I Just Have To Do It

I just can't help myself. I have to blog about Fuzzi-Bunz. Now some people might think - oh no - it's a slow-blog day, but seriously, these things just kick, well, you know. Baby butt. Aren't they cute?

When Jonathan was born, well, actually BEFORE Jonathan was born, I had this great idea that I was going to use cloth diapers. So I did all the research, and landed somewhere between cheap and not-so-easy to use. I bought a load, had them all washed and ready to go and when Jonathan finally came home, I hated them. Too hard to use. Awful. Too bulky. Leaked. Sigh.

I abandoned my crusade for the environment and was forever grateful to Pampers. Then Matthew was born. I quit work and looked for easy ways to cut expenses. I did more research. This time, I landed somewhere between pretty expensive and not only very easy to use, but very effective, attractive and easy to care for. And that, friends, is exactly where I found Fuzzi Bunz. They're cloth, yes. They're called All-In-Ones, or AIO's for those who know the lingo. They're pocket diapers, so you slip the rectangle of fabric (sometimes called a soaker) down into a pocket. For overnights, you can use two or three.

Now cloth diapers aren't for everyone, and on somedays, they're not even for me - okay, well, Matthew. I use them mostly while we're at home, although I have been known to make quick trips to the post office or grocery store while he's wearing one. On some days, I'll still just reach for the disposables because I don't feel like dealing. And for overnight, we always use a disposable. That's because Matthew sleeps for 12 solid hours and I really like him to be as dry as possible in the morning, and there's something about those wicking layers in disposables that really draw the wetness down into that gel stuff. But I digress...

ANYWAY, I highly recommend these things. Every time I put one on him, I feel like I'm not only helping the environment in a big way, but I also admit I feel happy that I'm probably saving myself somewhere between 30 and 75 cents, depending on what disposable he's into that day. And I do have a picture laying around of him wearing one -

There he is - remember this picture of the killer-attack zucchini from last summer? He's actually wearing a Fuzzi-Bunz - one of the brighter colors I have. Did I mention they come in like 26 colors, and even some prints and patterns? I'm going to take another picture of him this weekend, running around in one - this picture just doesn't do it justice. If anyone wants to know more, please ask - I can't say enough good things about these diapers!

MAJOR Reality Check

Okay, I feel like....I feel like....I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach. Why? Because today, and tomorrow, are registration days for....pre-school. I didn't think I'd ever get here. Let me back up a minute. Jonathan was 4 a few weeks ago - making him 4 1/2 in September - just the right age to start pre-school. It's not required in this county, but they "highly recommend it". Huh? Well, I never went to pre-school, but apparently, it's the norm. Okay. So you have to make a decision...in MARCH? Well, apparently you do. Not that you can't register later. But you might not get in. They have limited space. And you can always change your mind and decide to not send your kid on the first day, thus opening up a slot for whoever didn't register like they were supposed to...in March. So once I waded through all the technicalities, and started gathering up all the materials I need (immunization records, proof of residence, birth certificate, etc...), then I called the elementary school down the road from us and asked about the pre-k program. Wow. 5 days a week. Hmmmm. Wow. Didn't expect that. There goes long weekends at Grandma and Poppy's house. There's goes spontaneous weekends out of town. Come to think of it, there goes any vacation not in the months of June, July, and August - gee - when everybody and their BROTHER goes on vacation! Bummer! And 5 days a week for a 4 year old? Isn't that a bit.....much? So I'm thinking, does he REALLY need to go to pre-k? I mean, what are they going to teach my kid who already, at just 4, counts to 200, knows all his shapes, numbers, letters, colors, learning to spell and read and carries on intelligent conversations with any adult with which he comes in contact?

Okay, push all that aside and what's the biggest problem? My baby. My baby is getting ready to go to school. He came in the room when I was hanging up the phone today, and before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed him up, smothered him with a million kisses and asked him if he wanted to go to school. He says "Yes!" And it was on the tip of my tongue to say something like "But Mommy will miss you so bad!!" Glad I caught myself before that. Dumb Mommy.

So after all that, I hunkered down and did some research - found out the local private school has a 3 day a week pre-k program. Well, it doesn't solve ALL my problems - particulary the one that just CAN'T be solved, but it does solve a few. And even though this one we have to pay for, it seems like the right thing to do right now.

I can't believe it's only 5 months away. I can't believe he got that old, that fast. I can't believe that this August, I'll be buying school supplies. It's the start of another era.....

I'm Changing My Cookware

I try to make sure my family is healthy, I really do. I've thrown out everything (well, mostly everything) in the house with hydrogenated oils, I make all meals at home from scratch, I buy organic when I can, and I've switched every sippy cup and plastic bottle in the house from dangerous 1's and 2's to either the safer 5's or to stainless steel. You wouldn't believe the conversations I get into about my kids' cool stainless steel sippy cups they tote around in public! But then I started seeing articles like this and this. These articles tell all about the dangers of non-stick cookware - I won't bore you with the details - you'll either read it or you won't. But seeing how most of my cookware is of the hard-anodized variety, or just the plain old non-stick variety, the articles gave me pause. So I started to do some research.

The trouble is, I like my non-stick cookware. I like that it's really easy to clean. I like that food doesn't stick. I do a lot of cooking - I need cookware that's not going to cause me extra work! So after a bit of research, I decided to give cast iron a try. Sure sounded like it might be suitable. And these days, it comes pre-seasoned - naturally non-stick - and with a little care, you can maintain the non-stick surface and have cookware that lasts a lifetime. I remember my grandmother had cast iron skillets, and so does my mom. So why didn't I try them before?

I decided to try one skillet and see how it worked for me. I actually found one at Walmart - and would you believe they're actually cheaper than the regular non-stick, and much, much, much cheaper than the hard-anodized stuff? I bought the 10 1/4 inch skillet, brought it home. Let me tell you - it rocks! Totally non-stick. A little heavy, but very, very handsome. Cleans up very easily with just hot water and a little brush action. You can even use a little mild detergent, but it can break down the seasoning, so they recommend you don't. It doesn't bother me - I'm used to using seasoned stoneware and not using detergent to clean it. You do have to dry it right away and then they recommend a very light layer of oil before putting it away. But all in all, I love the stuff. Mark got me the 8 inch skillet as one of my birthday presents this past weekend, and now I'm looking for a 12 inch griddle to replace my Teflon one.

With all the dangers lurking around, it feels good to know that at least SOMETHING is safe. I'm not going to run out and replace every pot I have right away - as my non-stick pieces wear out or show signs of age, I'll replace them one at a time. Lodge cookware is even manufactured in the United States at a foundry in Tennessee that has been there over 100 years. You HAVE to feel good about that - the less products from China in the household, the better! They have some great pieces, too - covered dutch ovens and deep skillets, chef skillets, grill pans and griddles. I probably won't find a replacement for every one of my favorite cookware pieces, but I think I'll come close!

What in the WORLD?

Okay, the photo is a little close, but I did it that way on purpose - to show the detail. What are those little round things? They are tiny little suction cups, about the size of a dime. They were on a ball the kids had. You take the ball, which was the size of a tennis ball, throw it at a wall or window, and it sticks. Nice concept. Doesn't actually promote "don't play ball in the house", but the boys liked it. Last THURSDAY evening, we find this strange looking thing in the living room on the floor. It looked like....well...it looked like the suction cup ball without any of the suction cups - they were all gone. We looked at the three culprits. Jonathan? Probably not. He hates it when his toys get broken. He's pretty careful with stuff and is not deliberately destructive. Matthew? Hmmmmm....definitely a better candidate, but where were the suction cups? They were nowhere to be found. And as far as Mark could tell, there were about 2 dozen or so, and we couldn't find one. Bella? Now we're talking. At Christmas, we found that a little rubber snowman had been chewed to pieces, with most of the pieces gone. A few DAYS later, Bella threw them up on the carpet. Which was intriguing, because during those few days, she was eating and drinking and pooping normally - so in the meantime, where had those snowman pieces been? But I digress....back to suction cups. Assuming that Bella was responsible, I figured I had a few days before she started yakking up suction cups all over my floor. Sure enough, Saturday morning, oh, about 20 minutes before we needed to be somewhere and about 2 hours before my family was due to arrive, the first of the suction cups made an appearance on the living room carpet. I made Mark clean and count. First pile - 9. Second pile - 4. That left...a lot more. We locked her in the laundry room, and went about our business. Family came, Easter came, Easter bunny came, then, yesterday morning, the inevitable. First pile - 3 1/2. By this time, they're starting to break down a little. Second pile - nothing! Third pile, thankfully on the stone floor in the den - 10! The mother load! And then, yesterday afternoon, the 2 1/2 pictured above. Total count - 29. Hmmmm - maybe we miscounted, maybe it was actually 29, but 30 seems like such a nice round number.....ANYWAY - at least it seems to be over with. It's still a mystery to me where they were all that time. Maybe it's better that way!

On a lighter note, Easter went well! Here's everyone, except Matthew, dyeing eggs - Matthew was asleep at the time, and although he probably would've liked it, I imagine my kitchen table, chairs and floor would've been irreparably discolored had he been awake.....

And here's the kids with their Easter baskets - they also hunted eggs, although I think only Jonathan had any concept of what that was about! Sandwiched in the weekend somewhere was also my birthday - it was actually Saturday, but we celebrated on Sunday - it was nice that my family was here for it, but with all the other distractions, it was a little lost in the shuffle! But all in all, it was a tremendously happy and fun weekend and although we now have entirely too much chocolate and candy in the house, I can think of worse things to complain about!

On My Mind Today

This is going to be a huge departure from my usual ramblings, but I got an inspiration by reading "Ask Amy" this morning. More on that later. First, a story.

A long time ago, well, okay about 7 years ago, Mark and I were in a bar after our weekly co-ed volleyball game. Mark was chatting up some friends, and I was sitting beside one of our teammates, I'll call him Zack. Zack was a great friend, great volleyball player and also a coworker. At the time, he lived with a woman and had been doing so for several years. They were very committed, to the point where they were toying with the idea of buying a house together. So I asked him - "are you getting married?" He scoffed at me, said "no way". Me, being Catholic and married, decided to pursue it a little farther. "Why not?" He proceeded to tell me that they didn't think much of marriage - after all, HIS parents went through a terrible divorce and the children suffered greatly. And HER parents had a terrible marriage, SHOULD'VE gotten divorced, and the children suffered greatly. Then he asked ME - "religion aside, why are YOU married?" My brain fluttered. Let's see, hmmm.....and I began to realize that if indeed, you didn't have a religious obligation to be married in the eyes of God and your church community, then really, what WAS the point? After all, there are lots of new laws these days that talk about communal property and the rights of unmarried partners. I have to admit, he kind of had me there. Is it really just a piece of paper?

I've been unsettled about this for many years. I've had this same conversation with others, and never did reach a conclusion, with one exception. Many gay people I know wish they could be married to their partners, and wish that the institution of marriage extended beyond the union of a heterosexual man to a heterosexual woman. So what is it about this elusive marriage that is so important to the ones who for whatever reason CAN'T marry?

I found a bit of an answer in this morning's Ask Amy column. A gay woman wrote in and said that marriage is a "private commitment that the relationship is for life. It is also a public declaration of that commitment and a public acknowledgment that the couple has joined the larger web of community connections and sanctions".

Does this answer my question? Would this have satisfied Zack? Does it satisfy me? Not really, since having a "private commitment" certainly can extend beyond the vows of marriage - actually, it almost SUGGESTS extension beyond marriage. And with a veritable mish-mash of "community sanctions" these days, one needs only shop around for the approval of whichever community from one wishes approval. And most important, would this statement mean the same thing coming from a married person? I must admit, it rings a little hollow in that circumstance.

So I remain a little confused. Sure, the heavy-hitting religions, all of them, have their rules and their sanctions all in place, and it's worked for 1000's of years. But throw out religion. How DO you defend marriage as an institution to a non-believer, or non-religious person, whether they are Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, you name it? Certainly, there must be some non-religious people out there who are married civily. Maybe one of them would enlighten me.

Oh, and for the record? Zack and the girlfriend broke up a few years later. Would they still be together if they had married? More than likely, not. When it's not right, it's not right, regardless of the piece of paper.

Happy Birthday, Shannon!

Today is my good friend Shannon's birthday. I remember her birthday because it is exactly three days prior to mine (round of applause for the subtlety of the delivery of that shameless hint?!). Anyway, Shannon and I go way back. All the way back to freshman year of high school, where we met in the band (was it Mr. Schmidt?) and at the lunch table of "misfits". Okay, okay, maybe not misfits. But I was new. I had attended private school for 8 years, and here I was thrown into the local public school for high school (my choice, btw). I knew some of the kids from youth group at church and from sports teams, but nobody else! So the first day for lunch, I saw a table of girls that were wearing sort of what I was wearing, and had their hair sort of like mine, and I took a chance. I found a table of great friends that day - not misfits at all. Just different from most of the other cliquish types; the hair, the makeup, the captain of the football team on your arm, nor the other extreme: the goths. No, the girls I met marched to the beat of their own drummer, and many of us stayed friends for the whole 4 years. But one stands out, and that's my friend, Shannon. We've had our ups and downs over the years. For a long time we had stopped speaking over something heartless I said, but she contacted me out of the blue years later and I'm so glad she did. We've moved on with our lives - we both married a man named Mark, we both have kids. She lives in St. Louis. But we call, we email. We tell each other things we probably don't tell anyone else. And we sometimes share stories and reminisce about those high school days, oh my. Band camp. Steve. Scott. Craig. The twins. Shannon, if you're reading this, I know you're smiling right now! Have a great birthday!

Thank You, Walmart

So yeah, blogging does get put on the back burner sometimes. And last week was no exception. I thought I was recovering nicely from cleaning my house, hosting my in-laws and getting through Jonathan's birthday. But this persistent sore throat I had just kept getting worse, and when I finally woke up Friday morning with my one eye stuck shut, I broke down and went to the doctor. So now I'm on antibiotics for 10 days and eye drops for a week. No big deal - I'm getting better and feeling much better now that I was 4 days ago. Just trying to keep the kiddos from getting it - not an easy task, but one I've succeeded at so far!
So yesterday, I felt good enough to get up, get dressed, get the children dressed, and we all headed out for church. Mark was driving, and to his credit, it really wasn't his fault, but well, he was driving. He hits a rock. A big, sharp one. Our tire blew out instantly, and we were in a part of town called "The Narrows" - a very narrow portion of road that twists through the river valley, a solid rock wall on one side, and a guardrail and river on the other. No place to pull over. We were half on the road, half in the mud, no way we can change a tire, no way we can drive out of there on our rim. We're dressed in our Sunday best, well, okay, our Sunday moderately best, and with two little kids in the car and it's 30 degrees. Why does this sound like a chapter out of "How to Survive"?
I'll make a long story short. We called 911, who called us a tow, and kindly sent us a state trooper to sit with us. We were towed to Walmart, where the automotive guys were only too happy to replace the tire, rotate it to the back, and do a wheel-balancing - all at 9 am on a Sunday morning. We were out of there by 10:30, snuggled into our favorite booth at our favorite restaurant, with plates of steaming breakfast. No, we never made it to church. But the effort is what counts, right?
And here's where I must sing Walmart's praises. I know a lot of people don't like Walmart for whatever reason. But Walmart is always there for you. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. At least our Super-Walmart is. Where else could we have had our car towed at 9 am on a Sunday morning and gotten a new tire put on the rim? I'll answer that: nowhere. The next best thing we could've done was had it towed to our driveway, where Mark would've spend half the day figuring out the jack, finding the spare, putting it on, and then half the day today running to automotive repair places to get the real tire replaced. But we don't have to worry about that now - it's done. Paid for. And while we waited, the kids got to see the Easter Bunny. Jonathan even sat on his lap. We watched the fishes swimming in the tanks. We found DVD's for $5 and picked one out for Matthew. We checked out ceiling fans and made some plans for this Spring. We even bought Matthew a new pack of undershirts and a brand new shirt after he spilled a drink down the front of himself and was soaked AND changed his clothes in the bathroom. And before we knew it, the automotive department was announcing over the loudspeaker that our car was ready. So a huge thank you to Walmart - you already have my business, so I'm doing this to try to get you more business!

Jonathan's 4!

All these pics were taken last night at Jonathan's 4th birthday party. Of course we had Lightning McQueen and Mater joining us! And among all the other birthday presents, the big boy bike was a big hit! He loves it, and wants to get out on the trail as soon as possible - we can't convince him that 30 degrees is NOT the desired temperature to go biking on the trail! He keeps saying "Maybe I can put my jacket on...." Nice thought, kid, but we don't want you sick for Easter!

All in all, it was a great day - it's hard to believe my baby is 4. Everyday I see little signs of him getting so big so fast. Yesterday I was a little run down in the morning - I have a cold and I woke up with a headache and just wasn't sure how I was going to face the day with all I had to do and having my in-laws coming for dinner. Matthew was still asleep and Jonathan was watching TV, so I took a few minutes and laid down on the bed before getting dressed. Next thing I know, here comes Jonathan in my room with a cup of water from the bathroom. He says to me "Here Mommy, drink some water, it will make you feel better." Wow. Growing up fast. What a sweetie.

For his sake, and because it was his birthday, I pulled it together - pretended that cup of water was the magic elixir that I needed....and went about my day. Happy Birthday, little guy!

Where Oh Where Have I Been?

Well, let's see. Despite the picture above, Jonathan is not QUITE 4 yet - that'll happen tomorrow. So why is he in front of a train that looks like it could be cake with candles in it? That's because we stayed down at Grandma and Poppy's for a week, and it was so close to his birthday, we decided to celebrate a little early so they wouldn't have to make the trip to LaVale this weekend. And so a train cake was born - me and my sis worked on it and it turned out well! The log car is actually pretzel rods, and the other decorations are mostly candy.

Tomorrow, his actual birthday, will be more cake and more celebrations because Jonathan's Grammy and Grandpa are coming up for dinner and a little party, AND he'll be getting his presents from me and Mark. Since when do birthdays last for 5 days and since when do you get three rounds of presents? Oh well - to be little again!

So that's where I've been - down at my parent's house. We visited some relatives and went out to lunches and dinners, went shopping and even went for little walks in the warming air. It was nice - my sister was on vacation from work so it was nice that she could spend some time with the nephews!

Now we're back - back into the routines. Gearing up for Easter and very, very much looking forward to warmer weather - have I said that before? Last night was about 22 degrees with about 30 mph winds. Not fun. Did I mention the blowing snow? C'MON SPRING for the 90 millionth time!

Happy Birthday, Grandma

Today is my mom's birthday - she's a Leap Year baby. Because she only gets one every four years, we usually try to make the one special, so this year, we're going down to visit for the weekend and a little beyond.
The boys are looking forward to a change of scenery. Grandma and Poppy live just over 2 hours away, so it's not like we can make a day trip out of it. Jonathan has been bugging me ever since Monday, asking "Is it Friday yet?" He loves to visit Grandma - probably because there's always someone else to run to and look cute when he's getting into trouble with Mommy!
Mark and I kinda like to visit, too - we get a chance to have some "dates". My parents are usually happy to watch the kids while we go see a movie, or go shopping or just out for a nice lunch somewhere. Plus, my sister's going to be around - she's in the middle of a two-week vacation from work, so it's more like a house party! A kind of, CROWDED house party, but we manage. That's what family does.
So Happy Birthday, Ma and Grandma. We look forward to celebrating with you this evening! Now I must go pack!

Why Does My Cereal Look Like Mulch?

So if you read my last post, you saw this inspiration of mine to make a nice, warm, homey dinner - tortellini soup and foccacia. Well, the foccacia turned out really well. The soup? In the trash. Let me explain.

Both recipes call for fresh rosemary. Of which, I happily have a nice pot of in my patio room. I just wander out there when I need a sprig of it and throw it right into my recipes at will. I usually give it a good rinse, but call my crazy - after all the stomach illnesses, I decided to really wash it good this time. So I got a bowl, filled it with water, threw in the half-dozen sprigs I picked and gave them a good swish and rinse. Tore the leaves off two stems and threw in another whole stem and let the whole mess simmer for a few hours. I was getting ready to put the tortellini in the pot, and getting ready to shape the foccacia for baking when I noticed something....horrifying. Bugs in the bowl. In the bowl of water where the rosemary for the foccacia was sitting. Lots of bugs, tiny, tiny little bugs. Then I looked at the pot of soup. Oh, gross.

Now, I'm SURE those bugs were, by this time, cooked down to nothing. And I'm pretty sure that we've eaten them by the hundreds since, well, I've had that plant for two years now. But I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't bring myself to eat soup that I knew had cooked bugs in it. I'd be looking at every spoonful.

Dinner wasn't a complete disaster. I still had the tortellini, and I pulled out a jar of spaghetti sauce that I keep on hand for an occasion such as this. And the foccacia was okay, because I hadn't yet added the rosemary to that, so I made sure it was bug-free.

Yuck. I'll be more careful from now on! But for a few days after, and even still, I can't help but overly-inspect everything I stick in my mouth. And I happen to notice that my cereal, while certainly bug-free, looks curiously like what we spread in the garden in springtime. Kinda tastes like it too! What we don't do in the name of colonic health, huh?

The Weekend Tally

Not the best weekend in the Eanes' household. Here's the tally:

1 child puking two days straight, holding down nothing, including water, resulting in:

1 trip to the emergency room for iv fluids and anti-nausea medication, a chest x-ray and umpteen blood tests.

1 husband sick with a 24 hour stomach virus with diarrhea, with a fever over 102.

18 loads of laundry, I kid you not. That includes the original 3 complete sets of bedding for the first night of Jonathan throwing up, then an additional set when he spilled an entire cup of water in his twin bed, and an entire queen-sized set when Mark and I were resting a few minutes and I somehow managed to spill an entire cup of coffee IN THE BED.

1 comforter in dire need of a trip to the laundromat - it won't fit in my washer and Jonathan threw up all over that, too.

3 straight days of me with my hands in the toilet, scrubbing, bleaching, spraying Lysol, trying to prevent myself from getting either one or both of the illnesses surrounding me, and preventing Matthew from getting them since he has an occassional foray into the bathroom where he inadvisedly touches everything in sight.

So, as you can see, not our best weekend!

But here's the good news:

Jonathan is much better, almost normal. He's eating and drinking okay now, albeit slowly and not in great quantities. All his tests from the hospital came back normal, and he has recovered without further incident. Best we can tell he had a rotten case of food poisoning.

Mark IS better. 24 hour virus seems to truly mean 24 hours, and he's back to work as usual today.

I'm learning to count my blessings - a working washer and dryer, a good, sound roof over my head, the fact that we can afford every cleanser with bleach I could want. I can't imagine people who live without washers and dryers and having to trek vomit loads of laundry to the laundromat. So much we take for granted.

It might be Monday, but I'm grateful that we got through the weekend with the end result being as good as it could possibly be. I'm wiped out, physically and emotionally, but I don't have to go anywhere today, my home is warm, my children are content, and I'm going to make a huge pot of tortellini soup and homemade foccacia for dinner. Might even get a picture or two!

What A Night....

I'll spare you the pictures - not that I actually took any - but if I did, you wouldn't have wanted to see them anyway. Jonathan. Up all night. Puking. Twice I had to scrub the carpet with Resolve. Three times I had to change sheets completely, even the mattress cover. Three times I had to change pajamas. His, not mine. My question is NOW WHAT? What does he have NOW? I swear I am so tired of this. Tired of sick kids, cold weather, no sleep, dirty laundry by the PILE today. As if Jonathan's issues weren't enough, the dog threw up on the couch last night. I do have the foresight to actually have slipcovers on my furniture, so that all has to be washed, too. I was wondering what I was going to do if Jonathan threw up in his bed one more time - I was running out of sheets and I was on my last twin-sized mattress cover.
If anyone wants to know where I am today, try the laundry room.

The World We Live In

School bus accidents, gunmen in colleges, gunmen in retail clothing stores, bridges collapsing, untreatable and fatal staph infections - is there any good news out there today? It's sad that this is the world we live in - this is the world in which we're raising our children.
I used to think my generation - Generation X they called us - was so fortunate. We lived in a prosperous time, we had all this new technology and we knew how to use it and use it to our advantage. They keep telling us that social security will dry up with the baby boomers, and we are the first generation that will never be more well-off than our parents, but I still thought we were doing pretty well. After all, our parents, just a generation away witnessed some tough times - World War II for instance - where supplies were rationed, things we take for granted - meats, sugar, coffee - could only be acquired a little at a time. Now our meats are contaminated. We know of war. We know war with weapons only dreamed about 50 years ago. We fight wars where the "enemy" doesn't even really pose a threat to our everyday life.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is why does it feel like we are on a one way ride right into a brick wall? It seems like the bad news comes so fast and furious, and it's accelerating and I really don't see an end to it. Are we going to get to the point where we are afraid to leave our homes, to put our children on the school bus, to go to the market.....in the richest and most prosperous nation on earth? It's sad. I don't want to feel like this. I love this country, I love the people in it and I love the freedom we have - I don't want to feel this way!

Haircuts and Matchbox

President's Day - just another day? No way. Not when hubby works for the government. President's Day becomes part of a glorious 3 day weekend - couldn't have come at a better time. I was starting to drag, starting to get the blues, nursing a really, really bad case of cabin fever. But this weekend, we got OUT. We did stuff. Saturday, we went to Johnstown, PA for a little shopping, and a trip to the Johnstown Brewing Company - a family owned and run brew pub. Mark and I have sampled brew pubs all over the country - we can't resist a good homemade beer. True, this little adventure also landed us in the Johnstown Emergency Room for an hour or so, a little "mishap" in Home Depot, but let's just say all is fine now and we won't be doing THAT again!
On Sunday after church, we headed up to the Penn Alps for brunch. Penn Alps is tradition around here - yummy, yummy, home cooked meals - the likes of the best fried chicken you have ever tasted, real mashed potatoes and gravy and pot roast to die for. Homemade soups, rolls, desserts - you could eat a week's worth of food in one sitting. And it's a nice drive in the mountains. And the kids behaved pretty well....REALLY!
And yesterday? Errands. Haircuts for Mark and Matthew. Then lunch - pizza at Jerry's Subs and Pizza. Then to Walmart. And here's where Matchbox comes in. The boys got some Valentine's from Mark's mom and dad, with a little spending cash, so I told Jonathan to pick something out for himself and for Matthew. Well, 10 new Matchbox cars have entered my house - Jonathan got the European sports car series, and Matthew got the National Parks Rescue pack - four of which are on the table in front of him in the photo. I think that brings the grand total of toy cars in my house to 1,639,242. Plus or minus a few.
And it's cold again. After some warm(er) weather this weekend, we're back to blustery, cold and snowy. For the whole week. I'm bummed, but I can deal. I have very high expectations for March - even though it can be notoriously crappy weather-wise, too. Hurry up Spring, I'm dying here!

Children and Furniture

We all know about the spills, the stains, the rips in the upholstery, the occassional "accident". Furniture in a house with little ones does take a beating for sure. But I think my experience this past Thursday is about as bad as it gets.
First, a little descriptive information: I have my laptop in the kitchen on a countertop/desk, and we have a 24 inch wooden barstool that we sit on. The barstool is one of a pair we had when we moved from our townhouse that had a breakfast bar. Anyway. It's wooden, and the back has wooden rungs. When I'm not using the computer, you can usually find Jonathan on it. He likes to play noggin.com, or sometimes fool around with Paint or Word, or sometimes he likes to "check" (more like destroy) Mommy's email. So the other day, he's playing on the computer and I'm cooking dinner, and all the sudden, he starts to whimper a bit. At first I ignored it - I was actually on the phone at the time, but it started to escalate and when I finally did look over at him, I see that he had somehow pushed his leg through one set of rungs all the way up to his thigh, and he couldn't get it out.
Well, niether could I. I tried everything - different angles, different heights. I tried to bend his leg through, I tried to straighten it - nothing worked. I figured I had three options left - get out the Crisco (yuck), call the fire department, or get out the saw. And by this time, about 10 minutes later, Jonathan was pretty worked up. And he was starting to complain that his leg was really hurting him.
So I reached for the saw. Sawed through one of the rungs well above his leg and we managed to squeeze it to the side just enough to get the leg out. No harm done. Except to my chair. Which is fine - like I said, we have it's twin somewhere downstairs, and truthfully, those stools were never all that comfortable anyway. But it's a lesson learned if nothing else - don't invest in the good stuff until your kids are at LEAST old enough to not pull that kind of stuff. And even then, I'm still not sure it's worth it!
But in the end, it's just furniture, it can be replaced. Unlike some other precious things! :-)

Valentine's Day Wrap-Up

Valentine's Day Rice Krispie Treats - I thought I'd make something for the holiday, but didn't have time for anything too elaborate. Rice Krispie treats are always quick and easy, and I THOUGHT the kids would like them. Why are they that ghastly shade of pink? Let me explain. First I thought I'd cut out the treats with a heart-shaped cookie cutter and then decorate with red icing drizzles. Then I realized I didn't possess a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Which really threw me off, because I thought for sure I did, but maybe it was my mom's I was thinking about. Scrap Idea #1. Then I thought that I would use a heart-shaped pan and just make one big treat. Dumb. Hard to eat and once you cut it up, it was no longer a heart. Scrap Idea #2. Just when I'm thinking that I was overthinking the Valentine's dessert, I saw a year old jar of Valentine's Day sprinkles that I had bought LAST year to put on Jonathan's ice cream as he just adores sprinkles on his ice cream. But for some strange reason, he didn't like the looks of these, so there they sat in the cabinet. I thought - Brilliant. I'll add them to the Rice Krispies and they'll be scattered like confetti throughout the treats. What I didn't count on was that the instant they hit the melted marshmallow, they too....melted. So, ghastly pink it was. And then to top it all off, Jonathan refused to eat them at all - get this - because it would makes his "hands sticky." I didn't even try to argue with this one. Fine. Be that way. In addition, he wouldn't even eat the candy hearts that I scattered on them and on the plate - they were "too hard".

Ahem - maybe next year I'll be able to accomodate his "needs" a little more proficiently? Kid makes me crazy. And Matthew? No problem there - that little guy doesn't mind his hands being sticky!

Oh, and stay tuned for my next blog entry - "Children Damage Furniture in the Strangest Ways". Doesn't that just grab your attention and your curiosity?

60 Things

I saw this on someone else's blog, and decided to share. Go ahead and copy/paste if you want - I'd enjoy reading it on yours, too!

60 Things You Possibly Didn't Know About Me

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now? A stroller, a bag of plastic bags that needs to be recycled at the grocery store, some crayons, a few books, lots of crumbs, a few cheerios, a few goldfish, a few M+M's, and if I looked hard enough, probably a rock-hard french fry or two.

2. When was the last time you threw up? You've got to be kidding.

3. What's your favorite curse word? My Sicilian grandmother used to teach me a few. I won't share - in case one day you're listening....

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today? My husband, Jonathan and Matthew

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Listening to one of Jonathan's monologues about highway exit numbers while pulling an incredibly cute and warm 19 month old in fuzzy, footed pajamas out of his crib.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Reading blogs with my first cup of coffee, enjoying the silence of sleeping children!

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now? Probably the grocery store and take the kiddos out to lunch - we need to get OUT!

8. Have you ever been to a strip club? Not to my knowledge!

9. What is the last thing you said aloud? Wait your turn. (Jonathan wanted to get on the computer and play Noggin.com)

10. What is the best ice cream flavor? Ben + Jerry's Caramel Sutra

11. What was the last thing you had to drink? C-C-C-Coffeeeeeeeeee

12. What are you wearing right now? Pajamas, robe and slippers - it's COLD this morning!

13. What was the last thing you ate? An orange - last night when we were watching a movie before going to bed. I'll be getting breakfast soon!

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? Sadly, no.

15. When was the last time you ran? Last night, playing tag after dinner.

16. What's the last sporting event you watched? In entirety? The Super Bowl.

17. Do you have a birthmark? No

18. Who is the last person you emailed? My friends

19. Ever go camping? Yes - that's another whole months worth of blogs!

20. Do you have a tan? Reminds me, must buy another bottle....works GREAT by the way!

21. Farthest place you've been? From home? Alaska, I guess.

22. Dream/Favorite Car? I always wanted a Jeep Wrangler - but settled for a Cherokee out of college. And now the Wrangler is impractical for "families". Maybe I'll plant the seed in Jonathan's or Matthew's head and when they get one, I can drive it!

23. Morning or Night? Night, definitely. Kids in bed, house is quiet. Project time. TV time. Snuggle time. Crack open a few beers, enjoy the quiet, reminds us of our early marriage days!

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw? Only if it comes in a cup with a lid...duh

25. What did your last IM say? I honestly don't remember

26. Are you someone's best friend? I think so!

27. What are you doing tomorrow? Geez, let me get through today first - here's what I'd like to NOT do tomorrow: clean up poop, vomit, snot or blood from any surface in my home.

28. Where is your mom right now? Probably still in bed.

29. Look to your left, what do you see? A dishwasher and toaster oven, kitchen cabinets and dirty dishes by the sink. Sigh.

30. What color is your watch? Ummm, which one? My everyday is a silver Fossil with a blue face

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia? Outback Steakhouse - how bad is that?

32. Would you consider plastic surgery? Consider it? I've already had some!

33. What is your birthstone? Aquamarine

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive-thru? Lately it's been the drive-thru, but we've been known to go in from time to time!

35. How many kids do you want? OOOHHHH, sticky subject!

36. Do you have a dog? Regretfully, at times, YES.

37. Last person you talked to on the phone? Mark - on his way home last night.

38. Have you met anyone famous? Met? Does having breakfast two tables away from William H. Macy count?

39. Any plans today? Ummm, let's see. Grocery store, liquor store. Make lasagna for special Valentine's Day dinner. Make some sort of Valentine's Day treats for the boys. And 8pm, Survivor is on - no repeat episodes there!

40. How many states have you lived in? Just Maryland - different PLACES in Maryland, but just one state.

41. Ever go to college? Bachelor's Degree. Really helps with making beds and doing laundry.

42. Where are you right now? At home, at my computer counter in the kitchen.

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now? Crappin' snow and ice.

44. Last song listened to? The soundtrack on someone's blog.

45. Favorite TV show? Changes often. Right now I'm really loving House - I think the writing is just downright clever, and the characters are intriguing. Very different.

46. Are you allergic to anything? Cats and dust.

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? My Columbia day hikers - so comfy - if they're good enough for hiking, they're good enough to wear all day through the house and about town!

48. Are you jealous of anyone? Besides the independently wealthy? Nah.

49. Is anyone jealous of you? If they are, they should be committed.

50. How many pillows are on your bed? Four - two for me, two for the dog, none for Mark! Just kidding!

51. What time is it? Almost 9. AM.

52. Do any of your friends have children? Most - but not all.

53. Do you eat healthy? We eat home at least 18 meals a week - how do I know this? We limit going out to eat to 3 times a week or less. And we never, never, never eat out of boxes. Except for cereal. So this translates to: yes, we eat disgustingly healthy. Except for when I make gooey desserts.

54. What do you usually do during the day? If you're a mom, you already know this. If you're not, you don't want to know.

55. Do you hate anyone right now? Do Presidential candidates count?

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily? Yup, and I'm not sure how this can possibly be construed as an interesting question.

57. What do you want to do with your life? Raise my children healthily (is that a word?) and successfully to adulthood, enjoy each day to the fullest, see as much of the world as we can afford and make a positive difference in the world.

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 38

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags? Yes - the one outside of DC. Not great.

60. How did you get one of your scars? I tore my face up after falling off the side of a rock wall I was climbing when I was 9. Not my best moment, but I was lucky to walk away with only a faceful of stitches.

Stop It, Blanket!

The newest thing in our household? Jonathan has now taken up the habit of fussing at inanimate objects in the hopes, I suppose, that they will actually listen to him and do as he says. For example, this morning, as he was eating his breakfast at the table, his slippers fell off his feet. All the sudden, I hear him saying "Slippers, get back on my feet!" Nice try Jonathan. If that actually worked, can you imagine what Moms all over the world would be saying? "Bed, make thyself!" It's a nice thought, though! The crowning glory was the other day - we awoke to Jonathan, in his bedroom, screaming. At his blanket. Because it was falling off his bed. Oh, to be 3 again!
But in a way, I guess having him fuss at objects is a lot better than him fussing at...people. Yes, we've done that, too. Just the other day we were in Walmart. I was trying to edge my cart around someone else's cart in a pretty tight aisle. It was crowded, the lady didn't see us, and at the last minute, she moved her car and banged right into ours. She apologized, I said excuse me, all was fine, until Jonathan pointed his finger at her and says "Don't do that again with your cart!" Nice, Jonathan, real nice. Then there was the guy in the elevator at the hotel when we were in San Diego. The nerve of him to press the button for the 10th floor when we were only going to the 5th floor. Jonathan let him have it too - "Don't you press 10, you press 5!" All with the appropriate finger pointing and body stance and elevated voice. Luckily, the guy thought he was a hoot, but Mark and I were torn between being horrified and collapsing into hysterics. Luckily, propriety won out and we corrected Jonathan a bit, but I'm still not sure he has all of his manners straightened out. Day by day, right?

But Why?

To quote Jonathan, the phrase of the day is: "But Why?"

Okay, no buts, just questions. Here's a few:

WHY are there so many germs floating around in the winter? I barely get one kid/husband/myself well from one germ-induced thing, and another pops up. I swear it has been this way since we got back from San Diego after Thanksgiving.

WHY is the wind blowing so darn hard today? We had just settled in for a long movie - The Maltese Falcon was on cable - 1941! We had absolutely nothing better to do, and about 23 minutes into it, POOF goes the cable. There it was, my one chance of watching a vintage flick this year.

WHY does winter seem so long? All the other seasons seem to just fly right on by. We are trudging through winter at the pace of a paralyzed snail. It's old. C'MON SPRING?

WHY is my oldest child so intolerant of my youngest child today? Usually, he doesn't want him touching or moving his stuff. Today, he doesn't even want him in the same room! What's up with that?

WHY did neither of my children touch the dinner I slaved over last night? While I'm on the topic, WHY don't my children eat hardly anything I put in front of them?

WHY does Matthew poop 3 and 4 times a day, big, messy, stinky poops? Are you allergic to something buddy? Or is it the fact that everything you see, including the dogs' toys get put into your mouth?

WHY am I so unmotivated this weekend? I had Mark home with Strep since Friday, and I could've gotten SO MUCH accomplished. What have I done? Put a few meals on the table, picked up a few rooms, done a few loads of laundry and that's about it. All my projects, all my ideas --- somehow this weekend, they all went kaput. Got nothing done. Am majorly unhappy with myself over that.

WHY don't people put their carts in the cart corral? I do this all the time. With two kids, in 40 mph gale force winds and driving rain, and even when I'm in a breakneck rush, I STILL put my cart back. The other day I came out of Walmart to see a stray cart had caused a nice-sized dent and chipped paint on my car. Great. That'll cost us $300. Do the world a favor - PUT YOUR CART BACK!

WHY, and since when does blogging turn into a royal vent session? Oh well - 100+ posts so I guess I'm entitled to a vent post every once in awhile. If you're reading this Monday morning, I wish you a great week! I'll feel better next week, promise!

Happy Birthday, Mark!

There they are - my three boys. Doing what they do best! Today is actually Mark's birthday, but we celebrated last night because today's Ash Wednesday - and birthday cake on Ash Wednesday just didn't seem right! Mark didn't mind celebrating a day early - and the boys, apparently, are up for a party anytime!

We've been busy here the last few days - the weather's been nice and warm, although rainy. I took the boys out yesterday to get some last minute stuff - birthday candles, etc..., and when we were done in Walmart, we went to go outside to the car and it was pouring a deluge. And I was not parked close. So what to do? No umbrella, cart full of groceries, 19 month old and almost-4 year old? What COULD we do? Put up hoods and run. Yeah, we got wet!

Super Bowl was fun to watch! Nachos turned out great - even had enough stuff leftover for dinner the next night - SCORE!

This morning, I was reading a book with Jonathan - it's called the Icky Bug Counting Book. Nice name, huh? It actually belonged to Mark's niece, Chloe when she was little, and Mark tells me he remembers taking her on Icky Bug Walks - going in search of, well, icky bugs. Jonathan adores this book. Twenty-six different icky bugs in all, with a brief description and then you get to count the bugs on each page. By the time you get to the 26th bug and start counting for the 26th time, your skin is crawling. At least mine is! But he loves it, and it's been his favorite lately - and now he is really looking forward to Spring so we can get out there and find some icky bugs of our own. Great.

I just can't believe how big Jonathan is getting and how much he knows and how much he learns. Yesterday I asked him if he wanted to put the candles on Daddy's cake. Of course he was thrilled and I expected candles to be upside-down in the cake and shoved all the way in to the wick, etc.... But I figured I could fix it later - so I gave him some candles and let him go. He did a wonderful job - I couldn't believe it! Here's a pic:

After he was done putting all the candles on, he turned around and said "light the cake on fire, Mommy!" Ha! And for those of you who think my cake is ugly and plain, well, it is ugly. It sort of stuck in the pan a bit and I had to kind of patch it together a little. But plain? Well, maybe a little, but it's what Mark ordered - pound cake. He loves it. And it is fantastic - doesn't need a thing - icing, glaze, fruit topping - none of that would do anything at all for this cake, it is best eaten plain. Doesn't make for a very nice birthday cake presentation, but oh my, it is good! Any by the way, Jonathan straightened up that green candle and had them all perfect by the time he was done!

Did you ever wonder if you were doing enough for your kids? Teaching them enough? Involving them in enough life experiences? Taking them enough places, exposing them to enough new things? Sometimes I get these spasms of anxiety and I want to hop on the computer and go to an online bookstore and max out my credit card ordering every educational children's book there is. Or hop in the car and drive to every zoo, library, park, playground, swimming pool, children's theater and amusement park within a day's drive to make sure that not one thing is missed. I think of the possibility of sending Jonathan off to pre-school this Fall and wonder how I'm going to fit everything I want to do with him into the next 7 months. It's so scary - I've been waiting for this day - to see him more independent, to see him grow up, to see him dress himself and do things for himself, to see him help with housework....and it's happened, right before my eyes, and now it's like I'm on a giant slide and it's all going just way too fast. Whew - a wild ride, this parenting thing. I'm not ready to let my little boy face the world by himself - without me getting to see him every minute. How do I let him go and not be able to watch him learn new things? To not be able to see his little face light up at something new, something interesting, something he loves? To not know what he did for every second of every day? I hope the next 7 months cures me of this - I'm going to be the one sobbing on the schoolyard - not Jonathan!

The Big Game

Super Bowl Sunday - brings to mind ice cold beer, nachos, big-screen tvs.....funny commercials. And it's far enough away from the regular season football for us to get over the fact that neither the Redskins nor the Ravens made it in this year....ahem.....so we'll have no trouble sitting down and watching this evening. Who are we voting for? Who knows? I guess in a way, it'd be nice to see New England take it all - after all, I guess they deserve it in a way. But another part of me wants to see them go down! But at this point, we're just hoping for a good game - blowouts are no fun!

So what's on the menu? Nachos, of course. I use ground turkey and taco seasoning for the base, then add a can of black beans on top of tortilla chips. Toss a huge mess of shredded Mexican cheese, then bake the whole thing for about 25 minutes. Serve with salsa and sour cream with a couple of cold beers on the side...yummm. And if we can somehow get the kids in bed before we start to indulge, it would be just like old times! We'll have to see about that!

Off to the market for nacho ingredients! See you at kickoff!

A Yard Full of Wildlife

So here's what goes down in our yard, pretty much on a daily basis. Above shows our picnic table out on our patio. Last weekend, a Cooper's Hawk decided to make a meal out of House Finch - right on the table. I realize it's not very easy to see. So take a look at the next one - a view from our kitchen window...

This illustrious group is a subset of the 20 or more white-tailed deer that hang out in or near our yard on a daily basis. When we first moved here, it was a dozen or so. They have babies every Spring - last year Mark was mowing the lawn and there was a tiny newborn, very close to the edge of the trees on our property. They're really cute, but they grow, and then become parents themselves! So now the "herd" as we call it is over 20 females and young males, and on occasion, we see the big guys - a 6 point buck and 8 point buck. And until the state allows hunting on private properties in residential areas, they're just going to get more prolific.

Oh, and one more thing - off to the right of the photo - that's our shed. We keep our lawn mower, bikes, pool equipment, snow blower, etc... It has become home to a couple of red squirrels. Beasts, they are. Every surface, every container, every corner and pretty much anything that hasn't been moved in a year is either full of, or covered with squirrel evidence. Hickory nuts, leaves, pinecones, you name it. This spring, there's going to be an eviction. No advance notice, no court date. Mark and I are declaring war on the little rodents, and we won't stop until we're victorious. And then we're putting on new doors - so next time it won't be so easy for them to chew their way in.

And that, folks, is life in our yard, everyday. I could mention that constant parade of regular gray squirrels, and the chipmunks that eat vegetables out of our garden in summer. The screech owls that had babies two summers ago. And how about the bear that left his evidence half an acre from our front door in our front yard? We didn't see him. Believe me, I'd have a picture posted if we did. But we take a look around before we go outside in the summertime. And that's one yard beast I hope I never see.

What's Cooking This Morning?

You wake up in the morning, and your kid (the one that boycotts food on a daily basis) asks for waffles, quick, what do you do? Make them, of course. Oh, you didn't know we aren't the Eggo sort of people? No, waffles are homemade around here - and only in the Grinch waffle maker. I have a Belgian waffle maker....somewhere. But it seems like everyone, big kids included, prefer the Grinch waffles! Thanks to my good friend, Judi who moved this past summer, while packing up her kitchen came up with a bunch of stuff she didn't want or need anymore and I got all kinds of great stuff - including this well, hideous appliance that actually makes really good waffles.
And, absolutely the best waffle recipe ever comes from "My Favorite Maryland Recipes" by Helen Avalynne Tawes - wife of a former governor. Here 'tis:
1 1/2 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 heaping TB sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 C. milk
4 TB melted butter, cooled
3 tsp. baking powder

Combine all dry ingredients except baking powder. Lightly beat egg, add the tsp. vanilla to the milk and pour in all at once. Add the melted butter, making sure that it is cool before you add it. Combine with a whisk until smooth, but don't overbeat. Just before cooking, fold in the baking powder. Best to make them all up immediately and freeze or refrigerate the leftovers as waffles rather than batter - works better. Makes 4-5 good sized waffles. Enjoy!

Tiramisu, Anyone?

Tiramisu - I'd been wanting to try to make it for years now. Off and on, I searched for a recipe that didn't actually use raw eggs (yuck), off and on I looked in gourmet groceries for marscapone cheese, and on and off I mused that if one were to make really good tiramisu, one actually needs an espresso machine. Which, until this past Christmas, I didn't have. So amazingly enough, a few weeks ago, the stars aligned: I had a recipe that actually cooked the eggs on the stovetop as you made the custard, I found the cheese at Walmart of all places and I had my espresso machine. Now all I needed was a block of time. That came yesterday. The above photo shows the result, of basically an hour and a half in the kitchen and the biggest load of dirty dishes and utensils EVER. And how did it taste? Did you ever have the tiramisu at the Cheesecake Factory? How about at Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill? It was FAB. It truly rivaled pretty much every commercial tiramisu a pastry chef can put out there - and why not? Same ingredients, simple ingredients, actually, and although a bit labor and time intensive, each individual step could've been done by a 3rd grader.

But here's the rub: now that I know how it's made and what is actually IN tiramisu, I can't stand to eat it. And that, friends, is BAD. I've always had hang-ups about custards and puddings - I'm kind of a texture person and I've never been a fan of milk or custards, so things like flan, pudding, Boston creme pies, eclairs, even bread pudding and rice pudding never make it into my mouth. It's just a weirdness I have - I've only actually been able to tolerate even whipped cream for a few years now. So as I lifted a few spoonfuls of this tiramisu - made in my own kitchen - to my mouth, all I could picture was those raw egg yolks, that did, admittedly, get boiled on the stove with milk and sugar, but still - how gross was it to see that? And the really bad part? I'm not sure I'm ever going to be able to eat it out again, either. I think I need therapy - or at least some sort of behavioral re-conditioning - I mean, is that crazy or what? I can't explain it - wish I could - all I can say is now I know where Jonathan gets his over-active gag reflex. Good old Mom.

Sorry, Mark - guess you'll have to eat the whole thing yourself!

About the Dog

I can't believe I've been blogging for almost a year, and with the exception of a passing sentence or two, I've never really blogged about the Dog. Meet Bella. Bella is now almost 5 years old - we got her when we still lived in the townhouse in Annapolis. She was our "townhouse" dog - cute, little, easy to care for. Now that we live on 3 acres, she rules the roost, or at least she thinks she does. She's been known to run off wildlife, but with the big property, she doesn't know the boundaries, and we're often running around trying to find her - mostly on the road or in the yards of our neighbors.

Bella is a Shih-Bich (pronounced She-Bee). Her father was a Shih-Tzu, her mother was a Bichon Frise. She's highly playful and acrobatic from the Bichon side, but also a bit tempermental at times - a gift I suppose from the Shih-Tzu side. This side rarely shows - only when one of the boys is up in her "stuff", but for the most part, she's really good natured and loves to play, especially the "puppy game", where she, Mark and the boys run as hard as they can around the house rough-housing and chasing toys and in general, being very wild and giggling like crazy (the boys, not the dog!).

She's a great watchdog - although she tends to bark at squirrels, swirling leaves and even sometimes if the sun comes out and shines on the carpet she'll have a fit and bark at that, mostly when the kids are napping. She also tends to be very territorial and has been known to bite more than a few delivery people, meter readers and the guy who fills the oil tank. Luckily, though, she's so small, most of these guys just laugh at her - good thing, because they'd have a good lawsuit if they wanted one.

Anyway, Bella's a true joy - she's pretty spoiled and sleeps on our bed at night, but I guess we owe her that much for helping to keep the kitchen floor clean! At any given time, you'll find her under Matthew's high chair - and can you blame her? All kinds of yummy morsels kind of rain down from above - if I were a dog, that's where I'd be!

I know in the description of my blog I call her a "gross little dog", and there's good reason for that - she does have some very disgusting habits! I won't bother describing them to spare you the graphic, just trust me. But we wouldn't trade her in for the world. As dogs go, she's the best.

Getting to Know You....

Jonathan, Jonathan, my firstborn, our crazy little guy who came into our lives almost 4 years ago and turned our world upside-down. I'll guess, because I'm not sure, but I'm thinking that as your kids grow out of their toddler years and into pre-school and up, life just takes on a whole new meaning. I mean, this is no longer a little crying blob that needs to be fed, needs to be changed, needs to be picked up....no, this is a human being, with thoughts, feelings, sensitivities, and opinions, by golly, opinions. In one way, it's delightful. This little tiny kid you're raising is growing up, seeing the world through his own eyes. I compare him to his little brother who just barges around with toys in his hands, stopping to inspect something else, smiling at Mommy and Daddy just because we happen to enter his line of vision. Gone are those days with Jonathan. He THINKS! But in other ways, it's staggeringly frustrating. Like the other day, I drove home from our extended visit to Grandma and Poppy's house. Me, the dog, both boys for 2 hours. Jonathan commenting the entire way - telling me to stop at red lights, go at green lights, stop for drinks, stop for potty, look at the dump truck, count the school busses, where's a police car, what road name is that, is that a fire engine, when are we going to get home and see Daddy, and the ubiquitous "are we almost there?" This kid is 3. Okay, almost 4. But I thought I had a few more years before all this started! And the crowning glory - I approached an intersection, the light turned yellow, and I sped up to get through. A little voice from the backseat: "Mommy, most cars slow down at yellow lights." Ahem.....well, kiddo, Mommy is NOT most cars. Not when I'm driving alone with you guys!
I guess in a way, it's a little strange because here it is - your little kid - one you've made and raised and fed and dressed and basically haven't left for more than a few hours with anyone but family members, and all the sudden, this kid has a different opinion than me! Ummm - how did that happen?
To leave with a funny story - talk about a different opinion -- he's been running a fever for a few days, and we just finished up one antibiotic, so off to the doctor we're going this afternoon. But I've been going through every thermometer in the house trying to find one that will give me an accurate reading, and last night, out of desperation, I took his temperature rectally. I thought he'd have a fit, but he was good and all was okay. This morning, though, his fever was raging again, and I told him that I needed to take his temperature under his tongue. He says to me "No Mommy, I don't like it in my mouth!" So I tell him that if I can't take it in his mouth, I'll have to put the thermometer in his backside again. And he says "OK - I don't want the one that goes in my mouth, you can put the one in my heiney". I kid you not. This kid is nuts. But we love him to death! Hope you feel better soon, buddy.

Help!

Dying here, under the black cloud of kids who are sick, sick, sick. Tummy aches, puking, fevers, earaches, headaches, "mommy there's sand in my eye!", (umm, gee, could you now have pinkeye?) did I mention diarrhea? The last few weeks have been just terrible. The visit to my mom's was no reprieve - I had both of them at the outpatient clinic and both are on antibiotics, and both seem to need something stronger. Nothing like Monday morning at the pediatrician. I just hope now Mark and I don't come down with something...I'm not sure what we'd do!

Still Here!

Lest you think the aftermath of the previous post did us all in, nope, we're still here. We're just at Grandma's for the moment. I came down with the kids earlier in the week, and Mark is here for the long weekend....just getting some errands done, getting some Grandma and Poppy time for the boys, and doing some visiting.
Unfortunately, Matthew still has a little diarrhea, and now Jonathan has an ear infection - we had to take him to the outpatient yesterday. But other than that, we're good - more later!

Ohhhhh, The Stench

If I could make my blog background brown for the day, I would. I mean, I guess I could, but it's not worth it. Let's talk poop. Yesterday, we all went to Morgantown. Yeah, that's Morgantown West Virginia. Close to our home, great shopping, neat restaurants. We wanted to get on the road for the day, maybe find some after-Christmas sales.
After shopping, we hit Cheddars for a late lunch. All was fine until we went to leave, and I smelled....well, Matthew. I grabbed a diaper and the wipes and headed into the ladies room, leaving Mark with Jonathan, the lunch bill and all our jackets and sippy cups and various paraphanalia. Get in the bathroom - it's a blowout. ALL OVER the inside of his cute little overalls. And what Non-Mother of the Year doesn't have extra clothing today? Yup, that would've been ME. So, after a massive clean-up effort (involving one very kind stranger who took pity on me) we carried our child outside in 30-some rainy degrees with no pants, and put him in the car seat and covered him with a coat. No harm done. Cranked the heat, headed toward home and he fell asleep within minutes. And that's when the REAL fun began.
Jonathan had been napping a little - and when he woke up, he was wiggling and told us he had to GO. Well, we're doing 70 in a 70 with no exit in sight, so Mark grabs the coffee cup from this morning and leans back over the back of the seat and holds it for Jonathan. Pants come down, no pee coming out. Mark's like - "Um, Jonathan, are you going to go or not?" Well, hmmmm, actually he WAS going, just not pee! And trust me on this one, this was one FOUL poop. Not solid. At all. The smell was killer. And it was everywhere. Jonathan's hands. Jonathan's legs. The back of the seat, the floormat, the carseat, his underwear and pants, his shoes (after he'd stepped in it), his shirt wear he smeared his hands. I need not go on - you get the point. He's screaming. Matthew (now awake) is screaming. I'm not sure what my children ate, but something definitely did NOT agree with them.
I'll make a dreadful story not so dreadful - children got home and got right into a nice warm bath. I threw in a huge load of laundry. I scrubbed out the car to within an inch. And I love Febreeze. That stuff rocks.
Life with kids, I guess. It could've been worse, although I'm not sure how. Mark and I are able to chuckle over it, and it was less than 24 hours ago, so maybe we're getting used to this parenting gig. Finally. Only took us 4 years.
Anyway, just had to share that moment. Sorry I don't have any pictures!! ;-)

Day 3, Still Going Strong

Yeah, this list stuff is definitely working. I've been trying to figure out why, and I think I've got it. Ordinarily, I'd wake up in the morning and kind of have a loose idea of what I wanted to accomplish that day. I'd wake up and say, okay, gotta clean the bathroom. Well, the day would progress, and I'd think, hmmmmm, should be getting to that bathroom. Better go get the mop and bucket. And then one of the kids needs something, and I'd forget, and three hours later, I think - well, should go start the bathroom, right after I get Matthew down for his nap.....and then Matthew never takes a nap, so it gets pushed back more. By the end of the day, I've either resigned myself to doing it the next day, or just slopping through a quick wipedown of the vanity and toilet, and not bothering to mop, or even to switch out some of the towels.

But now. NOW it's different. Because if it makes it to the "list", it must be done. Some things I won't put on the list - things I know I probably won't have time for. But other things, even obscure things, get put on, and I'll feel guilty if I don't get to them, and I just love that satisfaction of scratching something off! Yesterday, I actually organized my sock drawer and my jewelry box. Both were in shambles. Both things I wouldn't have dreamed of doing on a whim, or would've never even thought of if I'd suddenly found myself with a spare half hour. And today, one of my items was to write at least one thank-you note for Christmas gifts, and I actually managed to write four! Off to mop that bathroom, and just for fun, the kitchen, too!

Day 1, Resolution Still Intact

Hmmmmm - maybe this New Year's Resolution stuff might work after all. Today, I got up, made a list of things I'd like to accomplish by bedtime. As I look over that list right now, happily, I see that every single one of them has been scratched off, and I could've even added more and scratched them off, too, just to make myself feel even more satisfied.
It wasn't a very ambitious list - nothing like say, what Martha Stewart's daily list might look like (build a compost site, paint the living room, prepare for 20-person dinner party), no, rather, it was simple - two loads of laundry, washed, dried AND folded and put away, schedule a repair date for my flute (LOTS of phone calls!), cut up the pineapple I bought over the weekend, read a weekly publication that I always fall behind on, schedule Matthew's 18 month well-baby visit, etc... not to mention the usual stuff - phone call to mom, cook, serve and clean up 3 meals, and a run to Walmart and Staples, AND, I'm happy to say, that my day also included over an hour of reading time with Jonathan (Matthew, thanks buddy for that 3 hour nap you had today!) and we even watched a show together and talked about it while we were watching. So all in all - a great day. And not what I expected, because today, of all days, was a very long day for me since Mark was gone from 7:30-5:30, then home for dinner and gone again from 6:45 to 8:45. So Day One of resolution worked out well - we're going for Day Two tomorrow. I think I better start making that list now....

Blog? What Blog?

OH! THAT blog. Yeah. Ahem. Sorry about that. And Happy New Year!

A few pics of Christmas Morning....

Matthew got tons of cars - and Take-Along Thomas...

And Jonathan got some more trains with a coal loader, and the Plan Toys garage, peeking out from behind the tree....I think our house could now qualify as an official Thomas Tank supply warehouse. But anyway.

A bit busy? You could say that. For once, we were all healthy for Christmas. For once, everyone was off work. And the weather wasn't frightful. Makes for a very nice Christmas, a very nice visit to Grandma and Poppy's house, and a nice relaxing holiday. Hard to believe after all the planning and preparation, cooking, baking, wrapping, practicing music, etc..., it's all over and the world grinds back to movement tomorrow. It makes me sad - I hate to see the holidays come to an end. But we must now hunker down and face winter - those long, cold, dark days that lay between us and Spring.

New Year's Resolutions? Well, nothing really serious or specific. Just an idea I've been kicking around for a month or two. Better efficiency. More attention to the kids. More specific attention, not only to their basic needs, but to their wants as well. Less TV. Less worrying that the house is going to collapse into a heap of squalor if I don't wash that last dish or dust every week. And at least one night a week, Mark and I shut off the television, and do a project, whether it be working on something in the house that needs to be done, planning our next vacation, or just plain old, hanging out with each other with no distractions. Not sure how this will work out - after all, things do get busy. But we'll try.

One of my Christmas presents? A cappuccino maker! Which works great - but I can't FROTH very well! People say it takes a lot of practice - well, I'm working on it. If anyone has any hints, let me know. At least today, I got some reasonable foam. If I keep improving, I'll have a decent cup of cappuccino sometime in late February....just kidding. Sort of.

Anyway, Happy New Year to all - may 2008 be all you want it to be!