Rosie Recommends

Son of Rambow: an import from England about a couple of kids making a movie. I love this movie. I’ve watched it twice this week. The soundtrack alone is totally worth it.

Opi Nail polish in Lincoln Park After Dark. Quite festive for October and if you paint your four year old’s nails at the same time, she sounds so funny walking around saying the name of the color.

Celebrity Challenge: A great game you can play anywhere, anytime. Some people are skeptics before they try, but most become converts after the first round.

John Frieda Frizz Ease Hair Serum: It really does cut down on the frizziness of my hair, and it’s the right price.

The long tail cast on method: This has changed my knitting life by solving the problem of a crooked edge on my pieces of knitting. Seriously, I can’t stop comparing old projects to new for my brothers, though I think they are getting tired of feigning interest.

The Biggest Loser: By far my favorite show on television.

Really good kitchen knives: By far my favorite cooking gadget.

Making your bed: Even if it’s right before you get in. Is there anything better than getting into a made bed after a long day?

Sometimes science stinks, but that’s the game we play, baby!

I’m not fond of touching other people’s feet. I find feet to be, well, gross. I don’t think they are as gross as some people do. (When my sister was a girl, she was so disgusted by her own feet that she wouldn’t even touch them to wash them. Click here to read all about her stinky feet.)

Robert usually has to ask 9 or 10 times after a 60 hour shift on his feet at the hospital before I will actually go near those particular appendages. Honestly, now that I think of it, I can’t even remember the last time he bothered asking. Yes, I am that selfish.

When I first became a mother, it was a different story. I found that I like baby feet. I have been known to voluntarily put them in my mouth and nibble on the toes. I mush them all over my face, put them in my eyes, my ears, my cheeks. I blow raspberries on them. Baby feet are very cute. However, something happened the summer my boys reached 5 or 6 years old. When they started smelling like wet dog at the end of the day, their feet began to repulse me. Ugh, and they get this long, gross, big toenail that is downright disgusting and should have its own time zone. (Shut up, I know it’s my responsibility to teach them proper grooming. But, sick! Can’t they tell it needs to be trimmed? Do I really need to tell them everything?)

Imagine my surprise when I had this conversation with my 9 year old tonight.

Him: (after a fit of coughing.) Boy, that medicine Liz gave me doesn’t seem to be working.

Me: (perking up at the news that my friend/neighbor down the street had administered medicine to my son) Liz gave you medicine?

Him: Yeah. To help me stop coughing.

Me: Really? What was it?

Him: I don’t know. Something she put on my feet.

Me: (Thinking I couldn’t have heard right) On your feet? For your cough?

Him: Yeah. She said her grandpa used to use it.

Me: (clarifying) She put something on your feet. To make you stop coughing.

Him: (getting exasperated) Yes!

Me: How did she put it on?

Him: She just rubbed it on.

Me: You mean, it was some kind of cream? And she rubbed it on your feet? That is gross.

Him: Well, whatever it was, it’s not working.

I think he knew that this kooky stuff was not going to work, but was not about to pass up a free foot rub from his friend’s cute mom.

Now, where is my husband? I need him to administer some cough medicine.

I’ve worked in the private sector. . . they expect results

My two babies, joined at my hip.

This is Creed, just before his first ever flight in a sailplane. Grandpa and Scott hope it was the first of many.

(Added 7/23/11: I'm in the process of moving all of the entries from my old blog to this blog. This entry had many more pictures in it, but I don't know where they are. They included a picture of my dad with George when he drove up for a visit, a photograph of Eddie and Scott hacking up a few bushes in my front yard, and Eddie just before he left for his homecoming dance.)