National Princess Week

I've always felt that my head was perfectly shaped to wear a tiara. In fact, up until about five years ago if you asked me what I wanted to be, my answer was always "a princess." Sadly, the closest I ever got to being a princess was dressing up as Mulan for the DVD release at the grocery store I worked at in high school. Though, at the time I don't think Mulan was really classified as a "princess" in terms of Disney branding. 

When I read an announcement that April 22nd-28th the first annual National Princess Week, I practically squealed with excitement. I understand that I am no longer "princess material" but the way I see it, the next best thing to being a princess, is having one--specifically, my daughter M. 

Let me just state for the record that I am the biggest girly girl and much to my delight, M is just like me. She loves pink or "peent" as she calls it, clothes, shoes, jewelry, and princesses. Specifically The Disney Princesses. M really doesn't discriminate, she loves Ariel, Rapunzel, and Princerella--I mean Cinderella. Though, if she had to pick a favorite, I think she would choose Belle. 

Glancing around M's room I noticed that she has amassed quite a Disney Princess collection. She has many of the 12 inch character dolls, the pop-up tent, dress up clothes, and a tea set, but I believe the prize possession in her collection is her Princess & Me Belle. And who could blame her? Belle is a beautiful doll and she is the perfect size/weight to carry around to tea parties. They only complaints I have are that her hair is super soft/fine and easily tangled. I have avoided problems with her hair by not taking out of her factory style and then fashioning her hair in a loose up do...this may not work for the girls who like to play beauty shop though. Also, she is a bit pricey, but I feel that for the money Belle is a beautiful keepsake and more of an appropriate toy for M than other similar 18 inch dolls. 

Final Rating on Disney Princess & Me 18 inch Doll is Splurge! 

*Photo credit www.toysrus.com

I may never get to be a princess, however, I did marry my version of Prince Charming. And of course, on that day, I did wear a tiara. 

**Photo credit Summer Stone Photography

Shopping Product Rating System

As I said, I will be rating products from time to time and will be using the following Shopping Product Rating System:

Spend: This item is reasonably priced and you should not think twice about spending the money on it.

Splurge: This item is a little on the pricey side, but worth the additional cost compared to less expensive items

Save: This item is a bargain and great alternative to a pricey product.

Skip: This item is not worth any of your money, don't even go there.

Happy Shopping!

These days

Today was one of those days.

This is what my day looked like:

1am--Can't sleep, up watching a horrible show called "Excused"-- Think Blind Date, only douchier--is that even a word? **Edit, "douchier" not recognized by spell check.

2am--Fall in and out of sleep

5am--Winnie our Shih Tzu starts barking. I run downstairs to let her out before she wakes the whole house. I open her kennel and she doesn't move. Instead of going out, she looks up at me with a look that says, "Just kidding!" I am not amused. I am not a morning person. If you wake me up too early, I may cut you---you've been warned.

5:05am--Get back upstairs and stub my toe on the bed frame. Yell obscenities that wake my husband. Mumble an apology and fall back asleep.

6:30am--Alarm goes off. I go to wake F up for school and realize that he's wet the bed.

6:35am--Put sheets in the washer.

6:40am--Get F dressed/Make his breakfast/Remind him to put on his shoes/Fill his water bottle/Remind him to eat his breakfast for the next 5 minutes

6:45am--Husband comes down the stairs, instructs me to go back to bed. I kiss him and F goodbye and go back upstairs to try to get some sleep

6:47am--Neighbors dogs all start barking. ALL start barking.

7:30am--Finally drift off to sleep

8:00am--My alarm goes off

8:05am--Quick shower. While in the shower I hear the garbage trucks and hope my husband remembered to put out the trash.I then realize I had trash in the garage that my husband didn't know about.

8:25am--Get kids fed/dressed/snacks packed/Break up fights between M and J.

9:25am--Load kids in the car to go to pick up F

9:30am--Pick up F

9:40am--Stop at Starbucks because I need a "treat"

9:45am--Arrive at M's ballet class

9:46am--M doesn't want to do ballet and goes in and out of ballet class/Boys fight/M cries

10:15am--We leave ballet

10:30am--We get home and I unlock the front door. F comes up to tell me that J called him a jerk.

10:31am--Ask J about it and he says he called F a jerk bc F hit him at ballet. F calls J a jerk bc J hit him last night

10:32am--Everyone cries

10:45am--We pull ourselves together for an early lunch/nap. J can't pull it together so he skips lunch and takes an early nap.

As you can see, the first part of my day was a little less than ideal. Instead of being frustrated or annoyed with today, I am going to choose to be grateful.

I am grateful for a television.
I am grateful for a dog (questionable).
I am grateful for F and that he has a bed to wet with sheets to wash and a machine to wash them in. I am grateful that we have food even if he doesn't want to eat it and that he has a school to go to.
I am grateful for my husband who sends me back to bed in the morning and goes to work for our family each day and who did remember to put out the trash!
I am grateful for garbage pick-up.
I am grateful for a bed to stub my toe on and for a home in a neighborhood that has barking dogs in it.
I am grateful for ballet classes that my daughter normally enjoys.
I am grateful for 3 children who have language skills and muscle coordination--even if they are not using them kindly.

I am grateful, because I am blessed.

Two by Four

I have decided that I want to get fit again. I want to be healthy for my kids. I want to be healthy for myself. I want to be sexy, I mean healthy for my husband. Most importantly, I don't want to become a zombie. 'Cause let's face it, when the Zombie Apocalypse comes (and it will) the fatties are gonna be the first to go.

Okay, I know I am not really a "fatty". Despite what my thoughts may be about my current appearance, I can in fact fit through the kitchen door. I am probably average in weight right now, but I would like to be more toned and to eat healthier.

I always say that I am going to get fit. I start off pretty strong and then things taper off. I don't really have any excuses except that I'm pretty lazy, don't like to exercise and I like to eat junk food. Wait, those all seem like perfectly valid excuses...Well, they're not going to be anymore. I'm going to kick my own butt into shape.

I think I am going to start running again and maybe try to eat a vegetable. Who's with me?

Moms Be Shoppin'

I love shopping. I love to buy gifts for other people. I love to help other people pick out things. I love to window shop. I love to shop online.

A new pair of shoes, or a new dress can always put me in a good mood. My sister used to call it my "retail therapy."

As a single girl, I would shop every payday and if things got a little out of hand, I would just eat PB&J's til the next payday.

As a D.I.N.K. I think I went shopping like every day. I didn't always buy something...wait--yeah I totally did. I always bought something, even if it was just socks.

Having three kids means that if I shop, I feel I have to buy for all three of them.

Having a daughter means that I just want to buy everything. Seriously, have you seen how cute little girl's clothes are?

It doesn't help that M loves clothes and accessories as much as I do. If she is misbehaving, I'll threaten to take her hair bow or purse away. It almost always results in her doing a complete 180.

The boys love clothes too right now. I am so enjoying being that terrible mom that matches her son's clothes which makes everyone ask if they are twins despite their age/height differences. I can't help it. It's just so stinkin' cute.

I have also been known to coordinate M's and my outfits. If I can figure out what William is wearing, I may try to match the whole family. I may have a problem here. Hey, I figure they're only going to be little for a short time and that I may as well enjoy it while I can.

I do have some rules for shopping though. I only buy items for myself if they are on sale and if I am indifferent to something I carry it in my hand and not in the basket. I like to give it a chance to bond with me, to see if we're going to be friends. If I am about to checkout and I'm just not feelin' it, then I put it back.

I used to just buy the item anyway and then say I'd take it back and then I never would. I ended up with a buncha stuff and a broken heart--I trusted those items. I brought them into my home!

I know as mom's we're always trying to find great products. I am going to start posting a few reviews or favorite things. These posts will be from clothes, to cleaning products, make up, furniture, etc. As I said, I love shopping :) Stay tuned!

'Member When I Said There Would Be PG-13 Posts?

I was raised in such a way that my husband refers to me as a "free range" child. My parents both worked and we were given a lot of freedom. Mostly, this just meant that as a kid I watched way too much TV. Which also meant that between all of the television watching and the lack of sex education from my parents, I was left to form my own thoughts about what love and sex were.

I grew up thinking that one day I would meet a boy. A boy who would spot my wavy locks of Prell body enhanced hair from across the amusement park. I would smile at him and he would see my gleaming white teeth courtesy of my Close-Up toothpaste. As he approached he would notice my lack of body odor thanks to my Arrid Extra Dry deodorant. This boy would buy me a Coca-Cola and demonstrate his talents by winning me a giant teddy bear. He'd then offer me a stick of Big Red gum, thus indicating that he wanted to kiss me. Underneath the Ferris wheel lights he would lean in and right there in front of God and that giant teddy bear he would squish his face into mine.

Then we'd get married. On our wedding night we would take off our clothes climb into bed and squish our faces together some more. And then maybe we'd have a baby or something.

As you can see, my views of love and sex were pretty tame. I had no idea that there was more to it. I knew that there was mutual attraction, courting, removal of clothing, and to me, that was about it. In fact, I didn't understand that there was any exchange of fluids or body parts until I was much older.

Living in a house full of sisters, my knowledge of male anatomy was limited to what I saw when I looked down my Ken doll's pants. Imagine my surprise when in middle school my girlfriend got her hands on a Playgirl magazine. Which by the way, is not just a magazine of boys with their shirts off like on the posters they sold at Spencer's. There are p-e-n-i-s-es in that magazine...like I think that's all that's in that magazine. At least that's all I saw the one time I ever looked at one. The magazine, not a penis.

Fast forward through some awkward dating years and I'm a married woman with a very different view about what love and sex are. I now understand what all of the hoopla is about. Love and sex are wonderful. But, they are not not interchangeable. As I said I had a pretty tame view about love and sex, but by today's standards I was completely naive.

We now live in a world where you see more flesh and innuendo in a hamburger commercial than I ever saw on late night television as a kid. Nowadays, watching TV before late night isn't even safe, because the advertisements for the shows that are coming on in a few hours leave little to the imagination. I've already addressed what I think these messages are doing to our children, but what are they doing to our husbands?

Let me first say that my husband has never ever given me reason to doubt his faithfulness, nor have I to him. However, knowing that there are constant temptations--not just on television, but in the real world, and given that under the right circumstances anyone can be tempted. We have found that by enforcing one rule, we have effectively eliminated what could be the biggest threat to our marriage. Wanna know what that rule is? My husband and I do not hang out with members of the opposite sex alone. That's all there is to it, really it's not profound. It's simple, yet it's extremely effective.

It's actually not even a very difficult rule to follow because most of our friends are married and frankly, we do not keep many single friends. It's not just because at our age we meet more couples than singles, but because as a single person I think it's hard to understand the sacredness of marriage and to keep appropriate boundaries.

Some may find this "rule" extreme, but when you consider what's at stake, we're not willing to take any chances.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Smells Like Teen Spirit with a Hint of Racism

I grew up in a small town that was primarily Caucasian. I think there were one and a half African-American families and I believe we were the only AmerAsian family for a while. I remember my nicknames were things like "Sammi the Siamese Cat" and "Eggroll." When I read aloud in class kids would say, "Ching chong! We can't understand you because you don't speak American!"

I also remember being serenaded with the words, "And we don't know what we're singing 'cause Sammi is Korean" sung to the tune of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.

I can laugh about it now, because it really is quite humorous and also demonstrates their ignorance. I'm not Siamese or Korean and we speak English, not "American".

That's part of being a kid, though. As a kid, you are ignorant. I made fun of kids too. I made fun of a girl for having red hair and I made fun of a kid who smelled bad. I'm not proud. It's just proof that kids are a buncha jerks and make fun of other kids. I would have been made fun of had I been fat, worn glasses, etc.

It just so happens that I was teased relentlessly over being a different color and to me because I was different, I was ugly. Sadly, it's far worse now than it ever has been.

As a mother, it really strikes a chord with me that we are constantly bombarded with images of of sex and perfection. We are teaching our children that if you do not look a certain way, that you have no place in society. We are teaching a daughters from a young age to be admired for their bodies and encouraging them to show more and more skin. We are teaching our son's to have unrealistic expectations about what women should look like and what they should be used for.

We parents only have this small amount of time that our children are innocent. There is nothing wrong with wanting to preserve their innocence by instilling in them values that may contradict societal norms. My children know that they are beautiful, they are (and it's not bragging because I didn't make them!) But they also know that their self worth is not measured by their beauty.

Pretty Is As Pretty Does

This article really has my thoughts jumbling around in my head. I decided that the best way for me to organize them would be to break them down into separate posts. I am thinking I will look at it from different perspectives, say as a woman, wife, mother, etc.

Before we get too deep into this, I feel it appropriate to give fair warning as some of these posts will get deeply personal and some will be on the PG13 scale level.

You've been warned.

Most of the time this blog will be upbeat and meant to be humorous but sometimes I try to stifle my urge to make everything a joke--don't worry it doesn't happen often.

Also, these are just my opinions and my thoughts so if you are looking for qualifications, you won't find any. What qualifies me to speak on these matters is what qualifies an elephant born in a tree to be a bird.

And while I'm here, if you haven't noticed--I ain't the most elloquencial and edumacated writer, so no taking digs at my grammar or punctuation, please. Most of these are posts are written with children underfoot, or while they are napping so I'm working fast to finish before they wake up.

Again, You've been warned!

Okay, let's get started...

As a woman--and I know I am one because I've seen me naked. I can tell you that though my initial reaction to this article was to mock it, "Oh no, I'm too pretty! My wallet is too small for my hundred dollar bills and my diamond shoes scuff when I walk in them!" Immediately, though my thoughts shifted to the old adage, "Pretty is as pretty does."

You see, never once in this article does Samantha Brick really address how she treats other women. Is she kind to them? Is she maybe a little too flirty with their husbands or boyfriends? She admits that her looks have helped her advance. Do other women see this as her using her sexuality to advance? Is there value or merit to her work or is she just skating by on her good looks? Do they feel she is flaunting her beauty and trying to make them feel insecure?

Some of what Samantha Brick may be experiencing is probably related to the projections of other women's insecurities onto her. Which can happen in any friendship with our keeping up with the Jones' mentality. Is Samantha the type of woman who sees that and tries to accommodate or exploit those feelings?

I had a friend who I secretly referred to as "The One-Upper" because everything I did, she did better. It used to really make me angry because I never felt I could share good news with her without her raining on my parade. You notice, I wrote that I "had" a friend. We're not friends anymore. Maybe Samantha is that friend. A friend who makes you feel bad about yourself isn't a friend and certainly not someone you make one of your bridesmaids.

Obviously, I don't know this woman, but she certainly comes across as conceited and narcissistic in her article. Judging from the pictures I've seen I would agree that Samantha Brick is attractive, but just because someone is good looking, does not mean that they are a good person.

Oh, I just realized that this one was more G than PG so, cat anus, cat anus, cat anus. That should cover it.

Interruptions

I feel like I have been on the phone all morning.

When I'm on the phone my kids feel it's necessary do any of the following:

• Talk to me
• Fight with one another
• Raid the pantry
• Sing show tunes at the top of their lungs

However today when I was on the phone with our tax person, M decided to mix things up a bit.

M: "Mommy, please help me go potty."

Me: "I'm on the phone, we don't interrupt Mommy when she's on the phone. Go potty. J will you please turn on the light for your sister?"

M: "But Mommy! I'm pooping!"

Me: I have to call you back! (Slams phone down!)

Yes, she was pooping and it was everywhere. EVVV-REEE-WHERE!

So new rule, you may interrupt Mommy when she's on the phone if you are going to poop your pants. But please, interrupt me BEFORE you actually do it.

Put a Pin in It!

So, most of you know all about Pinterest by now. If you don't I suggest you stay ignorant! Unless of course you need another time-sucker/distraction in your life or you fancy yourself an inferiority complex.

Seriously, some of the things on there make me think to myself, "I am a bad mom! My child's Easter is going to be miserable without these personalized decoupaged Easter eggs!" Or, "How can I possibly be a productive member of society if the meringue on my pie is less than six inches high!"

Other things on the site make me think, "Wow, that's so easy! Why did I never think to try that?!"

And though I have had some successes, there have been things that were all out failures.

Though I think the ones that were mediocre are even worse than the failures. At least with the failure you get the satisfaction of being mad or annoyed at something!

Most of my "pins" are cleaning related because we no longer have a house keeper. Okay technically we still have one, it's just me now and I'm not so great at it. I should fire myself, but I digress.

Here are my top cleaning Pin's that I've tried and how they worked out for me:

• Make your own powder laundry detergent: Meh. I had to really tweak the recipe because I like my clean clothes smelling of flowers and such. By the time it was all said and done I think I could have just bought my favorite liquid detergent and called it a day. The recipe claims you only need about 2Tbs per load, but that freaks me right out when I look at the amount of clothes I shove into my washer so I end up using more. It didn't really save me money, and it didn't make my clothes dramatically cleaner.
• Blue Dawn/Vinegar soap scum remover: This is actually a really good one. If you don't mind the smell of vinegar and Blue Dawn.
• Half Grapefruit/Kosher Salt Bathroom scrubber: This did not work--at all. It did however, get little bits of pulp all over my bathtub, shower, and faucet.
• Citrus rind/vinegar all purpose cleaner: This one stinks. No literally, it stinks like urine--unsavory.
• Vinegar as a fabric softener/mildew smell remover: Works well and your clothes do not stink like vinegar after they dry.
• Lemon/Salt mildew spot remover. This works very well, but be careful as it might bleach some fabrics.

I'll keep you posted if I find any good ones, they're out there, right?

Funny Business

I've always thought that I was funny, but I know looks aren't everything...

I have been told I have a good sense of humor, though I don't think you can really say that someone has a good vs. a bad sense of humor when "funny" is subjective and perhaps cyclical?

When I was a child puns were funny. The Muppets were funny. Making funny faces was funny. And of course farts were funny. As an adult I found puns were lame. The Muppets were old. Making funny faces was immature. And farts were rude. Now that I'm a parent puns are cute. The Muppets are charming. Making funny faces is silly. And farts are sadly, hilarious.

Makes me wonder if all of these things were always funny or never funny--except for farts, we've established that farts have always been funny.

Though in my home, we don't say fart, we say "toot" because we are a proper family after all.

Fart!

Meet The Little's

As I said earlier, we have three kids--three awesome, adorable, fun, crazy kids.

J is our eldest son. He's 7. He loves art and building things.

J has the most precious dimples and is a dear hearted boy and a great helper.

F is our middle son. He's almost 5. He loves trains and dinosaurs.

F has the biggest brown eyes you've ever seen and is our strong willed, but sweet boy.

M is our youngest and only daughter. She is 3 and a half. She is a girly girl and loves all things girly.

M has a gorgeous smile, an active imagination as well as a wicked sense of humor.

We met our children in May of 2009 & We adopted them in April of 2011. It has been interesting to see their personalities develop and to watch them grow. Never a dull moment!

How We Became a Family (The Cliffs Notes Version)

I always enjoy the looks that people give my family when we're out and about. My handsome, very white, blue eyed husband doting on our adorable, tan, brown eyed children. Then there's me the Asian adjacent, brown eyed mother.

I think the most common thought is, "Wow what a kind man to take on that woman and all three of her children." Which actually, isn't too far from the truth! However, despite the fact that my daughter looks very much like me or that my sons have their dad's bright smiles, we share no DNA. All three of our precious children are siblings and all three are adopted.

My husband and I tried unsuccessfully to have children the conventional way, but it never happened. We did many fertility treatments, we had a failed private adoption, and then we decided to become foster parents. After a long fostering journey and an unselfish act of love from their biological mother, we became adoptive parents. Then we became just parents.

Being a parent is definitely on my list of greatest adventures. I am honored to get to be a mommy. I am also honored to get to share this journey with my husband--not many men are up for this sort of challenge and then to add kid's on top of that! Well, there's a reason why I love him so!

Welcome!

I figured that after several years of inactivity, we should retire our old blog The Young Rutschmans and then fill in the gap over the last few years. Then, I figured that I would probably be making most of the posts and since most of the posts would be about our children that a name change was in order.(Oh yes, some of our old friends--We have children. 3 of them. They are awesome! :) ) So welcome to Momsensical Gibberish: The rants and ravings of a devoted wife and mommy of three. I may have lost my mind, but at least I kept my sense of humor!