Monday, November 18, 2013

The 9 Most Lost Items in My House



There are items in my house that no matter how hard I try to keep track of, they ALWAYS get lost. I put them in the same spot, but the 30 (sometimes 40) sticky fingers that live here besides me, do not put them back where they belong.

Now if you know me, cool your jets for a second.  I am by far not an organized person, but there are a few items I keep in specific spots because I KNOW THEY GET LOST; and those are the things that keep disappearing.

Brushes/Combs  These SHOULD be in the drawer in the bathroom. If you open that drawer all you will find are bobby pins. The girls have their own brushes with sparkly initials on them, we can only find one. The other three brushes, not sure. I went and bought myself a new brush that I keep in my room, away from everyone. I buy ten packs of combs and right now the only one I have found is one that a child (not the dog) has chewed.

Tools  Don’t look for a tool you fight need in the Kraus House; you won’t find it anytime soon. We had a tool box at one point in our life; I’m not quite sure what happened to that. Now if there is a project planned that might require a tool, a search party is sent out to find the necessary tools before such project begins.

Tape Measure  This falls in line with the tools. This also goes for my sewing tape measure, one should be in the sewing machine table and one should be in my sewing box, they should not be upstairs under a bed or be used as jump ropes.
 
Tape measure...safe and sound for now
Shoes  The girls are not as bad at this and Young Thaddeus, he is the main offender of this travesty. It has gotten to the point where he needs to pay me to find his shoes, especially when it is 30 seconds before we are walking out the door.  It is not uncommon for one shoe to be downstairs and the other to be upstairs. He's a boy, I'm told they're supposed to do that.
 
We haven't seen the left one in a couple of weeks
Pens/Pencils  I should say pencils that work. The quality of pencils is shit. I have said this for years and any teacher will tell you the same thing. I have a super snazzy pencil sharpener so I know it’s not that. It seems the pencils all disappear or break as soon as it’s time to do homework. My pens all mysteriously vanish when I am trying to take a message or write a list, even though there is a giant cup to hold several of them.
 
Only three of those pencil work
Socks  It is amazing how socks disappear in this house. I keep single socks separate. I started doing it so I could find the match, then I kept doing it to see how many didn’t have a mate. One day Stella and I counted 48 socks that didn’t have a match. What the Hell happened to them? As I walk through the house at night I pick up lonely, rogue socks but I put them in the hamper. They all eventually get washed, why aren’t they getting reunited? It’s driving me insane!!!

Nail Clippers/Nail File  Whenever I need them, I can’t find them. I keep the nail clippers in the giant pencil cup. In order to see the clippers, someone needs to go deep. I have a strong suspicion on who pilfs the clippers, but what happens to my nail file? No one is lounging around filing their nails.

Hair Elastics  I buy these by the gross. When I find them, I hoard them. Stella always wants a ponytail or braids…then stop losing all the elastics! I noticed that several of the Barbies were rocking some ponytails, once and elastic is in there, it’s not coming out.

Broom/Dust Pan  Sounds strange that these things would go missing, but they do quite often. I go to get the broom and poof, it’s gone. Then I wander around looking in all the corners it could be stashed in until I find it. All is well until I’m done and go to get the dust pan and guess what, that’s gone too. Luckily it’s usually in the vicinity of where the broom was found (most of the time).

So these are the things that get lost in my house most often. What disappears in your house?

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Out of the Mouth of Stella



Kid’s say some dandy things. Stella seems to say them all the time. If I were to write them all it would look like a capital case transcript, so I’ll stick with some recent gems.
 
The mouth of the house
Teddy has been on a candy binge since Thursday night. It's finally gone and I think he's going through detox (it's been 3 minutes since his last fix and he's getting the shakes). He came in and asked for graham crackers. I told him to eat an apple. He asked why. Stella said, "You don't want to be the sad fat kid."

A Bob's Furniture commercial came on for a marble topped bar.
Stella: Is that a bar?
Me: Yes.
Stella: I need that for my room.
Me: (exasperated) What?
Stella: I can put all my candy in it.


Stella and I were in line at Walmart today and she pointed to one of the "scandal mags" and said, "Oh my God, look at the size of her fanny! That is one plump rump." (She was pointing at Kim Kardashian's Instagram pic)
Fast forward 6 hours...
I was folding laundry and she picked up a pair of my underwear and put it on over clothes. She then proceeded to go on and on about my ginormous underwear and fanny.
I told her the bigger the fanny, the bigger the brain. She then said, "Well that girl on the magazine must be really, really smart."


Walking to school, practicing smiles for picture day. Teddy showed his smile.
Stella: (to Teddy) You look like you're pooping.
Teddy: (to Stella) You're the one who showed me how to smile.
Stella: I didn't show you that.
Teddy: I don't have any teeth, I don't want the holes to show.
Stella: The holes would look much better than that.


Breakfast conversation...
Teddy: What's the T word?
Me: What word? (Trying to look at what he's reading)
Stella: Tit
Me: (Trying not to fall apart) That's not what it says. Where did you hear that word?
Stella: I made it up! Is it a bad word?
Me: It's not a nice word and you shouldn't say it, especially at school.
Stella: OK...tit, tit, tit!


Things like these fly out of Stella’s mouth all the time. For up to the minute Stella-isms follow The Kraus House Mom on Facebook.

For more laughs check out The Mommyhood Chronicles.
http://www.the-mommyhood-chronicles.com/2013/11/saturday-top-five-laughs-come-join-our-blog-hop-45/


Tuesday, November 12, 2013

A Little Slice of Heaven …Citron Spa



I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to get pampered at a spa. When the offer first arose, I jumped all over it. There was no way I was missing this. Boy am I glad I went.


 
The serene entrance and front desk
I went with a group of Rhody Bloggers to Citron Spa on Angell Street in Providence. We first went into a waiting area with a great view and were greeted with tasty treats and our choice of beverage. As we waited we were given heated neck pillows. Whoa, I was just glad to be out of the house by myself, this just icing on the cake.
 
The waiting area
 
Beverage and snack station
I was getting a Stress Fix manicure and pedicure. Soak your feet in the Stress-Fix™ Soaking Salts infused with organic lavender and clary sage, clinically proven to reduce stress upon smelling. This treatment softens the feet and legs with a blend of essential oils and a specially blended exfoliator. Enjoy an extended rejuvenating massage, followed by warm moist towels and finished with your choice of nail color. Who wouldn't enjoy  need that? 

I can’t tell you how long it has been since someone other than the Kraus Girls has done my nails. We were lead into the Nail Bar and were able to choose from a vast array of colors. Of course since my favorite color Hey Vito Is My Car Ready? no longer exists I went with Black Cherry Chutney by OPI, another one of my favorites.
 
The pedicure station


I got cozy in my seat and Dawn went to work. My feet were soaking in a relaxing bath with aromatic salts specially designed to reduce stress. I was loving it, it was so relaxing. My feet were filed, de-callused (that took some time), wrapped in hot towels, massaged with lotion and to top it off, Citron makes their own sugar scrub with local apples. It smelled fantastic, like baking a pie.
Kraus House Mom, Carla of All of Me Now and Liza of Cira's Lyrics getting our pedicures and look we all have the heated neck wraps on!

 
Dawn doing a fabulous job on my feet
Once my feet were done my hands were given their chance to get pampered and they were given the same phenomenal treatment. By the time I left, I was looking spiffy and pulled together, definitely not a haggard mom of three kids. For that, I thank you Citron!
The Nail Bar

 
Ta-Da!!
Citron Spa offers a variety of spa treatments. Don't believe me? Follow them on Facebook and Twitter and keep up with all the offerings. 



Now, how would you like to experience the pure joy and relaxation of Citron Spa? Well you can. I am giving away a small laser treatment of your choice (underarm, bikini, upper lip, chin or sideburns) enter and get rid of that unwanted hair.


Just leave me a comment below telling me your favorite spa treatment or nail polish color. A winner will be chosen at random (by Random.org) on Friday, November 15, 2013, so make sure you leave your email address. Good luck!!




 **Disclosure I was given a complimentary manicure and pedicure to facilitate this review, but as always all opinions are strictly my own.**