we have these things that we do.

The Mister has this thing that he does all the time, and it's called WORK.  This does lend an element of stress to things, but since I do not like to give stress any sort of power in my life, I like to think of it in a different way.  Meaning this:  I call that The Mister works all the time NORMAL, and I just deal.

I do admit, I throw the occasional temper tantrum about taking out the garbage, and sometimes I don't do the dishes because I need to get through the day and doing the dishes will push me over the precipice.  Dishes give me the stress, for real, people.  Clean ones in the dishwasher, dirty ones in the sink, it's all the same to me.

This is not about dishes.

This is about the thing that I do all the time, and it's called OVER-DO-ING, or, in smaller words, DOING TOO MUCH. 

For example.

On the morning of the fourth day (possibly the fourth day, I honestly don't keep track) of being alone with the short people, I got the MOST! BRILLIANT! IDEA!!! EVER!!! to go to the Genesee Country Village & Museum.  With the short people.  And an additional short person.

The INSANITY. It killeth. Or maimeth. Or causeth the alcoholism.

I will spare you the icky details, like the incessant screaming, and the superty fast running (I do not.run.ever.), and the superty slow walking, and the humitidy, and how it didn't thunderstorm despite the 80% chance of thunderstorming that was going to cause the trip to last only 2 hours, when in reality we were there for like 6.  Or six hundred.  But I will say that the additional short person gave rave reviews of the trip to anybody who would listen to her, so points for me.

The second most brilliant thing I did that day was to take all the short people for an ice cream dinner.  Which is a post all on its own. 

The third most brilliant thing I did that day was to take all the short people to Target after running them ragged, feeding them ice cream for dinner, and stopping along the way to watch a parade.  

It's a disorder.  I can't even HELP IT.

i am really tired

The past three days have been insane.  So nutso-whack-job-crazy that I am having a hard time remembering specifics from these days, and they're starting to all roll into one, and combine with last Monday.  Which, may I point out, was NOT THREE DAYS AGO.

Anyway.

Two things, and then I'm going to go outside and get the box of little chicklets and bring them to the porch, and then I'm going to bed, to sleep for approximately three days.  

Thing Number One:  I am giving away a $25 gift card to Wendy's.  I was going to close comments on Friday (I think, but remember what I said up there about being confused and blendy-ish.).  I haven't closed comments or chosen a winner yet, so if you're a slacker busy person like me who has a life outside of The Interwebs, go ahead and leave a comment.  

Thing Number Two:  I can't remember.

It's hard to be *this* awesome. 

multi-tasker.

photo by Rebecca from Foodie With Family

some items for your consideration: tenth-ish edition

1. The Brain Pain Situation: I had no migraines for 22 days. And then I have had one 3 of the last four days. I'm choosing to be happy and grateful for the 22 pain-free days.  Coincidentally, my body pain is way up these past few days, too.  Trying to figure that out. Meh.
2. The Chicken Situation:  I have caused no chicken deaths in the past 15 days.  Neither purposefully nor inadvertently. Yay, me.
3. The Cat Situation:  I find myself really hating our cats.  I really cannot get rid of our cats.  Advice, please.
4. The Wendy's Gift Card Situation:  I am surprised that so few of you have left a comment HERE. Do you not have a Wendy's near you?  Do you not know about the Double Stack?  You could totally purchase 25 Double Stacks if you lived near me and won the gift card.  I could eat 25 Double Stacks, that's for sure.
5. The Beach Situation:  The short people have been asking about going to the beach for, well, since around Christmas.  It opens June 18th.  You'd think I told them it was not ever going to reopen.  They have all torn their clothes and adorned themselves with ashes.
6. The Disgusting Expression of Displeasure:  Henry has decided to expel air through his nose with extreme force whenever we tell him something he does not like.  And sometimes, for extra beauty, boogers come out.  Kids are awesome.
7. The Sad Boy Situation:  Elliott has decided that one minute without me is entirely too much for him.  I have decided that this is entirely too much for me.   
8. The "Borrowed" Baby Situation:  I have a new friend (well, new to YOU), and she has a tiny baby (well, new-tiny, not tiny-tiny) and yesterday Tiny Baby A was not being kind to the mama, so I taught New Friend about the beauty of the stretchy wrap, and now Tiny Baby A is being kind to the mama.  BUT!!!  New Friend was super stressed by the days of incessant screaming, so I put Tiny Baby A in my stretchy wrap and took her home with me.  When we arrived home (we walked, for the record, just to be clear), I sat down for a minute.  Henry marched up to me, put his hands on his hips, and scolded, WHO SAID YOU COULD TAKE THAT BABY HOME? YOU DON'T TAKE PEOPLE'S BABIES!!! It was kind of awesome.  And yes, I did give Tiny Baby A back.
9. The Sun Situation:  We have some. I like it.

So what's up with you?  Talk to me.

free food, y'all.

I have the good fortune to be in like Flynn with The Motherhood, and when The Motherhood wants to take you out to lunch?  Of course you go!  The short people and I met up with some lovely blogger mamas and their short people.  

All the mamas ordered the new Berry Almond Chicken Salad, named quite cleverly after the berries, almonds, and chicken that sit on top of the salad.  

The salad was alright.  I need to come clean with you, I don't order salads from fast food restaurants.  I just don't, mostly because I don't like store-bought salad dressing.  However.  The chicken and almond combination was good; the chicken was moist and the almonds were salty and crunchy, which are two of my favorite qualities in a food item.  And the green part of the salad was good, too.  Wendy's uses real! actual! dark green lettuces, which are three of my favorite qualities in a lettuce leaf.  There was a generous handful of blueberries, and one pathetic strawberry cut into quarters.  The strawberry was but an overripe shadow of its former self, and Henry pecked it off my plate faster than, ummm, something that pecks things really fast.  

For a salad that comes with fat free dressing, it packed a lot of fat - 16 grams and 150 calories, also 31 grams of sugar, and a whopping 1300 milligrams of sodium.

I had a superty fancy Wild Berry Tea, which rolls in at 140 calories, 15 milligrams of sodium and 28 grams of sugar, which really makes it Wild Berry Non-Carbonated Soda, or Wild Berry High Fructose Tea-ish.

My meal cost about $10, which is way more than I'd normally spend on lunch out.  I'm a burger and fries girl, and after checking with the nutrition information on the Wendy's website, I think I'll stick with a double stack and a root beer.  Link to Wendy's nutrition information

Want to win a $25 gift card to Wendy's?  Leave me a comment.  You can tell me what you'd order if you win, who you'd take to lunch, or what you were thinking about when you woke up this morning.  There have been some commenting issues with Blogger lately, so if you can't post here, please friend me on the effbooks and leave me a note there, and you'll be entered.  Or leave me a comment both places, and I'll give you two entries.  (It'd be superty helpful if you could leave your effbook comment on the link to this post that I put on my wall.)  Comments will be closed  Friday, June 10, sometime around noonish.  

If you are an overachiever and would like to get even more chances to win, visit Andrea at My CNY Mommy, Rebecca at CNY Mamas, Lauren at I am THAT Lady, Wendy at Journey to Ezer, Teresa at Fitness2aT  and Yona at My Name is Yona Williams and I Write.  The ending dates are all different, so head over quickly!

Aaaaaand because The Man has his hand on teh bloggamamas, I'm telling you that Wendy's and The Motherhood provided me with two $25 gift cards, one that we used for lunch, and one that I'm giving away.  I am also being compensated for my time and the clearly honest opinion I've given.

this is the plan.

1. I will sweep and vacuum the downstairs.
2. I will hang a load of laundry.
3. I will not beat the short people for being outrageously loud.
4. I will pasture the chicks in the back yard.
5. I will not beat the short people for being outrageously loud.
6. I will put some snacks in a basket.
7. I will not beat the short people for being outrageously loud.
8. I will put my children in the super minicoopervan.
9. I will drive them to the spray park.
10. I will sit on a blanket in the shade and knit whilst the short people run in the sprays and are outrageously loud.

some items for your consideration: the i'm too lazy to see which edition, edition

1. The Flats Challenge.  Y'all, I really like using the flats.  They are trim, and they fit under my covers super nicely, and they are not at all a pain in the keister (for me, anyway) to use. However...
2. The Flats Challenge.  Handwashing is not fun.  Well, the first time I did it, it was kind of fun. Fun-ish.  But today I washed the diapers and I think I sprained myself. I used Tide Free and Clear to wash, not the homemade concoction I used the other day, and I put too much in, and had a terrible time rinsing the stupid things clean, and wasted a ton of water and WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE.  And I hung them up on my drying rack instead of my line, because the weather people say there is a 70% chance of spontaneous, thunderous downpours of epic proportions.  So now the drying rack is sitting in my sewing room, not actually drying.
3. Big fun tomorrow, people.  Wendy's and The Motherhood are taking the short people and me, and a bunch of other mama bloggas out to lunch.  The mamas get to try the new salad that Wendy's is adding to the menu, and the kids get to eat burgers and fries and breaded faux chicken pieces.  I am only a teensy bit sad they're not feeding us burgers.  Because I loves me a double stack.  (I'll be giving away a $25 gift card to Wendy's next week when I compile my thoughts about said salad.)
4. Quick vote on this one.  I have a post in draft entitled 26 reasons why i'm not fit to be the mother of chickens, and I can't decide whether or not to post it.  
5. Shame.  Two weeks ago I had a mad craving for jelly beans, and so The Mister picked me up some.  I ate a few that day, but today I am killing them.  Also? They taste terrible, but I just.can't.stop.
6. Teh Funnies.  Kim from It's A Beautiful Wreck posted THIS HERE LINK to the effbooks the other day.  A little heads up:  put your drink down.
7. Size matters.  I got a new hairdo, and let me tell you, people, it's fantastic (hi, Heather, I love you long time) but it really enjoys getting its 'fro on.  Especially when it's humid, like, for example, RIGHT NOW.  The curls are about five inches away from my scalp.  I'm entering into Wonder of The World territory.
8. And finally, because I can, my list of things I'm currently knitting.  The Hourglass Sweater in Universal Yarn's Turkish Coffee, the Herringbone Poncho in a turquoisey colored bamboo-wool blend that was superty cheap at Michael's (both patterns by Joelle Hoverson), and the Vergennes Pullover by Amy Christoffers.  And, you know, some socks and some dishcloths, and a pretty purple hemp-cotton scarf that is knit with the same pattern as the Vergennes Pullover.  
9. Wait.  One more thing.  There's a sweet baby I know who had open heart surgery today.  Her name is Fabienne, and her mama blogs here.  Fabienne is seven months old, and was put on this earth to bring joy; I can't tell you how I know that, I just do.  Please keep this family in your prayers (or whatever you non-pray-ers do) as Fabienne recovers.  One heart had an operation today, but three hearts wear the scar.