Friday, July 17, 2009

Stuff I Learned This Week

#1: Never, ever, ever let the baby walk away with the cell phone. I know, this should be a no-brainer, but somehow I forgot this simple rule and now... well... I seem to be completely phone-less. Amazing how this device (which I lived most of my life without, and quite happily at that!) has become so important to me. Many, many prayers (and requests for St. Anthony's intercession) have so far not yielded a phone. Did she toss it in the trash? I'm beginning to wonder, and I'm feeling just a touch of despair creeping in.


#2: Although your younger boys may be clamoring for a bubble bath... and one of those "Men's body wash" bottles (that you picked up for free from CVS) is close at hand, do not -- I repeat, do NOT -- decide that this is a good substitute. That stuff will foam like anything, leave a nauseating purplish-blue scuzz all over the tub and toys, and will cover your boys with a pasty film and a heavy '70s "unbuttoned shirt/gold chain/Abba/Aqua Velva" smell that will bowl you over.

Trust me on that one. Whew.....


#3: I don't care how long you've lived in the South and how used to the heat you are -- being in full sun for 3 hours (from 10 to 1, no less) is not the smartest of moves you can make.



Of course, I did learn some positive things as well, such as

#4: There is no substitute for homemade salsa. I knew that already, but that lesson is reinforced every time I make it (which is almost weekly during the summer). I don't think my family would even *like* the storebought variety anymore.


#5: Motherhood may be challenging at times, but the rewards are great when your children pour into the kitchen saying, "Oh wow, Mommy! What are you cooking? It smells sooooooooooooo good!"

For the record, it was simply black beans and yellow rice, with homemade salsa and cucumbers on top. However, all it took was the smell of the onions sauteeing in butter with cinnamon to bring them all running. (and if you've never smelled that cooking before, you are missing out on a little slice of heaven. I thought the cookbook I was reading was NUTS the first time I saw those ingredients together, but once I tried it, it was pure olfactory bliss.)


#6: Thanks to youtube's French theme on Bastille Day, I was introduced to Soha:


(Long time readers may remember that I've got a soft spot for music like this....)


Enjoy the music and have a great weekend!

2 comments:

CD said...

Have you tried calling your cell phone? I lost mine once (left on top of the car and it flew off on the side of the road). I called it as I walked along the side of the road and actually found it.

~C~ said...

My littles are sensitive to cleaners and I was fresh out of all of the stuff I normally use to scrub down the tubs when I went to do it this morning. All I had on hand was Daddy's body wash...yep, you guessed it, I used that instead, my kids bathroom now smells like Irish Spring body wash, ick