My Saturday (a poem)

We went to our neighborhood Pig Roast on Saturday. It was a lovely event and I would have enjoyed myself more if I wasn’t so stressed about the following…

We were going to a party

where there’d be lots to do

so I asked darling Ana

to go pee and to go poo.

;

She refused my request

and walked out the door

when we got to the party

I asked her some more.

;

In line for the bungee

she said she was fine

but I knew she hadn’t pottied

in such a long time.

Next was the moonbounce

and I begged her to wee

her look said “you asshole,

I don’t have to pee!”

Waiting for face painting

I bribed her to go

but she glared at the cookie

and shook her head “NO”

(bitch)

When I finally gave up,

’cause she just wouldn’t piss,

I heard a tinkling sound

and sadly saw this…

The End.

Free Advice Friday – Job advice from the girl with no job.

Dear Kim,

I was thinking about getting a part time job, something that I can do for extra money but still be here when my kids get home from school. Any advice or ideas?

Thanks,

Pam in Brokeville, OH

 

Dear Pam,

At one time, I too was in search of a flexible part time job. It’s always been important to me to have a stash of cash that’s all my own. In the past, my primary income came from reselling the birthday, valentine, and Christmas gifts given to me by my husband. I listed them on venues like eBay or Craigslist and always under the seller name ‘Cauliflower69’, Brian knows I hate cauliflower so he’d never suspect it was me. But I think he recently caught on because lately my gifts are mostly underwear and perishable food items. FYI- finding a buyer for underwear, even those listed as “New Without Tags”, is a lot harder than you’d think.

Needless to say, the change in my financial status made it nearly impossible to support my addiction to animal print ballerina flats. Zebra, leopard, giraffe, pigeon- you name it, I have to have it! Pam, did you know that there isn’t an outfit in your closet that wouldn’t look better with a pair of animal print shoes? But here’s some advice, if you can only invest in one pair of animal print ballerina shoes, buy Chameleon- that son of a bitch goes with everything!

Anyway, back to the job search advice…I looked at a lot of possible part time jobs that would give me the flexibility necessary for a stay at home mom. Sadly, I lacked the body and the “willingness to do anything” that most of them required. I did, however, stumble across one that held some promise, something a mom might know about. It was listed under Scalp Services/ Lice, and the ad read something like…

Want to meet exciting and interesting people? Enjoy the rush of the heebie jeebies? Yearn for the thrill of the chase while invading the personal space of another? Want to feel like a cowboy of your own tiny rodeo? If you answered ‘yes’ to these questions then the challenging career of Lice and Nit Removal could be for you.

The perfect candidate will possess a positive attitude, a strong stomach, nimble fingers*, and be extremely near-sighted.

*acrylic nails a plus

 

I seriously considered applying for it myself, I even thought about what my business cards would say:

Kim, Lice Location & Extraction Officer
“Lice: Hair Today,Gone Tomorrow!”
Remember, if you’re not “picky” about your nit removal company,
you may be left scratching your head!
(234) 555-LICE

But my friends pointed out that flip-flop season was just around the corner (flip-flops are a much cheaper habit to support). They also said they would never meet me for happy hour if I was coming straight from work. Maybe you have less judgemental friends, Pam. If so, it’s worth checking out.

Good luck to you and your job search!

Kim

P.S. – I enclosed an old pair of ballerina flats that you can wear to your first interview. They’re size 8 and in Salmon (the fish, not the color), the iridescent scales say “I think outside the box”. You’ll thank me when you get the job!

5:30 A freakin M

Remember my list of the “things I can do while my daughter is in morning preschool“? Well, I haven’t accomplished any of them, none, nada, zero, not even #3! My schedule goes like this, after I drop her off I go to the gym and after that I only have time to run one lackluster errand before it’s time to turn around and pick her up.

So yesterday I decided I was going to wake up at 5:30 A freakin M and go workout thereby giving me my 3 well-deserved hours back. When the alarm went off I opened one eye and saw it was still dark. This can’t be right.  Of course I hit snooze and went back to sleep. Who doesn’t? The next time the alarm went off I dreamt that the mysterious banker from Deal or No Deal offered me $30,000 if I agreed to turn off the alarm, stay in bed, and not go to the gym. I took the deal. And every time my snooze alarm resounded he would up the offer.  It was up to $125,000 when I realized what was happening, my own subconscious was turning against me and trying to sabotage my efforts. She plays dirty. So I sat up, slapped my alarm, and said,”No Deal, Bitch!”

By the time I finally got out of bed I knew I was too late for spin class but I was determined to get some kind of workout in. I would reclaim those 3 preschool hours for myself, oh I would!

The gym was surprisingly crowded- who are these people? Apparently there’s this whole subculture of people that go to the gym in the morning…when it’s still dark. I had this “parallel universe” feeling that I can’t explain. I scouted out an elliptical and started to set up.

I put my iPod up in the holder and reached into my bag to grab my water bottle, only it wasn’t my water bottle I pulled out, it was my perfume- CanCan by Paris Hilton. And before you  judge me on my perfume choice, I have to defend it by saying that it smells really good, like sexy cotton candy good.  If you liked going to carnivals as a kid or if funnel cakes make you horny, I think you’ll like this.

Now if you’ll remember, last week I searched my Mary Poppins purse for a tampon and found a cheese stick instead. So having my perfume bottle but forgetting a water bottle was like, WTF? What the hell is wrong with me and my organizational skills?  When I start trying to pay for things with drink coasters, just lock me up.  Of course I looked in my purse and I had no money for the vending machine and the cafe was closed. Oh, and I had forgotten my towel. I WILL workout, I WILL!

However, given my lack of preparation, it became obvious that I would need to modify my activity level. It was obvious, right? So I spritzed myself with some perfume, got on the elliptical, and put the Black Eyed Peas on my iPod. Unfortunately, after 5 minutes I had to switch to Barbra Streisand  because I was working up too much of a sweat (remember,towel-less). So I exerted minimum effort for about 40 mins (while weeping and moving to “Papa can you hear me…”) until my lips cracked from dehydration. Afterwards, I wandered over to the cafe (fyi- it opens at 7am) and charged a very large coffee to my account, because nothing is healthier than a large caffeinated beverage after a dehydrating workout.

I came home, drank my coffee in silence (everyone was still sleeping), then made breakfast for the kids. Lovely! Then I realized that Collin was starting violin lessons that afternoon at school and we didn’t have a violin for him to play. Yup, forgot to rent one. ugh.

After everyone went to school nothing went as planned (and by “as planned”, I mean my plans to have no plans). Luckily, I was able to locate a violin to rent at a nearby music store. They set it aside for me and I rushed right down to pick it up. I had a violin in one hand and a music stand in the other when trying to leave the store,  I had to do that awkward exit where you turn around and push the door open with your butt. I turned around, made a very witty comment to the teen behind the counter, and pushed the door with my butt, it didn’t budge. So I stood there facing the kid, laughing at my own joke, and repeatedly smacking the door with my ass…over and over again.  He kept saying something because his lips were moving but I couldn’t hear him over my laughter (my comment really was genius). Finally I quieted down in confusion and I heard, “Ma’am, that door is locked”, “Ma’am, use the other door”, “Ma’am, it’s still locked”. Basically, I looked like a real unfunny asshole holding a violin.

Next I had to go to the grocery store, which thankfully did not leave me embarrassed.  Then I dropped Collin’s violin off at the school office. After all that BS it was time to pick Ana up at preschool. Damn it!  All that effort to wake up at 5:30 A freakin M and I still wasn’t able to accomplish #3 on my list!

Tips for Tuesday – Re-purposing

Once Ana was officially potty trained I had all these left over diapers and I had no idea what to do with them. None of my friends had babies and I didn’t think Goodwill would accept a Pampers box chewed open by dogs. But I couldn’t bring myself to throw them out either because I can’t stand wasting anything (unless it’s time, food, or money).

If you’re in the same situation, you’re in luck – I came up with a few useful ideas that have really worked for our family.

Bathroom Hand Towels – These hand towels are perfect for when you have company over.  They say to your guests, “I take your hand wetness seriously” AND you can write a little note on them such as “Welcome” or “Did you flush?”

 

Oven Mitts* – They’re great, they’ll absorb any liquids that spill and they’re flame retardant. (*do not use above 200 degrees or the chemicals inside will melt your hands off)

 

Wine Drip Catcher– Never worry about condensation or red wine rings on your table again. Because those stains can be so embarrassing.

 

Dinner Napkins – Don’t let your next dinner party be a messy event.  And your guests will be impressed with your resourcefulness.

 

The Gym – Why use a wimpy towel at the gym?  My towel was always soaked with sweat before I was even halfway through my workout.  Well, no more.  I’m able to use the same diaper over and over again…they hold a lot of body fluid.

 

Repair Cracked Heels – Simply apply left over Destin rash cream on your heels at bedtime, then wrap with a diaper.  By morning your heels will be as smooth as a baby’s bottom. As an added bonus, you can spray the bottoms with Lysol and clean your bathroom floors on the way to the toilet.

 

School Lunches – Don’t use ziploc bags when you have all those snack sized diapers laying around. They’re my favorite thing to pack my son’s brownie bites in.

 

If you have any more ideas I’d love to hear them as I still have a Costco sized box left to use up.

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