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Roger the Elf

2011-12-08T04:55:00.004-05:00

Roger is a Christmas elf that lives at our house and watches the kids during the day, then gets into mischief while everyone is asleep. He also reports back to Santa and makes naughty/nice recommendations to the big man.

I picked up a little DIY foam elf kit and the kids helped me put it together. We've been having fun with Roger the Elf ever since. Here are some of his adventures:

Made lunches for the kids of ridiculous foods

Played a board game with Barbie and Superman Fell in love

Went on a few dates and left photos for the kids to find

Sprinkled flour around his house (it's a Santa's Workshop box of Kleenix) and made snow angels
Toilet papered the kids' rooms

Decorated our Christmas town with their underwear

Invited the kids to a tea party

The donut tea party is my favorite so far, those donuts were so tiny and cute! I made them out of Fruity Cheerios dipped in chocolate syrup/sprinkles, powdered sugar and cinnamon. Idea here: Emma's Tiny Treats.

Most of these ideas only took me a minute, and when I'm really feeling lazy I just leave 2 Hershey kisses at Roger's feet. They like those mornings as much as they like his escapades. Google "Elf on the Shelf" for lots more fun ideas.

Vegetarian Turkey

2011-12-08T04:17:00.000-05:00

Made this to take to someone's house for Thanksgiving appetizers. It was easy and turned out so cute!

Be Super!

2011-08-25T05:35:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow Olivia starts second grade and Alex starts preschool, so it's a big day for both of them. I know they're a little apprehensive and I wanted to do something fun and memorable to help them get ready.

A blogger I've long admired writes every year about her family's back-to-school traditions. I followed her example and planned a family dinner with fun decorations, home-made crowns, fresh flowers, and a family motto for 2011.

Coming up with a motto was easier than I thought it would be: Alex loves superheroes and makes us all "play Batman" with him, and Mike and I work at a game company that makes a superhero game. I knew I wanted to encourage the kids to do their best, and eventually ended up with our family motto for this school year: Be Super!

Dinner was simple, just pesto over tortellini (it's their favorite), and we talked about ways they can, "Be Super," this year at school.

The sides of the crowns didn't stay glued down, but the kids were both thrilled to get to wear a crown during dinner, and I wouldn't be surprised if Alex wants to wear his to school.

Tomorrow when the kids walk out the door they'll see this little reminder on the wall:

And when they get to school they'll find this caped crusader in their lunch:

4th of July - 2011

2011-08-01T01:41:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to post a couple of pics from our trip to Idaho for the 4th of July:

We spent the day with my Grandpa Rudd at his house on the lake. It was a beautiful day and we got there in time for lunch and then sent most of the kids and the dads out on a boat ride around the lake.

The weather changed so fast though, and it started to rain... then Hail! It was a scary few moments for the moms back at the house as we saw the huge hail coming down all around and worried about our kids and husbands out on the boat.

Everyone got back safely though, they said it didn't even hail where they were. The weather was nice for the rest of the evening.

Looking at bugs on this tree trunk.

Alex and Mike exploring the lake.

Here are my brothers and sister-in-law enjoying a fire (we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows) while we waited for it to get dark enough for fireworks. Grandpa's house is one of my favorite places to be. I have so many happy memories there.

There was a beautiful sunset that night. Of course my brother took this. He's so much better with my camera than I am!

We stayed the night and went home the next day, back to the house in Shelley where I grew up. We had more fireworks - Alex loved them.

I wanted to show the kids the (semi) wild places where I used to play as a little girl and tell them stories about the canal where we weren't allowed to play (but we did anyway!), and about the time I hid in the fields to avoid a doctor visit.

Even though I love where we live in California, it's all very developed where we are and it's just not the same.
I'm so glad when we can escape for a while.

Two Poems

2011-06-15T03:47:00.000-04:00

by Olivia

ho Skrap
I love you!
Your tikle wiskrs
Your vary fun
You look so cute!

ho Brokle
I hate you!
You tast so gros
I have to eat
you or I can not
have dezrt!

Happy Memorial Day

2011-05-30T22:30:00.000-04:00

Today we went to a park for a church picnic. The kids had SO much fun. Olivia got to play with her friends, explore a creek, get pushed on a rope swing and eat treats. Alex tried to keep up (except on the rope swing)!

We were there for about 5 hours, so by the time we got home it was time for dinner. I made some corn on the cob and had to take this picture of Olivia trying to eat her corn without her front teeth. It's been over a year that she hasn't had front teeth and I have to admire how she has adapted to the inconvenience without a single complaint.

Alex was supposed to go in the bathroom and get ready for a bath. Usually he celebrates liberation from clothing by running all over the house, but tonight it was strangely quiet. This is what I saw when I went to check on him.

Looks like he got one shoe off before he had to take a little nap on the side of the tub.

Sure do love these guys!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-06T03:42:00.005-04:00

The kids got to go trick-or-treating a couple of times this year. On Friday night they went with a good friend to our church Halloween carnival. Olivia was a bride and Alex was Buzz Lightyear. Olivia loved getting to wear make-up!

On Sunday we took the kids to a few houses in the neighborhood. Liv was Batgirl and Alex was Spiderman.

One cute thing was that Alex got his first bag of candy and moved on to the next spot. When he got there they held out their candy bowl for him to pick one, and Alex tried to put the candy he'd just gotten into their bowl. =)

Santa Cruz

2010-08-26T04:05:00.008-04:00

Mike and I took the kids to Santa Cruz a couple of weeks ago. Olivia loved it. She played in the water, dug in the sand, chased birds and had an overall great time. She was an absolute joy to have at the beach.

To say Alex isn't a huge fan of large quantities of sand or water would be an understatement. However, he can't get enough baseball so we distracted him from how much he hates beaches and oceans until he forgot himself and started having fun.

The boardwalk was garish and crowded and overpriced, but still fun to see.

Afterwards we went to a yummy restaurant with an amazing view (we sat outside in the perfect weather, but I liked this image).

Liv got an upset tummy and Alex threw pancakes at the seagulls, attracting an aggressive bird mob, yet it still managed to be a satisfying close to a lovely day spent celebrating our 6th anniversary.

Smelly Lunchboxes

2010-08-19T06:10:00.003-04:00

Last spring while I was learning how to pack school lunches, Olivia was practicing how to spill food into the lunchbox. Her lunchbox was a soft bag that looked something like this.

After just a week or so of using it, I noticed it was smelly.

I'd been wiping or shaking it out every night, but I hadn't realized how smelly and gunked up the crevice that goes around the interior seams can be. I won't even tell you how gross it can get.

Despite my best efforts to keep the bag clean, there was no way I could keep up with the child that insisted on bringing home a half-eaten yogurt with no lid, loose in her lunch box.

Luckily, Liv was only in school for 5 weeks, and the smelly lunchbox went into the trash soon after.

This year I'm looking for something insulated, easy to clean, and preferably with a shoulder strap. Anyone have any suggestions?

Baseball Game

2010-06-21T03:36:00.005-04:00

Our church offered tickets to a family baseball night last week for a Giants v. Orioles game in San Francisco. The stadium was really nice and we had a great time. The kids especially loved getting a big bag of cotton candy!

The tickets gave us free admission and 5 free rides at the county(?) fair next door to the stadium so we spent a little time there before the game.

Mike had told me it might be cold, but I stubbornly refused to believe him. I knew we were in for trouble when I saw people going into the stadium, staggering under the weight of their sweatshirts, wool blankets, and space heaters. Ah well, lesson learned. The kids were too excited to worry about the temperature anyway. Or maybe all that cotton candy kept them warm. :)

A Stroll in the Park

2010-06-09T04:30:00.008-04:00

Last weekend we took the kids and met up with friends in Golden Gate Park. This photo is Olivia trying to fly the smallest kite in the world. My favorite part is that in the background there's a yoga class in session. There was a little bit of everything at that park.

It was our first time seeing the ocean since we got here which was fun (though this photo is technically the Bay).

I didn't get many photos that day: no one would hold still! We had a lot of fun at the park and then driving around the city afterwards.

My sister and I decided to start a new blog for fun. It's called City Mouse, Country Mouse and it's about the differences between our lives right now.

Courage

2010-03-04T13:16:00.003-05:00

Some days
there aren't any
trumpets,
Just a lot of Dragons.

Courage doesn't always roar.

Sometimes Courage is the quiet voice
at the end of the day saying,
"I will try again tomorrow."

Simply persisting is sometimes
the most Courageous
act of all.

Big Cinderella

2010-02-13T12:44:00.007-05:00

When Olivia was three she was in love with all things Cinderella, so when some friends offered us this child-sized doll we took them up on it. "Big Cinderella" joined our family on Christmas morning, about three weeks before Alexander came along.

She's been a pretty fun toy, especially because her clothes are made to fit children, so Liv could swap outfits with her.

Sometimes though, she's a little creepy. I’ll feel like someone’s watching me and see her out of the corner of my eye, not realizing for a second it’s just Big Cinderella. Or I’ll walk into an empty room after the kids are in bed and she’ll catch me off guard. Like this:

A few days ago the kids were playing Cinderella Ball, and I told Xander to dance with her so I could take their picture.

He is so not going to Prom. Ever.

Snowpocalypse 2010

2010-02-07T10:53:00.015-05:00

Here are some pictures taken during and after the huge snowstorm we had this weekend.

Sugar on Snow

2010-02-06T16:33:00.013-05:00

A couple of excerpts from "Little House in the Big Woods," by Laura Ingalls Wilder:

"Grandma stood by the brass kettle and with the big wooden spoon she poured hot syrup on each plate of snow. It cooled into soft candy, and as fast as it cooled, they ate it. They could eat all they wanted, for maple sugar never hurt anybody."

"One morning [Ma] boiled molasses and sugar together until they made a thick syrup, and Pa brought in two pans of clean, white snow from outdoors. Laura and Mary each had a pan, and Pa and Ma showed them how to pour the dark syrup in little streams onto the snow. They made circles, and curlicues, and squiggledy things, and these hardened at once and were candy."

I've always wanted to make maple sugar candy, and today while Alexander was napping Olivia and I gave it a try. It was pretty tasty, and especially fun thinking about pioneer children who might not have had any treats other than this.

We boiled 3/4 cup of pure maple syrup and 1/2 T of butter in a pan with a candy thermometer until it was about 240F. Then I poured it on a pan of clean snow. Once on the snow it cooled immediately and we were able to try it. It was a lot of fun to eat, even though it made our teeth stick together.

It's a fun way to spend an afternoon with your kids when you're snowed in by 2' of snow!

Silly Girl

2010-02-05T20:12:00.014-05:00

I've been writing down some of the funny things Olivia has said over the past couple of years, and decided to post them here. I'm also including a few of the more interesting outfits she's come up with. I'm not sure which is more amusing!

We asked Olivia what it takes to be a big sister and she told us, "Strong muscles."

Tonight I made spaghetti with sausage for dinner. I asked Liv what her favorite part was and she said, "The sau-shits."

After telling Olivia the reason we have Easter she asked, "Why do we find eggs for Jesus?"

Liv: "I'm putting my tongue-lick in the baby's hair."

When I asked her why she was pulling out her hair:
Liv: "I'm picking flowers for you Mama."
Me: "Um, that is really gross, Please. Stop."
Liv: "Here, smell my hair flowers."

She wanted to know where crocodiles live so I told her in Florida. She looked at me and said, "like Florida, Fauna and Merriweather?"

After she watched a gang drive by on their Harleys, Liv said, "When I get bigger I want to be a motorcycle girl."

Liv (in tears): "If I go to college, who will be my mama?"

Our lesson at church this Sunday was about temples and I asked the kids what they think about when they see the temple. Liv said, "I think about the temple with flowers and a unicorn flying in the sky."

Liv: Do I look like a ballerina sheep?

Liv: When I get bigger I'm going to swing on vines in the jungle.

The other day I took the kids to Target and was trying to explain to my daughter what an air freshener was, since we haven't really had one before. She cut me off and said, "You mean like Air Wick?"
Who says kids don't learn anything from television?

Today I had the kids out shopping with me and had this conversation:
Liv: Mama?
Me: Yes?
Liv: I think someone is at our house right now stealing our jam.
Fortunately when we got home, our jam was safe and sound. You know what kind of shenanigans those jam thieves can get up to.

Liv: Why did God make Barbies?

My daughter has been fretting lately about death (and college). Primarily because she is worried about not living here with me any more. So a few days ago she said: “Mama, when I die I want you to drive me to heaven.”
I told her I would.

The other day Liv made a birthday card for her dad and when she finished I asked her to tell me about it. She told me it was a llama belly and a stripper. (And no, she doesn't know what a stripper is, she made up a word for a bunch of stripes.)

Liv: Mama, who will I marry?
Me: I don’t know sweetie. A nice boy.
Liv: Like Dad is a nice boy?
Me: Yes.
Liv: I need someone to be like a twin to Dad so I can marry him.

Olivia has a strawberry shortcake friend doll called Ginger Snap.
I just noticed that she calls her "Ginger Snatch."

When asked what we could do to think about Jesus more this Christmas Olivia said:
"Daddy could wear white and dress up like him."

Liv: The only way I can rest my eyes is by watching a show when I’m laying down.

Liv: We shouldn't cut things off our body, right?

Liv: "When I drink water it goes into my brain, but chocolate milk goes into my tummy."
(trying to convince me to give her chocolate milk instead of water)

I’ve been trying to explain to Olivia that I work so I can earn money.
The other day she came over to where I was doing some work on my laptop and said, “Can you show me where the money comes out?”

Liv: "When I eat the last bite that means it’s all gone."

I overheard Olivia tell her little brother, "Parents are kind of like servants. They bring you stuff and sometimes do a show for you."

Liv (during breakfast) – What if we were hand eaters?
Me: You mean what if we ate with our hands?
Liv: No, what if we were haaaaaand eaters?
Me: I am not sure what you are talking about.
Liv (sounding exasperated): What if we ATE HANDS?
Me: Well, I think that would hurt.
Liv: Not OUR hands.
Me: Whose hands would we eat?
Liv: Bad guys’ hands. Then they couldn’t hold their guns.

Collective Soul

2009-08-30T01:17:00.014-04:00

"I hope when I'm that age I'm still going to concerts!"
- Me, 15 years ago.

On Thursday my husband and I drove into downtown DC for a concert at the 9:30 Club. I was feeling a little out of my element. The last time I saw a show there was over 10 years ago. Were we going to be the oldest ones there? Was I dressed right? Were we going to get looks all night? etc...

Only Collective Soul could have lured me into a club in the city for a show. I've been seeing them play live since I was in college (over a decage ago!), and every time I see them I fall in love all over again. The band brings so much energy! And they have a way of making you feel like not only are you part of the best audience they've ever played for, they're playing for you personally.

I love it when a band smiles a lot at the crowd!

Collective Soul isn't cocky or vain, they don't act like we're lucky to see them play or they're tired of playing the same songs. It's more like a big sing-along with a bunch of friends. I am pretty sure they treat each show and each crowd like it's the best night of the whole tour for them.

Nothing else measures up to a Collective Soul concert. If you get a chance to see them, do it!

If you don't know who they are, check out these songs. Sound familiar? I know you know them. :)

Shine - Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid
The World I Know - Self titled
December - Self titled
Listen - Disciplined Breakdown
Heavy - Dosage

If you like those, try a few of these too:

Gel - Self titled
Skin - Blender
Better Now - Youth
Disciplined Breakdown - Disciplined Breakdown
Tremble for my Beloved - Dosage (also in the Twilight soundtrack)
Energy - 7year Itch (greatest hits)
All That I Know - Afterwords

Although I went to the concert feeling a little old, I left feeling young again. I am "that age and still going to concerts."

And I'm so glad.
First photo found via google images is HERE
Collective Soul tour dates HERE

Summer Fun

2009-08-17T01:03:00.004-04:00

Well, the bad news is my camera is broken. This explains why I haven't been blogging lately. I didn't realize it, but it turns out the photos are a big part of what drives the writing for me.

We've been having a great summer though. We had a fun trip to visit my sister and her family in St. Louis for the 4th of July. They are great hosts and it was wonderful to see them and let the cousins play together.

I quit/was laid off from work at the end of July, so I've had a few weeks home with the kids and am slowly adjusting. I started teaching piano lessons and doing other things to try to make some money on the side and I think we're going to be fine, so no worries about us.

I also decided to homeschool Olivia instead of sending her to kindergarten this year, so making plans for that has been a lot of fun and she is very excited too. For our curriculum I'm trying to have a Charlotte Mason philosophy, but using Sonlight and Math-U-See as back-up. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to add on these subjects as the year goes on.

Alexander is talking up a storm now, though I suspect most of his words are only understandable by people that know him pretty well. We've had a lot of opportunities to do fun activities with friends, like playing in the Shenandoah River.

Xander's favorite part was throwing rocks.

If anyone has any camera suggestions I'd love to hear them. Our primary needs are something that takes good video, and does above average in low-light. Someday I think an SLR camera would be fun, but for now I've got enough hobbies and projects, so a straightforward camera is what I'm looking for.

Check back soon to read about what happens when I cut sugar out of the kids' diets. :)

Strawberry Time

2009-06-20T03:22:00.010-04:00

I decided to take the kids out to a pick-your-own strawberry field this morning with a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

It was a little hot and sticky, and we had sticky chins and fingers from the warm strawberry juice.

There were lot of small, sweet, ripe berries and the kids had fun finding and picking them.

Afterwards we sat on an old, rusty truckbed near a crumbly stone wall and ate strawberries and peanut butter sandwiches.

It was a good day.

Frugal Souvenirs

2009-05-06T01:37:00.006-04:00

We just came back from a trip to Belgium, Germany, France and England, and I had a great idea for frugal souvenirs while I was there - reusable shopping bags! You can pick up reusable shopping bags in just about any grocery store these days and they make a really fun memento, not to mention how useful they are.

I think they were the perfect souvenir for me, because they were already something that I wanted and use, and they're unique here and remind me of my trip. I've been using some of them as tote bags too, not just for groceries.

It was fun to take the time to go into the foreign grocery stores and convenience stores to compare them with what I'm used to here. It was especially interesting to see what each country considers a convenience sandwich. For example - here we've got 7-11's with hot dogs and slurpees.

France - ham, brie and tomato sandwich. So good!
Germany - weiner schnitzel sandwich and bratwurst on a bun
England - nothing really exciting, ham and cheese seen frequently
Belgium - sandwich made of raw hamburger. Seriously. Don't be fooled by the name Filet Americain. You definitely want to steer clear of this one.

If you'd like to read more about our trip traveling through 5 countries with 2 small children click HERE.

For more Frugal tips click HERE to head on over to Works For Me Wednesday, Frugal edition.

London pt. 2

2009-04-25T13:51:00.020-04:00

Our second day in London was such a big one! It started out with Deirdre and I going to Portobello Road Market. I loved it. It's an outdoor antique market that starts at one end of a really long road and goes on and on.

I'd hate to be living on this road on Saturday mornings!
Next we headed out to meet our husbands and kids and ride the London Eye with them. There was a park nearby where we let the kids play for a while first.

The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel type thing, but instead of chairs it has pods with clear sides. You go inside the pods and get a really fantastic view of London.

One thing that really surprised me (okay, and kind of scared me) is that the pod doesn't stop for people to get on or off. You just have to step onto it as it is going past. It wasn't dangerous or anything, but still!

Look kids, Big Ben! Parliament!
After the ride, Deirdre and her husband took their kids AND our kids home with them, so Mike and I were free to look around whine-free for the afternoon. :)

We went over to Trafalgar Square, and escaped into the National Museum of Art for a while to get out of the rain.

Next we walked through Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, then took the Tube up to Harrod's. It was huge! My favorite part was stroller heaven (picture coming).

Our Tube station was closed when we came out so we had quite a hike to the next one. When we got back we got take-out fish and chips which were really good, but not quite as crispy as our first ones.

The next day was our last full day in Europe. After two busy days in London we decided to take it easy and drive around the Richmond area. We saw Richmond palace and some of the surrounding area which was really beautiful. Olivia had a fun day playing with her cousins and we had a delicious home-cooked dinner that night.

Thanks again to Deirdre, Brian and family for their warm welcome and hospitality. We had a great time!

London

2009-04-13T23:40:00.007-04:00

We took the fast train back to London to stay with Mike's (second?) cousin Deirdre and her family. They were very fun and gracious hosts and we enjoyed our 4 days with them very much.

Friday morning we got up and took the kids into London to see the Tower of London, which ended up being one of my favorite things to see there. The tour guides (Beefeaters) are the actual guards of the tower. It's worth it to listen to the tour, very interesting. My favorite parts were hearing about the resident ravens and seeing the carvings in the stone of the prison walls. Olivia's favorite part was the jewels.

After that we walked across the Tower Bridge to an outdoor market called Borough Market. It is a specialty food market with food from around the world, and it supposedly is the oldest market in London. It was pretty neat to walk around and see the amazing variety of food. I liked what this person wrote about it. This was also where we had our first fish and chips. One serving was big enough for our whole family!

Not only did we get to see two really unique and amazing places and have some delicious food, we also took our first ride on the Tube, saw the oldest cathedral in London and walked over London Bridge. It was a great way to start our visit.

View of the Tower Bridge

Rainy Day in Bruges

2009-04-09T22:09:00.013-04:00

Here's Olivia outside one of the many chocolate stores in Bruges. Leonidas is a really popular chocolatier, and they're best known for their Manon Cafe and Blanc candies.

We went to Bruges on a Wednesday, in part because I wanted to go to the outdoor market. It ended up being more of a farmer's market, and we didn't get there until right at the end, but Becky got us some yummy grilled chicken there. I would definitely recommend it if you're visiting and don't want to spend a lot or money at a sit down type place.

Bruges is such a beautiful city. I think it's interesting that the reason it still has so many original buildings is because the river silted up a long time ago and they couldn't trade anymore, losing their main source of income and the town was too poor to upgrade to modern buildings.

They call it the Venice of the North.

Before we went on our trip Olivia told everyone she was going to get a chocolate waffle in Belgium. We finally got them! The Belgians don't really eat waffles for breakfast and they definitely don't put maple syrup on them. I think they're on to something.

That was a seriously good waffle.
Unfortunately for Alexander he slept right through the waffles, but he woke up in time for us to get some fries from a street vendor. They were definitely the best fries we had on the trip. Normally I wouldn't be a fan of mayo on fries, but it wasn't like our mayo at all. It had a different consistency and was very rich and tangy - fantastic.

I was really glad we had the chance to spend a few hours in this beautiful town. We were able to see a beautiful statue by Michaelangelo in one of the churches, and were able to enjoy the city without dealing with crowds of people.

I should also give a special thanks to Mike for being patient while Becky and I browsed through so many tapestry and lace shops.

Click HERE to hear about our visit to London, in which we went to more outdoor markets, saw more amazing architecture and historical stuff, and ate more street food. Sensing a theme yet? :)

Shopping in Belgium

2009-04-09T00:04:00.018-04:00

Long before I went to Belgium or even thought I might go someday, I fell in love with a Dutch children's clothing designer. You can buy the clothes online, but I don't think they carry them in stores here.

As soon as I knew we were going, I looked up where their stores are in Belgium and there was one just 20 minutes from my brother's house! My sister-in-law Becky took Olivia and I one morning and we had so much fun.

Here's the dress we got. It was exactly what I was hoping to find and she loves it, so it was worth the splurge.

That day Becky also took us to the grocery store and to a chocolate store. Yum! That evening we celebrated my nephew Austin's 5th birthday. It was so great to be there on his special day. Becky made him a colorful Diego cake, and he loved his presents. He even picked my favorite meal for his birthday dinner - chicken and broccoli. Happy birthday, buddy!

Click HERE for my next post about our final full day in Belgium, when we went to Brugge.

Paris

2009-04-05T21:39:00.013-04:00

We went to Paris for a day! I wanted to avoid spending our one day in lines or museums, so we didn't do some of the traditional things. Instead, we tried to experience the heart of Paris.

We started at the Louvre, but we didn't go inside. We'll save that for when we have more time. However, I really wanted to see the glass pyramids and the view of the obelisk all the way across town to the Arc de Triomphe. (Click on the photo to enlarge it and see what I mean.)

Next we went to the island of St. Louis. We walked along the main street of the island, looking in shop windows and we had a (famous) Berthillon ice cream. It was as good as they say. (I liked the vanilla best).

We crossed to the other island and saw Notre Dame. We were lucky it's not the height of tourist season, because it really wasn't crowded at all. Here is the photo Justin took of it:

It was even more awe-inspiring in person. Afterwards I went to the outdoor flower market nearby. They had a store that sold just orchids. They were so pretty! The market also had a lot of shops with little crafty things and so many fresh flowers. This was one of my favorite parts of the day.

Another favorite part was crossing off the island and walking down this street of art, and used book and magazine sellers.

I think all of the parts of the day were my favorite! Because another favorite was when I got a crepe filled with nutella from a street vendor. Watching him make the crepe was so cool! I was too busy watching to take any video, but I found a good clip on youtube. The neatest part is watching them use the mini squeegee to make the batter into a big circle on the round griddle.

Well, no. The neatest part was eating it. Sooooooo good.

Did I already say it was good?
We also took a boat ride down the Seine over to the Eiffel Tower and back. Although it was cold and windy, I think we got a really unique look at the city. We were able to see a lot of things without spending the day on public transport or walking all over.

We found a little bistro to get some late lunch. The guys had paninis and I had a Croque Monsieur. It was two pieces of bread with ham and cheese toasted under a broiler and then stacked to make a sandwich. "Mr. Crunchy."

Finally, we went to the Arc de Triomphe. It is HUGE. It's also surrounded by what's probably the most insane traffic circle in the world. We went up to the top and there was an amazing view of Paris as the sun set. I can only imagine what it would be like on a clear day. Here's the reverse view of Paris from my first photo of the day at the Louvre.

Click to zoom in and you can see the obelisk. The big building behind it is the Louvre and you can see a glass pyramid partially hidden behind a tree.

Our day in Paris was perfect. Thanks so much to Becky for watching the kids, and to Justin and my mom for talking me into going. It was wonderful.

We took it pretty easy the next day after all that traveling, but we did some super fun shopping. Click HERE to see some cute Dutch fashions on Olivia.

Weekend in Germany

2009-04-04T22:00:00.018-04:00

Saturday morning we got up and drove 4-5 hours to Trier, Germany. We had 2 cars, so we used walkie-talkies to talk to Justin in his car. 10-4 good buddy!

On the way there we drove under an underpass planted with trees. Justin pointed it out and said it was an animal crossing. I love that Germans have safe places for wildlife to cross the road.

Trier is the oldest city in Germany, and has lots of ancient Roman ruins. When we got there Saturday afternoon we saw an amphitheatre where they used to have gladiator fights.

My favorite part of the amphitheatre was the underground part. It was cold, dark, and drippy and I could easily imagine prisoners down there, listening to the crowds cheering above, awaiting their fate.

After the amphitheatre we checked into our hotel. It was called the Hotel Kessler and it was great. They gave us our own little "wing" so we didn't have to worry about the kids disturbing the other guests. It was also within walking distance of the main part of the city.

We went to a restaurant called Zum Domstein for dinner and it was the nicest meal out that we had on our trip. I had weiner schnitzel (which is kind of like chicken fried steak), Mike had lamb, and we had a cheese plate appetizer and German potato cakes. Yum! After dinner we walked down to see the Porta Nigra, which is another Roman ruin.

It wasn't until we left the hotel the next morning that I realized I'd made a big mistake with my trip planning. Trier (and probably the rest of Germany) closes on Sundays. We were lucky we could get our car out of the parking garage. It turned out fine, and we got to see the city, I just didn't get to spend any money. Mike probably always wants me to visit Germany on Sundays. :) We saw the oldest cathedral in Germany, a pink palace and ruins of Roman baths, and then we went to a medieval festival.

It was kind of neat to compare it to the Maryland Rennaisance festival, though it wasn't nearly as picturesque or entertaining. They did have one thing I've never seen at the Renfest. Take a close look at the photo...

They were making these delicious looking pitas with chunks of roasted meat and a creamy herb sauce. I was about to ask for one when Mike was like, "Don't you dare get that!" I thought he was being paranoid about street food, but it turns out he had taken a much better look at the vendor's booth than I had. Yes, those were live marijuana plants. The name of the place translates to something like, "Half Baked."

I got amazing goulash somewhere else instead, after Xander ate up most of my bratwurst.

After the festival we hopped in the cars and headed home, but we took the long way, driving through the wine country along the Mosel River valley. It was so beautiful, and this was in March. I imagine in the summer it's stunning. It was also neat to see some really old castle rubble on the tops of some of the hills.

They really need some scenic overlooks though, so people can pull off and take some photos. The roads were so narrow and steep we had to just keep driving most of the time.

We had a great weekend in Germany and I'd love to be able to spend more time there, just enjoying the old world beauty of it all.

Click HERE to read about the next day of our trip. We went to Paris!

Belgian Beach

2009-04-03T22:17:00.013-04:00

We arrived in Belgium on Thursday afternoon. Friday morning we took it easy (we slept in), and at 3pm when the cousins got out of school we went to the beach. First we tried to go to a little town called De Haan but we didn't find the beach access so we tried another place someone had recommended to my brother called Nieuwport.

We got to the beach in time to watch the sunset.

It was very cold there! But it was fun watching the kids playing, totally oblivious to the weather, just enjoying the beach.

After the sun went down we looked around the town for a place to eat. I wanted to go to a type of place called a "frituur," which is a traditional "fry shop" type place that serves french fries and fried meats.

We went in and there was a glass case filled with different kinds of meats prepared for the fryer. I got this photo from google, but it looked almost just like this.

We got some chicken things that looked like the chicken fries at Burger King. Xander loved those. We got a shrimp kabob and another kabob with alternating pork and bacon. My brother got an egg roll type thing and my nephew got a hot dog, and of course we all got fries.

It was more interesting than good, but I'm glad we got a chance to try their traditional fast food.

(First two photos taken by my brother. Keep checking back for more of his awesome work!)
Click HERE to read about our next stop: A weekend in Germany.

Belgium

2009-04-02T22:54:00.009-04:00

We flew from DC to London, and then took the Eurostar (Liv called it the "bullet train") to Lille, France, which is about 30 minutes from my brother's house.

Our best train story was that we had non-transferable tickets for the train, but we got to the station 4 hours early. I had Mike wait out in the lobby with the luggage while I took the (extremely tired by that time) kids to the ticket counter and asked if we could transfer to the earlier train. The very nice lady took one look at us and put us on the next train for no extra fee.

Here's a picture of the kids on the train:

Once we got to Lille, we picked up our rental car. It was a blue Toyota that could actually seat 7 and had a manual transmission.

I was pretty nervous about driving in Europe, but it worked out great! I think I like driving there better than driving here. Trucks have a slower speed limit than cars and have to stay in the right lane except to pass. Passing is only allowed on the left, and the traffic had a really efficient flow. By the way - turning right at a red light is illegal. Oops. Oh well.

Also, in case you're ever lost in a parking garage in France (not that I'd know anything about that), here's the word for Exit:

We got a little bit lost on our way to my brother's house, but once we made it (thanks to Mike's brilliant navigation) the kids started playing right away in the amazing back yard, and my sister-in-law prepared the most delicious stir fry I've ever eaten. Our guest room was so beautiful too!

Click HERE to read about our first full day in Belgium. We went to the beach. It was chilly, but fun.

European Vacation

2009-04-01T22:16:00.007-04:00

Two weeks ago I was on a plane with my kids and husband on our way to Europe for 12 days.

We flew out on an 8pm flight. I was sure the kids would sleep on the overnight trip to London since it was their bedtime. Think they did?

Of course not. :)

Here's a picture of a traditional windmill near my brother's house in Belgium. We had so much fun with his family and they were such gracious hosts. Olivia especially loved playing with cousins.

Click HERE for photos and tales of our adventures in Belgium, Germany, Paris and London.

First Haircut

2009-03-11T23:29:00.004-04:00

What a week for firsts! I gave Alexander his first haircut this week and he looks like a different guy. He slept right through the whole thing.

Xander's First Steps

2009-03-10T10:09:00.009-04:00

Okay, these aren't EXACTLY his first steps - we were too excited to film those. These are probably his 19th+ steps.

I love that smile on his face - SO happy and proud of himself. (Plus, he'd just finished playing with his big sister's princess paper dolls while she was in bed and couldn't stop him.)

A very good night for my little guy.

What (Not) to Wear

2009-03-02T23:48:00.015-05:00

#1 - We are going to Europe in just over 2 weeks!

#2 - We are taking the kids! :)

We are so fortunate to have family in Belgium and London that have offered to host us for a few days. I can't believe how fast our trip is coming up. I still haven't figured out what to pack, but I do know I'm not letting Olivia choose.

Here are some of the outfits she's put together lately:

She walked out one morning wearing that last outfit and asked me what shoes she should wear. I figured it couldn't get much worse, so I told her she could wear any of her shoes she wanted.

Silly me.

Yes, those are Cinderella's glass slippers.

Overheard in the bathroom

2009-01-27T18:16:00.008-05:00

"Mom, me and Xander are cats."

The kids were taking a bath together and I looked over in time to see my daughter do a great big lick on Xander's water-splashed shoulder.

For some cute REAL kittens, check out Kitten Cam.

Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

2009-01-15T12:46:00.006-05:00

Xander's birthday photo yesterday reminded me of something:
his sister when she was 1.

Is this crazy or what?

I'm going to have to keep my photos organized, because in 20 years I don't think I'm going to remember who was who!

Happy Birthday, Alexander!

2009-01-14T21:15:00.006-05:00

My 1-year-old didn't mind that he had a quiet birthday today, but his sister sure did! She woke up and ran into the kitchen looking for donuts and cake and balloons and presents. Oops.

Lesson learned.

The birthday boy had a great day.

Happy birthday, sweet son.

Gift of Love

2008-12-17T18:37:00.006-05:00

I get a warm feeling every time I think of this story, so I thought I'd share it. One year when my dad was struggling with employment and I was making more than I needed, I splurged on Christmas for my folks.

First I picked up a coupon organizer like this one:

Then when I went home for Christmas I went around their town and picked up gift cards for them from places I knew they liked or thought they'd have fun trying. I sorted the gift cards into the different sections of the coupon book. For example:

Produce: Chili's and Appleby's
Meat: Outback
Dairy: Dairy Queen
Beverages: Starbucks
Seafood: The Gangplank
Sports: Wingers
Entertainment: movie tickets

My folks loved the present. They have always enjoyed date nights, and during the following year they were able to use their coupon book of gift cards to go out and spend quality time together doing what they loved, even though times were especially tight.

A year and a few months later, my father passed away very suddenly. I wrote a tribute to him here.

A few months ago Mom thanked me again for the present, which by then I'd mostly forgotten about. But she told me it meant so much to her now, because she'd been able to go out on all of those fun date nights with Dad during that last year he was alive. She said they are memories she will treasure forever.

I love you Mom and Dad.

Making Christmas treats with young children

2008-12-16T21:15:00.010-05:00

Olivia LOVED making "Muddy Buddies."
They're chocolate and peanut butter covered Chex cereal coated with powdered sugar.

Liv's favorite parts?
Stirring the chocolate and Chex together.
Tossing them in powdered sugar.
No ~~cooking~~ waiting.
Calling them "Lil Buddies."

The real Lil Buddy!
What does his shirt say?

Don't tell his sister!!

Another favorite treat is making Christmas cookies with Dad.
The best parts? Using the (ancient) cookie shooter.
Touching every cookie as it came out.

A Potential new favorite: Ice cream cone Christmas trees.

We haven't tried these yet, but you just get some sugar ice cream cones and flip them upside down. Then let the kids frost them with green frosting and decorate with little candies. I don't know how this could fail to be a hit.

Click here for the Muddy Buddies recipe.
Click here to head back to "Works for me Wednesday" for more great ideas.

Christmas tree

2008-12-16T00:46:00.012-05:00

I took the kids to get our tree on Saturday. Sadly, the camera was lost that morning, so I can't show you the muddy shoes and runny noses.

Bummer, huh?

I'm so in love with our tree! On the farm she was such a petite and dainty little lady surrounded by big, spectacular giants.

In our house she's the perfect size, with soft needles and a citrusy pine perfume.

Isn't she a little princess?

"But where is your tree topper?"
you might be asking.

Oh there it is,

way................

up............

there...

I should probably trim that a bit.

Oops.

Click here to see a close-up section of my tree on flickr, where I labeled some of my most very favorite ornaments of all time.

WFMW: O Tannenbaum

2008-12-09T17:43:00.009-05:00

I've decided we're getting a real tree! A couple of farms nearby have fresh trees and I'm going to take the kids to get one this week. I'm so excited for how much they're going to love it.

Even though we're going to have a real tree, I'm still going to use this Christmas scent that I discovered last year. If you have a fake tree and want the fresh Christmas tree smell, you have to get Tree:

"Tree is the perfect blend of fresh douglas fir, sweet musk, warm vanilla, crisp winter air and enchanting Christmas magic."

(I didn't realize Christmas magic smelled like anything, but if it does, it smells like Tree. Tree works for me. And for my sister.)

I mentioned this scent in a post from last December. It's one of my favorite posts so I'm putting a slightly shorter version of it below:

I've been thinking a lot about what makes Christmas at home magical for me. My family has always had a lot of traditions and I want the same thing for my kids. We trimmed the tree tonight and I had to laugh at what will eventually become the new Christmas traditions for our children.

First, instead of going to the woods, or even to a Christmas tree lot to pick out a tree, Mike made the trek into the storage room in our basement and hauled up the giant box that holds our fake Christmas tree. It comes out of the box looking more like a green rectangle than a tree, so we spent a good half hour pulling the branches apart and trying to make it look "real." This is a painful process because those wires are really jabby!

While we trimmed the tree I wanted Christmas music, so I set up my laptop and played youtube Christmas slide shows set to Nat King Cole, Andy Williams and Karen Carpenter songs. My daughter decorated the bottom half of the tree with kid ornaments and I did the top with nice ones, and maybe I will re-do it while she's sleeping tonight. My mom always did, and Mike says his mom did too.

After we finished the tree we washed our hands. Not because of sticky pine sap. Mainly because of the lead warnings on the tree and on the lights. Seriously, can't we make anything without lead in it?

Finally, I plugged in a pine scented air freshener to get that Christmas tree smell in the air. It is good and actually does smell like a tree! After decorating the Christmas tree I wanted us to sit down to a nice dinner of comfort food, so Mike warmed up a can of soup for him and Olivia to share.

What wonderful traditions our children will have to look back on and try to recreate with their own kids, haha. The best part is that Olivia really DID have a great time. I think maybe Christmas can be magic regardless of whether the soup's from a can and the tree smell is an air freshener. Maybe the magic is about family doing Christmas things together.

What are your family's holiday traditions?

And for more great ideas, go here for Works For Me Wednesday!

The Men in my Life

2008-12-07T09:00:00.004-05:00

My two favorite guys!

(This wasn't posed, I swear. If I was posing this I would have made sure the baby's eyes weren't half open. Both my kids do that with their eyes while they sleep.)

Thanksgiving Top 20/Bottom 10

2008-12-04T08:44:00.011-05:00

It would take me weeks to cover our whole Thanksgiving extravaganza, so I’ve got a Top 20/Bottom 10 list for you instead. These are in no particular order:

TOP 20
Spending Thanksgiving with family
Pioneer Woman’s Lasagna
Mom’s shrimp dip
Pilgrim hats for dinner

The relationship between my mom and her grandkids
Black Friday in a small town
Free doughnuts
Home-made pumpkin pie

Kirkland’s
Christmas shopping mostly done
Thoughtful helping around the house
Paper plates and plastic cups

Puerto Rico board game
Turkey dinner left-overs
Xander learning to clap and crawl
Matching cousin dresses

Nothing really bad happened, and we were all safe (see bottom 10)
Playing in crunchy piles of leaves
Tired children sleeping in
Spending Thanksgiving with family (deserves to be said twice)

BOTTOM 10
Missing family that wasn’t with us
Undercooked turkey
FIRE in oven during dinner and a broken heat element

Emergency brake repair on Black Friday
Olivia’s infected sty
Having to force-feed medicine to kids
Getting thrown up on
Needing new brakes, a new oven and a new computer all at once
Overtired child wetting the guest bed

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-26T09:19:00.004-05:00

Just Desserts

2008-11-22T15:09:00.012-05:00

Here is an equation that sums up my husband:
Turkey dinner + sports(football) = happiness

I like turkey dinner okay, but I'm more of a sweets person. And since I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year I get to make the menu, but I can't decide on which desserts to make. They all sound sooo good!

(I'd like to forget about entrees and sides and plan a week of just desserts!)

Of course I should probably make pumpkin and apple pies. But I feel so limited by tradition.

I really think the pilgrims would approve of this pie: And I am very thankful for chocolate.
Click here for the recipe.

What treats are you making for Thanksgiving week?

Dear Stock Market

2008-11-21T10:49:00.009-05:00

I know it's been a while since we last talked. What's been going on? I stopped by yesterday to see how you're doing and was really shocked at how awful you look.

It seems like you're having a rough time, but I would like to remind you about our agreement. You're supposed to give me a nice cushion like this, in case I ever need something to fall back on:

I thought things were good between us, and my cushion was coming right along. Maybe even respectable enough for us to visit my brother and his family in Belgium next Spring.

But yesterday when I stopped by, I saw THIS, and frankly, I am appalled. This kind of poor performance is unacceptable. I expect you to get your act together and stop messing around.

This is your last warning.

P.S. - Sorry I can't write more, but I have talk to the house about its lack of appreciation too. Seriously, what's wrong with you guys?

Reasons today is nice

2008-11-20T14:17:00.008-05:00

I've been saving some chocolate from Belgium for a special occasion, and today I'm eating it. Thanks to my sister-in-law for the delicious treat, I sure miss you guys!

Xander's little wheeze is just a virus and it's not down in his lungs.

Splashy, bath-time FUN

My mom is going to be here in less than a week to see my darling boy for the first time since he was born in January.

A friend that has been trying to adopt was just chosen by a birth-mom! Their new baby girl will be born in January. Click here to see her blog and the cute advent calendar she just made.

My sweetheart dropped Olivia off at preschool on his way to work, even though it made him a little late.

And he kissed me goodbye
just a little lingeringly

(Is that even a word? Because that's what it was like.)

WFMW: Toy Storage on a Budget

2008-11-19T10:44:00.006-05:00

This is just a cheapo over-the-door shoe organizer from Target.

It's the best toy organizing system I've ever had. It is perfect for all of the little things that would normally get lost in her toybox.

I LOVE IT

When the door's open it is completely hidden. She can't reach the top toys without help, so I rotate them. When she starts getting bored with something I put it on the top and move the ones on the top row down to the bottom.

(If I was super organized I could even print photos of her toys and tape them behind the plastic so she would put each toy in a certain spot.)

Before I started using the door organizer I made a place for her to keep her Barbies. This is just an under-the-bed storage container.

I made the dividers by cutting strips of foam board and then using moving tape to attach them inside the box. Once all of the Barbies, sidekicks and accessories are stashed inside, we just hide it under the bed, completely out of sight.

If you like these ideas or have other suggestions, please leave me a comment!

And for more great ideas, head on over to
Rocks in My Dryer for Works for Me Wednesday.

Give us this day...

2008-11-18T22:23:00.008-05:00

Today was beautiful but cold. Autumn is turning into winter so fast. It even snowed a little bit today!

I decided the day called for some good comfort food: Mom's minestrone soup and home-made bread.

It was the first time I've ever made a loaf of bread without a mixer or bread machine and it turned out perfect. I think I've had 8,709 pieces. Or 5. A lot, anyway. Can you see the butter melting on the bread? Can you see how perfectly it would soak up the soup?

Can you blame me for eating so much?

For dessert I had the creamiest, coldest eggnog from a local farm. It was so rich and decadent.

Xander's been refusing to eat baby food from a jar. Tonight I cut up the veggies in our soup and gave him minestrone mash instead. He loved it! I love the forehead carrot look.

It was a perfect day to usher in the cold weather.

Things I Love About My Sis

2008-11-17T10:22:00.013-05:00

She comes to visit me after I have a baby.

Taking road trips with her.

She remembers the strangest things from when we were kids.

Like, the flower press.

She's crescent fresh.

We go to Collective Soul concerts together.

Our cats were best friends and now so are our daughters.

She sang in a band.
She thinks she can load a dishwasher better than me.

If I was stranded on a desert island, she's the one thing I'd bring.

She's beautiful.

She came to my rescue when I moved far away from home.

Wild turkey tall-tales.

She loves my kids.

And she's my best friend.

Happy birthday, Lynzee!

Pizza Night

2008-11-16T14:28:00.012-05:00

Friday I picked up some whole wheat flour and fresh mozzarella cheese to get ready for our first time making pizza from scratch.

Here's Olivia mixing the dry ingredients and Alexander licking the salt shaker while threatening to fall off the counter.

What concentration!

I'm not a big salad fan, but I love this one. I made it while the pizza was cooking and then bribed Olivia to eat it by offering her a cheesy poof for each bite of salad she ate. Strawberries, feta cheese, candied nuts and dressing, yum! Thanks to the Oak family for introducing me to this treat.

I don't think pizza baking should be so smoky!

Here's a picture of the finished product. It is pesto, mozzarella and tomato. We also had buffalo-style and regular cheese with black olives. This one turned out the best.

Fun in Bed

2008-11-14T14:20:00.004-05:00

Not that kind of fun!

This was what my bed looked like when I got up this morning.

(Notice that no one is sleeping on my pillow?)

Not a lot of room left over for the official bed occupants!

I also found out today how to do color and different sizes in my posts, yay!

Bellaziza's Favorite Things

2008-11-13T09:46:00.004-05:00

I am a closet stroller addict. I love looking at all of the fancy strollers, and sometimes I go into those high end baby stores and test drive them. I push the kid(s) around and kick the tires, etc.

When I had Xander I thought that finally I'd be able to justify one of the really cool double strollers they have now, but when it comes to plopping down $800 for a stroller, there is just no way. Never going to happen.

That means I'm going to have to win one if I ever want one!

So I'm putting up a link to a giveaway for a Phil and Ted's Vibe stroller. The idea is you enter once by subscribing, then you can post a link to them for another entry.

Now, even though it reduces my odds of winning if you subscribe, if this sweet ride goes to a friend instead of to me that's okay. The website has some nice, high-end giveaways too, check it out. Good luck!

Mean Girl

2008-11-10T11:12:00.003-05:00

Why are kids so mean to each other? Siblings especially. Like why do they hit and fight and punch and bite? I know as a kid I did it, but the reasons why I did it are completely lost to me. I have no memory of why I liked pushing my little brother's buttons so much. It's possible I did it just for the sake of pushing them and watching him fly off the handle.

So now we know where my daughter gets it.

On multiple times I've seen Olivia reach over and just hit her baby brother on the head for no reason. Once I was able to wheedle out of her that she did it because she wanted to see what it felt like.

The one that really blew my mind though happened last week. The two kids were sitting on the floor and Liv had a pointy Halloween witch hat and was "this close" from putting the point in the baby's eye.

WHY?

Fridge of Doom

2008-11-09T23:38:00.004-05:00

After we got home from church I was getting some tortillas out of the fridge and noticed something sticky on the package. Uh-oh. It had been a while since I'd cleaned out the zillions of optimistic leftover containers, and I thought something had probably tipped over and spilled.

I'm not particularly a fan of cleaning out the fridge. In fact, I frequently feel that the fridge is sort of lurking over in the corner of the kitchen, full of dark secrets that I don't want to know about.

However, I have learned (from hard experience) that it's better to clean up fridge spills as soon as you spot them. So I started pulling things out to find the source of the sticky and realized it was worse than I thought. Not one, but two cans of soda had frozen and then exploded at the very back of the fridge.

Needless to say, I didn't get any writing done today.

How to Write a Novel in a Month

2008-11-07T13:53:00.006-05:00

Some of you might have seen the new little counter thing on my right sidebar. It is counting how many words Lahdeeda and I have written in November as we try to write an entire novel in a month.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it's been around for 10 years. I couldn't believe I'd never heard of it until this year. Anyway, there are thousands of people around the world trying to write 50,000 words in a month. And what's our secret?

The trick is that you don't worry about writing the next Pulitzer. You don't even worry about writing something publishable (yet). The trick to writing a novel in a month is that you just write. Every day, you just write. You write down the flat characters, the cliched descriptions, the non-exciting action and the stale dialogue. Once you stop worrying about how awful it is, something changes (at least for me it does) and the story and characters start to feel kind of real. And they start sounding better.

It's been really exciting to see a novel actually taking shape as I write. I've always thought I could do something like this but never took the steps to actually do it. Now I am and it's an eye-opening experience.

Keep an eye on my counter to see my progress. I am pretty behind already, but I'm just trying to make my daily goals instead of catching up. And even though I am behind where I want to be, I'm still 5,000 words closer to finishing a novel than I've ever been before! Wish me luck. :)

Warhammer Winners!

2008-11-01T15:02:00.004-04:00

Thanks for so many fun and complimentary comments. It was great hearing how many of you want to play the game or are already enjoying it. I was so inspired I decided to give away BOTH of my prizes and some consolation prizes as well! (Also, I just have way too much of this Warhammer stuff sitting around.)

Grand Prizes:

Becky N. - Warhammer game
Toohotforturtle - Warhammer "swag" bag

Consolation Prizes:

Mitch - Warhammer mug
T - Warhammer Christmas picture

I'll be contacting the winners via email. Happy daylight savings weekend everyone!

Smug Bug

2008-10-31T00:49:00.005-04:00

My baby is going through a "mom preference" phase. One thing that cracks me up about it is whenever someone hands him to me he immediately snaps his head around to look back at whoever just had him. He gets this look on his face as if to say, "Nyah nyah nyah!"

My mom made up the perfect term for that look: "Smug Bug."

Warhammer Online Give Away

2008-10-27T10:06:00.011-04:00

Deep down, I feel I have an artistic soul. I want to make beautiful things. I've tried my hand at knitting, sculpting clay, painting, music, sewing, cross-stitching, landscaping, scrapbooking, photography, etc, etc, etc...

And on this, my first give away, I want to give away something I've made. Luckily for you though (especially considering some of my work), I'm giving away something I made at my job, not as a hobby.

I work for Mythic Entertainment and we just launched a new computer game, so I'm going to give away a copy of Warhammer Online, Age of Reckoning . I've been working on it for three years and am so excited and proud that it's doing so well.

The winner gets to pick a prize!

Choice #1 - Free copy of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
Choice #2 - Goody package of Warhammer Online stuff. This is random "loot" I've gotten at work. Some of the things I have to choose from are a coffee mug (more like a tankard), a coffee table book, playing cards, a graphic novel, posters.

The game would be a great Christmas present, but if you already know someone that plays the game (not hard to imagine since we've already sold over 750K copies!) they might enjoy the stuff from the grab bag instead.

What you need to do: Post a comment stating which prize option you want and what you'll do with it if you win. Easy!

Deadline: October 31st at midnight EST. I'll pick a winner the next morning (or really late Friday night if I'm not passed out in a sugar coma from swiping my kids' Halloween haul).

For more fun giveaways this week, head over to Bloggy Giveaways

Edit: I should add - I will be deleting posts that aren't entries or are from Warhammer gold sellers or hackers.

To the Haters

2008-10-24T10:28:00.002-04:00

To everyone in the rest of the world that hates the U.S. and wished that we would get what was coming to us... Hope you LIKE IT. :(

Nickel and Diming

2008-10-21T10:21:00.005-04:00

When my oldest daughter started preschool this fall I paid them a pretty good chunk of money. They had an option to give us a 5% discount on tuition if we paid for the whole year up front. I had been socking away some money for a while and had enough to manage this, so I went ahead and did it. Better making 5% on the money than 2% in my savings, right?

I felt really lucky to have had the money to be able to do this. We’ve been through some tough financial times in the past, and I think we learned some really valuable lessons about debt and savings. That’s not what I want to write about today though.

What I want to ~~write~~ complain about today is how this preschool has been squeezing us for more and more money, and it hasn’t even been 2 months yet! Just off the top of my head, here are all the things they’ve said we need to pay for on top of tuition:

Ice cream day
Field trip
School shirt to wear to field trip
School pictures
Yearbook
Book Order
Candy to throw from parade float
Birthday treats to share with the class

I am not a stingy person. I want my daughter to have things the other kids have, and I want her to be happy and enjoy school. However, this is just completely over the top. We paid for preschool already, not to mention paying an ENROLLMENT FEE and a great big BOOK FEE. This isn’t even a fancy shmancy preschool. It’s a nice church-based program.

So what gives? ME. Hahahaha.

Ha.

Really – does a 4-year-old need a yearbook? It’s ridiculous. Matching t-shirts for a field trip? That’s what they tried to get me to buy this morning and it finally set me off.

The note says, “All students are to wear their L.S. Preschool T-shirts and/or hoodies.” I didn’t even know they had L.S. Preschool gear. And of course the field trip is tomorrow.

Did I pony up the money for the t-shirt? I know you’re wondering…

I did not. I refused. I told her teacher that it was too last minute and I didn’t have the money for it. She’s a good woman, and I caught her nodding her head when I inadvertently (I couldn’t stop them!) rolled my eyes about buying shirts for a field trip that we are chaperoning.

Later I complained to my husband about how that school is nickel and diming the heck out of us. He agreed and was very sympathetic while I ranted about how all these $5's and $10's are adding up. Even though he hasn’t been the one forking over the money on a practically weekly basis, he is dealing with preschool while he’s off work this week, and he’s the one going with her on the field trip tomorrow. So I told him it was his call.

And guess what?

He is going to buy her a t-shirt when he picks her up today. He says she can use it multiple times throughout the year and it’ll be fun for her to have a shirt with her school’s name on it. I totally bet he gets the hoodie too.

In the words of Precious Roy…. SUCKER!

Birthday Fun

2008-10-06T15:59:00.006-04:00

This year my little girl turned 4. I had no idea that 4-year-olds would already be into Barbies, but I decided to go with it. So for her birthday cake... let me first say that I am not a baker. I am not a cake decorator. So although this cake is no big deal to some of you Cake Decorators Extraordinaire, this was quite an accomplishment for me.

(Before I tell you about the beginning of her day though, one more cake-related thing: After we sang and my daughter blew out her candle she looked at her cake and then ran to the other room and brought back the advertising insert that came with her birthday Barbie. She opened it to a page with a photo of a store-bought sheet cake with a picture of Barbie screen printed (or however they do that) on the top and told me that was the cake she wanted. Nice, huh?)

Anyway, this year for her birthday I decided to try to start some new family traditions. The first thing we did was give her a stack of 4 donuts for breakfast since she was 4. She was beyond thrilled. This is the girl that gets maybe one doughnut/year and here she was with 4 all for herself. Her birthday was on a Sunday, and I should have gotten her up earlier since she dawdled over those doughnuts like you wouldn't believe. It was a lot of fun though.

I had the dining room decorated and her pile of presents on the kitchen table when she woke up, but we didn't let her open any presents before church. Instead, while she ate lunch after church we hid her presents in different places and hid clues with them. Then she got to go on a treasure hunt to find her presents. This worked out SO GREAT! She typically gets bored and tired of opening presents after just a couple (can you imagine? Bored and tired of presents. Poor thing.) But with the treasure hunt she got to open a present and then go running around the house looking for her next present. This really kept her excitement level up and it was a lot of fun for us too.

I am going to skip the nostalgic writing today about how my little girl is growing up so fast. But I couldn't resist a photo from then and now.

My little girl is growing up so fast!

Crisco - The New Health Food

2008-09-22T14:05:00.006-04:00

This weekend I was in the baking aisle and decided to see how much trans fat was in Crisco. I haven't cooked with Crisco in ages, despite my deep and abiding love for fried chicken and the texture it gives chocolate chip cookies.

Here are the ingredients listed on the label:

SOYBEAN OIL, FULLY HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED AND SOYBEAN OILS, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID (ANTIOXIDANTS).

Here is the nutritional info:

Serving size - 1 Tablespoon
Amount Per Serving - 48 Calories 110
Calories from Fat 110
% Daily Value
Total Fat 12g 19%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Polyunsaturated Fat 6g
Monounsaturated Fat 3g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0g 0%
Sodium 0mg 0%

Doesn't this seem so fishy? A product made with this much hydrogenated vegetable oil is still able to claim on its label that it is trans fat free.

Then I did a little bit (not a lot, I've got 2 kids and work full-time!) more research, and it turns out fully hydrogenated oils don't contain trans fats (except maybe a little bit that slips in but otherwise), not like the partially hydrogenated oils do. Seems a little suspect, but okay.

Am I going to start using Crisco again now?

No.

Warhammer Launch Day

2008-09-19T10:46:00.007-04:00

My Guys

(Yes, his onesie really says WAAAAGH!)

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

2008-09-15T09:53:00.004-04:00

Until now, I haven't written anything here about my job. I really prefer to keep work and blogging separate, especially given my industry.

However, this morning when I was looking at my site I noticed that one of my Amazon ads on the sidebar is for the product I've been working on for 3 years . We had a limited launch yesterday, more tomorrow, and we'll be fully launched by the end of this week. I'm so proud of myself, my husband and my whole company for finishing our project, I just HAVE to brag for a minute.

I work for Mythic Entertainment, acquired not too long ago by EA Games and we've been making the game called Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. It's an MMORPG, which basically means that lots of people play it at the same time, and they can role-play or just fight and do quests.

What I'm most proud of being involved with on the game are the public quests. I wish I could say they were my idea, but they weren't. However, I did have the opportunity to be invited to some of the earliest brainstorming meetings when public quests were in their infancy, and give some feedback that possibly had a tiny impact on them.

Later I was the Lead for the Public Quest focus team and was able to work with a team of brilliant guys that turned a lot of public quests into fun, exciting works of glory.

I am so relieved and exhiliarated to be sending our game to the players. I wonder if it's a little bit like sending an offspring out into the world. Yesterday was our first phase of the launch, so a small number of people started to play. Tomorrow we'll be getting more players and by the end of this week everyone should have access and you'll see the game in stores.

I'm thankful to work with my husband and that we both support each others' career choices. I love working with him and getting to take lunches together. I'm thankful for my kids for putting up with hanging around the office on some weekends and late nights while we tried to meet deadlines.

Blah blah blah, this is so sappy, huh? One of these days soon I will start posting about my kids again. But Warhammer Online is another creation that I collaborated on and I am so proud and excited to have been a part of it from the beginning.

WAR is here - WAAAAAGH!

Stock Market for Idiots

2008-09-14T22:53:00.009-04:00

Politics and Finances. It's like my blog is getting a life of its own. Don't give up on me though. :) I just wanted to write about how I got started in the stock market because it's something you can do too, even if you don't have any money to invest.

I didn't have any money either!
In 2001 I had just moved from Idaho to Maryland to take a job that quickly folded when the company went under. I was stuck waiting tables and literally living day to day on the money I made in tips and the food I nicked from the kitchen.

I promised myself that if I could just get a regular job again I would invest and make sure I had a cushion, because you just never know when something like this is going to happen to you.

After about 6 months I got a new job and decided to learn about the stock market. I'd always been intrigued but intimidated by it, and I thought you had to have a lot of money to start... It turns out you don't!

I went to Yahoo Finance and made a pretend portfolio. I picked out some companies I knew a little bit about and added them to my portfolio, choosing to own 10 shares of each one. Then every day I'd check my pretend portfolio to see how they were doing.

Some were winners (Netflix), some were losers (Tiffany's) but before long I was wishing I had real money in the market.

After a while I finally had a couple hundred real dollars extra in my checking account and decided to go for it. I went to Etrade and opened up an account. It was so easy. I gave Etrade my bank account number, then waited a day for processing and I was ready to start. I bought maybe 10 shares that day - 2 each of 5 different companies. I think invested about $300 dollars and it was as easy as buying something on Ebay.

After that is where it got fun. I re-did my Yahoo portfolio to track my real stocks and I started checking it at least every hour. It's the closest I've felt to Vegas style gambling without actually being there. Some days I'm up and I feel like I hit a jackpot. Other days are gloomy, but I grit my teeth and hang in there. I'm not going to get rich overnight this way, but I usually average higher than a 7% profit and that's a lot better than my savings account.

Here are some things I've learned:

Start small.

Don't invest money you can't afford to lose.

Don't sell winners. If you have a stock that is doing well, hang onto it. Chances are it will do even better.

Buy stock in companies you know something about.

Be tough. Don't sell because things are looking down. Grit your teeth and hang in there.

Have fun.

I'm certainly not an expert, but leave a comment if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer.

Does Sarah Palin Belong in the White House or Her Own House?

2008-09-10T09:23:00.009-04:00

I have to admit I've been a little bit conflicted about having Sarah Palin on the ballot. The first thought I had when I heard that a mother of 5 would be running for vice president was:

1 - Will she put her kids first or her country first?

And then as we learned more about her family challenges I wondered:

2 - Who needs Sarah Palin more - her kids or her country?

I really like a quote in this article from CNN:

"I have no problem with a woman being president, but I'm going to hold her to the same standards I'd hold a man."
That's exactly how I feel about it too.

After the birth of her 5th child (what a cutie!) Palin returned to work just 3 days later.

Her speedy return to work answered my first question. Palin's the type of woman who can put her job first. But she's still breastfeeding, which shows me she's trying to be a good mom too.

The fact that she's chosen to run for VP while her family faces challenges is receiving all kinds of criticism, particularly from the mothers who imagine themselves in her situation.

Isn't it ironic that we finally have a chance to put someone in the White House that can relate with our challenges and actually represent who we are as women, and yet so many of us are telling her to stay home 'where she belongs?'

We are certainly our own worst enemies.

Sarah Palin has the chance to change history and the world's perception of women and of working moms, and she's making no more of a sacrifice than any number of us make every day when we go to work and leave our children in someone else's care. It's a tough decision but it's a personal one that can only be made by the family involved.

Now - what I really want to know is how the Palin's got baby Trig to sleep through the Republican Convention! He and his sister Piper stole the show in this adorably unscripted moment.

It reminds me of once when I asked my daughter what she was doing and she replied, "I'm putting my tongue-lick in the baby's hair."

(And yes, that makes TWO political posts for me this year. What is the world coming to??)

A Sneak Peek at My Soul

2008-09-03T22:27:00.006-04:00

Making this mosaic was so fun. It reminds me of clipping pictures out of magazines and making collages.

I would love to see your mosaics too! Here's how you do it:

Answer each of the questions below:
Surf over to Flickr (set up an account if you don’t have one–it’s quick and easy) and type your answers (one at a time) into the search bar.
From the choice of pictures shown only on the front page, click on the one that moves you.
Once the page with your picture opens, copy the URL.
Surf over to the Mosaic Maker, set up your mosaic, and paste your URLs.
Click “Create!”

The Questions:

What is your first name?
What is your favorite food?
What high school did you attend?
What is your favorite color?
Who is your celebrity crush?
What is your favorite drink?
Where would you go on your dream vacation?
What is your favorite dessert?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you love most in life?
Choose one word to describe you?
Your Flickr name?

I had to do a few substitutions in cases where the photos I picked didn't show up or what I typed in didn't return any photos, but I think it's pretty neat how this mosaic really seems to capture my soul.

Photo Credits:
1. P4070112, 2. Raspberries, 3. goal #2. 303:365, 4. Night London Eye Green Color, 5. David Boreanaz, 6. Positano, 7. Freedom, 8. Tiramisu, 9. Mom, 10. Alexander and Olivia 3, 11. Mother and joey, 12. Rainy evening ....

Here's where I got the idea:
Jennifer at Thursday Drive
Boliath at In My Head

If you make a mosaic, make sure you let me know so I can see it! :)

What Babies Want

2008-09-02T16:57:00.003-04:00

(A couple of friends and I got together to make a blog called Perfectly Normal that is a little bit more specifically about parenting. This is a post that I originally wrote over there but I'm recycling it today because for some reason it's one of my favorites.)

With so many baby products on the market, if you're a pregnant mom there isn't enough time to sort through it all, let alone get to the store to buy it. Not to mention that most of us can't even afford half of it. Don't worry though, you aren't a bad mom if you don't have the latest and greatest of everything. Babies really don't need that many things.

Babies need: SLEEP.

No one tells you that during those first couple of weeks most babies wake up if they aren't being held. Don't feel bad or worry that if you hold your baby while she sleeps that you'll never get her into her crib. Hold her, and fix in your memory how it feels to kiss that sweet little innocent head while she sleeps. My most used piece of baby gear is our giant rocker/recliner. It reclines almost flat and the arms are supportive. I think I spent the first month sleeping in it with the baby on my chest.

Swaddled babies sleep longer because they can't flail around and do that random face smacking thing. I think they feel safer and it's a more familiar feel to them to be swaddled. People tell me their babies don't like being swaddled or they can get out of the swaddle. Well, your baby can't get out of this blanket, and I personally believe that babies do like it. Too bad we can't ask the babies and settle this once and for all. My advice though? Give swaddling a chance.

Babies need: NOURISHMENT.

If Cylons can do it so can you!

Your body provides custom, free, portable, sterile, CUTELY PACKAGED meals for your baby. I know some babies don't take to it right at first, but give it a chance and get help if it doesn't come naturally. This is something most babies can learn if you help them, and it's so worth it.

Some frivolous but valid reasons to breastfeed:
Ease (lazy factor): You don't even have to get up.
Mommy brain: When you forget the diaper bag, you've still got food for the baby.
Time: You don't need to wash or mix bottles, or shop for formula.
Sleep: After a month or so you can feed your baby while you BOTH sleep. I swear.

If you are scared of trying to go back to work and pump, you don't have to be. Once your milk is well established you can have someone give your baby formula during the day and still breastfeed in the evening, during the night and in the morning. Your body and your baby will adjust.

Babies need: A HAPPY MOM.

You spend so much time getting things ready for when baby comes home from the hospital, get a few things ready for yourself too. Good pads and granny panties, one-handed snacks like frozen yogurt, cheese, muffins, granola bars and fruit - prunes, you'll need 'em. :) Lansinoh nursing pads and comfy clothes. Bring home that big water bottle from the hospital, and grab an extra squirt bottle too (it's great to keep at the changing table to squirt on washcloths for baby wipes).

A few other favorite baby things are:

Skwish toy. If I could only have one toy for my baby, this would be it.

It has wooden balls connected by rubber bands. It makes a nice sound, is fun to chew on, is easy to hold onto, and doesn't put out an eye when the baby smacks himself with it.

A Snap and Go stroller . It's $60ish and you just snap your baby carseat in and baby faces you. I LOVE it. When they grow out of that, follow it up with the 8 lb. $100 Maclaren Volo stroller that folds down so tiny you can fit it anywhere, plus it has a strap so you can carry it over your shoulder when your 2 year old insists in walking "my SELF." It doesn't recline, so you can upgrade to a slightly heavier stroller if reclining is important to you. (I could just eat up that chocolate color. NUM NUM NUM!)

Pacifiers.
Yes, it might be kind of tough when they're 2 or 3 and it's time to give them up. But really, isn't it worth a few sad nights if you can have something for a few YEARS that will calm them down almost instantly? We all have our own little dirty secret comforts. Let your baby have a binky. It doesn't make you a bad parent.

Play-time.
Our first and favorite game is changing diaper KICK time. I take the diaper off and the baby starts kicking. I start giggling, and the baby starts laughing and kicking harder. Sooo much fun. Sometimes I forget, but then I'll be changing a diaper and the baby will kick both legs so straight and then look me in the eye and laugh.

Journaling. Yes, that belongs on this list, because if you don't write about your babies now, you will forget. Write about how they smell and what silly noise they made and how it feels to hold them and how you felt the first time your baby smiled a real smile at you. You think you can't forget it, but you will. If you don't have time for a journal, print out these beautiful pages and make notes like, "She laughed at the cat today and tried to grab his tail." Or, "During his nap his lips were moving. I wonder if he dreams about me."

Good luck to you all. Every family is different, and you know (or will discover) the right things for your baby. Just follow their lead and don't let all the baby products get between you and your little one.

Also: Sunshine Kids booster seat

Olympic Dreams

2008-08-12T23:39:00.002-04:00

For so many years as I've watched Olympics I've related with the athletes. After Mary Lou Retton won gold I balance-beamed on curbs and practiced headstands against the wall. I tried to do my hair like Katarina Witt and I think I had a crush on the entire 1984 men's gymnastic team.

This year is the first year I'm not relating with them so much. I think Michael Phelps is cute but SO YOUNG! Dang he makes me feel old. No, I'm thinking about the parents, and all those meets and practices they've taxi'd for and sat through. I'm thinking about how much it must cost, financially and emotionally to raise an Olympian. I'm thinking about how heart-breaking it must be to see your child try and fail so many times.

I also wonder how and when do you know that your child has that kind of talent and dedication? And how much of it starts out with the parent pushing them in that direction?

Seeing as I took my daughter out of ballet and tumbling after one class each because it's obvious she's just not ready, and she still can't swim or ride a bike, I'm not sure we'll be an Olympic family. At least not for the conventional Olympics. I'm still pretty sure I could be a serious threat in a Freecell competition, and my daughter can out-whine your kid any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

What (real or pretend) events can you see your kids competing in?

The Zero Trans Fat Lie

2008-08-10T02:55:00.008-04:00

I took the kids on what was supposed to be a quick run to the store to pick up a few essentials: bread, milk, lunch meat, pasta, etc. Of course we were there longer than I expected - that always happens. But the really frustrating thing is that the reason it took so long was because of all the reading I had to do.

Up until today I'd been buying bread that was labeled, "Natural and Healthy." We liked it because it didn't have any partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (PHVO). But now that we're cutting out high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) too it's no longer an option.

All but one brand of bread had at least one or the other, and I spent a good 10 minutes reading fine print on labels trying to translate chemistry terms into choosing bread least likely to kill us eventually. My kids were fussy and whining that we weren't getting close to the pudding section, while I wondered if hydogenated and hydrolyzed mean the same thing. By the time I left the store I was hopping mad.

What especially makes me furious is why is it okay to advertise ZERO TRANS FATS (per serving) on something that HAS trans fats in it??

I imagine a conversation took place similar to this:
Government: You have to stop putting rat poison in food. Someone told the public it's poisonous and now they're all up in our grill about it.
Big Business: Impossible. It's in everything we make, and it'll cost us too much to take out. Not to mention the public actually likes the taste.
Gvt: Well the public knows that WE know that you're putting rat poison in the food, but we'd hate to see your profits take a hit.
BB: How about we keep putting it in, but say we aren't?
Gvt: Good thinking. Where are you treating us to dinner tonight?

Kissable

2008-08-06T13:15:00.007-04:00

My baby's got so many ADORABLE places to kiss, I can't pick a favorite. Maybe you can help me decide.

Could it be his squishy, tickly belly?

That's the best place for blowing raspberries, but it's also dangerous, since it puts me right in range for some big-time hair pulling. (See that grabby hand, poised to grab my hair and yank it out by the handful?)

Maybe his dimply, pudgy knees? Or his wriggly little piggies?

No, I think it's actually a tie between his neck and his cheek. I mean, how can you resist nibbling on those chubster cheeks? But he is so giggly when I kiss his neck that I just can't decide between the two.

Guess I better stop taking pictures before he falls off the changing table.

Here's a great book called Counting Kisses that's really fun to read to your baby while you give them lots of kisses on all their kissable bits.

Step Away From the Pillow

2008-08-01T14:24:00.006-04:00

One quirk I forgot to mention is my pillow quirk. I think I'm pretty good about sharing things with my family: fries, shoes, showers, attention, cheesecake (though my husband will beg to differ). What I'm not good about sharing is my pillow. I don't like people sleeping on my pillow. Do you know how sweaty and drooly (other) people get at night on their pillows? EW. I also do a lot of pillow flipping during the night because I am definitely a cool side of the pillow kind of person.

My husband was oblivious for years to the depths of my pillow possessiveness. He'd sometimes accidentally fall asleep on it, and when I'd come to bed and see him there on my pillow I'd yank it out from under his head. Then he'd wake up all bleary, grunting, "What.. what.. ugh.. are you okay?" And I'd tell him (well, more like SNAP at him) to go back to sleep.

Last night I stayed up pretty late and I heard my 3-year-old go get in my bed with my husband. I figured she'd be in there on my pillow, but I would try to get it nicely without waking her up. No snatching or snapping. This is personal growth for me. Really. It never even occurred to me until THIS VERY MINUTE to just let her sleep the night on my pillow.

So I went in there to get my pillow back and this is what I found:

And like the Grinch, my withered, dried-up old heart grew three sizes and I let her stay on the pillow.

(Until the flash from the camera made her roll right off and I snatched it before she could roll back onto it.)

Musical Memories

2008-06-27T10:01:00.007-04:00

Miss Sandy of Quill Cottage is hosting an “I Remember Laura” blogathon on Mondays through the month of June in memory of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author if the “Little House” series of books. I'm sorry I didn't see this sooner, because I would have loved to share more memories and participate in her art swap. The theme for this week is Musical Memories and Beautiful Books. Also, don't miss her Scrapbooking give-away today.

My father grew up quite poor, but in a home filled with music. He and his sister both played piano, and my dad taught himself to play the guitar. Listening to him play was unforgettable. He played for my mom when he first met her in college. They were engaged a month later and married three months after that. She always says she married him because of his singing.

He was in a band in college and they made a tape recording of themselves at one of their practices. I wasn't even 2 years old yet, but I was in the audience (as I frequently was), and after one of the songs you can hear me clapping my little hands and the band laughing. I grew up listening to that tape and still treasure it now, more than 30 years later.

Dad's guitar was a Framus that he bought in Germany (it looks very like this one, but has 12 strings). I can still remember the rich smell of the guitar case - to me it was the smell of music. Dad brought that guitar on camping trips, to church activities and family reunions. I have so many memories of sitting around campfires or in a family room at his feet, singing along with him. He could play just about anything by ear if he'd heard it before, like, "You Light Up My Life," which my aunt always requested and, "Red River Valley," for my Grandpa. A few years ago my dad brought his guitar from Idaho to Virginia where he sang, "We've Only Just Begun," for my wedding.

My dad loved singing to my mom, and I will always remember the feeling of warmth it gave me as a child to be able to see and hear how much he loved her, and how he showed her through his music. One year for Christmas my mom wrote a love poem to my dad as a gift. His gift to her the following year was that same poem, set to music.

Every year for Christmas Eve he'd get out the guitar and play Christmas hymns and carols while the whole family sang along. Then, just before we went to bed he would play a song called, "Old Toy Trains." My mom put together a scrapbook page with a couple of photos of my dad on Christmas Eve. That's me, singing with him in the top one.

My dad died very suddenly and tragically when he was just 54. My first child wasn't yet a year old when he died, so she won't have any memories of him. But on her first birthday my youngest brother sent me a song that my dad had written and recorded for her just before he died. There are no words for how precious this is to me.

If you'd like to hear him, I'm including a file download here of a song he sang (originally by The Association) called No Fair at All that you can play on Windows Media Player. It's not professional, just a home recording.

Recording yourself making music, or even just recording the sound of your voice is a priceless gift you can give your children. I miss my dad so much, especially singing with him, but at least I can still hear him sing. His music lives on in me and I hope I can pass that down to my children as well. Thank you, Dad.

A Beautiful Noise

2008-06-27T02:48:00.003-04:00

I was inspired earlier this summer to improve the caliber of the material I read to my daughter. What's really been surprising to me is how much she loves it. Although I was going to "try" and see how it goes, I honestly wasn't too optimistic. I felt at 3 years old, good poetry and longer books wouldn't hold her interest. Oh how wrong I was. Instead, she is clamoring at me constantly to read even more to her.

We are currently reading Mother Goose over breakfast, Frost, Tennyson, Keats, etc. over lunch and Little House in the Big Woods at bedtime. I am so thrilled (and surprised) when I hear, muttered under her breath while she plays outside, "I think that I shall never see, a poem as lovely as a tree." Or when she makes connections between our life and Laura's. I might be doing some laundry and she'll ask if it's "Wash Day."

If you've read here very long you know that I frequently feel like I'm barely surviving parenthood by the skin of my teeth. You know I'm not writing about my daughter's love of literature to brag, but rather because it's such a wonder to me. I'm so glad I gave her a chance and hope you'll try the same with your kids.

One Baby's Tale of Revenge

2008-06-19T18:24:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone, Alexander here. Some of you might remember when my mom posted about giving my older sister permission to pinch me. I was merely two months old, and quite defenseless.

I'm happy to say I've exacted my revenge for this thoughtless act many times over. My prime target area is pictured here, though you can't tell from the photo just how long my fingernails are, or how tight my grip is. I'd say the combination is quite excruciating, going from the sound of her screams whenever I apply my death grip.

(Just posting a photo of her upper arm on the internet is technically probably revenge enough, especially since this shows the unflattering horizontal lines on her fashion no-no shirt too.)

Take that, Mom.

Probably the Only Political Post You'll Ever Read Here

2008-06-05T13:29:00.007-04:00

To say I'm not really into politics would be an understatement. Yes, I have views and opinions but I can't back them up in a good discussion because my political views are based on gut feelings. Either I like a candidate or I don't. I haven't been thrilled with the presidential scene, but I did think Mitt Romney had potential to do good things. Clinton wouldn't have been my choice, but I was curious to see how things would go with her in office. Whenever I think of McCain I think all the bad things I usually think about older guys with younger women.

Obama though. I just have a really bad feeling about him. I hear little snippets of news about him that make me think he's a bad man, and then remember that the media LOVES this guy. Which makes me wonder what sorts of things they AREN'T telling us. I don't like how he bald-face lies about things that of course he's going to get called out on. I don't like how he has shady dealings when buying property. I don't like how he blames his campaign people for things that were said during his campaign instead of owning up to them himself. I imagine that's how he'd run the country - lying, blaming, dishonest dealings.

And do you know what REALLY bugs me? It's when I make these points about Obama to people and get told, "Well, he's a politician, what do you expect?"

What I EXPECT is someone with integrity. A little like Jack Ryan. He's brave, honest, a family man. Plus he's hawt! Why isn't there ever a Jack Ryan on the ballot? The White House could really use some eye candy, don't you think? Do you really have to be a bad (and unattractive) person to get ahead in politics? Or is it that we as Americans CHOOSE these bad (ugly) people to put on our ballots and lead our country?

So today, to add insult to injury, Obama is having a rally between my office and my home and they expect it will add at least two hours to my commute tonight. At LEAST. Thanks a LOT, Obama. I'm so writing in Jack Ryan in November.

6 Quirks

2008-06-01T02:52:00.002-04:00

I inadvertantly got tagged to share six of my quirks. Thanks Amanda, remind me to call you sometime and we can talk about feet and grocery checkouts, lol. ;)

Here are my six quirks:

1 - I'm a freak about loading the dishwasher. I think I can fit more dishes into the dishwasher than anyone else. Once I told my husband that my sister ALLEGES to be the best dishwasher loader in the world, and he said, "Can't you just let her have that?" NO, she is good, but I could take her in a dishwasher loading battle.

2 - I like the gritty feel of a real pearl against my teeth, and like to compare it to the slippery feel of fake pearls. Which got me in trouble once, because I was telling a friend about it and she got out this string of "real" pearls her parents had given her as a gift. i bet you can guess what happened - No grit. She promptly told me my pearl teeth thing was a HOAX. But I'm telling you. Go scratch your tooth on a real pearl right now.

3 - I'm a better driver when good music is playing and I get carsick if too much bad music is on. I've got a theory that singing along to good music busies the easily distractable part of my mind so that the more serious part can concentrate on the death trap we like to refer to as a daily commute.

4 - I like to play stupid computer games like Minesweeper and Free Cell. But you're thinking about calling SHENANIGANS on me, because that's not very quirky. Don't you worry though, because it gets quirkier. In fact, I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, it's been my little secret until now. When I play I pretend I'm playing in an intra-galactic tournament with real Space Mines and the fate of the human race hinges on whether I can clear the board quickly and safely. (See, I told you.)

5 - I have SO MANY public bathroom quirks. I could probably come up with 6 all on this subject. I hate it when I'm the only person in a bathroom with a lot of stalls and someone comes in and goes in the stall RIGHT NEXT TO ME. I use a paper towel to open the door of the bathroom when I leave, and if they don't have paper towels I open the door with my pinky on the part of the handle/lever that is the least likely to have been touched frequently. I get so mad at foot flushers because if a non-hand-washer flushes that toilet with their hand, then they get floor germs on the handle of the stall and the handle of the exit.

6 - I have food try-outs at every meal. This means I take a bite of everything (sometimes it takes a few bites to decide) and rank everything. Then I eat all of my least favorite thing, then all of the next least favorite thing, etc, so I always eat my most favorite thing last. And with the most favorite thing I prepare a "best bite" to be eaten very last and I get very waspish if I offer to share with my husband and he goes right for the best part of the favorite thing. I give him LOOKS, which he mostly ignores. (Or, let's be honest - he doesn't ignore the looks, he's just oblivious to them.)

Those are the quirkiest quirks I can think of and I hope you all feel better about yourselves now that you know what a freak I am.

Now that you're feeling all great and normal - TAG - if you read this you have to write about your quirkiest 6 quirks.

Redneck Ninjas

2008-05-26T08:20:00.011-04:00

So many blog-worthy events and so little time! Everyone (well, except me) in the house is asleep right now - 8:30am on a holiday morning - so let's see how much I can catch up before the "I'm hungry" whine-fest begins.

See if you can tell what's different in these two photos:

If you noticed that in the second photo the lawn has been mowed, the hose put away and the front steps cleaned up you'd be wrong! Because the hose was merely MOVED to another part of the lawn. What you're SUPPOSED to be noticing is the absence of the hideous shrubs that used to flank my doorway, like green, overgrown, poorly placed guards. The only thing they were good for was holding up some Christmas lights. Now you might be thinking that my house looks a little bare without them. A little naked and vulnerable. I agree, so help me think of what I should plant there instead. I was thinking maybe azaleas, but there are so many options!

Those of you that know my husband might be wondering who transformed my house, because you know that it was NOT him. He didn't even move the hose. He didn't even CALL the guys that moved the hose. There were two of them, and although they call their business Robin's Nest, I think they should rename it REDNECK NINJAS. Seriously! They got here in their truck with cigarettes dangling from their lips to do a little bit of siding work for us. They asked if there was anything else I needed to have done, and of course I keep a mental "Honey Do" list (so optimistic of me!). Before I knew it they had not only taken out these front door shrubs, but 4 more just like it AND the rotted half of the tree in the front yard.

I only have one regret, and that is not taking better photos of the redneck ninjas. One was at least 65 and I swear he climbed straight up my tree like a monkey with a CHAINSAW! He was the tree man, and below I've got a shot of him with his CHAINSAW. The other guy was the hawtness of the operation. There was some serious testosterone going on at my house. I mean, just look at the way he's holding that rake behind the tree! (Sorry for the bad picture, but I felt kind of dumb taking pictures of them while they were working and I was drinking lemonade and looking at a magazine in my cool living room. So I pulled back a curtain and took this photo through the window.)

So when all was said and done they only charged me a third of what I was told it would cost JUST to have the rotting tree removed. This is the opposite of what happened to my brother in Belgium who called a guy to help him trim his hedge and got charged over $1000. My poor, angry brother - you need to come live here so Redneck Ninjas can trim your hedge for some pocket change while you have a BBQ at my house and I take sneaky pictures of men wielding chainsaws.

Crying Over Spilled Milk

2008-05-14T14:54:00.008-04:00

Anyone that has ever pumped milk from their breasts so that their child could have this precious nectar of life can understand that this liquid is to be treated in a reverential way. You don't leave it on the counter when pawing through the fridge for something to eat. You don't just toss a frozen bag in the diaper bag when you go out. While you don't necessarily pay homage to it... okay, you pretty much do. You put it away in the freezer and hoard it, like liquid gold. Not only does it represent your good mommyhood, it also represents peace of mind and freedom. And anyone that has ever exclusively breastfed a baby will know exactly what I mean.

Unfortunately, my trove is all used up. This photo is a picture of some of it before I went back to work, along with the extraction torture device, er I mean breast pump.

I'm at the point where I can barely stay ahead of the appetite. I've usually got enough in the morning put away for that day, but no more, and usually I have to stay up 'til 2am to even make that much. Anyway, so today I had a full day's worth ready in the fridge for my babysitter. I came out of my room (I'm working from home) around mid-morning to get a drink and I see all of the milk containers Empty on the counter.

HORROR. SHOCK. BOGGLING. Not-quite-passing-out.

I staggered back to my room in a daze (yes, I'm exaggerating a little, but my loyal readers need to understand the magnitude of this). By lunch-time I'd composed myself enough to come back out and hear the story. Apparently the nipple/ring wasn't screwed onto the first bottle enough so about half of it leaked out while she was feeding him. Since he was still hungry she warmed up another bottle and the nipple wasn't pulled all the way through the ring, so a whole bunch more spilled out onto the floor.

I always thought the saying, "Don't cry over spilled milk," was a little silly, because what's the big deal about wiping up some milk?

Now I know that spilled milk is a TRAGEDY, and I'll let you know when I'm done crying about it.

My Little Extrovert

2008-05-05T20:56:00.004-04:00

At some point back in college I came across a new definition for extrovert and introvert.

Extrovert: Someone that recharges themself by being with other people.

Introvert: Someone that recharges themself by being alone.

It really struck a chord for me, because while I never considered myself an extrovert, neither could I identify with myself as a socially awkward and reclusive introvert. By this new definition I could embrace my introvertedness, despite enjoying parties. I just understood why I always needed some downtime afterwards. I have extroverted friends, but I've learned to make sure I get a break from them sometimes, because otherwise I start to feel really drained.

Just this week I finally decided my daughter is an extrovert. I wish I would have thought of it sooner because it would explain a lot. Maybe all little kids are extroverts, but it seems like I've seen other kids happily playing on their own. Mine doesn't do that. It explains why I'm so tired at the end of the day. Physically yes, but mentally too. Here's a conversation we have at least every 30 minutes:

Mama?
Yes?
Umm.. Mama?
Yes?
Umm, I was, um, are you listening?
Yes. What is it?
Mama?
OMIGOSH STOP SAYING MAMA!!
Don't say that to me! You said mad words to me.
Okay, you're right. I'm sorry. What did you want to tell me?
Mama?

I have to admit my new guilty pleasure is that I'm really enjoying the relative peace and quiet at work.

DIY Compost Bin

2008-04-30T00:50:00.016-04:00

The produce section of the grocery store is always so fresh and bright that I fill my cart with a zillion plastic bags of fruits and veggies. At home I put them in the "crisper." A few weeks later the crisper has become the "rotter," and I'm throwing out way too much produce.

I convinced my husband we needed a compost bin for all of the limp lettuce and bendy carrots along with our table scraps (my 3-year-old won't eat anything green). He quickly agreed, because it would save him bagging and hauling a ton of leaves in the fall.

We aren't remotely handy, but you don't have to be. I went to a hardware store and got 4 pallets ($2 each) and convinced a guy there to tie them to my car (no you don't need a truck, just drive slow).

At home we used L-joints and bungee cables to attach them in a square, then we attached it to our fence so it wouldn't blow over.

It took a year of sprouted potatoes, bags of salad (minus the bags), brown bananas and leaves/grass, but we got enough compost this spring for our flower beds and garden. It is so amazing how all that trash turns into healthy compost!

Baby Fix

2008-04-28T00:28:00.007-04:00

I'm posting this favorite happy baby picture so that tomorrow while I'm at work I can zip over to my blog now and then (okay, every ten minutes) and remember what will be home waiting for me after my hour long commute:

All right, let's be realistic:

On Being a Mom

2008-04-25T23:49:00.005-04:00

I'm currently riding the emotional rollercoaster of my pending return to work (this coming Monday). There's the regret I didn't spend enough time with them, the stress of finding good childcare, the relief of getting out of the house (away from my kids), then the guilt for feeling relief for wanting to get away from my kids.

Tonight I'm going to post an essay I found online a year or so ago that always helps me put things in perspective when I'm letting my expectations (of myself) start getting out of control. Then I'm going to go look at my sleeping children and try to fix in my memory those peaceful, baby expressions and how they make my heart sing.

On Being a Mom
by Anna Quindlen

If not for the photographs, I might have a hard time believing they ever existed. The pensive infant with the swipe of dark bangs and the black button eyes of a Raggedy Andy doll. The placid baby with the yellow ringlets and the high piping voice. The sturdy toddler with the lower lip that curled into an apostrophe above her chin.

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief. I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast. Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like. Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves.

Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past. Everything in all the books I once pored over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories.

What those books taught me, finally, and what the women on the playground taught me, and the well-meaning relations --what they taught me was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything. One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout.

One boy is toilet trained at 3, his brother at 2. When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome. To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow. I remember 15 years ago poring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month-old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China. Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk too.

Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made. They have all been enshrined in the Remember-When-Mom-Did-Hall-of-Fame. The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs. The times the baby fell off the bed. The times I arrived late for preschool pickup. The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp. The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?" (She insisted I included that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I included that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less. Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top. And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world, who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity. That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me a while to figure out who the experts were.

Top 20/Bottom 10

2008-04-22T00:15:00.005-04:00

I decided the Top 20/Bottom 10 lists should get their own blog, and here it is!
I'm dedicating this new blog to lists and list-makers, so if you make one let me know and I'll link back to you

In a Jam

2008-04-17T22:08:00.008-04:00

Once I convinced my preschooler that jam didn't start out in jars and we were about to make some, she ran and got her book, "Bread and Jam for Frances," which would serve as our recipe.

Her favorite part of the jam making was all-you-can-eat strawberries as she dropped the strawberries into the (unplugged) food processor. Second favorite was pretend-snapping me with the rubber bands that were on the pint containers.

Then she found the 2 biggest strawberries I've ever seen in my life. She put them on a paper towel along with a regular sized strawberry and dubbed them a family. Then she mimicked their scared little voices, "No no, don't cut off my hair," (when I cut the green tops off) and "don't chop up my mommy!" I swear I did not teach her to make her food talk. It is very disturbing.

The one thing that was a hassle was the sticky factor. I'm kind of messy in the kitchen (understatement) and combine that with my preschooler's talent for covering every surface with goo, I'm still finding stickiness.

We've been having bread and jam every morning for breakfast and it's so yummy. I think it has a surprisingly bright flavor, and you just need a really thin layer to get a big taste. This was a lot of fun, and not that hard. Plus it's good for my ego to see all those little jars of jam. Maybe I'll try raspberry jam in a few months.

Bread and Mulch

2008-04-17T10:44:00.004-04:00

On Tuesday I took the kids into town to mail the taxes and get a couple bags of mulch and a loaf of bread. Pretty straightforward, right?

Well, in the grocery store I walked through the produce section and they had this amazing deal on the yummiest looking local (well, Pennsylvania) strawberries. I HAD to buy them. We already have a bunch frozen for smoothies, so I figured I'd better make strawberry jam. I've always wanted to make jam, but hadn't done it before. I stopped by the canning section and stood there for a while trying to figure out what I'd need. Daughter was buckled in to the "truck" cart.

I've gotten to be an expert at steering the truck carts. The best thing about them is the child sits down in the front instead of up in the basket, which means her mouth is far, far away from my ears. Sometimes if there's a break in the background noise I hear her down in there, whining for something or complaining, but like magic, suddenly I can't hear her again. So unless she is actually wailing, or if she's hanging her head out the side where an oncoming cart could smash it, I can enjoy some peaceful shopping.

Anyway, so I was in the canning section picking out jam jars. I have made a couple of forays into the world of food preservation, with varying degrees of success. Peaches and salsa mainly. I ended up with sugar, pectin and freezer containers. At the check-out I realized, oops - I forgot to get bread, the one thing I'd gone in there for. Finally I was finished at the grocery store and only ended up with about $40 more than I intended to buy.

Next I headed to a garden store for mulch and when I got there they had their herbs and flowers outside. In the spring it's just so easy to get carried away with garden plans. I have these images of an old fashioned herb garden where I can just step out for cooking ingredients or home remedies. They had a great selection, so I got one of everything. I ended up with stuff like Feverfew and Echinacea and St. John's Wort. I even got a Stevia plant. Once I got home I looked them up and I can't imagine we'll ever use them. Hopefully they'll be pretty anyway.

So I got the herbs, a couple of tomato and pepper plants and a bunch of pretty flowering perennials. I'm so over annuals. I got them all loaded up in the car and realized I'd forgotten the mulch. With all the groceries and plants there just wasn't even room for mulch. At least I managed the bread.

It wasn't until I got home that I realized I just bought supplies for a week's worth of work, and none of it can be put off, since the strawberries and potted plants have a definite shelf life. This explains why I haven't been on much this week. ;)

Please pass the Rogaine

2008-04-15T00:45:00.004-04:00

I've been making fun of my baby for only losing hair on one side of his head. If they made Chia pets that look like babies and you only watered half of it, that's what he looks like. I thought it was being rubbed off in his sleep, but he's pretty still when he sleeps, and he doesn't sleep on the bald side.

Then it hit me. It's my fault!

When he cries, I soothe him by putting my cheek against the side of his head and 'shhhing' in his ear. His head is still pretty wobbly so it's rubbing against my cheek. And I only hold him like that on one side - the balding side.

So could someone please pass the Rogaine? I figure a little and he'll be good as new. Maybe that and some T-Gel for his cradle-cap-from-hell.

While you're at it, could you hook me up too? I seem to be losing more than he is as I'm getting over the whole pregnancy thing. Maybe I shouldn't feel bad for turning him into some freaky half-grown chia pet and just call it even.

What Good Looks Like

2008-04-11T16:25:00.006-04:00

A year ago at work everyone got a poster that showed, "What Good Looks Like" (WGLL) for their own position. Lately I've been wondering WGLL for the Mom Career Path.

There's the obvious: Love, provide, teach, be an example, listen.

But do any of us really feel like we're doing enough? How many of us feel like WGLL is a clean house, tidy kids, cookies from scratch, well-balanced meals made with organic food and humanely raised animals, good manners, making sock puppets which star in plays? Shakespeare plays. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little, but not much.

Let me tell you about WGLL around here. Me getting dressed before noon. My daughter brushing her teeth morning AND night. Or just once. I'll take once! Washing hands after going potty instead of just using hand sanitizer because mom's nursing the baby AGAIN and the faucet sticks too much for daughter to turn on. A game of Candyland. Sloppy kisses and too-tight hugs. Making macaroni and cheese together. Giggling about the baby's loud farts. Pretend picnics and tea parties that last 10 minutes because that's about my limit. No TV before lunch. Lunch. A shower every other day. Holding the baby at night while he sleeps instead of doing the dinner dishes because that's the only alone time I get with him. Laughing.

Why do we as women put so much pressure on ourselves to be everything? WGLL should be sane, balanced, happy women that enjoy their kids most of the time, don't feel guilty when they don't, and are confident that while maybe they can't do everything, what they are doing is enough.

As I read blogs and chat with friends it really seems like we share so many similar challenges. Why does it have to be competitive for so many women? We need to stick together. We're good moms! So, tell me WG -really- LL at your house.

My duckling's a swan after all

2008-04-08T18:47:00.010-04:00

I was looking over my posts about my son and I've really not painted a very attractive picture of him. I've talked about his resemblance to a raccoon, a baby elephant, a tiny old man and a changeling. I've told the public about his earlobe hair and gassiness and then I set him up for the worst pinch of his short life. I think it's about time I say something nice about him!

He's such a patient baby. When he has a stuffy nose he lets me put drops in and doesn't cry. He lets his sister kiss him at least 5,148 times/day without getting fussy about it. He's got the softest hair, amazing blue eyes, and he smells sooo good (most of the time). He's so happy most of the time and almost always gives me coos and special smiles when he sees me.

Someday if he ever reads this blog I hope he's not too mad about the Ugly Baby post. I had to hunt really hard to find those awful photos. I actually think he's a very beautiful baby, and not just because I'm his mom.

My daughter's top 20 bottom 10

2008-04-02T00:31:00.005-04:00

Here's what I think she'd list:

TOP 20
1. Cinderella
2. Ariel/Jasmine (tie)
3. watching TV or movies
4. being able to reach the light switch
5. slobbery kisses from my baby brother
6. doing my own seatbelt
7. wearing fast shoes
8. bubbles
9. cooking with Mom
10. green noodles (pesto sauce)
11. playing board games with someone
12. being read to
13. playing tea party
14. being silly with Dad
15. playing hide-and-seek
16. cookies with m&m's in them
17. shopping
18. dancing
19. when my brother smiles at me
20. working in the garden with Mom

BOTTOM 10
1. getting in trouble
2. bugs
3. eating food that's green (apart from green noodles)
4. scary dreams
5. ponies
6. flying kites
7. going to bed
8. turning off the tv
9. potty accidents
10. not getting my way

I thought I told you not to leave your shoe on the road.

2008-03-31T23:42:00.006-04:00

Lately I've been wondering about road shoes. What is their story? Why is there only ever just one? If your shoe fell on the road wouldn't you try to go back for it? I mean, losing one really ruins the whole pair. Maybe the owner didn't notice until it was too late.

But really - how can so many people not notice that one of their shoes is suddenly off their foot, out the window and on the expressway?

Anyone else ever wonder about these? I wonder if any of my shoes are sitting out on a road somewhere, alone and dusty.

National Unpredictable Toddler Day

2008-03-29T00:55:00.010-04:00

A friend that I greatly admire watches children in her home and always seems to be doing something fun with them. Today each kid had their own personalized holiday to celebrate Make Up Your Own Holiday Day. Two Fridays ago they made miniature apple pies to celebrate National Pi Day.

Her good example inspired me to do something for Fly a Kite Day which was this week. Today dawned overcast and breezy, so I found our kite and took it outside for a fly. DD was very excited, having never flown a kite before. I got the kite launched and it immediately started doing that insanely fast figure-eight thing that kites do right before they nose-dive into the hood of your car. My daughter apparently thought the toy had morphed into a possessed spawn of Satan. Forget that it was an reversible Elmo-slash-Cookie-Monster kite. It was pure evil and she couldn't get away fast enough, screaming for me to "get it down," the whole time.

I wish I'd had the camera out there to capture her reaction to the kite's first flight. I had no idea she would think it was anything but fun. Relying upon my impressive parenting skills (which I have in ample supply, see previous pinching post), I kept flying the kite and making her watch. I was determined she would enjoy our kite flying bonding experience.

Here's some footage of one of the later kite flights (sorry for the wind sound blowing into the microphone and the wobbly filming. It's tough to fly a demon-spawn kite, stifle hysterical laughter, and hold a camera steady at the same time).

Maybe next year we can just color kites or something.

Shower-time Fun?

2008-03-28T15:52:00.004-04:00

After two trips to Philadelphia in a 10 day period, my house and my children were a mess. The house could wait but my toddler hadn't had a bath in over a week and I think my baby had been due for a wash before we even left. I gave the toddler a bath and then took the baby in the shower with me. His boy bits needed some extra attention, and I had to rearrange them a few times to get to all the nooks and crannies. That's when I noticed he was grinning at me. I smiled back, but was disconcerted all the same. I don't remember my daughter doing this. So is it a boy thing? Am I over-thinking this? I'm wary of the pee fountain so diaper changes are VERY quick. But it's gotta get cleaned up some time. I just don't know if I can do it if he's there smiling at me like that, LOL. Most of you guys have boys. Do you have any advice for me on this?

These were a few of my favorite things

2008-03-27T01:13:00.004-04:00

Tonight's the first time I've turned my computer on since last Friday and strange things are afoot. A new Google hotbar was installed, my browser history was deleted, but truly tragically: My bookmarks are all gone. GONE. g-o-n-e gone.

I feel lost and adrift without my bookmarks! How will my bills be paid? How will I spy on my co-worker's fertility chart? My links to the most uber vacation spots are gone, and so are all my links to baby shower ideas and baby gear I can't live without. My life will end if I don't have this gear and now I don't remember what it was!! I had a huge collection of links to great preschool curriculum ideas and now my daughter will just be stuck coloring in the Star Wars coloring book that she's afraid of. All of the books I was going to read were there, along with research for all the books I was going to write. There were links to doctors, friends' websites; even password reminders were cleverly encoded.

Just imagine for a minute if your Favorites list was lost forever...

Now go back it up.

What should the caption be?

2008-03-21T02:56:00.003-04:00

A pinch to grow an inch

2008-03-20T11:38:00.002-04:00

On St. Patrick's Day we were out of town unexpectedly and I realized I hadn't brought anything green for me to wear. That morning I pointed out to my daughter that I wasn't wearing any green and told her she could pinch me. She gave me a soft little pinch that didn't hurt at all, and then went looking for other people not wearing green. It was funny and there were only nice pinches.

Later that morning her brother woke up from his nap and I pointed out that he wasn't wearing any green. My daughter's face lit up and she came over to give him a pinch. I was nursing him at the time so my hands were a little tied up and I couldn't stop the MEANEST PINCH EVER. My poor baby stopped nursing and cried, and I was in shock. After all her nice pinches she totally pinched the heck out of a baby's thigh. I guess maybe she's got some hidden aggression towards him. I couldn't even be mad at her since I basically invited her to do it.

Score another one for me and my fantastic parenting.

I'm such an idiot

2008-03-13T18:32:00.001-04:00

Every time I look at my blog now I want peanut butter m&m's. Good job, El.

Dear Peanut Butter M&M's,

2008-03-12T18:49:00.006-04:00

You were there when I was pregnant and sick, single-handedly providing sustenance when no other food was tolerated. After I had the baby you didn't forsake me in the long, cold, lonely hours of the morning when I was trapped under the baby that wouldn't sleep anywhere else.

You've always been there for me, but now the time has come to let you go. I'm sure someday we will meet again, maybe by chance in a supermarket check-out line or deep in my daughter's seized trick-or-treat bag. Until then I need only look in the mirror to be reminded of our time together.

Yours truly,

Anyone else have a food they're in an "unhealthy" relationship with? :)

Is this cute or what?

2008-03-11T02:27:00.005-04:00

Things I never thought I'd say

2008-03-11T01:23:00.007-04:00

I've said so many things as a parent that I never dreamed would come out of my mouth. Here are some of the ones that immediately come to mind:

- We don't talk about our privates at restaurants.
- Showing nipples is only for inside our house.
- Stop kissing my arm!
- Get your feet off your brother.
- If you don't brush your teeth they will turn yellow and black.
- No more licking the shopping cart!!
- No you can't see my poop. (which led to an argument /boggle)
- Don't stand in front of the microwave because it has bad magic.
- Ariel is my favorite princess.
- If you stop crying I will stop yelling at you.
- Panties go INSIDE your pants.

What are some of the things you've said that you never thought you would?

Spring Training

2008-03-09T12:52:00.008-04:00

Thursday was such a gorgeous day I decided to do a yard project I've been wanting to do since we moved in. It involves the strip of property that divides my driveway from my neighbor's driveway. I had the kids outside with me. DD was digging in the dirt I was working with and the baby was in his carseat next to the car. A couple of neighbor boys were next door playing baseball. There were just 2 of them, so it was mostly batting practice.

Next thing I knew it, I heard a baseball THUNK right on the roof of my car. I looked over at the boys who were both looking towards me. One of them opened his mouth and I listened for the expected apology. Instead he looked at his friend and said, "Not again."

I wonder how many times my car's been an unwilling participant in their baseball shenanigans. I told them they better start batting in a different direction (they weren't facing the car in the first place) but I don't know if that will help much. Oh, and don't tell my husband this story. He already doesn't like the neighbor kids (they sled on our yard, skateboard on our driveway, and ride bikes across our grass) and this would be the last straw. What do you do about neighbor kids?