sweet sixteen

JJ is sixteen months old.

I can't believe it.

To celebrate, on Sat night he climbed out of the pack-n-play and onto the (very high) bed in my parents' guest room, made himself a little nest and went to sleep. I had the monitor turned on, and no one heard him do it. He's a ninja.

He has also started sleeping through the night. He has always slept at night, but has woken up once or twice and needed me to rock him or nurse him (still nursing! :) ) back to sleep. On June 18th I woke up and realized I had had a full night of uninterrupted sleep, he's slept through every night since (except if we've been out of town). I love sleeping :)

Last week he also had his first hair cut. We went to the barber shop and he did so well - he just sat in the chair and looked around. I made sure to save his baby hair, and he got a certificate and a ribbon for being so good, but I decided he didn't need a sucker (because I am the fun police).

I love Binky!

Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

One last milestone, JJ is finally into saying "Daddy." I know it makes J happy, but for the most part, he just runs around babbling nonsensically and singing the "Mama Song." And we think he's perfect :)

they caught me

A seriously soused city woman was cited Sunday for persistent disorderly conduct after crashing a party on Ohio 37 and biting someone.

From the public docket, duh.

Edit: I just reread this, and I want to note that this wasn't me, I just thought it was funny...but I didn't want anyone to think that I really run around drunk and biting, although...

destin!

On Wed morning I turned on the computer and nearly had a heart attack. I'm not exactly sure what was happening inside of the mysterious grey box that connects me to my friends, but it involved foreboding blue screens and scary words like "reconfigure" and "data loss." I couldn't handle it, so I called J at work, and he was zero help so I restarted the computer and prayed that all of my pictures hadn't poofed into a black hole somewhere.

Thankfully, they are all safe and sound (and now backed up on CD's).

So I can share some from our trip to Destin, FL :)

We stayed at a gorgeous house on the beach, the (gated and guarded) community was so nice, palm trees everywhere, a really nice pool and of course the beach was fabulous. If you want to plan a trip let me know, because I would highly recommend the house we were in, and later we found out that Britney Spears has a home in the development - so now I feel really cool (we got a great deal because we booked late, and we shared the house with another family, otherwise we would not have been there). As fab as the house and community were, I have no pictures of them - sorry!

J went deep sea fishing, and I now have 25 lbs of fish in my freezer. He caught amberjack, red snapper, black fin tuna, wahoo, and a barracuda (which is not edible). Now it's my job to figure out how to cook all of this yummy fish! While J was fishing I went shopping at one of the best outlet malls I've ever been to - I scored a great deal on a Micheal Kors purse :), so that made up for J abandoning me for the day.


JJ drives us to FL ;)
playing in the tidepool

JJ and Daddy caught a shark!

swimming with Mama

at the Gulfarium

Alligator Hunters!

father's day

redemption

J is off the hook, he sent me this response.

Sorry. Should have taken an extra minute to put some more thought into it. Thank you for putting up with my work-mode email and offering to share your baking talents with the world.

Love,
J

I love him :)

erm

I just received this email from J:

Alanna,

I volunteered to bring a dessert on Tuesday for the taco lunch fundraiser.

Thanks,
J

So, this is what I sent back to him:

I think you need to rephrase that:

"My wonderful, perfect and beautiful Wife,
I would love for you to make a dessert for me to take in for our fundraiser on Tues. You are such a fabulous baker - I want to share your talents with the world.
Can you do this for me?
Love,
J"

I'll gladly do it, just remember that you love me and I'm not your employee.

back to reality

We had a wonderful vacation, and I promise a post full of cute beach baby pictures (after I find the USB cables), but now it's back to real life.

The good news? This summer, real life means a daily trip to our pool :) And, the pool we belong to is fabulous and wonderful and smells like pink cupcakes; so it's my favoritest place ever. I will also post pics from our awesome pool, but not right now.

Right now I have a back-to-real-life tale for you.

Every other Wed. I try to deliver groceries to the housebound elderly in our city. It's an ongoing service project for Service League, and the Agency on Aging sets it all up. What we do is pick up the prepacked groceries from the store, deliver them and bring the money back to the store. Simple, right? Is anything simple with a 15 month old??

Today I delivered 4 orders - highly unusual, I usually do 2 or 3. The first three were easy, it takes time, but the recipients are so grateful, many of them would be unable to live unassisted without this service, so the good feeling you get totally makes up for any slight inconvenience.

The last order was for Miss Margaret. I love her. I love her because each week she orders 3 pints of Vodka and a jar of olives. And each week she tells you that the doctor made her give up cigarettes so she decided she would drink. I think, at her age, she has the right idea. I am also grateful to know that she no longer smokes because she has quite a few oxygen tanks lined up in her hallway, and explosions are scary. I think she dyes her hair every week, she must because I've never noticed roots, and she always has her makeup on. Sometimes (usually) I wish I could sit down and have a martini with her; although I would bring the vodka because she gets Five O'clock, and there's no way I could stomach that.

Anyway, she's such a great character, and so sweet that the very short visit with her completely made up for the fact that as I left the building, the fattest chihuahua I have ever seen totally tried to eat me.

I wish I had footage of me carrying JJ, and running away from this fat little bully; which was tethered to a shopping cart next to a Swisher Sweet smoking, fat old lady.

Had I been bitten I would have called the police, hoping for a write up in the public docket :)

vacation

We are leaving for Destin, FL on Friday :)

To get ready we bought JJ a big boy car seat (front facing), I think he enjoys looking out the windows, he loves putting toys in the cup holder. We also bought him a DVD player, and I actually had to purchase a few DVD's for it - because I just have some Handy Manny episodes saved on the DVR for here at home. Man, those DVD's are not cheap.

I am ready for vacation, maybe not ready for the car ride, but ready to get out of here and relax for a week.

See you later!

three for tuesday

Hey Laura - thanks for the post idea :)

1. We went swimming this afternoon! I managed to get JJ covered in SPF 60, rash guard, hat, and totally forgot to put any sun block on me. My shoulders are toast, but my daily facial SPF get my face free from burns, so that's a bonus :)

2. We are having french toast bake, bacon and strawberries for dinner!

3. Tonight is our last music class for this session. I decided not to sign JJ up for the summer session because we'll be gone quite a bit and we'll be busy at the pool. But we are for sure doing it again in the fall. If you have kids up to 5 years old I highly recommend Music Together classes - they are so much fun.

bonus points

J totally surprised me this afternoon, and made me really happy :)

We were supposed to go to a picnic and fishing tournament for his office; most of the guys in his group are newer hires, only a few are married and I doubt there are any other kids besides JJ...so not really a lot of fun for me at the playground by myself. The picnic was cancelled because the river is high and the current is too swift for good fishing (or something like that). J called to tell me that and I was disappointed because his other option for the day was to go golfing with one of his friends, and then to a cook out. Here's the convo we had:

J: The picnic is canceled.
AR: So you're abandoning us for the day? :(
J: I thought we could go to the zoo.

:) :) :) :) :) :)

So tomorrow we are headed to the zoo, and J has earned himself some bonus points :)

docket goodies

From the good old public docket:

"Police responded to a domestic disturbance Sunday in town after a male found his girlfriend's sex toy, thus violating a mutual agreement in which they each were supposed to get rid of their respective sex toys.

A decorative bowling ball was purloined from a yard Friday on Edgewood Drive."

The best part? The whole town was just in a major uproar because they almost had to lay off 13 police officers. I think the city could save a lot of money if people wouldn't call 911 every time a house is TP'd, or a Nigerian Prince solicits them via email (recurring items from the docket).

hypothetically speaking

If someone,

perhaps this guy:


were to, potentially, disassemble the baby gate before 8:30 AM;

then,

hypothetically,

is 8:31 AM an appropriate time for a drink?

PS - that picture is from Mom's Group, at the Church. I don't have couches, or carpet, quite that ugly. :)

yep, i still live here

This morning, I was going to post a link to this story, but then I got busy. I'm not sure what I was doing because I really accomplished nothing today (but JJ and I went for a walk), but I digress.

So, just a minute ago, I check my email before heading to bed, and I see that Yahoo has picked up the story. I KNEW it was gold!

Read it, laugh at it and then remember - I LIVE in this town.

Lord, please bring me a Target.

teeth

Yesterday JJ rammed me in the tooth with his head (yes, he managed to land perfectly on just my left front tooth). It has been in pain ever since. I am convinced that he cracked it up in my gum and that my tooth is going to fall out. He, of course, was completely unfazed and laughed his crazy little head off.

I am seriously worried that my tooth is going to turn grey and I will be banned from all social engagements.

sunday morning

We should be at Church. But JJ is napping, and one of our cardinal rules is to not wake the sleeping baby.

Instead there is laundry running (totally 'forgot' to do any laundry last week) and I am about to de-clutter my closet (big fun!). I've decided to have a garage sale next weekend, we have too much stuff and I would like cash in return. Thank you. Actually, the Oprah has been sending me Peter Walsh's updates and the one that came this week said "Have a Garage Sale," so I said "OKAY!"

I also really want to have a home furnishings swap like Oprah did last week - except, I only plan on inviting my well-off friends so that I have fabulous things to pick from for my house - hehe! In my mind I will come out of it with great designer throw pillows and accessories and they will go home with stuff from TJ Maxx.
This plan is sounding better by the minute :)

Beyond that I have been thinking of starting a second blog - just to throw all of my home keeping/entertaining/cooking stuff on. What do you think? What are the chances I can actually maintain two blogs?

how to celebrate earth day

Eat a green crayon.

personal hell

I just got back from the Verizon Store.

It took me 45 minutes to pay my bill and have my phone fixed.

Oh, wait. It only took 10 minutes to pay my bill and have my phone fixed (JJ had reset the phone to Voicesignals - and I couldn't get them to turn off). The other 35 were spent watching five or six employees wander aimlessly throughout the store - while JJ threw a monster screaming tantrum because I wouldn't let him play with all of the (germ covered) display phones.

So, that was pretty much awesome.

oh, oprah

Biggest surprise of my day: I am actually enjoying Oprah's interview with Star Jones.

Whoa.

But I have a theory. We all know that Oprah has a very public struggle with her weight (I'm with you there Oprah, just not quite as public). In the beginning of the year she had her big "I love Bob Greene" show, and since then all's been sort of quiet on the Bob front. Lately though, we have seen a heck of a lot of shows about the morbidly obese. Much skyping-in of the 400+ club. And Ruby. And Discovery Health documentaries. And now Starr and her admissions of gastric bypass.

I think Oprah is warming us up for her own medical intervention.

sometimes...

it's a wooden spoon/calculator kind of day. :)

yep, i live here

From today's docket:
"A drunken person was cited for disorderly conduct after refusing to leaving outside 221 Crystal Ave. While police were investigating the Crystal Avenue incident, a woman, who later registered a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.149, was arrested for driving while intoxicated in the parking lot after backing her Chevy into the back of a parked police cruiser."

it figures

JJ's objects du jour are my hairbrush and a cord from the printer.

Which isn't that terrible, except my hair looks like this.

I predict severe unhappiness in the future.

so flipping busy

Yep, I've been MIA for a few days. Please accept my sincerest apologies. I have a list of things I want to blog about, but finding enough time to write semi-coherent sentences is becoming increasingly difficult.

In the past two weeks I have planned and held two parties - JJ's First Birthday (Pirates!) and my Dad's surprise 60th Birthday Party (AKA - 'Stache Bash). They were fun, and I think everyone really enjoyed the parties (at least I hope so). Add in that I have conveniently over committed myself for Service League and you have one slightly-stressed AR. But I can handle it, I'm tough (kind of).

I'm not sure if I've mentioned good old Service League (FSL) on here before? I joined in Sept - this is my 'provisional' year. FSL is pretty much Junior League, but without the national organization, and I am having a lot of fun. Right now I'm in charge of a volunteer recognition luncheon for our local CASA/GAL program, and I'm on the committees for a new fundraiser party (Cinco de Mayo - yummmy margaritas!) and our bi-annual Holiday Homes Tour (another fundraiser). So yeah, I'm kind of busy.

This is possibly the most boring post ever, if you've made it this far let me know and I'll send you some love (or old MK samples - I have a sh*t ton of them).

one year

JJ turned one today!

And it occurred to me that I have never posted his birth story, so here it is.

Dear Gerald,

If I had known that today was the day of your birth, I would have eaten a good breakfast. As it was, I ate two large helpings of chocolate mouse instead of a bowl of fiber one and a nice piece of fruit.

I was supposed to have lunch with my friend Holly, at our favorite Mexican restaurant no less, at 12:30 and right after that I was planning on voting in the primaries. Instead I went to the Dr.'s office for a procedure that was supposed to make you come out faster. It worked, because after the (painful) procedure the midwife looked at my chart and said that my blood pressure was too high and left to find the Dr. She came back right away and told me that I had bought myself an induction, and I burst into tears.

I was upset because I wanted you to come on your own, I was afraid you were staying inside because you needed a few more days to cook. I wanted you to be ready to be born and not hurried in any way. I called your Dad and told him to go home and get the bag that I had packed, and reminded him that since tomorrow was your due date and all, that he probably should have packed himself a bag ahead of time (like I had asked him) because now he would have to rush and would probably forget something (like his toothbrush).

The Dr.'s office is across the street from the hospital, so I drove across the street and sat in the car and made some phone calls. I called my mom, Auntie Adrienne, Auntie Rachel and Auntie Mel and told them all what was happening. Your Grammy was pretty excited and got herself and Grandpa in the car right away so they could be at the hospital when you were born. Everyone else was excited to meet you too! By the time I got up to the maternity ward the nurses had called the Dr.'s office to see what was taking me so long!

They put me into a room and did some paperwork and and started an IV, I asked the nurse if I could please have some lunch and she almost laughed at me. Later a nice nurse got me some graham crackers and ginger ale - at that point I was really regretting my non-nutritious breakfast. Then your dad came and the Dr. broke my water and right away you decided it was a good day to be born :)

I didn't plan on having an epidural, but without any food in my stomach I was really nauseated every time I had a contraction - so while we watched American idol, the anesthesiologist gave me an epidural and I felt much better. In fact, I even took a nap while your dad got some dinner. Grammy and Grandpa came to the room and sat with us for awhile and then Grandma and Grandpa L. arrived - it took everyone a little longer than usual to make it to town because an ice storm was going on outside.

At about 11:30 PM I told the nurses that I thought it was time for you to be born, so your grandparents all went to the waiting room and the Dr. came in and I got to work. At 12:40 AM you were born and the Dr. announced "It's a boy!" You were born on your due date. You were named after your father, grandfather and great grandfather (someday I will tell you wife to find a new name, the insurance company still insists on mixing up you and your father).

You were the sweetest little thing I had ever seen, your eyes were wide open and you kept looking right at me, and opening and closing your mouth like a little bird and making the cutest coo's and grunts. I wanted to hold you forever and ever, and I guess that was what you wanted too, because every time I tried to lay you in the bassinet you cried. It wasn't a teeny newborn cry - you had lungs! In fact the nurses had hard time giving you your hearing test because you were crying so hard.

We couldn't wait to take you home, we figured it wouldn't be too hard to have a baby in the house - boy were we wrong. You cried and cried and cried whenever I laid you in your bassinet, you preferred to sleep in the bed between me and your dad. Once you finally decided to nurse we all got some sleep and life hasn't been the same since.

We love you more than we knew was possible. We want nothing more than to teach you how much you are loved and how to love others. Our hopes and dreams have suddenly become all about you, and neither of us would change that. Ever.

I love you, little man, forever and ever,

Mama

woohoo! week 4

I lost two whole pounds! I am seriously excited!

It seemed like I would wobble around where I was forever, but now there is definite weight loss, and it feels so good :) Plus I am pleased to announce that I have reached my wedding weight, and in only one pound I will be the skinniest I have been since Thanksgiving 2006 - when we listed our house in Indy, and I instantly gained 20 pounds just by thinking about the stress of moving.

I was awesome with drinking a ton of water, and pretty good with my veggies/fruit this week (I ate at least three servings everyday, not ideal, but a step in the right direction). I only got one real workout in, so I'll just need to improve on that this week.

I think the fact that last Wed was Ash Wed really helped me get into "diet" mode. I mean - a fast for myself? No way. A fast for Jesus? I am all over that. (note that when we Catholics fast we just eat small meals and no meat, no way could I go a whole day without food)

So for next week I'm going to stick with pretty much the same plan as last week:
* Focus on getting enough water.
* Eat 5 servings of fruit/veggies each day.
* Workout at least three times.
And I'll add:
* Watch the carbs! Make sure I have solid protein at every meal.

Want to join in the fun? Head over to Tena's blog and jump on the bandwagon - we are going to be hot for swimsuit season!

week #3

It's official, I suck at losing weight.

Last week I didn't even post - know why? Because I worked out, tried to eat well and still gained a pound. Shit. Every time I sat down to write a post it was super negative and I just don't need that, so I skipped class.

I'm happy to announce that this week I am back at square one. Joy. Know what I did to lose the pound? Not a thing; I didn't work out and I really didn't worry too much about what I was eating. In fact I don't think I really gained a pound the other week, I think the scale went up because I ran out of Jamie Lee Curtis yogurt.

The past two weeks I did have some bright spots:
* Went to the gym on Valentine's Day! Know who hangs out at the gym at 8PM on Valentine's Day? Me and some guy with a Scott-Ian-from-Anthrax beard. Oh yeah.
* Chewed gum instead of snacking.
* Threw away half a batch of cream cheese frosting that was in the freezer because it was calling my name.
* Didn't buy any junk food at the store.

This week I need to focus on:
* Drinking more water - I usually do really well, but I want to keep track of it.
* Eating more fruits and veggies.
* Working out.

:)

soup!

There has been a request for the Library Soup recipe. So here it is, and as an added bonus, here's the recipe for the best pickled eggs ever - it's true, we always have a jar of them in the fridge :)

Library Creamy Swiss Onion Au Gratin Soup

2 ½ c chopped onion
1/8 c pale dry cocktail sherry
¾ t dried basil
4 c water
1/8 c chicken base
3 T butter
3 T flour
2 c milk

Chop onions and sauté in large stock pot with 2 tbs. of butter unitl tender. Add sherry and basil. Simmer 5 minutes. Add water and bring to boil. Add chicken base. In saucepan, melt butter. Slowly add flour to make a roux until all flour is used (mix while adding). When water is boiling, slowly whip roux in small amounts until all roux is used up (mixture should be thick). Let simmer 5 minutes. Heat milk and gradually whip into thickened soup.

Top with shredded swiss cheese and pumpernickel croutons.

*To make this recipe veg, simply use veg vegetable soup base, it hardly makes a difference in the taste.

B&B’s Pickled Eggs

4 c white vinegar
1 jar jalapenos
1 onion
1 c water
1 T Tabasco
1 T salt

2 dozen hard boiled eggs (peeled)

Bring brine ingredients to a boil.

Put eggs in a jar and pour brine over, let cool a little and seal and refrigerate for at least 3 days and up to 3 months (although I'm pretty sure germs cannot withstand the acidity of B&B eggs).

Serve with salt, Tabasco and a beer.

Sing Brown Squirrel and Legs :)

saturday stuff

Today was pretty casual. We spent the morning hanging around, playing with JJ, drinking coffee (J doesn't do coffee, that was all me). After JJ went down for a nap around noon, we decided to install the new dishwasher.

It is now 8 PM and it's still not done.

My mom and dad said we should have paid to have it installed; J looked at the instructions and decided it wasn't that hard. Know what? I'm glad we didn't pay to have it done, it hasn't been stressful, just time consuming, and we literally had all day to get it in.

Besides I've got plans for the money we saved :)

so fun

I love Facebook.

And I love it even more because my freshman year roommate, Yvonne, whom I loved to bits and pieces, just friended me.

It makes me happy :)

So does the box of Valentine's Day chocolates I ate today.

And these cookies. But I don't think I'll love these last two tomorrow. Oh well, I guess that's another post.

'Nite!

seriously

JJ likes to roll over and squirm away while I am changing his diaper. I know he's not the first baby to do this, and certainly far from the last, but it is super annoying.

I thought I had the perfect distraction - THE REMOTE. It's like his Holy Grail, so I figured it would buy me, roughly, 23 seconds - just enough time to strap a new diaper around his little tush.

Except I didn't realize what he could do with THE REMOTE in just a few moments. He somehow hit the right combination of buttons and:
a) paused the live TV
b) activated picture-in-picture (I didn't even know we had this, and I really don't want to tell my husband, because we will have to watch all manner of sporting events in a little box in the corner of my shows)
c) muted the whole mess and added Spanish subtitles

I know!!!!

He's in bed now and I would really love to be catching up on Sober House, but I can't; I've only been able to get rid of the subtitles.

So now I'm watching a paused Prilosec commercial, with Top 100 Videos of the 90's in a tiny box in the corner. And I have no sound.

free!

My buddy Pam* is doing a fun little giveaway game on her blog. I figured I'd jump in on the fun!

The first FIVE people to respond to this post will get something from me! My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I do, but I'll try!
2- It'll be done this month.
3- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be makeup, shoes, bags, or a little invention of my own! I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something. I might send you a dust bunny from under the bed. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!

Here's the catch - you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

Be sure to post a picture of what you win from me when you get it!

*We went to grade school together, were in the same Girl Scout troop, and even did an exciting report about toothpaste together in the 8th grade :) Also, Pam's grandparents are from Houghton and she recently listed her Grandma's authentic Yooper Pasty Recipe.

kmfba

You don't need to be a rocket scientist (or high school graduate) to know that I am fat. There's a definite reason I don't post many pictures of myself, it's because I don't like how I look.

Eight years ago I weighed exactly 40(!) lbs less than I do today. And it's not like I gained those 40 lbs over the course of eight years. I gained 20 lbs before Dec '02, and another 18 lbs before my wedding in Sept '03. Since then I have gained even more weight, lost a little bit, had a baby and lost most of the rest (I'm 2 lbs from my wedding weight). So I'm back to where I was five years ago, except now the weight has been firmly attached to my entire mid-section for five years. And it's pretty comfy there.

But today I serve my spare tire eviction papers. I'm so over it.

I want to wear cute clothes again. I don't want to shop in the plus (AKA butt-ugly) dept anymore. But mostly, I don't want to be the fat mom.

My current plan is to just go slow. I'm still nursing the wee man, so I can't do any super-drastic calorie slashing; that wouldn't work anyway because I am super-duper hungry. all. the. time. Right now I'm getting rid of the snack foods in the house. That means the case of lunch size chips that J had to have at Sam's Club are going to work with him. So is the sleeve of Oreo's I bought today (why??). And I'm going to make sure I always have some yummy veggies and fruit prepped in the fridge, because I like veggies and fruit, but it just always seems easier to grab something else. And I'm going to work really hard to eat when I am actually hungry and not when I'm stressedboredhappysadtired.



And I'm joining Tena's group, because it just sounds like fun :)

Wish me well!

11 months

My little man hit the eleven months milestone yesterday.

*He's a walker. Big time.
*He does not like socks.
*He loves Cheerios, and Kix, bananas, pears, peaches. He likes food in general.
*He likes feeding himself (which is great because I have zero patience for spoon-feeding).
*He babbles, constantly.
*He loves to play, especially with non-toy items.
*He has eight teeth.
*He responds to JJ (his official nickname) and Gerald.
*He loves nursing :)

I love my little buddy so much!

the cheese face

we like crap

At the grocery store last night a Toaster Strudel box caught my eye. The flavor was Boston Cream Pie. I'm not kidding. They've apparently moved beyond the point of even pretending that this is a viable breakfast option.

Growing up we always wanted Toaster Strudel, and PopTarts, Lucky Charms, etc. Unfortunately these items fall into my mother's Crap category. So we would ask, and she would reply "I won't let my children eat that crap! We're rich, we can afford whole wheat toast and no-sugar added peanut butter!" The rich line might have worked when we were very little, but by the time I was in second grade I was pretty sure that if we were really rich we'd be eating Cookie Crisp for breakfast.

But every once in a while she would buy a box of "crap" for us to fight over. The only rule was that you had to have a bowl of good cereal and then you could have the crap food item.

I remember rushing through my Rice Krispies and then carefully squeezing an elaborate icing design on my (kind of soggy, and still partially frozen) strudel. The icing pack was the best part. It was pure sugar and entertainment rolled into one - genius, just like Fun Dip; plus if you did it just right you would have a perfectly iced strudel AND a big glob of icing left over. The only problem was that after your strudel was iced and ready to eat, you were starting to feel full from the cereal. Oh well, you'd just power through the overly full feeling and savor every bite of awesomeness.

And then you felt like crap.

Maybe mom was right.

dip

Lamb - this one's for you :)

J's Famous Family Dip or Crack for you Chips

cream cheese
milk
garlic salt
diced onion

This is more like an anti-recipe, there is no real measuring.

Cream the cream cheese with a hand mixer (you can use a fork, but the dip will be smoother with a mixer), blend in milk until you reach your desired consistency. Slowly add the milk, for the first year we were married the dip I made was more like soup, I would always add too much milk. Shake in a hefty amount of garlic salt - my BIL's rule of thumb is to add GS until it masks the flavor of the cream cheese (I like just a tad less) and add as much onion as you'd like. I love onion - so I add a ton; I'm also not picky about the kind of onion I use. When vidalias are in season I always use them (and the dip is sweeter), otherwise yellow onion is good, and white onion makes is super oniony!

Of course this is perfect for chips, but it's also excellent on pretzels, veggies and spread on roast beef sandwiches (maybe not for you, Lamb).

This is J's family recipe - his grandmother had 6 kids and was in desperate need of a chips-and-dip fix, but she had no vehicle and no dip! Being ever resourceful she mixed up some cream cheese dip, and the rest is history. It's seriously not a family gathering without the dip!

an interview

Q: So Alanna, what's been going on this week?
A: On Tues night I was ill; so ill I was convinced that the Quaker Man had lied about the origins of his peanuts, and I had been duped into consuming salmonella pb bites. But on Fri, J came down with the icky-sickies too. So rest assured people, the Quaker Man is still safe.

Q: How is it being sick and being a mom?
A: It sucks royally. But here's the amazing thing - as I was hugging the toilet, my mom was heading here to spend a night on her way back from a trip to Cinci. And then, because we got a ton of snow on Tues night, she was stuck here until Thurs morning. So my mom gave me the prefect opportunity to actually get some rest and get well. Thanks mom!

Q: Did G get sick?
A: Thankfully - no. One would assume that a nursing child would just get whatever his momma has, but not my little Viking!

Q: How about your mom?
A: Unfortunately Mom did become ill - last night it hit her. And that sucks even more because today she and my dad drove to Folk School. But she's a trooper so everything will be alright. I just feel bad that I infected her (and probably dad, too) right before their trip.

Q: What else is going on?
A: Lots! We'll start with G - he's a walker now! He started taking a few steps on Jan 2, and in the last two weeks he's been practicing his Frankenstein-walk. He's so determined (totally gets that from J) and so super-cute (I would take credit for that, but he looks just like J).

Q: What have you been up to?
A: I've been making decisions. I've decided to retire from Mary Kay. I still have a ton of fresh inventory on my shelves, so please continue to order, but I've decided not to replenish my stock as I sell. I'm not saying I won't go back to being a consultant in a few years, I'm just taking a break for now :)

Q: What will you be replacing MK with?
A: Something even more fun! I'm reorganizing my office and turning it into a craft studio because I've decided to open my very own Etsy shop! I'm busy working on a few crafty bits and planning a name and theme for my shop. My current stumbling block is that I don't have a camera. I might have dropped it while taking a self portrait. It's currently being fixed, and it's okay with me if they send it back ASAP!

Q: Anything else?
A: I still really want to get into interior design. I'm trying to decide if I should get a degree first or just jump in. Right now I've got two "clients" that I'm working with - they're both friends, but they asked me to help them, and both offered to pay (I won't let them, though). I figure it's a start, and I can gauge my real interest level based on how these projects go.

And now I'm going to play wii with J :)

it's a goat

Because of Danielle, I had one goal today:

Get this Hamfatter Award thingamajig posted before anyone else.

To quote Miss D "The story behind the award goes something like this: Andrea decided to contemplate on where blog awards came from. Her sister said they were made up. So Andrea decided to make one up, and well, the rest is history because this is what she found out: The word 'ham' originated in the early 1880s from a song called The Hamfat Man. It was a black minstrel song about an awkward man. After that, people would use the term hamfatter when someone was trying too hard to be funny and not succeeding. That was ultimately shortened to the word ham. So she made an award featuring her goat Joe."

And here it is:


I'm flattered because:
a)It's a major award!
b)It features a goat.

But, there are strings attached. The recipient must:

1. Blog about the Hamfatter award and tell where the name came from.
2. Post the Hamfatter Award Proudly on your blog!
3. Pick 5 blogs that just make you laugh and link to them in your post!
4. Link back to the person who gave you this hilarious Hamfatter Award!
5. Let your blogger friends know they were awarded a little something!

I hereby recognize AJ, McMommy, Tena, April, and Lamb the newest class of Hamfatters. Congratulations! May your goats serve you well. Maaahhh!!!

Now if I were just smart enough to figure out how to stick this on my sidebar...

out of hiding

Today is sunny!
Today is not as cold as it has been!
I just opened all of the drapes!

Oh man, I seriously need to dust.

:/

randomness

*Lately captcha has been making me laugh. I like to make up my own definitions for the nonsense words. For example: trogedi: major train wreck that you just can't help but watch. "Have you been keeping tabs on Brit? Major trogedi."

*I bought a bag of caramels at the grocery store. Total mistake.

*I made the world's best sliders for dinner last night.

*My friends Al and Dawn just welcomed their fourth child - a boy :) He was delivered, by Al, in the front seat of their brand new minivan just after he pulled under the ER canopy. The ER nurse arrived after the baby came. It was 4 degrees outside. The hospital showed Al the security camera footage of the minivan barreling along the ice, on two wheels, and in the wrong direction up to the ER entrance. Dawn and I joked at the beginning of her pregnancy that this would happen based on her previous deliveries, and yet, I still can't believe it actually happened.

finally posting about christmas

Christmas this year was long. It was great, but there are some things I'd like to do differently next year (I guess it's already next year, but you know). We drove to the Muskegon on Mon afternoon. G was actually pretty content for the whole ride (there was some crying, but not too much).

Tues we hung out at my in-law's, went to Meijer (oh exciting) and I helped my MIL wrap some presents and cut out a few cookies. And we played Rock Band 2 (we brought it with us because we are addicted, it's sick really). Wed was Christmas Eve so we headed to Viking's for a drink and then to J's Aunt's for the family party and had a lot of fun :) On Christmas Day we headed to Grandma's after opening presents and playing more RB (really sick), ate, and then trucked over to Troy.

We got into town and pretty much headed right over to Merissa's for her White Elephant Party (I got a Kwanzaa doll) and to see my girls :) On Fri we opened presents at my parent's and went to my Aunt Peggy's for another Christmas dinner. Sat my Aunt Dee and Cousin Kathy and her kiddos came to my parent's and we had another big meal (although that was mostly leftovers, and fudge, lots of fudge). That night we played more RB (noticing a theme?), some rumikub and just chilled at home. J and I had big plans to head to GLI, but with the game being so early we couldn't figure out the logistics and we were kind of tired so we opted out. We'll be extra ready for next year!

Sun we said goodbye to my brother Mason and his dog Coda and girlfriend Tara - they started their long drive to Portland (they should get in tomorrow- fingers crossed!). And then we got ready to head home. On Mon we opened our presents at home and were able to relax. Whew, I'm tired just writing that out.

edit - I wrote this on New Year's Day. Sometimes you look at what you've written and it's awful, but you still push "publish post." Also, Mason, Tara and Coda arrived safely in Portland - and my mom managed to not have a coronary while they were on the road :)

christmas pictures

With Santa on Christmas Eve

The Girls and JJ :)

Baby's First Squirrel

OMG! It's a new car!

Rocked Out Baby
He actually fell asleep like that, and yes I WAS singing.

Our Family Band
We Play Bar Mitzvahs!

My very own remote!

i'm so over it

Things I am So Over today:

Static
I used the morning nap time to straighten my hair, is it too much to ask that it actually look nice when I am done? "Just run a hanger over it." Not in this house. Mommy dearest (that's me!) has a strict no-wire-hangers policy. So I'm rocking a sweet plastic barrette (lame).

True Beauty
I had high hopes for this show. Loved how ridiculous the first show was. Made it through the second show. Started the third show, deleted it from the DVR before it was done and removed the timer. Sorry A. Kutch, I just couldn't stomach it.

New Soap Pumps
The new stainless steel soap pumps are rusting. ! They are STAINLESS STEEL. Furthermore, shouldn't they have been designed to withstand the harshness of...hand soap?

Jon and Kate Plus Eight
At first I loved this show. I wanted to smooch and squeeze all of the kids. I could see my relationship with J in Kate and Jon's relationship (although I believe I am not as crazy as Kate). Now I can't stand them. You know it's over when there are 28 new episodes waiting on the DVR and you have no desire to watch them. Maybe it's the constant commercials on TLC, with that annoying song in the background - It's a beautiful day... SHUT UP! Maybe it was the totally self indulgent "Wedding?" Maybe it's the never ending season? I'm pretty sure the Little People season started and ended during the J & K season. I don't know. Another timer gone.

read it

http://tinyurl.com/9y6kcw

It made me cry.

on underpinnings

I am so over my nursing bras.

Last week I had to wear a non-nursing bra because everything else was in the wash. I put it on and was comfortable. I looked in the mirror and had two, separate, breasts. I looked like a real person.

So now I'm hooked (literally).
G is still nursing, but we're down to 3 - 4 times during the day. I can suck it up and unhook my bra a few times a day, besides we've almost eliminated the need to nurse in public places (not like I ever really did a lot of that, but sometimes).

Now I need to plan a shopping trip - there's nothing I love more than new pretty bras!

PS- Christmas was great, post is coming. Can't quite figure out how to organize it...
PPS- new stuff in the works (don't get too excited)

this is news

I am thoroughly addicted to our public docket. There were some doozies yesterday, but I just wasn't able to post them (I know you are all so disappointed).

From today's docket:
Items were missing Sunday from 909 Broad Ave. - Really? Items??? As opposed to any other time something is missing?

A North Main Street woman was jailed for domestic violence Monday after scratching her husband, stemming from a dispute after she packed away their Christmas tree. The male maintained that putting away a Christmas tree prior to New Year's is bad luck.

total disaster

I have really been craving no-bakes.I figured I could make them and feed G his dinner at the same time. I overestimated my capabilities.

I lovingly stirred the pot in between spoonfuls of pumpkin puree and sweet potato puffs, and then I decided to call my mom (because I am such an awesome multitask-er). When it was time to add the oatmeal I figured everything was cool, these would be the best-damn-no-bakes-ever, and my craving would be squashed. But, I grabbed the wrong container of oatmeal. Crap!

I spooned out a few cookies - they tasted like little raw fiber bombs. I decided I could just cook the oatmeal by adding water and putting the pot back on the stove (by this time G is going crazy with the pumpkin, everything is orange). I cooked the oatmeal, but I also wrecked the cookies.

Would anyone like a spoonful of chocolate oatmeal?

should have seen it coming

In my bedroom I had a cute little glass container filled with sand and a seashell from our honeymoon. Notice I used past tense in that sentence?

This morning G dumped it into a basket of clean clothes.

Why didn't I see this coming? I guess he at least dumped it into the clothes instead of it breaking into a million dangerous pieces on the ground.

Here's to more laundry today *cheers*

mary x-mas

So...I'm beginning to think Christmas cards are just not going to happen this year. I guess I'll just have a jump start on my cards for next year :)

Consider this your very own card, print it out if you'd like.

Mary X-mas from our White Trash-ified Family!

Love,
Alanna Rose, J and G

PS - I know how "merry" is spelled ;)

holy crap!

The other day G was a bit of a monster, and he needed his binkie. I should have put two and two together, but I didn't.

We now have 5 teeth, two on the bottom and three on the top.

just plain dumb

Everyone loves to comment on the baby, and since he is usually bright-eyed and clean - I don't get much "helpful advice." What I get are dumb questions.

Just one example:
Cashier: "How old is he?"
Best Mom Ever: "Nine months. And he's a genius."
C: (ignores genius remark)"Will this be his first Christmas?"
BME: "Something like that... (voice trails off)"

noooooo

G hit the nine month mark last week, and he immidiately got busy getting into trouble.

The most commonly heard word in our house is "no." I know, I've read the same books you have. I am sorry, but that is the word that comes out of my mouth when he:

* breaks my brand-new not-cheap fireplace screen.
* tries to chew on the cord for the computer, tv, Christmas tree...
* climbs into the bathtub by himself.
* climbs out of his high chair and sits on the tray. (totally thought that would be a safe place to trap him for the 63 sec I need to get the mail)
* sits in the warming drawer on the oven.
* eats through the bite guard on his crib.
* gnaws on the water turn-off under the toilet.

Sounds like he hangs out by himself all day, huh? Nope, I'm on him 24-7 and he still manages to get into everything. I think he needs a kennel. Don't worry I would totally pad it and give him some toys ;)

no more wisdom

The wisdom teeth are gone.

I was in and out in 45 min, and it didn't hurt at all. I did gag on my blood, which was not fun. But I'm still feeling good - probably because I am completely, drooling on myself, numb.

Before I left they asked if I wanted my teeth. I found that both hilarious and horrifying. I assured them (through my gauze-filled mouth) that I did not require my teeth. The tooth fairy doesn't know where I live.

Now I have to figure out how to take the horse pill painkillers with a numb mouth...hmmm.....

on friday

My wisdom teeth are coming out on Fri.

Guess how excited I am? Go ahead, guess.

Unfortunately I will not be sedated. G is still a boob-boy so that means no good drugs for me :( Even though they will prescribe percose1t to women who've just given birth, I'm afraid to take it. I will take 800mg motrin though, hopefully that will be enough.

The best part is my mom is coming down tomorrow to help with G on Fri and Sat. I love my mom <3 (FYI - that's not a heart...it's a carrot and a butt)

zippy

Just to clear up any confusion about our pet - this is Zippy.

We love her <3

*not the best picture of Zippy or G, but it was handy :)

monday give-aways!

I love free stuff! I know you do, too :)

AJ also posted this one - I think the necklace they are giving away is so super cute - I really hope I win (or AJ - that would also be excellent)!



I also follow Amanda's blog. I found her when she had a cute shop on Etsy - which she has turned into a really fabulous baking/candy/kitsch supply shop - Bake it Pretty. I love her stuff - it's all so fun! She is giving away some gift certificates for her shop - and I hope I win because I have a laundry list of fun items I *really* want.

Happy Monday!

i knew it would happen

Remember Zippy the wonder pig? She's still hanging around, still flinging poo's out of her house and onto the floor.

Remember Gerald the amazing boy-baby? He's gotten really good at picking up puffs and feeding them to himself.

I am hyper-vigilant about pig poo's on the floor. I can hear them hit the floor from across the house and I am on them like white on rice. But this morning I missed one. I was making toast, the poo must have hit the floor at the exact instant the toaster popped. I turned around and saw Gerald chewing something. I knew what I would find.

Yes, my perfectwonderfulamazing child was eating a pig poo.

Grossest moment of my life.

yesterday

4 AM


Wide awake and ready to play but with a rash from the amoxycillin. FAIL!

Guess he did get some of my genes.

how can i help?

I hardly ever get these emails - but they totally crack me up!

From my email:
*********
With warm heart, I offer my friendship and regards.

My Name is Mrs. Lawrencia Tete, wife of Late Hon. Frances Tete, C.E.O, GOLD and DIAMOND merchant from Republic of Congo, who died in the result of rebel attack in my country. And left me with two children behind (Julian and Jenifer) May his soul rest in perfect peace, Amen...

After my husband's death, this was declared/made known to me by our family advocate with the agreement /deposit documents of (Eight Million Dollars), which was deposited by my late husband in Finance Security Company in Accra Ghana for foreign Business investment, for safe keeping before his sudden death, now I have to move with my two children out of my country to Accra Ghana for the sake of our l ife's.

I am contacting you to help me claim the fund in your country account ,issue me invitation to come over to your country and invest this fund in your country for the sake of (Julian and Jenifer) future to further there education, before the death of my late husband he left a standing order with the Finance management and our family advocate that they should not release the fund to anyone accept a foreign trustee because of the political instability and the result of war in my country Congo, I decided to reach you directly to solicit your assistance and help as my foreign beneficiary for the Security Company to release the fund to us for the sake of my children,

Please keep this transaction confidential, for the safety of my life and children/security of the fund.

Thanks and remain bless as I wait your response soon. do include your direct contact so I can reach you.

Yours truly

Mrs. Lawrencia Tete
***********

Poor (Julian and Jenifer).

The spambot in the webcafe couldn't even be bothered to remove the parenthesis, what an amateur.

blaahhhhh

We're still sick. Thanks for the cold medicine suggestions:) I ended up eating almost an entire bag of Ricola drops last night. And when I woke up there were Ricola stains on my pillow case and cough drops in my hair. Lovely.
I also have two new zits. Double lovely. One is directly under my left nostril, it looks like I have a booger hanging out of my nose. The other is randomly located on my cheek.

I am a mess. We see the Dr. at 4:15. Is it 4:15 yet?

ha!

I'm trapped in the box!

i got a sticker

Voted after aerobics this morning. I was hot and sweaty, with a baby attached to me via sling.

I didn't vote for a free coffee/bagel/donut/ice cream cone. I voted because I want to be heard, I voted because then I feel I have the right to complain about/champion our government. And I voted because it wasn't that long ago that women couldn't vote.

this is the best

I'm browsing through stuff on etsy, bouncing G on my knee and he is "singing" - just the cutest little high pitched cooing ever - and then he becomes really quiet. I realize he has fallen asleep sitting upright on my knee, he was just that cozy hanging out with mom.

*melt*

I need to open an etsy shop, I need a creative outlet - I have a few ideas... What would you sell?

happy halloweener

Here's Baby Frankie :)

Like the squint? That's his new 'cheese' face, and that's his poor little rug-burned nose.
Trick-or-treat was last night and we went to five houses; I already ate all of the good candy (left the dum dum's for J). Best of all my mom was here!

authentic scars, red-eye courtesy of my awesome camera skills

while at yoga

"Place your face on the mat and thread the needle." And *poof* I am stuck - face firmly planted on the mat. Panic set in, but I managed to wiggle my way free without causing an embarrassing scene. I also fell asleep while in 'relaxation pose.'

Happy Friday!

PS - Tena at My Therapy "booed" me for Halloween - so Boo! right back at you :)

teeth and stuff

Gerald now has four teeth.

Yesterday I was sure it was only three, but there are most definitely two teeth on top. This explains why he hasn't been sleeping very well (he ends up in our bed EVERY night), or napping very well, general crabbiness, and his new binky-addiction.

Swimming class is going well, he's having a lot of fun in the water, and so am I! I signed up for some aerobics classes at the Y this session - yesterday we tried the day care out again. He did great, played in the baby section and then watched the big kids. I think being away from him for an hour was good for me. Mon and Wed are tough - J bowls those nights and it's really hard not to resent him (just a little) for being able to come home, change his clothes and leave right away, and then not return until after Gerald has gone to bed. Don't get me wrong, I love staying home and being with Gerald, but when the day has been challenging....

Tomorrow is trick-or-treat for us. I made Gerald a Frankenstein's Monster costume - it turned out pretty cute!

anxiety

I'll confess, I'm anxious for this election to hurry up and get over with. I really don't care about the 5 daily phone calls I receive from both parties - caller id and silenced ringers help with that (sorry if I've missed your calls!); nor the political adds, I just FF through them anyway. No I just want to know who will win. I need to know how my life is going to change.

Let's face it, there will be sweeping changes no matter who is elected, I'm just predicting that my family will end up on the low side of the teeter-totter if one candidate is elected, and if the other is elected we should (hopefully) remain on the some-what high side. Waiting is just no fun :(

At least I have Cake Wrecks!

not his fault

Yesterday Gerald figured out how to climb out of the bumbo; he also mastered opening the bi-fold closet doors.

This morning he's been practicing lowering my desk chair while I am sitting in it.

Our little engineer can't be blamed, his gene-pool is skewed. :)

oh no you didn't

Yesterday was baby swim class (no pictures - the camera is dead, arrgh). There is one little girl that we always talk to, but I didn't know what her name was (her mom is sort of out there).

Her name is Hermione.

*oh you have got to be kidding me*

what?

Freshly picked from today's public record:

Deputies responded to a domestic call at a Strong Avenue residence at 3:14 a.m. Thursday, after a man got upset that his girlfriend had given the last pickle to her son. No arrests were made.

A pig was reported running loose near the intersection of Ohio 186 and Hancock County 131 at about 3 p.m. Wednesday, but had disappeared by the time officers arrived.

the haps

We've been busy...

*trip to Muskegon to visit with J's family and go to a baby shower, Gerald is not a very good rider after 2 hours... sort of turns the car ride into hell.
*swimming classes! Next week J is coming with to take pictures - it will be the only time a picture of me in my bathing suit will appear on the blog...EVER.
*we were supposed to go to the pumpkin patch on Wed, but it rained :( so we just went to play group instead.
*last night I drove up to Ann Arbor to attend a baking class at Zingermann's. It was awesome! I would highly recommend a class there. I took the class with my mom, we learned how to make German pretzels, and we used lye! I made a dozen pretzels and brought them home; we had some for breakfast and some for dinner and I took a few over to the neighbor's because she watched Gerald this morning while I had a dentist appointment. I learned a few interesting things - we used leaf lard, which was new to me. It's the lard that surrounds the pig's liver (or maybe it was kidney?), and it is a liquid at room temperature. It is also the purest lard in the pig. And we also had a great discussion on the different flours available, and another about yeast. So fun, so informative, so yummy!

help

how do i put my twitter on here? i'm dealing with a snotty little nose, my brain is not functioning.

first taste (?) of chocolate

I cleaned the floor yesterday - I swear I did. But I also made brownies, which of course create crumbs, because using a plate would delay brownie-eating by four milliseconds. I'm not sure if he actually got the crumbs into his mouth - but this is what he did to his pajamas:

It's not all bad - at least the chocolate was Ghiradelli :)

go to sleep

seriously dude, you need to sleep.

JJ NOT sleeping

public docket

Two shopping carts have been stolen from Great Scot, 301 W. Main Cross St., since Monday.

*Seriously, the person who reports the public docket in this town must have the world's most interesting job :)

just for mel

Jazz Hands

party time!

We're having a party!!!!

Tech plays Findlay in Findlay this year, so we figure it's the perfect excuse to invite everyone out for a night of fun!

The game is Oct. 11 at noon. I'm thinking we'll have Bloody Marys and pickled eggs (B and B style) at 11, head to the game and then come back for Library Soup, chili, cornbread and beer :) I think our garage would really like to host some tippy cup, too :)

Bring the kids - Gerald is ready to make some new friends! We've got plenty of room, so feel free to stay the night, just bring a sleeping bag and pillow (or reserve a spot on the hide-a-bed, or one of our couches).

I'll be making an event page on facebook, so keep your eyes peeled for that - and be sure to invite all of your Tech friends to come down, too :)

public docket

In the news today:

Someone glued a garage door shut at 208 Baldwin Ave. on Tuesday or Wednesday.

lately

I've been really drawn to Swedish modern interiors like this (disregard the bedroom - it's atrocious). I think it's the clean lines, and the Marrimekko prints, and the use of color. There are two problems, though:
1. I don't want knock-offs from the big I; I want a real Tulip table, bring on the Saarinen chairs, maybe mix in some expensive wool rugs.
2. After spending more than my mortgage to furnish all of two rooms in the house I would realize I can't live that way - I need stuff, a few frills, some flounces - a few items with warmth.

It's a vicious cycle.

five years

Today is our fifth anniversary :)

I got flowers, I also requested something sparkly - so we'll see how that goes...

We got a babysitter. We're going to dinner, at a real restaurant with cloth napkins and a wine list and no illuminated beer signs. And then we are going to come home and put the baby to bed and then go to a movie. It makes me happy :)

fruits

Freshly picked from the Tree of Randomness:

* Last week we had a new HVAC system installed - furnace, a/c, all new ducting and a few new registers and returns. The dampers still need to be adjusted, but so far the new system seems a lot better than the old one :)

* We've settled on a nickname for the wee man. He shall be JJ - my dad likes to call him this, and he's sort of already become "Grandpa's Boy" so what the heck? I've decided to call him Gerald, just so he knows it is his real name, plus I figure when he grows up and gets a professional-type job he'll be comfortable with his grown up name. Now - if I could only convince the Taco to use his real name at the office...

* We went to the county fair on Sat. Last year we saw the Chicken King, this year I had a close encounter with the Goat Princess - she was even wearing a tiara. I have to admit, the tiara made me jealous, so jealous that I needed a silver fox (read - sugar flavored) sno-cone and a basket of fried vegetables. So good going down... the next day, ouch. We also looked at all of the animals. Note - steer clear of the poultry barn next year. Something spooked one of the chickens and it tried to fly away, we were showered with sawdust and chicken-shit. I almost cried. People stopped and stared as I tried to clean off G and his stroller with wipes.

* I'm ordering a new toy from W-S this week :) The Beaba baby food maker - and it's from France. We all know about my love for Euro-trash, so, in my book, this is just about the greatest thing ever.

* Remember long ago I wrote about new bedding for my room? Of course you do! The new bedding has been here for quite a while and looks loverly on my bed, but I needed a few more pillow cases, so I ordered them the other week while shipping was free. I ordered two, I paid for two, they sent me three - score! Guess who's going to have a cute matching pillow for her reading chair? This girl.

* There's a plastic Jimminy Cricket sitting on my desk - he makes me smile :)

big day

I declare today "Solid Food Day"

Mashed bananas for all!

Gerald did well, no screaming, and I'm pretty sure he swallowed at least some of the banana. We taped the whole process, of course, but I'll spare you - no one really needs to see 5 minutes of me shoveling banana into his mouth.


Gerald also rode the train today. Next to our neighborhood is a cute little train that the local historical soceity runs, J thought it would be fun to take G for a ride.

this week

Quick and dirty:

This week "we" were teething. It was a family experience. Gerald's bottom left-center (does that make sense?) tooth finally poked through today :)

J ran to Meijer to get me some ready-made margaritas because Momma needed a drink (and I happen to have a bag of limes in the fridge). When all you buy is margaritas and rimming salt guess what added bonus you get? A $2.00 off coupon for Pampers.

Because children and booze go hand in hand. Amen.

blarg, blarg, blarg

I've been neglecting you. Sorry. Life's been happening and I've been bad about documenting it - oh well, I think we'll all survive. Please accept this epic length, rambling, disjointed entry as some kind of peace offering.

My MIL came down Tuesday to visit. As with all MIL related events my emotions are mixed, but I am really happy that she came down to see Gerald - he's growing and changing everyday and I am sad that she isn't able to see him every week. I really do love her, but it's complicated, and I feel like I am sometimes hyper-critical of her. Being a daughter-in-law is just hard, and now that I have my own little man I'm realizing that one day I will be the MIL. Blahhh.

After lunch yesterday there was a knock on the door - guess who it was?
a) the mailman with a package
b) Patrick from next door looking for popsicles
c) Jehovah's Witness wanting to share the Scripture with me
d) political campaigner

If you guessed C you are correct! I was polite, I promise. I politely declined the literature he wanted me to take. I politely bit my tongue when he asked my religious views. And I politely kept my internal dialogue, internal (go me!) when I saw what he was wearing. I swear his outfit came right out of the 1974 Sears catalog. The pea green and orange paisley was almost too much. The comb-over was fabulous. I really wanted to take his picture, but I really wanted him to go away more. I'm sure you understand.

Gerald is now 5 months old. I can't believe it. I held my friend's two-week old yesterday, and I couldn't believe how big G is compared to him. G was 15 pounds at his last checkup - I'm guessing he's around 16 pounds now. Two weeks ago we moved him out of the pack-n-play in our room into his real crib in his cool jungle room. Apart from a few fussy nap times (I think he was just incredibly tired), he was completely unfazed by the whole thing. I had some issues, and cried the first night, the second night I moved him back into our room for a few hours - I really liked being able to hear him breath when I woke up during the night. But after a few nights of being able to get into bed without walking on eggshells I'm now really into him being in his own room. I also think he sleeps better, because he hasn't been waking up for a 3 AM feeding. It's like my mom says, "Motherhood is letting go." My baby is growing up so fast.

He's still a talker, constantly making noise and having conversations with us - he's very entertaining. I recently started putting him in the exersaucer - he loves it. Our exersaucer came to us as a hand-me-down from our neighbors, and I like it that way. It's basic, no toys attached. I think the new ones look like ADD machines; actually, that's how I feel about a lot of the baby toys I see. G has toys that "require" batteries, but we don't put them in. I just figure that if he gets bored and we do put the batteries in - he'll think he has all new toys :) He's still breastfed 100%, I don't think he's quite ready to try solids yet, and I'm not sold on rice cereal as the first thing he tries (I'm thinking banana, but still researching). He does sit in his high chair with us while we eat dinner, just so he can start to learn about what we do at the table - he's happy because we talk to him and he can see us and play with his toys.

Now on to me. I'm happy, I really enjoy being a mom, and I love staying home with G; I feel really lucky that I am able to stay at home instead of going to work. Which brings me to the subject of my degree, or lack of degree. At first it seemed so easy, take a few classes and transfer the credits up to Tech and that's it. It suddenly got more complicated, Tech has a residency clause, and at first my adviser made it sound like it wouldn't be that big of a deal, and then it suddenly became a huge obstacle. Honestly, I knew I wouldn't be starting classes this fall because I'm not ready to leave Gerald with anyone, so I'm just sending that idea to the back burner - again. I could transfer to another school, but I'm so close to being done that I will need to take extra credits to have enough credits to receive a degree from a different school; and transferring gets messy because of Tech's transition from quarters to semesters while I was there.

Then there's the money, mom and dad won't be paying (I wouldn't even ask them) and my educational trust fund is empty. I could totally justify a loan if having my degree meant my family's situation would change, but it won't - I'm not going to work, and I like the situation my family is in. It would be nice for Gerald to have two parents with degrees, that's what I had growing up even though my mom was at home with us, but it's not like I didn't go to college, or just went to a semester of community college - but it's hard to explain to people that you are 12 credits shy of a degree, and I feel like a liar every time I pretend I finished. Maybe I should just transfer all of my credits to BG and get a degree in interior design, if I'm going to spend the money I should get the degree in something I enjoy, right?

That's all I've got...for now.

Happy Thursday!

quiet

I have been avoiding my desk because when I type, something wobbles.

I just identified the mysterious wobble-er.

The silence is fantastic :)

free!

After taking my morning stroll with baby-man I came home and realized I had worn a nursing bra and not my sports bra - no biggie, right?

Wrong!

ALL of my nursing bras were in the wash, not waiting to be washed, but in.the.wash. Actually, they had been sitting, wet, in the washer for three days. Yick. And the bra I'd walked in? Soaked in sweat (it's hot and humid - and I am one mean walker).

So I went bra-less. I'll give you a minute for that visual to sink in.

*

*

I promise I did not go out in public that way, not even to the mailbox. And now that I have a drawer full of clean bras I'll be properly secured tomorrow.

I can hear you all sighing in relief.

diabetes

Scotch-a-roos
1 c. sugar
1 c. light karo syrup

heat to a boil over med-high heat. stir in 1 c. peanut butter.
add 6 c. rice krispies. press into buttered 9x13 pan.

melt together 6 oz. chocolate chips and 6 oz. butterscotch chips.
spread on top of rice krispies. refrigerate to set chocolate, cut at room temp.

*I like to make a half batch (in a 9x9 pan), otherwise there are too many for two people (not that we couldn't eat them all)

Oat 'n Chip Cookies
2 c. butter
2 c. sugar
2 c. packed brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
4 c. flour
5 c. oatmeal (4 lightly ground)
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 lb. chocolate chips
3 c. chopped walnuts

cream butter and sugars until fluffy. mix in eggs and vanilla.

grind 4 c. oatmeal in a food processor.

in a separate bowl stir together flour, ground oatmeal (4 c.), whole oatmeal (1 c.), salt, baking powder and baking soda. gradually mix into sugar mixture. fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.

drop by tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets, bake 12 - 14 min at 350. let cool slightly on pan before moving to cooling rack.

*all time favorite cookie - this makes a huge amount of cookies, in fact my kitchen aid can't hold all of the dough if I make a full recipe. i suggest just making half a recipe, you will still have a ton of delicious cookies.

New Favorite Banana Bread
3 mashed bananas
1/3 c. melted butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg - beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt
1 1/2 c. flour

mix melted butter into bananas. mix in sugar, egg and vanilla.
sprinkle salt and baking soda over mixture, mix in flour.
pour into buttered loaf pan.
cook for one hour at 350

*I always freeze my bananas when they start to get too brown, then I just slip them out of their frozen jackets and they are perfect for baking.

ummmm

I had so many ideas for blog topics, but now that it is nap time I can't seem to think of any.

Quick (super boring) update: G is good, I am good, J is good. J got a Wii for his birthday, well, actually he got a shirt with a note pinned to it that said "This is a Wii. Really." The next day he called me to let me know they we in stock at BB. I find it funny that when he was going to buy it for me for my birthday (still not sure what I want - maybe tickets to Wicked?) he could never get around to calling to see if it was available; when it became his gift he got serious. So there's been a lot of bowling at our house after G goes to bed.