Type A*bsent-minded*

After a conversation about whether or not my sister is Type A- turns out she probably isn't- I decided to take a personality test myself. I now know a lot more things I already knew about myself. I found another blogger with my same ENTP (extrovert, intuitive, thinker, perceiver) personality and thought there were some interesting, possibly informative, bits that I will share :)

ENTPs are nothing if not unique. A rare personality type, they comprise approx. 2-5% of the total (American) population. They have an enthusiastic interest in everything and are always sensitive to possibilities.

ENTPs are known to be verbally as well as cerebrally quick, and generally love to argue--both for its own sake, and to show off their often-impressive skills. They tend to have a perverse sense of humor as well, and enjoy playing devil's advocate. They sometimes confuse, even inadvertently hurt, those who don't understand or accept the concept of argument as a sport. They get pleasure and intellectual stimulation from arguing both sides of a subject, or from doing something unusual or unexpected just to get a reaction.

Like most Extraverted-Perceivers, they are more excited about pursuing a new idea than about following through on an existing one, which can be a cause for frustration and anxiety--both for themselves and those around them.

ENTPs are basically optimists, but in spite of this (perhaps because of it?), they tend to become extremely petulant about small setbacks and inconveniences. (Major setbacks they tend to regard as challenges, and tackle with determin- ation.) ENTPs have little patience with those they consider wrongheaded or unintelligent , and show little restraint in demonstrating this. However, they do tend to be extremely genial, if not charming, when not being harassed by life in general.

Even though they are extroverts, ENTPs may demonstrate a subtle tendency towards reservation. Those who have had problems establishing friendships may manifest a quiet nature and a lack of general outgoingness, one day appearing social and friendly only to be indifferent or avoidant the next. Over a period of time specific social patterns may develop, appearing unfriendly and reserved to some and friendly and open to others. With their sporadic nature, they may unwittingly convince others of a general dislike and social discontentment, even though it is not their intention.

The main peculiarity of ENTps behaviour is an incredible absent-mindedness. They usually leave items where they used them and have a tendency to constantly lose smaller objects. ENTPs work place and personal belongings are often kept in disarray. They invariably forget what they have already done and what they need to do. However, they are quick and shrewd in day to day matters, taking advantage of every opportunity that arises. Because of this others may consider them to be crafty or shifty.

Mmmmmmm

Ever eaten a homemade cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven? Me either... But I'm about to!

muddles, sprinkles and bugs. oh my!

Muddle: instead of puddles Lola talks about "muddles"

Sprinkles: not just for cookies, sprinkles are also what Lo calls glitter- like the "sprinkles" on her "bootiful shoes"

Then this morning Lo found a stink bug on the window

Lo: spider!!

Me: don't worry, it's just a stink bug

Eddy: Bo eats the stink bugs

Lola to Bo: look Bobo, stink bug, go eat it! They're delicious and slimy and your favorite!

an afternoon, told (mostly) through pictures

When the weather is as perfect as the last few days I really look forward to pickup from preschool. The school has the ever popular "climbing tree" plus an endless field for the kids to run off the last of their energy and is just what you want for a nice picnic... That is, if you actually pack one. Which I did not, because I need to go to the store. Anyway, so Megan drops Finn off around 9:45 on Fridays and the kids play- today they were proud parents to two pink puppies "daddy, our babies are kweyeing!" and Finn would answer "OH NO! Wets go get dem! It ok babies!" Until it's time to hop in the car and get Norah. These two were on a roll today, double trouble for sure. 

Thing 1: Hear no evil                                Thing 2: See no evil  

 

They were Great White Sharks and Lelania was eating Finn :)

 

 Then it's time for the climbing tree! Lola is just starting to dare to climb. Getting down is a little trickier but she solves that by loosening her grip and swinging her feet off the branch and basically free-falling...

Spiderman, Spiderman

Time for a snack break

Over to the field. We lucked out and a friend brought mini bagels to tide us over until lunch.

As you can see, the girls are all about the tutu's and dresses.

Dancing is just better with a flouncy dress!

Swinging sticks will earn you a few minutes hanging out with the grown ups.... Even if it was  a sword fight and "it juss happen!" when you accidentally hit someone.

After a great time in the sunshine it was time for lunch. We met Meg at Panera and the kids were very pleased :)

The best ending to a big day is passing out on the floor...

I have to tell you- a little bit after I took this picture I think Lola was sleep walking. She sat up so I took her in her room to get her jammies on and she walked just outside of her door and started talking gibberish and then cracked up. When I brought her back in and laid her down to get dressed she rolled over and was instantly asleep. So weird!

Ugly hamper turned.... not so ugly hamper

This little beauty used to live in my closet. It's a cheap hamper from Ikea, $9.99. I finally have a decent sized closet and this was just killing too much space. The more practical place was in the bathroom but I couldn't put it in there so plain looking and especially not with the nice lipstick Lo got on it when she decided to play in my makeup (on a high shelf that she dragged a tall stool to reach). So out of the blue I just thought up a quick way to give it a mini makeover.

So you will need:

Scissors

Glue gun

Sewing machine (though I bet you could skip the sewing if you wanted to)

Fabric at least one inch bigger than the length of the hamper and 4 inches longer the width of the top flap 

First things first- pick a fabric you like. I happened to have that plus it coordinated perfectly with my bathroom. PS that shower curtain was such a great find- $5 at West Elm!

1.Measure your hamper- mine was 26.5 inches by  19.5 inches so I cut my fabric 27.5 (26.5+1) inches by 23.5 (19.5+4 inches= 1 inch for seam allowance, 1 inch to overlap under the top flap and two inches to go down the back of the hamper.

2.Sew a quick seam around the fabric, you only need to fold it over once- this is just to make it looked finished.

3.So you should have something like this. If you are awesome enough to iron your fabric first you will probably have better finished results but... I'm just not that awesome.

4.Now the "cheating": Hot glue the wrong side of the fabric DOWN on the UNDER side of the top flap of the hamper. I did a line down the edge (as shown) and then one straight line the length of the flap, then another line down the other edge.

5.With the right side of the flap and wrong side of the fabric glue a short line on the edge- just like you did on the under-side.

6.Still working on the very bottom of the front of the flap- glue a small line in the middle. Then repeat step 5 on the other end.

7.Keeping the fabric as even and straight as possible glue halfway up on one side. Then repeat on the other side.

8. Finish gluing the rest of the way up, repeat on other side.

9. Now that the fabric is attached to the top it's time to glue it down on the back. Hold the flap down taught. Place a line of glue down the back edge of the hamper (should be about 2 inches to reach the end the fabric- just eyeball it by pulling the unattached fabric on the back down while holding the end of the flap taught as shown below)

10.Carefully glue the fabric down along the back of the hamper. There should be a small lip of fabric on each side as the "lid" of the hamper is a bit wider than the hamper (so it sits on top instead of falling in). Just glue the lip to the side on each side of the hamper.

AND VOILA! Finished product.

11. Stand back and marvel at your work. Now go do your laundry, we all know you have been putting it off. (And men: it's NOT cool to throw your dirty clothes BESIDE the fecking hamper!!!! That "lid" weighs as much as a feather, just lift and throw. *cough*EDDY*cough*)

Conversation among 3&4 year olds

Overheard on the way to preschool this morning between my niece and nephew

Finn: mommy has a cold cuz her eat too much.

Norah: nooo she didn't eat too much! Maybe she just didn't wash her hands.

Finn: yea her eat too much- her eat a whole car!

Norah: (condescendingly) Finn.... She would need a bigger mouth to eat a car.

Duh!

"winneye"

Winnie was unaware that she was NOT in fact a dascshund and therefore would not fit in the dascshunds' bed...

Dressing to impress plus a teaser

Lola likes to look good even when she's relaxing at home because:

when you look good you feel good!

And how to turn this ugly hamper into something you can actually leave out and free up space in your stuffed closet- ok, my stuffed closet anyway :) tutorial coming tomorrow!

lipstick stains courtesy of Lola's two year old days

Stylin'

You can't say it's not unique.

Just relaxing, watching Oswald

Out for a quick stroll with the pups, fashionable shoes are always a must!

Never Fails

Sometimes it feels like I lose things before they even leave my hands. All I wanted to do was make some knee-highs out of old tights for Lola.... And I had the perfect dress for her to wear with them today but I set them down and promptly lost them. 

Lola decided that the dog crate is a "washing machine".... I suppose that will be a fun Saturday afternoon... Since I need to do some cleaning up, hopefully I will find those dang socks-to-be. 

I was hoping to sew up said socks real quick while I was baking this:

An Apple German Pancake. The apples are cooked in the pan on the stove with a lot of butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg.... Oh it was so good. Once the apples are tender you pour the pancake batter over the apples and toss it all in the oven. The directions said to cook it in the oven for about 25 minutes but my pan must have been super hot or something because I burnt the bottom and I only cooked it for a little less than 20 minutes. It was still delicious. If you want to give it a try- it's SO simple- click here. If I had any powdered sugar I would have added a little dust of it but it didn't need it. I'm making my way through my favorites on foodgawker.com. Last night we had a cheesy mushroom chicken that was divine and the day before I made the jelly roll pancakes and potato soup, all of which I posted about here. What to try next???

Anyways, this is what happened when I presented Lola with her breakfast....

Yea, she hid under her table. Talk about ungrateful! She tasted a bite of apple but said she didn't like it. I don't believe her because she didn't act like she didn't like it- when she tasted the lunch her dad made her she drooled and gagged, now THAT is disgust.

My life is nothing if not consistent!

Yummy finds from Food Gawker

 Have I said a thousand times that Fall is my favorite....and that I sometimes like to cook but it has to be short on ingredients and super easy? Food Gawker has some (thousands) awesome recipes for yummy Fall recipes. Especially if you can go to a u-pick farm and get your own potatoes and apples (ok, mine are from Trader Joes... but if we can make it back I will be getting lots and lots and lots of potatoes from the farm!!!) The Jelly Roll Pancakes can be filled with yummy apple cinnamon filling for a great breakfast/brunch/snack/just because you can't stop thinking about it idea to get you into the season and plus your house will smell DELICIOUS. In fact I think I am off to make them right now for Lo&me. Potato soup for dinner. Or maybe that chicken. No, soup... I think I will make these for dessert tonight. I have a serious sweet tooth and I really need dessert! However I will be cheating and using a box mix from Trader Joes....

1. Baked Potato Soup

2. Jelly Roll Pancake -Fill these with any seasonal filling you like 

3. Mushroom and Cheese Chicken

4. Johnny Appleseed Bars

5. Spinach Pasta

6. Family Apple Pancake

Skyscrapers

And when it falls down you build a new one.

Carseats

There's a downside to being obnoxiously careful about car seat safety. Your kids insist of buckling their toy in "just right".
ETA to add I totally locked myself in the backseat waiting for her to finish buckling her puppy. Both of my back doors have the child locks on because my niece and nephew sit next to the doors LOL what would a persondo if they weren't able to climb up front like I did?!

The health hazard in my kitchen that may be lurking in yours too

It sounds like I have been watching too many news programs and taking notes but I can assure you I have done neither. 

So to the point. I have to resist my gag reflex even thinking about it. I saw on a blog HERE that I'm supposed to clean my dishwasher. I live in an apartment so I figure hm, they probably do this but it's been a few months so I'll wipe it out right quick. (While proof-reading I saw I typed "right quick"... I know I live in Va and lived in Atlanta for 8 years but I have NEVER knowingly uttered those words before)

THIS IS WHAT I FOUND

*shudder*gag*GROSS*

I made the picture as small as I could to try not to make you throw up. I almost couldn't clean it without throwing up and my stomach is still sore from knowing that was in there. That is the underside of the meshy thing. I took it all apart and cleaned it with half a gallon of vinegar, soap and scalding hot water. 

I thought i would just have a ten minute cleaning spree. How wrong was I? Now I am running it full of vinegar and detergent on sanitize with it empty. And suffice it to say this picture wasn't the worst nightmare in the dishwasher. There is also a link to show you how to clean your washing machine. That will have to wait until next week for me, I need to recover from the horrors I saw today.

That was interesting....

This morning I was getting Lo and myself ready to head to preschool. It started drizzling so we got our rain gear out. By the time we were half way to school it was starting to really rain hard. I parked in the driveway of the school like I always do and we started on our way up to class. 

I don't remember why I looked behind us but I see two HUGE wolves dogs running right for us. They were each well over 100 pounds and I ran through a billion ideas of how to handle this situation. The dogs looked perfectly friendly but also like they could eat us in one bite and considering their size and the short distance I didn't have a lot of time to react so I froze, still holding Lola's hand and the copper colored dog gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as they continued past us. And then I finally took another breath. Disaster (passively) avoided.

They looked like the two on the left, but they were even prettier than these- and WAY bigger. The copper one had piercing blue eyes.

Hey look!!! Stephanie got a picture and sent it to me :) That's Koda on the left and Chief on the right. They were drenched but those special coats of theirs really keep the water on the top layer of fur!

Lola was giggling about the dogs. They kept running off to the side of the playground fence and I started my guilt of letting the dogs run off without trying to catch them and find their owner. We kept on our way to the Activities Building (which is also the way into the playground) to go potty and wash hands. Another mom opened the door to the building as we were on our way out of the bathroom and instead of kids walking in the door, in ran the two dogs! They had a similar effect on most of the parent's as they had on me- freeze, assess, stare confusedly. Then one mom started to corral them, so I joined in. Lucky for us they were very well mannered and they laid down while Amy looked at their collars. Chief and Koda's owner was called and given directions and told that his dogs were currently at preschool. He would be there in 15 minutes.

But it's raining, so it took longer than that. Amy said we should find something to use as a lead and I remembered the kids had dog leashes upstairs to "walk" the toy dogs. so we sat outside with them, Koda was definitely the calmer of the two and I think Chief, who I was holding onto, must have been the ring leader in this adventure. He would sit for a minute but then wanted to explore and boy was he strong.

We ventured up to the front of the church as the dogs seemed to trick us into thinking they recognized a car that pulled up. So when I saw a little blue Mini Cooper I half joked "I bet that's him" and of course it was. A very tall man in a business suit jumped out and thanked us profusely as the giant beasts happily jumped in the tiny car. It was like a scene out of a circus cartoon. He explained that they had a 6 foot fence. That they added 2 feet of lattice to the top of because the dogs jumped the fence. I think they must have a buddy system worked out where one stands on top of the other, climbs over, throws a rope to the other and pulls him out of the fence. I forgot to ask where they lived, they panted for a long time once they were resting so it was probably a good distance.

Just another day at preschool....