Mama's Monday musings

Here's what's on my mama mind as I (try to) ease into this week:

• I'm not sure whether I should be impressed or disheartened that I can go from pajamas to ready to walk out the door (face washed, teeth brushed, deodorant applied, hair brushed/pulled back, dressed) in less than five minutes. Regardless, this "skill" is essential many mornings.
• When I have to herd three kids into the van on rainy school days like today, I especially hope our next house has a garage. And please please please, let us have a non-carpeted eating area. The condition of our dining room carpet is not cool.
• I'm making a meatless version of this red beans and rice recipe for supper tonight. I'm glad I worked through my initial dried-beans cooking failures. In fact, when I have the time, I really prefer using dried beans to canned.
• I'm not as frugal-minded as I think I should be. I kinda hate couponing and chasing grocery sales; I do it quite begrudgingly. Also, the fact that we would cut our diaper expenditures in half is not really motivating me to potty train Evan. On the other hand, the prospect of not having to change his prodigious poops might make me go for it soon.
• Tobin may be my favorite child precisely because I don't have to handle his poop. Lauren may be my favorite child because she sleeps past 7:30 regularly. Evan may be favorite child because his hair is awesome.
• I am less than enthused that Evan is enthusiastically picking his nose these days, often rolling what he retrieves between his fingers and exclaiming, "Mom, see ball?" However, I was amused when Matt was the recipient of said gifts this weekend.
• Does it count as "watching TV" if Ev is amusing himself by turning the TV on and off. Is that bad for the TV? I must save my TV!
• I have the final four hours of Downton Abbey season 2 burning a hole in my DVR. Something's gotta give, kiddos!
• I love how playing NBA Jam on the Wii led to Matt and Tobin discussing Dennis Rodman's eccentricities and how my Memaw liked him a whole lot. (Maybe more on that later.)
• I can put Lauren down, come back a minute later and find she's moved four feet, still sitting on her bottom. She might as well be crawling. I don't know that I'm ready for three mobile children!
• For the third time, I will have a baby wearing 18-month sizes by nine months of age. I gratefully and reverently blame breast milk.
• Where did I get such silly babies? (You may want to adjust your volume for some of the sounds that follow.)