In honor of my Polish theme, I'm posting Wordless(ful) Wednesday on Thursday!

WW: It's a Polish thing...........
My husband and his whole family (paternal and maternal sides) are 100% Polish.
They are VERY proud of their heritage.


I bet you couldn't tell.

For more wordful Wednesdays please visit Angie or click on the Seven Clown Circus button on my sidebar!


A man walked into a bar and asked the bartender, "Hey, have you heard the latest Pollack joke?" The bartender replied, coldly, "No. And I'll have you know I'm Polish." That's O.K.," said the man, "I'll talk slow."

A Pollack walked into a bar and sat down at the bar, where a news report was on TV. On the news a man was on a ledge outside an upper floor of a building threatening to jump. The bartender, who'd seen the news report before said, "I'll bet you $50 he's going to jump." The Pollack took the bet and put down a $50 bill on the bar. Then the man on the ledge jumped to his death. The bartender picked up the $50 bill but then, realizing that he'd taken advantage of a poor, dumb Pollack, his conscience got the better of him and he said, "Look, I'm going to give you back your money. I have to confess that I saw that news report before." "That's O.K.," said the Pollack, "I saw it before too, but I didn't think he was gonna do it again!"

PSF and BIG FISH

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I have never been a fan of fishing. I refuse to touch a worm, I run away from the pole if the fish starts bouncing around once it's been caught, and I absolutely WILL NOT touch a fish. I don't eat fish, can't tolerate the smell of fish, and if they are pets in my home, I will absolutely (although not intentionally) kill them--go here and here and here for examples of my fish extermination.

But, Sophie likes to fish with her daddy and he bought her a little princess pole all for herself. Last weekend I thought, well, I suppose I could sit in the sun for a bit and just watch the two of them catch some fish. I do tend to worship the sun, so how bad could it be?

Once I saw Sophie holding her fishing pole and asking what to do if she catches one, I wanted one two! It took about 2 more minutes before I took over Nate's fishing pole. I actually liked it! The anticipation of whether a fish would bite or not was fun, and let me tell you--when they did bite? Holy cow-how exciting to reel it in! It was so cool! We ended up fishing both Saturday and Sunday and had tons of fun. Weird huh?



Sophie and I caught the very 1st fish of the day at the exact same time!!!! Mine was the big one! Neither one of us would go near them though so Nate double fisted the fish!



Here's mine up close--we named him Buster the Bass!



Look at Nate's forearm--yep--that's gross huh? That little fish must have seen me standing there-I am after all--the evil executioner!



Sophie was thrilled see got a fish, and in mommy style-kept her distance!



Sophie caught a total of 3 fish that day-had to show Nate her GOD BLESS pose! (Look at the muscle in her legs and shoulders--man she is strong!)


Piece of cake--this is sooooo easy!



Nate's big catch the next day. Sophie had long since lost interest. She liked chillin' in the shade with her puppy.

This one was named Walter (about a 3 pound bass) because the day before Nate swore it was the 'one that got away' when Sophie and I ran home to grab the picnic lunch. He was so excited when Walter came back out to play on Sunday--just to prove he existed!

Admitting it is half the battle.......

Guess what? I'm so naive. I am finally admitting it. I know parents with only one kid really don't have the right to an opinion.....now I get why. You see, I have been enjoying all of the little kid quirks that I read about in the blog-o-sphere like peanut butter covered cell phones and outdoor urinals in the bushes, because I honestly didn't think Sophie would ever pull these sort of tricks. Really. Not MY kid-she's such a well-behaved, perfectly sweet little girl! Well, she's is all of those things, but she is also a completely normal kid like everyone else, and is starting to learn the joy of 'what will happen if I do this?' syndrome. I am truly naive!

The other night Sophie and I were having our pre-bedtime Popsicle in the family room while we watched T.V. with Nate. I thought Sophie was pretty content playing Barbies and didn't seem to need my attention, so I was actually concentrating on the show. About every 45 seconds Sophie would run into the kitchen, do something, and come running back into the family. She must have done it have a half-dozen times before I finally noticed.

Sophie, what'cha doin? (I said this sweetly with as much interest as possible so she doesn't clam up--or try to pull a cover up.)

Making juice.

Really? How? I didn't ask these questions, but she was so honest and proud of herself when she answered that I was intrigued. So I got up to see.

Guess what happens to Popsicles when you take them out of the freezer?

Guess where a red Popsicle shows up the best when it doesn't get eaten?

Guess who doesn't get to leave the room when she eats a Popsicle anymore!

As I was cleaning up the hallway floor, I asked her if she had planned on drinking the juice. Without missing a beat she said, "Moooommy, I drink juice from my sippy cup. This juice is for Jackers!" I'm willing to bet he's the only dog who gets served Popsicle off a foyer floor-right?

So after this little episode, I decided to take a closer look around the toy room(s) and found that she has in fact begun experimenting. First, she ground an entire cherry cola lipsmacker into the top of the princess lamp on her little picnic table. It looks like a lava lamp now. Then I saw the crayon marks on her play kitchen that lead right up to a picture hanging on the wall-back down to the floor. AND, the other day Nate came running upstairs in the morning while I was putting on my makeup to grab the plunger. A) -he scared me and I poked my eye with the eye pencil. B) -Sophie was left to tinkle by herself. I didn't go near the downstairs bathroom until he was completely finished-I know myself too well.

So it starts. My innocent little girl is officially a normal kid. I can't wait to see what else she does! I'm actually kind of excited too-to tell you the truth. She's pretty clever, so there's no telling what she'll come up with --PLUS-- it will give me some more good blog material.

*************************************************

Sophie, let's learn to speak French!

Why? (She was completely UNinterested.)

So we can go to France!

You want to go to what? (She asked this like I had just said a bad word! Nothing against France I'm sure because she apparently doesn't know what it is yet.--oh and I love that she said what instead of where!)

*************************************************

Sophie, can you clean up your Barbie's before we go up to bed?

No thanks!

Sophie, clean up your Barbies --please --it's bedtime.

Um, not just yet.

Sophie, you can clean up your Barbies, because if I have to do it-I'm throwing them away!

Mooooomy, can you just give me a hand please?

**sigh** How about asking Daddy to help you-while he laughs his head off?

(Nice to know we amuse someone!)

Oh yeah--I left the bag of fortune cookies on the table last week. Yep--every single cookie was opened, the fortune UNread because she can't quite read yet, and the entire bag of cookies crumbled across the kitchen table to the floor to the family room. She's sooooooo normal!

WW: Magic pencil!

NOW YOU SEE HER!



NOW YOU DON'T!

Anyone moving to Chicago? Want to invest in a condo?

A little FYI: my husband's business partner has some Chicago property for sale. For more info please go to my other blog--Widloe World--I posted a slideshow and contact info there.

PSF and a Guessing Game.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

They say that 50 is the new 30. Is it true?

The following is a list of tasks for a young woman to accomplish on her birthday.

1. Appointment at the hair salon for a cut and color.
2. Trip to the mall with friends for a 'power' shop--candles, perfume, make-up, cd's.
3. Late lunch at some non-healthy yummy restaurant.
4. Home for a strawberry themed birthday party from Cold Stone Creamery: strawberry blonde ice cream, strawberry shortcake pie, strawberry passion cake, and strawberry banana rendezvous.
5. Watch her favorite summer olympic finalists to see if USA wins more gold. (she only gets to do this every 4 years, the first (for her) being in 1976)

Can you guess her age?

I'll give you some more hints.......

The music on the CD Walkman while waiting for her color to take is OMD and The Church. Her perfume is most likely LAUREN by Ralph Lauren or POISON by Christian Dior. Her make-up will include zinc pink. Her cd's will most likely be a pick between Midnight Oil, INXS, Gun-N-Roses, Poison, Madonna, and Cheap Trick. Oh, and since she's a cheerleader at heart, she may look at Paula Abdul's, Forever your Girl.

Can you guess now? Does 1988 ring a bell for anyone?
If you guessed 15 (35) you'd be right!
There are only a few things different: no starbucks back then and today I will be on a hunt for the new coffee mug; I didn't even have a boyfriend when I turned 15 much less a husband; there's is no chance in h*ll I could still fit into my cheerleading uniform. sigh.

How fun is it that 20 years later I am still doing exactly the same things I did back in my teen years? Birthdays NEVER get old, just people! I hope I am still celebrating like this 20 years from now when I hit middle age;) (seriously 42 is my actual 'scary' year but I hope to push it back to 55--I would just love to make the centurian club someday!)

BUT, the good news is I'm not in high school anymore (THANK GOD) and here are a bunch of reasons why I would never go back................................................


painting with water colors with mommy for the first time. soooo fun!

Sophie is one serious arteast!

Hanging out with Mommy at Johnny Rockets-dancin' in the seats! The two of us bellied up to the counter to sit on the 'high' chairs and proceeded to spin in circles laughing our heads off.

(trying to pick my nose--eeeewwwww!)



She didn't want me to interupt her singing with all of my picture taking!

Swimming in the pool turned to playing in the rain turned to freezing in the air conditioning while watching an afternoon movie with her cousin Jamey.

Our latest trip to the zoo.

I sooooo want to buy one of these picnic tables!

Sophie was actually chasing my shadow trying to stomp on my head.

Today I am truly -- truly grateful for growing 20 years mentally and a little physically (alright a lot physically), while stopping my emotional maturity from ever reaching adult status -- to achieve maximum longevity. So I suppose they are right about 50 being the new 30. The trick is just to simply ACT at least 20 years younger. How easy is that? Happy Birthday to me!

Thursday 13: Boost Mom-Confidence & Wife-Esteem

Lately, I've been telling myself that I don't have time to do the things I love and enjoy because my 'responsibilities' are more important. As if in my own head other stuff needs to come before me --like cleaning and cooking. Um, yeah--don't think so. Now, I have no problems putting Sophie ahead of me, and when necessary Nate too, but to put washing a floor or folding laundry ahead of what makes me--me? No way! Yeah, I am quickly-but not soon enough-correcting this thinking. So, here's something that has been on my mind lately as I begin to wind down after ONE.CRAZY.SUMMER!

1. TELL MYSELF I'M GREAT! No kidding. Each night before bed I make sure to tell Sophie how fantastic I think she is, (read about that here) and each morning I do the same for myself. I have a personal "ME" journal where I write all the good stuff I can think of. This way I can start each day with a reason to be happy-with myself. It is VERY easy for me to forget ME when praying about how grateful I am for things. I really think it helps me to be a better mom: more patient, tolerant, kind, understanding, and loving. So like in the movie Enchanted, should I be asked, "Do I like myself?" I will honestly be able to reply, "What's not to like?"

2. TALK LIKE A BAD A*S IN THE CAR WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG. This sounds stupid, but seriously, I'm a big chicken when it comes to telling people off, so I pretend I get the chance when I'm in the car. This way I can voice my authority and superiority (even though I know I don't have any) over the little twit who couldn't bag the groceries right causing the bag to rip when entering the car. This avoids my becoming that grumpy, mean lady at the store--you know, like the one who pitches a fit when her peaches don't ring up for the sale price and holds up 5 people in line for 15 minutes over a whopping $.30. Yeah, you know the one. So I can be nice, cheerful, and understanding in the store, and still get to b*tch about it, without hurting feelings-while acting like a bad chick who doesn't put up with nonsense. This totally makes me feel somehow~~ powerful?? Sounds weird, but so true.

3. TEACH SOPHIE SOMETHING NEW. Nothing makes me feel more confident as a mom than seeing Sophie accomplish a brand new task, learn a new skill, or simply have a 'light bulb' moment. Last night while she was playing with her foam letters in the bathtub, she finally realized that a group of letters make up a word! WHOOHOO for reading! Anyway, she said, "Look Mommy, I spelled the word cup! ZCDAPTU!!!:) A little bit of work on the particulars and she'll be reading in no time--WHOOHOO for Sophie! See? I totally rock!;)

4. SING LIKE A ROCK STAR. No matter where I am, or who I am with, singing ALWAYS makes me feel good. Sometimes it's the songs I listen to, sometimes it's the people hearing me sing well that makes me feel good, and sometimes it's just the simple act of doing anything other than cleaning that makes me feel good. Singing rocks!

5. EXERCISE. Ugh. Had to put this on the list. As hard as it is to admit, and even harder to actually start doing, I ALWAYS feel great about myself, like I can 'conquer-the-world' great, after a rock star round of TAE-BO, or a marathon race on the elliptical. (The treadmill is officially stupid and will be ignored by me indefinitely.)

6. DAYDREAM. Sometimes it's fun to just let my mind wander, relax, and think about the impossible or unimaginable happening-(like winning 10 mil in the lottery) and what life is like if it happened. Lately I've been daydreaming about Sophie becoming an Olympian--in every sport of course and what our life looks like that way. I always feel so inspired when I think about the possibilities in front of us that it actually gives me a little boost in creativity-and a little zest in our family life. The other night a bunch of us ROARed with laughter daydreaming about what the U.S. Diving team would look like if Nate and his best friend Chris were the new duo for synchronized diving! (you had to be there)

7. READ SPIRITUAL BOOKS. In addition to my "me" journal, I also like to read a little something uplifting everyday. For the past two years, my husband and I have been reading Joel Osteen books-a couple of pages a day and talking about them each morning before we start our day. It's how 'connect' on a mental and spiritual level to keep our marriage as strong as possible. Our morning time (while Sophie is still sleeping) is my favorite part of the day (as a wife) because we get to focus on us as a couple whether we are talking about God, or ourselves, or our parenting. It's nice.

8. LEARN SOMETHING NEW. I'm a nut for learning, so every couple of months or so I like to tackle new projects and teach myself something in the areas I like to play in --like digital scrap booking, html codes, or preschool activities and crafts. The new ones I am starting soon are photography (once I buy the new camera) and homeschooling 'Montessori' style for preschool. Learning new things help to remind me that I have purpose in this world-and I also have lots to contribute to it.

9. PLAY LIKE A 3 YEAR OLD. This might be my favorite way to stay confident as a wife, mother, and even a woman. There is nothing more exciting to me than going to the zoo and having a hot pretzel while oogling the silly polar bears, and then heading off to the petting zoo to laugh my head off when the donkey starts squawking and makes me jump ten feet. OR- eating giant lollipops while wearing a silly hat on my head and watching the Wizard of Oz. Or taking a bike ride stopping at all of the parks in the neighborhood pretending that Sophie is the princess and I am the queen. Yesterday I had to be the evil queen. nice. When we got home though I felt really satisfied that I spend great quantity and quality time with Sophie and even though I hadn't even brushed her hair that morning I was still one-great-mom!

10. SPEND GOOD QUALITY TIME WITH HUBBY. We try to take time for 'just us' in addition to our morning talks to laugh and play like only married couples can. It's always fun to be together and last weekend we got a reminder of how much fun we have when we went to a White Sox game--it was awesome. We don't get a lot of this kind of time anymore, but we certainly appreciate it and know that it is a vital part of our lives together.

11. EAT HEALTHY FOOD. I've discovered that what makes my taste buds happy, almost always makes my tummy (and mood) icky. Twizzlers even has a commercial out there, 'makes mouths happy' but they neglect to mention what candy does to the rest of the body. So, healthy food for confidence. Easier said then done. BUT, if I am eating it, there's a good shot that my family will too. That makes me feel like a better mom, you know what I mean? (Even though a bag of carrots will never taste as good as a bag of chips, they certainly make me feel good!)

12. MAKE A TOUGH DECISION AND STICK TO IT. I didn't learn this one until Sophie was born. I learned that once a decision for my family was made, I had to make it my own and not compare to others. This was tough, but it really helped me to understand the 'what works for us' mentality especially in the parenting and married arenas. I was able to not only make the decisions, but not regret them as well; I choose to bottle feed instead of nurse; I choose to use smart love parenting over the other more popular types; I choose co-sleep (and still do btw); I recently made the decision to home school preschool for one more year. These were all very hard decisions to make. I've made even tougher ones with my marriage, but for the sake of post-length I won't divulge all of them. It really helps my confidence and esteem to know that I choose the things I choose for very specific reasons-no matter who agrees or disagrees. I really like 'what works for us!'

13. PRAY. I decided to put this one last because I think it's the most important. While I am not a religious person, I do believe in God, and I believe a relationship with God is incredibly important for long term health and happiness. Some people like to go to church, some people like to pray before a meal, some people get on their knees by the sides of their beds at night, and some people pray whenever and wherever. I'm in that last category, but mostly I pray in the mornings and I try to stick to what I am grateful for. An attitude of gratitude can help me through the rough, boring, happy, mundane, exhausting, scary, hysterical, and crazy parts of life-pretty much keep me seated while riding this never-ending roller coaster. When I am close to God, I am a better person all around-thus helping me be a better mom and wife.

So, there it is-some of the things that make me the mom and wife I am today. Just thought I'd share. I can't wait for this non-structured, hazy, lazy, crazy days of summer to come to an end. It happens every year right around this time that I have officially had ENOUGH! I want my schedule back!

Just practicing...........size still matters....

I've been wondering about the size of the pictures I keep seeing in the WW meme and the PSF games I play. How do you get such giant pictures in your posts????? When I use the blogger 'add image' button, I get to choose from small, medium, and large. The large is the size I used for today's WW. You can barely see Jack because it's so small.

Then it hit me! Edit Html! I can add pictures using an IMG SRC code from photo hosts! I use photobucket for my backgrounds and blog layouts, but I use picturetrail for slide shows. Heeeeeellllllllllo, McFly!
I've only had those slide shows for how long? About a month after I started blogging. DUH! WHOOHOO for me! It only took me all of about 10 months to figure this one out! Not only that, but I also figured out if you click on the picture you can go to the actual album and see LOTS of pictures-and comment on them with smileys! Great, that's what I need--a brand new obsession to distract me even more! Oh well-who doesn't love these computers?

SO! Here is a NEW WW of the same Jack! NOW you can really see some detail!


Yeah for me! I learned something NEW today! Whooohoo!

WW: Hmmm, vacuum or blog......

Jack: Anyone want to donate a Dyson?

a Spiffy PhotoStory Friday and a confession

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Introducing Spiffy!

Here he is sitting with Sophies' Bunny Bears #2,3 and PJ. Yeah, he's pretty old. And yeah, he's still sitting in my bed. OK, so this week I decided in the name of fairness to Sophie, I would post something as embarrassing to me as last week's post may be to her sometime in the future.
Over the last few weeks a couple of moms --actually about 4 or 5 of them --that I've talked to have all brought up the topic of 'lovies' as they are commonly called, meaning the little comforts kids tend to latch onto at a tender age and have a hard time letting go. Some people call them woobies, nukies, binkies, blankies, and so on. The big question of the day is when do you have your kids give up their lovies? How old are they and how do you do it?
Before I answer that...............................
In our house we have Binky Bunny, which I've posted about here, and we also have Spiffy.
Confession: Spiffy is mine -- not Sophie's. As a matter of fact, Sophie is not allowed to play with Spiffy. She gets to hold him from time to time and if Spiffy ever gets out of his 'spot' (under my pillow) she gives him back to me, but other than that Spiffy is all mine.
Yeah, you're reading this right. I am a grown woman of just about 35 and I still have my 'lovie.'
I can guarantee right now-Spiffy-will go with me to my grave.
Want to laugh? Want to make fun? Go ahead. I admit it's sad, pathetic, and just down right weird, but I don't care. Spiffy is my ultimate source of comfort-nothing can replace him- and no amount of self-esteem, self-confidence, or even alcohol will ever be able to relax and put me into a nice, comfy, safe, dream state like Spiffy can. Usually I fall asleep with his legs intertwined with my fingers underneath my pillow. I still sleep with my hands in a fist like a little baby. Don't know why, just do. As you can see from the first picture his legs are almost gone. I'll eventually have to put him in a little baggie to preserve his feet which will ultimately detach and then I'm sure he will move to my nightstand for the remainder of my days, but for now he still gets to sleep under my pillow. He's here to stay and has been since I was about 7 or 8 years old. See? I told you it was weird.
Now, where did he come from and why do I still have him --you ask? This is where it gets embarrassing:)
Spiffy was given to me by my sister Julie when I was little because giving up Sucker Baby was just too hard for me. Yeah, that's right. I had a doll named Sucker Baby(*see below) and I was attached to her as much as my own arm. She was my companion for life and I literally sucked on her head instead of a pacifier. Well, my mom and dad must have thought that this would create some challenges for me as I grew up, so I was forced to give up Sucker Baby. I couldn't do it. It was just too hard. I think I finally gave her up when my parents were quitting smoking or something, but I really can't remember. I must have blocked out the trauma of Sucker Baby leaving this world for good.
I do remember my sister giving me Spiffy though to hold onto during the loneliest nights immediately following my break-up with Sucker Baby. I have never let Spiffy go. I even brought him with me to my dorm room in college.
I didn't bring him on my honeymoon though--I swear. He just waited for me in the Bat Cave while Nate and I pranced around the Bahamas for a week.

This is the only picture I can find so far of Spiffy when I was younger. Pretty much from the get-go he was a 'in my room only' kind of comfort--especially since I just didn't want anyone but Julie to know that I never got over the loss of my precious Sucker Baby.

So to answer the question of the day, well, I'm pretty sure I just demonstrated a big loud NEVER! Bunny Bear is here to stay. He is as much a part of our family as anyone else and when the original is just too fragile to sleep with, #'s 2 and 3 will take over respectively. PJ is just for fun.

This is the day I got Sucker Baby.

Christmas Day 1976.

Me and Sucker Baby hanging out.

Sometime in 1978.

Happy 7th Anniversary to US!

Mr. and Mrs. Nathan and Susie Widloe

August 3, 2001

The big joke in our family is the fact that neither Nathan nor myself can seem to remember the actual date of our anniversary. As a matter of fact, pretty much everyone in my family has a hard time remembering it-if for no other reason than-um, well I have no idea. I have no idea why in the world this is such a hard day to remember. After all, it is number 2 on the greatest day of my life list-losing out to my new number 1 Sophie's birthday a few years ago.
I got smart though and put our wedding album on the fireplace mantel, which has the date imprinted on the cover!
To celebrate, we sat down and contemplated where we are-emotionally, spiritually, mentally, physically, and financially as a couple with 7 years under our belt + one perfect little mouse and one perfect not-so-little golden retriever.
We laughed a lot.
And I really mean A LOT!!!!!
We decided being the smart, mature, grown ups we are, that we would spend the weekend doing all of the normal, fairly boring things that define who we are: hanging out at the pool, going to a friend's BBQ-till real late, almost 10pm!;), then sleeping in, having a yummy Sunday morning breakfast, relaxing in the sun, napping, ordering pizza for dinner, taking a leisurely family walk with the puppy, going out for ice cream, and ending the day with a family showing of our wedding video. (I can't wait to get that uploaded to a DVD!) We also decided that starting today we will start a 10Th anniversary savings fund so we can go on a 2Nd honeymoon to Hawaii. We loved the 1st one in the Bahamas with it's all inclusive swim up bars and wave runners and private beaches. But as grown ups, we are also looking forward to something a little more mature. (that's code for really expensive-so in the meantime, these little anniversaries will be kept simple)
It was pretty much your perfect weekend. No kidding. It sounds so boring, but yet we smiled, laughed, talked, played, and just enjoyed each other's company as if we were still trying to get to know each other like we did when we were dating. I'm still amazed at how we never seem to run out of these to talk about. Ever. We are truly best friends and it is SO MUCH FUN!
Oh, and we also researched the meaning and significance of the number 7. Without going into all of the details, I just want to express our complete joy that we made it to this 'holier than thou' number itself. They don't call it lucky #7 for nothing! Feel free to hop on to wikipedia and check it out.

Sophie in her favorite jumpy thingy at the BBQ. Below, my guy in the brown shirt playing his fave bean bag game at the BBQ.

PhotoStory Friday & a bedtime story

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

If you give our Little Mouse a cold,

She's going to need to watch Sleeping Beauty........ in a sleeping bag, with a crown pillow, drinking her favorite grape koolaid while eating pretzels for breakfast.




After she drinks all of that koolaid,

She'll need to tinkle on the practice potty that you left on the landing before you had a chance to put it away!

Nate and I were talking in the kitchen a few mornings ago when all of a sudden Sophie sings out, "Mooommmmmmy, I need some toilet paper!"

I was sitting in view of the actual bathroom, so I was completely intrigued as to what she was up to. Of course when I saw I couldn't stop laughing and made her sit there while I grabbed the camera.

Sophie is going to love me for this someday! Us moms get to have our fun too you know. But really it's just that totally satisfied --so proud of herself-- smile that I couldn't resist. Now that's a WC!

(Think this could be a part of the next book in the "Give a Mouse a Cookie series?")