Tips for Tuesday – Never argue with your children over clothes again! Here’s how…

Up until last week, this is how my mornings would start…

(take a deep breath and click the link)

Every Damn Morning

I’m sorry if that video was sideways…it was before my coffee.

 

I don’t know if you have this problem but I’m sick of fighting over clothes with my daughter!  Getting her dressed every morning ruins my day before it ever begins.  And I’m pissed that I’ve spent so much money on things she won’t even wear because they itch, have annoying tags, they’re too long, too short, too tight, or too pink.  How is something too damn pink???

A friend of mine jokingly (I think) suggested throwing our kids clothes out of the car window, leaving them with nothing to wear. So I tried it.

Here’s today’s tip: Throw that shit out!

I think someone ran over Hello Kitty…that’s a shame.

Sure, you could donate the clothes to Goodwill but there’s something about throwing them out of a car window at 50mph that says, “I’m a crazy bitch, do you really want to mess with me?!!”  And isn’t that the kind of respect you deserve?

I told Ana that I wasn’t going to spend another dime on clothes or shoes until she learned to appreciate what she had (which at this point was nothing).  So we looked around the house…

Introducing a few styles from my new fashion line, My-Mom-is-F-ing-Crazy Couture.  (I thought about using the real “F” word but I wanted to keep it family friendly)

 

The “Paper Not Plastic” dress

Now here’s an everyday dress that’s sure to please.  It’s quite a juxtaposition- the brown bag says “I’m down to earth” while the heart design and ribbon ties say “but I’m a girly-girl too”. Don’t put this preschooler in a box!  That last part was inspired by her actually begging me not to dress her in a box. She’s my muse!

 

The “What’s Black, White, & Read all Over?”…You are!

She’s well read.

This dress is perfect for going to the DMV, the doctor’s office, the grocery store, basically anywhere with long lines or waits. It has crossword and sudoku puzzles on the front and horoscopes on the back, it will keep the family entertained for hours.  Pair this dress with Pop Tart box shoes to coordinate with the blue Painter’s Tape belt, gorgeous!

*Ironically, I noticed Ana’s horoscope said “You tend to see things in black or white.”

 

The “Bow Wow Wow!” Dress

This dress was designed for special occasions with its shiny surface and festive colors!  And what little girl doesn’t love doggies?  I chose to accent it with an aqua ribbon to bring out the blue in her eyes.  She’s wearing this for her school pictures. I’ll send you a wallet size.

Do you know, this morning, Collin had the nerve to complain about his track pants making a swishing sound. All I had to do was point to his sister wearing her dog food dress and he shut up and left the room.  That’s how you know it’s working.

Addendum:  Of course I didn’t really throw out my daughter’s clothes.  But guess what, that photos with the clothes scattered everywhere was not staged! That means some other frustrated mom did.  Hey, I get it lady, I get it.

My Saturday Morning

As I lay there dreaming of puppies and kittens, I was awakened by something being shoved up my nose and a voice saying “Eww, smell my finger, it stinks!”

Needless to say, I snapped my head away so quickly that I pulled a muscle in my neck. Thanks Ana, I now require warm up exercises to check my side view mirrors when driving.

I yelled “beat it, kid!” and pulled the covers over my head.  I had to get back to my flowery meadow where kittens play soccer with balls made of yarn and puppies work the concession stand selling hot dogs…hot dogs.  Hahaha, dogs selling dogs!Subconscious, you’re a freakin genius!

But moments later Collin came into my bedroom complaining of how hungry he was.  He was getting on my damn nerves with cries of  “I’m seriously starving”, “I’m going to die if I don’t eat”, and my favorite “My body is starting to shut down”. This went on for hours- it was sooo annoying!

I eventually went downstairs and found him sitting at the kitchen table holding a fork and sucking in his stomach so that his ribs were showing. I firmly (bitchingly) told him I wasn’t his slave and he could have fed himself if he was so damn hungry (though I didn’t say “damn” because I don’t curse in front of my kids…not that they can hear anyway).

Collin- “But we don’t have anything to eat”

Me- “Oh really, is that right? We only have a whole refrigerator full of stuff you could feed yourself with.”

Collin – “Like what?”

Me- (opening the refrigerator and looking in) “you could have had…umm

(tip: a mother must never lose a battle of wits no matter how much BS you to need to pull out of your ass to win)

…umm.. pickles, salami, mayo, limes…no wait, those limes are for my margaritas, don’t touch them. But everything else is totally edible.”

We both knew I was full of crap…what we really had was a refrigerator full of condiments, expired lunch meats, and bacterial yogurt that makes you poop 10x a day.

Mental notes:

go to the grocery store

clean out the fridge

tell Ana to keep her hands out of her pants

 

After he ate he must of felt bad about the whole thing because he offered to feed the dog.

 Me- “No thanks,Mr.Bojangles already ate.”

Collin- “What? When?” looking confused

Me- “Earlier. He seemed hungry so I jumped out bed, fed him, and made your sister a 3 egg omelet with toast. Then I went back to sleep. Why do you think I was so tired?”

Of course It wasn’t true, but it had the desired effect of pissing him off.

Passive-Aggressive Tactics

Me- 1

Collin- 0

 

Around 10:30am I met a couple of the girls down at the lake for a 5 mile run. Hahaha, I know, right! No way in hell was I able to do a 5 mile run- but as my family always says, I’d go to a shit eating contest if I could go alone. It’s one of my mottos along with “Half-assed is better than no ass” and “There’s no “i” in team but there is an “m” and an “e”” (I think you heard me use that last motto here.)

These girls were no joke, wearing their running gear, complete with multiple distance tracker thingies and an iPhone velcroed to their arm. I assumed we would slowly warm up by walking for the first 2 miles while discussing hairstyles, boys, and our periods. Nope, I got a “let’s go!” and they started running. WTF? STARTED freakin running! I threw my iPhone in my cleavage and prayed I had enough boobage to keep it there.

I managed to keep up with them for what felt like hours but what was actually a half mile. Then I got side tracked when I saw the cows at the nearby farm lined up at the fence. I waved to them like I usually do when I pass, but I didn’t get much of an acknowledgement. They didn’t recognize me without my car.

Is that you Kim? Did your car break down?

Sometime during the first mile I lost sight of the girls. Good riddance. They were only a reminder of how much I sucked. So I texted them the following message:

And that’s what I did. They invited me to go running with them again next weekend. I laughed and slipped each one a $20 and said “if my husband asks, that’s exactly what I’m doing. And there’s another $20 in it for you if you stop by the lake afterwards to give me believable details of our run “.

There are a lot of things I can do…

1. Give a cat CPR and bring him back from the dead. (And he still hated me.)

2. Open a wine bottle with only a screw and pliers.

MacGyver with a drinking problem.

3. Roller skate backwards after 3 beers (but not before).

We have it on video if anyone needs proof.

but I cannot run 3 2 1 mile to save my life! That’s ok, I’ll just pretend I did and continue to sit by the lake.

Please take a moment to acknowledge my shaved ankles.

A Sunday pic

I normally don’t post on the weekend but…

Brian bought Ana a princess clock even though she can’t tell time and she already wakes up way too early for our liking.  But she had to have it.  $6.95 for a happy child? Seems worth it. Can’t buy love? Yes you can.

Anyway, she has taken this clock everywhere with her this weekend and sometimes leaves it behind. I was getting sick of backtracking to find it so I decided to put it on a string so she can wear it around her neck. Does this look familiar?

The resemblance is uncanny. We already call her Lil’ Kim because she looks like me.  But instead of calling her Flavor Flav, I suggested she get her own appropriate stage name like, Pooper poop,

Free Advice Friday

Dear Kim,

I have been following your excellent advice and also understand you’ve added running to your repertoire of amazing abilities. I feel now is the perfect time to ask your opinion on how to handle a ‘noise’ that may sometimes squeak out from ‘behind the lower area’ when walking /running with others.

Thank you, Slightly Embarrassed Susan

Dear Slightly,

I’m not sure I understand your nicey-nice talk. Are you trying to say that farts emanate from your ass while you run? If so, I can help.

Here’s my advice: Shit your pants. You only have to shit your pants once, after that your friends will think nothing of a fart. Of course, they might be concerned that you’re going to shit your pants again, but if they make fun of you for that then they were never your friends to begin with. I’m a firm believer that laughing at someone for farting is funny but laughing at some one for shitting their pants is just plain cruel.

If you feel like this isn’t an option for you (ie. constipation, empty bowels, etc), I have a couple more alternatives.

1. Make it so people don’t want to run with you.

When I run I flail my arms and legs wildly. But don’t do it too wildly otherwise passersby will throw you to the ground and stick a belt in your mouth so you don’t bite off your tongue during your epileptic fit. In addition to my running style, I take Mr. Bojangles with me (when he isn’t busy licking his own ass). We look something like this…

Mr. Bojangles, just before he pulled my jacket off.

I found that this is usually enough to put people off.

2. Muffle the sound

There are two ways of doing this. Your first choice is to make a “Wahoo!” yell as you’re farting. Now this is a little tricky because you need to be aware that you’re about to fart in order to pull this off successfully. I’m convinced that all those people in my spin class yelling “yeah, baby!” “wooo!” and “c’mon!” are all just letting one rip. That’s why I always look disgusted when I’m in there.

*Do not use this technique in meditative yoga.

The other way of doing this is an actual physical muffling. I’ve experimented with this and I find that cotton balls and a little duct tape work really well. And the duct tape actually keeps your ass from jiggling so you look tighter and firmer. An added bonus.

I hope I was able to help you, Slightly. Just stay away from the beans, nobody likes a bean fart.

Kim

Dear Kim,

My kids have been asking for a pet for the last 2 years. I think they’re ready for the responsibility. What kind of animal do you think would make the best “first pet”?

Laurie in Pettingham, AL

Dear Laurie,

I understand your desire to have your children learn about the responsibility and sense of companionship that comes with pet ownership. Studies show that when a child cares for an animal it can help them to become a more empathetic and nurturing person in an otherwise cruel world. Just don’t get a bird. My bird Petey was a total dick.

Laurie, I’ve had newts, fish, crabs (fresh water, not pubic), iguanas…basically all sorts of aquarium pets and they’ve all had the same thing in common, they smell like ass. And not normal ass, the kind of ass that takes three bowls of all beef chili. Don’t do it.

And don’t be fooled by cute bunnies or rodents, they just leave little turds around the house which you will always think are spilled chocolate chips until you taste them.

We currently have a dog and a cat. What a mess. Mr. Bojangles has continual diarrhea flare ups which I believe is linked to him using the cat’s litter box like some kind of walk up sushi bar.

I swore I would never get another animal again. Then a couple months ago Ana was crying about wanting another pet. I kinda figured this was coming because she kept accidentally killing the ants I gave her. She was only trying to pet them.

The first and last time she would pet Timmy.

I got to thinking about what kind of pet would be best for our family and I that’s when I brought home Rickalick, our invisible dog. The kids didn’t buy it at first but then I explained to them “just because you don’t see the invisible fence doesn’t mean it’s not there” then I let them hold the dog collar and walk through it. They couldn’t argue with my logic.

Rickalick is great. He never barks. The kids can take him for walks off leash because he never leaves their side. They spend hours in the backyard throwing balls for him to chase (he doesn’t like to fetch). And late at night, he and I curl up with a glass of Cabernet and some cheese…and he doesn’t steal my damn food when I get up to pee (Mr. Bojangles, you suck).

Of course, continuously convincing the kids they have an invisible dog is not without some effort. At least once a week I have to bring dog poop into the house and put it on the carpet. “Bad Rickalick, bad dog”. Then I make one of the kids clean it up since it’s their pet. And once a year we take him to our vet who gives our invisible dog a very visible bill for wasting his time.

Having Rickalick is really starting to pay off because the kids in the neighborhood have been asking for their own invisible dog. So we’ve adopted some more dogs and have started a breeding center in our downstairs powder room, it’s called I.D.I.O.T.S. (Invisible Dog Institute Of Total Suckers). We’re hoping to have them weaned and potty trained by Christmas.

Rickalick with the neighborhood kids. We couldn’t get him to smile.

Laurie, I’ve enclosed an adoption form along with an outline of our fees. If you’re interested in an invisible dog for your family just mail it back in with a deposit, preferably a cashier’s check.

Good Luck,

Kim

Follow

Get every new post on this blog delivered to your Inbox.

Join other followers: