About This Blog
Welcome to my blog. I'm Anne-Marie Nichols, a 40-something WAHM to Nathan, 6, and Lucie, 3. I've been married 12 years to their dad Paul, a scientist. When I'm not doing the mommy thing, I'm a freelance writer, and vice president of the board of directors for a Colorado public charter school. In my spare time I like to sleep, eat, read, and decorate cakes.
I created this online journal to share some entertaining and insightful stories from my own experiences as a writer, domestic engineer, and mom. I encourage you to share this blog with your friends, and hopefully it will spark some lively discussions on issues we can all relate to. Enjoy!
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Aug 15 2008
A new imaginary friend
As I was putting dishes away, I heard Lucie talking to someone. So I asked, "Lucie, who are you talking to?" thinking it was to one of her animal buddies.
"I'm talking to Potato Seal," she replied.
Potato seal? I looked around -- no stuffed toys in sight. "Lucie, who are you talking to?" I asked again.
"The potato!" she said. Lucie pointed to the yam on the table that I was going to cut up and cook for my dinner. "It looks like a seal, Mommy."
I'm glad she has such a vivid imagination. Yet talking to a vegetable is a bit extreme. Before I know it, she'll be having a tea party with the toaster. We need to get a dog for that girl. Or at least something I won't be eating for dinner.
Aug 14 2008
A night at the steakhouse
I never thought I'd have this much fun going out to eat with my family. But there was something special about this evening. I ate my delicious grilled chicken, with a side of yummy mashed yams, all without interruption. My mom and husband enjoyed their steaks and glasses of wine. We all listened to the country western band while we watched football on the big screen.
We adults managed to enjoy our food while the kids were entertained and safe. No, it wasn't Chuck E. Cheese or one of those fast food emporiums with a play area or arcade. No, there weren't any people in animal costumes or clowns, either. This was a nice steak house with delicious, grown-up food.
The secret? This steakhouse has a built-in slide. After taking off their shoes, kids can take a staircase from the dance floor to the slide on the second floor. It's a fast ride, very safe (as long as the kids wait their turn), and since we were seated right on the dance floor, we could watch Lucie and Nathan enjoy the slide. They came by occasionally for some food or a drink of their sodas. But that was it -- just us adults enjoying good food and one other's company.
We need to eat out more often.
Aug 13 2008
Gone fishing
Paul just came back from his yearly Mexican fishing trip. While there are some things I enjoy about him not being at home, like the lack of ESPN and poker tournament viewing, it's very exhausting when he's gone.
First, there are the changes in the children's attitudes and behaviors. Nathan's acting out increases. The kids fight more. Everyone's sleeping pattern changes -- either they pass out very early on the couch because daddy's not home to entertain them (Nathan), or they insist on sleeping with me all night no matter how often I get up and put them back in their bed (Lucie).
But we do fun things too, like get into bed and watch movies. Or I let them watch cartoons late into the night (weekends only, please) so I can get some work done. Or we go on special trips to fast food places or some place fun, like a food and cooking expo.
However, there is usually some kind of catastrophe that happens when Paul is away. No, it's not a trip to the emergency room or a car accident. Instead, one of the fish dies. (We don't have cats or dogs, only fish.) Of course it's all my fault, no matter what the extraneous circumstances are. Like the time the tank heater broke and boiled all the fish to death. Or the time a fish jumped out of the tank and disappeared. (It was behind the furniture and I found its mummified body months later while doing a deep house cleaning.)
This time it was not my fault, even though Paul blames me for my lack of supervision. You see, Lucie fed Nathan's beta fish to death. Sometime on Monday, ironically the day Paul got back, Lucie snuck into Nathan's room and dumped most of the fish food in beta's tank. Instead of one or two pellets, he got a thousand. By that evening when Paul got home, the fish was dead. Of course, I had no idea this happened until he brought the tank downstairs to clean it.
Your honor, I swear that fish was alive on Sunday night when I fed it after putting Nathan to bed. In fact, Lucie has given a full confession to the fish murder. (She's very sorry and helped Daddy say a few nice words about the fish when they flushed it down the toilet).
Yet who's getting the book thrown at her (or at least the evil eye from Daddy)? Mommy, of course.
I've been framed.
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