Well, This Is A Surprise! The Liebster Award!

       So, you guys, I am blushing all alone in my home.  Two of the coolest chicks on the whole entire internet gave me a Liebster Award.  I know, right?  It's like getting invited to sit with the seniors at lunch when you are a freshman.  My undying affection for the crumb diaries and Mommy Drinks Because You Cry is second only to my respect for their awesomeness.  Now, the rules for passing the love along seem to be a little fluid, so I am going to mix and match a little.  


     1)  Thank the Liebster Award presenter(s) on your blog.  See above!
     2)  Link back to the blogger who presented it to you.  This was a bit of a trick since I am not the most computer savvy gal you'll ever meet, but I'm pretty sure I did it!!
     3)  Copy and paste the award on your blog.  Okay, I managed to get it on the post, but Blogger keeps telling me it is "broken" when I try to add it to the side.  Work in progress...
     4)  Present the award to 5 or 11 blogs that deserve to be noticed.  I think I'll go with 8.  Just because it's in the middle and I'm funny like that.
     5)  Let them know they've been presented with the Liebster Award.  I certainly will.  
     6)  Answer 11 questions posed by the presenter.  Mommy Drinks went to all the trouble to write these up, so I shall answer them to the best of my ability.  I shall also steal them for those who wish to participate in this part of the game.  :)
     7)  Eat some dark chocolate.  It has anti-oxidants in it.  It will cure what ails you.  Unless you are allergic to chocolate.  Then skip 7.  I added this one.  But you knew that.




Here is my list of award winning blogs:

   Homestyle Mama (with a side of autism)
   Frugalista Blog
   Stay At Home Crazy
   Four Sea Stars
   Razorblade Brain
   Craughing
   Her Royal Wineness
   A Chameleon in the Spectrum

You would laugh for six hours if you knew how long it took me to put all those links in.  That just goes to show how much I like these people, because I would not go to that much trouble for shitty blogs.  Now for the questions:

1) What, if anything, is completely off limits as far as blog topics for you? Nothing in particular, but I wouldn't write things that would deliberately hurt someone.
2) What is your favorite sound? Little Chicken's laugh.  The kid does not giggle, she chuckles.  Even as a baby, people would stop and stare at that tiny girl with the deep laugh.  It's awesome. 
3) If you could go back and talk to your 15 year old self, what one piece of information/advice would you share? I don't think I would bother, because 15 year old me would not listen anyway.  I would just give my young self a makeover to avoid some of those awful 80's pictures.
4) How did you end up doing what you do today? (If you're a SAHM, what made you choose that vs. going back to work? If you work a paying job, how did you end up in the field you are in?)  I tried to go back to work when Little Chicken was 3 months old (in a daycare center infant room, so she was with me), but she was having none of that.  She was so miserable, I just decided it was best to stay home with her.  I'm pretty sure her sensory sensitivities were the reason for her unhappiness, but we didn't know that then.  I just knew she needed Mama all to herself!
5) What is your guilty pleasure?  Craft beer.  
6) What's your favorite candy?  Dark chocolate sea salt caramels.
7) What prompted you to start your blog?  Partly a wish to express myself, and partly a wish to connect with people.  I don't have many friends who live nearby, and I get a little bogged down in Mommyland sometimes.  I needed something for myself.
8) Do you have a favorite food? If so, what?  Bacon.
9) If you had to pick 1 thing to change about yourself, what would it be? I could probably use a temper reduction.  Or an attitude adjustment.  Maybe a mouth filter...  
10) What physical attribute to you like most about yourself?  My eyes.
11) Do you still live where you grew up? If not, how far away are you from your hometown? No, I am about 300 miles away.  There is a good chance we may be moving a lot closer next year when Husband's job situation changes. 


Okay, I think that does it.  I am turning into some kind of tech master here with all this linking and copying and pasting.  Next thing you know I'll figure out Pinterest or Instagram or Twitter.  Look out world!!  Oh, and seriously, the ones who awarded me and the ones I awarded are all WAY better than my little silliness, so give them your attention (and a beer or a piece of chocolate). ♥

Reincarnation and Other First Grade Topics

     Little Chicken has been talking about reincarnation a lot lately.  I know; what the hell?   She's six.  Six-year-old children don't talk about that, do they?   I thought that was more of a late night college dorm conversation, not something you toss out at your Mom from the pile of stuffed animals you are lounging on in your closet.  She keeps saying "I think I might be right, Mama.  I think when you die you come back as a baby."  Where she came up with this, I don't know.  We don't have many Hindu friends, she hasn't taken Comparative Religions yet, and it's not a big theme with Thomas or Elmo.  

     It's not the first time she has brought up the topic of death.  She regularly asks us what happens when you die (I don't fucking know, kid, I'm alive!) and when various people are going to die (again, no clue little one, I don't have that app).  She has tons of questions about God, heaven, and other things I just don't have good answers for.  I sort of wish I was a rock solid believer in something so I could just give her the party line for whatever that was.  Sadly for her, she has a philosophy major Mom who gives her six or seven answers to the same question.  She's screwed.

Keep playing, baby, it might be your only childhood!

     I try to analyze why she's so interested in this kind of stuff.  Is she depressed and obsessed with death and dying?  Is she paralyzed with anxiety about being left behind?  Is she a genius philosopher child?  (That's my favorite)  Is she a religious fanatic?  If so, which religion?  Not the kind of things an insomniac needs to have rolling around in her brain at 4 a.m.  Maybe next time I'll just say YES to whatever she says.  She could be the Golden Child.  You never know.     

Where Are We Going With This?

So, I started this BLOG, and I wrote sort of an intro type post, and then I had no idea what to do next. I read other blogs, about kids or autism or homemaking or frugality or politics or religion or recipes or crafts or books or whatever and I tried to pick one for my topic.
Then it hit me. I am all over the map, so why not just go with that? In the spirit of my newfound freedom, I offer the universe my fantastic tip for a sparkling clean bathroom! (Pause for cheers and whistles)

First, you need someone to puke all over your bathroom. I used my kid, but it could be your mother-in-law, neighbor, or family pet.

Once you clean up the "ground zero" of barf, (in my case the toilet, including the back, sides and nearby floor) you will notice all sorts of grossness that will inspire you to wash the rugs and shower curtain.

*awesome tip alert!*

If, like me, you take down your shower curtain and realize the liner is totally revolting, here is what you do: throw it in the tub, run hot water, squirt in some dish soap or Castile soap and a glug of white vinegar (be sure it's a glug and NOT a slosh!!) swish it around and let it sit. Sometime later, let out the water and hang the liner back up. Ta da!

I have no relevant picture, so here is one of Little Chicken's portraits of Anny

My liner is clear, and with the soapy build up it looked opaque. That vinegar got it all off, and the bits of weird pink mildew that were starting, too. It is once again clear!

Next you will be inspired to wash the floor, because who wants to put freshly cleaned rugs in a scuzzy floor? Not this infrequent floor scrubber! After that, the other stuff will seem easy, so you might as well do them. Now your bathroom is totally clean, ready for the next hazmat situation your family has in store.

You're welcome. Now quit reading and go clean up that vomit!

Is This Thing On??

                                                                Ahem.
                                                                   Hi.
Well, this is awkward.  I decided to start a blog, since I seem to have a lot to say and no one to listen.  I am techno-challenged, and I figured it would be hard to set up, but I think I did it.  However, the first draft disappeared into the ether.  Is This Thing ON????

 Little Chicken.  Looking at little chickens.

This is Little Chicken.  She's pretty much the star of this show, but I am up for an award for my supporting role.  Life with her is pretty interesting, and when it gets TOO interesting there is beer.  And wine.  She has mild autism and just finished Kindergarten.  She is the coolest person I know.  Sometimes I want to send her out into the woods to live with the raccoons, but mostly I really like her.  We are on day 6 of summer vacation, and I am hoping to survive with most of my limbs.  She's a high maintenance Chicken.  


                                                      Wish me luck!!!!