Good Day

I woke up way too early this morning to the sound of Kiddo talking. Loudly. Way too early. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk....who the heck was he talking too?? After about 30 minutes of trying to tune him out I staggered into the kitchen to find him on the floor with his arms wrapped around the dog's neck and he was just telling her all sorts of interesting stuff.

geeze.

I asked him to please be quiet because Mommy and Port were still trying to sleep - he grumbled and fussed a bit and I staggered back to bed. A few minutes of sleep later and I hear Port crying in his room. Figuring I wasn't going to get any more sleep I got him up and we played for a few minutes quietly in my bed. Once Kiddo discovered us it was too loud for me to endure without coffee so I herded the wee ones to the kitchen.

I asked Kiddo if he knew what day it was; of course he said no. I told him it was my birthday.

Kiddo: "It is? So it's March? We can flip up my calendar!!!"
Me:"Oh yes, we can flip up your calendar. So aren't you glad it's Mommy's birthday?"
Kiddo: "yes, let's go flip it! I want to see Eve!"

So we go flip the calendar and I ask him "so what else should you do on Mommy's birthday?"
Kiddo: "I don't know"
Me: "Don't you want to wish Mommy a happy birthday?"
Kiddo: "yeah."
~pause~ ~pause~ ~pause~
Me: "you can say it now if you want."
Kiddo: "happy birthday Mommy"

[like pulling teeth I tell ya!]

So the day started out pretty nice; the kids played well together, Port was being super cute and walking a lot. People called and emailed and wrote on my Facebook wall - it was all good.

I even got a call from one of my old high school friends; we share a birthday, and it was such a pleasant shock and surprise to hear his voice after oh, gosh, I think it's been about 10 years??? It was great talking to him again!

While Port was taking a "nap" (re: screaming in the crib) I managed my yearly birthday photos.

I like the second one, but the background was pretty ugly so I tried a texture on it. I am not very good with textures!

Anyway, I decided that it might be ok to venture out into the world - my fear of something bad happening was still there, but I figured a trip to Sonic would be ok.

Warning - this story is about to get dreadfully scary. I apologize in advance for the frightening things I am about to tell you. If you do not want to read of my tragedy, please click over to the next blog.

I'll give you a moment to ready yourself.

...

...

...


I KNEW the day was going to be horrible. I just knew it.

I got us all dressed and ready to go, and just before we left I remembered that I had left my auto insurance card mixed in all the paperwork from the van registration. If there was any day that I might get pulled over, this would be it; so I was glad I had remembered to get the insurance card. Crisis averted, I drove over to the Sonic nearest to me.

It took some time to figure out what we wanted, and while I was waiting for Kiddo to decide I glanced around the parking lot. It seemed pretty empty for the lunch rush, but I figured maybe we were a little early or something. Finally Kiddo made up his mind and I pushed the red button. After what seemed like forever, the order taker asked me for my order. After rattling off everything we wanted, there was a long pause.

"uh, ma'am? I'm so sorry but...

our soda machine is not working. Can I get you a water or an Iced Tea?"

*blink* *blink*

wwaaaahHHH!!?!

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!

OH the horrors!!!!!!
...
...
...

Sorry, I needed a moment. It still gives me shivers to think about it.

I canceled our order and drove away. {sadness}

THANKFULLY - there are about 5 Sonics within a 5 mile radius.

HOORAY for development!!!

I headed to the next nearest Sonic, but on my way I discovered something terrible!

When Hubby had put on my new TX license plates, he forgot to affix the registration sticker to the windshield!!!!

eeeek!!

I did a power slide across 2 lanes of road to make a right turn back toward my house and called Hubby to fuss at him.

[ok, so I didn't really power slide. Is it even possible to do that in a big ol' van?]

[and yes, I did call Hubby to fuss - wouldn't you?]

I drove back to the house and found the sticker and put it on the windshield. Yet another crisis averted, we headed out again to the Sonic.

{Mercy this is exhausting.}

Lunch was great - we even scored an extra stick of string cheese (free!) for Port because the server forgot to put Kiddo's in the bag. Everyone was happy and full and we made a quick stop in Target for some booty cream for little Port. He had poopied the night before and slept in the dirty diaper {I KNOW! I felt SO bad!!} so he had a terribly burned bottom that morning.

Target was fairly uneventful and we made it home safely. After the Sonic fiasco and the sticker near tragedy I decided it best we stay in for the rest of the afternoon.

Hubby got home from work early, just as I was getting Port down for a much needed afternoon nap (around 4ish; we still haven't worked out regular nap times). We decided to let him sleep for an hour and then head to dinner early. Now that we have done this sleep training thing, dinner has to happen before 7:30 or our schedule gets completely thrown off.

Thanks to a timely gift card from my parents (thanks again Mom and Dad) we dined at Olive Garden. The food was great as usual (except the bread sticks were a bit overdone) and the service, as usual, sucked. When we walked in there was no wait - thank goodness - but at first they tried to seat us at their overflow tables right in the middle of the isle. We've had to endure those tables twice before, and with empty tables in other sections I was not about to sit there on my birthday. I asked the hostess if we could be seated somewhere else, and so she took us to a bigger table in a different section.

Our server was bad, bad, bad. We couldn't hear her when she spoke. She forgot things we asked for more than once, she had no personality whatsoever. When she would bring something, she would just dump it in the middle of the table. When she cleared our plates she didn't ask if we wanted dessert or anything. (and the reality was, I wanted to order a couple of desserts and get them to go because I hadn't made a cake for myself) The manager brought us the check while I was looking at the dessert menu! They are promoting some feedback survey so the manager brings all the checks to the table and explains the survey. After going through his spiel, he then asked me if I was interested in dessert. By then I was just annoyed and Port was extremely antsy - I think I mumbled something and he said to "let him know". Hubby and I both had taken turns walking Port around the restaurant so I was no longer in the mood to wait for anything else. I was very annoyed that the server didn't even ask us if we wanted anything else, so I scrapped the idea of dessert and paid the check.

I decided to stop at the HEB on the way home and pick up one of their yummy cream cakes (one of my PMS TOTM features way back in the day) as my birthday dessert and so we stopped at the one on the way home (the same one I went to the other day - ugh). I left the boys in the car (the big one too - don't go calling CPS on me) and ran in to pick one up right quick.

Now, HEB always has Cream Cakes. And they always have Chocolate.

Well, not always I guess.

*sigh*

I settled on a Pina Colada version and we took it home. It was ok, but not exactly what I was looking for.

So my day was horrible, tragic, disaster-ific....yeah no it was great really! I was so blessed by all the warm well wishes, the phone calls (I may never get the sound of my inlaws serenading me out of my head) the emails and sweet notes, the IMs and the wall postings. Never have so many people remembered (thank you Facebook reminders!) and never have I heard from so many people on one day. And the minor catastrophes, er, uh, annoyances were nothing in the overall day. They just made it that much more interesting.

Interesting I can handle. ;-)

Until,
D :)

All the Animals

Oh Miss Amanda! I saw that sneaky little entry on the Dyson Slim Vacuum giveaway from 5m4m! I hope you win, but if you don't, I hope I do - then I'll ship it to you on loan if you want! ;)

So, if any of you want in on the contest, you have until Wednesday to sign up. That's right - tomorrow! Hurry, time is running out.

**~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~**

In other news, we had a potty breakthrough last night. For some unknown reason, Kiddo decided he wanted to be nekkid. Since it was a bit of a warm night, I allowed him to do so for a while, with the stern warning that if he needed to do something, he better tell me or I was going to put a diaper back on him. So, as it goes, I found him dancing twice and took him to the potty. Then he proceeded to pee all over the floor while mindlessly playing with cars (thankfully it was on the tile, but where is all this liquid coming from?!?). Once we were about ready to go to bed, he came to me and asked to go sit on the potty. I asked him if he needed to T or P and he said P. Hubby and I were thinking, yeah right - but wouldn't you know he did just that?!? I was so excited that he not only knew exactly what he needed to do, but he told me clearly and he told me before he had an accident! woo hoo!! Ahh the things that get mommies excited...

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So, I totally forgot to do a PMS TOTM last month. Now, normally I like to bake my own PMS sins, but this month Hubby and I had a hankerin' for a store bought goodie. The local grocer, HEB, produces a wonderful Chocolate Creme Cake that will make your toes curl. Just make sure to pop it in the microwave for about 10 seconds and then sit back for a gooey, chocolaty delight! Here's a pic I snapped just before we finished it off...

It really is YUMMY!

*~~~~~*~~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*

Today was a day of critters. Thanks to the rain we've had these past couple of weeks, Texas mosquitoes are already out. Gah! I HATE those things! Poor Kiddo looks like he has the chicken pox because his little legs are so chewed up. Even the insect repellents don't work for him. I guess he's just too sweet! ;)

I was headed out back to take a pic of my tomato plants when I came across this little guy.

He was high-tailing it into the house so I moved him over to the deck railing. Before I had my lens cap off he was across the rail and crawling up the side of the house! Kiddo was screaming "Caterpillar come here, COME HERE!" and patting his leg. It was pretty cute.

Then I sat down again to attempt to photograph my tomato plant, and this "lady" plopped right on my leg. He was not too eager to go - and even when I nudged him off my pants, he flew right back to the same spot. I guess he liked the contrast in color!

Finally though, I was able to get in a shot or two of my plants. I already have two tiny 'maters growing! Kiddo doesn't quite get what's going on yet, but he has really enjoyed helping me water every day. The poor plants are going to drown!

Do you see them? Hopefully the birds will leave them alone.

Well, I am off to bed now. I've been working on this post all day. *yawn* Good nite!

Until,

D :)

*~*ALERT*~*

Oh. My. Goodness!!!!!


Have you tried these?

Well, ummm....you shouldn't. Because they are really BAD. I mean, nasty! Yeah, that's right, NASTY.

Don't worry, I'll make sure they are all gone before you are tempted.

D :)

ETA: I've tried about a dozen or so now and I stand firm. NAS-TY! ;)

The Remedy

How I Lost 22 Pounds

*Disclaimer* The following information is based strictly on personal experience and should not be taken for medical or weight loss advice. Please consult your doctor before implementing any weight loss regimen.

Ok, now that is out of the way...

Last year I lost 22 pounds. I have never in my life had a weight problem. I have always been skinny, to the point of disgusting my friends - trust me when I say it was not always fun. My senior year in high school, I grew about 2 inches (up to 6 feet tall) and maintained my light weight of 112 pounds. I couldn't help it; I have always eaten like a horse - never dieted or watched calories and still stayed slim (thanks to Dad for his genes). In college I gained the freshman 15 and finally developed a back side and hips. That was a turning point for me. My weight over the next 10 years climbed by about a pound or two a year until I settled out at about 135 pounds. Then I got pregnant. While carrying Kiddo I gained 70 pounds!!!! By the time I had him, I weighed over 200 pounds and had stopped looking at the scale. Of course, we found out when I delivered that I was pre-eclamptic, and most of the weight was water. I lost 40 pounds before I ever left the hospital.

So after Kiddo, for the next year or so, I was weighing in at 156. Though not overweight by any means, it was more than I had ever carried and was causing back problems and self esteem issues. But I was a mom - and as we all know in that first 6 months to a year you pretty much run in survival mode - snagging food when you can, eating on the run or while multitasking four hundred different things, and convenience foods become a life saver. Unfortunately, convenience foods are rarely good for you, and in my case, actually kept my body from getting rid of the extra weight.

It started out innocent enough. I would eat a couple of frozen burritos for lunch. Then I started putting cheese on them, then ranch dressing, then I was eating other things with them, cleaning up after Kiddo when he ate - I became the human garbage disposal. So in January of last year I decided enough was enough and I changed my eating habits. I know I am not an exerciser - so it had to be done with eating healthy and revving up my metabolism. In addition to the no exercise thing, I knew that a traditional diet wouldn't work as well. I am not good with telling myself "no", and if there is no room for "cheating" it would never stick. So I decided I would eat salad every day (that I could stand it) for lunch, change my portions at dinner to include more veggies and less of the other stuff, and then weekends would be free to eat anything I wanted. I began drinking coffee more regularly (a true mommy life saver) and changed my daily lunch to this...

This is actually not a good representation because it is a bit different than my normal salad - but that's ok. I truly believe this is the perfect salad. First off, it is HUGE. That is an 8 cup measuring bowl! I have this salad at lunch and most days I do not even feel hungry by dinner time. Here are the ingredients: I start with about 6 cups of fresh spinach and 2-3 cups of Romaine lettuce. I tear up the spinach and lettuce to bite size and then add about 1/4 c shredded carrots. Next is 1/4-1/3 c of Feta Cheese (very important for protein and flavor) and 1/2 of a medium avocado (the best nutritional food there is). Then I add about 1/2 c shredded chicken. Every week and a half or so I boil a whole chicken in the crock pot and then de-bone and shred for my salads. Very nutritious and tasty. I top the salad with about 10-15 garlic croutons (for some fat and crunch) and about 1 tablespoon of Ranch dressing (again for fat and flavor). All you need is about a tablespoon - just enough to make things kind of sticky when mixed with the avocado and cheese. This salad is VERY good, and after a year of eating it pretty much every day, I still love it. Sometimes I vary it a little - if I want a bit more crunch I'll add some bacon bits. If I am out of chicken I'll put in a whole avocado or even use leftover taco meat from dinner. Sometimes I heat up a couple of Kiddo's chicken nuggets (as in the picture). If I have chopped onion or tomatoes I need to use I'll throw them in as well. But the bulk of the salad stays the same - good, nutritious greens. Try it, I think you'll like it. ;)

Anyway, just changing those couple of things made all the difference in the world. If I hit a plateau along the way, I would up my water intake and actually eat MORE - throwing in a couple of snacks during the day (yogurt covered pretzels, wheat thins and hummus, even a hand full of dry cereal). I think the weekend free for all was important too. First, I never felt deprived because I could eat whatever I wanted and second, eating more on the weekends jump started my metabolism in prep for the next week. The pounds came off steadily 2 at a time for several weeks, the I plateaued for a couple of weeks or so and they would come off again. By August I had dropped 20 pounds and went from a size 8 to a size 4. I have since lost 2 more pounds, then gained about 4 over the holidays. The 4 dropped off quickly once all the holiday treats were gone and I am currently hovering around 134 pounds. Also, I make sure to satisfy the inner beast once a month with my PMS Treat of the Month. :)

So there you have it. My secret. And - NO EXERCISING. Imagine what I could do if I added that in...

Yah, right!

Until,

D :)

Innocence Maintained

So I think I know Kiddo pretty well. I mean, we spend just about every waking moment together, and quite a few of the sleeping one's as well. I'm pretty much the only one who feeds him, bathes him, clothes him and in all this I think I know what he likes and dislikes. I have tried feeding him just about everything under the sun (except peanut products) and have kept a running list in my head of the things he will and won't eat. Now, I know kids can be fickle; what they love one day will be strewn aside the next like garbage. And I know that taste is something subject to change on a daily basis as well. But for the most part, Kiddo is pretty consistent. Or so I thought...

So the list of snubbed dishes so far includes things like Lima beans, asparagus, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, carrots and scrambled eggs. These items have been offered time and again, and on occasion when tasted caused instant gagging reflex in my little one. He won't even touch a tomato in any shape or form, unless he mistakes it for a grape! :) Just trust me when I say I was completely confident in telling someone that Kiddo would absolutely not partake in any of these items during a meal.

We were staying with Grammy and Happy last week, as you know. Every morning G & H have a yummy breakfast of scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese mixed in. I am not really a breakfast person (unless you count coffee) and so I often do not participate in the ritual when I am there. Kiddo, at home anyway, tends to not be particularly interested in food until he has been up a while, so I often wait about an hour before I feed him breakfast. But, G & H are early morning folk and so every morning breakfast was ready just as we were opening our eyes. I've been trying to implement a schedule with Kiddo anyway, so the first morning I went ahead and put Kiddo in a chair and set a plate in front of him. Knowing full well he would absolutely not touch the eggs, I dug up some apple sauce and a banana thinking it would help stir his appetite and solve the problem of a fussy baby sitting in front of an untouched plate.

But oh my friends, I truly believe God gives us children to test all that we think we know, to provide us with daily laughter, and yes, to embarrass us by proving us wrong. Kiddo decided to provide all those things at once. After saying something to the effect of, "well he probably won't eat the eggs since he doesn't like them", Kiddo took one look at Grammy enjoying her eggs and scarfed his up like they were chocolate ice cream! As if that wasn't enough, later that day he was offered a carrot. Once again I made mention that he didn't like them and the next thing I knew he was munching on his second! Oy vey!

From now on I am keeping my mouth shut.

Oh yes, on a totally unrelated note - I made my PMS treat of the month. It is a lemon cake with vanilla/lemon custard. OMG! Heavenly! So light, so moist, so very lemon. mmmmmm, I think I'll have another bowl. Sorry the picture doesn't do it justice. But here it is anyway.

Until,

D :)

Goodbye Alice In Wonderland

I think I am going to put a hold on the self portraits here for a while. I might keep doing them for the Project 365, but I have a sneaking suspicion you all are getting sick of me. Even though my page views are at an all time high, comments have dropped dramatically!

So, back to the world of regular blogging. I am sorry I have not been my regular chatty self lately. This cough is kicking my back side and I have just felt so...well...spacey lately. Maybe it's because the world stopped that rapid, hang-on-for-you-life spinning it was doing during the holidays; where all I could think about was my next project, baked good, or family member coming to town. Maybe I am just trying to get back to normal, but feeling the emptiness the holidays always leave when they are over. I already miss the music and the "cheer". I miss my excuse to sing.

So for some reason today I have had to strap myself to a chair. If I don't make myself sit, I am sucked into the space that is in front of my refrigerator. I want to eat everything in the house today. Why is that? In all actuality my tummy is a bit troubled today. I totally wrecked my diet yesterday and overindulged in high carb, greasy foods. I just can't tolerate grease the way I used to. Anyway, I still want to eat everything in site; and nothing tastes good. ugh.

I think it might be time for a new PMS treat-of-the-month. Any suggestions? I am leaning toward something lemony/limey/more fruity than chocolate. I don't have any good recipes though. AND - I still have half a bag of butterscotch chips, half a bag of peppermint chips and a whole bag of mint-chocolate chips that I would like to get rid of! Suggestions? Talk to me people! :)

I think Hubby and I are going to try to get out tonight. Have a good one!
Until,
D :)

Mele Kalikimaka

Sing it with me now!

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say,

On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day,

That's the island greeting that we send to you

From the land where palm trees sway,

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright,

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night,

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way

To say "Merry Christmas to you."

Ahh, the holidays! I just love Holiday music. It is by far my favorite and if I didn't risk banishment from the community I would play it all year long! There are a few "hits" that I can live without though - maybe hear them once a year and be done with it, you know. The above tune is one such song I can live without. Feliz Navidad is another. I like to hear it once, but man, they play it every hour here! It drives me insane!!! You too? (oh come on, admit you sing along, especially on the "ah HA!" part! ;) )

Anyway, I was thinking today I would let you in on Kiddo's food of the month. Last month it was by far, frozen red seedless grapes. Kiddo ate them by the handful daily. (oy vey the diapers!) About a week or two ago he tired of them and wondered aimlessly through the land of food, searching for his next favorite treat. I am happy to say we have found a winner, Clementine Oranges!! If you have never sampled these little beauties, run out and get you a box. Easy to peel, very little stringiness and fuss, nutritious snack that they are, Kiddo has about 3 or 4 a day. My hands have a permanent orange smell to them now - ahh fresh!

For some reason, every time I peel one of these little nectar nuggets, the song Mele Kalikimaka plays in my head. *sigh* Hopefully that faze will pass soon!

I still haven't decided on a PMS treat of the month. I am baking something new every day so there really is no leader in the midst. Yesterday I made a wonderful Apple Banana Bread that I am hoping will defer my attention from the never ending supply of chocolate goodies we have lying around the house. And though I have not made the first thing from them yet, I simply cannot resist buying a $3.50 bag of mint-chocolate chip morsels every time I go to the grocery store. $3.50?!?!?! geeze!

Ahh well, that's what New Year's weight loss resolutions are for, right?
Until,
D

Jewel, Spice and Things Not So Nice

I forgot to post yesterday. oops! This writing every day thing is hard. And what's weird is I think of things to talk about several times a day but when I sit down at the computer to write; all those great ideas hide some where in the folds of my feeble brain. Ahh well, maybe I can just sit with you quietly for a while. You'll tell me about your life and I'll quietly sip my Dr. Pepper. What do you think?

I broke down and put in the xmas CD. I just love Jewel. I know she's not really up there on the "cool" list, but I sing (I think) almost exactly like her and she inspires me to sing the way I am supposed to - full voiced and wall shaking awesome! It is a rare thing to hear; not much out there can inspire me so.

I made my monthly PMS treat a bit early this month. I have been craving something with pumpkin and spice cake; and happened upon a recipe for such a creature in the last Kraft Food Mag. I couldn't put it off any longer and made the cake last night. It is so yummy and moist - I just polished off a piece! Yesterday was a horrible cooking day for me though. I never have claimed to be a chef or anything, but I think I know my way around a kitchen. Yesterday was just one of those days; the moon was full or some planet was in align with something it shouldn't have been - I don't know. I made the cake, put it in the oven and started dinner. We had chili and cornbread. I made the cornbread the same way I always do, put it in the same pan I always do, popped it in the oven the same way I always do and it promptly boiled over and spilled out all over the bottom of the oven. There was no way to effectively clean up the mess while the oven was on so I had to just put a pan in there to catch the rest of the drippings and enjoy the aroma of burnt cornbread as it infused itself into everything in the house (including my cake!). Then later on I went to frost/ice the cake with a cream cheese/sugar/coolwhip type frosting and I could not for the life of me get the dang cream cheese to blend. It was totally lumpy and I eventually gave up and just put it on the cake anyway (and before you ask, yes, it was room temperature; as was the cool whip). Oh well, it all tastes good so I guess it's ok. The poor cornbread came out flat and uncooked on the bottom though (I assume because of the drip catching pan).

I have been thinking a lot lately about friends and things that happened long ago - it is amazing how seemingly simple happenings can impact your life. People change you. You never know how an encounter with someone, be it 2 seconds or 20 years, will mold you; shape you into the person you see in the mirror.

I have about decided I am completely anti-social in person. I am great on line, email, IMing, whatever. I am relaxed and open in these "anonymous" venues; and I love them and hang out frequently. I am in person, however, very, painfully shy and practically mute - with the exception of when I am working; be it photographing people or event planning or whatnot. For some reason I don't have too much trouble talking with someone when I am working. It is a strange phenomenon. Today I took Kiddo to the park to meet up with one of the mom's groups I am in. We have a nice group of ladies. I am pretty sure I could be friends with just about any of them, but for some reason those meet ups are painfully awkward for me. I don't know what it is. Sometimes Kiddo is very embarrassing. If he is the least bit tired or hungry he will pitch the biggest fit when he doesn't get his way. He also is in love with anything with fur or feathers and today I was constantly turning him away from the little creek that ran through the park. He only wanted to jump in the water with the ducks and geese, so what was the big deal anyway? ;) Anyway, I spent the entire time pretty much miserable because I was chasing Kiddo everywhere and I really just wanted to sit and talk to someone. But, because I don't get to go to many functions no one really knows me and so no one wanted to approach me. I know in those situations I should make the first move, and sometimes I try, but it is difficult when I know full well I may have to run off after Kiddo at any moment. I am thinking I should just drop out of the group - but honestly, it is about the only way I can motivate myself to take poor little Kiddo out of the house once a week and do something other than run errands. He LOVES going to the park and pitches a holy fit every time I scoop him up to leave. Today was no exception. He started wailing as soon as I picked him up and grabbed his bag. He wailed all the way to the car, fought me when I tried to fasten his car seat, screamed all the way to the grocery store, was actually ok in the store but started wailing again as we were leaving because he saw a Mater truck toy he wanted, wailed all through the parking lot and into the car again, and screamed for 5 minutes in the car until he passed out cold, sound asleep. Poor guy. And a weird thing that happened - when I was loading the bags in the car and Kiddo was sitting in the cart screaming, this complete stranger walks up to me and says "I am just waiting here for my kid, but do you think your son would like a sucker?" >:-O Are you kidding me?!?! He was having a fit - he wasn't hurt or upset, and so what if he was; did she really think I would try to placate him by giving him candy?!? And better yet, take it from a total stranger leaning up against her crappy car in the "mother-with-child" parking of a grocery store while she is smoking a cigarette and blaring her stupid music out of the rolled down windows and popped trunk? Seriously!

Shew! It felt good to get that out. :) My goodness I have written a novel today. Maybe I should stop now.
Until,
D ;)

Cookies and Candy

Well, because I committed to writing every day in November, I am trying to do just that. So, I apologize if some of my posts are not very interesting! ;)

Since I told you about last months PMS Cake, I will tell you what was the treat this month. Cookies!! I started out with your basic, time tested, oatmeal raisin. Oh, how yummy they were - until Kiddo discovered them - then it was all day long, "mommy, cookie? Mommy COOKIE?!?" and before I knew it, they were gone. :( A few days later, my wonderful, blogging, bbc Momma friend posted a recipe for Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies. My friends, if you have a chance to try this recipe - please do! I love gingerbread cookies anyway, but adding chocolate?!?! Come on! I couldn't resist! Much to my advantage, Hubby was not too fond of them (too much ginger for his taste) and Kiddo could only eat about half of one before he got sweeted out. Woo Hoo! :)

Anyway, after the cookies came the Halloween candy and, well...I guess my diet is pretty much ruined till the holidays are over. I guess I should start praying for will power! :)

Have a good night!
D

PMS Cake

Ok, so I just finished up the last piece of my yummy, scrumptious, chocolatey PMS cake. It actually lasted almost a whole week! I am being a bad mommy and didn't tell my youngin' that I was partaking in one of his favorite treats. Oh well, what he doesn't know won't hurt him and after my emotional roller coaster of a day I needed to have it all to myself. Now I will suffer the consequences of my indulgence in gained weight and other chocolate allergy related offenses. (I won't share, it's not pretty) Anyway, I have several things I want to talk about, but maybe I should break it down into several posts. Otherwise, it will be far too confusing.

I will avoid the emotional stuff today, as I fear I am still too close to it and if I jump in on here I may end up crying in front of my family. Not something I really want to do.

Soooo, I took Kiddo to the park the other day. I am a member of far too many "mom groups" and in order to maintain my membership status I have to attend at least one function per month, per group. So we go to this park for a meet up and I am swinging Kiddo on the swing. Mind you now, I am NOT a social person, neither is Hubby, so it is very difficult for me to even go to these things- much less strike up conversation with someone. Because of our loner tendencies, Kiddo is not used to being in social situations...So we are swinging, and Kiddo is right next to another kiddo that looks to be about his age, maybe a bit younger (but it's hard to tell 'cause my kid has always been big for his age) and they are chattering away in a baby language that only they can understand - gleefully giggling and making each other laugh. The other mom seems annoyed by this lower form of communication and proceeds to engage her child in a round of counting. Ok, I'm thinking, Kiddo can count to 10 - so he probably will be able to hang ok with this challenge. We don't really "work" with him on things - I am not a flash card kind of mom, but he has picked up some numbers and letters and colors in our day to day conversation; and when he was smaller we would count to calm him down. So I am not worried. yeeeeah.

So she starts, of course, with 1 and the boys take it from there - all the way to 10 with perfection, laughing in between each number. Then, the other little guy (I shall call him Mr. Brilliant) goes on to 11! I am impressed - maybe he is the same age, if not older; I mean, his mom is a little thing, so maybe he is just a peanut...and I listen on, completely impressed by 12, 13, 14, and then he pauses. MY KIDDO yells out "FIFTEEN"!!! I am in shock! Lucky guess is all I can think and Mr. Brilliant next to us continues on to 20 without a stumble. So I am thrilled, secretly patting myself on the back for a job well done (haha!) and really impressed by this other kid. Then the mom really punched me in the gut. She says to Mr. Brilliant, "ok, how about this time in Spanish?". I'm thinking yah, right. Well, we have told Kiddo the numbers in Spanish but he has never repeated them. So I figure if Mr. Brilliant says them maybe Kiddo will chime in too.... but NO! Get this, Mr. Brilliant says "no Mommy, in French".

Ok, I had to wipe the dirt off my chin when I picked it up off the ground. And then clench my teeth while he counted to 10 (almost perfectly and with very little prompting) in FRENCH. Stinker. Then he counted in Spanish and I could just feel the Gloat radiating off of Mr. Brilliant's mom. All the while my little Einstein is yelling over and over "FIFTEEN, FIFTEEN, FIFTEEN!!" and laughing hysterically. ;) Eventually, Mr. Brilliant chimed in on the hilarity and they both yelled "fifteen" until it became nothing; just some garbled, remnant of a word that no matter how pronounced evoked a fit of laughter. After some failed attempts at getting Mr. Brilliant back to earth from Silly Land, she removed him from the swing and our realm of childhood UN-intelligence.

I really thought I was on top of things and educating him to his abilities, but now I guess I have some work to do.

Until later...
D :)