You’re a Mean One Mommy Dearest!

So, guess who had a life altering moment with the Caveman today?

That's right folks mommy had an interesting moment when after hours of yelling, threatening, begging I had it with the Caveman not cleaning up his playroom. This child has acquired the bad habit of not putting things away, largely learned from Big Papi and myself. Big Papi and I are not what you would call organized in fact Crazy Grandma has often suggested that we hire professionals to organize our house.

Well as I approach 30 I am tired of my house looking like the aftermath of a natural disaster. I want my home to be as close to an Ikea, Pottery Barn or at least a Target ad as possible. I realize that in real life, especially with a three and nineteen month old that is nearly impossible; but with as crazy as my life has become in recent months I need to do my part in making sure my home truly is my haven.

The Caveman is not cooperating with the plan however and both Big Papi and I have had enough. I brought out a large black trash bag that we have for yard debris and told the Caveman to take any toy that was on the floor and put in the trash bag. The tears and screams were many as the Caveman put his beloved fire trucks, cars, balls, stuffed animals and blocks into not one but two large bags. We have the lovely Ikea toy bins so any toys that were in the bins were spared. I told the Caveman that since he treated his toys like trash the toys were going to the trash.

After the room was clean and my little man was sobbing, begging for us not to throw away the toys I made him a deal. Every night if he cleans his toys up before bed he may have one toy from the trash bags that are now safely in what the Caveman refers to as the "ladder."

The problem with all of this is wondering if I am being too hard, but as I cannot find my I-pod right now I believe that learning to respect the things that God has given us is an incredible life lesson. I think with working on myself this past year I am trying to make my children better than I am.

I know I have not written in a long time. I realize that I left my five readers hanging and I am sorry but there were serious issues that Big Papi and I had to face. With the hard work behind us I can safely say that I love the man my husband has become. Big Papi is my personal hero because he has been willing to truly walk a path with me. For awhile I felt alone in my marriage but with prayer, counseling, and by becoming debt free (only $5000 to go!) we have been able to find a way back to walking together.

So I will try my best to document the adventures of the Caveman and Alien household now that mommy and Big Papi are finally at peace.

The 100 Things AJ Rice's Mommy Must Do Before...

This is an exercise that I learned from real estate guru Terry Watson. He believes that if we do not have a set lists of things we want to accomplish before we die then we have nothing to work for. Here is the 2009 edition- I removed the real estate items and finally added some things to make the list really number 100. I also kept the things on the list I accomplished in 2008- next year I'll remove those things and add new ones.

I highly suggest people do this for themselves and then let their family and friends know. Why? The people you surround yourself with should know your heart's desires. They could possibly have a way to accomplish this. A big example of this was Crazy Grandma gave me a Coach gift card last Christmas and I was able to buy my Coach bag without worry. I know it is silly, but I love that bag and every time I pick it up I remember that my mom- the Alien and Caveman's Crazy Grandma made that dream come true. This year she is at it again- she gave me a baking cookbook that has a method for croissants.

This list is really important when you look back at the past year and maybe you don't think you accomplished anything. If you do only one thing on the list you have accomplished something.

100 Things I want to do before I die


1. Get accepted into UVA
2. go to a Super Bowl
3. attend a World Series
4. attend a UVA vs. VT football game and UVA wins by a landslide
5. attend an Olympics
6. attend a final four- men's basketball
7. attend a BSC bowl
8. attend a NFL draft
9. host an all girl fantasy football league
10. enter and play in a World Series of Poker event
11. Attend an ACC men basketball tournament
12. Watch the Eagles win a Super Bowl
13. buy a Coach bag at full retail price without worry about the cost (did it!)
14. get published in a glossy magazine
15. Get my college degree
16. Make a brother or sister for the Caveman (did it!)
17. learn to make croissants from scratch
18. lose a good amount of weight and keep it off
19. learn to knit well
20. publish a book that I write
21. see a TV show live
22. run a marathon
23. drive across America
24. drive up the Mississippi from south to north
25. create a higher education scholarship foundation
26. go to Rome
27. go to London
28. go to Paris
29. go to Hong Kong
30. go to Chicago
31. go to Australia
32. adopt a single mom and her children for an entire year
33. see the Northern Lights
34. throw an amazing party (did it, Big Papi’s surprise 30th birthday!)
35. go on a road trip with no predetermined destination
36. read every F. Scott Fitzgerald published work
37. Show up at the airport and take the first flight available
38. teach a class
39. drive RT 66
40. learn to sew well
41. see Oprah live
42. do the Sydney-Harbor Bridge climb
43. sit on a jury
44. visit Ground Zero
45. watch launch of space shuttle
46. see a NASCAR race live
47. drive a convertible with top down
48. be invited to have a black American Express card
49. be invited to join Phi Beta Kappa- the honor fraternity at TCC which means you have to have an 3.5 GPA
50. go to the Baseball hall of fame
51. go to the football hall of fame
52. see a Notre Dame football game live
53. take a course at the French Culinary Institute
54. spend a year traveling around the world
55. learn to ballroom dance properly
56. forgive those who have hurt me
57. sky dive
58. bungee jump
59. go to Kentucky Derby
60. learn Spanish
61. donate money to a political candidate (did it!)
62. buy everyone in a bar a drink
63. redecorate a house without my mom's help
64. do my family tree
65. drive the autobahn
66. learn to bartend
67. learn to properly carve a chicken (did it!)
68. leave a $5000 tip to someone who deserves it
69. watch Anderson score a home run, a goal, a touchdown
70. teach the Caveman to read and read well
71. Teach Caveman to use the big boy potty
72. Get the Alien to sleep through the night
73. Submit a recipe into the Pillsbury Bake-off
74. Raise my children to have a personal relationship with God
75. Create a welcome committee for my church with my husband
76. Host a game night for the 21+ group
77. Build my freelance portfolio
78. Clean out my closets- only keeping what my family loves and needs
79. Buy a house big enough for mommy to have a room of her own
80. Have a gourmet kitchen with a pot filler, baking station, Viking range, and at least two convection ovens
81. Actually finish the scrapbooks I bought all those supplies for
82. Learn how to incorporate yoga into my daily routine
83. Learn how to apply the Franklin Covey methods to my daily life
84. Keep the house clean longer than one day
85. Take a polar plunge
86. To go shopping in a regular sized woman store and actually find things that fit me
87. Get over the pass
88. Not look too far into the future
89. Live in my moment right now
90. Save enough money so my kids don’t have to take out student loans
91. Pay off my credit card debts
92. Learn to live within my family’s financial means
93. Have a diverse financial portfolio
94. Become a land baron with my husband
95. Love my husband everyday; and tell him so
96. Always appreciate all the things my children do- even the bad
97. Become a gracious person
98. Keep my car clean
99. Get a tattoo
100. Keep adding things to the list