Drowning in Diapers: What's on My Mind: September 24th

My son, Henry...snot free

Quote of My Day...

"What a splendid day!... I pity people who aren't born yet for missing it." Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

What's On My Mind Today...

Moving to a small town in a largely rural area of Pennsylvania has been a challenge for me. Don't get me wrong..I love my life here. I just haven't gotten used to some of the small-town America idiosyncrasies. For example, in our weekly county paper there is a posting for an upcoming event that I just don't understand, yet I find it terribly funny. Meat Bingo. Yes, you read that correctly. "Meat Bingo." Now, what in the world is Meat bingo? No explanation provided in the paper as I can only assume the editor expects all readers to know what Meat bingo is. Well, this reader doesn't and I am very curious. When you get bingo do you get a pork chop? a leg of lamb? a pound of ground beef? Meat bingo is not the only thing that makes me stop and ponder small-town life. Here are a few more things that I've yet to figure out:

Chicken and Waffles: What exactly do you get when you attend one of the many Chicken and Waffle dinners around here? Where I come from we just put syrup on our waffles. Around here they put chicken. And I can't for the life of me picture how that looks in my mind. If I didn't have two kids in diapers I'd attend one of the many Chicken Waffle dinners around here and find out. The next one is September 30th in case you are interested...
Pig Stomach Dinner: Now this is just disgusting. I saw a posting for this over the summer when my parents were visiting. We all could not believe what we were reading. Yes, some church or organization actually had a "pig stomach" dinner. If this is an attempt to raise money for some organization or church, perhaps a different menu would produce better results because the idea of even entering a building where pig stomachs are being cooked, let alone eaten, just makes me want to cringe.
Square Dancing Tractors: Again, you read that right. A few weeks ago there was a local festival and the paper had an article about a group of people who actually square dance on their tractors. Now, they don't stand on top of their tractors and do the Virginia Reel. The tractors are the ones doing the square dancing and the people are just driving the tractors. Now this was something I really wish I could have seen.
Little Miss Bean: At the local "Bean Soup Festival" they crowned a little girl "Little Miss Bean 2006." Would you enter your daughter in a contest where, if she won, she'd be labeled a bean? I guess it would depend on the kind of bean. I'm also curious as to what the winning girl had to do to be crowned Little Miss Bean. Did she make a great pot of bean soup? Did she shell the most beans in the shortest amount of time? Did she eat the most bowls of baked beans? Makes me wonder....

So these are just a few things I am thinking about today. Perhaps next week I'll have more small town life "moments" to share...

What is Making Me Happy Today...

I get to start a new book! That is what is making me happy. I finished "Hard Eight" by Janet Evanovich and I am now moving on to the next book in the Stephanie Plum series, "To the Nines." This has to be the longest period of time in the past 30 years that I didn't finish a book in less than a week. As stated in an earlier post, before two kids I often finished a book a day as I prefer reading to doing just about anything. So I am very happy to be starting a new book. There is something exciting about picking up a book and getting started. Just as there is often a sadness for me when I am reading an incredibly good book and I am almost finished. I don't want it to end. But today I am happy and I hope this afternoon I'll get a break while the boys nap to start my new book...

SAHM Product I Love Today

Fuller Cleaning Products. I just love them. Every product I've tried I like. Here are a few that I can't live without now that I've tried them:

D.C. Polisher: A mop that you attach terry cloth covers to and mop away. Great for quick mopping after kids have thrown food all over the floor and even the dog can't get the stickiness to go away.

Multi-Floor Cleaner: This is a spray that I use with my favorite mop. It is safe for my laminate floors and that is mainly where I use it. Smells great and is safe for my kids and pets.

Microwave Oven Cleaner: Fantastic. Gets off all the gunk that hardens on the roof of the microwave. Nice smell and no bad chemicals.

Super Spot Remover: Great for carpet stains...

Super Foam Rug Cleaner: I Like this for my carpets, too...

SAHM Product I Hate Today

I hate the snot-sucker. You know, that bulb syringe thing you shove up your baby's nose to catch the snot? Well, I hate it. I hate using it. I hate the reaction of my kids when I use it. Of course it is a bad reaction. Who would want someone sticking something up their nose and sucking stuff out? I'm sure I'm not the only mother who wishes their children were born being able to blow their nose. Infants and toddlers with colds make for a SAHM miserable day. Between squirting saline up their noses to sucking out the snot, it is miserable. The only way I can catch the snot from Sam is to do it after he is done eating and strapped into his high chair. And it is still amazing that I come away without black and blue marks from all the kicking he does throughout the whole process. But what are my alternatives? If I give him cold medicine he is a zombie and his sleep pattern gets out of whack. And I don't want to give him medicine. Same with Henry, although medicine for him isn't even an option as he is only 8 weeks old. So today will be another day of catching snot. What a fun way to spend a Sunday...

My iTunes Kid Picks of the Day...

Today I am picking soothing music in the hopes that I will play these tunes and my kids will either take a nap or go to bed tonight and stay asleep...