What are people really looking for when they want to “go out” with friends? A great experience? Check. Good food? Check. Nice atmosphere? Check. But can’t we do without those things just as easily and still have a fabulous time together?
I’ve been researching “things to do” for our family of five (three kids aged 3 and under), and the more I look for places to go in Northern Virginia, the more I realize that what my kids really want to do it play with other kids. When I look for adult-only activities, I realize all I really want is to enjoy my friends and husband.
The cheapest “thing to do” is simply to invite people over. Sure, we have to go out and find friends first (we are recent transplants to the area) at the park, church, or my eldest’s preschool, but once we get past the “I’m just making sure you and your kids aren’t really annoying or psycho” stage, the easiest thing is just to go over to each other’s house. It’s great for me because I don’t have to worry about paying an entrance fee or for food and, domestic goddess that I am, it motivates me to actually deep-clean the house. It’s a win-win situation for everyone! Going over to friends’ houses or having them come over is probably a lot better for the environment, too. No need to pay for or use extra carbon-footprint increasing stuff like restaurant A/C and bathrooms. If you’re having take-out, the delivery guy won’t always drive a hybrid, but you can make your own meal/snack if you want to get greener.
This translates just as easily for us adults. I love celebrating birthdays. I love making a big to-do about things and making people the super-center of attention. Last week, for my husband’s birthday, I invited a couple of friends over. We ordered an awesome mix of Asian foods, and I made my husband’s favorite dessert. Between us all, we had four kids and no worries about a tantrum or potty/diaper incident in a restaurant. We were able to drink wine without getting evil glares from people without kids. It was great. The only part I pseudo-missed was getting dressed up, and that’s really over-rated when you’ve got a [cute] baby who should have been named Slimer.
Girls’ nights out at home just got popular, too. Check out http://www.thursdaynightdinner.org/. The ladies who came up with this site are all about getting together in the comfort of someone’s home. Book clubs are another popular at-home/have fun venture. Guys have been getting together for sports and cards forever, it seems, so maybe they can be credited with being the greener sex. Who cares? Just figure out something fun to do, invite some people over, and have at it!
Why go through all the trouble of buying a McMansion, or at least a home that you’re happy to live in if you’re not going to: a.) use it or b.) show it off. We’re surrounded by stuff that we don’t use or even really need for anything but decor. If you’ve got it, put it to some use! Let your friends see your eclectic collection of Star Wars stuff (junk, my family calls it, but I love it!) or your collection of crosses from around the globe. Pull out that espresso machine you swore would take Starbucks’ place three years ago and learn how to make capuccinos for a fraction of the cafe price. Throw a monthly crafting party so you can learn a new skill or get caught up on stuff you started before your kids were born (like my middle child’s baby book). Watch a great flick on your awesome, ginormous TV with its wall-shaking sound system with $4/box (not $4/bag) popcorn and not-allowed-in-the-theater wine. You liked it enough to spend your hard-earned money on it, so use it! (That being said, please don’t run off and buy something new to entertain your friends with-be creative and use something you already have, or ask someone if you guys can use their thing.)
As adults, we spend lots of money on toys we think will help us kick back or give us some self-perceived status. However, we rarely or never use them! Why the waste? We have lots of people who we consider friends but who we only see a few times outside of work/school/what have you. Get to know someone better! Reach out! In a land where very few of us live close to our blood relations, we have to seize every opportunity to make a “friend who loves at all times” (Prov 17:17). Take the challenge-find ways to play at home with people besides your family.
-Domestic Goddess out.
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Monday, July 6, 2009
Messy, Messy Monday
Ah, the bliss of two children who nap at the same time in the afternoon. Three glorious hours to myself, which usually includes a nap, exercise, and a book. Such was this afternoon. I was tripping on endorphins when I went upstairs to fetch my children and smelled something strange. The strange smell grew as I approached my two-year-old's room. I opened the door and...there was poo everywhere. All over the bed, all over two of the walls, all over the floor, all over my child, who was trying to hide under her soiled pillow. UGH.
I hate nasty messes. They smell really bad (especially to those who have sensitive noses) and take a long, long time to clean up. Instead of beating my little girl (as instinct tried to make me do), I scooped her up gingerly and ran an unenvironmentally friendly amount of water, soap, and Clorox over her. No, not the Clorox. After she was cleaned up, she helped clean up a bit of the mess as I repeatedly explained that poo goes in the toilet, not on/in her room. She did her stint in the corner with lots of crying and calling for daddy (who was at school, mercifully for him), she sucked it up and took good care of her sister, pointing out birds (they were standing on her now-cleaned/sterilized bed and looking out the window) and trees. I certainly earned my two glasses of wine tonight!!! :)
Lessons Learned:
1. Old military uniform undershirts are wonderful rags.
2. Poo dries really hard. Use a good cleaner and scuzz brush.
3. Turn on the radio, turn on the fan, and open the window. Otherwise, you'll get high.
4. Get out of Dodge for a couple of hours to burn up energy/frustration at the park.
5. For the love of all that's clean and good for the environment, don't let your child/ren eat as many blueberries and blackberries as they want. My two kids each produced four BMs today after downing tons of farmer's market berries yesterday. After talking to my sister-in-law (and mother of four children), she informed me that was my critical error. But she did think the whole episode was hilarious. My lack of patience is legendary in my family...shall I say more?
6. A good, locally produced white wine helped it all seem funny to me too.
Incidentally, I am being converted to the locovore beliefs. I've never had better fruit and vegetables in my life. Yes, I've tried growing my own and failed every time. Instead of being a plant killer/money waster, I admit my faults and purchase from the locals who have ultra-green thumbs and organic minds. Seriously, if you have the opportunity to buy local, do it. Your waist, palate, and wallet will thank you.
I hate nasty messes. They smell really bad (especially to those who have sensitive noses) and take a long, long time to clean up. Instead of beating my little girl (as instinct tried to make me do), I scooped her up gingerly and ran an unenvironmentally friendly amount of water, soap, and Clorox over her. No, not the Clorox. After she was cleaned up, she helped clean up a bit of the mess as I repeatedly explained that poo goes in the toilet, not on/in her room. She did her stint in the corner with lots of crying and calling for daddy (who was at school, mercifully for him), she sucked it up and took good care of her sister, pointing out birds (they were standing on her now-cleaned/sterilized bed and looking out the window) and trees. I certainly earned my two glasses of wine tonight!!! :)
Lessons Learned:
1. Old military uniform undershirts are wonderful rags.
2. Poo dries really hard. Use a good cleaner and scuzz brush.
3. Turn on the radio, turn on the fan, and open the window. Otherwise, you'll get high.
4. Get out of Dodge for a couple of hours to burn up energy/frustration at the park.
5. For the love of all that's clean and good for the environment, don't let your child/ren eat as many blueberries and blackberries as they want. My two kids each produced four BMs today after downing tons of farmer's market berries yesterday. After talking to my sister-in-law (and mother of four children), she informed me that was my critical error. But she did think the whole episode was hilarious. My lack of patience is legendary in my family...shall I say more?
6. A good, locally produced white wine helped it all seem funny to me too.
Incidentally, I am being converted to the locovore beliefs. I've never had better fruit and vegetables in my life. Yes, I've tried growing my own and failed every time. Instead of being a plant killer/money waster, I admit my faults and purchase from the locals who have ultra-green thumbs and organic minds. Seriously, if you have the opportunity to buy local, do it. Your waist, palate, and wallet will thank you.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Two Year Olds
I was doing some rush cleaning yesterday for a meeting my husband was hosting in the evening. As I whirled through the main floor of our three-level house, I kept tripping over my 9 month old (who hates vacuum cleaners) and my 2-year-old (who can't get enough of them and loves showing them to her sister). I thought as many happy thoughts as I could, but I ran out of them pretty quickly, so I started analyzing my oldest daughter.
She is a study in Jekyll and Hyde. Seriously. We'll be happily scrubbing the bathroom down together singing some Mary Poppins tune at the top of our lungs one minute. The next, she's lying face down in my bed with all my covers over her, crying at the top of her lungs. She won't speak to me or even look at me. If she says something, it's all gibberish. The only way I've successfully distracted her from these tantrums is by talking about waffles. She has the same penchant for waffles as I do. :)
For the record, she does a REALLY good job of scrubbing the toilet. The key is to take the brush away from her before she gets bored. Otherwise, she decides it's time to make mashed toilet paper in there, and you can imagine what that looks like in the toilet and on the floor.
I love her, I really do, but sometimes she drives me nuts. I'll ask her to do something, and she'll take her happy time doing it. I think the military was bad for me when it comes to that whole "instant obedience to orders" thing. That doesn't go over too well with two-year-old kids, I guess. I think it's my fault she dilly dallies, though. Sometimes she'll ask me for something very nicely (that is, she says "please"), and I'll get up to get it for her and get side railed by a few small things that leads to my own dilly dallying. I've got to work on that!!!
Something that fascinates me is how well she understands Spanish. I very rarely speak to her in Spanish. In fact, I only do it when I am frustrated with her and want her to do something now. So imagine my surprise when she seemingly understood everything at the bilingual story time at the library this morning: colors, shapes, alphabet, simple movements, etc. Amazing.
...There were a couple of other interesting points about my two-year-old, but I can't remember them now.
What is interesting is this whole czar business in the government. Last time I checked, we were a democratic republic who fought a civil war for states' rights. WHY is the government getting into everything? Has nobody noticed that the higher up authority goes, the more red tape is used to fasten everything? Why isn't there an outcry on this?
I am not particularly fond of our leadership right now...not because of their political party or their color or even their past decisions. I'm frustrated about their decision making processes. Does anyone really think that bailing out companies who have been dying since the 70s is a good idea? If so, why? Capitalism=survival of the fittest. It's a great system because it forces companies to create products that are worth buying. There's a preference for foreign-made items because of their quality.
Can you imagine how much greener the US would be (regarding money and the environment) if GM, Ford, and the other American vehicle companies had been left on their own to develop good cars???
That's about as far as my musings took me before it was time to start making dinner. I know I could rant more effectively if I had my husband here to conduct a same-sided debate with! Hope your musings get you through your rough spots in the day!
Domestic Goddess out.
She is a study in Jekyll and Hyde. Seriously. We'll be happily scrubbing the bathroom down together singing some Mary Poppins tune at the top of our lungs one minute. The next, she's lying face down in my bed with all my covers over her, crying at the top of her lungs. She won't speak to me or even look at me. If she says something, it's all gibberish. The only way I've successfully distracted her from these tantrums is by talking about waffles. She has the same penchant for waffles as I do. :)
For the record, she does a REALLY good job of scrubbing the toilet. The key is to take the brush away from her before she gets bored. Otherwise, she decides it's time to make mashed toilet paper in there, and you can imagine what that looks like in the toilet and on the floor.
I love her, I really do, but sometimes she drives me nuts. I'll ask her to do something, and she'll take her happy time doing it. I think the military was bad for me when it comes to that whole "instant obedience to orders" thing. That doesn't go over too well with two-year-old kids, I guess. I think it's my fault she dilly dallies, though. Sometimes she'll ask me for something very nicely (that is, she says "please"), and I'll get up to get it for her and get side railed by a few small things that leads to my own dilly dallying. I've got to work on that!!!
Something that fascinates me is how well she understands Spanish. I very rarely speak to her in Spanish. In fact, I only do it when I am frustrated with her and want her to do something now. So imagine my surprise when she seemingly understood everything at the bilingual story time at the library this morning: colors, shapes, alphabet, simple movements, etc. Amazing.
...There were a couple of other interesting points about my two-year-old, but I can't remember them now.
What is interesting is this whole czar business in the government. Last time I checked, we were a democratic republic who fought a civil war for states' rights. WHY is the government getting into everything? Has nobody noticed that the higher up authority goes, the more red tape is used to fasten everything? Why isn't there an outcry on this?
I am not particularly fond of our leadership right now...not because of their political party or their color or even their past decisions. I'm frustrated about their decision making processes. Does anyone really think that bailing out companies who have been dying since the 70s is a good idea? If so, why? Capitalism=survival of the fittest. It's a great system because it forces companies to create products that are worth buying. There's a preference for foreign-made items because of their quality.
Can you imagine how much greener the US would be (regarding money and the environment) if GM, Ford, and the other American vehicle companies had been left on their own to develop good cars???
That's about as far as my musings took me before it was time to start making dinner. I know I could rant more effectively if I had my husband here to conduct a same-sided debate with! Hope your musings get you through your rough spots in the day!
Domestic Goddess out.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Intro
So, I used to be in the military. I used to work long, long hours. The kids were in daycare for 12+ hours a day, on average. I hated it. Not the military. Just being away from my babies. So when my contract ended, I didn't renew it. Now, I am a different woman.
I'm a housewife and full-time mom. I hate cleaning, but I love being around the kids. End result: sort of messy house with pretty happy kids. Much happier me and husband. Life is good!
The point of this blog is to share my random thoughts while cleaning. I think like spaghetti, a whole mess of thoughts connected and mixed up into a random whole. These things keep me entertained while I get through the not-so-fun parts of the day.
First example: Why, oh why, do cleaners have to be so toxic? Honestly. I lost lots of nose hair and brain cells in my first month of cleaning on a regular basis (instead of only the weekend). If "they" can make bleach smell like flowers and lemons, why not the shower cleaner too? Has anyone else ever nearly asphyxiated in the shower? I thought I was going to pass out the first time. It was horrible.
However, I've been readying a lot of "green cleaning" books lately, and the problem will be solved as soon as I run out of the toxic stuff. I'd rather just use it instead of dumping it to poison other stuff or go through the hassle of finding a hazmat dumping station. Check out "Green Cleaning for Dummies" and "Go Green, $ave Green". Great tips, and they don't make you feel like a jerk for not being greener than Kermit.
Okay, have to cut my husband's hair now.
Domestic Goddess out.
I'm a housewife and full-time mom. I hate cleaning, but I love being around the kids. End result: sort of messy house with pretty happy kids. Much happier me and husband. Life is good!
The point of this blog is to share my random thoughts while cleaning. I think like spaghetti, a whole mess of thoughts connected and mixed up into a random whole. These things keep me entertained while I get through the not-so-fun parts of the day.
First example: Why, oh why, do cleaners have to be so toxic? Honestly. I lost lots of nose hair and brain cells in my first month of cleaning on a regular basis (instead of only the weekend). If "they" can make bleach smell like flowers and lemons, why not the shower cleaner too? Has anyone else ever nearly asphyxiated in the shower? I thought I was going to pass out the first time. It was horrible.
However, I've been readying a lot of "green cleaning" books lately, and the problem will be solved as soon as I run out of the toxic stuff. I'd rather just use it instead of dumping it to poison other stuff or go through the hassle of finding a hazmat dumping station. Check out "Green Cleaning for Dummies" and "Go Green, $ave Green". Great tips, and they don't make you feel like a jerk for not being greener than Kermit.
Okay, have to cut my husband's hair now.
Domestic Goddess out.
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