Sometimes Life is Random

1.

There was a Silly Putty incident here a few hours ago. To make a long story short I was finishing up dinner, husband came home from a work meeting and we were talking about the day, and somehow during that 6 minute period of time the kids found purple Silly Putty I didn't know we had, coated one carpeted stair with it and the front of my daughter's dress. After dinner I did a Google Blog Search on "how to get out silly putty" and instantly found this blog with the magic answer -- Hand sanitizer! It worked like a charm! Who knew? Another mom who has been through it, that's who! Reason #10003 why I love the Internet and blogs!

2.

Remember this blog post of mine about my toddler locking my daughter and I out of the house and us having to break in by my jumping the fence and sending my daughter in through the doggie door to unlock the house? Well, you'll be glad to know that I did get to thinking, "Hmmm, maybe a burglar could get in that way, too!" And so, I tried to enter my house through the doggie door myself. I couldn't do it. I could get my head and one shoulder in but not for the life of me would that other shoulder fit. In hindsight I should have stationed one of the kids to take pictures of me trying to fit through the doggie door, but sadly I failed you Internet friends on that fun spectacle! Now, I rest easy at night knowing only a burglar under the age of 8 or 9 could possibly break in through the doggie door!

3.

Oh, and I posted this week about my husband's pat rat ways. And it turns out many of you out there are married to pack rats, too! You might like to learn this little bit of science, the pack rat is a real living type of animal and its nest is called a midden; the pack rat is known for gathering tons of "treasure" to bring back to its midden creating an ever expanding mess! Sounds just like my house!

4.

Yes, it is only a couple weeks into the school year and already the papers and artwork are threatening to engulf the place! I am going to have to sit down with my 4 year old daughter and come up with a game plan about managing the creations once they are created. She is much more the artist than her older brother who only brought something home from preschool once a week or so. My daughter is averaging 2 or 3 per day! We're not just talking paper, either. There are actual sculptures, too! She is so proud of all of them I don't have the heart to throw them away!

5.

I finally made this bread from Art's Chili and it is really pretty easy. I was able to do it on the first try so that is saying a ton and it is amazingly good! Seriously, go make it right now, you'll be hooked! Made-from-scratch-in-my-own-kitchen is a finer thing!

6.

I loved this hilarious article in Parenting Magazine on being a chronically late parent. It got me thinking about how much more I tended to run late before having my 3rd child. It is totally counter-intuitive that adding a 3 child would make me a more prompt person, but it did. There was a breaking point day early on in my 3 kidness (yes, I did just create that word; definition: the state of having 3 kids) when I was hustling my 4 year old into his swim lessons while juggling an infant carrier containing my 2 month old son and carrying his crying not-yet-2 year old sister. Shoes and pacifiers and car keys and towels and snacks were spewing out of my bag as we raced into the lessons to be 15 minutes late for a 30 minute lesson! The effort and stress was so not worth the result and I learned there is no way to hurry 3 children -- 1 or 2, maybe, but there is no way you are getting anywhere fast with 3 kids! And so now, I plan ahead better, leave earlier, allow a time cushion for the last-minute-cup-of-water-for-the-road requests and tears over scraped knees somehow acquired while entering the car. I really can't remember the last time we were late to swim lessons or school, and life is definitely more peaceful!

7.

Does this shirt make me look pregnant? I have been seeing this style of empire waist tunic-type shirts for a couple years now, since right after my 3rd child was born. Although I think they're cute, I haven't bought one before because it reminded me too much of maternity clothes. Recently I found this shirt and couldn't resist its adorableness or the low price. But I wore it today to a Bible study and after having 3 kids in just over 4 years and my youngest now being 2 years old, I worried they'd all be wondering, "Maybe she's pregnant?" So, for anyone that saw me today, the answer is "NO!"

Happy Friday everyone!

Find more Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things in Life, Hooked on Fridays at Hooked on Houses, 7 Quick Takes Friday at Conversion Diary.