MOTHERS DAY MEMORIES & HOW TO CLEAN A TOILET

With Mother's Day on the way (tomorrow in case you forgot...) I was thinking about Mother's Day last year. Studmuffin had already moved to Oklahoma, and the girls and I were still living in La Vernia. They had lots of sweet cards and homemade gifts. The best kind.

Bookworm cooked me breakfast and served it in bed. And she cleaned up her mess in the kitchen. Pretty impressive for a 2nd grader, eh?

Popcorn was determined she was going to take me to eat. And she would pay. She was wanting to treat me to some treats and eats at Dairy Queen (DQ, I miss you...)

I was skeptical about this whole procedure, but she was very excited about the plan. We headed to DQ after church, and placed our orders. The time of truth was at hand. Popcorn turned around and said "I need your debit card, Mommy."

"What? I thought you were going to pay!"

She promptly replied "I am! But I need your debit card to pay!"

Okey Dokey.

But, seriously, that was the best junior cheeseburger and onion rings I'd had in a really long time.

Now on to more serious beeswax....

My niece Sarah recently told me how she cleans toilets. It has revolutionized my life. Seriously. If you had been on minimal toilet flush the way we were the last week or so, you would understand the value of a truly clean toilet....Can you say if it's yellow let it mellow, but if it's brown flush it down? That has been our motto for about a week. Now that we are officially flushing our toilet without fear of it coming back up, I felt that we needed a really sanitary throne. As I was scrubbing the girls toilet, I got to thinking of all the years I never even knew about this cleaning method...

And I realized I simply must share it with everyone in Bloggerland! I know you are so excited to learn about this....

Step 1: Make sure you have the proper attire. An old t-shirt with bleach stains and a faded logo works well. Perhaps even more important to your wardrobe is frizzy hair. This is an essential part of every toilet scrubbers wardrobe. Trust me on this.
By the way, the shirt I'm wearing in the above pic was a nurse appreciation gift from a hospital I used to work at. One time I wore it to a liquor store in La Vernia. My next door neighbors owned the liquor store. I swear, the way they gushed over me when I walked in, you'd think I was the prodigal returning home. When I got home Studmuffin said, "Did you wear that to the Liquor Haus?"

"Yeah, why?"

He just laughed and said, "Read your shirt babe."

Okay. Maybe I wasn't very Baptist that day....

But back to cleaning toilets.

Step 2: Take a rag and push the water out of the bowl. Seriously. Put your hand in the bowl, use a rag, and push the water out of the bowl. I don't know how that works, but it does.

Step 3: Now that you have an empty bowl, take your favorite scouring product and sprinkle it all over your bowl.

Step 4: Scrub away! The beauty of this is you know that you have gotten every nook and cranny of that bowl. Especially up under the rim, where I've always thought that commercial toilet scrubbers never really get.

Step 5: PRAY~Please God, let this all go down...Hey, I will never take a toilet flush for granted again....
Step 6: You're all done! Admire your shiny potty and know that it's as clean as it can get.


Now, don't you just feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

Me too.

NOW GO WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!! For heaven's sake....Do I have to tell you people how to do everything?

Oh. I just realized something. Many of you are having nervous twitches over my lack of gloves. Yes, gloves might be advisable. Cleaning products are hard on your skin. I have nurse hands. AKA, dry cracked skin, unpainted fingernail, short cropped nail hands...They can't get much worse than they already are..

Do you know how you can tell somebody's a nurse? She's the one who washed her hands before she went to the bathroom....And of course again after.

Wednesday's Wardrobe

Sorry this post is late. I started it yesterday, planned on adding photos, but never got around to taking them. Typical....Oh, well...Here it is, bare of visual images.

Popcorn has always had wardrobe issues. Correction: I have always had issues with Popcorn's wardrobe choice. Sadly, for the most part I've given up on having much control over what she chooses to wear. I offer advice, but if she chooses to ignore it, I give a mental shrug and go on with my day. Now, I realize that many mom's (my friends included) would shudder if their child appeared in public like Popcorn does. But, as long as she's clean and decently covered, I'm pretty lax on what she wears. For example, she wore her Halloween costume for months when she was four. She was a cat that year. Every morning she would put on her kitty ears, tail, and collar, and off we'd go to run our errands!

Today's wardrobe:

Shirt: Yellow and white striped polo shirt with a silver logo over the pocket.

Pants: Pink corduroy pants with a purple flower embroidered on the right lower leg. I swear these pants fit fine just a few weeks ago. But now, they are short on her, but she loves them. Today, she swore they were the first thing she grabbed. *Ahem*, I happen to know that could not be true because I just put 3 clean pairs of jeans on top of these very pants....Moving on...

Socks: Sky blue bobby socks. Doesn't seem like such a big deal, right? Well, her pants are so short that the entire sock shows. And even though I'd like to pretend the pants could be mistaken for capri pants, they can't....It. Just. Won't. Work. Believe me, I tried to tell myself this all morning.


On her feet? Her sister's tennis shoes from last year. They are fine, but they are dingy. Apparently she had a sudden growth spurt, because her favorite black shoes were suddenly so tight this Sunday she couldn't hardly walk when we got home, and she'd worn them the Sunday before with no problems. I guess she's having the same situation with her tennis shoes.

Coat: She put on her pink fleece jacket. It is a jacket that zips inside of a coat to add warmth. I purposely bought the coats a little big so they could hopefully wear them next year. Consequently, this little jacket is just a tad too big for her. And it shows. It hangs down to about the middle of her thighs.

So, there my child went.....Strolling into school with her mismatched clothes, too short pants, and too big jacket. I had to laugh when I saw her skipping in the door. My child looks like an orphan. But I'm okay with that if she's okay with that. Really, I am. Seriously. I'm totally over her mismatched, too small clothes. I'm totally secure in my momminess....I don't need confirmation of well dressed children to reflect my value as a mother. I don't. Not at all......Nope......I'm Oooooookaaaaay.

Why are you doubting me?

Wardrobe Drama and Birdbrains

Popcorn has always had her own unique style. When she was 3 and 4 she always wore monochromatic clothes. Her very favorite outfit was a purple shirt, with purple shorts, and purple socks. Then, at about age 5, her personal style changed to polychromatic. This translated means, "if it doesn't match, it will be my favorite outfit, and I will wear it as soon as my mommy washes it again." So, she frequently wore her purple shorts with her blue LV Bears shirt, and pink socks...or on a REALLY special day, the socks would be mismatched. Sadly, I am spineless when it comes to wardrobe. If it covers all of the necessary parts, doesn't need ironed and is clean, I'm okay with it. I did make the effort to point out it didn't match, to which she replied "I know. I don't care." I then decided why should I care, and sent her on her merry way.

To those of you who are wondering, yes I received comments from well-meaning friends, and even strangers. What they, and you, may not understand is the strength of Popcorn's will. I like to pride myself on my own strong will, but when we clash....Well, let's say it just ain't pretty.

So, I've decided that I refuse to battle about clothes. Yes, I've had some moments of pause regarding this. If I can't make her wear what I want at 6, what will happen when she's 13? We'll face that road when we get there.

Well, this morning she wanted to wear shorts. It's November. Yes, in South Texas I would have allowed it, but this is Oklahoma. The wind is blowing. Well, she agreed surprisingly easily to not wear the bright blue shorts with her pink camo shirt. She came strolling in the living room in a pair of........leggings. Tight leggings. Tight leggins with a pink camo shirt that she's had for 2 years, and it barely skims her waste. Did I mention the leggings are fitted? Yes, she's 6. Yes, she's tall and slim. I initially agreed. After all, she's 6. But then...I had visions...visions of my 13 year old curvy child strolling out in the same outfit. Would I crumble then? No. You would be proud of me, dear reader. I stood firm. Today, that is. She changed again. (Hey, I need to save this date. I actually accomplished TWO wardrobe changes out of Popcorn in one morning! With very little argument!)

She reappeared. In a pair of brown palazzo pants. That she wore in preschool. She's now in 1st grade. They used to come to her ankles. Now they are wide legged shorts that come to just above her knees. Were they really shorts? No. Were they leggings? No. Was she decently covered? Yes. I didn't say a word. We headed out the door for another day in the life.

So, what do you think? Are leggings by themselves okay on a 6 year old? I know most of you will tell me to have her put a skirt on over it. This won't fly with Her Fashioness... so try again. Let me know. I'm interested to hear about your kids wardrobe drama. And if you have none, make it up...I don't want to feel all alone here! Thank you for your tolerance.

Oh, and a post note courtesy of Bookworm... "Did you know that barn swallows are very useful birds? They eat junebugs, flies, and wasps." How handy...I pointed out that they also poop all over my porch when they build a nest there. "Well, that's not very useful!" Oh, Bookworm, you make me laugh.

Isaiah 61:10
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels.