A laugh a day.

I need a laugh a day. I am too serious lately.

Now, I am not talking an email subscription to a joke a day to come to my inbox, I am talking a good old-fashioned belly laugh. I think I need to stop thinking so much and just let things be.

My First Columbus Underground Article

Pretty excited to be contributing once a month to Columbus Underground. I have been working out the details with them since last fall, and this January was my first attempt at being a "reporter." Loving the writing aspect and having the ability to get some coverage for local people who deserve a shout out. Take a look if you get time - and I am open to ideas! :)

http://www.columbusunderground.com/nothing-says-i-love-you-like-hand-grenade-soap

Nothing Says “I Love You” Like Hand Grenade Soap

By Kristin Marks | January 24, 2010 1:00pm | Filed under Features | Comments

“Now, that’s da bomb!” is the phrase Megan and Rob Green frequently hear about their Stinkybomb Soap products, and it is very fitting - their top selling soap is in the shape of a hand grenade. They also create soaps in the shape of cassette tapes and baby doll heads, but the hand grenade made with aloe and olive oil is their most popular selling item.

Stinkybomb Soap came about when Megan was staying home with her newborn daughter, and her husband’s grenade and bayonet molds were cluttered all over the house. Rob casts resin replicas of weapons as a hobby. Megan played with various types of soap, colors and scents, and cast the soap in the hand grenade molds. The explosive cleansing agent was born. Now, the soap products are not just fun novel gifts, they are made with quality products, and the molds and soap are handmade right here in Central Ohio.

Stinkybomb Soaps are created in small batches with either olive oil and aloe or goats milk and come fragrance free, but can be scented with essential oils or fragrance. Since the soap is made in small batches, everything can be customized with a favorite color and scent and has an average cost of $9 per soap.

The husband and wife team of Central Ohio take their suds seriously, but they enjoy having fun with their product calling it “Irony at its Sudiest.” When asked about shoppers’ reactions to the hand grenade soap, Megan said “most people laugh. They know that it is done with a sense of humor and see the novelty in it, but we do have folks that get offended.” She went on to explain that a shopper once said to her “That is not funny. Don’t you know there is a war going on!” Megan and Rob take those comments very seriously. They even give 1% of each sale to Wounded Warrior Project, and have sold hand grenade soap to families of active military men and women.

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, why not tell that special someone they are the bomb with a hand grenade soap? If you decide to put a grenade in your love’s rose bouquet, please order by February 8 for arrival by February 14. Personal notes can be included.

Stinkybomb Soap products can be found at various indie craft shows, Wholly Craft at 3171 N. High Street, What the Rock at 1194 N. High Street, and at their online Etsy store. Their website can be found at StinkyBombSoap.com. For information about Wounded Warrior Project, please visit: WoundedWarriorProject.org.

Kristin Marks is a Columbus Underground contributor, and can be found blogging about kid-friendly activities in Central Ohio over at cbusmom.com. She can be reached at Kristin@cbusmom.com.

Baby Boy is 2!

bubbies turned TWO! I have a two year old boy. When did this happen? Granted, his first six months were a blur from sleep deprivation and figuring out what was making him a sick little guy, but two years have passed?!

I couldn't be more thrilled with my baby boy. I get excited to hear his coos when he wakes up in the morning, his singing, his babbling, his ability to eat just about anything. He is so darn cute too...of course, I am a bit biased. teehee. I love watching him push his toy cars over everything, including the dogs, and racing around on his ride-on toys or chasing his sister. He's such a boy!

We had a robot-themed birthday for him (thank you friend Jocelyn for all the robot pointers!) and he loved it. P and I created a robot banner complete with his name. Here it is:

Thank you Amy for the banner idea! Check her out here.

And, friend Daryl came over and helped make these awesome robots for parting gifts for all of my kids' adorable friends. Lookie here:
And last, but certainly not least, hubby, P, and I made this awesome robot cake:

Yes! From scratch. Down to the orange buttercream icing that took two bags of powdered sugar and two sticks of butter. A heart stopper in and of itself.

*Highlight of the party:

• Dearest friends showed up.
• Garbage disposal pipe came loose and flooded the sink area of the kitchen. Thanks to good friends it got cleaned up right away.
• Dad used his awesome new camera and got terrific candid shots of the party.
• I didn't die from exhaustion.

And adorable baby boy coming down from all the sugar and fun:

Monster

My daughter's newest creation is a monster. She said it eats little kids. She also said she wanted to invite her friends over to see this monster. Her daddy said it was a proud day because not only is she wanting to be an artist when she grows up, but she creates monsters that eat her friends.

Cooking with my kids

I love my new kitchen. What I love most about my new kitchen is that I get to cook in it with my kids. This has been quite a learning experience for me - to cook with my children. In the fall last year I attended cooking classes led by my friend Rachel over at Hounds in the Kitchen. I not only watched how she taught the kids to cook, but watched how she taught them useful skills with the patience of a saint. She taught me too, and probably didn't even know it. She taught me patience in the kitchen with my kids, and that even the smallest task assigned to them is fine. I was having a hard time before that figuring out what I could let them help with as I cooked. I was worried they'd burn themselves, make a mess, or start throwing food everywhere.

Rachel of Hounds in the Kitchen "Kids Cook Class" featuring applesauce.

I think I was being too controlling. And seriously, a mess? Really? C'mon. A mess can be cleaned up...and sometimes it is fun to make a mess. The kids just want to help, be involved, be with mommy. My mom always has P help her in the kitchen...and she also has the patience of a saint. P always gets so excited and LOVES helping her Grammies make applesauce or cookies. I think what I love more than the actual act or the result (even though I could eat mounds of raw chocolate chip cookie dough and a dozen cookie by myself) is that spending time with my kids together doing one common act is fun. Quality time is good time.

Seeing what P and bubbies can do if you let them, I now let both of them chop (with a plastic kid knife), stir, pound, sprinkle, and most of all EAT. It is enjoyable to watch them eye recipes as if they know how to read them, pour ingredients into the bowl, and taste as they go along.

There are even fun experiments called "What will my brother eat off this teaspoon?" Yes, P fed bubbies a 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking soda. Being the little lovey dovey wanting to please big sister, bubbies did it without even questioning what that salty white stuff was. I think it was as if a volcano was errupting in his little tummy. He immediately turned red and puked everywhere. He cried and cried because it scared him and probably hurt his little tummy. Guess "Mom of the Year 2010" is out...but, I did call poison control! Isn't that considered in the "problem solving" category?

Words

I have always loved words. My vocabulary isn't necessarily as vast as I'd like it to be, and I find myself asking my hubby what he means when he uses big words, but that is okay. It is nice to have a husband who can teach me new words to make me seem smart if I use them. I'd like to set a goal for myself of learning a new word a week, but I need to use it in order to retain it or it will be a waste of time. I am sure there is some sort of "word of the day" I can get sent to my email or app for my droid. Perhaps finding an app on my droid will be my Saturday morning fun. OR maybe I'll do Word Wednesdays and put up a new word on my blog with the definition and maybe a catchy little sentence...or even better! I'll teach my daughter the word and have HER use it in a sentence {insert ridiculous "I am going to take over the world" giggle here}.

(shout out for SQ....or I could be washing my cloth diapers. sorry, SQ, I am still laughing over that)

Given that, I have been a little giddy over two words my darling 3 and 1/2 year recently used. The words: scrumptious and glorious. She even used them correctly. However, when I asked her what the words meant she couldn't tell me...that is okay. Sometimes I use words correctly and have no idea what they mean. hahaah! don't tell anyone.

Here are the definitions:

Scrumptious: adj. Splendid; delectable
P was pretending she was my mommy and told me to eat my dinner. She said "little girl, isn't that scrumptious!"

Glorious: adj. Delightful; wonderful
In the bathroom. She was told her brother it was going to be a glorious day. Oh good! What does she have planned for us?!

Thank you www.thefreedictionary.com for the definitions because I didn't know what those words meant.

After Class Updates

When I pick P up from preschool, if I am there at the time I am supposed to be (read my post about being on time over at Ohio Moms Blog: Never on Time), the parents get an update from one of the teachers. This is to let us know what the kids did in class so we can talk to them about it afterward. Today, for instance, they did a "dance drawing." A "dance drawing" is basically a combination of dancing and drawing, as the name suggests. The teachers put on music, each child had a piece of paper, crayons, and danced while drawing a picture. I didn't even have to prompt P - she immediately grabbed her drawing out of her bookbag and handed to me excitedly. "Mommy! I danced and drawed this picture for you!" (yes, everything is for "me" and I love it!...heehee)
She also told me they each made a mitten and she wrote her name on it, had raisin snacks, and how much fun she had in class. She also enlightened me to these facts, in her words:

"Mommy! I didn't push anyone today"
"And, I didn't hit anyone or knock them over"
"Mommy! I didn't even fight! It was a good day!"

Okay. Thanks for letting me know. Now I ponder if she is telling me those things because she thinks that is what I want to hear, or if she truly is that unruly. I think she's just three and probably does all of those things...oh goodness.

Happy New Year 2010!

Here was my toast:

"May there be a downhill road to your door. wait, what? May the road be straight for you? wait, what is it?"

Susan: "Kristin is really trying here."

"OH, may there always be coins in your pocket and food on your table. Take care of your health."

Okay, okay, so I really should prepare and rehearse before toasting the New Years next time. How about this:

























"Happy New Year! May you get a box of money in the mail, eat lots of garlic and stay healthy, and not be ashamed if you have nights that you just serve cereal for dinner. Love to all my family and friends who are knotted in my heartstrings."