have to check with your family if that’s ok. Will you check too? “

Santa, you are the best!!

I hope Santa is good to you and yours this holiday too! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Well, Color Me (sort of) Happy

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Cathy O

I was coloring plein air this morning at the park. It was a breezy, sunny fall day. The kind that requires jeans and a sweatshirt. YES! My kind of weather in Wisconsin! Here’s what I was working on:

I found this gem at JoAnn Fabrics. To give credit where it’s due – the book is by Lacy Mucklow, Illustrated by Angela Porter

It’s fun! My 5 and 6 year old kids even take turns coloring the same picture as me or working on their own, so it’s a shared portable coloring book.

What makes me laugh though is the introduction. It talks about common sources of stress in life and how each chapter of designs can help counteract stress and overall promote well-being. Great. I’ll take it!

Keep on reading, and you’ll find a disclaimer. This book…

“is not meant to replace the services of a professional therapist if more direct intervention and personal guidance are needed.”

Ha! Gotta love disclaimers! If you have an adult coloring book, see if there’s a similar statement in the introduction. Comment below and share what it says!

Cheers & color on!

Fly on the Wall: Cuckoo Gaga Cray Cray

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Cathy O

Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 10 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

Here’s who you’ll be hearing from:

Me, Mama O.
Daddy O.
Big Sister, age 6
Little Brother, age 4

Buzz around, see what you think, then click on these links at the bottom of my post for a peek into some other homes:

Can you Hear Me Now?

Ever feel like family members don’t listen to you? This happens all the time with my kids and happened recently with Daddy O. It went like this:

Me: There are extra english muffins in the freezer if you want some.

Two minutes later, Daddy O: Do we have english muffins?

Me: Big sister likes blueberries now.

Two minutes later, Daddy O to Big Sister: Do you like blueberries?

Me: Honestly, you didn’t hear me say those two things just minutes ago? Sigh…

Fashion Feedback

I did some shopping online and we had some interesting reactions to what I found.

Big sister: This is our like a belt on my sandal! I love them. (The “belt strap” is by her heel.)

Adorable- do they come in my size?

Little Brother: Shirts should cover my privates. (Upon trying on his new size 5 shirt, it covered his privates.)

Daddy O.: No, shirts don’t have to do that. I think Mom was saying that she likes shirts that cover her privates when she wears leggings.

This is an example of what I mean – I like a longer top to cover my “privates” when I wear leggings / spandex. This is my workout gear with #noMakeup #noFilter

I don’t always look cute when I workout. I also have these mannish, padded bike shorts. I’ll take function, comfort, and a good workout over cuteness anytime!

Me: (reacting to another online purchase) Isn’t the back of this sports bra cute?

Back detail of new sports bra (same yoga outfit as above).

Daddy O: Isn’t that like something Kendall Jenner would wear?

Me: Ugh. Did you really just say that?! How do you know what she wears?

Daddy O: I read it online.

Me: Wow, what a great way to spend your lunch hour! (Why did I ask? As a side note, cute sports bras are NOT comfortable. Don’t buy this kind of stuff online if you can’t return it. Ugh..but at least I won’t be wearing something that causes my husband to compare me to Kendall Jenner!)

Where do they come up with this?

Daddy O: Don’t be Cuckoo Gaga Cray Cray! (to Big Sister) Eat your breakfast.

Me: Wow, you came up with that one?

Daddy O: Yes, I guess I did.

Me: A new low in parenting, Daddy! That sounds like something from that Barbie show – lol. (Or possibly a new high in parenting as he relates to our 6 year old daughter – ha)

I’ve been calling Big Sister my mini-me for some time. Here we are together in a selfie that she didn’t want to be in:

Mama O and Mini Me

Anyway, she told me this week, “If I’m your mini-me, then you are my big-me.” Good point, but mini-me sounds way cuter! We talked about this last month, and she suggested I’d have white hair in a few months. It’s tough being the “big-me” I guess!

Mealtime Goofiness

Big sister to Little Brother (who was acting goofy at dinner): You can never be president!

Me: like he’s acting so weird that this would be brought up if he ran for president? Hmm when you were 4 we heard you had bad table manners.

Little Brother: (eating grapes) This tastes like chicken. (What?!)

Day Without the Kids

We had a very fun Saturday out, meeting family to canoe / kayak and go on a brewery tour. As usual, we were cutting it a bit close and should have left earlier.

Daddy O: What’s our ETA?

Me: Late!

Truth be told we were actually right on time. The rental place on the river opened right at the time of our canoe rental, so we made it! YES!

More Fantastic Fly Posts

Now, shoo fly & click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

Baking In A Tornado http://www.bakinginatornado.com/

Menopausal Mother http://www.menopausalmom.com/

Spatulas on Parade http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/

Searching for Sanity http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com

Never Ever Give Up Hope http://batteredhope.blogspot.com

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy http://dinoheromommy.com/

Southern Belle Charm http://www.southernbellecharm.com

Eileen’s Perpetually Busy http://eileensperpetuallybusy.blogspot.com/

Molly Ritterbeck http://mollyritterbeck.com/

Fly on the Wall: Stop Chatty, Chat, Chatting

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Cathy O

It’s that time of the month again! Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. I’ve written these posts before, and you can find past posts on this page of my blog.

Today 12 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

Here’s who you’ll be hearing from:

Me, Mama O.
Daddy O.
Big Sister, age 6
Little Brother, age 4

Animal Antics

My kids really love animals, so I wasn’t surprised when my son said, “I am chewing my spaghetti as a llama.” Oh really! He’s continued to say this whenever we eat pasta now.

Little brother sniffing me (like an animal), then told me, “When you wake up, you smell like a stinky ball.”

I asked him, “Do you smell like a stinky ball when you wake up?”

“No way!” he said.

While riding in the car, Little Brother declared, “Guess what? Wolves and African wild dogs can tire their prey to exhaustion. They run and run and run and then they get the moose.”

Me to Daddy O. “Wow, he’s just like that kid in Jerry Maguire!”

Tonight in the car, the kids were comparing my driving speed to how fast animals can run. “A lion is 40 mph. Did you know giraffes can only run 25 mph? This is way slower than a cheetah can run. Yeah, that’s 70 mph.” They really crack me up!

New Desserts

As I may have mentioned in other posts, I have a lot of time at home with Little Brother while Big Sister is in all day kindergarten. During winter we try to stay busy even if we’re indoors, so we’ve ended up baking together several times. One day he came up with his own dessert and starting giving me instructions:

“First take a chocolate granola bar. Then put Nutella on it. And then add green sprinkles.” He let me make my own version with Nutella on a graham cracker, saying “you get the pink sprinkles.” This guy is chocolate lover like me!

Every year for the past 14 years we have been fortunate to receive some Japanese candies along with a card from a family I met when I spent a summer in Tokyo. In turn, I try to send them American candies. This year it was fun trying all of the candies as a family. My daughter recently held up a fig-newton looking bar, and asked what I thought it was.

“It’s not chocolate! I know that much. It’s probably bean paste.” (as an aside, my mom had mistaken chocolate for bean paste when she visited me in Japan and bought a dessert all by herself – big disappointment).

Big Sister gave it a try, and exclaimed, “You gotta try this bean paste!” I guess I have a new ingredient that I can sneak into baking…

Just because we’re on the topic of baking and desserts, I thought I’d add a few comments around our 10 year anniversary.

Daddy O: I would really love a cherry pie for our anniversary.

Me (later in the day): I made you a marriage of our favorites – your tart cherries and my dark chocolate made one delicious chocolate cherry cake!

Daddy O: This is so good, I’ve had to have two a day!

Mama O and Daddy O on their 10 year anniversary

The selfie I took of Daddy O. and me on our actual anniversary.

Say WHAT?!

I took Little Brother shopping recently, and he spied some camouflage walkie talkies. He was all excited and of course wanted to buy them. I told him that he should bring his money to buy that toy, so we went home to empty his piggy bank and count it. When Daddy came home he said, “I have enough money for a wafee toffee.” I corrected him, “You mean a walkie talkie, right?” Little Brother, “No, wafee toffee.” We ended up returning to the store to let him buy the walkie talkie, and he since has stopped saying “wafee toffee.” It sounded pretty cute though!

When Little Brother is getting impatient (usually when we’re out in public), he has taken to saying, “Stop chatty, chat, chatting.” But my name is Cathy…isn’t Chatty Cathy a thing?

We were driving around, looking for a place to eat Sunday brunch, and as we passed a favorite neighborhood bistro, Little Brother professed, “I love bistros.”

Big sister wanted to play some apps or read some e-books on my Nook Tablet, and asked for the password, “Can you tell me the password when I’m like 13 or 14 years old?” Yes, I sure can. She’s so cute!

Life Isn’t Fair

Big sister at age 6 is becoming prone to drama – eye rolls, hands on the hip, and stare downs from time to time! Ugh! She blurted out, “Jordan and Kate ALWAYS get hot lunch. How come I NEVER get hot lunch?! Life isn’t fair. Don’t laugh at me, Mom.”

Oh my child…I could not help but laugh. How much you have to learn! And I am sure I will be hearing, “Life’s not fair” from you many more times!

For more Fly fun, be sure to click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

Baking In A Tornado

Juicebox Confession

Menopausal Mother

Someone Else’s Genius

Spatulas on Parade

Searching for Sanity

Never Ever Give Up Hope

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

Not That Sarah Michelle

Southern Belle Charm

Fly on the Fall: Which is that Farmer Thing?

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Cathy O

Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. I’ve written these posts before, and you can find past posts on this page of my blog. Today a total of 12 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

Here’s who you’ll be hearing from:

Me, Mama O.
Daddy O.
Big Sister, age 6
Little Brother, age 4

For a visual, here are some of our silly pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day:

A Few Gems from Christmas

As Christmas approached without snow and we’d hear the song, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” our kids would yell in reply, “No, it’s not.”

On Christmas morning, I said to Daddy O., “You know your kids are getting older when they’ll actually eat breakfast before opening presents.” I still can’t believe this happened!

I made some quick cinnamon rolls from a tube, something I don’t do often. Big sister exclaimed, “These are the best cinnamon rolls EVER!” Love her enthusiasm! And I’m glad she’s so easy so please – at times.

Big sister surprised us again, declaring, “The people with the fewest presents get to open them first.” So our cat Sumo opened her gift from Santa. She loved the cat toy that sort of looks like a fishing pole. Daddy O. said, “Wow, a toy Sumo actually likes, and the kids can finally play with her!” It was a minor Christmas miracle.

Daddy O.’s Birthday

To celebrate Daddy O.’s Birthday, we went out for breakfast. On our way there, we spotted a red tailed hawk on a power line. Big sister said, “Seeing a raptor on your birthday is better than cake!”

We didn’t have cake for Daddy O. either (which is what I think I was saying before the raptor comment). Instead we made pumpkin bread with cranberries. Happy Birthday to our fabulous Daddy!

After breakfast and before the birthday bread, we enjoyed snowshoeing as a family. Here are some pics from that:

Family fun in the snow! It was a beautiful Wisconsin winter day!

Yes, We Just Said That

We’ve been inside a lot with colder weather and some colds the past few weeks. Daddy O. was encouraging the kids to find something to do, and I overheard:

Daddy O: I didn’t say ride on your brother.

Me: Don’t ride on your brother?!

Daddy O: Yes, I just had to say that. Sigh…

And I also heard Daddy O. tell Little Brother, “Sop flying off the handle!” Little Brother innocently replied, “Which handle?!” It’s so cute when they don’t understand these sayings!

Little Brother Highlights

During a sick day, Little Brother and I were watching a cooking show. For some reason, he likes watching cooking and baking on TV from time to time – a nice change from cartoons. This time Martha Stewart was on.

Little Brother: Is Martha a real person?

Me: Yes, honey.

Little Brother: Do you know her?

Me: No.

Little Brother: Can you call her? Do you know her phone number?

Me: No, I can’t! (lol!)

One day for breakfast, little brother asked for “hula hoop things.” I think he meant fruit loops.

And finally, my favorite saying came from a conversation we had while walking to the grocery store.

Little Brother: Which is that farmer thing?

Me: What do you mean?

Little Brother: That farmer way of blowing noses.

Me: OH, you mean a “farmer blow?”

Little Brother: Yeah, farmer blow.

Me: You don’t need to do a farmer blow when you have a tissue. Here’s a tissue!

I honestly forgot when we mentioned the term “farmer blow,” but it was in his little head! Maybe it was when we were camping over summer…? Who knows, but it was hilarious!

Now click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

http://www.BakingInATornado.com Baking In A Tornado

http://www.juiceboxconfession.com Juicebox Confession

http://www.menopausalmom.com/ Menopausal Mother

http://www.someoneelsesgenius.com Someone Else’s Genius

http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/ Spatulas on Parade

http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com Searching for Sanity

http://batteredhope.blogspot.com Never Ever Give Up Hope

http://dinoheromommy.com/ Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

http://notthatsarahmichelle.blogspot.com Not That Sarah Michelle

http://www.southernbellecharm.com Southern Belle Charm

http://mybrainonkids.net My Brain on Kids