The Merry Milkmaid

A change long overdue

2010-02-16T17:05:00.002-06:00

When Grocery Shopping is FUN

2009-10-14T16:28:00.003-05:00

I have always been a bargain hunter, but lately I have REALLY gotten into couponing. There are tons of great blogs out there devoted to the cause of saving money, and I consult these blogs weekly to find the best coupons, as well as shopping lists that do the work for me of matching up sale prices to available coupons.

I think this was my best week yet. I just came home from the grocery store (Cub Foods) where I spent $63.50 for $95 worth of groceries. But, wait! That's not even the best part! (30% off retail is my goal, which I meet almost every single week.) I received $26.50 worth of catalina coupons off of my next order - that means, not coupons for specific products but coupons that take money off the total order! Awesome! So this is what I got for basically $37.00.

For perspective, this filled up 5 grocery bags, so it's more stuff than it even appears to be from the picture. Now my pantry is full, so I expect to spend about $20 a week for the next 3-4 weeks. Thank goodness, because we're going to be plopping down $2000 tomorrow on carpet.

Still Trucking Along

2009-10-12T15:50:00.003-05:00

Time for a brief check-in....I'm alive, still just overwhelmed with life. Which means, I've had to mostly eliminate a few things from my life - sleep, showering, and internet.

However! I am online today for a very good, very exciting reason. My sister called a few minutes ago to tell me that she is engaged! I couldn't be more happy for her. My future brother-in-law M is a great guy and I'm so happy to be adding him to the family. I immediately logged on to my Facebook account to tell him so, and it so happened that my cousin (who happens to be one of M's best friends) was online, and we spent a few minutes chatting about the happy news.

Isn't the internet grand? It makes the world seem so small.

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I don't think I've posted since before Natalie's birthday, which has been almost a month ago already. She's now 2 going on 20. One minute she will be carrying on a mature conversation with me about death ("The baby toad died. I squished him. That was so sad." Trust me, you probably don't want to hear that story. I still get queasy when I think of it.)

And the next minute, she is throwing a tantrum because I chose the WRONG shirt out of her closet.

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And now, I hear SpongeBob SquarePants coming to an end out in the living room, which means the end of my time on the internet. Once I get my life straightened out, hopefully within the next month, I will start posting more again.

Nothing About Nothing, Really

2009-09-03T11:28:00.003-05:00

The kids and I went to the State Fair earlier this week, which is always a lot of fun. Except when it's not.

Probably due to this summer's much-cooler-than-average temperatures, there has been a huge turnout at the Fair this year. Even more so than usual, and it always is a zoo. By about noon, I'd had it with the crowds.

And then it got worse. I took the kids into the bathroom and, because there were no stalls big enough to accommodate a stroller, I pulled my wallet out of the bottom compartment and brought it into the stall with the kids and me. About five minutes later, I realized I'd forgotten it there.

In a panic, I went back into the bathroom and that stall was occupied. I waited, and waited, and waited some more for the occupants to come out (I could see two pairs of shoes under the door). In my mind, I debated - do I yell over the top, "Hey, do you see a wallet in there?" but I didn't want to bring any attention to it if it hadn't already been noticed. When the mom and daughter finally came out of the stall, I was disappointed but not surprised to see that my wallet wasn't there anymore.

After about fifteen more panicked minutes, I located the Lost and Found and was thrilled to discover my wallet had been turned in. The "good Samaritan" had taken a $20 finder's fee, but other than that, everything was there. I was incredibly lucky, and I am still hyperventilating at the thought of all the money and time it would have taken to replace its contents, including my bus pass, driver's license, a credit card and a debit card, and all of the ride tickets I'd pre-purchased for the kids.

The other craziness in my life at the moment revolves around our rental duplex. One of our long-time tenants just moved out, and we've been crazy busy trying to replace carpeting, paint walls, and all the other maintenance-type things that go along with making a house renter-ready. Not to mention, fielding all the phone calls from prospective tenants. One couple was ready to sign the lease - and then they backed out of the deal. Sigh and start over from square one, putting the ad back in the paper and digging out the "For Rent" sign again. I will be really glad to be

done with this. As if I have all this spare time to spend cleaning a SECOND house.

You meet some interesting characters when you have an apartment for rent, though. The last time we had to do this, in 2006, we had the Beverly Hillbillies themselves drive up in their rusty, primer-colored pickup truck to take a look at the place. Four people piled out of the short cab pickup, like clowns out of a clown car. When the wife smiled and showed me her teeth (all two of them), I started looking around to see where the cameras were, because surely I was being punk'd. They showed an unnatural interest in the furnace, which alarmed me. A furnace is a furnace, right? Needless to say, we didn't rent to them. We found out a month later that they had

moved into the rental duplex next door. And then, four months later, we saw the eviction notice on their door.

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My favorite Sammy-isms of the week:

#1: "Natalie has such pretty white hair. And I have such pretty brown hair. And Mom has such pretty black hair. And Dad has...Dad really needs a haircut."

#2: I'd given him a piece of gum, a rare treat. He was riding his trike in the driveway, and flipped it over backwards. He was unhurt, but "apparently I swallowed my gum!" he said, in shock. Natalie, standing off to the side, pursed her lips in an "O" of surprise and clasped her hands over her mouth. Oh, the horror - a wasted piece of gum, down the tubes, so to speak.

The Town Festival

2009-08-25T19:51:00.000-05:00

Our town festival was this past weekend, and the kids had so much fun. First was the parade. Sam rode on his daycare's float and then got to join us for the second half of the parade. I don't have any pictures of him because his daycare's name was displayed prominently on his t-shirt and I don't have the time or inclination to blur it out. But here's a couple of pictures of Natalie instead.

Then was the petting zoo. They have a pretty awesome petting zoo each year, with llamas, chickens and geese, sheep and goats, calves, and a horse and a donkey. This year, there was also a huge bounce house - actually, an entire bounce neighborhood.

On Sunday, Ron and Sam went to the classic car show while Natalie and I went shopping. When the boys got home, I asked Sam how it was. "Great!" he said. "They even had the hoods open so I could look at the engines!" My little budding mechanic.

Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the end of the weekend.

The Three Musketeers

2009-08-24T19:39:00.003-05:00

Taken a few minutes ago, from my view at the top of the stairwell. The kids were sitting on the front doorstep, enjoying their craisins on a warm summer's evening, while Sam petted his dog.

Aren't the best pictures always taken when the subject is unaware? (At least according to Stalking for Dummies, chapter 4, "Photographing Your Subject").

This summer has been great. The kids are getting along so well, really and truly enjoying each other's company. Every day when we get home, I've been putting the gate up at the end of the driveway and letting the kids and dog run free. With the doors and windows all wide open, I have auditory and/or visual contact at all times and I'm mostly free to clean, cook, or make uninterrupted phone calls.

The past two days, I've canned: Strawberry Blueberry Banana jam, Strawberry Balsamic jam, Lavender-Infused Strawberry jam (strawberries are on sale this week; can you tell?), Gingered Pear preserve, and Mixed Dried Herb vinegar. On the docket for tomorrow is Strawberry Margarita preserves - yummy! It has alcohol in it, in case you didn't guess from the name - so it is mine, all mine, not to be shared with the young'uns. I'm thinking it sounds delish over some vanilla ice cream.

I'm so sad that this summer is almost over, and I'm trying to savor every last remaining second.

A Brief Update

2009-08-17T08:11:00.002-05:00

Has it really been that long since I've posted? It's not for lack of things to say - wow, has there been a lot going on lately - but for lack of screen time. The only screen time I've had lately has been with our screen door, as we've been enjoying this beautiful, temperate summer.

Last week, it got hot for the first time since June. And I've had the misfortune of this coinciding with me having to wear long pants every time I leave the house, in order to keep people from screaming and running in fear from my leprous-looking legs.

It all started two weeks ago, when I took the kids and the dog to a local park of woodsy, walking trails. The raspberries were thick, and since we haven't had enough of our own this year*, I was picking dozens of raspberries to feed to my (apparently) starving children and dog. (Happy the dog LOVES raspberries and peas, I discovered this summer.) (And anything else, really. Including, but not limited to, plastic toys.)

There were lots of mosquitos at the park, as well, so when I noticed lots of bumps on my legs the next day, I assumed they were bug bites.

Until a few days later, when it became evident that I'd tangled with poison ivy. Which over the course of the next few days developed into the worst case I have ever had. In case you're lucky enough to be one of the 15% of people who aren't allergic to poison ivy, let me tell you that not only does it itch, in bad cases it causes weeping, oozing sores. Not to get too disgustingly graphic here, but I would bandage up my legs every morning, using my own patented system of cotton balls, tissues, and band-aids, and I'd still have wet spots developing on my pants by the time I got home from work in the afternoon.

Ah, the glamorous life I lead. Next up: Adventures with Bats in the Laundry Room! I only wish I were joking.

*That's said tongue-in-cheek, you should see the bags upon bags of frozen raspberries residing in my freezer right now! And the raspberry bushes are again filled with tons more berries that are about to ripen.

Things That Go Bump! in the Night

2009-07-22T08:24:00.001-05:00

At 12:30 a.m. this morning, I was woken out of a deep sleep by the sound of toenails clicking on our bedroom hardwood floor. I laid there in the dark, half-asleep, thinking that Ron must have forgotten to put Happy out in his kennel. In light of all the potty accidents we've had lately*, I knew I should take him outside for a few minutes and then put him in his kennel. But the lazy half of my brain sleepily murmured that I could clean up any messes in the morning. I agreed with the lazy half of my brain and started to drift off to sleep.

The second time I heard the toenails, I snapped to attention with a different thought - had I remembered to put Johnny back in his cage? He'd been running in his exercise ball last evening, and at least three times I had thought to myself, "I really need to put him back in his cage before I forget" but I couldn't remember actually doing it. Oh crap. That feeling got even stronger when I found his empty exercise ball in the kitchen. How he got out is a mystery, but I suspect he bumped into a chair while he was speeding around and the door popped off.

I got out of bed and blearily looked around in the dark. I couldn't see anything but wasn't really expecting to. Johnny isn't really that big, after all, and there are tons of hiding spots for a small hamster. I decided my only choice was to make a hamster trap. I found an ice-cream pail, put some treats at the bottom of it, and started looking around for something to use as a ramp (the theory being, he'd climb the ramp, see the treats at the bottom of the bucket and drop down, then not be able to get up again). My sleep-addled brain wasn't cooperating and I couldn't find anything sufficiently ramp-y that would allow him enough traction to actually climb it.

Time for Plan B. I got a flashlight and started looking behind the dresser and the bookcase. The flashlight hadn't been on for more than 10 seconds when I felt whiskers brushing against my ankle. I shone the flashlight down and, lo and behold, there was Johnny looking up at me with his beady eyes. He came right to me, like a dog or a cat would. (I suppose he was probably hungry, after being out half the evening.)

After putting him back in his cage, I tried unsuccessfully to fall asleep in spite of the snoring taking place next to me in the bed. I finally moved out to the couch, where I listened to Johnny happily reuniting with his exercise wheel for the next hour before I finally dozed off. Shortly after that, Natalie woke up and started crying so I moved back to the bed with her in tow. And then Sam woke up and decided to join the party, leaving me approximately 2 inches of sleeping space.

Ron slept through the whole nighttime drama, and the kids got to sleep nice and late this morning. I still had to get up at 5:30 a.m. to head off to work. *yawn*

*Happy has not been the only source of potty accidents. A few days ago, Natalie removed her diaper and then took a dump in the hall. After I cleaned it up, she still excitedly pointed out the spot to anyone who'd listen: "Poop there! Poop right there!"

Slàn leibh, Frank McCourt

2009-07-17T08:58:00.003-05:00

I was never really a Michael Jackson fan, so all this hoopla about his death has seemed a little over-the-top to me. I was over it about 5 minutes after I heard the news. (Obviously, I'm in the minority here, or it wouldn't be STILL all over the news, two weeks later.) No doubt, the guy made some good music, but what I mostly remember him for is the child-molestation accusations that have overshadowed his life for the past 20 years. Whether or not he was guilty, I don't know - but at the very least he was a sad, strange man-child who made some bad decisions. Honestly, I can't help but feel a bit sorry for him.

But I was very saddened to learn this morning that Frank McCourt is critically ill and not expected to live. Angela's Ashes is on my list of top-10 favorite books of all time. After reading it with my own eyes, I listened to the recorded book version (which Frank McCourt himself read aloud) and...wow. It was so powerful to hear his story, in his own words, read by his own voice. So sad but yet uplifting. And, improbably, laugh-out-loud funny at times.

The likely loss of Frank McCourt affects my life much more than Michael Jackson's death did. I feel a bit as though I'm losing an old friend.

I Have Similar Feelings About Cleaning

2009-07-15T15:30:00.003-05:00

Freeing the world of obnoxious cleaning equipment, one colorful feather duster at a time.

I wonder what color his poop will be tomorrow.

Update in Picture Form

2009-07-08T21:22:00.008-05:00

There's been a lot going on around here and I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed; thus the lack of posting. I don't even know where to start so I'm just going to post some pictures as a little snippet of what's been going on the past couple of weeks.

We had a garage sale. What a disaster that was - hours and hours of work, and barely any garage-salers were out that weekend. But Natalie had fun helping me put price tags on items.

Every waking moment that I'm not at work, I'm chasing kids and dogs and trying to keep them out of trouble. Notice how, in this picture, there is one running child and the other two are poised to take off after him? That's typical of any given moment. The good news is, they all sleep REALLY well at night. Me, especially.

A rare moment of stillness, captured for eternity. I wouldn't have believe it, either, if I hadn't snapped a picture.

Two seconds later, Natalie has had enough of that business.

A 4th of July trip to the farm, and for Sam, a "tractor" ride with Grandpa. He'll be talking about that for months to come.

No pictures of the snotty noses I've been wiping non-stop for the past week as Natalie and I fought a monstrous cold that attempted to replace every living cell in our body with snot. You're welcome.

Goodbye, Old Friend

2009-06-29T10:09:00.004-05:00

I remember being in my second trimester of my pregnancy with Sam, and finally allowing myself to get excited about the baby it looked like I was going to end up with in a few short months. Ron and I set up the crib, then tried to move it into the baby's room, only to find it didn't fit through the doorway. We had to dismantle it, move the parts into the room, and "re-mantle" it.

For the next few months, I used the crib for storing all the various baby accoutrements we received as gifts and hand-me-downs. I started to wonder where I was going to store all that stuff when I had to put the actual baby in the crib.

Then Sam was born, and slept in the crib for the next 2 years. (I use the word "slept" in the loosest sense of the term, since sleep has never been one of his favorite pursuits.)

Then Natalie was born, and after the first couple of months that she spent in a bassinet in our bedroom, she moved to the crib. Unlike Sam, she actually SLEPT in the crib for the next year and a half.

This weekend, I dismantled the crib and moved it downstairs, where it will live for the next ~~few weeks~~ few months until I get around to posting an ad on Craigslist.

Goodbye, crib. It's been nice knowing ya.

*sniff, sniff* Now I officially have no more babies in my house.

Close Encounters of the Medical Kind

2009-06-15T08:25:00.001-05:00

Saturday started off with some unwelcome excitement. The kids, the dog, and I were all outside and Natalie was having a snack while Sam rode his bike around on the driveway. For no apparent reason, he ran into her with his bike, causing her to start crying. I could tell from the tone of her cry that she wasn't hurt too badly, so I "attended" to Sam first by sending him to time-out and sending his bike to the inaccessible-to-him bike rack for the remainder of the day.

While I was doing this, a strange, gasping, choking sound started coming from Natalie's direction. She was choking on her snack. I've never had any reason to do the Heimlich maneuver in real life, but I pictured 1) my high-school health class and the 2) instruction sheet that used to hang in the kitchen of the restaurant I worked at throughout high school, and on the second thrust -- out popped the obstruction. Her first cry brought tears to my eyes, similar to the way I felt when I heard her first cry at the hospital the day she was born.

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A few hours later, I packed the kids into the car and went to Urgent Care. Three weeks ago, I was bit by a deer tick and the site is still an itchy bump. I hadn't been worried about it too much, but I had been thinking I should see my doctor one of these days, since I would have expected a bite to heal by this time. I'd been watching for the bullseye rash associated with Lyme disease, but hadn't seen one so I figured I was in the clear.

Until Thursday, when I started having some strange symptoms. Dizzy spells, heart palpitations, and nausea. When this was still happening on Saturday morning, my husband convinced me to go to Urgent Care. "Easy for you to say," I said, since he was going to work and I was facing the prospect of taking two young children with me to the clinic. But ultimately I decided to go in. At this particular clinic, Urgent Care hours don't start until 12:00. I was hoping to be in and out quickly, so I promised the kids we'd stop for lunch afterwards.

The triage nurse sent me to the E.R. Three hours, two hungry and tired kids, five vials of blood, and $100 later, they discharged me with no answers. The Lyme disease test won't be available until Wednesday, and that is not even definitive. A positive test is definitely positive, but a negative test is not necessarily negative. Evidently, there is not a test available to measure the number of spirochetes in the blood, so they can only measure the number of antibodies being produced. Early in the disease, my body might not be producing enough antibodies to make the test positive. So, who knows.

Since I've had no appetite, I've lost a couple of pounds in the last week. I might hold off on taking the antibiotics until I lose that last, pesky 20 pounds. Kidding, kidding. Sorta.

Quite a Workout

2009-06-11T16:33:00.000-05:00

Monday night, Sam had his preschool screening. I had no idea they do it so early now, but it makes sense, I guess - better to catch any potential problems as early as you can. He passed, so he's ready to start kindergarten in the fall of 2011. Me? I'm not so ready. But since it's still two years away, I can live in denial for a bit longer.

The first screener asked him about 50 questions, ranging from "what color is this block?" to "complete this pattern". At his age, he only had to answer 11 questions correctly. I didn't find that out until the screening was over, so when questions came up that I hadn't even thought of teaching him, I knew he was going to fail the test and not be able to start kindergarten until he was 10 years old, and it was ALL MY FAULT. Patterns? It's never even crossed my mind to teach him that concept. But he got 29 questions right, so he passed without a problem. Thank goodness. I'm counting on him to support me in my old age.

Then they did hearing and vision screening, which he also passed. When we were done, and waiting to speak to the nurse to review all the results, Sam plopped down into his chair and said, "Whew! That was a lot of hard work. I'm very sweaty from all that hard work!"

No one said building mental muscles was easy!

Puppy Tales

2009-06-10T10:41:00.002-05:00

Happy has been the perfect furry addition to our family. He is very smart and wants to please, so he's very well-behaved, for the most part. He has a couple of bad habits, from his previous owners. Evidently, they 1) fed him table scraps; and 2) let him sleep in the kids' beds, so he barks in his kennel at night. Monday, I had to put him out in the garage when the kids ate their snack and dinner, because he wouldn't stop begging and trying to climb up onto the table. Last night, he did great at dinnertime - I actually forgot he was in the house, until I looked around to figure out where he'd gone, and saw him quietly lying under the table. (He probably knew the odds were in his favor that, if he stayed there long enough, one of the kids would drop something. He's a smart dog.)

Now, instead of having a 2-kid train follow me from room to room, I have a 2-kid+1-dog train following me everywhere. I wouldn't have believed that another body could possibly fit into our too-small bathroom, but a small, furry black body does manage to squeeze in.

Monday night, we had our first mini-crisis. The chain-link fence in the front yard had a gap between the ground and the bottom of the fence, which I was repairing with chicken wire. Happy and the kids were playing up by the garage, so I thought he was distracted. I turned my back to grab the wire snips, and when I turned back around, there was Happy on the WRONG side of the fence, and quick as a flash he took off down the road after a bicyclist. Of course, Ron was at work so I was home alone. I told the kids to stay put, and went in chase of the dog. Wrong move, because of course he thought it was a game and wouldn't come back for anything.

Then I turned to see that Sam was crawling under the fence. "STAY THERE," I said in my firmest voice, and Sam listened but I could tell he really wanted to come and help me, so I didn't trust him to stay. I went through the options in my head, and it seemed that all I could do was run in the house to get my keys and throw the kids in the van, and good luck to me finding the dog after all that time had passed. Thankfully, just then a very nice couple stopped and asked if I needed some help. The woman made sure my kids didn't go on the road while I finally managed to grab the dog, about a quarter mile down the road. Good thing I had my tennis shoes on, because I got quite a bit of running in that night.

While my kids have never run out onto the road and refused to come back, at least once a week they manage to frighten and/or annoy me with their antics, so Happy the dog fits right in with the craziness that is our family. I think we'll keep him.

Our Newest Addition

2009-06-08T05:51:00.004-05:00

It's like having another toddler in the house. But this one actually listens to me.

1) His name - the one he came with - is Happy. We might still be changing that.

2) He's an 8-month-old poodle.

3) When Sam realized we were taking him home, he looked up at me with an awestruck expression on his face and, shaking with excitement, said, "I always wanted a dog!" That, right there, is why we did this.

More details to come later.

And Sam was thrilled to discover that he fit in the dog's kennel.

Make Way for A Gosling

2009-06-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Driving down the freeway, there were a couple of cars ahead of me who seemed to be competing for the Worst Driver of the Year award. Darting in and out of traffic, slowing down and speeding up for no apparent reason - you know, the kind of behavior that causes you to drop back a few car lengths so you can avoid being caught up in the accident they are trying to their hardest to create.

Lucky me, both cars were now in my lane, albeit a hundred feet ahead of me - and suddenly, they both SLAMMED on their brakes. As far back as I was, I still had to brake hard to avoid hitting them. I grumbled under my breath and was looking for an opening in the next lane, when I saw why they had stopped so abruptly.

Make Way for Ducklings! Or a gosling, as the case may be. One lone gosling, flanked by two adult geese, was crossing the busy four-lane freeway. The adult goose in the back had his neck craned at a weird angle, apparently attempting to make himself look big and bad. He was showing those cars who was boss.

They did make it safely to the median, but there were four more lanes of north-bound traffic to cross, so I can only hope they made it safely to their destination.

Have you ever seen just one gosling, though? I don't think I have, and that makes me wonder what happened to his fellow nestlings. I'm guessing those geese parents might have made some other poor parenting choices.

Kids Book List, Theme: Gardening

2009-06-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Have I already said how much I love the library? So much, that my library card is activated at 4 of the 8 library systems in the Twin Cities Metropolitan area. Our libraries have an awesome "exchange program" type thing here - first you need to obtain a card from your home county's library system, but you can have it activated at any or all of the other library systems. Since I work in one county, live in another, and regularly go to two other counties for various errands, this is very convenient because I can just stop at the library wherever I am at the moment. And because I'm such a nerd, I know which library has the best children's section, the best selection of audiobooks, and the nicest librarians. (Pssst, to my local friends - the librarians in the Anoka County library system are, in general, the crabbiest, most unhelpful librarians I've ever met. And I've met a lot.)

I'm subscribed to various newsletters from each of the library systems. One newsletter tells me about the new books the library has just added to their collection - which allows me to put my name on the wait list immediately, meaning I usually get to read the book within days of its release - without having to pay for a hardcover copy at the bookstore! Another newsletter, my most favoritest newsletter ever, is called "Birth to Six News", which comes from the Hennepin County library. It's a children's books newsletter that comes out once a month and includes fingerplays, new and notable books, and usually a section that highlights books on a certain topic.

Also, on Hennepin County Library's website is ELSIE (Early Literacy Storytime Ideas Exchange). You can search children's books based on a certain keyword, and limit your selection based on certain skill groups that you want to focus on, like Phonological Sensitivity, Letter Knowledge, and Vocabulary. You don't even have to have a library card to use this system - anyone can use it to create a book list!

Usually, the kids and I go to the library and choose books, willy-nilly, off the shelves. But sometimes I have an agenda, and this month's agenda is "gardening". Both kids have an intense interest in the garden, and have been helping me plant, water, and weed. So far, neither one of them has pulled up a desirable plant, either. But whether that speaks to their plant knowledge, or the weed/seeding ratio in my garden still remains to be seen. Honestly, I'm betting on the weed/seedling ratio.

Here's my "gardening" booklist for this week:

The Carrot Seed - Ruth Krauss

Growing Vegetable Soup - Lois Ehlert

Ten Red Apples - Virginia Miller

Two Old Potatoes and Me - John Coy

Carrot Soup - John Segal

The Enormous Carrot - Vladimir Vasilevich Vagin

First the Egg - Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Muncha Muncha Muncha - Candace Fleming

Farm-Fresh Cats - Scott Santoro

2 Reasons Why Carpet is BAD

2009-06-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

Friday night I needed to go into a particular cabinet for a potholder. This cabinet is not organized as well as it should be, as my extract and food coloring bottles are in front of the potholders - meaning, oftentimes when I reach for a potholder, I knock over a bottle. That's what happened Friday night. After I'd picked up the food coloring bottles off the floor, I realized I was holding a green cap but no bottle. I looked under chairs, in corners, and under the refrigerator, but couldn't find a bottle anywhere so I assumed it had been used up and the cap just hadn't gotten thrown away.

*Cue the ominous music*

Later, I went in to start the kids' bath. I was running the tub, which usually makes the kids come running. A quick head count informed me that only one child had materialized. Hmmm, where's Natalie? I thought absentmindedly. After the tub was full, I went out to find her. And find her, I did. In a puddle of green food coloring. Which was all over my light-blue carpet. And Natalie's hands. And Natalie's khaki shorts. And Natalie's pink shirt.

I did what anyone would do in this situation. I screeched, "What did you do omigod what did you do get in the tub right now omigod" and stripped her clothes off on the way to the bathroom. I scrubbed her down, best as I could - not easy to do when the bathwater instantly starts to look like it's been hit with a major case of algae bloom. Then I got to work on the carpet. A bottle of vinegar, six dishtowels, half a bottle of SpotShot, and an hour later, the carpet was reasonably clean.

But this wasn't the end of the carpet fiasco. Oh no.

Saturday morning, a mere 12 hours after the green dye incident, I opened a bottle of grape juice which I'd just bought the day before. I gave the kids each their usual watered-down serving. 1/4 cup juice to 3/4 cup water - you know, I actually prefer it this way, too. I think it's much too sweet full-strength. But I digress.

15 minutes later - seriously, only 15 minutes later! - Ron bellered at me from the living room. "Get in here RIGHT NOW! I need you!"

Natalie had thrown up her grape juice all over the living room carpet. Luckily, I still had a few clean dishtowels left and I commenced to scrubbing once more.

But what's a little bit scary is that it was evidently because of the grape juice that she threw up. Because Sam did the same thing 10 minutes later. And then neither one threw up the rest of the day. I'm still not sure what I should do - call the store and explain what happened? I can't imagine them taking the bottles off the shelves because of that one incident. And the kids didn't really get that sick. One good barf and they were both right as rain.

I think I'm going to get hardwood floors.

Heavy sigh

2009-06-01T09:53:00.004-05:00

Awhile back, I talked about how some research has shown that kids tend to go through disequilibrium around the half-year mark. Sam will be 3 1/2 next month, and the terrible 3's have officially hit our house.

On Thursday of last week, I got the first glimpse of what was about to come. It was just general naughtiness, nothing I could really put my finger on, but in a general way the behavior was very out of character for Sam. I have been wanting to paint the bathroom for awhile, and I did have this feeling like - "Hmm, maybe I shouldn't try to do this now, because it probably won't turn out well". You know how you've heard you should always trust your instincts? You really should.

After I'd cleaned off the yellow Sam-sized handprints from the front of my (Not Normally Yellow) bathroom cabinets, I banished Sam to his room and kept him on A Very Short Leash for the rest of the night. Figuratively, not literally - though I have to admit, I just may have been tempted for a brief moment.

The weekend was like a marathon of episodes of a really bad sitcom. Things that might be funny if you see them on the TV screen, but not so funny when you have to clean up the aftermath. Like when I was carrying a bucket of sudsy water outside to wash my car, and Sam ran up to me and, as quick as lightning, yanked on one side of the bucket so the water spilled all over the kitchen floor, landing, and stairs. Trust me, there was no laugh track playing at our house - although there was a deep, reverberating voice narrating the words "GET INTO YOUR ROOM RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME..."

And this morning, I received a phone call from my husband that Sam had detached a clump of hair from Natalie's skull using brute force. A clump. When you hear the words "a clump" and "hair" in the same sentence, it sends a shiver down your spine. I have not yet surveyed the damage first-hand, but it can't be pretty. I've been informed that Sam has lost custody of one of his favorite toys for the remainder of the week (and with just cause).

Anyway! Let's talk about something else more fun, because frankly, I'm getting more annoyed every minute just from typing this.

Like my garden! I am doing some experimenting this year with fun, new things which I've never grown. Red sweet corn - did you know there was such a thing? I've only seen the small, decorative kind of red corn. But as we speak, I have red sweet corn sprouting in my garden. And artichokes! I didn't even know they could grow in Minnesota, with our approximately 2-day growing season. But the seed packet informs me that they do, by showing our grand state on the "when to plant" map. We even have an actual color that corresponds to an actual month range on the map key! So it must be so! And I found some fun varieties of heirloom tomato plants at the Farmer's Market. One that produces striped tomatoes, another called a "Black Plum" tomato, and a "Russian Persimmon".

Also, trees! Now, those of you who know me well will laugh at this. For, oh, the last 5 years or so, we've been talking about moving to a single-family house with more property. (We live in an upper-lower duplex, and although we don't rent out the bottom half anymore, we mainly use it for storage so it's largely wasted space. And who really needs two kitchens and two laundry rooms.) I think, after 5 years, we're finally ready to give up the dream. After all, moving is A LOT OF WORK. Inertia is just easier. So I'm planting trees. Trees which won't fruit for 3 or more years, which basically ties me to this land. Because after paying so much money for these trees, and all the time put into their care, I want to be around to see them pay off!

First, I purchased 2 apple trees from Linder's (a local chain). I bought a Honeycrisp and a Sweet Sixten...yum. I paid $50 each, which seemed like a steal since the independent greenhouses I'd perused charged $75 to $100 for the same trees.

Then, I was at Fleet Farm last week (another local chain) and found my holy grail...a Mesabi cherry tree. I have been looking, and looking for one of these for a couple of months now. It was marked $44.99. Awesome! But even more awesome, it rang up at 25% off - $33.74!!! If I had room in my yard, I was sorely tempted to buy a pear tree and a plum tree, also. Maybe next year, I'll find a place to squeeze them in.

Ah...now I'm feeling much better. I'd so much rather think and talk about my garden than my behaviorally-challenged 3 1/2-year-old at the moment.

Beyond the Birds and the Bees

2009-05-22T19:39:00.006-05:00

We go to the library almost every Saturday, and check out a new bagful o' books. About three weeks ago, we were heading to the checkout desk when Sam snagged this one off the shelf:

I was *this close* to telling him to put it back on the shelf, we had enough books already. Thank goodness I didn't.

This book has been single-handedly responsible for giving me more free time in the past three weeks than I've had in the past three and a half years combined. Well, if you count free time as ten-second intervals of silence in between requests to identify a bushbaby or a lesser red panda. I've actually learned a lot, too. Did you know that a black panther is actually just a regular old leopard, who happened to be born with black fur? I don't know exactly when I'll use that tidbit, but you never know. It may come in handy someday.

Who'd have thought the answer to all (well, one, but it was a big one) of my problems could be purchased for only $29.99? (Actually, I'm going to be buying a used copy for much less, but I'd pay about 10 times the cover price if I had to. Shhh...don't tell the seller.)

Book Review: Look Again

2009-05-18T14:44:00.002-05:00

I recently finished Lisa Scottoline's newest book, Look Again. I've read (and loved!) everything she's ever written, and this book was no exception. Even though the ending was a bit too pat and the plot was a bit too implausible, I still loved it. Scottoline is funny and clever, but unlike Janet Evanovich, whose Stephanie Plum books I stopped reading a few books back, Scottoline's books are always original. (I used to love the Stephanie Plum series, but after the first ten books, I started to feel like I was reading the same book over and over again. Then again, maybe I was. My memory, like the old gray mare, ain't what she used to be.)

If you've read Lisa Scottoline before, you know that she normally writes legal fiction, and her books usually star the same case of characters. Look Again was a total deviation from her regular formula. The main character, Ellen, is facing the possibility of losing her 3-year-old son so I'm sure this book affected me more than it would affect someone else who doesn't have a 3-year-old son. But you may not want to read the last 50 pages when you're, oh, riding a crowded passenger bus home from work. Just sayin'.

I was most excited to read on the inside flap of the cover that Lisa Scottoline has a weekly column that runs in the Philadelphia Inquirer. If you're a die-hard fan, like I am, this column is worth adding to your reader.

Finally, An Update

2009-05-08T19:07:00.005-05:00

Phew. As I wipe the sweat off my brow, I hardly know where to start explaining where I've been and what I've been doing.

I have been a bit busy lately, with a big project. Not the "raising two young children" project, or the "taking care of a house" project, but a different one. Gardening is one of my passions, something I haven't been able to do much of since having kids. The summer after Sammy was born, we had to tear out my beautiful garden to put in an ugly septic mound.

This used to be my garden. Now it's basically a big pile of...well, you know.

Ever since, I haven't had the time or the ambition to start over, but this year I've decided to change all that.

This is what I have to work with:

And this:

I've spent the past couple of weeks digging out tree stumps, hauling black dirt, weeding, mulching, planting, and fencing. And that's why I haven't been posting lately.

*********************************************************

I love summer. Love, love, love it, for reasons to numerous to mention, but one of the reasons? Messy projects can move outdoors, leaving the cleanup to Mother Nature instead of Mother Exhausted.

Nah, I didn't really leave the kids outside until it rained. I mean, I let Mother Nature clean up the driveway. The kids, I sprayed down with a garden hose. Which they thought was great fun - almost as fun as the painting itself.

They Say You Shouldn't Judge a Book By Its Cover...

2009-04-22T16:35:00.001-05:00

But sometimes, it's really hard not to judge a person by their bumper stickers.

Recently, I was in a parking lot and walked past a car bearing two bumper stickers. The first one proclaimed, "It's not about whether you pick your nose, it's where you put the boogers". The second one was a political bumper sticker apparently featuring a 2008 Presidential candidate that I'd never heard of (and I followed political coverage enough to know about early candidates like Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, and Mitt Romney). Alongside this unknown politician, were the faces of Obama and McCain. The unknown politician's face smiled out from the bumper sticker, while McCain and Obama's faces had been decorated with marker moustaches, glasses, and whatever else. If you were ever in second grade, you know the juvenile nonsense that I'm talking about. There was some dumb saying on that bumper sticker, too, which went in one eye and out the other.

I had an immediate mental image of the kind of person who put those stickers on their car. Not even a physical image (although I'm guessing either a teenager or early-20-something type person) but more of a personality image. I have to admit, I hoped I'd see the car's owner but it didn't happen.

When I was in high school, my first car was a 1987 Dodge Aries. There was something special in the paint used on that car model. Something special that made the paint fleck off in huge chips. I could spot a fellow Dodge Arian from a mile away simply by noting the paint job (or lack thereof).

In a misguided attempt to hide the ugliness of the exterior, I decorated the back bumper with some bumper stickers. A big, colorful flower. "Peace" or "Love" or some other hippie-ish saying, written in colorful, glittery, bubbly font. I think those stickers drew even more attention to the car. I know for a fact it drew more attention from the police, because I got pulled over twice in that car for "speeding". There was no speeding involved either time, and I was let go with a "warning". I know now the police were simply looking for an excuse to pull me over, because...come on. If you see a car like that, don't you assume the driver probably does a little wacky tobaccy sometimes? (And for the record, I've never smoked any kind of a cigarette.)

Like it or not, a car's bumper stickers say a lot about the driver - but not always what the driver is intending. These days, I go au naturel.

Scenes from a Midwest Restaurant

2009-04-21T16:33:00.004-05:00

The recent news story about the disgustingness that took place at a North Carolina Domino's Pizza made me think of my own experiences in a restaurant kitchen. If you eat out regularly and are squeamish, you may not want to read the rest of this. Just saying.

There seems to be a particular type of person who works in the kitchen at certain restaurants. I'm not talking chefs, here - I'm talking minimum-wage burger flippers or greasy spoon cooks. In the town in which I grew up, there were two middle-of-the-road restaurants, and one pricier, more upscale place. I worked at one of the middle-of-the-road restaurants, and knew a lot of people who worked at the other joint. In fact, a lot of the cooks would quit (or more likely, get fired) from one place and go to work at the other. So I feel pretty confident in saying that the same types of "pranks" went on at both places.

One memorable incident happened when the waitress reported to the cook that "so-and-so" had come in. I didn't recognize the customer's name, but apparently the cook did and he looked extremely pissed off. He asked the waitress, "Is this his order?" holding up the customer's ticket - a BLT - and the waitress confirmed it. After she left the kitchen, the cook (I'll him Bob) took the bacon off the grill, threw it on the floor, and stomped on it. He commented while he was doing it that those were the same shoes that he wore out in the yard where his dog sh!t. He wouldn't listen to me when I told him to stop it, and just started laughing. So I intercepted the waitress and told her not to serve that sandwich to the customer, and why. It got back to the manager (I can't remember if I told him or if the waitress did - it doesn't really matter anymore) and Bob got in huge trouble. Didn't get fired, though why he didn't is beyond me. If I was the manager, he'd have been gone that second. And then Bob had the balls to ream me out for "telling on him".

Bob did eventually get fired, after many further offenses, and his replacement came in the form of "Arthur". Arthur was an old buddy of the restaurant's owner. And by old, I do mean old. He was easily 70, 75 years old, and wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed anymore. He was a nice guy, but extremely slow and was very aggravating to work with on a busy Friday or Saturday night. I was a fry cook on those busy nights, and my job was to time my stuff to be done along with his stuff. It was excruciating to see the tickets piling up while I was standing around unable to do anything, because Arthur was puttering around in back instead of tending to the grill. One night, Arthur left the hash browns sitting out all night and I caught hell from the owner the next morning because they were all rotten. Of course, nothing was ever Arthur's fault, because the owner and him went waaay back.

Friday nights were fish fry night. One night, I witnessed Arthur absentmindedly dump a whole fryer of freshly-fried fish into the garbage can. When he realized what he'd done, he simply picked them back out of the garbage and put them on the customer's plates. One of the other cooks there, when something like that would happen, he'd throw them in the fryer for a couple of seconds and state that the oil was so hot, it would kill any of the germs picked up from the garbage. Uh, yeah, maybe - but what about all the rotten food in the garbage that is now fried onto the fish? Ewww.

Oh, and just a tip - most cooks take it personally if you send food back and there's a good chance they'll do something disgusting to your food. I witnessed Bob, more than one time, spit on someone's food because he was angry that the customer had complained. (And yes, I intercepted that food and reported it as well. And no, he didn't get fired for that either.) I have never sent anything back to the kitchen, and don't ever plan on doing so. I'd rather just eat it (or not eat it) in silence and not come back to the restaurant.

Surprisingly, I still eat out in spite of knowing what goes on behind the scenes at many, if not most, restaurants. But I do have to work hard at not thinking about what went into making the food.

The Attack

2009-04-09T18:44:00.004-05:00

The mighty hunter carefully chose his weapon. "Baby Betsy Wetsy will do just fine," he decides with satisfaction. He goes to the kitchen sink and loads his weapon, a pink plastic bottle. Then he sneaks out to the living room where his unsuspecting victim is quietly reading books.

The hunter carefully aims Betsy Wetsy's nether regions at his victim and squeezes the trigger of the bottle with all his might, aiming a mighty stream of water down Betsy-Wetsy's throat and out her bottom.

The victim doesn't even notice until a few minutes later when her back starts to feel damp and cold. "Wet," she mutters with dissatisfaction. "Wet," she repeats as she strips off her clothes. The mighty hunter, while disappointed that his efforts went largely unnoticed, doesn't let it bother him for long and he goes off in pursuit of bigger game(s).

Bunny Tales

2009-04-01T19:33:00.001-05:00

You know how there are lots and lots of stories about Santa, and the North Pole, and his reindeer? Not so much with the Easter Bunny, which I never realized until recently when Sammy started pelting me with questions. "How does the Easter Bunny get in our house?" he wanted to know. "Where does the Easter Bunny live?"

I really didn't know what to say, because there isn't a lot of lore associated with the Easter Bunny. I've found a good way to deal with these questions is to throw them back at Sammy. "Well, I don't know," I might say. "I wonder if he comes in the window?" Then Sammy will usually say something like, "No, I don't think he comes in the window. I think he comes in the door." "But our doors are locked; I wonder how he gets in?" I'll say. "I think he has a key," Sammy says. I love these little conversations because it gives me a glimpse into the mind of a 3-year-old. He's at a really imaginative stage right now and he'll tell elaborate stories - with no point whatsoever, but I can't fault him that because he probably learned it from me.

During one of our Easter Bunny discussions, I told him a story about a few springs ago when I was cleaning out one of my flowerbeds and uncovered a whole nest of tiny, blind, sleeping baby bunnies. I carefully covered them back up and left them undisturbed, in spite of knowing that in a few months I'd be battling with them over my newly sprouted peas and beans. Sammy found the story fascinating and asked me to repeat it no less than 7 times. Later, I heard him earnestly telling the story to Natalie.

The part that I left out was that the mother abandoned her babies shortly after that. I found them dead and smelly a few weeks later, and had to bury them in a corner of the yard. I didn't want to scar Sammy for life by telling him the unhappy ending to the sweet baby bunny story.

Changing His Mind

2009-03-31T19:52:00.002-05:00

We recently went to Target, otherwise known as That Store That I Can Never Leave Without Spending At Least $100. They have an enormous spring display right now - outdoor furniture, grills, and gardening equipment. It's almost enough to make me believe that it's actually going to be warm out soon. Until I wake up in the morning and it's 60 degrees in the house because the furnace stopped working overnight and it's 25 degrees outside. But I digress.

Sammy ran over and climbed on the furniture. I told him to get down. He didn't listen. I started counting, "One....two...." and Sammy jumped down, shouting, "I'm coming! I'm coming! I changed my mind!"

I don't think I've ever made it to the count of 3. For some reason, he is sore afraid of the countdown and I have no regrets about exploiting that fear for the time being.

This Is Why I Don't Get Enough Exercise Anymore

2009-03-30T19:43:00.002-05:00

I recently was inspired to begin a Couch to 5K program. Awhile back I did this and it was amazing, but then life interfered and I ended up back on the couch. The past few months, I've been determined to get in better shape and have been doing my best to work out every day that I can. Sometimes I do workout DVDs (30-Day Shred is my current favorite) but three nights a week, I run on my treadmill.

Ron had to work yesterday but I really, really wanted to do a 20-minute run. The kids and I headed downstairs, where I set up lots and lots of toys and turned on a movie for them while I hopped on the treadmill.

Minute 1...so far, so good.

Minute 2...this is almost too good to be true, still no interruptions.

Minute 3....Sam: "I have to go poop! I have to go poop!" He went upstairs and I followed a minute later to render butt-wiping services.

Back downstairs. My heartrate is back to normal, so I figure I should start over at the beginning again (keep in mind, the first 5 minutes is a warm-up of quick walking - I hadn't even started running yet before this first interruption).

Minute 1 through 5...all is well

Minute 6...FINALLY, I'm actually running.

Minute 6 1/2: Evidently someone forgot to close the door, because I hear Natalie heading up the stairs. I'm determined to run at least one minute uninterrupted and figure I have 30 seconds before I need to go get her. After all, she goes up and down the stairs all the time and has never fallen before.

Minute 6 3/4: thunk thunk thunkthunkthunkTHUNK

I had the presence of mind to hit the "stop" button on the treadmill before charging up the stairs, since I know Sammy was likely to try to get on the treadmill the minute I step off. After all, it would be a bit embarrassing to bring BOTH kids to the emergency room for treatment in the same night. I charged up the stairs at full speed and found Natalie on the landing, still lying just as she had landed. From the sound of it, she had fallen down the entire first flight of stairs, about 8 of them. She was shirtless - pretty typical, since both my kids seem to be budding exhibitionists - and when she sat up, I could see a red spot on her shoulder where she had evidently taken the biggest hit from the fall but quick once-over revealed no broken bones. For once it was only 4:00 in the afternoon when a potential head injury occurred. Usually, all major falls at our house happen right at bedtime and I am then compelled to wake up the fall-ee hour upon hour for the first part of the night. Luckily, all was well and nothing seemed to be injured but her ego. And my will to exercise.

Potty and Potty Talk

2009-03-27T14:07:00.002-05:00

Having the kids back in daycare is both good and bad.

Good: Sammy has become remotivated by peer pressure to start using the potty again. He'd been relapsing the past few weeks but is back in underwear full-time, after only 3 days back in daycare.

Bad: He's now napping again (how they get him to nap, I have no clue but they should really sell their method) which means he's up until 9 or 10 at night.

Good: Sammy's excited to see his friends again, and it's fun hearing his tales about daycare and his friends.

Bad: Said friends seem to be teaching him some naughty things. Case in point: Last night, he pointed to his rear and said, "This is my frickin' butt". Okay, here I have to admit my bad mom moment: I burst out laughing before I caught myself. Then I found my composure and told him that wasn't a very nice thing to say. That apparently didn't make much of an impression (or was cancelled out by my earlier laughter), because a few hours later the kids were playing in their room and Natalie came out crying. Sammy was following behind her and I demanded to know what had happened. "She pushed me," Sammy tattled. "Why is she crying?" I insisted, expecting to hear that he'd pushed her in retaliation. But, no. "Because I called her a frickin' butt," he said with a grin on his face.

Sigh.

Dinner Conversations

2009-03-25T18:27:00.004-05:00

Yesterday at the supper table, I had my first s-e-x talk with Sammy. After a discussion about belly buttons and umbilical cords, he brought up one of Grandma's ponies, the one who's expecting a baby this spring. "How will that baby come out?" he wondered aloud. I explained in rudimentary terms, but I could see the gears turning in his head so I knew that wasn't the end of it. I was expecting the "How did that baby get in there?" question, but he threw me a softball question: "Do I have a baby in my tummy?" And then a few minutes later, "What are nipples for?"

This seems to be the topic of the week, because we went to the zoo on Saturday and were treated to an X-rated show by the lions. Surprisingly, even though Sammy watched intently, there were no questions asked. This time, anyway.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

2009-03-24T18:25:00.002-05:00

I had just returned to my desk after a meeting today when a coworker (who I see in the halls occasionally, but have no idea what her name is) came up to me and said, "You were the person nominated to be most likely to have a safety pin". I couldn't imagine why someone would have thought of me, but I gamely opened my desk drawer and rummaged through its contents. Hmm...hand sanitizer, Tums, eyedrops, deodorant, toothpaste, various kinds of tea and hot chocolate, a shaker of salt...aha. There was my sewing kit.

The coworker laughed at the contents of my desk drawer. "You know what that tells me?" she said. "You're either a madman or someone's mom."

Yes, and double yes. Guilty on both counts. Maybe someday I'll post the contents of my purse so you can all have a good laugh at my expense.

The Weekend Update

2009-03-23T17:03:00.004-05:00

Today was the kids' first day back at daycare, after a two-month hiatus. I knew Sammy would be ecstatic to be back. The entire time he was home with Dad, he would randomly mention how much he missed his daycare friends, and ever since we've told him he was going back he's been chattering about all the things he needed to tell his teacher about, including: Johnny the hamster, potty-training, Chuck E. Cheese visits, and various Lego masterpieces. Natalie, on the other hand - I wasn't sure what to expect from her. She had just moved into the toddler room a week or two before their daycare break, so it was still pretty new to her. She also inherited my introverted personality and is happy to hang out at home. So I was surprised when 1) Ron told me she didn't even look back at him when he dropped her off, and 2) her teacher told me that she had a great day and seemed really happy to be back.

In other news, with the recent warm weather we dug our bikes out of storage last week but we haven't yet dusted off the bike trailer. Ron's bike has a child seat on the back, but that means we can only take one child riding at a time. Sammy likes bike rides, but Natalie looooves anything to do with the outdoors, and bike riding now is #1 on her list of favorite pasttimes. All weekend long she drug her bike helmet around, pleading for just one more bike ride. On Saturday, Ron rode his bike to the gas station for a Sunday paper, and Natalie got to ride with. It's about 2 miles (one way) to the nearest gas station, but Ron reported that she just happily sat in her seat, enjoying the breeze on her face, and didn't make a peep. He was so proud of how good she was that he bought her a lollipop at the gas station. When they came home, Natalie came waltzing in the door, looking blissed out and still sucking on her lollipop. Sammy's gaze instantly focused on the lollipop and he made a beeline for her. "What do you have, Natalie? Can I see?" When she didn't answer, he persisted, "Do you have a lollipop? Can I have a taste?" and he crouched down to get a better look. I finally took pity on him and got him a lollipop of his own from my secret stash.

Ron's first day at his new job was yesterday, so the kids and I spent the day by ourselves. I had a huge amount of projects to do this weekend, both indoor and out, and I was amazed at how well the kids played and let me get my work done. Of course, it helped that all the outdoor toys are now new and exciting again. We got the plastic off the windows (which involves touching up the paint on the trim, since the peel & seel adhesive always manages to peel off some of the paint as well), cleaned out the basement, rearranged some furniture, ran some errands, and cleaned out my potting shed. By the end of the day, the garbage can was full to overflowing and my back was aching. But there's nothing quite like the satisfaction you get from a hard day's work and a lot to show for it.

To end this post with one more bit of randomness, right now I am remembering the one good thing about winter: no thunderstorms. Right now, we are enduring the first thunderstorm of the season and, as usual, it scares the you-know-what out of me. At least there's one fewer tree to fall on the house now, should a bolt of lightning strike.

Happy Days Are Here Again

2009-03-18T06:21:00.002-05:00

The first sign of spring at our house is when the swings go back up.

The smile on my face is just as big.

Another Manifestation of Spring Fever

2009-03-11T15:57:00.003-05:00

While I was trying to upload this picture, Natalie came into the office and demanded "Up". Her bottom seemed awfully warm & squishy, but I didn't smell anything. I stuck my finger in the back of her waistband and pulled it out to check the contents, a maneuver well-known to all parents, and was surprised by sticking my finger into a pile of goo that had worked its way all the way up to the top of her diaper.

I slung her over my other arm and kept my icky finger well away from the rest of my body. As I rushed through the door of the kids' room, I managed to bang Natalie's head on the doorframe. I had no choice but to let her wail as I apologized over and over again, trying to clean my finger and keep the contents of her diaper from getting all over the bed.

So then. Now that I've grossed you all out, would you like a frog cupcake to celebrate spring (which I'm told is right around the corner, although the temperature barely cracked zero degrees today)?

Tales From the Hamster Cage

2009-03-09T19:49:00.003-05:00

Ah, March in Minnesota. The time of year when you realize that God has a sense of humor. The snow melts - only to be replaced by a fresh two feet of snow hours later. The beginning of Daylight Savings Time means more daylight at the end of the day - but also totally messes up the kids' sleep schedules.

Last week, I had spring fever and tried to assuage it by heading off to the local Home Depot to buy seeds. I'm bound and determined that this year I'm going to have a proper garden again, something I haven't been able to do since 1) the children sucked up all of my free time, and 2) the perfectly-sized, perfectly-soiled garden plot was turned into a humongous septic mound and I had to start over with a new patch of soil, which is still much too heavy to properly grow root vegetables.

I potted the seeds while the kids ~~helped~~ dug their fingers into the dirt and sprinkled seeds all over the kitchen table. Now we're anxiously waiting for the first sprout to appear. Seed Sprout Watch 2009 is the biggest thing to happen in our house since we got a hamster.

Speaking of that. I'm starting to wonder if getting a hamster was such a good idea, after all. A few days ago, we let the hamster out to play and decided to forego the exercise ball. You know that little grate thing that's on the front bottom part of refrigerators? I kind of forgot that when we bought this new fridge, that grate never fit right and would pop off every time we opened the door, so we ended up throwing it out, thinking it wasn't totally necessary anyway. Turns out it's very useful in keeping small rodents from going underneath the fridge. So under the fridge Johnny went. I got the flashlight out and shone it underneath, and could see a couple of black beady eyes shining at me from amidst of the piles of dust. Hoping that it was Johnny and not some creature from the bowels of hell, I tried to lure it out with tidbits of lettuce and yogurt snacks. No dice.

I ended up taking the back panel off the refrigerator and extracting him that way. The upside is, it was a good opportunity to vacuum up the dust colonies, and the fridge runs much quieter now. Who knew? I thought that recommendation to vacuum the coils once a year was just a scam run by the vacuum cleaner bag companies.

A couple of days ago, we again took Johnny out to play. This time I'd learned my lesson and put him in his exercise ball and warned the kids that there was to be no kicking, throwing, or rolling the ball under any circumstances. I guess I forgot to mention that the ball was not to be opened without my supervision. I had my back turned to the kids while I folded laundry, keeping tabs on the situation by hearing alone. I misidentified the "click" that turned out to be the sound of Sam opening the ball, and only realized what happened when he proudly said, "I let Johnny out!"

I turned just in time to see the hamster high-tailing it for the baseboard heater. By the time I pried the front off of the heater, he was nowhere to be seen, and the most likely assumption was that he'd disappeared down the hamster-sized hole which contained the water pipe leading to the furnace. With a sick feeling in my stomach, I started picturing my future - which included a telltale stink each time the furnace would run. I turned and explained to Sam that Johnny was gone. Understandably, he got very upset and started to cry. I felt terrible, but there was nothing I could do short of knocking out the floor and a good part of the wall, and demolition was not on my to-do list that day.

Maybe fifteen minutes later, we found Johnny cowering behind a box on the other side of the laundry room. We all heaved a sigh of relief, and I think it's safe to say Sam won't be letting Johnny out to play anymore.

Heeeere's Johnny!

2009-02-26T20:37:00.005-06:00

Introducing Johnny the hamster.

When I asked Sammy what he wanted to name his new hamster, he didn't hesitate a second before replying "Johnny". Why, I have no idea. As far as I know, he doesn't know anyone named Johnny, and I can't think of a single cartoon that has a character named Johnny. A few hours later, Sammy asked me if he could really name the hamster anything he wanted. When I said yes and asked if he wanted to change the name, he said, "Yes. His name is Johnny the cow." Indeed. But we're still calling him Johnny for short.

Today, it started snowing at about noon. I'd heard we were going to receive 7 or more inches of snow, so it was no surprise and I was happy that I'd get home before the worst of it hit (as most of you probably already know, I leave work at 1:00 every day). My bus was about 10 minutes late, and when it finally arrived - it was packed to the gills. No room for any more people. That really stunk because the next bus wasn't for an hour. Thankfully, Ron is home with the kids for now so I didn't have to worry about having to get the kids from daycare on time. So I took advantage of the unexpected free time and walked over to the IDS center, bought myself a cup of coffee and sat down to relax with my book.

2:30 came - time for the next bus. I walked to the bus stop, but walked all the way to the second stop on the line this time, figuring that way I'd for sure get on the next bus. At 3:05, over half an hour late, the bus finally came. Again, it was jam-packed full of people, every spare inch of space filled with a commuter eager to get home before the storm got any worse.

By this time, I was getting disgusted. Fifteen minutes later, another bus came and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was finally a double bus. Finally, there'd be room for me. Nope. Not a chance.

I walked to the first stop on the route - an indoor, underground ramp - and could hardly step off the bottom of the escalator for all the other people who had the same idea. I'm happy to say that I finally managed to get on the next bus, at 3:30. Then it took another 45 minutes for the bus to travel the 12 blocks to get out of downtown. And another 45 minutes on the freeway. And then another half an hour for me to drive home from the park & ride. All in all, it took me four and a half hours to get home tonight. Spring can't come soon enough this year.

One funny story to end this post. It was beautiful outside...was it just yesterday? Maybe the day before? Right now, it seems like it's been snowing forever and it's hard to remember. Anyway - whichever day it was, it was about 40 degrees outside and the snow was nice and sticky, just right for making snowmen. Sammy wanted to go outside and make Frosty, so we did. When we finished our snowman, Sammy watched for a few minutes, then asked why he wasn't moving. He couldn't figure out why Frosty wasn't coming to life like he does in the song.

My Excuse..And Exciting News

2009-02-19T19:09:00.003-06:00

I haven't posted in almost two weeks - and I have a good reason for it, really, I do! I've made a commitment to myself to start working out, EVERY night, after the kids go to bed. It's been tough because sometimes it's 9:00 by the time both kids are down for the count. But I've been sticking with it for a week and a half now.

I've heard so much about The 30 Day Shred and decided to give it a whirl. Each of the workouts is 20 minutes long, and even I can find the time and motivation to work out for a mere 20 minutes a day. I've been seeing results already, so that gives me even more motivation to stick with it. So I've decided to revise my goal of posting five times a week to my blog, down to once a week. I guess now I'm going to have to make it count. :-)

Now for the exciting news! About a week ago, did you hear it when the heavens opened up and a chorus of angels sang "Hallelujah!" No? Maybe it was just in my head, then. The reason - Sammy is potty-trained!!!! He's been in his big boy underwear since last Thursday, and we've only had a couple of accidents (and only of the wet variety!) so it's official. And on top of it all, he's woken up dry four out of the past five mornings. I guess when he was ready, he was really ready.

We did have one small hiccup. About three days into the training, it seems that he got afraid of doing #2 in the potty and held it in for a day and a half. Finally, I gave him a glass of undiluted juice, which produced the desired effect in about half an hour. He said he needed to go, and I brought him into the bathroom. No sooner had he pulled down his pants than he changed his mind and very firmly said he didn't have to go. Ten minutes later, he got a panic-stricken look on his face and again said he needed to go. Once again, he changed his mind as soon as we got into the bathroom but I matter-of-factly said it looked like he needed to go. To distract him, I started telling him one of his favorite stories - Little Red Riding Hood - while I helped him onto the potty. The wolf hadn't even made it to grandma's door yet when the deed was done. And it's been smooth going ever since, so to speak.

Tuesday evening, we went to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. The kids had a blast, as usual, but we were all cranky and overtired by the time we got home. We have a second reward planned for Sammy, but he doesn't know about it yet.

See, lately he's been asking for a puppy. We're not ready to take that step just yet, but we've decided to get him a hamster or a gerbil instead. So Saturday morning, we're going to take him to pick out a small rodent of his very own. I just hope this one isn't an escape artist, like the previous hamster I owned (whose name was Baby Houdini). I kid you not, that hamster could escape from any cage designed by man. That thing was lucky it lived as long as it did, since I also had two cats. I couldn't tell you how many times I came home from work and walked in the door to see the cats intently staring at the hamster - but they never harmed it. Sadly, Baby Houdini met his end by escaping in front of a not-so-tolerant cat, after I gave him up when I moved in with Ron. This time, I've done my research and I think I've discovered what looks to be a hamster-proof and small-child-proof cage. Let's hope so, anyway.

One of My New Favorite Things

2009-02-05T07:00:00.005-06:00

This stuff is truly awesome. It's only available at health food stores or online, and can be a bit pricy, but worth its weight in gold. We've wiped out 3 colds with it so far (sometimes repeated doses are necessary if symptoms return - but you can literally see the effects within half an hour). I had to share my exciting discovery! Finally, cold and flu medicine that's safe for children, actually works, and hasn't been taken off the market by the FDA!

If I Was a Sculptor...But Then Again, No

2009-02-04T07:00:00.007-06:00

In a normal winter, we have a one-week January thaw. This winter has been anything but normal. So when we had a whopping 12-hour winter thaw on Saturday - the very last day of January - I could hardly contain my excitement. However, you could almost hear the weather forecasters sighs of disappointment, since if we'd made it through Sunday without temps above freezing, it would have been the longest such stretch since the history of recorded temperatures. Personally, I'm glad we didn't make that record.

Because it's been too cold all winter, the snow has been powdery - good for skiiers, bad for wanna-be sculptors. So we took advantage of Saturday's weather to do some sculpting.

My feeble attempt at making a snowbunny - I think it looks more like a cat pregnant a dozen babies. (I know it's not much, but it's the best I can do....)

My husband, the artist, did a better job with his snow-lion.

Sampling the snow.

My view from the ground, when I was making a snow angel. The snow was such a gorgeous blue color that day.

Then, the cold winter winds blew in and all that we're left with is the memory of that beautiful day. And a yard full of ice.

Pictures

2009-02-03T07:05:00.001-06:00

Some of my favorite pictures from recent days:

Don't let them fool you...there was no sleeping going on.

Sammy's Spiderman birthday cake...wet hair and flushed face were courtesy of the hot tub in which he'd been swimming for the previous hour.

The swimming pool...

My water baby - she had a fit when it was time to get out of the pool

DQ Ice cream cake, from the actual day of his birthday

We went to the Mall of America on his birthday and the kids had a lot of fun at Nickelodeon Universe...Natalie says, "Sit down in the back and get your head back inside the bus!"

Unruly passenger disregards driver's instructions...

Decides she has more important things to worry about.

Changes

2009-02-02T07:42:00.002-06:00

Friday was a rough day. It was the last day of work for my coworkers who were laid off, and it was the last day of daycare for my kids (for awhile).

I don't think I've mentioned it here, but Ron lost his temp job back in November. It was supposed to be a long-term assignment, and turned out only to be 6 weeks. Whoopty-doo. Ever since, he's been looking around and not finding anything. After talking with the awesome director/owner of our daycare center, we found out that we could pay an $80 holding spot to take our kids out of daycare for two months. No-brainer there, since we can easily use that $190 a week on something else right now...like food or electricity. So, today is Ron's first day home alone with the kids.

It was really, really hard taking the kids out of daycare, even though I know they'll probably be back within a couple of months. Sammy was sad to leave all of his friends, although I don't think Natalie will care as much - she just transferred to the toddler room, so hasn't had much chance to make friends there yet. Sammy had been doing so good with potty-training, in no small part thank to daycare and the peer pressure of his already-trained and nearly-trained friends there. And he was learning so much - like the day of the inauguration, when he came home and announced that we had a new president, and his name was Barackan Obama (sic). Or Friday, when he told us that there was only one day left of January, and then it was February. Not that I can't teach him these things myself - and I think I do teach him a lot - but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have had the president conversation with him yet. I guess I wouldn't have thought he'd be old enough to understand or care.

So, allow me this moment of self-pity. I'm not good with change, and to have so much of it in one day is overwhelming.

Having Kids Is Finally Starting to Pay Off

2009-01-29T07:00:00.002-06:00

I sat around, ate bon-bons and caught up on my soaps while the kids did this:

(And no, I don't really watch soaps. No comment on the bon-bons.)

Good Times and Bad Times

2009-01-28T09:13:00.004-06:00

When Sammy was 2 1/2, that was a really rough age for me. It seemed he was constantly testing the limits, throwing tantrums, and generally being a pain in the butt. Not that there weren't good times, too, but in general, it was very trying for me.

Then, shortly before he turned 3, things turned around. He became an easy-going, happy child. He still throws an occasional tantrum, or willfully defies me, but I can usually turn things around pretty quickly. Sunday, he didn't nap (par for the course on the weekends these days) so by 6:00 he was falling apart with tiredness. After about half an hour of butting heads with him over EVERYTHING, he came up to me and said, "I need a hug and a kiss." We snuggled for a few minutes, and then I had a talk with him about how tired he was, and that that was probably why he was having such a hard time listening. Wouldn't you know, after that he acted like an angel until bedtime at 7:00. Easy peasy.

So, what's this I've always heard about the 3's being so much more terrible than the 2's? Unfortunately, I've discovered this current behavior is probably a short-lived phase. I read a study recently that basically said that children tend to be easy-going and well-behaved around their birthdays. Around their half-birthdays, they go through a phase where everything changes and their behavior becomes disruptive, defiant, and lock-yourself-in-the-bathroom-and-have-a-good-scream inducing. (Sorry, I did a quick Google search, and couldn't figure out the right combination of keywords to link to the study. You'll just have to take my word for it, unless I can come up with the citation later.)

The biggest problem for me is that my kids are about a year and a half apart in age. If you do the math, you'll see that we will always have a kid going through the difficult phase. This is proving true right now - Natalie is going through a difficult stage, while Sammy has been well-behaved.

I also have a copy of a "Cycles of Development" chart from The Gesell Institute of Child Development, but that is even less encouraging. I don't know if I can legally scan in the chart and post it here, but the citation on the bottom of the sheet says the Gesell Institute books are available at your public library. The cycles are: A) Smooth; B) Breakup; C) Sorting-Out; D)Inwardizing; E) Expansion; and F) "Neurotic". I don't exactly know the definitions of all those categories, but "smooth" is the only one that sounds promising to me. The only ages under the "smooth" phase are: 4 weeks, 40 weeks, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, and 16 years. That seems like an awful lot of time spent in cycles B through F.

Maybe no one but me is interested in this sort of thing, so I'm sorry if I've bored you to tears! (I have a degree in psychology, so obviously I find the brain fascinating.)

Loveys

2009-01-27T08:57:00.002-06:00

Neither of my kids have ever had a "lovey" - well, other than the binky. But they haven't become attached to any one particular blanket or stuffed animal, which is just fine with me. I don't have to worry about leaving the precious lovey behind at a restaurant and then panicking when bedtime rolls around.

So, I was surprised when about a month ago, Sammy started wanting to bring various of his treasured toys to bed with him. It's a different toy every few nights. The last couple of nights, it's been a sheet of Disney stickers that we got for free in the mail (I think they wanted us to sign up for a movie club). Last week, it was his take-apart dump truck. The best, though, was a couple of weeks ago, when he filled his metal Elmo lunchbox with small toy cars and tractors (also metal) and drug that to bed with him. That came in handy in the middle of the night when he came into our room. The clunk, clunk, clunk announced his presence.

I just hope he doesn't decide he wants to take his tricycle to bed with him next.

Crazy but True

2009-01-22T09:22:00.003-06:00

The people that ride the city bus that I take to and from work are almost exclusively business people. It's rare that anyone says a word to each other. Most people sit and stare out the windows, sleep, or - like me - have headphones on and read a book. There's rarely a noise to be heard other than the engine noise or the heaters blasting, trying to fight the cold air that seeps in through the poorly-sealed bus doors.

Yesterday, a guy got on the bus with his approximately 3-year-old daughter in tow. Thinking about my own 3-year-old, I figured she would be chatty and exuberant, and extremely bored with sitting after the initial excitement wore off. I wouldn't have cared, but I knew that some of the other bus riders might not be so tolerant, so I started thinking about what toys I had in my purse that I could offer her if her dad hadn't brought enough distractions. (It seems to me, in my experience, that guys don't often think about those sorts of things.)

Her dad had brought her a snack - a staple when travelling with young kids. Good for him! Then she finished her snack, and...nothing. Her dad stared out the window, not speaking, and I expected her to start looking for her own entertainment. Nope - she sat there quietly, looking around at the other passengers, and didn't say a word until 20 minutes later, when we stopped at the first park and ride, and she asked him if that was their stop. Her dad told her that they would get off at the next stop, and again - not another word from her. By the time we got to the second and final stop, she had nodded off, sitting upright, and her dad carried her limp body off the bus.

Wow! I was flabbergasted. I have to believe she was just very small for her age, because it's impossible to imagine a 3-year-old behaving like that. At least mine. I'm breaking out in hives just thinking about trying to take Sammy on the bus with me.

A Day Off

2009-01-19T16:36:00.002-06:00

Today was a work holiday, but not a daycare holiday. So I did something I haven't had a chance to do in ages, and I sent the kids to daycare while I stayed home. It was a glorious five hours. I got my house cleaned, wrote out thank-you notes for Sammy's birthday, and even had an hour to relax and finish up the scarf I'm knitting for Natalie.

Then I went to pick the kids up from daycare. I was sitting at a yield sign waiting to turn right, and I saw a cop car making a turn into my lane, so I waited for him. The next time I looked up, another car had come out of nowhere and smashed into the front end of the cop car. The cop car careened into the northbound lane of traffic and hit a vehicle that was waiting at the stop sign, and the car that had hit the police car was headed straight for the front end of my van at a very fast clip. I had no time to back up, so all I could do was brace myself for the airbag explosion that was about to come. And...it never came. Somehow, the car missed my front bumper by mere inches and took out the yield sign that had been at my right front bumper. Later, I saw the yield sign 25 feet away, in the parking lot of the gas station at that corner. Wow. Obviously, I had an angel looking over my shoulder today.

I wasn't even that annoyed about having to stand outside in the cold for 30 minutes, waiting for the state troopers to arrive so I could give my statement (I assume because a local cop car was involved, the local police couldn't handle the investigation themselves). I was just so grateful to be unharmed.

You know, I'm thinking today might be a good day to try skydiving or bungee-jumping. Obviously, my card isn't up yet, so this is the time to try something dangerous - right? Maybe not. I think I'm going to stay home and count my blessings.

Free coffee!

2009-01-16T16:03:00.002-06:00

It was -25 degrees here both this morning and yesterday, when I left for work. Even worse, we got a ton of snow on Monday and with temperatures like this, the salt and chemicals the DOT puts on the road do absolutely nothing. So I've been slipping and sliding over the roads all week, and then having to battle the sub-sub-zero temperatures on the three-block walk to work from my bus stop. Brrr! Thankfully, this cold spell is supposed to break tomorrow.

Check out this free sample I came across today! Just the thing to warm you up on a cold day like today.

Heavy Discussions

2009-01-14T20:59:00.003-06:00

We had lay-offs at work yesterday. (I know, not a good idea to blog about work - but since that statement probably pertains to about 90 percent of companies in this country, I don't think I'm giving away any state secrets.) We'd known it was coming since before Thanksgiving, but yesterday is when the announcements were made as to how many, and who exactly, would be let go.

One of the people let go is someone that I've worked closely with over the years. I've become very fond of her and was sick when I found out that she had lost her job. Last night, I was sitting with the kids as they were watching a cartoon, and I had time to think. A couple of silent tears rolled down my cheeks, and unfortunately, Sammy chose that time to turn around to tell me something.

He was very concerned, and wanted to know where I was hurt. I had to explain to him that I was sad, and of course he wanted to know why. I thought quickly, trying to put it in terms that a 3-year-old could understand. I decided to tell him that a friend of mine wasn't going to be able to come to work with me anymore. He pushed it still further, asking "Why?" so I told him that my company didn't have enough money to pay her.

He thought for a minute, then got a big grin on his face as he came up with the solution. "They'll just have to buy some more money!" he said and, having solved the problem, turned back to his TV show. Gotta love the innocence of childhood.

Later I got to thinking and realized that our government thinks a lot like a preschooler. No more money? Just print some more up! Add it to our debt!

However, politicians thinking this way is not nearly as cute as when it's a preschooler.

Hi! Remember Me?

2009-01-13T11:34:00.003-06:00

Life has been crazy the past few weeks. I haven't had much computer time, so I'm really far behind on reading blogs and writing on my own. Now that Sammy's birthday is over, I think life will get back to normal.

The day of his birthday, we took the kids to the Mall of America and did all the tourist-y things, like touring Underwater Adventures (an aquarium) and riding rides at Nickelodeon Universe. The kids were cranky and tired afterwards (okay, I admit it - the adults were, too) but it was a fun day.

The party was on Sunday, and I thought it went great! This year, we rented a banquet room at a nearby hotel, and I think that worked out well. It saved me the stress of having to clean (and KEEP clean) my house beforehand, and I think it was well worth the $100 for the 4-hour rental. My only regret is that we didn't pay the extra $50 to rent it for a full 8 hours. You'd think 4 hours would be plenty of time for a 3-year-old's birthday party, wouldn't you? Of course, the first hour was devoted to decorating and setting up food - but we had to shut things down when the party was still going strong, and I felt bad about that.

The banquet room was attached to the pool, so the kids had a great time swimming with their cousins. I discovered that Natalie is a Pisces at heart - a little water-baby. Being the second child, she misses out on a lot, and one of the things I regret is that I didn't have a chance to bring her to Community Ed swimming classes like I did when Sammy was a baby. I plan to fix that by signing her up for the next session.

So, there's my update. I promise to be around more now.

Three Years Old

2009-01-09T07:54:00.000-06:00

Three years ago today:

First birthday:

Second birthday:

Third birthday:

Happy birthday Sammy, my special little guy. I love you, buddy.

What I Did On My Christmas Vacation

2009-01-05T19:23:00.000-06:00

My vacation, by the numbers:

3...Christmas celebrations with various branches of the family

1...Trip to the Children's Museum

1...Case of the stomach flu, probably a memento from one of the patrons of the Children's Museum

2...Trips to the sledding hill

84...Trips up the sledding hill

7,483...approximate number of times I inflated and released rocket balloons for the kids (the orange thing in the upper right hand corner, for the uninitiated)

12...rocket balloons which popped

12...number of near heart attacks resulting from the balloons popping*

846...approximate number of times I chased Natalie off of the kitchen table

2...pairs of mittens knitted for the little kid-ens who are always losing their mittens

3...forts built and demolished

18...art projects started and abandoned at various stages of completion

23...different "potsicle horses" created to amuse the kids (If Sammy reaches elementary school without knowing how to properly say "obstacle courses", I take full responsibility. I find it so hilarious that I can't help but do exactly what you're not supposed to do, and I use the phrase myself.)

*For those who don't already know, I am deathly afraid of loud noises, i.e. popping balloons, cars backfiring, and gunfire. I think the fact that I tolerated so much balloon play over our vacation should earn me some extra Mommy Brownie Points (MBPs). Possibly to cancel out the MBPs deducted when I lost my temper at the kids for being kids and getting fingerpaint all over every.square.inch of the kitchen table, their clothes, and their bodies during one of our art projects.

Natalie Totally Looks Like the Frito Bandito

2008-12-31T20:52:00.004-06:00

And a Happy 2009 to all of you! I'll be ringing in the New Year in my dreams, as I'm planning on being in bed by 10:00. Sad, I know.

Brief Check-In

2008-12-29T21:52:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to pop in and clear away some of the dust from this place. I'm on vacation (from work - I didn't actually go anywhere) and I've just been enjoying spending time with various branches of the family. This week, the kids and I will just be hanging out and doing some fun outings. I'll try to check in again later in the week, but regular posting won't resume until next week.

And, that's all I have for today. Here, look at some pictures. I hope you all had a great Christmas!

(Ha, I just noticed the red-eye removal tool got a little carried away on this one. It also removed some of the red from the kids' outfits - that's what the black crescents above and below Natalie's eye.)

Living in a Winter Wonderland

2008-12-22T20:29:00.003-06:00

It has been so freaking cold this winter. I'm disappointed, because we couldn't go to the Holidazzle Parade this year, and we also haven't been able to take advantage of free ice-skating. You see, I'm rather fond of my kids - I'd hate to lose them to hypothermia. So we've been spending A LOT of time indoors. My sanity is suffering because of it. Do you know what it's like to be trapped inside a smallish house with two kids under the age of three for AN ENTIRE WEEKEND? I'd imagine it's a lot like being pecked to death by chickens. Really loud chickens. Who like to risk their necks by climbing up on tall things, and also? pulling every single tissue out of a Kleenex box, one by one, leaving a sodden mess on the living room carpet. Because OF COURSE Kleenex must also be shredded into tasty bite-size pieces, then chewed up and spit out after the flavor is gone.

But! On Saturday, it was actually warm outside. (Ha - everything is relative. Three months ago, I would have called 20 degrees unbearable. Now, I'm all like, is that with a minus sign in front or not? Did you say above zero? Pour me a pina colada!)

In addition to being warm, we got about 5 inches of snow. So we bundled up and went outside to enjoy the brief respite from below-zero temperatures. Approximately 12 hours later, the temperature dropped 40 degrees and we were dropped harshly back to the reality that is winter in Minnesota.

(Not long after this picture was taken, Natalie realized there was no hope of getting back up on her own while wearing all that clothing. After that whenever she fell, she lay on her back, like an overturned turtle, waiting patiently for someone to come and help her stand up again.)

Keeping Me Laughing

2008-12-19T08:48:00.001-06:00

Children are great mimics. Sometimes this is really cute. Other times, like when your child tells you to go into time-out because you are NOT LISTENING, it’s not quite as cute.

One cute thing Sam has picked up from me is that he sings to himself all the time. Oh, don’t get me wrong – it’s not cute when I sing – in fact, some might describe it as “nails on a chalkboard” or “incredibly annoying”. But it’s cute to see Sam doing it.

This morning, as he was eating his scrambled eggs, he was singing quietly under his breath: “I’m eating my eggs, eating my eggs; Please don’t, don’t bother me, I’m eating my eggs”.

*********
One other cute Sam story, since I can’t seem to think of anything else to write about today:

As are most little boys (and some girls!) Sam is very much into tractors. Last night, we were talking about tractors and how the different colors are different brands. Like, green tractors are John Deere, and yellow tractors (well, construction equipment, but we call them all tractors around here) are Caterpillars.

“No,” he said matter-of-factly. “Caterpillars don’t live in the snow.”

I tried to explain that Caterpillar was also a company that makes tractors. He broke in and said, “Worms are NOT tractors, Mommy,” in a “you’re-an-idiot” tone of voice.

“Good point,” I said, and left it at that.

Internet Dangers

2008-12-17T07:26:00.002-06:00

One of the many things I love about having an almost-3-year-old are the endless questions. I'm not even being sarcastic when I say this - I really do love hearing the things Sam comes up with these days! One day, while watching Finding Nemo, he asked me how a fish sleeps. I think I answered that one to his satisfaction, but when the next day he asked me what a flamingo says, I was stumped. So we went to the internet to find out.

I decided to start with YouTube, and typed in the keyword "flamingo". Surprisingly, there weren't a lot of options and as I glanced down the list, I saw a title that was something about a baboon and a flamingo. Okay, that sounded like it might actually have an actual flamingo in it, unlike most of the other videos that came up.

So, that particular clip starts out with a baboon watching a huge flock of flamingos. Maybe you see where this is going, but I was oblivious and when the baboon attacked and ate a flamingo, I almost knocked over the kids in my mad scramble for the "pause" button.

You know, I don't really think Sam understood what was happening, though (or maybe he's a future hunter?), because he keeps asking to watch the flamingo video again. Luckily, I was able to find another 7-minute video of a trip to the zoo that has a brief cameo of a flamingo in it, and that satisfied him.

I'll consider that his first lesson on *cue the music* "the cirrrrrrcle of liiiiiiiife...and it moves us allllllll...."

Catch-Up

2008-12-14T20:38:00.007-06:00

You know it's cold when:
1) Your car door is frozen shut, even after being inside the attached garage all night.
2) The car isn't even starting to get warm after you finally arrive at the bus stop, 30 minutes after leaving your house. It normally only takes 10 minutes to drive to the bus stop. A day of rain followed by plummeting temperatures, topped with another inch of snow, makes for very treacherous roads.
3) Your feet are so numb by the time you get off the bus, that you have a hard time maintaining your balance on the three blocks over icy sidewalks before you finally arrive at your place of employment.

Replace the word "your" with the word "my" in the above sentences, and you have an idea of what my day has been like so far.

********
By the way, the preschool Christmas program? Was a bust. Sammy left the stage almost immediately and spent most of the time hanging out by me. In case you were wondering.

*********

We decided to buy ourselves a new camera for Christmas. It was badly needed, since both of our cameras have been broken for the past couple of months, and I was making do with a cruddy little camera phone. When I took the memory card out of our old camera, I found some pictures of ~~happier~~ warmer times.

Bet you didn't think you'd see pumpkin patch pictures in December, did you? Just wait until March when I post my Christmas pictures.

**************
Our weekend in pictures:

Mother's little helpers, assisting with gingerbread preparation.

The assembled gingerbread houses, before the exterior work had been completed. Can you believe I forgot to take a picture of the finished products? They were beautiful. Not to mention delicious.

Craft time.

Who knew laundry baskets could be such fun?

Sumo baby shows her signature move.

Recreating a scene from Animal House?

Exhibit A. See that awful white stuff out the window behind me? What you can't see is the -8 temperature on the thermometer.

Holiday Meme

2008-12-11T09:29:00.003-06:00

Tonight is Sammy's first-ever preschool Christmas program, so I should have plenty to say tomorrow, but today, I have nothing. So here's a Christmas meme.

Egg nog or hot chocolate? Tough choice. I wonder how hot chocolate made from egg nog would taste? Might be something to explore.
Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree? Wrapping, without a doubt.
Colored lights on tree or white? Colored.
When do you put your decorations up? The weekend after Thanksgiving, usually.
What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Excluding dessert? Seriously? OK then, probably the Christmas cheese ball.
2 - 8 oz. blocks cream cheese
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. mustard
1 pkg. chopped dates
Mix all ingredients together. Serve with crackers.
Favorite holiday memory as a child: I don't have a lot of specific memories, but I always enjoyed the Christmas Eve service at the church (performed by the Sunday School kids), followed by opening presents back at our house.
And how did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly don't remember believing in Santa. I must have learned the truth at an early age.
Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, we have Christmas Eve with my husband's family. The kids will open their presents from Santa & us on Christmas Day, though.
How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Lights, garlands, ornaments - both store-bought, and made by the kids. We buy an ornament for the kids each year and date it, so those ornaments are my favorite.
Snow! Love it or dread it? Hate, hate, hate it. Did I mention I hate it?
Can you ice skate? Not very well. I might try harder to learn if it wasn't something that had to be done outside in the bitter cold.
Do you remember your favorite gift? Not really, but I remember getting a pottery wheel for Christmas one year, and it didn't work. It ended up being returned and I got the money instead. I was really disappointed because I was so excited about that pottery wheel.
What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Being with my family.
What is your favorite holiday dessert? Tough one - anything chocolate.
What is your favorite tradition? We're still trying to develop our own traditions, but starting this year I'm going to have Sammy tell me his favorite memories from the year so I can write them down on notecards. When Natalie is old enough, I'll do the same with her, and I'll save all the cards so each Christmas, we can go through all the cards from previous years and relive memories. I think that's going to be my favorite. (Although how many years have to go by before I can call it a tradition?)
Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving, definitely. Especially to my kids. I can't wait to see the excitement on their faces as they open their gifts.
What is your favorite Christmas Song? I don't generally like traditional Christmas music, but my sister introduced me to some new stuff this year that I actually like. "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Death Cab for Cutie is my new favorite. I've also always really liked "Happy XMas (War is Over)" by John Lennon and "Feliz Navidad" by Jose Feliciano.
Candy canes! Yuck or yum? I'm impartial on this one. I will eat an occasional candy cane, but if given a choice between chocolate or a candy cane, the candy cane doesn't stand a chance.
Ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can remember.

I'm not going to tag anyone, but feel free to grab this meme and post it on your own blog, if you're struggling for content like I am!

Santa Claus Is In Town Early This Year

2008-12-09T07:40:00.004-06:00

Santa Claus was in line to get on the bus at the park & ride this morning. Dressed in full gear - beard, red toy sack, black boots, and everything. I knew times were tough, but wow. When Santa's sleigh and reindeer get repo'd and he has to take public transportation...let's just say I don't have a lot of expectations this year for a gift from Santa.

And how long has my website been acting up? I hardly ever go directly to my web address - I usually am logged in from Blogger to post updates - so when I typed in my web address a couple of days ago, I was horrified at the slow loading time. I cleaned up some obsolete html code, and it seems to be working a lot better now. So sorry about that!

The Blue Dress

2008-12-08T08:25:00.004-06:00

Natalie has a closetful of beautiful dresses, as most little girls do. Ron, who dresses the kids in the morning and drops them off at daycare, chooses to dress her in practical jeans and tops during the week. So, on the weekends when I choose her clothing, I usually put her in a dress.

Yesterday, I chose a beautiful deep blue velvet dress for her, and as she walked through the living room afterwards, I exclaimed over how beautiful she looked. Sammy, who was sitting on the couch watching TV, hardly glanced up as he commented, "She looks like a big blueberry."

Are boys are just born to say things like that? I think have my work cut out for me, to mold him into a caring, supportive man.

I Almost Have No Words

2008-12-05T08:44:00.001-06:00

Remember when I made all that wine? That delicious, delicious wine? I almost don't have the heart to type this - but I had to dump out most of it.

Learn from my mistake: If you ever decide to make homemade wine, have lots of empty bottles at the ready. As soon as the wine is done fermenting, it needs to be bottled and corked, or it will turn nasty. And need to be dumped down the drain.

Books, Books, Books

2008-12-04T08:29:00.003-06:00

I love to read. But I'm also very frugal, so I don't usually buy books. Why pay $20 for a book that I'm going to be done with in 5 days, and probably never read again? I get all my books from the library, and I have a system so I get to read bestsellers almost as soon as they come out.

In the Twin Cities metro area, we have five different library systems - one for each county. Although your library card needs to originate from your home county, you can activate it at any or all of the metro library systems, so you have borrowing privileges everywhere. I work in one county, live in another, and live close to yet another, so I've activated my card at three of the library systems and I can access all of their websites. One of these libraries publishes a "new and upcoming fiction" newsletter about once a month, which is delivered to my email inbox. I scan the list for my favorite authors, and place holds on the books through my home library's website. Since these books are all months away from actual publication, I'm usually one of the first 5 people to request the book, so I get the book within a couple of weeks of its release.

The only problem with this is - whether because of publisher's release dates, or the library's process for obtaining new books - they tend to come in groups. Once a month, I usually end up with a stack all at once and then need to scramble to get them all read. This month is no exception, but I'm faced with an especially difficult choice.

You see, two of the books in this stack are bestsellers, which means a two-week loan period, with no renewals. I've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of both Scarpetta and The Hour I First Believed. And one book is 500 pages, and the other book is 750 pages. What's a girl to do? There's no way I'm going to get both of these books read in the next two weeks, especially with all the Christmas baking, decorating, shopping, and wrapping I need to be working on. Ah well, I'd better get cracking, because I'm sure going to try my best to finish them both.

The Ups and Downs of Eating

2008-12-03T12:32:00.003-06:00

I've lost 4.5 pounds since I got sick on Thanksgiving. It's not the most fun way to lose weight (is there a fun way? probably not). But that's about 15 percent of my weight-loss goal, so that makes me happy.

Speaking of not eating, Natalie - who, until recently, ate almost as much as a small adult - has become a picky eater. I knew it had to happen eventually, but now I have two kids who basically subsist on air, with maybe some fruit and milk here and there. Sam's new favorite saying when I tell him it's time to eat: "Thank you; I'm not hungry." At least he declines politely.

It hasn't really bothered me until recently. I'm starting to feel frustrated that I take the time to prepare a healthy, well-rounded meal, and both kids turn up their noses at it. But if they come across something sweet, they'll eat until they're sick. Thanksgiving, for instance - there was a plate of bite-sized gingerbread cookies and a bowl of frosting beside them on a small table, small enough for easy access by the kids. Every time I turned around, Sam was into those cookies again (which I promptly took away from him). And I'm sure he ate twice as many when I wasn't looking. Then a couple of hours later, he announced with a green face that he wasn't feeling well. I've talked with him, read books with him, and sat with him to watch a Sid the Science Show episode about how healthy food makes our bodies feel good, and junk food makes our bodies feel icky, but he doesn't seem to understand or care yet.

Ron and I are no angels when it comes to food, and I have to admit, we usually have some kind of junk food in the house (and there's the reason I need to lose weight). Daily, I find Sam going to great lengths to reach the Candy Cane Joe Joe's I keep on the highest shelf in the kitchen. I suppose all I can do is keep soldering on, offering healthy meal choices and healthy snacks, and reinforcing that junk food is a "sometimes" treat. I can understand why so many children are obese, because it's a hard battle and I think sometimes parents are too tired to fight it.

2008-12-02T11:39:00.003-06:00

With our potty-training adventure set to begin in a couple of weeks, I've been trying to get Sam excited about the prospect of wearing big-boy underwear. Last night, we got into an in-depth discussion about which of his daycare friends still wear diapers, which ones wear pull-ups, and which ones wear big boy/big girl underwear. He had the inside info on all his friends, which amused me to no end. But, you know? I suppose these are the important issues to the 2- and 3-year-old set.

Catch-Up

2008-12-01T11:35:00.003-06:00

We spent Thanksgiving at my sister-in-law's unchildproofed house. While Ron watched the football game, socialized with his relatives, and even took a brief snooze on the couch, I spent most of the day redirecting the kids when they started wandering towards breakable things. So when I developed a splitting headache late in the afternoon, I attributed it to a hard day's work.

The next morning, I woke up aching all over and still had a headache. We went to my parents' house as planned, but Saturday morning, I woke up feeling like death warmed over. I had myself a nice case of the flu. Not a stomach virus, but actual influenza. I have learned my lesson - I am never again getting a flu shot. Honest to goodness, the only years I ever get the flu are the years that I get the vaccination. Every other year, I make it through the winter healthy. My fingers are crossed that my kids didn't pick up any of my germs, but I'm sure I won't be that lucky.

Other than exposing everyone to my sick germs, it worked out quite well to be sick at my parents' house, because I got a lot more rest than I would have at home. There were a total of 5 healthy adults around to help watch and play with the kids, so that made a world of difference for me.

And now I'm freaking out, because it's December 1st today, and I have a million and one things I need to get done by Christmas. Also, planning Sammy's birthday party, which comes shortly afterward. Yes, I am a bit stresed out right now. Does it show?

A more upbeat post will come tomorrow, hopefully.

Hanging Out at the Mall

2008-11-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

After a weekend full of errands and cleaning, we all needed to get out of the house on Sunday afternoon. So we went to a nearby mall that has a nice play area for the kids, and let them loose.

It’s amazing to me how easily kids make friends. Within 2 minutes, Sammy and another boy were sliding down the slide, hanging onto each other so they’d tumble off the end in a tangle of arms and legs. They’d laugh and laugh (even though it looked like it hurt) and run up the slide to do it again. Then the other kid got the brilliant idea to go down the slide head-first, on his back. It was a small-ish slide, but very slippery so he shot off the end pretty quickly and his head skidded about a foot across the carpet. No surprise, Sammy decided to do the same thing. The look on his face when he hit the bottom was a look of “Ow, that hurt” and I was expecting tears – his normal response. Nope, after a split second he laughed through his almost-tears, got up, and ran around to the ladder for another round.

Then the two boys played monsters. The other boy chased Sammy around the play area, and then they lost track of each other. Sammy came up to me and asked me where “the good guy” was, just before spotting him on his own. The next time they went around, Sammy giggled as he said, “He’s not a good guy, he’s a bad guy!” I told Sammy he should ask the other boy what his name was.

After “the good guy” left, I asked Sammy what his new friend’s name was. “I don’t know,” he answered, unconcerned. Just like that, he’d forgotten all about his new friend. That’s probably just as well, since they’ll probably never see each other again.

But really, can you imagine making friends like that as an adult? It would be like going shopping, and seeing someone around my age, going up to her and saying, “That shirt would look great on you!” We’d walk around the store, giggling as we chatted and helped each other pick out clothes, and then we’d leave and go home, having never exchanged phone numbers or even names. What a trip that would be!

First Pigtails

2008-11-24T08:05:00.001-06:00

The Land of a Million Bells and Whistles

2008-11-21T10:24:00.004-06:00

Last night, we went to Chuck E. Cheese's. We hadn't been there since February, but Sammy remembered it well. Every time he'd see coupons in the newspaper, he'd point them out and ask when we were going again. Since it's too cold to do anything outside these days, I called up my friend J last night to see if she and her two kids wanted to go with us.

The kids had a blast playing games, riding rides, and climbing through the tunnels. And then...Chuck E. Cheese himself made an appearance. Sammy was in love. He looked up at Chuck with adoring eyes and gave him a hug. About that time, I noticed Natalie needed a diaper change so I asked J to keep an eye on Sammy while Natalie and I went to the bathroom.

When I came back, I saw Sammy following Chuck around the restaurant. J was hanging back, laughing, and she explained to me that he had been doing that the entire time we were in the bathroom. Aw, isn't that cute. He makes an adorable little stalker.

Then, Chuck was done visiting customers and started walking towards an employees-only door. Sammy tried to follow him, and I caught up with them just in time to keep Sammy from going through the door after him. I explained that Chuck E. Cheese was taking a break, and he might be out again later. Sammy announced he was going to sit right there and wait for him to come out. I finally convinced him to play some more, but he kept asking about Chuck the rest of the time we were there. I told him I supposed Chuck might have gone to bed already, and Sammy seemed okay with that answer.

First thing this morning, Sammy was asking about Chuck E. Cheese again. He wanted to know what kind of a bed Chuck had. When I said I didn't know, that wasn't good enough, and Sammy wanted me to guess. So I said, "Well, maybe it's one like you have." That was thrilling to Sammy and he exclaimed, "He has a Lightning McQueen bed just like I have?!" Then he said, "Can Chuck E. Cheese come over sometime to see my bed?" I didn't really know how to answer that. How do you explain to a not-quite-yet-3-year-old that it might be a bit inappropriate to ask a grown man (maybe it was a woman) dressed in a mouse suit to come to your house to see your bed? I was hoping to not have that discussion for a few years yet.

In conclusion, a fun time was had by all and Sammy has a new idol.

DIY Christmas Gifts

2008-11-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Link of the day: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/holidays/giving/fromthekitchen.php

They have some great ideas for homemade Christmas gift ideas! I know that this year money is tight for a lot of us, and besides, homemade gifts always mean more than store-bought gifts, right?

In addition to the recipes on this site, I have come up with a few other ideas for potential gifts. I hope some of these can be of use to someone else.

1) Homemade vanilla. Buy tall-ish bottles with corks at your local craft store or even a thrift store (they need to be tall enough for a vanilla bean). Fill with brandy, and add 1-2 vanilla beans (split lengthwise), then cork. Let steep for at least a month. This will keep indefinitely.

2) Etched mirrors, glasses, etc. You could pick up glasses and mirrors for cheap at a thrift store. Trace your design onto contact paper, then press onto the surface. Cut out design with an Xacto knife, then use etching cream on the exposed areas, following the instructions of the particular brand you're using.

3) Teacup candles. Again, you could pick up teacups at a thrift store. Not only are thrift stores inexpensive, but you're reusing instead of buying new! It's like your Christmas gift to the environment.

4) Homemade kahlua. I intended to make this last year, and never got around to it.

5) Gifts in a jar. You can find a lot of great recipes on the internet.

6) Homemade dishcloths. Even if you've never knit before, the pattern on the back of the Sugar 'n' Cream label is incredibly fast and easy. One washcloth takes me about an hour to complete (maybe two hours if you're a beginning knitter).

I'm sure I'll be adding to this list in the coming weeks.

The Potty Chair

2008-11-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

We haven't been hitting potty training too hard yet. It's difficult to be consistent with Sammy being at daycare part of the day. My current plan is to tackle potty training for real the week after Christmas, when I'm on vacation.

However. We have been working on getting him on the potty when it's obvious he "assumes the position" (that is, he hides in the corner and gets a look of concentration on his face). Over the weekend, he agreed to sit on his potty, so I set him up with a book and asked if he wanted me to keep him company, or if he wanted privacy. He opted for "pwivacy", so I scooped up ~~the gawking bystander~~ Natalie and closed the door.

Five minutes later, he announced he was done, and I oohed and aahed over the contents of the potty chair, before dumping it in the toilet. We went to his room for a fresh diaper. Afterwards, I stopped by the bathroom to shut off the light, and found this:

And afterwards, she oohed and aahed over the contents of the (empty) potty chair.

I'm thinking that there may be a bright side to the fact that Natalie wants to copy everything her big brother does.

(I apologize for the picture quality - it was taken with my camera phone, which is sadly still the only working camera in our house. Oh, and don't you love our beautiful pink bathroom. Ugh.)

Parenting Poetry

2008-11-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

This is why All & Sundry is one of my favorite blogs. I hope you enjoy these poems as much as I did.

I was feeling inspired after reading this post, so I composed one myself.

I know you want milk
I heard you the first
ten times.
Oh, not that cup?
The blue one with
stars on it?

Here’s your milk.
Now you don’t want it?
YES, YOU DO WANT IT?
Here, I’ll set it on
the table while you make up your mind.
Aw, crap.
You’re cleaning that up
yourself.

The Witching Hour

2008-11-14T14:37:00.002-06:00

Let's talk about dinnertime. Every mother of young children struggles with getting dinner in the oven without sticking her own head in the oven out of despair. It's the time of day when everyone's starting to get tired, hungry, and cranky. Spending an hour preparing dinner is out of the question.

I have a list of things that I do to make dinnertime preparation more manageable. I'd love to hear any of your tips or suggestions, as well!

1) A crockpot is a busy mom's best friend. Check out A Year of CrockPotting for some great recipes, if you haven't already. (By the way, Target has an awesome 5.5 quart programmable Smart Crock Pot on sale this week for $19.99!)
2) I remember that once upon a time, I used to go out and do fun things on Friday and Saturday nights. Nowadays, a lot of weekend nights you'll find me in my kitchen, cutting vegetables after the kids go to bed. If you hook up your iPod with some good music, pour yourself a nice glass of wine, and dance, you can almost imagine that you're at a club. I suppose you could even wear some trashy clothes, if you wanted. Back to the point - I buy bell peppers and onions in bulk, and then dice and freeze them so I can just take out a handful and throw them into the dish when I'm cooking. The food processor would work well for this, too, but I find chopping vegetables to be therapeutic. Before I started freezing them, I was always having to throw out slimy bell peppers, because I couldn't use them fast enough. No more waste! You could do this with whatever vegetables you use most often.
3) Make one, freeze one. It doesn't pay for me to make an entire casserole for my family, since the leftovers never get eaten in time, so I divide a casserole or lasagna recipe up between two smaller (8' x 8') pans and freeze one. I use a Sharpie to mark the aluminum foil with the name of the dish, the cooking instructions, and the date on which I froze it.
4) Curious George episodes on the DVR. My kids don't watch a lot of TV, but we've recently discovered this show on PBS, and both kids turn into zombies when it's on. At this time of day, that's preferable to their usual curious puppy personas (chewing on non-edible items, piddling on the carpet, knocking over lamps).

So, what things do you do to keep yourself sane while you're trying to prepare dinner?

It's Ba-a-a-a-a-ck

2008-11-12T15:48:00.001-06:00

This morning, I muttered a four-letter word as I woke up and looked out the window. “Snow,” I said in a disgusted voice. While this isn’t the first time it’s snowed this year, this is the first time there’s been accumulation. It was only about an inch, but it’s what it stands for, more than anything. It’ll be another long six or seven months before we can count on nice weather again. This time every year, Ron and I start fantasizing about moving somewhere warm.

The morning commute after the first snowfall is always…interesting. It takes Minnesota drivers awhile to get their “winter legs”, so to speak. No surprise, traffic was very slow this morning.

I find it hilarious to pull into the Park & Ride when there’s snow on the ground. Instead of neat, orderly rows of cars, everyone is parked willy-nilly. Sometimes the gap between rows of cars is so narrow, even though there’s plenty of parking spaces at the end of the row, there’s no way to get to them. It’s especially funny at the end of the day when the snow has melted, to see the yellow lines in relation to where the cars actually are.

Wake me up when it's spring again, please. I'm going into hibernation.

2008-11-11T09:20:00.002-06:00

Did you know about Google SMS? I just discovered this, and it's a great thing if you don't have internet on your cell phone. It's a free service, and only costs whatever your carrier charges you for text messages. Want to locate an Applebee's in the Minneapolis area? Just text "Applebee's Minneapolis" to GOOGLE (466453) and you'll get a text message with the addresses and phone numbers of the Applebee's in the vicinity. After using the service a few times, it even sets your home location so you can avoid typing your city every time you do a query. (I think there's a way to manually set your location, too.)

Isn't technology great?

If I Only Had A Brain

2008-11-07T09:01:00.005-06:00

Did you know that a woman's brain shrinks up to 8% during pregnancy? According to that first article that I linked, the brain increases in size again after delivery, but I originally heard that the brain rewires itself and eventually becomes more powerful. Well, I'm thinking that rewiring a brain is not a do-it-yourself job. I should have hired a qualified electrician, because my wiring doesn't seem to be up to code.

A few months back, I lost my bus pass. I tore apart my purse, then my car, to no avail. Finally, I broke down and paid the $2.75 fare so I could at least get to work, and figured I'd have to buy a new Metropass. The whole bus ride, I was silently grumbling at Sammy, the likely culprit. He likes to get into my purse to find my stash of ~~bribes~~ ~~rewards~~ suckers. Shortly after I got to work, I got a call from a stranger who found my bus pass lying on the ground at the Park & Ride and kindly retrieved it and tracked me down. I felt so guilty about blaming Sammy (even if it was just in my mind) that I apologized profusely to him later that afternoon, while he stared blankly at the crazy lady.

Then last weekend, I ran a bunch of errands with the kids. Monday morning, when I went to write out a check for daycare, I couldn't find the checkbook anywhere. Again, I tore apart my purse, the car, and the house. I traced back my steps, and the last time I remembered using the checkbook was on Saturday, at Target. By the time I figured this out, it was Tuesday afternoon and it had been four days since I'd last seen the checkbook, and my last hope was to check the lost and found at Target. If it wasn't there, I'd have to talk to the bank to cancel out the rest of the checks in that (practically new) book, with significant cost to me, since I believe it costs $25 per check for that service.

I walked into the office to look up Target's phone number, and saw that the message light on my answering machine was blinking. I couldn't believe my luck when I heard, "Hello, this is the Guest Service desk at Target, and I believe we have your checkbook..."

Now I've been lucky twice, and I don't know how much longer my luck can hold out. Next time, my bus pass/checkbook/keys/purse might fall into the hands of someone much less honest. I used to pride myself on being very organized and on top of things, and I hate this new absentmindedness. I can't even blame it on sleep deprivation, since both kids sleep through the night these days (except for this past week - let the record show that I hate teething and everything that goes along with it).

Please, can anyone tell me that this will get better eventually? Or am I doomed to live out the rest of my life as scatterbrained and forgetful?

Red, Red Wine

2008-11-05T14:50:00.000-06:00

We have tons of grapes growing on the fence in our backyard. I couldn't even tell you what kind they are - they're small (pea-sized) and have huge pits in them. If you eat them too early, they are incredibly sour, like chokecherries. But if you catch them at the right time, they are actually quite sweet and tasty. And it's hard to tell when that sweet spot is, because they look the same shade of purple whether they're all chokecherry-pucker-inducing or sweet and yummy.

I've never had much use for them before, but this year, I decided I was going to take a trip into the unexplored (by me) world of wine-making. I found this recipe online and used it as my base recipe. I still had tons and tons of raspberries left, so I threw a bunch of those into the mix, too.
The only other thing I did different from the recipe was that I went to our local brew & grow shop, and bought actual wine yeast (as opposed to regular old bread yeast), and threw it into the mix instead of floating it on the bread, as the recipe suggested.

It's been fermenting for about a month, and I've started bottling it. I only had two empty bottles to start with, so let's just say I've been having to drink a lot of wine lately so I can use the empties for my homemade stuff. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it. And as an added bonus, you know all that stress I've been under lately from solo parenting? After putting the kids to bed and having a couple of glasses of wine, I'm all, "What kids?"

I actually tasted some of my homemade stuff, and it's quite delicious, if I do say so myself! And I couldn't believe how easy it was.

Halloween

2008-11-04T12:05:00.003-06:00

We live too far out of the city to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood. I'd have to drive the kids from house to house, and somehow, that doesn't feel like trick-or-treating to me. The last couple of years, I've met up with my aunt and my cousins for TOT'ing in their neighborhood. My aunt and I enjoy chatting while the kids beg for candy.

I'd rehearsed with Sammy for a couple of days beforehand. "What do you say when they open the door?" and then, "What do you say when they give you candy?" The first few houses, he did pretty well. Then he forgot his manners and instead of saying "thank you" he said "More, more!" I quickly corrected him, and we only had one more incident of a forgotten "thank you". I think it went pretty well, overall. And the weather was beautiful, probably the only time I remember Halloween being warm. Most years, it's hard to figure out what kids are supposed to be dressed as, since they are usually bundled up in their bulky winter jackets and stocking caps.

With no further ado, the kids in their costumed glory:

Eeek! It's a skunk!

Natalie was about to cry in this one, because I stepped back to take a picture and she thought I was going to leave her.

I made that skunk costume for Sammy on his first Halloween. I haven't had time to sew another costume since, but I have high hopes for next year.

I should dig out a picture of Sammy wearing this costume for a side-by-side comparison. Natalie looks so much like him in this shot.

Get Out and Vote!

2008-11-04T07:30:00.002-06:00

Top three reasons to vote today:

1. You will help chooose the next leader of our country.
2. Voting is your civic duty.
3. Starbucks is offering a free tall, brewed coffee to anyone who stops in and says they voted.

To elaborate on item #3, I received an email yesterday from Starbucks with this information. No coupon necessary! Get out and vote!

Tag! I'm It

2008-11-03T14:43:00.000-06:00

Mommy Vern tagged me to play. I love games! The name of this one is, locate the 6th photo in your 6th online photo album and post it.

This was taken at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Sammy looks so young in this picture! Looking at the date stamp, he would have been 16 months old, just a little older than Natalie is now. Time goes by so quickly.

Anyway - this was a really funny moment, but it might have been one of those "you had to be there" type things. That cow that Sammy is holding, plays "The Chicken Dance" when you squeeze its udder. Riley, the Sheltie in the foreground, loves to sing/howl along. Riley and Sammy were fighting over that cow toy the whole time we were there that weekend. In this picture, Bailey (the Sheltie looking over Sammy's shoulder) looks like she was about to get in on the action, too.

So, who wants to play? Colleen, although you've already made your post for this month? (Just teasing! I kid because I love!)

It's Fall!

2008-10-31T14:30:00.000-05:00

I recently read an article that began with a sentence similar to this one: "It's not difficult to take care of young children; what's difficult is trying to do anything else while taking care of young children." So true. I find that I get too frustrated trying to accomplish anything that takes longer than 2 minutes, while the kids are around.

But! It was beautiful here on Wednesday, and since it was 24 degrees on Tuesday morning, I wanted to take advantage of this last gasp of warm fall weather before winter arrives next week. When we got home that day, I decided to try to rake leaves. Amazingly - I managed to work for 3 hours and got the whole front yard done!

While I raked, first the kids played in the hammock swing:

Soon, that led to one sleeping baby...

and in the meantime Sammy found the book bag in the car, and read stories to me.

While I did this!

Holy Productivity, Batman! It was one of those moments where I felt like I had it all together. Not surprisingly, I was brought back to reality yesterday. Natalie is cutting two molars and fussed at me all day yesterday, so I barely managed to scrape together dinner last night. And when I got home from work yesterday, the lawn was covered with a new layer of fallen leaves. Oh well, it was a good feeling while it lasted.

Hot Wheels

2008-10-30T14:42:00.000-05:00

In yesterday's episode, Ron and the kids visited their Auntie C., leaving Becky at home with her cleaning supplies and a peaceful house. When the kids returned...

Sammy found me in the bathroom, scrubbing out the sink. His face was puffy, and his voice was shaky. I immediately dropped my sponge. "What's wrong?!" I said, looking from him to Ron for an answer.

He was barely able to choke out the words. "I l-l-l-left my c-c-c-c-c-ar at Auntie C.'s hou-ou-ou-ou-se!!!!" he wailed.

Flashback scene: Earlier in the day, I'd run errands with the kids and we didn't get home until well after lunchtime. The kids were cranky, and I had a trunkful of groceries to unload, so I decided to stop at Micky D's for lunch, a rare treat in our household. Even rarer, I ordered a Happy Meal for the kids to split. I don't think Sammy even knew until now that McDonald's had toys. I might live to regret this rash decision.

"Boy or girl toy?" they asked. "Boy," I said, since Natalie's too young to know or care that she was getting a raw deal. I knew she'd be happy fighting with Sammy over whatever toy they got.

It was a blue Hot Wheels car, that you pulled back and then it would race forward. Sammy was thrilled, and insisted on bringing it to Auntie C.'s house later, to show everyone. You know what happened after that.

I have never seen him so upset about anything. Honestly. It was like the end of his little world. It was 8:30 at night, and Auntie C. lives half an hour away, so I was not about to drive an hour to rescue his 50-cent toy car, but I had visions of fresh bread dancing in my head all day and still needed to make a trip to Target for yeast. And McDonald's is on the way to Target, so yep, I told Sammy I'd stop and get another car for him. I know, if I was hearing someone else tell this story, I'd probably think they were overindulgent, but let me tell you, I have never seen him so happy. If another $2.50 Happy Meal is all it takes to turn his whole world right-side-up again, so be it.

I did tell him to enjoy it, because it's the last time he'll ever go to McDonald's twice in one day, on my watch.

Zen and Now

2008-10-29T14:28:00.000-05:00

Since Ron has started working nights, I have a whole new appreciation for single moms and army wives. Honestly, I had no idea how hard it was to never get a break. I've found myself getting a little short with the kids, a little more often than I'd like, lately. I used to have a very short temper and I think I've come a long way, but with this new stress in my life, I've been backsliding a bit.

On Saturday, I got a much-longed-for-and-much-appreciated break. I spent the entire three hours cleaning the house, and had just gotten it under control when Ron and the kids got home from his sister-in-law's house. (There's another part to this story, tune in again tomorrow.)

I had packed lunches for the kids, and Auntie C. told Sammy he was really lucky to have a mom who made such nice lunches for him (awww, thanks, Auntie C.!). Sammy replied, "Sometimes I make her angry."

Ugh. That was a wake-up call. Ron thought it was cute and showed that Sammy had an understanding of how his behavior affects me, but that's not at all how I took it. For that to be the first thing he says about me when someone brought me up? It really didn't make me feel very good about myself as a mother.

I remembered a post on The Toby Show awhile back about a book called Buddhism for Mothers, and decided it was time to get my hands on a copy. I am going to learn to be a calm mother, if it kills me. And it might.

Seven Things

2008-10-28T14:19:00.001-05:00

I was tagged by the beautiful and hilarious Beth to tell you seven things about me that you might not know. There probably won’t be any surprises here to those of you who know me in real life.

1) I worked my way through college, and managed to finish without any debt. It took me 7 years to complete my Bachelor’s degree. (Hey, a lot of people go to school for 7 years! But they’re called doctors.)
2) Midway through college, I burned out on computer programming and switched my major from Computer Science to Psychology. Strangely enough, my current job has more to do with computer science than psychology. Go figure.
3) I have a weakness for good-smelling things. Lotions, perfumes, laundry detergent, etc. I know, parabens and all that, but I can’t help myself.
4) I love to read. I read so many books, that I had to start a spreadsheet to keep track of which books I’ve already read. Too often, I was getting halfway through a book and realizing I knew how it was going to end. I have another spreadsheet with my to-read list. Since there are over 2000 items on my to-read list, I don’t have the time to read books more than once, unless they’re really, really good.
5) I used to have awful eyes. So bad, that if I would put my glasses down somewhere unusual, I was up the proverbial creek without a paddle since I couldn’t see well enough to find them. Six years ago, I had Lasik surgery and I still think it’s the best thing I ever did for myself.
6) I’ve never actually fainted, but came very close twice. The first time was in high school, when the class had a “job shadow” day. I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do with my life at the time, but I loved animals, so I thought I’d work at the vet clinic that day. I pictured getting to help take care of the animals and maybe watch a couple of examinations. When I showed up that morning, the vet informed me that he had scheduled a spaying. With the first cut of the scalpel, I got very hot and faint and started seeing black spots. I had to sit down to keep from passing out.
7) I have a tattoo. It’s a dolphin, and it’s on my leg. That was the second time that I almost fainted. I made the mistake of watching the needle go into my leg.

I'm supposed to tag seven people, but I don't think I know seven other people who haven't already been tagged. So, if you haven't already played, go ahead and post seven things about you on your blog!

Fundraisers

2008-10-27T12:03:00.002-05:00

A few years ago, I was in college. Okay, maybe it was more like ten years ago. That's not the point. Anyway, I was having a quick lunch in-between classes at a fast-food restaurant near campus, when I was approached by a young child selling fundraiser candy bars. You know, the kind in the special wrapper that the kids sell for $1 to raise money for band or whatever. I pulled out my purse to buy a couple as he was explaining what they were for. When he came to the part about, "my mom has a new baby" and gestured toward his mother and siblings at a nearby table, I realized this wasn't a school fundraiser. It threw me for a loop, and although I did still buy a couple of candy bars, it seemed strange. I suppose it's not a lot different from panhandling, although in this case you actually get something for your money. But still, not something you see every day. (Although, just now I remembered going to Mexico and the children were selling packets of "chicle" on the street to raise money for their families. So I'll amend that to say, "not something you see every day in this country".)

Fast-forward to a couple of years ago, when Sammy started daycare. He goes to a local independent daycare center, whose owner I know quite well by now. She works at the center all day, substituting for teachers, helping out with snack time and recess time, and doing all the things that need to be done to run a business. I like her and the center quite a lot. But I was shocked the first time that Sammy came home with a fundraiser booklet. Not only that, but a suggestion from the owner/director that each family sell $200 worth of stuff. Uh, no - I am not going door to door, or putting up an order form at work, to raise funds for my children's daycare. Public schools need to do fundraisers, I understand that. They're vastly underfunded and teachers often have to purchase their own supplies. I get that, and I'm perfectly okay for buying things to support our public school system. But I already pay a lot - a LOT - of money for my private daycare, and I'm supposed to ask people to help defray my costs by buying some wrapping paper? Honestly, I'd rather just pay an extra $10 or $20 a week, if that's what it takes for the daycare to pay their bills.

From talking to other people, I've discovered this is a fairly common practice these days, but it feels horribly tacky to me. I'm not sure why, because Tupperware/Pampered Chef/etc. parties are basically fundraisers for personal profit, but that feels different to me, somehow.

Dreams Really Can Come True

2008-10-22T14:41:00.000-05:00

I walked into the living room to see Sammy sitting on the top shelf of his toybox/bookshelf. As I opened my mouth to tell him to get down, he said "Tweet, tweet". Well, then. As long as it's just a bird in his nest, and not a little boy.

*******************************************************************
On a totally different note, last night I was reminded of something that happened a long time ago. I had difficulty getting pregnant with Sammy, and after two years, I started to give up hope and thought it wasn't ever going to happen. I remember one night, feeling as low as I've ever felt. As I was going to sleep, I begged for help in getting through this and coming to terms with it. Call it praying, if you want. I'm not exactly religious, but I am spiritual and believe in a higher power, so the word "praying" works for me.

That night, I had a dream. I saw a little boy in my dream, standing in my kitchen and looking up at me with a big smile on his face. I knew intuitively that it was my son (and he looked just like my husband did as a child). The next morning, I woke up with a sense of peace and knew that I was someday going to have a little boy, and I just needed to be patient.

A month or two later, I found out I was pregnant. About a day after I took the test, I was shopping and bought a little blue Mickey Mouse onesie. I was that confident he was going to be a boy. Obviously, he was. I still have that blue onesie tucked away in his memento box.

When Sammy was a little over a year old, that moment that I had dreamed about happened. We were in the kitchen, and he was looking up at me and smiling, and looked exactly as he had in the dream. It still gives me chills to think about this.

Sometimes I feel guilty that I never had any such dreams about Natalie, but I understand why. That night, I really needed that reassurance more than anything. It's one of the many things that's happened in my life that confirms there IS someone watching over us.

Feeling Statue-esque

2008-10-21T11:55:00.002-05:00

A partial list of the electronic gadgets at my house that have either been behaving badly, or entirely stopped working in the past couple of weeks: the keyboard mouse, my iPod, the starter on Ron's truck, the headlights on my vehicle, the earbuds for my iPod, BOTH digital cameras, my cell phone, and one of our clocks. And only one of these things can be traced back to an actual "event". The others spontaneously combusted, so to speak.

Needless to say, I'm feeling a bit grouchy about it. You know that saying, "Some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue"? I'm ready to be the pigeon for awhile.

The New Man of the House

2008-10-15T14:50:00.000-05:00

Ron just started a new job, where he's working second shift. So, I'm essentially a single parent in the afternoons and evenings. The first morning of this new schedule, Ron said that he gave Sammy a talk about how he was now going to be the man of the house, and how he needed to look out for Natalie and me.

I laughed it off, thinking it was cute but that it wouldn't mean anything to Sammy. He's not even three years old yet, and he's going to understand what it means to be the man of the house?

Monday afternoon, I got home with the kids and we decided to make some crafts. I needed to make a copy of a pattern on the scanner, so I went into the office to do that, leaving the kids busily digging through the craft box. A couple of minutes later, Sammy charged down the hall past the office, muttering something about "getting her a diaper". Alarmed, I high-tailed it out of the office to see Natalie, bare naked, in the changing position on the living room floor. Since her diaper was only wet, there was no harm done and I waited to see what would happen next.

Sammy ran back down the hall with a dry diaper and looked disappointed that I had appeared. He informed me he wanted to do it all himself, and I told him to go right ahead. And he did. He needed just a little bit of help to get the diaper centered underneath her, but he completed the job by himself.

Then, at suppertime, he insisted that he needed to sit by Natalie. I traded places with him, and he helped her eat her entire supper. Then he entertained her while I did dishes.

Wow! Maybe it was just a fluke, but it seems like Ron's talk might have sunk in.

Taking Advantage of a Combative Mood

2008-10-14T14:05:00.006-05:00

We went to a pumpkin patch on Saturday, and the kids had a great time. However, their naps ended up being delayed and then both of them were up much too late. And unlike adults, kids don't sleep later to compensate for lost sleep, so on Sunday, both were in rare form.

When naptime rolled around on Sunday, Sammy was so overtired that he couldn't settle himself down to go to sleep. He'd get out of bed, and I'd pick him up and put him right back. He'd scream, and I'd ignore. Then he'd get up again, and I'd put him back again. On and on, for about half an hour.

Finally, I had an idea. "Fine," I said. "You go play in the living room, and I'm going to take a nap."

"Nooooo!!!!!" he screeched indignantly, as he flung his head down on the pillow. Not too long later, he again started to get up. I repeated, "Fine, go play. I'm going to sleep." Again, "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!" as he plopped back down. Two minutes later? Sound asleep.

That there's reverse psychology at its finest, folks.

Helping Out

2008-10-13T07:58:00.002-05:00

Natalie was still awake last night when I was taking my shower. I just started lathering my hair when she pulled the curtain back, spotted the water dripping from the spigot and dipped her hands into it. Then I heard her head out of the bathroom and down the hall.

Thirty seconds later, Natalie was back. She repeated her strange ritual. Thirty seconds later, again. And again. When I got out of the shower, she came into the bathroom, opened the washcloth drawer and took one out, then gestured at the faucet and said "eh, eh, eh". I asked her if she wanted me to turn it on, and she nodded her head "yes". She put the washcloth under the stream of water, looked at it and apparently decided it wasn't wet enough, and put it under the water again. When she was finally satisfied that there was enough water on the washcloth, she headed out of the bathroom and down the hall.

By this time, I was really curious so I quietly followed her. What I saw in the living room was this: The TV was tuned in to a football game. Ron was lying on the floor, staring at the TV. And Natalie was rubbing the washcloth into Ron's already-damp hair.

I guess she had decided he needed his hair washed, and was accomplishing the job slowly but surely. She must have known that Ron starts his new job today, and wanted him to look good for his first day.

Feeding the Baby

2008-10-09T12:14:00.002-05:00

Natalie got a few dolls for her birthday, and surprisingly, Sam has been playing with them every so often. He's especially interested in the one that drinks her bottle, then wets her diaper.

Last night, I was cooking supper when he came into the kitchen clutching that doll. He said, "I'm feeding the baby!" and I said "mm-hmm" absentmindedly, without even looking. Then I finally looked up and, rather than seeing Sam feeding her a bottle, he was proudly nursing the baby.

I'm glad he still sees mama's milk as the natural way of things, in spite of Natalie being exclusively bottle-fed for the past four months.

Better Late Than Never

2008-10-07T21:18:00.004-05:00

Since Natalie's 2nd birthday is only 11 months away, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some pictures from her first birthday party.

It was a rainy, dreary day, but the kids still enjoyed themselves. Except for when Natalie fell off the picnic bench onto the hard cement floor. And when she got run over by Sam on his trike. But, other than that, fun was had by all.

Fun Dinner Idea

2008-10-07T05:29:00.000-05:00

Here's a fun recipe to get your older toddler or preschooler involved with making dinner.

Fun Taco Pies

Ingredients:

Your favorite taco meat recipe
Diced tomatoes
Shredded cheese
Two 9-inch pie crusts
Fun-shaped cookie cutters (the bigger, the better - small shapes are harder to fill)
2-3 eggs and food coloring, if you want to "color" the pies

Roll out the pie crust, and have your child cut out shapes with the cookie cutters (you'll need at least two of each shape for each pie). On one of the shapes, spread a tablespoon of taco meat, a tablespoon of diced tomatoes, and a tablespoon of shredded cheese. Top with the other shape, and seal the edges the best that you can.

This step is optional, but fun if you're not totally opposed to food coloring (I try to use it sparingly, and don't always do this step). Separate the eggs, and put the yolks in separate bowls - one for each color. Mix a couple of drops of food coloring with each yolk, and have your little one paint it on the pies with a basting brush.

Bake at 375° F for 10-12 minutes, or until golden. Serve with your favorite taco toppings - sour cream, guacamole, salsa, etc. Yummy!

Pictures

2008-10-06T10:47:00.004-05:00

I know, I know, I still haven't posted about Natalie's birthday party! I did finally manage to get the pictures off the camera, and make a slideshow on my Mac, but now I'm trying to figure out how to upload my iPhoto slideshow to Blogger. I don't know if the file's too big or what, but it's not going through.

Here are a couple of pictures in the meantime:

This was the actual day of her birthday. She looks thrilled. Come on, kid, you're only turning 1, not...30 or anything.

Since this picture was taken, the right (or wrong, in my opinion) combination of synapses have connected in her brain, and she now realizes she can drag a chair over beside any previously-out-of-reach shelf, then climb up and reach - oh, the telephone, my sewing scissors, you-name-it.

Bye, Bye, Binky

2008-10-05T20:28:00.000-05:00

Sam has always had a very strong sucking reflex. When he was less than a day old in the hospital, one of the nurses commented on it and predicted that he would be a baby who loved his binky. He did, when I finally broke down and gave him one at about three weeks old after I couldn't take one more second of the round-the-clock nursing. His beloved binky, his precious pacifier, became his (and my) best friend and got us through many tough times - teething, ear infections, and general crankiness.

About six months ago, I decided to try to get rid of the binky. I could tell after a few minutes that he wasn't ready yet, so I scrapped that idea. If there's one thing Sam has taught me, it's that things go a lot easier when he's ready for it, not when I'm ready for it.

Then a week ago, binkies started turning up cracked and broken. The first couple, I wrote off as a coincidence. Then I noticed Sam chewing on binkies in the corner of his mouth, and put two and two together. That, to me, was a signal that he no longer needed his binky, and it was just a habit and a prop.

So, Friday night, Operation Binky Removal began. I built up to it all week, by explaining to Sam that the Binky Fairy was going to come and take his binkies for the new babies that needed them and leave him a present instead. Awhile back, we watched The Wizard of Oz on TV, and he loved that movie and still asks for it, so I suggested that the Binky Fairy might bring him that movie as a present. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to locate it in either Target, Walmart, or Best Buy, so I hoped that he'd forgotten that discussion.

When Friday night actually came, we wrote a letter to the Binky Fairy, put the letter and his last binkies in an envelope, and put it in the mailbox. At bedtime, he cajoled and pleaded for his binky, but never actually cried. When he pleaded, "But I'm still small. I need my binky," that just about did me in, but I stayed firm. Sam tossed and turned, mumbled to himself, kicked and squirmed, and finally fell asleep after about an hour - about three times as long as usual.

Saturday morning, he came into our bedroom at 5:00 a.m. and cried for his binky. I explained that the Binky Fairy had already taken them, and he was too big for a binky anyway. He cried less than five minutes, then fell back asleep. When he woke up for the day, he popped up and said, "I was sad for my binky this morning, but I'm not sad anymore!" and that was really the last of it. He hasn't asked for his binky since (it's Sunday afternoon as I write this), although it's still taking him a lot longer than usual to fall asleep.

Lastly, when he opened his gift from the Binky Fairy (a Bert and Ernie DVD and a toy tractor), he was really excited, but after a few minutes he said hopefully, "Maybe the Binky Fairy will bring me The Wizard of Oz next time." I'm going to have to put a bug in Santa's ear to make sure he gets that one at Christmas instead.

Because I Like You, I'm Going to Share My Secret

2008-10-02T08:47:00.002-05:00

Imagine this scene. It’s 5:00 in the evening, and you’re trying to cook supper with two little kids underfoot. Actually, one is clinging to your leg, crying to be picked up, and the other one is throwing a tantrum in the middle of the kitchen floor. The living room looks like the toy box had a violent case of the flu – the kind that comes out both ends. Your baby is teething, so you’ve gotten nothing done all day. There are dirty dishes on the counter, dirty laundry overflowing the baskets in the laundry room, and the bathroom could use a once-over (more like a thrice-over).

The phone rings. You think it might be your husband, so you answer without looking at the caller ID first. It’s a friend that you haven’t seen in awhile, who’s in the neighborhood and wanted to stop over for a second to drop off some things she’s been meaning to give to you.
If you’re like me, you feel awkward admitting that “this isn’t really a good time”. So you try to sound excited, and as you hang up the phone you mentally calculate how far away she is. Five minutes? Ten, at the most?

You need a little help. There aren’t any fairies or elves hiding in the corners waiting at your beck and call. Only dust bunnies to be found there. So, what do you do now?

You know what you need? You need my patented five-step system to a company-ready house.

Step 1: Make use of storage space. By this, I mean often-neglected spaces like:
Underneath the couch
The bathtub
The refrigerator
The oven, after ensuring that it’s not turned on

Step 2: Dim the lights and close the curtains. You can call it mood-lighting, if you like. It sounds more fancy-like than Dirt-Minimizing lighting.

Step 3: You don’t have time to clean off the end tables? Simple. Just throw a large blanket over the top of the mess, and explain that you were just in the middle of playing a game of Fort.

Step 4: Close the door to every room that has a door.

Step 5: When you answer the door, say right away, “I hope you don’t have to use the bathroom, because the toilet’s out of order. I’m expecting the plumber any minute.” That will keep your guest out of the filthy bathroom.

If someone’s going to stop by with little or no warning at a house with young children, they really deserve to step over piles of crap (figurative, not literal, of course). But my ego won’t allow it, so I’ve had to employ this method many times.

Raspberries!

2008-10-01T09:44:00.002-05:00

Of all of the new raspberry recipes I've been trying recently, these two are my favorite.

Recipe #1: Raspberry Cinnamon Muffins (from http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com)
2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup raspberries
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Line 18 muffin forms with paper liners, or spray cups with non-stick cooking spray. In bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In another bowl, combine buttermilk and vanilla. Set aside. In mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, blending well.
Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk/vanilla mixture in 2 additions Scrape bowl between additions and mix only until just combined. By hand, fold in raspberries (and nuts if using) being careful so the fruit stays whole as much as possible. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when lightly pressed; 18 to 20 minutes. If tops stick to muffin tins when removing, loosen with a sharp knife.

My notes: I don't enjoy nuts in baked goods, so I substituted a handful of chocolate chips instead. Chocolate + raspberries = yum! Also, I recently discovered powdered buttermilk - what an awesome thing! It keeps in the fridge indefinitely, so no more waste. I used to buy a carton of buttermilk for a recipe, and not have any use for the rest of it, so it would end up going down the drain a few weeks later when it spoiled. (If you don't already know about powdered buttermilk, it's on the shelf in the baking aisle of the grocery store.)

Recipe #2: Crepes with Cheese Filling and Raspberry Sauce (from http://recipes.epicurean.com)

Crepes:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons butter

Filling:
1 pound Ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Raspberry Sauce:
1 pint raspberries
1 teaspoon water
1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

The crepes can be made the night before, filled, covered, and refrigerated until morning.

Crepes: Sift together flour and salt in a medium size bowl. Whisk in eggs, egg yolk, and one tablespoon milk to form a smooth, paste-like batter. Add the rest of the milk and vanilla and mix well. There should be no lumps. Melt butter in a nonstick skillet and stir into batter leaving behind a film of butter in the pan. Allow batter to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Heat skillet over medium-low heat. Stir batter and ladle about 1/4 cup into pan. Thinly coat bottom and edges of pan with batter. Cook until crepe turns golden-brown, lacy, and begins to pull away from pan, approximately 2 minutes. Turn and cook other side 30 to 40 seconds. Slide from pan and continue cooking other crepes. Stack crepes on a plate.

Filling: Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl and blend well. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each crepe. Turn in opposite ends and roll up the crepes. Cover and refrigerate. In the morning, fry the crepes in three tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden.

Raspberry Sauce: Place half the raspberries in a saucepan with water and sugar. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and sauce is thick. Add the remaining raspberries and orange zest. Heat through at the lowest temperature setting. Top filled crepes with raspberry sauce and garnish with sour cream and fresh raspberries. Serves 8.

Hope on the Horizon

2008-09-29T11:42:00.002-05:00

We took the kids to the park yesterday, and for some reason Sammy had it in his head that his daycare friends were going to be at the park, too. When I told him that they wouldn't be there, he said, "Well, maybe Nye will play with me instead."

And then, last night after we came home, Sammy said to Natalie, "Come on, Nye, let's go play in my room!"

Wow - could this be the beginning of a friendship?

(And an update - Sammy rarely hits, pushes, or otherwise bullies Natalie anymore! I can actually leave them alone in a room together for a couple of minutes without worrying about the consequences!)

Close Encounters of the Fungi Kind

2008-09-26T07:44:00.006-05:00

Before having kids, I used to have a beautiful vegetable garden every summer. Each fall, I would can, freeze, and pressure cook vegetables until the pantry was full and I had lost half of my body weight in sweat from working in the steamy kitchen. But no more. Turns out, vegetables really don't do well when surrounded by weeds three times as high as they are. Who knew?

Luckily for me, raspberries have no such requirements. In fact, if this year's crop is any indication, they seem to thrive on neglect. I've been picking raspberries every other day, and ending up with approximately 4 cups of berries with each picking. In the coming days, I'll post some of the recipes that I've been experimenting with in my attempts to use up all these berries.
Last night, I made a fresh berry tiramisu. It turned out to be a lot of work, especially since I had two whiny children at my feet and in my hair (and it turns out, they can be both places simultaneously). At one point, I was starting to lose my temper, so I decided to step outside to get some fresh air and get away from it all for a minute. The problem is, "it all" followed me outside. Natalie wouldn't let me put her down, so she came out with me by default. And Sammy came running behind me, in his sock feet, saying, "Mommy, I want to come with! Don't leave me!" So instead of going for a short walk, like I had intended, I sat down in the grass and put my head in my hands for a brief meditation while the kids milled around.

It wasn't long before I heard Sammy say, "Natalie, don't eat that! Mom, Natalie's eating something!" Thinking she was eating a blade of grass, or a weed, I didn't react at first. When he repeated it, I finally looked up to see Natalie spitting something out, and Sammy pointing at the humongous mushroom she had just sampled.

Um. It seems that every story I've heard about amateur mushroom hunters hasn't turned out well. And even though it didn't look like she had actually swallowed any of it, I had no idea how much of that particular mushroom it would take to cause ill effects. So, I gathered the kids up and ran in the house to make my first call to Poison Control.

The man on the other end of the line was very helpful. He had me describe the mushroom, and reassured me that it didn't sound like it was an overly toxic mushroom, but to be safe, he wanted me to take a picture and email it to him. I did that, and a few minutes later, he called me back to say that the worst she would probably experience was stomach upset. And since I thought she hadn't swallowed much, that odds were she wouldn't have any symptoms whatsoever but if she did start showing symptoms, to call him back right away.

She ate supper shortly after that, and went to sleep. Of course, I checked on her all night long but she was totally fine. So, all's well that ends well.

Edited to add: The Poison Control called back this morning to follow up. I'm very impressed at their helpfulness! Although I hope I won't have to do any more "business" with them.

Random Musings

2008-09-24T08:46:00.005-05:00

Natalie only has four words in her vocabulary right now, plus about a half-dozen animal sounds. Do animal sounds count as words? They're a lot harder to work into casual conversation - "That's a moo point. It's like a cow's opinion. It doesn't matter."

But despite her lack of words, she can hold entire conversations with just the sound "eh". "Eh, eh eh eh eh EH!"means, "I was playing with that toy, Sam! Give it back RIGHT NOW!" And "Eh eh EH eh eh," (accompanied by a pointing finger) means, "I'd like a snack. Preferably those animal crackers I see on the counter right there."

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On an unrelated topic, hooray for the new TV season!* Last night, I eagerly scrolled through my DVR listings to find Monday night's new episode of Two and a Half Men. Hmm. That's strange, it wasn't there. Come to find out, someone deleted the program off the list of timers (Ron later fessed up). No worries, though. I was able to hop online and find the full episode and watch it anyway.

That got me thinking about all the things my kids are going to take for granted. They'll never know a time before being able to pause and rewind live TV, skip through commercials, and record TV programs with a couple clicks of a remote. They'll never remember what it was like before internet and the ability to instantly download TV shows, movies, and radio programs from around the world. They'll never know what life was like before iPods, cell phones, or text messaging.

Just like the things that I've grown up with, and taken for granted. Things that didn't exist a generation or two ago - like televisions and microwave ovens. Doesn't it make you wonder what life will be like for our grandchildren?

*Did anyone else watch Worst Week? The last thing I need is another television show on my DVR, but the first episode was freaking hilarious. I'm a little skeptical that they'll be able to keep up that level of humor, but I'll definitely be watching that one again.

The Merry Milkmaid

A change long overdue

When Grocery Shopping is FUN

Still Trucking Along

Nothing About Nothing, Really

The Town Festival

The Three Musketeers

A Brief Update

Things That Go Bump! in the Night

Slàn leibh, Frank McCourt

I Have Similar Feelings About Cleaning

Update in Picture Form

Goodbye, Old Friend

Close Encounters of the Medical Kind

Quite a Workout

Puppy Tales

Our Newest Addition

Make Way for A Gosling

Kids Book List, Theme: Gardening

2 Reasons Why Carpet is BAD

*Heavy sigh*

Beyond the Birds and the Bees

Book Review: Look Again

Finally, An Update

They Say You Shouldn't Judge a Book By Its Cover...

Scenes from a Midwest Restaurant

The Attack

Bunny Tales

Changing His Mind

This Is Why I Don't Get Enough Exercise Anymore

Potty and Potty Talk

Dinner Conversations

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

The Weekend Update

Happy Days Are Here Again

Another Manifestation of Spring Fever

Tales From the Hamster Cage

Heeeere's Johnny!

My Excuse..And Exciting News

One of My New Favorite Things

If I Was a Sculptor...But Then Again, No

Pictures

Changes

Having Kids Is Finally Starting to Pay Off

Good Times and Bad Times

Loveys

Crazy but True

A Day Off

Free coffee!

Heavy Discussions

Hi! Remember Me?

Three Years Old

What I Did On My Christmas Vacation

Natalie Totally Looks Like the Frito Bandito

Brief Check-In

Living in a Winter Wonderland

Keeping Me Laughing

Internet Dangers

Catch-Up

Holiday Meme

Santa Claus Is In Town Early This Year

The Blue Dress

I Almost Have No Words

Books, Books, Books

The Ups and Downs of Eating

Catch-Up

Hanging Out at the Mall

First Pigtails

The Land of a Million Bells and Whistles

DIY Christmas Gifts

The Potty Chair

Parenting Poetry

The Witching Hour

It's Ba-a-a-a-a-ck

If I Only Had A Brain

Red, Red Wine

Halloween

Get Out and Vote!

Tag! I'm It

It's Fall!

Heavy sigh