More than just pranking

In my house, April fools day is more than just a day. We plan and scheme all year to prepare for the big day. I allow the boys to get one or two up on me but I always make sure my schemes get them better! It's good for them to know that I'm capable of tricking them. But honestly? I love that they'll carry on this tradition to their own families and that the memories we've created will last a lifetime.

Here's some of my favorite tried and true pranks to play on your kids. Some are classics but maybe some will be new to you and you can make some more memories with your kiddos!

 - after the kids go to bed, fill a clear cup with juice, insert a straw and freeze. I love watching them suck on the straw till they're blue in the face.

 - I told them we were out of cereal and they could have Oreos for breakfast. I scraped out the cream and replaced it with toothpaste. Ha!

 - I don't do Saran Wrap on the toilet. Funny but mom is the one that has to clean up the pee mess. Um, no thank you. So one year, I put Saran Wrap covering the boys door frames. That one was particularly funny.

 - Three of my favorite food pranks: one) get a cereal bowl and fill it halfway with water then freeze. Then put cereal in it the next morning with just a titch of milk. Two) for lunch, I made the boys a ham and cheese sammich (yes, it's sammich in our house) but I didn't take the wrapper off the cheese slices. And lastly, three) I made a pan of brown E's. I cut out a bunch of E's with brown construction paper, put them in a pan, and covered it with foil. That one pissed them off because what boy doesn't like brownies?

 - One of my favorite pranks I've pulled a couple years now was to set out their clothes for school but have them be too small. (I keep a box of clothes they've grown out of for just this purpose!) I also stuff their shoes with toilet paper. It's a hoot making over "I can't believe how much you grew overnight!" It's the little things that tickle me.

 - My all-time favorite prank however was giving them moustaches and beards while they were sleeping. Gabriel screamed when he looked in the mirror because he thought some man was looking back at him. Michael thought he "became a man" overnight.

This year, I'm going to do the water in the cereal bowl again (I haven't done it in a couple of years), put salt on their toothbrushes, baking soda in their toilet (it foams when they pee!) and duct tape the truck mirror to prank hubby I broke it off.

Happy April fools!!

Dawny Wendy

Happy Easter!!!!

Happy Easter!!! Have a great day Ya' All!!

Xoxo The Wendys

Peanut Butter Crack Dip

The Punkies love Peanut Butter anything buy when I found this dip on Pinterest I knew I would have a hit on my hands!

All you need is

A cup and a half of peanut butter
2 Tablespoons of honey,agave or sugar
8 oz of cream cheese at room temp
a regular size tub of cool whip

I cream the peanut butter, honey and cream cheese together until it is nice and creamy! Then you mix in the cool whip! I usually put it in the fridge for at least an hour for it to all melt together!  That's it!

Easy peasey!

The Punkies like to dip apples, graham crackers, teddy grahams, chocolate bars, their finger.....the list goes on and on!

Then after the Punkies go to bed I like to dip apples, chocolate bars, my fingers........You get the picture!

Enjoy!
xoxoxoxo Nicci Wendy

Pizza and Movie Night -Hop and Peep S'mores

I've told you all about a fun Punkies tradition that every Friday night is Pizza and Movie night in our house!

This week being Easter is just around the corner we will be watching Hop! It is one of the Punkies favorites and we watch it all year round! We know all the words and often you will find Ms. S reciting the lines as we go!

I was trying to think of a good movie snack to go with our Hop theme this week and I knew only one would work......Peep S'mores!

Now I only know one person on this earth that actually eat Peeps and that is my sister Erin,  but we all know she is not right.  But I still buy Peeps when it is Easter time just for this snack!  I can't help but think this would be great for Dawny's boys too! It's kinda like Bunnies gone bad and now they are zombie bunnies!

This is what you need:

Then we use the microwave to make our s'mores!

The Princess likes peanut butter cups to eat in hers while the Boys like to keep it real with regular chocolate bars! We also used chocolate grahams this time!

I hope you all have a awesome Easter!

xoxo Nicci Wendy

Your body after children

When a woman becomes pregnant for the first time, women come out of the woodwork with advice. But what those good intentioned women don't tell you is what having children and being pregnant does to your body long-term.

- You wet yourself when you sneeze, no matter how hard you may clench.

- Pregnancy brain is a real and bonafide thing, except it lasts forever. You don't remember a damn thing for the rest of your life without aid from pen and paper (and that's if you remember where you put that pen and paper in the first place).

- You wet yourself when you laugh, no matter how hard you may clench.

- No matter how perky your breasts were before, they get depressed after children and start dropping.

- You wet yourself when you cough, no matter how hard you may clench.

- Your hair no longer resides around your shoulders, it's permanently in a ponytail.

- You wet yourself when you walk/jump/run, no matter how hard you may clench.

- Stretch marks galore. And for those that had c-sections, a scar to contrast with those stretch marks. I guess it's all about the texture.

- Let us not even talk about the weight. Really. Let's not.

But as I'm sitting here on the couch with my son's head in my lap and my hand in his hair, I realize that it's all ok and I wouldn't change any of my body changes for the world. My 9 yr old says I'm fluffy and what a good pillow my belly makes. He's right. That fluffy belly was earned and it kept the most precious gifts God has given me safe for nine months.

But a warning about the weak bladder crap still would've been nice.



Dawny Wendy

An AWESOME post

When we moved to this new house in January, it needed some work. The landlord is a lovely woman but lives rather far away so some of the cleaning fell to me. I was ok with that actually, I have kids and if I cleaned it, I KNEW it would be clean. Problem was, the previous renters must have smoked like chimneys because there was tar and nicotine everywhere. CAKED onto the windows. It was horrible. The windows were tinged yellow and it was just gross. Nothing worked. Windex with ammonia, vinegar, etc... I was distressed to say the least.

The house came with a handyman of sorts. I idly mentioned the windows to him and he told me to go to Dollar General and get Awesome. He waxed melodic on Awesome for ten minutes. I figured it couldn't hurt so ran to the store and picked it up. I was very cynical because a spray bottle of 20 ounces concentrate was only a buck. Really? I called bullshit but figured for only a dollar it couldn't hurt.

Now this bottle says no acid, no ammonia, no bleach, non flammable. It's a completely non-descript bottle with bare bones packaging. It does not strike the eye! The back lists the dilution scale and says for nicotine buildup not to dilute. So I tried it. And to be honest? I fell off the chair.

The nicotine and tar on the windows literally started dripping off. It cut through it immediately. I literally had clear stripes on my window as the liquid broke through the nicotine and dripped down. I ferociously attacked the rest of my windows with glee.

I didn't think I would use the stuff again save for window cleaning until the other day. Last weekend I rearranged my chest freezer. I accidentally left a bag of frozen blueberries out. I didn't realize it until four days later. The bag had popped open and blueberry juice was on my beautiful new cream colored carpet. And not just juice but fermented juice. Gross!! I grabbed the Awesome, sprayed and doused the stain then walked to the kitchen to get a bowl of hot water to scrub it. I was gone a minute, tops. By the time I walked back, the Awesome had broke down the pigment completely. Completely. It was a light blue color. I cleaned it with hot water and the stain was completely gone. No shit.

If you have kids, run to Dollar General. The spray bottle is a buck, a gallon concentrate is three. The people who made this product are freaking geniuses. For lack of a better word, they're Awesome.

My House looks like a DayCare

Good Morning Lovies!!! I hope everyone had an amazing weekend and your Monday morning is being kind to you!

I once again this weekend moved stuff around in my house.  Right before Christmas I rearranged the Punkies playroom into a playroom/school room.  It wasn't being used, the Punkies won't play up there unless I am sitting in there with them and I don't have hours just to sit and I found it easier to do Homeschooling at the dining room table soooooooo, the house got a total overhaul again.

After going through the toys and donating or throwing away all that was broken or not age appropriate, I brought all the toys and school stuff down stairs and organized our lives!I moved down 6 bookshelves and 24 bins. A mini table or two and chairs and stools.  It turned our really cute but KK came home and said it looks like a day care.  Let's face it with 4 of them everything I do is guided by them!

Now I gotta figure our what to do with the playroom space.  I am pretty sure I am going to use it for the Lil's shared bedroom but I am not sure what else I am going to do it there!

xo Nicci Wendy

Yoooooooooo Gaba Gaba

My Punkies LOVE to sing and dance!!!!! And I do mean LOVE!!!! So when DJ Lance Rock and the Gang announced they were coming to our town we nabbed tickets right away! Now little did Mommy know that she bought FRONT ROW tickets! Cause you know Punkies with sensory issues should be sitting right in front of humongous speakers, lottsa lights and giant stuffed monsters!

That being said the Lil Punkies and I had an amazing time! We sang, we danced,we high fived. It was AWWWWEESOOOOME!

If you have Lils that like Yo Gabba I highly recommend spending the cash and the time and going!

xoxo Nicci Wendy

Meet the Wendys

Dani- aka Cougarella:

At 4'11" tall, with my weight typically hovering in the high 120's (all-time adult low 113 lbs and all-time high 130 lbs) I have been described as "stocky" and "thick", compared to a French bulldog, and as a little girl my family's nickname for me was "Hamhocks". If I work really hard I can keep my weight in the low 120's, but I fall down over and over again. I love to cook, I have a sweet tooth, and I have a much younger-than-me sweetie with a taste for meat, potatoes, whole milk and cheese, and a racehorse metabolism. Fortunately, I love to play and I'm a practitioner of Bikram yoga. It is a constant challenge. Another of my challenges is that I changed careers when I was 37 years old and am now in my first year as a Graduate Gemologist, earning a lower salary than I have in many years. Negotiating a relationship with a younger man, yoga, gemstones, work, budgeting and creative DIY solutions to expensive problems are always on topic!

Dawn - aka Dawny

Mother of two pretty cool boys, married since 1998.  I've been a social worker most of my life and truly believe that I was put on this Earth to serve those less fortunate.  I'm not witty or funny like my other three lovelies on here but I will give it a try!  I tend to talk too much about my children, my television viewing habits, along with a few soapboxes thrown in.  I'm a major pop culture junkie and will talk your ear off about the 2011 Oscars because I was in the bleachers for the red carpet! I'm an unashamed nerd and teach my children to embrace their nerdiness as one day, those that mock them will work for them.

Nicci- akaMommy Cole 

Mother of 4 adopted Punkies! Adopted through foster care and all 4 are "special needs". Lived in Bay Area for almost 20 years, moved to So Cal then up to the Great Northwest a couple of years ago.  Did sales and education for a sex toy company for many years before becoming a stay at home Mommy! I'm inviting you into my world sit back and enjoy the ride!

Mary:- aka Scary Mary. 

MOther of 6 yr old twins and a 15 year old son. Before I was a wife and mom,. I was a procurement and contracts manager for a large privately owned Engineering and construction company; I wore cute clothes, fell in love, had an office that looked out on the San Francisco Bay and traveled until my heart was content. After the twins were born, we made the conscious decision to leave the big city and raise our kids in a sleepy little town in Wyoming, with me as a stay at home mom. These are my stories.

Hair Baubles

My little Princess wears something in her hair daily! She loves flowers, butterflies,lady bugs, anything girlie.

We use a lot of moisturizer in her hair and it can kill the life of the hair bauble quickly! So I started making them for her because we were going through a ton every few months. 

I found out the Bestie used to make them before we got the Princess and we decided to add it to our list of what we will make when we get our store up and running!

When we were there visiting last month we sat down and banged some out for the Princess and some of her buddies!

It was a fun couple of hours and we make over 50 flowers!

Dani's Weekly Flowers

I usually get a selection of inexpensive flowers each week when I go grocery shopping. Most of them come from Trader Joe's. 

This week they had lilies on sale for $2.99. The crazy looking orange things are called Protea and they were $4.99. I forgot what the little purple ones are called but they were $3.99. So for around $11 I got a nice big bouquet!

xo Dani Wendy

Spring Cleaning: Declutter Your Shower!

Happy first day of spring! Here's a good, quick "shower declutter" plan.

1) Lay a towel on the counter or the floor. Take every item out of your shower, and lay it all on the towel.

2) start consolidating and purging your products. Do you have several bottles of shampoo and body wash that are nearly empty? Or has that bottle of face wash that you don't really like and therefore haven't used for the past three months just been sitting there? Consolidate all your gels into one bottle. Use this mixture to refill your refillable soap pump. 

(As long as you don't get a clear soap pump, it doesn't matter if the colors of the gels look ugly together, and so what if it's a mix of fragrances?)

• throw away any teeny slivers of soap and any gunked-up razors
  
• assess your sponge, washcloth or loofah -  is is falling apart? 

         Growing mold? It might be time to toss that out and get a new

          one!

3) Assess your shower curtain-liner. Is is shredded, moldy, stained and gross? If it's the type that you can wash in the machine, you might want to do that now. It might be time to replace it with a fresh one. If it's in good shape then you just need a spritz of cleaner and a rinse! 

4) if you have toys in the shower stall/tub, assess the toys. Dry them off. Are there any that your kids don't even play with any longer? Get rid of those. Go grab a large Ziplock gallon-size bag from the kitchen and put several of the remaining toys in there and stash them under the sink. You don't need THAT MANY TOYS living right there in the tub! 

5) Now that your shower is completely empty, it's a lot easier to clean it! I have a quick two-step process that I love:

(First, put on your cleaning gloves. It really is the best thing you can do to protect your skin and your jewelry.)

• Step 1 -  Toss water around onto the shower walls. Spray surfaces with Method bathroom cleaner. This stuff smells good, like eucalyptus-mint. It's supposedly a better-for-you and better for the environment cleaning product. Let it sit a few minutes, then wipe the walls from the top down with the spongy side of a cleaning sponge. Rinse the walls... the nice thing about using a natural/safe cleanser that smells good is that if you don't rinse perfectly, it's okay that there's some cleaner lingering.
  
• Step 2 - Lightly sprinkle Bon Ami powder cleanser onto the bottom of the tub, where you have remaining water + cleanser (Bon Ami doesn't smell like anything, and it's made from ground feldspar and limestone to create its grittiness. Moonstone is a feldspar!).Scrub around in circular motions in the Bon Ami/Method/water mix with the abrasive side of your sponge. Rinse. 

Okay, there is a step 3, sort of. Go get a fan and set it up so that it will aim into the shower. Air out the now-clean shower stall for a good long time. This keeps stuff from growing in there. Dry it out! 

Some people would say this is half-assed or it's not "really clean" after this fairly mild two-step process. The skeptics are not happy until their nostril hairs are burning from the smell of the bleach, their hands are reddened and chapped, and oh! an accent diamond just fell out of their ring! Here's the thing: if you have moldy grout, you need to re-grout. If you have those sliding shower doors that collect tons of hard water mineral and mildew and other gunk, take those down, patch the holes left behind (they typically attach with just a few screws!) and paint the patch with some repair paint that matches the color of your tub/tile. Then put up a tension shower curtain rod and a curtain and liner (you can do the repairs, a rod and the linens for under $50). If your hardware is deteriorating and rusted, you need to replace that hardware. Bleach and harsh chemicals and your bulging biceps aren't going to help. Home maintenance is another post, but for now, take a good hard look at your shower and get de-cluttering. 

Two Rules of Cleaning and De-Cluttering:

Have compassion for yourself!

It's okay if it's disgusting in there. Today's a new day and you are starting anew today. Wearing gloves is part of having compassion for yourself. Don't punish your skin or your manicure because you let your shower get dirty. Yes, you really do deserve to wear gloves. You are worth it! 

80% Perfection!

It's hard for perfectionists-- everything is so disappointing, most of the time, and perfectionists are toughest on themselves. Don't aim for "perfection". In fact, try to erase that word from your vocabulary! Can't let go of perfection? Aim for 80% perfection! It doesn't have to be perfect-- it will be cleaner when you finish than when you start, and that's great. Try on this attitude and I guarantee your house will be cleaner in a month than it's ever been. 

xo Dani Wendy

A Carrot is Not a Cracker!

For the first time ever, I ate this diet lunch that I have been watching people (and the people are almost always women and gay males, not to stereotype, but this is my personal observation) eat for years. It's a lunch of hummus and raw vegetables. Now hummus is great, and vegetables are great, but this sounds more like a side salad to me, or at best a snack that your mom will allow you to eat an hour before dinner because she knows it won't ruin your appetite than a proper "lunch".  The first person I observed regularly eating this lunch was a coworker several years back. Some of us used to make microwave popcorn but then we were suddenly forbidden from doing so because, our department manager told us it triggered her. That's all we were told, that it "...is triggering to someone in our department." I observed this person carefully stacking her little containers of raw vegetables and her hummus in the mini fridge one day and I asked her if those were her salads for the week. She got kind of mad and said it was her food for the day. "I eat a lot," she said, defensively. "That's cool... me too," I said, not quite knowing what to say. I had another coworker at a later job who ate the same thing every day. She just ate raw vegetables all the time, often with hummus. When I asked her why, she said she was a vegetarian but she didn't know how to cook very many foods, so raw vegetables and hummus were pretty much all she ate, except for on the weekends when she'd go to restaurants.  Today I had a salad and some carrots and mini sweet peppers with me for part of my lunch (I also had  a yogurt and a homemade blueberry muffin for breakfast and a string cheese for later).  I got yelled at for not taking my  lunch break in a timely fashion, thereby inconveniencing others who have to deign answer the phone in my absence, so doing penance for being such a horrid employee, I did a work errand during lunch and picked up a carton of homemade hummus from the local deli and hustled back to work in 15 minutes.  I figured I'd dip my cucumbers and sweet peppers. I was supposed to have some cut up chicken that was left over from last night, but I guess my sweetie Jake and I forgot to pack the chicken. I also forgot my dressing. My salad suddenly got pretty depressing without chicken or dressing, so I started dipping forkfuls of salad into the hummus, thereby joining the raw-vegetables-and-hummus diet lunch club.  I mean, it was okay. The hummus was delicious but I just feel it's too self-punishing to eat it without crackers or pita or tortilla chips. A carrot is not a cracker. A cucumber slice is not a cracker. So much for me and the hummus-and-vegetables diet...\ xo Dani Wendy

Spring Cleaning: Declutter Your Make Up Bag!

It's daylight savings and time to declutter your life! I will be posting two "declutters" per week for the next month.  Since makeup is one of my favorite things, let's begin with a makeup declutter. First, get some tissues or paper towels and rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer. Now dump out all your makeup out of your makeup bag, drawer, Kaboodle, purses, etc. onto a flat surface where you can spread it all out, like a coffeetable or the floor.  Now sort into categories, like eye makeup, blush, face (meaning powder, concealers, foundations) and lip stuff.  Start throwing away anything you don't wear. You and I both know you have makeup you just pass up all the time because you don't really like it for whatever reason. Just toss it! Don't worry about being wasteful or your bestie gave it to you three years ago. Toss it!  Now look at your favorite things, which are probably all worn down, the cases may be broken, the pencil less than 3 inches long now, the favorite brush all splayed out and gunked up with too many eyeshadow colors. Decide what needs to be replaced. if you can afford it, replace it all. If you want to use it all up first or get new items slowly as they go on sale, take your tissues and alcohol and clean and wipe all the cases. Wipe a little bit off the tops of all your powders in a flat, gentle wiping motion so you reveal a fresh new surface. Sharpen all the dull pencils. Squeeze the fluffy parts of brushes in a paper towel dampened with alcohol and wipe a few times.  Now may be the time to toss your nasty makeup bag! Go for a Ziplock freezer bag for now, and pretty soon treat yourself to a new handmade bag from Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade goods, or the Vera Bradley makeup bag that I really like because it's lined with plastic and you can toss it into the washing machine!  xo Dani Wendy

The State of Childlessness

I recently enjoyed a few days with my bestie and her two younger children, ages 3 and 4. The three year old I have known since he was still a baby, and bald, and it's pretty amazing that he has a head of light brown curls and can talk and play games now. The four year old, not to play favorites, is hands down my favorite child in the whole world! For one thing, she's sweet and happy most of the time, she's girly and meticulous, which I love, and she seems utterly delighted by everything from a cookie to a barrette to being pushed high up into the air on a swing. She's also adorable, and I couldn't walk down the street with her without five people stopping me to tell her how cute she is and ask her her name. She kinda makes my heart feel like Pop Rocks or carbonated cherry soda, and she always has, even when she was too young to speak and would gently poke her finger in my dimple and then touch her own dimple and laugh. I also have a ten year old half-sister. I enjoy children a lot, and I like playing with them and especially challenging them physically, but I don't have any kids of my own, and I'll be 40 in less than a month. That doesn't seem like such a big deal, and people tell me, "You have time!" but there is a big age difference between my sweetie and me-- he is all of 25 years old.  (I realize that's another blog post in and of itself.) Likely he won't be ready for children for at least another 5-7 years, so realistically, I don't know... will I want to be pregnant when I'm  47? I don't think so. My best friend's kids are adopted and my sweetie is also adopted, so adoption is certainly an option that we are not just considering, but leaning toward. Add the facts that I am woefully immature when it comes to certain things, just started a new career two years ago and am being paid like someone who is just starting out in a career, and I kind of enjoy having an immaculately clean house, and... that adds up to a state of childlessness that may end up being a forever thing. Ever since I was a young woman I've always felt, "I love kids, so one day. Just not right now," and at age 39 I still feel the same way! People who don't have kids aren't the selfish, cold, career-driven creatures that others stereotype them to be... sometimes it just "happens to be". xo Dani Wendy

The Crazy World That Is Tater

My Baby will be 4 in just over a month.  It is hard to believe so much time past so quickly.

We call him Tater.  When the social worker brought him to the house Buddha came over to look at the bundle she had all wrapped up and she said,"What do you think?".  Bu replied, "He looks like a tater, a sweet tater doesn't he?". So Tater it has been ever since!

Tater is sweet, crazy hyper, smart, but more that anything he is hilarious!  He has always been somewhat of a clown but as he gets older the stuff that he does and says is just more and more hilarious!

His latest is just priceless!  While we were on a little trip we were in a candy/toy shop and he saw a stuffed toy crab that he decided he needed.  I bought him the crab(along with a ton of sugar) and we exited the store out on to a cute street lined with restaurants and cute shops.

As we walked back towards the trolley there was a young 20 something woman with long hair. Tater stops and says I gotta crab....the kind you eat!  She starts "awwwwing" and telling him how cute he is....He then turns to her and says,"I'm taking you for a crab dinner" in his best grown boy voice.  His Aunt D had to tell the woman what he said, then everyone but Tater laughed cause he was trying to get his mack on and Mommy and Aunt D were dissing him! 

xo Nicci Wendy

A Few Days with the Bestie and the World is Right Again!

I love...no adore my children.  They are my life and I spend pretty much 24/7 with them.  Homeschooling is a choice we made for our kids because each one has different needs and not that there are not AMAZING teachers out there but I know them best and how they tick so for right now this is what works for us. The Bigs(my 5 and 7 year olds) both have a traumatic past, couple that with attachment issues and you have RAD. They push my limits every day. They lie about me. They swear at me. They blame me for everything that has happened to them.  So no matter how much I do, and hug and squeeze...I'm still the one they attack day after day. There are days this makes me very sad. There are days I feel frustrated and that it's unfair. But mostly I just want to help them mend and heal. Needless to say every once in awhile I need a break.  This makes me feel incredibly guilty.  I struggle with taking the much needed break but every time I do I come back a bit stronger and more patient. I recently took the Lils( my 3 and 4 year olds) and went to visit my Bestie in San Diego.                                                 There is nothing like a girl friend who just is family.  D is my sister. It's easy, we don't have to try.  We spend our time effortlessly and I don't feel the need to explain myself or my choices as a parent.  She's been part of the kids lives pretty much since we got them and they adore her.  I trust her. I appreciate her. I love her.                                             For the first time in months I slept while I was there.  She has a new place and she has made it a home.  Even the Punkies were comfy and they don't do change at all.                                            We are now home.  The Bigs pulled a lot of crap the 3 days I was gone but I feel calm, and in tune with what needs to be done.  I left the guilt at the airport and feel like I am ready to give them what they need. I am blessed to have several friends who are a huge support to me. My girls and I talk daily via Facebook and text. My tribe checks in with my on a regular basis and I share my world with them through this blog,the phone and again Facebook.   Again there is nothing better than a few days with the Bestie to kick my butt and revive me!  Thanks D!!!xoxoxoxoxooxox Nicci Wendy

I love my girl friends  We spend the day texting and messaging about various topics but the common theme that comes up daily from all of them is us discussing weight...How to lose weight, working out, what we're eating, what everyone else is eating, someone we know just doesn't eat, someone we know had "the surgery", we have nothing to wear, we only wear yoga pants and hoodies that are 3 sizes to big......WE are obsessed! I have always been a big girl, well I'm totally short but I am fat.  I have always been fat.  I most likely will always be fat by societies standards.  I would like to get more healthy.  I want to live a long time for my Punkies but I have no illusions that I am going to look like Demi Moore in a bikini. The thing that bothers me is listening to my girls talk about how they feel about themselves, they are beautiful women! But because they don't look like they did when they were 20 with no kids or pressures that they face today. Don't have time to run that 10 miles before they rush off to work and don't eat all day then have 3 glasses of wine for dinner before they jump on the treadmill to do an hour while they catch up on their favorite shows...They don't have the same bodies, or metabolizism or time.....So they think somehow that makes them fat, ugly and undesirable. Don't get me wrong I have my hang ups about myself, but these women are beautiful and I think if I asked their husbands/partners they would tell me they still think they are sexy as all get out. So that gets me thinking, I know! Trouble right?!  Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we beat ourselves up? So I started listening a little closer to what was being said..."So and So spends 2 hours a day working out", "I have no time so I ate a burger at Mc D's when I got the kids happy pails", "I was so stressed out about seeing the girls from high school I didn't eat for a week then ate a loaf of bread the next day".....I recently started writing down everything I put in my mouth and you don't realize how much you just throw in as you are cleaning off the table( I don't have time for dinner but I ate the Punkies last 4 french fries)... We need to be more gentle on ourselves and on each other as women! I am not saying fat is good for me, but I will never be the size 0 that the magazines say I should be.  I have a real life with real stresses and no time.  Again, I want to be healthy and I will most likely never stop obsessing but I hope I can find a place with my girl friends that we can learn to love our bodies and stop worrying about what that group over there is saying! I want my daughter to be healthy and happy and I gotta keep reminding myself that its me and my girls that are teaching her! xo Nicci Wendy

Cornbread Casserole

I got this recipe from my mother and it's fantastic!  I'm required to make it every Thanksgiving.  I also make it whenever my little heart desires.  It's easy-peasy and quite fantastic!

 - 1 box Jiffy mix

 - 1 can whole kernel corn undrained

 - 1 can cream style corn

 - 2 eggs beaten

 - 1 stick butter melted

 - 8 oz sour cream

 - sliced swiss cheese

Preheat oven at 350.

This is a dump and mix, people!  Dump everything in a bowl (except the swiss cheese) and mix!  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  Then cover with swiss cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Even if you don't like swiss cheese, I HIGHLY recommend it.  I've tried it before with cheddar and American and it just wasn't the same.

Enjoy!

xo Dawny Wendy

To Reunion or Not

This past summer, I attended my 20 year class reunion.  It was our first since graduation in 1992.  I had quite a bit of social anxiety about it.  High school wasn't the easiest for me, I wasn't a jock, I wasn't a nerd, I wasn't social or popular...I was just me.  At the time, being me wasn't nearly enough, or at least I thought it wasn't.

I played sports (softball and basketball) but didn't excel in either.  I got decent grades but didn't excel there either.  My sister was a freshman when I was a senior and infinitely more popular than I could ever have hoped to have been.  She was thinner, prettier, boyfriends, athletic, etc...  I just didn't feel a sense of belonging.

I was bullied quite a bit.  Looking back now, I wish I would've told my parents more of what went on.  They knew certain events and whatnot, but not all of it.  Being a parent now, I hope my sons will come to me if anything similar ever happens to them so I can give them the chance to let someone stick up for them, have their back.  I didn't always give my parents that chance.  I didn't give any friends the chance either.  I assumed that since the bullies were more popular, their "side" would be believed.  Hindsight and all that.

When the invitation for the reunion came in the mail, I had a sit down talk with my husband about going.  I didn't want to go/not go for the wrong reasons.  He convinced me that I not only needed the closure for that part of my life but to also convince myself that I'm NOT that person anymore, that it's ok to be proud of yourself and your accomplishment and namely, that who I am now was always inside me.  I had the insane worry that being around any of those bullies would cause me to revert back to that high school persona.

I was nervous up to the moment of walking in the door where the reunion was held.  I stood in front of that door with my husband's hand on the small of my back and realized that 1) again, I wasn't giving any of those I may have considered a friend back then a chance.  I was assuming what the reunion was going to be. 2)  I wasn't giving MYSELF a chance.  I WASN'T who I used to be.  I'm someone I'm proud of. 3) There was going to be beer!  4) My favorite teacher, who also happened to be my cousin, was going to be there.

I'm glad I went.  If nothing else, it reminded me how lucky I am.  I have an amazing family and life.  I may not have had many boyfriends in school but I'm still married to the love of my life (and consequently it's been my only marriage).  I've helped people and families, I serve those less fortunate.  The friends I have now I may not see very often (looking at you Pontiac girls) but I know they love me and will be there for me when I need them.  My parents are still young enough to be an active force in mine and my children's lives.  I'm pretty damn lucky.

Pretty sure I'll be going to the next one.

xo Dawny Wendy