Our Family Motto: What's That Smell?

The most frequently asked question in our home is, "What's that smell?"

The other day, there was such a smell coming from the laundry room that I actually closed the door between the laundry room and the kitchen, and opened the other side of the laundry room to the garage to air it out a bit. You know it's bad when the garage smells better than the laundry room!

Having avoided doing laundry for a few days, I decided to brave the stink, for the sake of clean underwear. I started to run a load of clothes, and as the water filled the basin, the smell was putrid. Worse than dirty diapers. More like rotting roadkill.

Not wanting to make a grisly discovery myself, I asked my husband to take a look inside the machine. I was sure there would be something dead at the bottom of the barrel. Dutifully, he removed the wet stuff from the full washer one article at a time. When he got down to the bottom, he found the offending article. "Honey, what's this?" I peeked around the corner and saw him holding up dripping wet a Blue's Clues beach towel with big, brown splotches.

My mind was jogged back to a major chocolate milk spill earlier in the week. "I think it's chocolate milk," I said. (See, it's not as bad as you thought it would be.) But it sure did stink! I had grabbed the big towel to help mop things up. When I finished, I tossed the towel into the washer and forgot about it. Oooh-whee!

In case you're wondering how to remove the smell of spoiled chocolate milk from a towel, I used Tide and chlorine bleach. That almost worked. A subsequent wash with Tide and Borax did the trick.

What? PPV Cartoons for Little Shoppers?

I think we watch too much television. That goes for my whole family. Kids, grown-ups, everybody. And I know we should cut back. I admire the families that have the gumption and commitment to turn it off for a week, or even get rid of it altogether, but I am not that tough. At least not today.

So imagine my reaction when I went grocery shopping and discovered a fantastic and devious new take on the old metal buggy. Now, I have three kids, so the plastic race car shaped carts are already a big hit with our crew. However, this was something entirely amazing -- the TV Cart.

Oh, yes. The first time I encountered the TV Cart, I heard it before I saw it. A familiar tune wafting down the aisle in front of me. I found myself singing along to The Wiggles, and wondered where that music was coming from. And then I saw it. The TV Cart. A mother was pushing her blissfully entranced toddler in this big plastic pod. The cockpit of the cart is mostly enclosed, except for the front window. I guess that's so the kid can breathe.

My initial reaction was one of surprise, mingled with disgust. What will they think of next? As if we need another thing to spend money on, and give our kids more TV at the same time? What kind of mother would do that?

On the way out of the store, I saw the station where the TV Carts wait to be rented. It's a dollar per use. Now, I think of myself as a practical, frugal person. A whole dollar, just for TV during a shopping trip? Ridiculous. hmmmm.

A week later, I was at the store again. This time, I had two of my three children with me. Knowing I was in for a sweaty wrestle of an outing, I looked at the TV Carts. Could I be so frivolous? I started to rationalize, "With two kids, it's only 50 cents each. That's not so bad."

My son was checking out the Cart as if it were a Mustang at the dealership. He peeked inside the cockpit. "Mom, there's a TV in there!" Even his baby sister wanted to get into the Cart. I caved. I got change from the nearest check-out lady and fed it into the rental station. The kids jumped in, The Wiggles started to wiggle, and we were off.

With mixed feelings of guilt and euphoria, I completed the shopping without a peep, bicker, or cry from the kids. They didn't even try to get out and run around. This mom's verdict: TV Cart is a good way to get the shopping done when you're having one of those days with the kids. It's a treat for kids and parents alike, but I'll be using it sparingly.

Here's my elf dance. Let's see yours!

You've probably seen the OfficeMax commercials for Elf Yourself. It's a web application that lets you upload your own photo, crop it to fit an elf hat, and then watch yourself do an elf dance with up to three of your friends. Silly, but so fun! I did one with my own face first, and then I made one with my kids (above). Aren't they cute?!

I've heard that people without high speed connections aren't able to enjoy the show, so keep that in mind. You can see my elf dance here, or make your own. If you make one that you'd like to share, please post it in the comments so we can all laugh together!

Why we love Yo Gabba Gabba (it's weird, but now I like it)

Yo Gabba Gabba is one of the few children's programs that I can actually enjoy with my kids. It reminds me of Sesame Street and The Electric Company from when I was a kid.

Unlike some of the other meaningless junk cartoons, Yo Gabba Gabba is actually fun and educational. It took me a couple of episodes to "get it," because it's different from anything else I've seen, but now I see why the kids love it so much! We sing and dance together to songs like "Don't Bite Your Friends," and "Party in my Tummy!" Once you get over the "this is so weird" phase, it's a blast.

One of my favorite parts of Yo Gabba Gabba is the special "Dancey Dance" segment. This is where a special guest actor or celebrity teaches the characters -- and us -- how to do a special dance, like the "Twirly Whirly" (Nikki Flores) or the "Puppet Master" (Elijah Wood), and other special moves by Laila Ali, Sugarland, Sean Kingston, and others. The dances are simple and fun for the kids, and having a real human person on the show makes it more relatable for adults. Plus, I'm not much of a dancer, so these simple steps are perfect for me, too! There are also special music segments, featuring fun bands like the Aquabats and the Salteens, doing some very perky, peppy toe-tapping tunes.

Quite simply, Yo Gabba Gabba is the freshest, hippest new kids' show out there, and if you'd like to check out some videos and get more information on Yo Gabba Gabba, visit my Yo Gabba Gabba page at Squidoo.

Are you a Slasher? Hint: most moms are!

You may have heard of a new trend in career designations recently. The "Slash Career" is gaining acceptance among mainstream workers. The Slash (/) is no longer reserved for the starving creative types, as in Actor/Busboy, Artist/Barista, Singer/Waitress, etc.

Nowadays, the Slash is popping up between more white collar and upper-middle class professional titles, such as Lawyer/Event Planner, and Executive/Life Coach. People who successfully manage dual careers seem to thrive on the variety in their lives. You know, like pretzels dipped in chocolate. I like pretzels, and I love chocolate. But when you put them in the same bite, they're both even better!

Even though today's hip, modern Slash Careers are getting more press, we all know that mothers are the original Slashers. I'm a mom, and I never know what to put down for "Occupation," when I fill out a form. At first, when I was a new mom, I continued to use my former occupation. My "real" job.

It's been a while since then, and I've gotten over it. The older I get, the less I care about what other people think of me. I'm completely consumed, fulfilled, and exhausted by my current profession as a mom working from home. So what do I write on the form? It's hard to sum up what I do in just one word. But when I start listing the things I do for a living, it seems kind of arrogant to try to write them all down. I mean, who do I think I am? Wonder Woman? I just do what every other mom does... A little bit of everything!

So I usually just choose the occupational titles that mean the most to me personally: Wife and Mother. The other stuff is important, too, and the variety of activities is stimulating and delicious. But in the big picture, all the housework, blogging, entrepreneurial endeavors, and even charitable activities, pale in comparison to the significance of the work I do with my family. Yep, Wife/Mother. That's me.

My kids say the funniest stuff: flytraps

A few days ago, I was driving The Mother Ship (minivan) with the kids in the back. The boys, ages 6 and 8, were reaching across the seat between them, going "chomp! chomp!" toward one another. Hoping to avert a brawl, I was about to tell them to keep their hands to themselves, when I heard the younger one say, "Chomp! I'm a Venus flytrap!" I thought that was cute. Then, the older one responded, "Well, I'm a Jupiter flytrap. I'm bigger!" :-)

Happy Birthday to me!

I'm one of those people who enjoy having birthdays. Yes, I'm getting older, and yes, I have more gray hair than I did a year ago, but I still think birthdays are fun. My family got me a pink iPod shuffle, which I LOVE! And my kids are working on another "present" for Mommy, which is not arguing for the whole day, and doing what I ask without having to be asked multiple times. We'll see how they do! My dad used to ask us for the same thing on Father's Day or on his birthday, and we thought it would be so much easier if we could just get him a "real" gift. I guess you have to become a parent to understand what a "real" gift is, on so many levels!

Gratitude journal: It's my birthday, and I get to eat cake!

The Great Pumpkin - smells like childhood!

I grew up in rural Wisconsin in the 70s, and we didn't have cable television. That means it was a really big deal when the Charlie Brown specials were on. Back then, the only time I could see cartoons was on Saturday mornings, unless you count Sesame Street, Electric Company, and Mr. Rogers on PBS.

Anyway, even though we have The Great Pumpkin on DVD now, and can watch it any time of the year (and we do!), it's still a special thing to see it on the network. It doesn't matter that I'm 30-something with kids of my own. When we sit on the couch to watch Linus in the pumpkin patch, it's almost like being a little kid again. Thank you, Great Pumpkin, sincerely!

lots of kids, lots of shoes

Lots of kids, lots of shoes