The Happiness Project :: Week 17

My new chandelier hanging in my dining room.

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://leighvslaundry.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/ae172/leighbug_photo/2876650690_005fb39e00-4-2.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a></div><br />

If you want to jump on the bandwagon
simply post a photo of something that
makes you wildly happy.
Then, steal my button up there
and include it in your post.
Please let me know if you decide to join in.
Don't forget to link up to Mr. Linky.

My 600th Post Extravaganza!

To celebrate, how 'bout you watch my little Vlog?
It's a little long but I wanted to fit in all the questions that y'all asked.
I hope that you enjoy watching a total spaz,
I talk a mile a minute and act like a big dork.

Kisses,
Leigh

P.S. Are you still here?
If so, scroll on down to see the winner of Freakshow Friday!

Winner: Crankypants Edition

We have a winner for this week's installment of Freakshow Friday. Please take note that my super hilarious and non biased best friend was the judge. Here are the top three in no particular order.

Sue
Rainbows suck.

w
there was no gold at the end of the rainbow.
only heartache and empty paint buckets.

R Montalban
Carrie started preparing for the prom at pre-school!

The winner is...
Sue

"Rainbows suck."

Sue
is the funniest blogger in all the land!
Now head on over to her Blog

and marvel at this fantastic award she just earned
to proudly display forever.

Thanks to all the people who played.

Tune in this Friday for another instalment of Freakshow Friday!

So pretty!

My latest lullaby to hum.
It goes so perfectly with a bedtime snuggle.

Freakshow Friday: Crankypants Edition

It's time for another installment of Freakshow Friday. Where I ask my readers to come up with a caption or story for a photo taken from Awkward Family Photos. My best friend will be the judge and she's one hilarious freakaziod. So, bring it! Here is the week's photo, I think that this little girl needs a time out or a swat on the butt.

Guess who won Miss Sourpuss
in the Little Miss Rainbow Pageant!

You got a better one for me?

If so, you may just when this awesome award
and have bragging rights forever.

If you win then I'll linkup to your

Blog and make a big deal
about how funny you are.
Simply leave your funny caption or story
in my comments section.

The winner will be announced on Monday.

Now would be a good time for you to scroll down to
read part 3 of my Preschool Intervention.

I Staged a Preschool Intervention-Part 3, How a 25 cent flea market purchase saved us from being the next Dr. Phil Family

I have what I now refer to as a "spirited child".

Griffin gives me a run for my money at any given chance.
I have to ask him ten times to do things.
He gets a wild look in his eyes and
tries to wrestle me at inopportune times,
like while we're waiting in line at the grocery store.

He is the pickiest eater in the world,
his chicken nuggets have to be the perfect temperature.
He is too smart for his own good
and it can get him into trouble at times.
When Griffin was a toddler
I was the mom that played in the sandbox with him.
I had to stop him from knocking over the other children
and very enthusiastically sucking on their heads.

We found out at the age of two
that he has a mild case of Sensory Processing Disorder.
Even though we see an Occupational Therapist,
I was recently feeling a bit overwhelmed with his "Griffin-ness".

That is, until my mom gave me this
incredible book that she picked up that the flea market for 25 cents.
It was a HUGE blessing that one quarter gave us.

This book literally saved me over the last 2 weeks.
As I flipped through the pages,
I had one epiphany after another.
I learned so many great tools that actually work with Griffin.

With just a few small changes on I how I
parent him, we've seen some great changes in him.
It's been nothing short of amazing.

I learned that instead of telling him "No!"
I should tell him to "Stop."
Just that one word change has been a miracle worker.

Instead of telling him what he can't do, I tell him what he can do.
For example...
"Stop kicking your brother,
if you want to kick something then kick a ball."
What does he do?
He runs off and finds a ball to kick
as Koen sighs a huge sigh of relief.

I learned that if we are both extroverts and need
other people to help us refuel.
If we spend all day stuck at home together
by the end of the day
we have sucked each other dry.
We plan tons of play dates now
so that I can get my energy from my spending time with my friends
and he can get his energy spending time with their kids.

There is chapter after chapter full of practical advice
for parents of strong willed children.
The kids who fight with you over getting dressed.
The kids who throw HUGE temper tantrums in crowds.
The kids who are picky about what they eat.
The kids with tons of energy.
The kids who have crippling separation issues.

If I just described your kid,
then you are not alone.
You have a right to need space.
You have a right to take control in a loving way.
There is help out there
for parents like me
with a kid like mine.

You'll find it in this book.

Between my preschool intervention,
my "activity cup",
and ideas from this book,
I have restored peace in my home.

Thank God because I was thisclose to calling Dr.Phil.

Disclaimer: I received no compensation for writing this review.
I wrote it out of the kindness of my own heart
and I actually read the entire book this time,
so I know what I'm talking about!

You can learn more about Sensory Processing Disorder here.

You Capture :: Get Down Low

The assignment for You Capture this week was to Get Down Low.
So, I sprawled out on my dining room floor
to take a picture under my dining room table.
I just LOVE the colors in my rug and thought
that it might make for a pretty photo.
Once I got down there I spied a tiny lost toy...

standing guard beneath the table.

Please scroll down to read Part 2 of my preschool intervention!

I Staged a Preschool Intervention-Part 2, How Popsicle sticks saved my son's life from falling into ruins.

When I last left you, my son was a hip hop deviant
with a nasty addiction to TV and video games.
In the midst of his angry protest to my preschool intervention,
I grabbed a handful of Popsicle sticks and a pen.

He looked up at me from the floor
where he had been rolling around and making a big stink
about his new limitations.
He looked mildly interested in what I was up to
as I started to act busy writing on the sticks.

Before long, he was wiping the snot from his chin
and sitting beside me on the couch.
I asked him to tell me fun things that he could
do during the day other than watch TV or play video games.

He actually got into it as I wrote
activities on each Popsicle stick:
Yoga
Play with Hot Wheels
Jump on the couch
Do a floor puzzle
Draw
Paint

He was on a roll as we wrote down all of his ideas.
Before we knew it, we had 30 Popsicle sticks worth of activities.
We stuffed them all into a beloved Chuck-E-Cheese token cup.



I told him that a few times a day
that he would pick an "activity stick" from the cup.
He would then do that activity for 30 minutes.
Of course, watch TV and play video games
were written in there too.

Guess what? It totally worked.
He got really into it and wanted to pick a stick right away.
He closed his eyes and pulled out the stick
that said "Dance Party"
(which is officially my favorite stick!)
I put on Bjork's album Post
and we danced together for 30 minutes
all while laughing and making up silly dances.

When the 30 minuted timer went off
he ran over and grabbed his "activity cup" with excitement.
"I wanna pick another stick!" he exclaimed.

So, the intervention seemed to have worked
and suddenly it was up to me to keep him
from slipping back into TV oblivion.
I knew that I really had to step up my game.

Thus began our "summer of Popsicle sticks".
We're surviving one dance party at a time.

I Staged a Preschool Intervention-Part 1, How I ruined my son's life.

Disclaimer: It's a longish post but I promise that it reads quick.
I just have to get this out! You can send me a bill for your time.
Thanks for the therapy!

Hi, my name is Leigh and my child is addicted to the television.

He is also addicted to video games and listening to really bad hip hop.
The arrival of summer brought us countless hours to fill
and I could no longer deny my son's addiction.
It was so easy to just let him plop in front of the TV or let him play a video game
but he was acting wackadoo as a result of doing it too much.
I felt a loss of control over my home.

Not only that, but I had become too lenient about what I allowed him to watch.
Spongebob is the gateway show.
Before you know it, they'll be asking to watch Fanboy and Chum Chum.
That show is just wrong on so many levels.
I mean, just look at these guys,
they are not to be trusted.


Oh, but it was worse than that. We had made a big mistake
by letting him play a few video games that were rated "E 10 and up".
(for those non savvy gamers out there, that means
that everyone can play it who is 10 years old and up)
He has mad skills when it comes to video gaming.
If I had my wits about me, I would have him
gaming at tournaments on a competitive level.
We could probably win some cold hard cash.
The kid is five, not ten, and although he can throw down with the best of them,
fighting games were causing him to be more aggressive.
It didn't help that as Hulk hit these dudes in the face
he would yell "HULK WANTS ICE CREAM!!!"
Do you know how many times a day a 5 year old can yell that in one day?
A lot, trust me!


While I'm confessing here, I might as well fess up
to the fact that he likes to listen to really bad hip hop in the car.
I like to throw my hands in the air and wave em' like I just don't care with the best of them
but when he was singing "Forget about your boyfriend and meet me at the hotel"
to my Mom, I knew that it was just wrong.

We were spiralling out of control.
It was time for things to go on lock down and I knew that we had to
make some serious changes around here.
I could no longer be an enabler or take the easy road out of convenience.
I expect more from myself and my children.

So, I staged a preschool intervention that included me, Koen, Griffin, Rocco, Vic, and Uno.
Granted, the last three attendees are Griffin's imaginary friends
and well, Koen really can't talk yet,
but it was important to include all of the special people in his life.

I told Griffin that his brain needed to be filled with good images.
No more shows on Nickelodeon that were rated "Y7."
No more songs on the radio that talked about girls wearing Apple Bottom Jeans.
No more video games where characters beat each other up.
This was how part of the conversation went:

G: Well, when will I be able to play a Tony Hawk video game? I was thinking
that I should get to play it soon.
Me: Hmmm...isn't that rated T for Teen?
G: Yeah...just cause there's blood and the skaters say bad words.
I won't say any bad words, I swear.
Me: You can't play that game until you're a teenager.
G: (rolling his eyes) Mom, I'm almost 6!!!!

We were not off to a good start. Then, I dropped a bomb on him.
We were going to watch less TV and he was going to play more and use his (gasp) imagination. He stomped his feet, he folded his arms across his chest, and said that I was ruining his life.
It was not pretty but I stood my ground.
I sat and witnessed a temper tantrum of gargantuan proportions.
Once he settled down, I moved to Phase 2 of my preschool intervention.

Tune in tomorrow to find out how Popsicle sticks
saved my son's life from falling into ruins.

The Happiness Project :: Week 16

The sun shining through the trees
in my backyard at about 8 am.

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If you want to jump on the bandwagon
simply post a photo of something that
makes you wildly happy.
Then, steal my button up there
and include it in your post.
Please let me know if you decide to join in.
Don't forget to link up to Mr. Linky.

My 600th post is fast approaching!

So, it's hard to believe but my 600th post is on the horizon.
I want to do something kinda special to celebrate this milestone.
Being that I have managed to write almost 600 posts about myself,
I thought that it would be fitting to be really narcissistic.

So, ask me any question that you want to know about me,
I have nothing to hide
(except for that one weekend in Austin, Texas in the summer of 93')
We just won't talk about that one.

I will do a whole post dedicated to letting
y'all get to know a bit more about lil' ol' me.

Come on, ask me anything.
Inquiring minds want to know!
Right?

Scroll on down to see the winner of my giveaway
and then scroll down again to see the winner of Freakshow Friday.

Winner: Ice Castles Edition

We have a winner for this week's installment of Freakshow Friday. Please take note that my super hilarious and non biased best friend was the judge. Here are the top three in no particular order.

Dee Crowe
the unknown son of Elton John finally surfaces....

Jeremy from We Took The Bait
Donnie was rushed to the hospital for second degree burns,
after being mistaken for a foil-wrapped baked potato.

Caroline of Salsa Pie
One look Zach's outfit and his Optometrist
immediately increased his prescription.

The winner is...
Jeremy from We Took The Bait

Donnie was rushed to the hospital for second degree burns,

after being mistaken for a foil-wrapped baked potato.

Jeremy from We Took The Bait

is the funniest blogger in all the land!
Now head on over to his Blog

and marvel at this fantastic award he just earned
to proudly display forever.

Thanks to all the people who played.

Tune in this Friday for another instalment of Freakshow Friday!

Could a chubby white mom of two ever be this smooth?

Probably not.
I've tried to "Tip on the Tightrope"
around my kitchen on and off all day.
Somehow, I just don't have the same swagger.

{video via a beautiful life}

Don't forget to enter my Giveaway!
Just click on that cute little button down there
to read the details!

Now scroll on down to play Freakshow Friday!

Freakshow Friday: Ice Castles Edition

It's time for another installment of Freakshow Friday. Where I ask my readers to come up with a caption or story for a photo taken from Awkward Family Photos. My best friend will be the judge and she's one hilarious freakaziod. So, bring it! Here is the week's photo, I can't decide if I want to give this kid a hug or beat him up and take his ice skates.

With pants that shiny, Zach could afford to be cocky.

You got a better one for me?

If so, you may just when this awesome award
and have bragging rights forever.

If you win then I'll linkup to your

Blog and make a big deal
about how funny you are.
Simply leave your funny caption or story
in my comments section.

The winner will be announced on Monday.

You Capture :: Bath time

The assignment for You Capture this week was Water.
When I was a child, I just adored bath time.
Now, as a Mama, I love to watch my children enjoy it too.
Oh and my little baby loves it.
His little legs and arms flop into the water and
he erupts into giggles as it sloshes onto his face.
I love the soapy warm water, the bath toys, the unabashed splashing,
and the laughter that bounces all over the bathroom walls.

I tried to capture all of this.
There is nothing sweeter than...

my baby being wild in the bath tub.

Don't forget to enter my Giveaway!
Just click on that cute little button down there
to read the details!

The Happiness Project :: Week 16

My vintage bud vase filled with dried flowers.

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If you want to jump on the bandwagon
simply post a photo of something that
makes you wildly happy.
Then, steal my button up there
and include it in your post.
Please let me know if you decide to join in.
Don't forget to link up to Mr. Linky.

I can't wait to see what makes YOU happy!

The best little date in Georgia.

Saturday evening we dropped the kiddos off with my parents

and had ourselves a date.

We went to Cali-n-Tito's.
The best little Cuban joint with a beachy vibe.

We drank beer with tiny little limes shoved in them.

We ate fish tacos that were so delectable
that I yelled "Ay Papi!" 4 times.

We sat on the patio, in the sun, next to a huge fan,
and pretended that it was a brisk ocean breeze.

We wore gumball machine moustaches to
really capture the Cuban vibe.
I realized after we left that
mine was upside down the entire time,
I'm a genius.



My beer had a moustache too but
he looked much more distinguished.

Scroll down to see this week's winner of Freakshow Friday!

Winner : Gunshow Edition

We have a winner for this week's installment of Freakshow Friday. Please take note that my super hilarious and non biased best friend was the judge. Here are the top three in no particular order.

w
nobody dared asked joe where he kept maggie's twin.

Caroline of Salsa Pie
Poor Joe, little did he know it was actually his wife who gave birth.

Sue
Guns like these don't shoot blanks.

The winner is...
w

nobody dared asked joe where he kept maggie's twin.

W
is the funniest blogger in all the land!
I'm so proud of her!!!

Now head on over to her Blog

and marvel at this fantastic award she just earned
to proudly display forever.

Thanks to all the people who played.
Tune in this Friday for another instalment of Freakshow Friday!

I love love love this!

A song for Nie by Mindy Gledhil. It's intoxicating.

I've been singing it to Koen before bedtime.
He just stares into my eyes and grins.

Enjoy!

Freakshow Friday :: Gun Show Edition

It's time for another installment of Freakshow Friday. Where I ask my readers to come up with a caption or story for a photo taken from Awkward Family Photos. My best friend will be the judge and she's one hilarious freakaziod. So, bring it! Here is the week's photo, this dude is a whole lotta man.

Photographic evidence that Banana Hammocks do not make men sterile.

You got a better one for me?

If so, you may just when this awesome award
and have bragging rights forever.

If you win then I'll linkup to your

Blog and make a big deal
about how funny you are.
Simply leave your funny caption or story
in my comments section.

The winner will be announced on Monday.

You Capture :: Fun in the sun

The assignment for You Capture this week was "Fun".
We certainly had ourselves some of that over the last weekend.
My Mom transformed her backyard into a water park for the boys.
We ate Watermelon, swatted at mosquitoes,
and watched Griffin practice his karate moves on the blow up pool.

It was a grand time.

When I look at this photo I can't help but think of...

being a kid in the summer.

The Stay at Home Mom Chronicles: Being surrounded by boyness.

I am surrounded by boys.

Boy toys, boy clothes, boy tears that they fight so hard not to cry,
boy hugs that are so wild that I actually find myself saying the words
"Don't slobber on my head when you hug me."



There is constant motion in my home.
A swirling of energy that they can't help but feel
and give into as they roll on top of one another.
They are both but a blur as they speed across the living room.
My baby who is quickly becoming a toddler
is the instigator and Griffin is quick to respond.
You can add "referee" to my many titles around here.



They wrestle and laugh and they can't keep
themselves from diving into each other.
They growl like wild animals
who are running free in the forest.
A deep resounding "GRRRR" fills up the living room.
They jump and climb and try to fly.
They land hard
and they get right back up to do it again.



I get tackled from behind while I load the dishwasher.
My skirt gets tugged at until I am in the living room
and I am pulled to the floor.
Before I know it, I am wrestling them too.
We roll around on the floor in a heap of giggles,
I forget to be a lady as my skirt goes over my head
and the baby flops onto my chest.
Griffin tickles my belly non stop.

They both stand up and they are running again
but this time in circles.
The house is full of laughter and squeals.
I am covered in baby snot and my hair is a mess
as I catch my breath.



There are no dolls
no hair bows,
not one tutu.
No glitter
no ballet slippers,
and no pink.
Not at all what I had expected.

I live in a house full of boys
and I am learning
that this crazy world
is one that I'm lucky to live in.

What a great surprise!

The Happiness Project :: Week 15

Stained glass shining in the

morning light of my bedroom window.

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://leighvslaundry.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i969.photobucket.com/albums/ae172/leighbug_photo/2876650690_005fb39e00-4-2.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a></div><br />

If you want to jump on the bandwagon
simply post a photo of something that
makes you wildly happy.
Then, steal my button up there
and include it in your post.
Please let me know if you decide to join in.
Don't forget to link up to Mr. Linky.

I can't wait to see what makes YOU happy!

A good problem to have.

When CSN invited me to do a product review

for their website, I was beyond excited.
With over 200 stores for me to choose from,
I got stars in my eyes and dreamed of ordering
myself one of their beautiful bathroom vanities.
Look at this beauty...she would totally upgrade up my bathroom.

After realizing that I was lost in a daydream,
the stars have faded from my eyes
and now I really can't decide
what I would like to order to write a review about.
The possibilities are endless.

The thrifty side of me wants to see just how far I can stretch
my gift certificate and at least give my bathroom a little spruce up.
I could upgrade my vanity light and get a super luxurious shower head.
Lord knows that I need to shower more
and this overworked and under groomed
mama could use a rain forest shower.

Oh, but the indulgent side of me wants to splurge
and get myself a shimmery chandelier
to hang over my dining room table.
I have always wanted to see crystals above my head
and watch them sparkle as I eat my morning breakfast.

Then the practical side of me
wants to get a toaster oven.
I know that I would use it over and over
and that it would really help me in the kitchen.
Look at this oven...it can hold two pizzas.
Can you imagine the cooking that
could take place in that sucker?

Tune in soon to find out which side of me wins.
What would you choose?