Sometimes I make up quotes and here is one of them...

"Love is when two people are absolutely obsessed with each other, but neither of them are freaked out by it."

*Put that in Reader's Digest if I am ever famous!

Train of Thought

Last night, on a long late night train ride (hence this post's title...get it?) I had a thought. It was one of those times where I was so tired, my buzz of drinks and city had worn off, and my thoughts swirled around anything and everything. My friend had just made a comment about a girl sitting a few rows in front of us. This petite Asian young woman was sporting trendy designer jeans, a empire waisted tank, and a cute crop jacket. My friend accessed her, then remarked, "You know you could pull off that look." After a quick glance at my own outfit, entirely made up of items from the Old Navy clearance rack, I had to agree that it wouldn't kill me to put forth a bit more effort. My friend and I chatted for awhile about What Not To Wear. We joked how if I was on that show, Stacy London would say, "Do you even PLAY soccer?" in reference to my habit of wearing soccer shorts and t-shirts to work everyday (...and sometimes other places...) I concluded that I would love to be on that show for the mere fact that they give you a new wardrobe! And I would definitely just hide the clothes I really liked to keep them from being thrown out. That's when I was suddenly struck with this question: When does one change from the high school/college/young person clothes to work/adult clothes? If the answer is after college, then I'm in that place right now. Other than the possiblity that one of my readers really does nominate me for that TLC show, how do I go about doing this?

That was last night. Tonight, I am laying on my bed, trying not to touch my knee to my white sheets. The reason is two-fold. One, I don't want to get in trouble because I stained them! And two, my knee really hurts. You see, yesterday, I slid across the carpet in a pair of jeans with a hole in the knee. The brush burn is really bad and bloody. When was the last time you saw someone with scrapped knees who wasn't ten years old and clumsy on a bike? Do adults usually worry about getting in trouble by other adults? Other than celebrities who buy jeans with holes in them, who really keeps jeans after they rip? On the same topic, is it normal that I spent the day watching a Hannah Montana marathon, then the new Icarly movie? (Which I was really excited about!) Or the fact that I have a tummy ache right now from too many Starbursts. Can I hold my own in seven year old banter because I'm good with kids, or because I am a kid?!

This is the thought of the day. I don't have the answer. I just wonder if I have a child-like personality, and this will be, like, forever. Or maybe I'll wake up one day and be the adult that gets really mad at someone with a bloody knee who got underneath the white sheets anyway.

Here is a post so Erica does not delete this as a bookmark!

I PROMISE to post something within the next week.

Cross my heart. x.

Buh Bye

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/15/AR2009071503672.html?g=0

;)

The Big Comeback

This is my first post in a long time. Case in point, I had my fingers posed over the keyboard for a good four and a half minutes before I remembered the password to log into my blogger account. Sorry this is not going to be anything profound, just a few musings from my day...

1) I noticed a tree, an actual tree, in the front yard today that I have never seen before. This might cause concern to some people but I took it as proof that everyday in the life of me is surprising!
2) One of the greatest joys is sitting on my porch watching people walk by, sweating to the oldies on their ipods, while I lick the remainder of my peanut butter cup ice cream off my lips. Some people need to get their priorities straight!
3) I put into practice today my theory that two year olds do not respond to logic, just choices. Example: "Do you want a juice box while we take a walk, or do you want to sit in your crib?" BA-BOOM, and suddenly we are strolling peacefully down the street.
4) Because of the event of number 3, and the fact that I signed and mailed three loan checks today, I feel very accomplished! And grown up!
5) I realized since now I am out of college and don't have to pay Karen at the laudromat the "low" price of $40 to have my laundry done in three hours, I actually wash clothes a lot more often. This, I would consider, is a good thing seeing as almost everyday when I undress I find remnants of food, baby boogers, dirt, and sometimes playdoh smushed into my clothing.
6) It is a very sad and tragic thing that Billy Mays died. However, his big chance is here, selling the sham-wow to God. Red wine stains? GONE.
(this is not a joke...I love infomercials...ask anybody. my favorite is the power juicer- "somebody told me I was glowing and asked if I was pregnant. I said, no! I've just been juicing!")
7) Today I watched Psych, which originally I thought was about Psychos. Anybody else on that page with me? But, nope, we were wrong. It is about a Psychic working as a detective. What will they think of next??
8) I had a dream today during my 2 hour nap (don't you wish you had my job?...) that I was still caring for the twins when they were teenagers. One of them demanded that I make sauteed mushrooms in a lettuce wrap, but after I was half way into the cooking, they decided not to eat it. Anxiety about meeting the demands of the babies much?
9) Probably the reason I had that dream was because yesterday the seven year old sauntered down to breakfast and quipped, "Hey Granny, whip me up some pancakes!" Hahahaha... I really can't get enough of that kid!
10) Just be glad I made it to ten ;)

So there you have it, my blogging begins again...Get excited!

G Free

Not too long ago, one of my family members was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Following the doctors orders, he sent the word out to everybody in the family to be checked. I haven't had any tests yet, but I've been watching the amount of gluten I take in to see how it affects my body.

I was sharing this with my sister who said, "Yeah, I might have Celiac too...I've been feeling very nostalgic."

There was a pause on my end for a second.

Then it dawned on me, "Do you mean you've been feeling lethargic?"

That is what she meant. I guess I'll check webmd.com later for "word mixing up", and ask her to see a doctor about that one.

Like A Child

In my life as a nanny, I have many moments where the student becomes the teacher, so to speak. The twins just celebrated their second birthday, therefore entering that time of life known to parents everywhere as "the terrible two's." So far, they have been more like terrific two's but once in a while I see a precursor of what is to come. Like once in a while, they will be pointing at something, like a cookie for instance, and trying to communicate to me that they want the cookie. I will not give them the cookie, because come on, they hadn't even eaten one carrot yet. So, the pleading will escalate. Their voices get louder and more shrill. Before you know it, they have that look on their face. It's what I call the calm before the storm. Their faces get really red and with mouth open wide they take a long breath. Then, comes the screaming. The throw-yourself-on-the-ground, pound-your-fists, wake-up-the-whole-neighborhood-screaming. The easy way out would be to throw a cookie at them, which they would probably catch in their mouth like a seal. That, or invent a time machine and go back to the very beginning of time when they were first deciding what would be healthy food and what would be junk. If I could somehow convince the cavemen to label fruits and vegetables as treats, my problems would be over. However, usually by the time the tantrum is in full swing, there is nothing you can do anyways, but wait it out. This is extremely tough to do. I recommend talking in a normal tone to anybody in the room who is sane or pretend to be engrossed in washing dishes.
As I'm hoping these moments can become fewer and further between, I turned to the internet for some advice. I found an article about tantrums. First of all, I learned that they are a biological fact of life. You cannot feel like a bad caregiver because the babies are just doing what babies do. Secondly, I learned an interesting tactic for how to deal. The author suggested to get down to the child's level, forget using logical explanations ("Cookies are not good for you. You have to eat healthy foods to grow up strong..."), identify with their feelings ("I know you are upset."), and comfort them the minute they start slowing down.
HOLY MOLY. What a great philosophy for life! It totally works. But I'm not sure if it only applies to two year olds. There are times when I can't exactly express how I feel with words. I feel as though my communication skills are no match for the problem in front of me. How great would it be if somebody would look me in the eye, hold my shoulders, and say "Laura, I understand how you feel." Then they would pull me in for a hugsie.
John Mayer had it right- Say What You Need To Say. But when you can't, find comfort in others. And when you see somebody who is in need, it'll be your turn to curb the tantrum before a time-out is warrented.