Sandwiched

I pirated this from my friend at The Oatmeal. SOPA is bad. Go tell your senators. NOW.

If you were following me on Twitter this past Saturday night, you may have noticed that I was tweeting about #grandnationals. Nonstop.

Yeah. Sorry about that.

If you’re not familiar with the event, the Bands of America Grand National Championships is an event which brings together high school marching bands from all over the country to perform for one another and before a huge audience of their peers and the general public.

Fair disclosure: I used to work for Bands of America. It was tough, but I loved it. I loved band. Last week, our hometown band packed up and left for Indianapolis, and I packed up my family and followed. Big Sis is a 5th grade beginning band student who plays the saxophone. I thought showing her how the big kids do it would be a great incentive to stay in band for another (gulp!) eight years.

We went and were floored by the quality of the performances. The folks at the National Association of Music Parents learned that I was the parent of a beginning band student, and wanted to hear what I thought of the event. It’s my first blog post for them, so I’d be much obliged if you’d leave a comment there for me, or even share it on Twitter or Facebook.

This band was a lot of fun to watch. They used fully functional QR codes as giant prop banners on the field. They tweet, too! I think they might just win for best use of social media.

[ http://www.youtube.com/embed/KhInesi7s3Q?version=3

DJ Corchin did a great recap at Marching.com. He’s super funny, and he plays trombone, which makes him a-ok in my book. Check it out!

In the meantime, here are a few photos from the event. Enjoy!

This was originally written as a comment on Erin Kotecki Vest’s blog post about being chronically afflicted with lupus. Go read it. I’ll wait. It’s eye-opening.

Oh Erin…my heart aches.

I was the primary caregiver to my mom for the last 3 or 4 years of her life. She had chronic disease upon chronic disease. Some days I didn’t know how she could go on. Or how I could. It’s not fair. I learned THAT particular life lesson pretty well.

But she did go on. We got help. For instance, Mom going on antidepressants was one of the single best things that ever happened to my family. “Of course she’s depressed!” said the attending hospital doc. “She’s been very sick for a very long time.” Those pills allowed me and my kids to interact with Mom, not with her pain and suffering. She finally accepted the (pharmacological) help she never allowed herself when I was growing up. I think I would have been a very different person if she had. But that’s a whole different blog post!

On this journey, you find happiness and peace where you can. In the little things. Stopping at Mom’s favorite restaurants after doctors’ appointments. After the really tough ones, we ordered margaritas. It became Mom’s signature drink.

Erin, I admire your strength. Your courage. Your tenacity. Some days, it might not feel like enough. But it is.

We’re all just struggling along through this life the best we can. And I’ve found that life is INFINITELY better—for everyone involved—with the blessing of help. Don’t be afraid of asking for it. I am a better person for having helped Mom through the last years of her life, and I was infinitely blessed by all those (doctors, nurses, aides, neighbors, friends and family) who helped me help Mom. We’re designed to work together.

All the best to you and yours. You’re in our prayers…chronically. And I mean that in the best way possible.

I’ve always really kinda hated mopping. Which meant that it hardly ever got done. I always seemed to be stuck with a nasty, germ-riddled  sponge mop. If it was the deluxe model, it had a scrubber pad on one side! I had to sweep first, then I had to pull out a bucket, or fill my kitchen sink with hot water and Pine-Sol. In other words, I had to clear my calendar for half a day to clean my floors “right.”

Then came microfiber, which cleaned great. I got the sponge mop topped with a layer of microfiber, but it began to peel off the sponge as soon as it touched the hot water. I went through mop heads like crazy!

I tried switching over to disposable mops, but the refills were a pain, and the solution got my floor—get this— TOO clean. I have stripes on the floor in one spot because the solution cut through ALL the layers of grime, but just in the one spot. Random.

Then I tried a steam mop, which worked wonders! Hot water (no nasty chemicals…yay!) and an amazing microfiber cloth. I was in love. What could go wrong? Just enough, apparently. After just a couple of months, the mop’s heating element conked out. No steam meant it was just a microfiber cloth on a stick. Pathetic.

Enter the Rubbermaid Reveal Mop. *Cue the choirs of angels*

It has the same basic design as the disposable mops, but boasts a machine washable, reusable microfiber pad, and a refillable bottle that you can fill with a solution of your choice. I use vinegar and water, which does a nice job on my vinyl floors, and is nontoxic to my kids and my pets. Most importantly, it is sturdy and well-built, like my other Rubbermaid products. I’ve used it for over six months without any problems, which I think is a record for my mops!

I usually TRY to sweep before I mop, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. With the Reveal mop, it’s not a problem. Just use it to “sweep” the debris into a pile as you mop, and pick it up with a paper towel or Clorox wipe.

My kids love to use it, too! And with the vinegar solution, I don’t have to worry about the kids using it without close supervision, even if they do squirt the dog…by “accident.”

With the lovely flat, swiveling head, and lightweight design, it’s even easy to mop in small, crowded spaces…like my bathrooms.

If you want or need to use two or more different solutions, just buy a second bottle and you can use them interchangeably. The mop head velcroes on and off with the handy pull tab, and can be tossed in the laundry (line dry from the handy tab) without hardly touching it. (There’s also a dry dust mop head, but I don’t have it.)

Organize with Sandy did a review of this mop as well; her video is below:

I love this thing. In the time it would take me to find a clean, empty bucket in my house, I can have my floors shining. And for the record, I did not receive any compensation for this review. I’m just a very happy paying customer.

[ http://www.youtube.com/embed/Acy7BW5FaN8?version=3

For more great ideas, check out Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family!