Not Me! Monday (On a Tuesday)

I've been following this blog for a while now. I love reading it and truly appreciate her openness, honesty and creativity. So, when she created a little something called Not Me! Mondays, and then invited her readers to participate in the fun by posting their own stories on their blogs, I decided to jump right on board! Not Me! Mondays are a great way for mommies to "confess" some of the things they have done, in a really funny, light-hearted way.

So, without further ado, I now present to you my own Not Me! Monday stories, just a bit late (on Tuesday). I will do my best to actually post next week's Not Me! blog entry on Monday! :-)

Last week, Samuel was having leg cramps (he gets really bad growing pains). When I discovered that we were out of children's pain reliever, I absolutely did not go into the kitchen, fill up a medicine cup with water, then add a single drop of liquid children's multi-vitamin. And when Samuel asked why the medicine was yellow and not orange like it normally is, I most certainly did not tell him that it was a new medicine just for big kids. And when I was at a MOPS steering meeting later that same evening, when my husband called me and asked where the new "big kid" medicine was, because Avery was now complaining of leg cramps too, I definitely did not snicker to myself then tell him to go into the kitchen, fill up a medicine cup with water, add a drop of the children's vitamins, and then tell her the same thing I told Samuel. Nope! Not Me!

A few months ago when one of my aunts was staying with us for a visit, I complained to her that I hate washing my hair every day. It's such a hassle. But if I don't, halfway through the second day, my hair starts to look really oily! She told me that another aunt of mine taught her a cool little trick just for this problem... sprinkle a little baby powder in your hair, then comb through it like you normally would. Doing this takes the oil out of your hair and gives it a "just washed" look, even if it hasn't been "just washed." After learning about (and coming to love) this little trick, I absolutely did not incorporate it into my weekly routine. I do not use this trick once or twice (okay who am I fooling, sometimes 3) times a week, to save myself the time and hassle of having to wash, dry and style my hair every single day. I would never dream of doing such a thing! Nor would I ever dream of telling everyone reading this that it really works and they should try it for themselves. Not Me!

After the tons of rain we've been getting here lately, we've had a plethora of ant piles pop up in our yard. But the ants aren't staying outside... they're coming inside the house too. They are those tiny, black ants, that you just can't seem to ever get rid of. And since we try really hard to not use chemical insect repellents in or around our home, and since I have not had the time to go out to the local organic gardening center to buy their chemical-free Bug Be Gone, I did not teach Isaac to stomp on every tiny, black, creepy, crawly thing he sees. And I did not secretly laugh to myself when I saw him the other day, stomping on Doodle Bugs (or Roley Pollies, as some of you might like to call them) while yelling out, "Got it, Mama!" I would never laugh at such a thing. I love all creatures, big and small.

For anyone who has ever gone camping with kids, you can understand just how much packing and unpacking there is to do. After a recent weekend of camping, we returned home and set the kids down in front of the t.v. with a snack, while Hector and I started unpacking the car. After several minutes had gone by, I realized that Samuel and Avery were not with Isaac anymore. When I went into the back bedroom to check on Isaac, I DID NOT find my precious baby boy sleeping peacefully (passed-out) on the floor. And it never crossed my mind to go grab the camera and take a picture of him, instead of picking him up gently, and taking him to his bed. I definitely did not go grab Hector and tell him that he had to come see Isaac. And I did not stand there with Hector, giggling at how cute it was. I could never do such a thing!

Avery loves shoes, almost as much as I do. The only problem is, she leaves them all over the house... So, I've told Avery several times that she needs to stop leaving her shoes all over the house, and that she needs to start putting them away NEATLY in her closet, and she needs to start taking better care of them. I've also told Avery that if she can't start taking better care of her shoes, that I am going to start giving them away to children in need, who will really appreciate them and take good care of them. So, after seeing this mess in the bottom of her closet:

I absolutely did not get a little excited when I was out running errands and saw the cutest flip flops in her size. I did not buy her 2 pairs, 1 with parrots in her current shoe size, and 1 with alligators in a size bigger for later in the summer. I could never allow myself to ignore the image of the shoes in her closet, and I could never allow myself to get so excited over new shoes. Never!

And just so my hubby won't feel left out of all of this. When Hector asked me earlier this month to see if I could come up with a few new ways to be more "energy conscience," I did not tell him that I already had a couple of great ideas that I wanted to share with him... I did not tell him that I would stop using the stove and microwave, and that I would stop cooking immediately. I also did not tell him that I would stop running the dishwasher, and that he could start washing all the dishes by hand. And I surely did not tell him that I would make everyone in our home start wearing the same clothes over and over again, so that I could stop using the washing machine and dryer. And, I would just like to add, that I DID NOT say any of those things with a slightly "snotty" tone in my voice. It was not me!

And finally, yesterday I went to my eye doctor to get my contact prescription renewed. I was the first appointment of the day, and the doctor was running a bit late. So, while he was getting everything set up, I did not go browse the aisles of Target. No way! And while I was not buying a few things that we absolutely needed (wanted), when Isaac started pointing and reaching for the snack food items on display at the check-out counter, I did not reach into my purse and show him that I already had snack food items in my purse from home. And when my doctor finally had everything set up and ready for me, I did not pull out a bag of Funyuns from my purse and allow Isaac to eat the entire bag at 9:00 in the morning. I NEVER let my kids eat chips (or cookies) that early in the morning! What kind of mommy would allow her children to do such a horrible thing? Not Me!!!

Whew! I feel better now... :-)