Census. Cultural Background. Panic.

I love filling out forms. I don't know why, but any time I have the opportunity to fill one out, I jump at the chance (4 patient information forms, front and back, in a doctor's office? OK!). So imagine my glee when we received our 2010 census form.

I was disappointed when I looked over the form. I thought there would be more to fill out than name, address, age and race of each person in my household...but that was it.

That wasn't going to kill my buzz though. I still had a form to fill out!

As I happily filled in information and made neat little X's in the appropriate boxes, I screeched to a halt when I reached the "race" portion in my section.



Such a simple question, not so simple an answer...at least for me.

I have a very mixed background, but the main ones are Sicilian (at least 25%, if not more), African American (25%) and Native American (not sure exactly how much - I'm pretty sure it's not 25%, but could be close).

Now I know when they say "Caucasian," this could describe Sicilian...so I was covered there. But do I make an X in the box next to African-American? And if I fill in the box next to American Indian (is that even a PC term?) they ask you to name your "enrolled or principal tribe." Uh...I'm not official with a card or anything, I just know it's in my background. Do I put an X next to "other" and make up some craaaazy new name for my mixed heritage, like Cablinasian (except, you know, with my races...so it'd be like Cablinducilian...or something)?

((sigh))

So, after much deliberation, I put an X next to Caucasian and an X next to African American.

Alright...moving on. Next up: Peanut.

...

Geez oh Pete! What do I put for HER?!

(Another tense deliberation)

I left her portion with just an X next to Caucasian.

* * * * *

I'm sure I will leave some census person confused when they read:

Head of household: Caucasian
Spouse: Caucasian and African American
Biological child: Caucasian


Yep. That's us.

I'm too young for hot flashes

It was nearly 8:30am. I was cuddled on my side of the bed, amazed that the kid wasn't awake yet and loving every moment of half-sleeping in. Just when I thought I could drift back off to sleep, ShankRabbit rolled over and cuddled up next to me. No...let me clarify...he draped himself over me.

He was trying to be sweet and lovey. I get that. And for a while I used to enjoy that all the time. I am usually cold and he is usually warm. It worked out perfect.
But now, to the woman whose internal temperature gauge is forever broken (thanks to housing and birthing a child), this loving gesture turned into me feeling like I was thrown into a kiln. In less than a minute, I had to throw the covers off. About 2 minutes after that I shrugged him off and began the "getting up" process (which includes checking my phone for emails, twitter, etc).

ShankRabbit sits up and says, "I just don't get you. One day you're all 'why do you just jump out of bed and not looooooove me?' (true. I did say this) and the next you're all 'my emails and twitter friends are SO much more important than you.'"

I responded, "you're 1,000 degrees! I felt like I was being baked from the inside. I couldn't take it!"

In a compromise (and a half-apology) I put my phone down, rolled over and rested my head on his chest. He accepted this gesture by putting his arm around me. Fiery kiln instantly ensued and I had to hop up.

Hey, at least I tried.

A word tour of our home

"Hi, welcome to our home! We're so glad you could join us. Here, let me take your coat.
If you would, please leave your shoes by the door. It's not that we're clean freaks - Peanut loves to eat soil and any interesting finds on the floor. Thanks.

Would you like a tour?

This is our living room. No, we do not decorate with Tupperware containers and measuring spoons. Our child just loves to play with those. Be mindful of where you sit - you don't want a kitchen utensil where the sun don't shine! Hahahaha...heh...wooo...moving on.

This would be our dining room. I know that most dining rooms have...oh, what do you call it...furniture in them. But we're minimalists. We like to think the absence of furniture in here will make our house seem bigger. In reality, it provides more floor space for Peanut to leave her toys. And for us to have dance parties. Who needs to eat?

And now we have made our way into the kitchen. We spend most of our time in this room, as you can see by the dishes and stuff on the counter.
Isn't our fridge "festive?" Peanut loves to decorate the fridge with handprints and slobber. Oh, and take note of which letters of the alphabet are on the fridge - the other 22 will be underfoot during this tour. Think of it like a scavenger hunt!

We can skip our rooms and the bathroom. The only thing of interest in any of those is our family photo - which can be found on the floor of the bathroom. Our daughter has quite the design sense, doesn't she?

Oh, you're leaving so soon? But you haven't seen our toy-riddled TV room yet! Well, if you must, you must...

Thanks for stopping by! "

It's what you say...

I was lying in bed, wide awake, listening to the hacking sounds of my husband. I had several thoughts cross my mind -

It's been well over a week and this cough isn't getting any better. I know he's a stubborn butthead and thinks his immune system will work this one out, but it's taking too long. It's 5am and I want to go back to sleep. Should I say something? He's due for a physical anyway. It's really important I word what I say in just the * right * way. Saying "GO TO THE DOCTOR ALREADY!" might come off as harsh. Hmm...

I mulled over my exact words for at least 15 minutes (remember, it's 5am. I'm not too bright this early in the morning).

I lean over and gently rub his back. Then I say, "Babe, I love you..."

((awww))

"...but your coughing is annoying. Please go to the doctor."


Eh? Pretty good, huh?


Moral of the story: If you say something nice, throwing a "but" in the sentence negates the niceness. Or so I'm told.
____________________

This led to him feeling guilty for being sick and acting snarky and slightly defensive this morning. Hmm...wonder why.
Though, he did agree to go to the doctor...just to shut me up.

It was originally about repurposing...

ShankRabbit and I love to "repurpose." For example, when I had to take a scissors to our recalled pack n' play, I tried to think of other ways to use the residual materials (as long as it was not for baby-supporting purposes, as apparently this version failed at). Here are a couple of our projects -

I made Peanut a pair of soft-soled shoes out of an old pair of jeans:


Look at those chubby baby legs!



(the pattern for these awesome, relatively easy baby shoes can be found here).

**Note: I whipped these up really quick because I needed a good multi-purpose shoe. They aren't pretty, but they work (and we have since added puffy paint "treads" to the bottoms for a non-slip grip).

ShankRabbit made a headboard for our bed out of two small nightstands:


(as you can see, there is barely any room for walking next to the bed, let alone a nightstand)

And since I'm showing you a picture of our headboard, allow me to explain a few things:

1. That "lock" box houses my jewelry. Nothing of importance in there since the most expensive items I own are on me 24/7. So, if there is anyone out there reading who thinks they are going to hit pay dirt by breaking in and stealing this box...you are sorely mistaken. Unless you like name necklaces from 8th grade and several pairs of $1 earrings...

2. Yes, that is a cribbage board in the middle section. ShankRabbit and I like to play a game or two if we go to bed earlier than normal (I know...we're one EXCITING married couple, I tell ya!).

3. My side of the bed houses the "Babyproofing Bible," an InStyle magazine, and a homemade heating pad. ShankRabbit's side has all of our DS games, a devotion book, and the Bible.

4. Eventually, I would like to outfit this with doors in (Plexiglass? Acrylic?) some form of plastic sheeting that will slide across. I will have ShankRabbit run some lights and you've got one heckuva lighting and (hidden) storage option...or at least the pipe dream is there.

So, I realize that I meant to cover how much we love to repurpose and yadda yadda yadda...but since I've gone into depth about our headboard (and felt the need to explain everything), I wonder -

What's on your headboard/nightstand?