Mind-altering candy, Anyone?

Next door neighbor came over with goody bags for the kids on Valentine's Day. Each night, they go through the bags and decide which piece to choose. (This process takes longer than one might imagine.) Being the lazy mother that I am, I told them to eat the candy that we know to be gluten free first. When that is all gone, I will check out the other stuff online to see if they can have it.

Each evening when the goody bags are out and the candy is strewn all over the living room rug, intense negotiations are happening. "Have this one!" "No! THIS one!" "Is that one gluten free?" I kept hearing something about "funny" and "laughing", but again, if no one is on fire or bleeding, it takes a lot for me to ask what is going on.

There is a great deal of excitement each morning for Bubby, thinking about how he gets to choose another candy later in that day. (The daily life of a preschooler is simple, yet so full of serious things to ponder.) This morning, in the van, (our best conversations always occur in our van) he said, "Mama! I want to try the candy that will make me giggle! Will you check to see if it is gluten free???" I was perplexed. I said, "What candy???" I had no clue what he was talking about. He just kept insisting that there was this candy in that bag that would make him giggle! He was very, very excited about trying this! I was suggesting different candies that I knew he had in the bag and enjoyed very much. "Nerds?" I asked. No. "M&Ms?" No. I was stumped. Finally, a lightbulb went off in my head. "Laffy Taffy???????" He said, "YES! Mama! LAFFY TAFFY! It will MAKE YOU GIGGLE!" He was totally serious, Folks.

Quick! Alert the media! WillyWonka candies is now manufacturing MIND ALTERING candy for our youth. (It's really the parents that need it. I need to have a secret stash for those really rough days at home with the kids. I will eat it and just sit in a chair and giggle uncontrollably for hours! Sounds like a plan.)

Effeminate "piggies"...

Bubby and Mama enjoy storytime on Thursday mornings. Today's story had something to do with fingers and piggies. I can't explain it better, because I wasn't paying any attention during the story. I was staring, half-dazed at a light fixture across the store. (The sheer excitement of sitting quietly with no child demanding my attention put me into a sort of stupor.)

Craft time is Bubby's favorite part. The craft always goes along with the book-of-the-day's theme. Today, they were to trace their handprint. Cut out handprint. Glue handprint onto construction paper. After that, they were to color pre-drawn piggies. Cut out piggies. Glue piggies onto fingertips of handprint. The end.

It's not that Bubby can't follow directions. He just had to put his own interpretive spin on the project. He needed to draw a pig freehand, and cut and paste that pig too. (The pre-drawn pigs just simply weren't going to be enough for him.) I hadn't bothered to oversee what he was doing. I was now staring blankly at the chair in front of mine. (If no one needs my immediate attention, I sort of get set on "hibernate mode", like a computer. I am still turned on, but not in use. I am conserving electricity.) It came time to cut out all of the various objects and glue them on the paper. Bubby kept insisting that the predrawn (and his freehand pig) not be ANYWHERE NEAR his handprint. Whatever Dude. Just finish your project already. When he finished the fun with his gluestick, he presented his page to me. My son drew fingernail polish on his handprint. Not just *one* shade of "polish", mind you. TWO different shades, artistically applied the same way to each of the "nails". I was trying not to laugh when he proudly showed it to the storytime leader. She looked at it and then quickly at me. I shrugged. She smiled and told Bubby how beautiful the picture was.

Later, in the van, he was talking about how much he looooooooves his art project. I said, "Yeah! I really like how you put nail polish on your fingers!!" He was quiet for a moment, you could almost hear the wheels spinning in his little head. "Mama, those are *YOUR* fingers....." Um, yeah. Sure. Nice save, Kiddo. What can I say? My boy likes things to be embellished. Even "piggies".

Product Review!

I hate sponges. I really, really do. I think they are disgusting, although I have never been able to decide exactly *what* makes them disgusting. Paper towels are fine, but they are expensive. I always feel oddly extravagant while busting through one roll of paper towels during a morning of cleaning. (I feel the same way with the antibacterial wipes. They are just wonderful, but I feel wasteful when I use them.)

While on my weekly shopping trip to Sam's Club, (I can't stay away from that place) I happened upon these great, reuseable and washable dishrags that are used in food service situations. I feel that I feed a community of people most days, even though I am only feeding two small children, so something that is designed for "food service" would seem appropriate for my kitchen. I bought a package of 25 for under 7 dollars. I was skeptical at how well they would wear, but decided to give them a try.

One week has gone by, and I have been using these rags for washing dishes, wiping counters and cupboard fronts, scrubbing floors, appliances and walls. I used them to clean the dining room table and chairs after meals. I really love how clean my kitchen floor seems after scrubbing with these clothes and a bucket of hot soapy water. A much better job than my mop does!

They have been washed and rewashed. The rags have held up remarkably well. I have tried similar products that I purchased in the cleaning aisle of Walmart and wasn't impressed with the durability of the ones there. These "food service" quality rags are wonderful! I keep them washed and folded in the cupboard next to my sink. It's so handy to grab a fresh one when needed! I toss the used ones in a little bucket outside in the laundry room until I have enough for a little load, when I wash them in hot water with bleach and some detergent.

(For you fellow readers with a phobia of germs, I am not sure how I feel about using a rag that has been used for scrubbing my floor in my dishpan. They are washed and bleached to oblivion in between uses, so it's probably fine. I am thinking of having a stack that I use for cleaning and a stack that I use for dishes. That's probably the best solution.)

There! My first mundane product review! I swear, I am not a boring loser. Really, I am not.

First Post!!!!

Since I want this blog to be a place where I can shamelessly boast about things I accomplish around the house, I thought I would post a picture of the result of the "Spice dilemma of '06-'07". I have been having a hard time figuring out how to store spices in a way that was convenient. I finally spent way too much money at www.thecontainerstore.com and found the perfect white, magnetic canisters. My poor friends over at the NFP board had to smile and nod as I posted this picture and beamed with delight. (They are extremely good sports.)