Category Archives: Monday Listicles

Thank You Summer—Jimmy Fallon Style

jimmy Fallon

Nobody does gratefulness like Jimmy Fallon. His Thank-You Notes make US grateful we have a DVR, because Erin goes to bed too early to see him live.

 

1. Thank you, summer, for exquisite sunsets and blogging for making it impossible to just sit here and enjoy it.

2. Thank you chemistry for protecting our kids from summer’s dangers with a marinade of DEET, chlorine, and SPF. Brussel Sprouts should totally counteract this.

3.Thank children for taking turns being pains in the asses over an entire week. It would totally suck to have a full day of summer bliss.

4. Thank you fabulously fit people at the pool for proving once and for all that the government guidelines regarding fitness are utter crap. If you want to walk up stairs without a coronary, thirty minutes a day is just fine. If you want to rock a bikini, you are gonna need to move into the gym and swap your kids for protein shakes.

5. Thank you easy breezy schedules for letting us sleep in every day, letting us hang out every evening, and  giving our kids the freedom to constantly bug us for sleepovers. Nothing says easy like a house full of other people’s kids.

6. Thank you lower gas prices for making it possible for us to hang out in real life. Communicating with each other through our joint Twitter account was getting old and making us a little creepy to our followers.

7. Thank you, crazy people, for being consistent and keeping it up over the summer. We wouldn’t know what to do if you surprised us and gave us the summer off from your reign of insane.

8. Thank you air conditioning for preventing fratricide and swamp butt. Our kids appreciate living to see the light of a new day and, well, crack sweat is not attractive on anybody.

9. Thank you X-treme Sports for making us think we should teach our kids to paddle-board this summer. And kayak. And rock climb. And mountain bike. Instead of, you know, just swim.

10. Thank you soccer ball for hours of baby-sitting and all around knock-in-the-head fun, thus allowing us time to sit here and write this list while lifting our heads every once in awhile to watch the sunset.

 

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The Anti-Stay-At-Home Life With Kids

We have spent many years living under the title of Stay-At-Home Moms. SAHMs if you will. But today we are here to once and for all cry bullshotskies on that title because we are NEVER home. Seriously. It would make more sense for us to sell our homes and just rove the countryside in RVs. Bonus? We’d never have to use a nasty soccer field port-a-pot again. (You know that idea is so intriguing you want to Google recreational vehicles right this minute.)

Most of this roving is because of the ordinary – sports practices, school plays, haircuts, and dentist appointments. But sometimes the Anti-Stay-At-Home life is a slice of pure adventurous pleasure. Where adventure is concerned, a picture is often worth a thousand words. (Especially when you are recovering from an epic blog conference.)

The Anti-Stay-At-Home-Life With Kids

Just add water . . .

In The Pool

Ellen’s Backyard

Tubing On The River

Gunpowder Falls (Relax, no one shot over a waterfall in a tube.)

In The Canoe

Pocomoke State Park

On The Lake

Deep Creek Lake

On The Rocks

Jane’s Island State Park

Or take it to the air . . .

Parasail

Bahamas

Rock Climbing

The Delaware Rock Gym

But there are adventures galore on land too.

On The Road

Lost on the road, Anywhere State Park

The Abandoned Mine

Deep Creek Lake State Park

On The Road

Assateague Island, Maryland

Fire!

New Germany State Park

 

Thank you to Stasha at Monday Listicles for inspiring us to remember that while we were blessed to choose the stay-at-home life for many years, how we “stay” at home is purely up to us.

Ellen and Erin

 

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Pleading Our Case: 10 Things We Hope We Are Doing Right

pleading our case

Erin: Our babies are all growing up, and we are in the enviable position of sitting back and taking a little look-see around at how things are going. So I started thinking about what Ellen and I hoped we were getting right. 

Ellen: And I started panicking. I’m used to being judged by my tween and teen on a daily basis, but this performing for the gold medal of motherhood is going to go on forever! My kids could be writing lists about ME on a blog 20 years from now.

Erin: Oh my, that is something to think about…

Ellen:  We both have families that are great at grabbing the fun in life, but parenting is not all sunshine and giggles. I really feel like I need to defend myself for some of the things I do. You know, plead my case for the future.

Erin: Well now that you got me all worked up, I agree.

So without further ado:

Pleading Our Case for Ten Things We Hope We Are Doing Right As Parents

In Erin’s House, we say “Fight the Tiger. Embrace the Mountain.”

1.We work hard and ask them to do the same. We try to instill in our kids that they are blessed and for them to appreciate that. Some things will come easy for them and some things won’t.

Ellen’s go-to t-shirt motto is “Hard work beats talent when talent hardly works.” Pretty much sums it up. If you are talented, you need to bring your A game. Every Day. If you have struggles, you can beat them with hard work and determination.

We hope they know. . .

2. We support, but we don’t do excuses.  We are all kinds of available. Whether our kids need a ride, a good meal, help conjugating a verb, or advice, we make the time to listen and be there. We are their shoulder to cry on. But if they skip practices and don’t make the team or they blow off studying and get a “D,” we are here to tell them they got the results that equaled the effort they put forth. No pity parties.

And on that note…

3. We don’t do confetti canons. And we deplore participation trophies. A rich life is not about just showing up. We model that you achieve for yourself. Your reward is that you get to lead the life you want to live.

But…

4. We respect their successes as THEIRS alone. NOT ours. We revel in their achievements and are thrilled for them, but when it’s their moment to shine, we step out of the limelight. We have chronic shoulder injuries; we refuse to tweak them by straining to pat ourselves on the back.

And to take it a step further…

5. We respect them. They are not our products or our possessions. They are their own people with their own thoughts, goals, and likes.

But with that in mind, we do our fair share of influencing…

6.We immerse our kids in culture.Ugh. Sounds dreadful, right? Wrong.

If you just make learning fun. . .

We watch movies, read books, use technology, dance to Wii games, watch Youtube videos, visit museums, travel, listen to music, take our kids to restaurants, take them to sporting events, and talk about the news. In short, we participate. It’s a great big world and we are all just living in it. Also, life’s a whole lot funnier if you get the jokes.

And the jokes are even better when you can share them…

7.We are good at turning family into friends. Family is your first best friend. Period. Siblings are included. Always. Our homes are places of safety and kind words. Meanness is not allowed or passed off as that is just what kids do. We hope this is the recipe for developing blood bonds into actual ones.

But don’t get us wrong, we’re not some freaky Von Trapp cult…

8.We are good at turning friends into family.  Friendships are the true gifts in life and we have been very fortunate in finding some that have moved into the realm of family.  Our kids are lucky enough to be surrounded by loving people. We hope they appreciate how special this really is.

But when you are this blessed, it is your responsibility to give back…

We get by with a little help from our friends

9. We model service. One of our friends said that she would feel like an utter failure if her kids achieved personal success without any regard for other people. We agree with heads nodding wildly in solidarity.  There is no aspect of our lives where we don’t give a little of our time and talent.

But you can’t feel a need to serve unless…

10.We teach responsibility. We teach household tasks and hold them accountable. We let them know that our teams require team players. No gold stars for pitching in. Adults don’t get any rewards for cleaning up messes or taking care of themselves. Some things just need to get done, and nobody is going to do them for you. Best to learn this lesson from those who know you and love you best.

Okay, gavels down. We’re going to make sure our kids have the hyperlink to this post, when they are passing their own judgments.

 

 

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If Moms Formed Rock Bands

Kim from Let Me Start By Saying wrote an epic post How Being a Parent is Like Being a Rock Star. It plays so true. Check out this little sampling.

7. Groupies follow you to the bathroom.

But this got us to thinking, if we are rock stars, and oh hellz yeah we are, we need a band, right? But motherhood is ever changing, so the band that would be right for us today might not be right for us tomorrow. So without further ado . . .

 

If Moms Formed Rock Bands

1. Magnificent People Makers

So maybe we can agree Adam Levine is hardcore, but he’s not carry a baby in his uterus for nine months then rocket it out of of his body hardcore. That’s what we’re talking about. Shakira represent!

2. Crushed Colic Cowgirls

We would rather ride bucking broncos being chased by bulls with Thor threatening to strike us with his hammer than live through one more second of colic.

3. Weaning Breast Milk Blossoms

Plain White T’s are so 2000s;  drippy over-sized t’s are where it’s at. Ladies, let’s show our excitement for this trend! Don’t let us down!

4. Smashing Peas

Concerts would be epic. Can you imagine a mosh pit filled with pureed legumes?

5. Toddler Safety Patrol

Have you heard our hit song No-Stitches-No-Broken-Glass-No-Pennies-In-Outlets-No-Shaved-Cats-Ever-On-Our-Watch?

6. Playdate Punks

Sometimes this band rocks and sometimes it just makes your ears bleed.

7. The PTA Presidents

This band thrives on drama, back stabbing and passive aggression. We only want to see the new green apple Skittles in our bowl. Understand?

8. The Voices of Reason and The Hormonal Screaming Banshees

This band needs a lot of wine with a side of Jameson. Earplugs would also help-the voices of reason and the banshees could fight over them.

9. Biting Nails

We’re going to have to lay down some awesome tracks to get us through dating, driving, and college applications.

10. Conflicted Empty Nesters

Just hold us. We’re going to need some serious groupie love to get us through. And once again beverages. Of the pinot noir and whiskey variety. It appears the more things change the more they stay the same.

-Ellen & Erin

 

Thank you Stasha for inspiring us with the Monday Listicle topic  – Real or Imagined Band Names. Check out what everyone else rocked out with.

 

 

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Motherhood By the Book

Motherhood doesn’t just change your pants size, your shoe size, and your selection at Victoria’s Secret, Motherhood changes EVERYTHING.  And then it keeps on changing. ALL. THE. TIME. You will just get your parenting stride at a stage, and your little darling is sprinting on to the next one.

To those of you already sporting stretch marks, under eye circles, and the requisite Real-Moms-Take-This-Shizz-Everywhere hand sanitizer, you know we speak The Truth. You know what would make this whole Mom thing easier short of a trainer, an industrial strength leash, and an ironclad agreement with the relatives to babysit every weekend?? Some Sisters to show you the way.

Now we’ve heard there are some great parenting books out there, but, honestly, you won’t have time to read them. Remember what we said about the sprinting?? But we love books, so we took some inspiration from classic books and children’s books to label the stages of Motherhood for you. We did the heavy lifting, so fanfare, please. . .

book stacksisterhoodguide

1. War and Peace

The First Year

Now Erin has never actually read this book, but we heard that it concerns Russia. The title conjures what it feels like in the trenches of your first year with a new baby. It’s either bliss. . . or bombs raining down on you. Prepare to be delighted, completely decimated, and so deprived of sleep you could put on your husband’s underwear and think it’s your own or fall asleep mid-sentence. Not that either of these things has ever happened to either of us.

Unhappy Baby Collage

2. What Do People Do All Day?

The Second Year

Hope you like naming aloud everything you own, see, think, hear, feel, smell, flush down the toilet, etc. because that’s what baby likes. Oh, that’s not for me, you say, my kid’s just chillin’. Well, we say that clearly you have never been at the mercy of a newly mobile but vocabulary-limited tot. YET. They jonez for this stuff like miniature meth addicts cut off from their supplier. Buy every oversized, ridiculously detailed book you can find now to assuage the tiny beasts. Richard Scarry knows. He’s the toddler-whisperer.

3. Where the Wild Things Are

The Third and Fourth Year AKA The Terrible/Terrific Twos and Threes

These kids are adorable but nuts, with a little extra nutty on top. Every time we think back to when our houses were ruled by these fickle tyrants, there is a little catch in our throats. We  do miss our ladies who dressed as princesses or ladybugs every day and our lads bedecked in boots and capes. But it’s a dog-eat-dog world  in the Land of Tod and we’ll give you three guesses who’s their favorite meal. Come to think of it, Lord of the Flies works for this stage too.

Wild Thing Collage with words

4. Interrupting Chicken

The Funny Fabulous Fact-Filled Four Year Old

Erin is 100% convinced that she did not have her attention issues until she had to parent a 4 year old—FIVE TIMES! No sentences are finished, no thoughts completed, no work is done. The four year old runs the place like a miniature Napoleon or Attila the Hun and the only consistent thing he or she is serving up is questions. Note: When the 4 year old inevitably asks you where babies come from or why you and Daddy like to wrestle, deflect, defer, and lie your pants off. You have plenty of time to pay for future counselling.

5. Brave New World 

Kindergarten

This stage marks the end of an era and the beginning of a new one, so all that sniffling and carrying on you’re going to do is totally justified. Your baby belongs to the great big world now. And it’s a beautiful, terrible, amazing, nauseating, wondrous sight to see.

kindergarten w glasses and border

6. The Call of the Wild

Early Elementary School

Seriously, kids at this age are powered by sheer force of will and their wily, wily ways. If we could harness it, we would solve the world’s energy needs. Oh, yeah, and they are full throttle without the benefit of forethought or reason. Invest in Band-Aids and mercurochrome and wine.

jump off dock

7. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde

Late Elementary School

As a pre-cursor to the full-blown hormonal onslaught headed your way, Mother Nature gives you a little tapas of what’s to come. Honestly, a lot of the angst comes from having one foot in the Land of the Little Kid and the other in the Acreage of Adolescence, but that doesn’t mean that this stage isn’t sometimes going to keep you up at night or wrangling with each other during the day.

8. Something Wicked This Way Comes 

Middle School

Too dramatic? Maybe, especially when we both actually enjoy our Middle Schoolers and Erin loves teaching this age group. But storms are a-comin’, so you need to be ready to ride them out when they come AND to enjoy the calm seas in between the blow-ups.

bikini umbrella

9. Catch-22

Early Teen

Your tongue might actually hurt from all the times you will hold it. Happy, successful parenting with teens is all about choosing your battles, so often times you may get caught in senseless, absurd situations. We’ll take those over the scary stuff that also sometimes comes with the teen years, but none of it is easy. And <sniff>, you do sense your time together is shortening.

10. Great Expectations

Late Teen

Your baby’s getting ready to spread his or her wings, so there is great talk about the future and plans and what happens next. It’s all exciting and scary and nothing at all like what you imagined when you started this journey, oh so many moons ago.

And you will wonder how you got here so fast.

And then you’ll remember. Oh, the sprinting.

 

jump

Don’t say we didn’t warn you! Erin and Ellen

 

We Love Stasha and Her Listicle Ways

Thank you to Stasha for more great Monday Listicle fun! Check out what others wrote or add your own list!

 

 

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9 Mom Superpowers Plus Our Kryptonite

Being a mom is like being a superhero. We’re the secret do-gooders who save the world, or at least our little corners of it. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it’s a whirling dervish of a phenom who can get mess done! But unlike Superman and his silly glasses, our disguises are foolproof —we wrap ourselves in the invisibility cloaks of the mundane. We are so good at flying under the radar that we NEVER get credit for our awesomeness.

Well, that changes today! We are giving credit where credit is due. Are we blowing our covers by revealing our secrets? Don’t insult us. We also emit a mysterious aura that wipes the minds around us as clean as slates. No matter how many times we perform a superpower, they can never remember how we did it. Our jobs are safe, whether we like it or not.

9 Mom Superpowers Plus Our Kryptonite

 

1. Finding All Things Missing

We think there must be a locator sensor that activates on the X chromosome once women have kids. What else could explain how we are the only ones who can see the “lost” notebooks that are three inches from our kids’ noses? Of course there might be one or two times that our  superpowers slip. Seems that locator sensor is fighting a daily battle with Mom Brain. Every good super hero needs a nemesis and Mom Brain is ours.

*Our Kryptonite*

We’re just going to be upfront with this. In addition to a nemesis, every superhero needs a weakness, every Achilles needs a heel. Missing Socks is ours. Our locator beacons are rendered powerless against them.

What's the big deal you say? Just you wait.

Damn you missing socks! We’ll defeat you one day!

2. Speaking in Frequencies Only Dolphins Can Hear

What else could explain that despite us nagging our kids to pick up towels one million times plus four, they STILL leave them on the floor giving mildew a place to party?

Dolphins listen to Ellen. Why can't her kids?

Dolphins listen to Ellen. Why can’t her kids?

3. Super Sonic Hearing

Yes we can hear a jar of paint being opened on the new carpet in the basement while we’re upstairs folding clothes and talking on the phone. Save yourselves some time, Kids, and stop trying to foil us. You’re no Missing Socks. You’ll never achieve that level of craftiness.

4. Multi-Tasking Marvels

You think Flash Gordon is a blur? Pfft. Watch a mom cook dinner, fold clothes, apply bandages, break up fights, and create zombies in a single swoosh. She’ll even manage to keep the Hello Kitty Band-Aids out of the chicken soup.

5. Chow Time Champions

Speaking of chicken soup . . . Ok, we hear you saying, “Wait, not all moms bake or cook.” Ah ha, those are are the women who were brilliant enough to keep their superpowers completely hidden. We can assure you those women are take-out ninjas or slick enough to have partners who can wield spatulas like maestros.  But if they ever want to let their invisibility cloaks slip to reveal those cooking powers, here are a couple of super easy recipes that will make it worth their whiles.

 Some Kind Of Awesome Creamy Chicken Salsa Soup

Yum. Soup. It's What's For Dinner.

Yum. Soup. It’s What’s For Dinner.

Healthy French Country Crockpot Chicken

Healthy-French-Country-Crockpot-Chicken-Sisterhood-of-the-Sensible-Moms

6. School Project Warriors

We would never do our kids’ homework because we’re superheroes, not super-dummies. But papier-mâché and Rube Goldbergs just don’t happen without some guidance. And some superhero patience.

Clucking Adorable

Clucking Adorable

7. Travel Triumphants

We wish we could teleport, but our theory is that in evolutionary terms, teleportation  and locator powers could not exist in the same person. Our ancestors melted from the awesomeness and only the locator sensor survived. While we weep ourselves to sleep at night because teleportation was a victim to natural selection, we can rustle up one hell of a car pool.

How To Rustle Up a Mom Posse Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

Source: sisterhoodofthesensiblemoms.com via Sisterhood on Pinterest

Mom superpowers are not generic. Think of each mother as part of a Justice League of Estrogen where every woman has her own special skill set. For example . . .

 

8. Erin Deploys Diplomacy Like a Diva

No one can smooth ruffled feathers better than Erin . . . except when she doesn’t. Uh oh, there’s another kryptonite for Erin—Andy Griffith. Don’t tell Mom Brain or she might collaborate with him to set up a trap.

9. Ellen Calms the Savage Beasts with Cakes

When we say savage beasts we mean hopped-up kids at birthday parties, but it’s really the same thing. Potato, puh-ta-toe. Tomato, little heathens smashing your ceiling fan like a pinata. It’s just a matter of pronunciation.

The mud is actually delicious fudge. In case you were worried.

The mud is actually delicious fudge. In case you were worried.

 

 

What is your unique Superpower? Tell us in the comments.

-Ellen and Erin

 

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10 Reasons March Makes Us Stabby

Spring has clearly missed the on-ramp this year. Why are we still getting snowed in, on, and around??

Erin: March is in like a lion, out like a lamb, and all that. 

Ellen: Well, I’m ready for some lamb chops. It’s been especially brutal this year.

Erin: Grrr! It makes me stabby. Like Brutus.

Ellen: Nice Ides of March reference.

Erin: I guess we could take comfort that we’re not having as bad a March as Caesar did. There’s that.

Ellen: Et tu, Brute? Let’s swing this shamrock back to the 21st century.

10 Reasons March Makes Us Stabby

 

1)  Chores Multiply Exponentially

March dials it up a notch.  Now in addition to the massive amount of spring cleaning inside, it’s time to cut back the bushes and clear the detritus from the flowerbeds outside too. We could probably hear March maniacally laughing, but in this thirty degree weather we’re wearing earmuffs to pull weeds. Probably best to just leave it for the kids to do during summer break anyway.

2) Schizoid Wardrobe

Oh March, you are one wild and crazy girl! One day we have to pile on the sweaters and the next we’re looking for a tank top. And footwear? Fuggedaboutit! Can you please just let us pack away the snow pants and mittens? We call mercy!

3) Hokey Holidays

St. Patty’s Day?  Who is this holiday really for? Preschoolers and college kids, that’s who. If you’re not making glittered shamrocks or guzzling whiskey and green beer, what’s really the point? Besides, true Irish girls drink whiskey every day of the year. Or so we’ve heard.

4) It’s cold

That damn groundhog is on our hit list. Brrrrrrrr. Everyone is cold, cranky, and stabby. We are over these blocks of ice we call feet. Truly.

Source: wqad.com via Sisterhood on Pinterest

 

5) Calendar Clustermuck

Winter sports are not over and spring sports have already begun. Have you seen our complicated calendars?? You’re hitting us where it hurts, March. We are not happy and we’re taking names.

6) Early Easter

We don’t mind wearing sweaters over our Easter best, but we would rather not have to don the old parkas too. Who wants an Easter picture where the kids look like they’re hitting the slopes instead of hunting for eggs?

7) Daylight Savings Time Blues

Our more seasoned internal clocks don’t spring forward like they used to. We can’t fall asleep an hour early that first night, and it’s all downhill from there. By the end of the week, we’re the crazy ladies in the supermarket talking to our tomatoes. And our kids? Shudder.

8) Confused Cart

When you have de-icer and grass seed snuggled together in your cart, even the checkout girl at Home Depot knows you’ve got problems.

9) The Dreadmill

Running on a treadmill in a gym is about as fun as . . . well, as fun as being jerked around by March and her fickle, fickle ways.

10) Did we mention we’re cold??

And so over it. Summer is our time to shine. Bring on the flip-flops, please. Or, at the very least, lose the freezing temps.

But it’s not all moaning and groaning, there is one thing we both LOVE about March:

March Madness

The drama, the brackets, the Cinderella stories, we love it all! But like the rest of March, it comes with a punch.

And this year has been no exception. If your brackets aren’t already in the recycling bin like ours, we need to talk, because you clearly have some connections we might find useful.

 

Source: heavy.com via Sisterhood on Pinterest

Here’s hoping Spring weather truly is right around the corner.

Please don’t fool us April.

 

 

Click the link to read some other great posts over at  Monday Listicles!

 

 

 

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Sisterhood Party Pride

We have said it before and we have to say it again: We love to party! And not just for birthdays, anniversaries, and such. Heck, if it’s a day that ends in “Y”, somebody bring the beach balls and the booze and let’s crank up the jams. Anyway, here are. . .

10 Parties That Make Us Proud

Erin

1. Irish Girls Do It in Bright Green

I just love that this Irish girl married into a Polish family with a fun-loving real-life Irish Grandmom. We love our GiGi, and all of the fabulous parties that happen on her favorite day each year!

st.patrick's day collage

2. Inside This Box is a Fabulous . . .

Road Trip. With five kids and birthdays that come in bunches, we don’t always go the traditional party route. Often times, we hit the road to celebrate. In fact, Biddie and I are still basking in the glow of our great Northeastern Adventure to celebrate her 13th birthday this past summer.

This picture is one of my favorites though. When Biddie was 10, she was obsessed with the First Ladies. Sorry, 1D! Martha Washington was her first real pin-up! Her birthday was the weekend of the Obama inauguration that year. All she wanted was to get to Washington, DC. Here she is scanning the White House windows looking for a glimpse of one of the Obama girls. Still one of my favorite birthdays ever!

White House

But other times we play it straight and we get. . .

3. The Party That Proved Just How Smart I Am!!

Eddie LOVED all things Star Wars the summer he turned four. We had a pool party and these lightsaber pool noodles were the party favor. Cheap, easy to make, and 10,000 times better than a bag of Dollar Store junk. Every mom and kid loved them! And some still have them!

But there is always a fly in the punch. Check out Eddie’s face behind his cool cupcakes. Darn kid’s ruining my boast! I swear no exorcism was required.

StarWarsbirthday

 

4. True Fans Party on Opening Day

Who parties on the opening day of the Liverpool soccer season? Maybe the family that left their North Caroline beach vacation early to see them play on American soil last summer. This might be taking the term Soccer Mom to a whole new level, but I don’t care. I’m hoping these crazy family traditions are gonna be the things that get these kids home for a visit every once in a while after the big, wide world scatters them to the winds.

LiverpoolCollage

 

5. 40 IS Fabulous!

Especially when you do it Sisterhood Style. We always treat our buddies well on their special day, but this party for our friend Lauri was the best! We went kayaking on the river near her house. Her family even had it planned for us to paddle up to a dock for some beverages and snacks along the way. Kind of like a Kayak Crawl.

MomsKayakingparty

 

Ellen

Erin’s proud party moments turned out just like her: all over the place and fabulous. I’m going to stick to the traditional  birthday party genre. We take the mantra “Go big or go home” to heart around here when it comes to celebrating those special days.

1. Pandamonium

I love to have my house stuffed with happy girls.  I also love our family tradition where the birthday girl gets her very own personalized cake to dive into with abandon. The theme for Jellybean’s 12th birthday was pandas, so with 13 girls sleeping over, it was pandamonium. Get it??

Panda Collage Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

2. Monkey Business

In fact, this is the party where the personal birthday cake tradition was born by chance. So take that Pinterest. I was able to develop fun family rituals long before you rolled up on the scene.

Monkey Cake Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

3.  Letting the Cat Out of The Bag

Jellybean got our cat Sparkle for her 6th birthday. Imagine my delight when she came downstairs ready for her indoor bounce house party dressed in her kitty cat Halloween costume. Melt.

The Kitty Cat Collage Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

 

4. Ginormous Water Slide For The Win

I LOVE throwing little kid birthday parties. Coed teenager parties make my palms clammy. For our first one, I got this huge water slide as a distraction. I should have thought about the bathing suit factor.

Water Slide Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms

5. Back to the Good Ol’ Days

Alright, let’s forget the teen years, I’m starting to break out in hives. Let’s go back to when all I had to do was transform our basement into the American Idol sound stage. And upon review, I apparently also transformed our backyard into a superstar themed obstacle course for about a bazillion little girls. Did I mention “Go big or go home”?

Superstar Birthday Collage

 

In case all of this party pride is making you a little nauseous, don’t forget the New Year’s Eve when Ellen made everyone actually gag with this little gem of a Pintershit drink.

Taste Testers

 

Also, don’t forget to check out the other bloggers over at Monday Listicles who responded to Stasha’s prompt 10 THINGS YOU ARE PROUD OF. Feel free to join in on the fun.

 

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Pintershizz: Buyer Be Dumb

Shopping can be fun, boring, necessary . . . or it can be frivolous. Let’s face it; it’s really the buying that gets us into trouble. Most of the time we are Sensible, but every once in awhile, there is that purchase that just makes us shake our heads and say,”What in the name of all that is rational were we thinking?”

Erin: We’re not talking about an impractical splurge like this:

shoe

 

Ellen: Yeah, these are ridiculously pricey, don’t really rock out with yoga pants, and would inflame my plantar fasciitis, but at least they can be hidden in a closet.

Erin: These shoes are so expensive I would probably have to display them on my mantle for the next decade and call them art to justify delving into the college funds for them. On second thought, my youngest is five,  and they probably won’t even be using books by the time he goes. 

Ellen: It’s really cute we’re talking about these shoes as a hypothetical bad purchase when I have THIS actually in my house:

 

We like to call it The Monster Bed: Where blankets and stuffed animals come to party.

 

Erin: That is one big, fabulous bed. I’m not seeing the problem.

Ellen: I feel like I should size the picture so that it spills over into the margins. You know, so that you get a visceral feel for how massive The Monster Bed really feels in my daughter Jellybean’s (12) room. This is as much of the bed as I could get in the frame because, as it was, my back was pressed against the wall.

Erin: But she LOVES that bed.

Ellen: But at some point she is going to move out and then we are stuck. It can’t be a guest bed, because getting into that thing as an adult is AWKWARD. The way the steps are arranged  makes you have to hunch over and crawl up there like a hobbit. Grandma could never make it up there.

And it weighs a gazillion pounds. She wants her room repainted, but this bed can’t be moved. We are actually just going to paint around it. That makes me shudder.

Erin: If you squint your eyes, that idea might actually pass for Sensible. It would be easier just to deal with the wonky paint job when you finally get that thing outta there by taking a sledgehammer to it and throwing it out the window. Remind me again why you bought it?

Ellen: Well, mainly because Jellybean needed a bed since we had whisked her daybed down to the newly finished basement, but really because she fell in LOVE with it. I justified the purchase because of the storage possibilities.

Erin: Jellybean is a good girl, she deserved it.  Those drawers are fabulous.

Ellen: It can’t be justified. This is what we use them for:

Where candy goes to rot. She doesn’t so much like to EAT the candy as to HAVE the candy.

 

Erin: You know what would make you feel better? A good ol’ round of Pintershizz. There are much dumber things to buy for the home than Monster Beds that bring your children joy.

Laugh at the whole Pintershizz series here.

Laugh at the whole Pintershizz series here.

 

9 Things Pintershizz That Put Your Insensibility On Display

(Working Title in Japan: How to Have Fun With Grandma)

1. Actually Have Your Children Swinging From the Ceiling

Ellen: Really!?! That’s my basement.

Erin: I just thought it would be helpful to point out The Monster Bed was not alone in your house.

Ellen: Weird. Helpful is not the word that came to mind.

swing

 

 

2. Chairs That Look Like Something the Cat Coughed Up

Erin: Okay, all poking at you aside, how about this one?

Ellen: Now that is Pintershizz! I wonder if you need a distemper shot to sit in it.

distemper

 

 

3. Chairs That Force You to Use the Words “Phallic Symbol”

Erin: Here, Grandma, we saved a special seat just for you!

Ellen: Gives a new dimension to awkward family moments.

 

4. Fridge of the Future

Erin: You just place your food in the gel to keep it cold. How could this not be a fabulous addition to a household with kids?

Ellen: I’m going to start working on the baby proofing for this now! We’ll be rich!

The Blob Refrigerator

Source: yankodesign.com via Mary on Pinterest

 

5. The Bathmat That’s Bringing The Feel of Outdoor Plumbing Back

Ellen: A bathmat for those of us who don’t have enough dirt, mold, and mildew in our bathrooms already.

Erin: Super duper shiny bright side? It can double as a litter box.

Moss Matt

 

 

6. Because It’s Easiest to Find Pintershizz in the Bathroom

Erin: Yep, this toilet seat  scale weighs you “Before” and “After.”

Ellen: Gives scientific quantification to the term “Dropping a load.”  Yet another thing for Grandma to enjoy at your house.

Toilet Seat

Source: yankodesign.com via Sara on Pinterest

 

 

7.  When You Want Agility to Be the Gauge for Who Can Use Your Facilities

Ellen: Grandma would be s*** out of luck with this rodeo toilet.

Erin: Waa waa.

Rodeo Toilet

Source: jwz.org via Sisterhood on Pinterest

 

8. For the Animal Lover/Contagion Fan

Ellen: Have you ever wanted to pretend you worked in a Biohazard lab while washing your dog? Want no more!

Erin: I’m sure you could use it with kids too. Nothing wrong with wrapping your kids in plastic while lovingly bathing them.

Ellen: Plus picture this curtain WITHOUT someone’s arms in it. Opens up the opportunity to explain to Grandma why your shower curtain looks like a giant tandem prophylactic.

Contagion Shower Curtain

Source: solutions.com via RaVae on Pinterest

 

 

9. One of These Pins is Not Like the Other

Ellen: We’ve had a good time presenting home products, but sometimes you have to twist the theme to accomplish a goal: like poking fun at your blogging buddy. We began this post at my expense, but we’re ending it at Erin’s.

Erin: You do know I’m right here? What are you talking about?

Ellen: I’m referring to when you asked me where to get a laser pointer, aka “Blinding Device”.

Erin: Well, it is for Science Olympiad for my middle boys—refraction and mirrors and all that. It’s so cool . . .

Ellen: What did your homeschooling neighbor say when you asked her if she had one?

Erin: I believe her exact words were, “Are you crazy!?!”

Ellen: Well I found the pointer for you. If you’re going to go that way, you might as well go full on Pintershizz.

Laser scissors

Source: thinkgeek.com via Carmen on Pinterest

 

Erin: Wow.

Ellen: Just tell the boys not to run with them. I’m sure it’ll be fine.

 

 -Ellen and Erin

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