Dear DVR,

Dear DVR,

You have changed my life. I mean it.

Let's start with the kids shows. Now, I might just stab my eyes out if I have to watch another episode of Wizards of Waverly Place or iCarly. BUT- my dear children, they love it. And there are just those times, when as a single mom you need a MINUTE to get something done. Now, I'm not saying I don't LOVE it when my 5-year old follows me around and says, "Mom... hey mom, look what I'm doing with this crumbled piece of paper. Mom, you're not looking. See, let's pretend, MOM, let's pretend it's my report card and MOM you're not looking, let's pretend it's my report card and I'm the teacher and MOM, you're not looking..." and it goes... I DO love them so fiercely. And I DO love playing teacher and playing house and making DIRECT eye contact with them throughout every single interaction. I do. But. I am a mom. And a girlfriend. And a cook and a cleaner and a worker bee, (and I have a weekly People magazine fetish) etc. So, insert iCarly when supper is on the stove and wa-laa!

And then there's the beauty of actually watching a show I enjoy. The top of my list is The Office, Mad Love, American Pickers, Man vs. Food, Castle, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and How I met Your Mother. In my pre DVR life I didn't religiously watch a single show. Why? Because it's IMPOSSIBLE! Most good shows are on between 6 and 8 PM. Well, COINCIDENTALLY, that is the witching hour for small children. They are hungry. And getting tired. And want to play teacher (per above). And need baths and love and affection and everything that kids need. And so watching The Office while maintaining direct eye contact with a 5-year old and holding a 2-year old who is saying "Candy mommy? Candy mommy? Pwease, candy mommy?" is just not conducive.

So DVR- you have changed my life. I can now do the Mother of the Year thing (hey- opinions to yourself!!!) and then tuck my bunnies into their beds and snuggle up and thoroughly enjoy my shows. So for that, I thank you.

I have nothing to discuss lately.

But I did score some new Shape-Ups this weekend. Super ecstatic to try them out. If I continue to eat Cheez-its and REd Vines will I still get the toned legs like the 19-year old leg model in the Shape-Up ads? Cuz that's kind of the point isn't it? Either way, I'm excited to be wearing them.

And let's see, what else? Took the lovely children to an indoor water park this weekend. The baby pool was too cold, the hot tub was too hot and they really were just excited about buying a Sprite and some candy. Ok, not entirely true! They did enjoy tip toeing around in the water for about 45 minutes. Then we went to the arcade area and they rode go carts and won tickets for cheap trinkets and THEN we ate candy. Oh and I got to go to Shopko, and that is always a WIN in my book!

just for the record...

I know that most people think my subsciption to People Magazine is a complete waste of money. And that it's a complete waste of time that I need a solid 20 minute window of solace on Friday afternoons to scan those glossy pages and envelope myself in the lives of celebritities and fashion. I do, I get it. It seems... empty? Shallow? Superficial?

But I'll have you know, that it truly pays off.

I was at a baby shower recently. And, in typical baby shower fashion there were some cute games planned. And when the trivia question came up to name all the children in the Jolie-Pitt crew- I nailed it!!!

Yes, it may be a small victory. I'll give you that. But a victory it was none the less. A victory for all of us that indulge in this one particular guilty pleasure every week.

So, just let me read it. Let me stop my life, turn off the phone, curl up on the couch and lose myself in those pages. Because you just never know when I might pull out some stellar celebrity trivia knowledge to save the day. And if you're ever on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and you need to phone a friend regarding celebrity trivia- you'll be glad to know me.

same old...

I always liked that quote. It's just so darn true. It pertains to sports. It pertains to finances. It pertains to human interactions. It pertains to jobs. We're such creatures of habit. Even when we KNOW we are doing something the same, we expect something different!

It's so tough to break cycles. It's take such an intentional effort that it's so easy to fall back to what we know.