ikea love

Last weekend, I took a long, long road trip to visit with some fantastic friends in Delaware.  More about that later.  On the way home, I planned a pit stop at one of the Ikea stores in Baltimore.  I was a first-timer and boy, was I enthralled! 

There were some really awesome things there and they were all SUPER cheap.  Like, Walmart cheap, but much nicer-looking, and seemingly better quality, too.  How do they do it?  One will never know. 

Katie chose to stay with me, rather than go to their kiddie corral, but isn't it so great that they have a staffed play area for children?  And, it was decorated to the hilt, too!

So, off we went, taking a big yellow bag to fill on our journey through the maze of home goods.  I found a table/organizer/thingie that I really want to organize all the homeschooling junk in the kitchen, but thought I'd better table that purchase until after I'd spoken with Mr. Hull.  Isn't it fabulous, though?  It is hip-high and big enough for all our stuff, with project-drying space along the top.  Maybe we can look forward to bringing it home when we visit Atlanta and Charlotte in a few weeks.

But, I did actually buy some super fun things. 

Katie picked these out.  The elephant is a cover for one of those flat-sided exercise balance balls.  I thought the ball was included because I apparently can't read Swedish, but that's fine.  I bought the ball on ebay when I got home so we'll actually have the whole thing set up in about a week.  They had them out to play with in the store and she had so much fun bouncing and flopping on it that, for what I thought was $15, it was a no-brainer.  The utensil set was actually on sale for a dollar or two, and the stuff is really heavy duty, so I don't anticipate that the dishwasher will melt these.  We had been running really low on forks and spoons for her, so this well help a lot.

I bought this nifty chalkboard for our homeschool.  I'm thinking I will hang chore cards from the hooks and use the caddy area for... something.  I had wanted to paint a chalkboard on a big wall in the kitchen (as in, paint the whole wall), but Mr Hull nixed that idea, so this will work instead.  Again, only $15.  Super!

 

Finally, just for me, a set of four bird placemats.  I thought this package contained one thick, pliable cutting board.  However, again, I don't speak Swedish, so I didn't know.  Perhaps the fact that there were other placemats  pretty close by should have clued me in.  Oh well.  I like them.  And, the fishy ice cube tray.  I think I'm going to use it mostly for jello-jigglers though.  Fun!

I must add, when I was searching for these photos, I found a lot of this stuff on ebay for much more than I paid for it.  Do I see a lucrative business opportunity in the future?  Perhaps if I lived closer to an ikea.  However, I don't think the gas would pay for itself.  Oh well.  Another day.

march of dimes auction

Happy April 1st!  Do you know what day it is?  Aside from April Fool's Day, that is?  Today is the start of the Auction over at Team Ella & Johnny's March of Dimes Facebook Page.  I'm so excited because there are tons of cute things to bid on.  And, most of them are handmade!  But, the best part is that everything up for bid has been donated to the cause, so 100% of your money will go to support the March of Dimes.  Another plus... it's all tax-deductible!  The auction will close on April 10th, so let's start the bidding!

Over the course of the next ten days, I'm going to feature some of the items up for sale here.  Why?  Because I think that all of the things are just great and I want to showcase the generous mamas who donated their time, talent, and supplies to this important cause.

The March of Dimes is an organization that helps moms have full-term pregnancies and researches the problems that threaten the health of babies.  But, they do so much more than that.  They work to prevent birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.  They fund research, support NICUs, and educate women about the importance of folic acid and good nutrition.  The organization, which was originally founded to fund research for polio and support those who had suffered from the disease, now focuses solely on helping babies receive the best start possible.  Who wouldn't want to support that?

Specifically, this auction is a fundraising attempt by two women whose lives have been personally touched by the devastation of infant illness and mortality.  Shannon and Katie are two of the strongest women that I will ever have the privilege of knowing.  Shannon's daughter, Ella, was born premature in the fall of 2008.  Since that time, she has had a very difficult time.  Katie's son, Johnny, was also born in the fall of 2008.  Sadly, he earned his angel wings shortly after birth.  Shannon and Katie have turned their struggles into a mission to help others by participating in the May 1 March for Babies in Erie, Pennsylvania.  Please consider helping them to reach their goal of $1000 in donations.  If you choose not to bid, or lose the item for which you are bidding, you may choose to make a donation in the amount of your choice.  Details can be found on the auction's facebook page, here.

a lesson for the bag boy

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The leaders of my fine city have decided that they want to do away with free plastic bags at the grocery store. Maybe all plastic bags, I don't know. This doesn't really raise my eyebrows because NOTHING ever happens within a reasonable amount of time here. For example, I recently read that the leaders of the city were discussing building an amphitheater in Elmwood Park as many as fifty years ago.  Has it happened yet?  Hell no.  Are they still discussing it?  Of course! 

Regardless, I am all for using paper or reusable bags when shopping.  It makes a whole lot more sense than bringing loads of those flimsy plastic sacks home every time you want to buy a couple cans of soup.  Because, you know, bag boys {and girls, and men and women}, are only capable of putting ONE item in each plastic bag.  I don't know why this happens, but it does.  Or, better yet, if you buy a glass jar or bottle, they'll wrap that in TWO bags and then shove it in another ALL BY ITSELF for safe-keeping.  Just because I'm not capable of getting my soy sauce home intact since I live all of A MILE from the grocery store.  But, I regress.

Saturday night, my husband and I went grocery shopping at Sam's Club and then Food Lion.  {woo-hoo!}  Sam's, of course, doesn't give out any bags.  That makes sense.  But, like always, I had left my shopping bags at home, so we were loading cheese, bread, and milk into the trunk one by one.  Checking out at Food Lion, I requested that the groceries be bagged in paper.  The bag boy looked at me and squeaked, "Uhhhh..."  I pointed at the small stack of bags on the side of the conveyor belt and said, "They're right there."  Since, you know, NOBODY ever asks for paper anymore.  Wouldn't you know, that pipsqueak kid acted like I was a pain in his ass.  The icing on the cake was when my husband wholeheartedly agreed with the bag boy on the way out to the car.

But, paper wouldn't be as big of a deal if the baggers would just learn how to place items in the bags in an orderly fashion.  (I encountered this same issue at Walgreens today, by the way, with my reusable sacks).  When I worked at Walmart as a cashier, we had to take training module after training module on how to bag groceries.  Boxes to the outside, building out the sides, with floppy, smaller items towards the middle.  It isn't hard to do, you can fit lots more in the bag, and you use fewer bags along the way.  The same premise would apply to paper and reusable bags, one would think.  Don't just throw the items in haphazardly because the bag looks sturdier, for goodness sakes!  You can fit so much more in the bag if you just build out the sides.  Nice and tidy.

When I unpacked my bag from Walgreens, I found a carton of orange juice stacked on top of roly-poly cans of tuna and chicken noodle soup.  Why?  Couldn't he SEE that there was a big carton of juice that should go in the bag before the cans?  The poor guy even looked confused as he was trying to place the items in the bag.  A course, people!  Offer your baggers a course!  This is one area in which Walmart certainly succeeds.  Of course, a training module is only as great as the baggers who adhere to it.  So, to all the bag girls and guys out there, I beg you: Take pride in your work!

little stinker

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I'm away today. I won't tell you where, just in case I don't make it there (I'm writing this before we leave, before I've packed, and after I've found out that Katie has an ear infection. So, this is all in faith, you see). It isn't anywhere exceptional, only a place that I've been wanting to visit with my children for awhile now. Kate won't get much out of it, other than a day away, but Alex will. Yes, I'm taking him out of school to go.  And, no, I'm not flying.  Props to anyone who guesses.  And, if you're a dear dear friend and I've already revealed our excursion to you, please don't spoil it by flaunting our whereabouts.  Ahem.... Kristy.  Elisa.

Yes, I know.  I'm a stinker.

 

Katie has a thing for hats now.  Since she doesn't have many of her own, she raids Alex's room for headgear.  For Christmas, I'm going to make her a kitty-cat hat to match a new coat we'll likely buy her because she's had a growth spurt and the ones I thought fit..... don't.   Maybe I should get on that.  It's going to be cold tomorrow.  I like these:

Wool-Blend Prep Coat
oldnavy.com

The most practical of the bunch
3 in 1 Hooded Jacket
oldnavy.com

I ADORE this collar
Ruffled Wool-Blend Coat
oldnavy.com

Nope, sorry.  Old Navy didn't pay me for this post, though I wish they would send me one of these coats to sample.  Hint Hint, I know I'm important enough for you to read, you Old Navy PR people and marketers and whatnot.  Msg me for my addy, k?  k.  Think if I link to Old Navy a few more times, they'll get the point?  Old Navy Old Navy Old Navy Old Navy.  No?  Oh well.  It was worth a shot.

Be back tomorrow!

too much is too much

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This weekend, my wonderful husband chose to be super helpful around the house. For that, I am very thankful. During his time off from work, he mulched the leaves, cleaned the gutters, watched the children so I could sleep after shopping all night, stayed home while I went out to the Star City Comedy Club with good friend, Jannine, got the Christmas decorations out of the attic and did the dishes. And, you know what? I didn't even ask him to do any many of these things. What a dear!

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The thing is, he hit a snag the last time he did the dishes.  The soap packet that had been put into the dishwasher for the previous run had not dissolved.  So, my handy husband decided he would add Dawn dishwashing detergent to the cup to get the job done.  I think he may have mentioned that we were also out of the Cascade packs.  I don't remember.  At any rate, he squirted a cupful of Dawn (the type you use to hand wash dishes) into the machine.  He turned it on.  A little while later, he went to get something from the kitchen and found a mess.  "Oh....." he groaned.  I asked what was the matter and he told me, "There are some bubbles on the floor."  Some bubbles?  A good quarter of the kitchen was covered in suds.  Oh my!  Deja vu, anyone?

For the second time in three months, I started to clean up a wet mess.  We bypassed the bath towel route this time because I didn't want to add to my backed-up laundry pile.  Instead, he grabbed the mop and I used the dust mop.  He would swing his tool across the sudsy floor, and I would push back, trying to keep the water and bubbles from spreading even further.  It felt like we were playing a gentle game of hockey, or participating in that weird-ass Olympic sport, curling.

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Eventually, we were able to get the floor mostly dry and we turned our attention to the dishwasher.  You see, when John walked into the kitchen, soap was pouring out of the front of the machine.  He promptly turned it off, to minimize the flooding, but we realized we would soon have to deal with the mess inside.  Opening the door, we found a wall of bubbles.  Slowly, but surely, we began to scoop them out until the were nearly gone.  When we had removed as much soap as possible, we turned on the dishwasher to let it finish the cycle.  Water continued to dribble out for much of that run, but now our machine is as good as new and cleaner than it has been in a very long time.

This whole ordeal got me to thinking (bad idea, I know!).  A lot of times, we think that if a little is good, then a lot is a whole lot better.  Like the little squirt of dawn turning into a good half cup being poured into the dishwasher.  We have a tendency to go for the overkill, especially with our children.

Christmas is coming.  I have a difficult time moderating how many gifts my kids receive.  I just love to give them things and there are so many toys and items on the market that they would love to have.  Once I get started buying presents, I find it so hard to stop.  But, is more really better when it comes to giving things to our kids?  Or, should they learn the life lessons that go along with disappointment and/or hard work?

While waiting in line to shop at Toys R Us on Thanksgiving night, I spoke with Jessica, a young mother of a two year old boy.  Her son will be receiving many things this Christmas, among them a 32" flat screen television.  Her reasoning?  He needs something to entertain him.  Feel free to roll your eyes.  Inwardly, I did, too.  My response, "My kids are getting an aquarium."  Jessica's mother, who was along for the ride, just about died laughing.

You see, over the years I have come to realize that the bigger and better presents aren't always the best.  If you get your two year old a giant tv, then what is there to look forward to as he grows up?  Hell, we don't even have a tv that big in my home.  When Alex was young, he was overly spoiled.  I couldn't wait to get him the next best thing for his "age."  However, I failed to realize that just because he was in the appropriate "age range," and I was able to buy the items, they weren't necessarily suitable playthings for his stage.

When you jump ahead and buy anything and everything for your children, they lose more than they gain.  The kids no longer become enthralled with the gifts they receive, they become spoiled, and they lose interest in their toys more quickly.  They don't learn the value of hard work with suitable rewards, nor do they experience the thrill of receiving something they have longed for. Things become disposable.  In general, items lose their value when they are given by the bucket load.  While a squirt of generosity is good, a cupful just creates a mess. 

How will you balance your desire to give it all with your children's need of moderation and value this season?  What are the top gifts on your list?  Will you go all out, or will you (attempt) to keep it simple and sane?

not for the faint of heart

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Black Friday. The day to beat all shopping days. A day of major consumerism, a day of adrenaline rushes, a day of registers ringing and dollar bills flying (or credit cards swiping). But, also a day of hot tempers, fist fights, screamed obscenities, and pushy mamas all trying to get the "best" deal or the "right" toy for Christmas. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not looking down my nose at the shopping expeditions that go along with the day after Thanksgiving. I was right out there with them.

At 8:45 PM, I arrived at Toys R Us, which was scheduled to open at 10.  I was number 354 or so in line.  Some people had been there since 4, I heard.  The store was planning on letting in 50 shoppers at a time, spaced a minute or so apart, to avoid mass stampedes and confusion.  While waiting in line for the next hour or so, I befriended a mother-daughter duo named Barbara and Jessica.  Jessica has a two year old son that she was shopping for and her mother, Barbara, was along for the ride.  The laughter we shared and random chatter we enjoyed caused the time in the parking lot to pass so much more quickly.

I have to say, once I made it into the store, Toys R Us was not nearly as chaotic as I thought it would be.  During my 10 years of Black Friday early bird shopping, I had never been to that store at opening.  Most people were friendly and happy to be out and about.  I saw a little bit of a skirmish over the direction of the check-out lines, but that was due to minor disorganization on the store's part and was worked out quickly enough.  I grabbed the two things on my list and went on my way.

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Next up, Wal-mart.  The pit of hell in regards to Black Friday shopping.  I arrived at 11:15, found the items I was there for, and staked out a spot near the small stack of Zhu Zhu pets.  At $4, they were a great bargain and people were building up a frenzy over whether they would get the colors and numbers they wanted.  I saw the best of the best in that store last night.  Complete redneck men who got a power trip from being the closest person to the coveted items, their crazy-ass girlfriends and wives who warned fellow shoppers, "You'd better be stayin' outta my way," and a giant black man who proudly announce that he would elbow anyone and even knock them over to get his daughter's prized hot pink Zhu Zhu.  Craziness, I tell ya.  Send me back to the Mayberry store I normally shop at with little blue-haired ladies who get excited over a blanket.  Please.

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At 11:50 PM, the aforementioned power-tripping redneck started to grab Zhu Zhus and throw them back into the crowd.  Shoppers cheered him on until they realized the toys would soon be gone.  Panic broke out.  Mass chaos ensued.  For whatever reason, I took the opportunity to dive between legs, going underneath the crazed shoppers to snag the two Zhu Zhus of my choice.  Bad idea.  I soon found that I couldn't get back up.  People were pushing towards me and my heart began to race.  Grabbing a cart, I hauled myself up out of the toys and got the hell out of there, clutching my toys as I battled the crowd.

Was I dumb for performing a massive toy dive in the midst of Walmart Black Shopping chaos?  Absolutely.  Would I do it again?  Absolutely not.  I was sore for an hour after that stunt.  I could have been the woman in the headlines who died for the love of a hamster.  What did I learn?  Stay out of trashy Wal-mart stores in which the shoppers have no class (for the most part, I did see some very lovely people there, too.)  The funny thing is, I made a stop at the Wal-mart closest to my house about an hour after the store had opened, and almost all the doorbusters were still available.  Hmmm... I'm sensing a bit of flock mentality here.

Throughout the course of the early morning, I also had the opportunity to witness a mother calling a bunch of college girls "high-falutin' hos," which sealed the deal in regards to my thoughts about the town in which I live.  Lord, help us.  The people who grew up here all think that they are better than one another, when we're all just a bunch of dumb-fucks some days.  And, you can definitely tell the natives from the transplants.  One group has class, while the other... just doesn't.  Why bother to act like such a bee-atch?  We're all in it for the same reason, so just act peacefully and nobody will get hurt.

Black Friday wasn't all bad, and I did actually have a great time.  I ran into a couple of friends in Wal-mart, caught glimpses of others, recognized some people from high school (to which time has not been kind), and had a lovely conversation with an old co-worker.  I met new people, shared interesting stories, and laughed in the early morning hours of the day.  The good outweighs the bad, but I still don't understand how we can get so caught up in the search for a few good deals, all in the name of Christmas, and after a day of gratefulness.  Come on, people, where are your heads?

condom conniption

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Let me preface this post by saying, I used to be on birth control. In fact, I've been on many different types, but most recently I took Yaz. Guys, I was having a full-blown period every other week. I couldn't stand it. So, I'm not on Yaz anymore. In fact, I'm not on anything.

This week, we used our last condom. Now, I'm not normally the condom-buyer around here, but Mr. Hull has been busy with work and I didn't really want to bother him just so that later on I could "bother" him, if you know what I mean. I had some shopping to do anyway, so I thought I might as well just buy a box.

Do you know I went to three stores over the course of two days and could not find the condom aisle?  Seriously.  Two different Krogers and a Walmart.  Okay, the Walmart was in the crappier part of town, so it shouldn't have been much of a surprise that they didn't have them out on a shelf in the mis-labeled "family planning" aisle.  But, still, the Krogers locations didn't have any out either.  I couldn't even find a place where they should go, so it isn't like everyone in Roanoke suddenly got all horny and everything.  They just weren't there.

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I'm assuming they were probably behind the pharmacy counter, beside the pregnancy tests.  Because, you know, those who steal condoms invariably also steal pregnancy tests.  Or, wait... that doesn't make much sense.  If you steal a condom, you shouldn't need a test, right?  And, if you do need the test, you obviously didn't steal the condom.... huh.  So, maybe the powers that be have decided that too many people are melting down the condoms and using the latex to manufacture illegal drugs, like they do with the good sudafed.  Or, maybe they just want kids to have to ask the pharmacist for a pack, with they will invariably be too embarrased to do, and so they won't have sex at all.  Uh-huh.  We all know that they will anyway and then they'll have to go asking for the pregnancy test, which they won't ask for, and then they'll be featured on TLC's show, "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant."  Really.  It could happen.

Do you think I stood in line to ask the pharmacist for a pack of condoms?  Hell no.  The line was too full of old people picking up their many prescriptions (throw a pack of condoms in there too, why don'tcha).  Or, maybe they really were there for the condoms.  I don't know.  I didn't wait to see.  I was toting around a squirmy toddler who wouldn't stay in the buggy, wouldn't hold my hand, and wouldn't stand beside me in the store.  Maybe I should have gotten in the line anyway.  The cashier would have chucked a case of condoms at me. 

So, after going to three stores in two days looking for the all-elusive condom, I returned home with none.  Mr. Hull hasn't gotten any, either.  I feel frustrated that I can't just walk into the store and purchase such a simple, but needed, item.  I have to wonder what the average fifteen-year-old would do when faced with a similar situation.  I imagine that he or she would simply give up, and then have sex anyway.  Kinda like what I might do.  Is that the answer?  No, I don't think so.

I used to feel like parents who gave their kids condoms were weird, but my feelings have changed.  If my children should ever decide to [gasp] have the sex, I don't want them to go to one store and give up.  I can't control the merchandisers, but I can control what goes on in my own home.  I now kind of understand why some parents would have a bowl of the things just sitting out in the entrance way.  That is much easier for a teen or young adult to access than the condoms that sit in the bowels of the pharmacy, on a dark, dusty shelf, where even a semi-mature adult must jump many pointless hurdles in order to gain access to the goods.

And, it isn't just about the pregnancy thing, either.  Whether a girl is on birth control or not, she needs to learn to use a condom, and then have access to them.  Just yesterday, I was catching up on an episode of Project Runway and was stunned when Mondo revealed that he had been living with AIDS for ten years.  Ten. Years.  What the hell?  He was only 22 when he contracted it.  Now, that's some scary stuff.

When I was a teenager taking sex ed in middle and high school, we were told to use some means of birth control.  We were informed of condoms and spermicides and the pill and such.  But, we weren't told that, even if we were on the pill, we should still use a condom because of all the nasty funk we could catch from our partners.  When my doctor first started giving me the depo shot, he didn't warn me to continue using condoms, even though I wasn't married.  My mother has never uttered the word "condom" in her entire life, I don't think.  We need to be talking about this more.  We need to keep ourselves from becoming so lax concerning the sex lives of teenagers.  We don't need to put teen moms on a pedestal, we just need to give them the education and support they need.  But, most of all, we need to make sure that the all-important male condom is readily available to every single person who should wish to purchase it, without having to wait in line behind a bunch of old geezers (who, in all honesty, need the condoms, too).

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monday briefs

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We spent the last weekend of summer at my in-laws' house near the VA-NC border.  While I was so happy to be away from home, I was miserable with a cold.  I suppose I have little Alex to thank for that.  I couldn't breathe (still can't), couldn't sleep (only now, thanks to some sudafed), and couldn't get comfortable.  It really is a sad thing to feel ill over a holiday weekend.

On Sunday, the whole family went to the local (ish) mall to do some shopping.  You see, my husband is starting a new job in a few weeks and was actually going to treat himself to some new clothes.  He's typically the unselfish sort who never buys anything for himself, so I was happy that he was getting out and purchasing some new duds.

While we were there, we browsed for little girl clothes.  Interestingly enough, Nana kept pointing out how cute the itty bitty baby clothes were, too.  I think she was dropping hints that we should get hoppin' and have number three.  It seems like she did the same sort of thing before we found out we were expecting Baby Kate.  Uh-oh!  Could this be a sign?  I think not.

In other news, this was the weekend of the Hillsville Flea Market, but we haven't made it up there yet.  I just don't feel like doing anything, you see.  While I would love to go get a piece of frozen, chocolate-dipped cheesecake, I can't taste it, so what's the point?  I wonder how well they freeze...

Now it's your turn.  Give us a brief rundown of recent events, a rant, a rave, or a vent.  It's all up to you, but keep it brief.

The rules:

1. Follow this blog.
2. Comment below.
3. Link up.
4. Viit and comment fellow briefings as you wish.

One Funny Sign

The sign above was spotted at Matisse Gifts in on St. George St. in St. Augustine, FL (good golly, that's a lot of st.s)  Inside the gate on which it hangs, we found a treasure trove of gifts and souvenirs.  Most notable were a bird cage full of hand-painted hermit crabs (as in, the shells were hand-painted, not the crabs themselves, I don't guess...)  and this lovely display of butterflies.

If I could have anything...

 After seeing this necklace, I don't think it would be world peace.  Look at it!  This is a gorgeous thing.  This is the sort of accessory that I plan a whole outfit around.  Normally, I would rather feature indie artists than a large company like Anthropologie, but come on... look at it!  Really, I have to have it.  really.  Although... now that I take a look around, I find other fabulous statement necklaces that I also adore.  

Decisions... decisions...

 English Rose by MissAnnieMay on etsy

Secret Garden by LoriAnnEnchanted on Etsy

Another by LoriAnnEnchanted: Bellissimo Blues

And, okay, I guess I just love LoriAnnEnchanted on etsy.  This one's called Tangerine Dream.

So, what about you?  Have you ever come across something online that you just had to have?  Did you buy it?  Was it everything you expected and more, or were you sorely disappointed?