What Is Going On??!!

I've been a bit busy lately. For 2 weeks straight, I worked 45 hour weeks at my PART-time job - that doesn't include the volunteer meetings or my Client work. Or the fact that I am a parent of 2 kids and a wife. We had dinner guests, so of course mi casa had to be clean for that. I did put on a Winter Carnival for about 200 kids and their parents. And to prove that I should not work, I got sick. Down for 4 days!! Truly, I should be a housewife and community volunteer - please be sure to let my husband know...

Truthful Tuesday - MAM

I have this friend that I really like and finally got to spend about an hour or so with yesterday at a coffee shop in Oak Park. You see, MAM has deserted me in the city and has moved to Oak Park. I can't say I didn't see this coming. Afterall, I met her through her blog post on Chicago Mom's Blog when she talked about their plans to move to the suburbs. I just thought it would have taken a few more years to happen.

MAM and her partner, Math Wiz sold their amazing penthouse in the city that I really, really wish we were in a financial position to have purchased as it is in the most perfect part of town for us and I do love rooftop decks and wide open living spaces with Brazilian Cherry floors and, to be honest, the designation of 'penthouse' doesn't hurt one's ego either. Abandoning the city, they moved to Oak Park for it's wide treelined streets, family and stroller friendly sidewalks, homes set back from the road, proximity to the university at which they profess, and the great big homes that you can renovate and make perfect for you to live in for the next 30 years. Chicago has all of this but for some odd reason, they didn't want to spend $1.5 million to attain it.

MAM loves Oak Park and for this I am so happy. A book could be written about the drama they endured when selling said condo/penthouse and trying to purchase - with CASH - another home. You would think a seller hearing the words 'cash sale' in a down economy would skip hop to the closing table. These Oak Park people own the term 'pride of ownership' let me tell you. If MAM wrote a book about it - and she is a published author with a wikipedia page devoted to her, so she could easily do so - no one would believe it to be true. If I hadn't been privy to the torment and tears, I might wonder myself.

At any rate, MAM is loving Oak Park and hanging in there as a new mom for the 2nd time. It was great to sit and chat and get crochet ideas and advice from her. I practically had to arm wrestle the woman to let me pay for a cup of tea for her. Why was it so important to me? Reciprocity. You can't leave MAM's home with just what you walked in with. I have plants, yarn, crochet needles, books, Vermouth ("I like to have a home that has Vermouth in the pantry"), you name it. Yesterday, I bought MAM chai, but left with a little Valentines' pail and coloring pages and cookie cutter for Mini Me and a space heater for my office. She's not quite like a mom figure, maybe more like my mom's best friend, only she can't be because she is younger than me and has never met my mom.

I think I might be rambling. However, I do want to be sure you realize how special MAM is and if you ever get the chance to meet her, you will figure this out sometime between the delicious and exotic food she feeds you and upon arriving at your vehicle with your arms fuller than when you knocked upon her door.

I Love Chicago - Reason 2,403

Technically, this is J's drive home from work. This is one of the many reasons why I LOVE Chicago!!

Freaky Friday - Insane Allergy

A few years ago, I noticed the tip of my mouth started to tingle when I ate one of my favorite foods - an apple. It started happening every time. Kind of bizarre for an allergy to pop up at age 35!

Last month, my throat started to close after eating

an apple.

It was scary!!

The other day, I ate a peach. I LOVE peaches.

Guess what? Yes! Peach allergy, too!

According to an eHow article by Jonae Fredericks, apples are part of OAS - Oral Allergy Syndrome and are associated with birch pollen. Now it makes sense. What I didn't realize until I read the article is that peaches and hazelnuts are part of the same family as apples, the Rosaceae family of fruits. It only applies to raw fruit because the allergy causing proteins can't survive when cooked or pasteurized.

Learn something new everyday.

Urban Boy

My son is so cute!!

Wordless Wednesday - Joker Mini Me

Tackle It Tuesday - Inconvenient Lifestyle

When I started back working last year, I thought I knew how to do the working mom thing 'cause that is what I did for 5 years in Tulsa. Yes, but I forgot that J did ALL the cooking, 90% of the grocery shopping, picked up the kids from school, bought the kids' clothes and did their hair (or MotorMouth's hair 'cause Mini Me didn't have hair until she was 2).

Since I was home full-time, all of this fell on my shoulders and it was fine. Until I added work to the mix and having to go to different stores for groceries and the laundromat when our NEW washer stopped working.

I've evaluated our lives - my life - and here is what I came up with. I need to write this stuff down somewhere I can be accountable for them. Here goes on my plans to make life easier for 2010.

These are not resolutions. This is stuff I've been mulling in my head for a couple of weeks/months and after the restoration of order in our home the holidays brought, I can finally start implementing this stuff....

Widney Wednesday Once/Month

We do Family Friday every Friday evening but I have let our themed family nights (Widney Wednesday) fall by the wayside. The kids love this and I enjoy creating memories for them. So, instead of pressure to create it weekly - I work full-time now - I am going to do one per month.

15-minute clean

This one is basic but huge. If J and I spend just 15 minutes each per day cleaning, we should be able to keep the house tidy. If you think about, 2 adults doing it is 30 minutes/day and a whole lot can be accomplished then!

1 toy at a time

The Duggars (the family with 19 kids!!) implement this rule. I didn't think it was possible. But I've been doing it with the kids for the past 2 weeks and it works!! They sometimes have 3-4 toys out, but when I see that, I call them on it and order is restored. This is major for keeping their 'playroom/Motor Mouth's bedroom/guest room' tidy.

5-minute bedtime clean

I didn't make the kids clean up every day before bed and the toys got really out of hand. MotorMouth refused to clean up his room because he said he didn't know where to start. I ended up doing it. Not my room. Not my toys. Not gonna do that again. So now I am enforcing the 5 minute clean rule where the kids clean their rooms for 5 minutes before bed. What a difference!

1 load a day

Once my laundry is tamed, I am going to endeavor to wash 1 load per day. Seeing as our washer is working now (no thanks to the Purex 3-in-1 sheets that stopped up our drain at a cost of $135 +plus), I should be able to wash and put away 1 load of laundry per day. If I do that, I should be able to stay on top of things.

Night Prep

I finally started preparing lunches at night and laying out the kids' clothes at night. It really streamlines the morning and makes for a more peaceful morning - until the last 15 minutes when there is still utter chaos and some yelling to 'hurry up!!'

Activity Jar

I have an activity jar so I can do something instead of chilling. I feel guilty chilling, so at least I can do something productive. I was surprised at how many little things I would like to get done - not major cleaning projects but little things, like cut out squares for a quilt, or just go for a walk with the family.

Dinner at Home

Since starting work, I find it increasingly difficult to eat at home on evenings. It is so easy to run out and grab something on the way home, instead of taking 20-30 minutes to cook. That has to stop. I have a list of easy to cook foods and I'm going to be leaving work earlier each day so I can be home to work 1-on-1 with MotorMouth and jump start dinner.

Input Welcome

I still need to figure out a grocery shopping strategy because one store does not cut it for everything. And I need to figure out a weekly deep clean day strategy. Any ideas are more than welcomed.

(Oh, and please don't suggest I look at FlyLady.com - I've been there and have taken some of her ideas but I find some of her stuff time consuming to manage.)

It all seems so basic doesn't, it??

Knowing Me, Knowing You - Jan '10

knowing me, knowing you - january

Time once again for the monthly interview project The Fairy Blogmother started one year ago this month...

1. Showers or baths?
Showers. Always been a shower girl. Just never found the time or the enjoyment in a bath and believe me, I've tried. Maybe I need a big enough

2. What's your favourite thing for breakfast?
Bagel with cream cheese and fruit.

3. What is your favourite George Clooney movie?
You know, I couldn't think of too many of his movies. So I searched IMDB and as it turns out, he doesn't really have a lot of movies - or at least good ones outside of 'Brother Where Art Thou' (which I didn't really care for) and Oceans 11, 12, 13....30 - which I do like tremendously. Oh! And Batman. Remember that? I liked George very much as Bruce Wayne and kinda as Batman but Michael Keaton is my favorite Batman. I did love George in ER.

4. American Idol starts on Tuesday folks, how do you feel about Ellen joinng the judge's table?
I do love Ellen and American Idol. Not sure I'll really get in to the show this year. I think I'm done. But Ellen will make it worth watching, I'm sure.

5. Lets say you've got a gift card to Michaels... what would you spend it on?
Yarn. Crochet notions. Classes and supplies for said classes. Hey - how much is this gift card for? I could go on and on...

Now, head on over to The Fairy Blogmother and post your very own Knowing Me, Knowing You.

Recommendation FAIL - Purex

A few months back, I sang the praises of Purex 3-in-1 laundry soap, softener, dryer sheets. I still think they are revolutionary but I no longer am a proud supporter. Turns out, they are WAY too expensive for my tastes - to the tune of $135 for a washing machine repair plus months of lugging a family of 4's clothing to a laundromat at $20-$30 a trip!!!

Our washer and dryer unit is less than 2 years old. Just a couple months after it's 1st birthday, our washer quit draining the water from our clothes. Sometimes, I could get it to work if I put only 3-4 light pieces in on delicate, prayed really hard and hit spin cycle 3 times, turning a 25 minute wash into a 2 hour event. I can't tell you how much sleep I have lost trying to get 1 load we needed in the morning. Or how many evenings I spent away from my family so I could go to the laundromat.

J managed to find someone who fixes GE stackable washers/dryers AND goes south of North Ave. - not as easy to find as you would think... The repair man had never seen a Purex 3-in-1 sheet before. Certainly never 2 of them stuck in the drain, preventing our washer from doing its job.

I am pretty anal about using dryer sheets so, I'm surprised I didn't notice the sheet didn't get put in the dryer. I don't know when or how sheets ended up in the drain, but it was pretty early on because this has been happening for months and months.

This was an expensive lesson.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wordless Wednesday - iPhone Case

Mini Me

A whole store dedicated to Mini Me...

Pass or Fail?

Yes, it's another year end reflection but I'm going to be honest. Really honest.

2009 was a great and wonderful year continuing to build our lives in a new city. Lots of changes. I've had a hard time adjusting to some of the changes.

I thought things would be great when both kids started school. I thought I knew how to do the working mom thing. I thought wrong.

My home has not been really clean since August. I have not cooked every day (or even every week) since August. I have not hung out with friends, done an outstanding job on volunteer work, completed anything I started, or kept up with laundry. Don't ask about grocery shopping.

If I were to be graded on every area of my life, I would fail. I did not excel in any area at the detriment of the others. I sucked across the board. I'm not happy with how things went and I'm sure there are a lot of people who are not happy with me as well.

The last 2 weeks were about getting my life back on track. I literally and figuratively cleaned house. I went back to basics. Our home is clean. The baseboards are clean. The closets are clean. The laundry is put away. I've cooked and baked. And yes, I've spent time with my husband and children. It was wonderful. It was a great reminder of the me I fell in love with after moving to Chicago.

My goal for 2010 is to figure out a way to maintain a balance in our lives. There will be changes. My family deserves to live in a happy, organized home. I'm not trying to be supermom. I just want to be a mom that is on her game so her husband and kids can be happy.

Christmas 2009

This is a bit late, but I've been busy!

We had a wonderful Christmas

celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus

It wouldn't be a Widney experience without drama...

Baby Jesus the crip.

Winter Tree

J plans to keep it up all 'winter'

(like we ever take a tree down before Easter)

Kids' Christmas Tree

We give the children a new ornament each year

The full collection of homemade snowflakes!

Santa said MooMoo can stay until New Year's Eve!!

Spoiled or blessed - you decide

Gifts from 4 sets of grandparents, Santa, godparents, us

And this didn't include all of the Tulsa presents!

New PJs, new robes, happy smiles

The kids asked for robes!

I fixed a traditional Trinidad breakfast

"Playing" with a learning toy

Our 3-yr old 'reading'

We wore our PJs ALL day!!

I spent the day cooking dinner

The BEST turkey recipe ever is HERE

J made this dish that will become a new tradition

It's a cranberry relish on a pineapple bread pudding

(tastes WAYYYYY better than it sounds)

And the reason I spent all day cooking...?

I made my mother-in-law's recipe for dressing.

I didn't realize I had to fricasse chicken AND make cornbread

BEFORE I could make the dressing.

It turned out GREAT. J said it tasted just like his mom's!

Next year, I am going to try my mother's recipe

- it's not as many steps...

It was a good day. A good day indeed!

Bye Bye 2009 - Bye Bye MooMoo

And so it ends. A year of changes, challenges, some highs, and, thankfully, not many lows.

One of the highs was a wonderful little cow named MooMoo that joined our family December 1st. MooMoo was supposed to go home with Santa on Christmas Eve, but the children loved him too much to say goodbye so soon.

Santa gave MooMoo 1 more week with us.

At midnight on December 31st, we said goodbye to 2009 and MooMoo.

But not before he left us this present the morning of New Year's Eve...

(Milk Duds. My MIL's idea.)

Year End

year end

Here's another little meme my friend at The Fairy Blogmother likes to close the year out with....

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Drove a Hummer in downtown Chicago, gone without a fully functional (yet NEW) washing machine for 5 months, worked at a school, cooked a full Christmas dinner on my own and for just my immediate family, had my hair dyed pink, purple and blue (at once), put 9,000 miles on a new car in 4 months, saw the Chicago River dyed green.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Don't remember all I said but probably not. I have some ideas I'd like to implement this coming year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Who didn't?? Ashley, Katie, Lara, Laurie, Liliana, Lynne, Mary Anne, Misty, Normie, Neighbor Rosa and probably some I forgot. And if they didn't give birth this year, they are preggo and about to pop!! Why do you think I stopped drinking water and only mainline Red Bull?? They are ALLLLLLL boys, too, except for Laurie and Normie.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My uncle. But we were no longer close.

5. What countries did you visit?
Only the USA. Little matter about an expired passport.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
A smokin' hot bod.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
President Obama's inauguration for obvious reasons. Impromptu tour of Oprah's Harpo Studio. Michael Jackson's death. My SIL & BIL coming to visit in August b/c it was their first time in ChiTown. Spending a solid week at Grandma Grandma's bedside b/c we all thought she was going to die but she pulled through!!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I felt like a failure for most of the year. Maybe giving gifts to people that they genuinely liked - I suck at gift-giving so this was a major score for me.

9. What was your biggest failure?
My entire year. I failed at juggling work and home and family and friends. Truly, I feel like a complete failure.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Praise God, no! Other than cutting my foot and requiring stitches, it was uneventful health wise for the fam.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Our city car.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Mini Me for not being a crying mess at school. Of course, that means she is a mess on the drive home and in the evening, but she holds it together in school and at the end of the day, I think that is what matters.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Everyone who treated Michael Jackson like an ass for so long, only to sing his praises when he died. Why couldn't we have shown him some love before he died?

Ohh!! And Adam Lambert. Why did he have to blow his whole wad (literally) in one performance? I wish he had eased us into his madness and not been so prideful. I wanted to enjoy his music. Now I am sorry I paid money to vote for him and even this mention of him on my blog is pissing me off.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent. Tuition. Food.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Making Christmas dinner for my family.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
I Got a Feeling by The Blackeyed Peas. They performed it on the Chicago River with a flash mob dancing on the season opener for Oprah's Show.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? 
b) thinner or fatter? 
c) richer or poorer?
a). sadder b/c I wish I was home full-time b). fatter c). richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Widney Wednesdays

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Working outside the home.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Cooking and baking for my family and spending the day in PJs.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Yes. With a cow named MooMoo.

22. How many one-night stands?
None this year. I'll make a goal of that next year.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Brothers and Sisters.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is a strong word.

25. What was the best book you read?
Obstacles Welcome by Ralph de la Vega. Must read book.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Lady Gaga

27. What did you want and get?
iPhone 3Gs. New car. Tickets to see Yoni Ki Baat (South Asian version of the Vagina Monologues)

28. What did you want and not get?
A smokin' hot bod.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
The Hangover!

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Spent the day with my family and ate at Cafe Trinidad. Had my favorite cake from Whole Foods for dessert. I turned 40. J wanted to throw me a big party but I really just wanted to quietly and gracefully usher in this wonderful and miraculous age.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not working outside the home.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
Fat girl cover up.

33. What kept you sane?
My faith in God. Knowing that God has been there for me/us and will continue to be there.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Hugh Jackman. Robert Downey Jr.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
US health care. I know how scary it is to not have health care and I have seen the massive debt a major illness can incur.

36. Who did you miss?
My Canada and Tulsa family and friends.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
My office mate, PixieGirl. I should blog about her and tell you how wonderful she is. PixieGirl makes leaving my home and family to go in to the office worth it. She is a little gift from God every day I walk in to the office.

And online, Outnumbered. He keeps me laughing.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
Not to talk to people or send emails the week immediately before and the few days during my period.

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I gotta feeling...

MooMoo the Christmas Cow - Extended Sugar Frenzy

The children were NOT ready for MooMoo to return to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, with Santa. Mini Me bawled. Literally, boohooed. The ugly cry. Who knew a singing, dancing cow would ingrain himself into the hearts of our family??

J sent Santa a text to see if MooMoo could stay.

Santa said 'Yes!' We were so excited.

Until Monday morning....

And that, boys & girls, is what a sugar induced cow frenzy looks like.

I think the MooMoo has mad cow disease...

Merry Christmas

And a short dance for you...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

MooMoo the Christmas Cow - Live, Love, Laugh

Working has really kicked my butt!

I was late RSVPing to Santa by the deadline.

All the visiting elves were gone.

The Widney's got MooMoo the Christmas Cow.

MooMoo has been wonderful and sweet.

He dances and moos "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"

and is pretty good, except for when he is naughty!!

Our family will miss MooMoo when he hitches

a ride back to the North Pole with Santa tomorrow night.

Helping to make the gingerbread houses

Showed up in my purse...

Shhh...I brought him to work w/me one day

Playing games. Literally.

This is where MooMoo was found one morning

What? Was he lonely?

MooMoo got into the Christmas decorations!

MooMoo had to do some corner time...

How sweet!

Cuddling with the bears Santa gave the kids

when they had their picture taken that day.

Spooning? Really? MooMoo!!

We are all going to miss MooMoo!!

The Language of Love & Respect

If you only read 1 relationship book, 'The Language of Love & Respect' by Dr Emerson Eggerichs, should be it. Communication is the core of relationships and Dr. Eggerichs makes it clear how to bring out the best in your relationship through personal change and growth - and easy to follow steps!

'The Language of Love and Respect' by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, published by Thomas Nelson doesn't deal so much with gender 'roles' as it does gender 'communication'. It was about, well, love and respect. It doesn't matter if you are a man or a woman. You need to love and respect your partner. Eggerichs gets to the core and then gives you simple to follow help on how to improve yourself - not your partner.

Pop culture is all about communication. 'The Language of Love and Respect' is about successfully communicating with the most important person in your life. Communication is a process. 'The Language of Love and Respect' challenged me. It made me look at things differently and work on them differently. This is a book I need to keep handy so I can reference back to work on another aspect of my attitude and approach to my marriage. It is well worth purchasing for yourself and for a newly married couple in your life. Or as an anniversary gift for couple that has been married awhile - sometimes we get into a rut.


This is the second book and you need not feel like you are left out if you did not read 'Love and Respect' because Dr Emerson Eggerichs gives a synopsis of the first book at the beginning of 'The Language of Love and Respect.' That was a nice feature. From the sounds of 'Love and Respect', that might be worth reading as well. As always, I PLAN to give my free copy away to my blogosphere. However, I need to hold on this one. It's so good!!


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Book Review Blogger program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”