Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Being Martha Stewart

You know those days where you wake up, throw up the sash. breathe in that fresh winter air, and decide that today is the day you will be your own new-and-improved Martha Stewart?

...neither do I.

I do, however, know what it's like to be woken up by two very noisy little kids jumping on your bed [read: bellyflopping onto you], in an absolutely frigid room and then being dragged by necessity and said children into a shoddy imitation of Marth Stewart.

Yesterday was one of those days.

The day started off bright and all too early...again, not because I wanted it to, but because I had to hurry and get a new license and do five loads of laundry. No, I'm not joking. That was actually only 2/3 of the laundry, the other 1/3 I have to do tomorrow. It's abso-friggin'-lutely cold and icy here, so everyone was basically stuck at home as temperatures dropped by noon. Instead of being all bummed about staying indoors all day (doing aforementioned laundry, no less), I decided to let Ezra convince me to make popcorn. Real popcorn too, in an actual popper, not any of the pansy microwave kind. I don't usually do it because it's a bit of a hassle and I'm kind of lazy by nature. However, Ezra must've timed it just right because I needed a bit of a laundry break and I knew if the Little Ones had popcorn and a movie, I could sneak in a some one-on-one with a book.

[cue the Martha Stewart]

While making popcorn, I turned into a bit of an Earth Mother and dealt with all questions and mishaps in a gentle, patient, go-with-the-flow manner.

Example:
*The breaker tripped when I tried to melt butter and pop popcorn at the same time. Ezra immediately started screaming, "The power is gone! The power is gone!" Georgia, who adores chaos in any form started squealing and wiggling in delight. I just went and flipped the switched back on.

Earth Mother? check.

*The butter kept popping in the microwave, making a ginormous, oily mess and wasting gobs of butter. It did it two separate times, in fact (I wised up and even covered it the second time and it STILL popped all over. grrr.). The kiddos, of course assuming the worst, thought things were exploding. I just cleaned it up. Both times. (you'd be proud of me mom. I was tempted to leave it for another day. no one ever looks in your microwave, anyway, right?)

go-with-the-flow? check.

*After a while, Ezra insisted he did not like the wet, soggy popcorn found at the bottom of his bowl. He then threw it on the floor and tried to grind it in. (I, personally, don't know what he was whining about. What kind of weirdo doesn't like the popcorn that is saturated with buttery goodness?) I insisted he pick it up and throw it away if he didn't want it. He refused. I said he couldn't have anymore popcorn if he didn't. The sparring went on for quite a while. (I think I ended up just picking it up myself when he wasn't looking so that he wouldn't realize I was giving in)

gentle and patient? wellll, maybe not check exactly, but at least I didn't wring his scrawny little neck.

All in all, it was quite a fun way to spend an afternoon and kept me in a good enough mood to even make homemade chicken noodle soup. So, while I might not quite be Martha Stewart ('cause we all know Martha wouldn't make popcorn only for a book break, she'd do it to instill her children with a sense of self-worth by spending lots of quality time with them), I think I'm doing pretty darn good anyway.

Ezra enjoying the fruits of his labor

Georgia looking mowgli, as usual.

(she's wearing pajamas in the middle of a weekday afternoon because she had soaked through her previous outfit and I simply didn't see the point in wasting another outfit on a stay-at-home day)

15 comments:

Deb Nott said...

THANK YOU FOR BEING HUMAN!!! It is so great to hear what other Moms do. It makes me feel better for not showering, barely thinking of putting on make-up and eating Cheerios for dinner!

Deb Nott said...

What does it mean to "throw up the sash" anway?

Nathan and Esther said...

Oh I love it!

Adrienne said...

Your days sound a lot like mine and it makes me smile. And props on the popcorn. We do that sometimes too. It keeps the kids busy but I'm always too worried about choking to let them get away from me. Must be one of those mom things.

And my kids can often be found in PJ in the middle of the day so dont' worry about it. We don't see anyone so it doesn't matter. I find them much comfier myself. Don't tell anyone. :)

Monica Lifferth said...

I think you are a great writer. I love to read your blog. It's nice to see other mommies deal with life. We are all in the same boat, really.

Anonymous said...

Ahhhh, your post made me laugh so hard. I can see every single situation play out in my mind...and as the Auntie, I find it hilarious...if I was the mother...not so. You did great Martha.
I love the pics...your kids are too stinkin' cute.

Alabama Apples said...

Yumm! Kudos to you, Martha. Thanks for the post. I love reading how you describe your everyday life. It sounds amusing and fab in its human-ness. When I write it sounds petty, lazy and stupid. I love your little beastie and beastettes. Give them cuddles from the missing Auntie.

Nicki said...

That's awesome! The kids seem to have loved it, and you're way more motivated than I usually am. Good job, Martha! :)

Smiley Family said...

WHAT!?! Your not a perfect mom like the rest of us??

Now I am in the mood for some popcorn - the microwave kind of course!

Aubrey said...

Martha would not have enjoyed the quality time with her kids because she would have been freaking out about the mess and all that. Nope, you're much better than Martha. Hope you got some one-on-one with that book too. ;)

Chrissy said...

Always a good day when there
s popcorn.

Anonymous said...

Whit you crack me up! I would totally do the same thing, just to get a little break from the chaos! In fact my two (well one and a charge...) are watching "super why" because I need a BREAK!!! You're such a good mommy though! Can I take lessons???

PS you just made me want popcorn!

Alabama Apples said...

Remind Spencer you are not just coming to my house for the shopping...right?! You're here to see your favoritest #2 Sister...the cheaper clothes are just the bonus!!!

Rachel Teran said...

Can I say that I love your blog? You don't know me... I'm sure we've spoken maybe once... but that isn't the point. I always read your blog, and I love reading about you. I decided to just bite the bullet and comment.

So, I will probably continue to read your blog... and I hope that you come to terms with that. :)

P.S. Your kids are lovely.

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