Strawberry Pie Recipe

I got this recipe from the Taste of Home's 2004 Quick Cooking book. There's a picture of the pie right on the cover--yum!

1 unbaked pastry shell (9 in)
3/4 C sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 C water
1 pkg (3 oz) strawberry gelatin
4 C sliced fresh strawberries
fresh mint, optional

Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450* for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes or until slightly cooled. Meanwhile, arrange strawberries in the crust. Pour gelatin mixture over berries. Refrigerate until set. Garnish with mint if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings.


My Grandma's Pie Crust
1 1/2 C flour
1 t. salt
1/2 C shortening (I usually use butter-flavored)
several t. cold, cold water

I mix the flour and salt together then I use my pastry blender to cut in the shortening (before I had one of those, I think I just used a fork). When it gets to a crumbly consistency, then I start adding the water. (I usually fix a cup of ice water and put it to the side while I'm mixing the other ingredients--then it's really, really cold by the time I'm ready to use it. The colder the better, folks.) I have found that it takes me about 10 "big spoons" (yeah, no accurate teaspoon-measuring here!) of cold water to get my dough to the consistency I want. Anyway, after you put in the cold water, mix everything together with your hands. If you're lucky, the dough will come together beautifully. Too doughy? Add more flour. Not doughy enough? Add a bit more water. It may take some time to get it down, but I've surprised myself with how well I can do this. It helped to have a Grandma and Mom that I watched do this for years. Anyway, once you get it, roll away!

But you can always get pre-made crusts, and I won't tell! Those are wonderful things, aren't they?

Also, the recipe calls for you to NOT prick the pie crust, but I've noticed that a couple times I've made this that I did get a bubble in the middle of my crust (which does go down a little once the crust has cooled--but not all the way). I'm wondering if I should try pricking the crust the next time--just once right in the middle????? Or maybe I need to fix the foil over top the pie more securely before I bake it??

Spring Cleaning

I've been spending my days mostly OUTSIDE enjoying picture-perfect weather. It's been heavenly the last few days.

I got all "domestic" and felt the urge to bake--and made two smashingly-good strawberry pies. One for the new neighbor, and one for ME ('cause there is not much sharing when it comes to strawberry pie, folks). Delicious.

When I dropped off my neighborly boon, B invited me in and showed me her house. I had to ask, "Um, HOW LONG have you been living here?" Because despite her "only two month" apologies, the house was quite neat and tidy and PAINTED and not an unpacked box to be seen. Now, we don't have too many boxes in sight, as most have been secreted down to the out-of-sight, out-of-mind basement, but we have nary a picture hanging, have only painted the kids' rooms (and are unhappy with the results of the mysteriously peeling paint in one, and the too, too dark, oppressive colors of the other), and have just a sense of incompleted-ness about our cluttered place.

I decided to get to work (because who knows when B will show up to return my precious pie plate?), so yesterday I tooled around the bedrooms picking up, sweeping, and putting clutter in order as I've never done before. Now when I walk upstairs, I see a clean hallway with a peek into almost-clean kids' rooms ('cause they are never FULLY without cluttered clothes hanging 'round no matter how many times I say, "PLEASE put your clothes in the basket"), and a quite tidy master bedroom (albeit with a still half-toddler bed it in, as the darn thing is being uncooperative about coming apart). I'm feeling quite housewifely and neat now and am afraid of when it'll all come crashing down about my ears again. I cannot control the neatness of my kids and ESPECIALLY not my husband. I'm quite the clutterer myself, and although I do think I've gotten better in the last few years, I know the tendency is quite there and my laziness will ruin my picturesque house in a few days time. MUST CONTROL URGE TO CLUTTER.

And with the lovely spring weather the need for new clothes became urgent. I've gotten too plump in my derriere for comfort and had to face facts and buy new capris and other spring stuffs. I'm not lamenting the weight gain too much. I always get especially thin after having a baby, so it stands to reason that once the nursing is done, and winters go by, I do start to plump back up a bit. So I don't fret the need for new clothes too much, as really it's only a trip back to my "normal" size. So last night I spent some money saved from X-mas and b-day and bought some badly needed clothes. I'm not the most fashionable person, but I do see the need for new duds from time to time, and I'm especially thrilled with the conquest of new jeans for less than $10 a piece!

I must use this new spring energy for good and get outside with my kids and not let the plumpness continue now that the baby-making days are over. So after I finish off this strawberry pie (!), I will continue to make strides to take more walks and continue the healthy eating I do honestly try to pull off year round....

Gone a Courtin'

The weather was still a bit decent yesterday afternoon, so the kids and I went outside as soon as the bus dropped off the older two. I was pushing Izzy around on her trike (she's almost figured out how to pedal), when I saw a sight to behold: another Mom across the street (but two houses down) pushing a kid on a tricycle and holding another on her hip. I was stunned--and nervous. Where did this visage come from? That's when I realized that the house across the street (and two doors down) must have SOLD--and to a YOUNG FAMILY!

It's kind of daunting on our street as every house surrounding us is filled with retirement-aged or middle-aged, childless couples. The only young family within close proximity moved out last summer. It's kind of a bummer for my kids AND me.

But now, a new family! I waved at her, but I wasn't wearing my glasses, so I wasn't sure if she could see me. Then she started walking down the sidewalk. I waved again, but I didn't see any recognition yet. Hmmmm..... But, YES, here she is, walking across the street to meet ME! Yes!

We had a nice chat, and I was all nervous about my appearance and how my older kids wouldn't stop playing long enough to say "Hi" or even LOOK at her and her two darlings. But Izzy, upon being introduced to the neighbor's two-year old, immediately greeted her with big smiles and jumping jacks and sweetly shared the sidewalk chalk.

Awesome.

I knew we would probably be all right when the neighbor proffered her sleeve for the two-year old to wipe her nose on. Not to mention that the little girl and her 11-month old brother were both decked out in TCP clothes.

It may be too soon to tell, but we just might be in love.

Random Thoughts on a Spring Birthday

It's John's birthday. Poor guy.

It's finally turning into Spring out there. Last Friday there was snow on the ground when I woke up Mary for school. She looked out her window and immediately starting bawling. "It's supposed to be Spring!" she whined. Poor girl. But it is warm out there now--I even let the kids play outside this morning. No sign of flower life yet, but I think John may have pulled up all our tulips last fall.... But the birds have come back, and I now need to get Mary and Keith new Spring jackets as their winter coats are way too bulky.

Izzy is making progress staying dry through the night. She had a three-day streak there where she did not wet her pull-up. So when the last one got used up, I bought a shower curtain and put it on her mattress. It's still a work in progress, and I sense much washing of the linens in the next few weeks. After the kids got in from playing outside, and I was trying to rush Keith into his school jeans and shoes, Izzy was in her room crying because I hadn't put her sheets back on her bed after I had to wash them this morning (um...they hadn't been put in the dryer yet). So I pulled the spare set out and made her bed. After Keith got out and on his way to school, I noticed that she hadn't come out of her room yet. She was enjoying playing on her "new" bed. Ten minutes later all is quiet. Sure enough, she had climbed in and was falling asleep. All that exercise and wonderful Spring air must have taken its toll--and for once I didn't have to fight to get her down for her nap!

John decided he wanted to let Keith's hair grow out, since that's the style again. Well, now it's all bushy and unmanageable, and I had to ask John, "Um, what do we do now?" Guess we'll take him to a barber to see what can be made of it. Frankly, I'm all for getting the clippers out again, but John is determined.

We got Mary and Keith signed up for softball and t-ball, respectively. Poor Keith is getting all Mary's hand-me-down gear from last year, but Mary is getting treated to a new glove, new bat, and new cleats. They both seem excited, but all I can think about is how I now have TWO different baseball schedules to attempt to keep up with--when the ONE was a hassle last year! (And what about in two year's time when Izzy is old enough to start! Ai carumba!)

It smells wonderful in the house now as I just baked John a cake for tonight. It'll be a short celebration as I have an important can't-possibly-miss-it G.S. meeting tonight at 7:00. Ah well. Birthdays just aren't so exciting for us old fogeys now, anyway.

Hope you all are enjoying wonderful weather, too!

Persuasion

A five-minute, simple conversation about what to eat for breakfast can apparently persuade me to try something goofy--like buy a waffle maker.

I had my doubts about that particular appliance. I remembered my mom's from when I was a kid and how it seemed so...MESSY...and unsafe!...and quite a bother!

But an idea popped into my head after seeing a marathon of "Jon and Kate + Eight" (it's really like a car wreck, you just HAVE to see it--and then you can't stop watching). Kate was making her eight children homemade waffles--and except for the clamoring children in the background--I realized, "Crap! If SHE can do it! It MUST be easy!"

I didn't act on the impulse right away. I filed it away with "pipe dreams of a stay-at-home mom" and went on making cold cereal and instant oatmeal for my poor children (cold cereal REALLY rocks because two of my three children can make it FOR THEMSELVES and I can stay in bed for perhaps an extra fifteen minutes before worrying about my late-sleeping three-year old).

But then we went home to IN for Baby Fest '08. And while sitting amongst the toy fields and bodies of multiple-aged children milling about--and trying to decide what to eat for breakfast--Dave mentioned that they had a waffle maker. And that waffle makers weren't too difficult to use.

I wonder if he saw the "click" behind my eyes. Wow. Another pleased customer. Make it so!

The very day after we got back from IN, I sent John to the grocery store. He had to call me about one of the items on the list. "Um....does this say 'waffle maker?'" Why yes, dear, it does. I'm game. It's time to try it out.

My first foray into the waffle-making business I admit was a complete flop. I mean, when a waffle maker advertises that it's "non-stick" I'm just gosh-darn gullible enough to BELIEVE it! I ruined three waffles (and completely DASHED my kids hopes of having waffles for breakfast that morning) before I finally got smart and tried cooking spray. Ahhhh....NOW I've got it.

We've had several successful breakfasts (AND dinners) of waffles since then. My kids think of me as some sort of Waffle Goddess now. Cheers abound when I pull the waffle maker out of the pantry.

I was persuaded. And it was good.

It's like you were reading my mind, man!

I was thinking of writing a post about how I met my husband--then thought better of it and scratched that idea. NOW I see everyone else posting about how they've met their friends/significant others. So now I gotta join the band wagon. But I'll shorten the circumstances to protect the innocent....(and you know who YOU ARE).

I met my friend M in elementary school. We were in Girl Scouts together. Then I went to a private school for a couple of years. Then I came back. I became best friends with J, and M was friends with C--but we all were in the same G.S. troop. Sometime during our eighth grade year M and I started hanging out more than J and me--and C started hanging out with J. I called it the "Great Best Friend Swap." We were all much happier after that. AND stayed in Scouts together until we got out of high school. I am still in email contact with C. I don't hear from J anymore. It's harder to stay in touch now with M since she lives in Hawaii--but we try.

I met my friend JJ my freshman year in college--right around the time I turned 19. She and I were kindred spirits from the word "Hi." I think that I am one of the few people who appreciate her sarcasm--except for her husband and MY husband, that is.

Three weeks after I met JJ, I met my future husband. The weird part is that he and JJ were from the same hometown, were only a year apart in the same private high school, and yet they had never met. Anyway, John's roommate and I were in the same English class. He invited me over after our exam. John answered the door. I found out we had the same major--and that was that. Took me just about a week to dump the other guy I was seeing (who lived one floor above John) and "pick up" John. (Told you it'd be the short version!)

My old high school boyfriend was a KNOWN flirt. My bff M had a crush on him and introduced us while he was playing guitar for a school play. It wasn't until two years later that he asked ME out. And as M was quite over him, it never caused a problem between the two of us. We lasted eight months, and it was a mutual breakup. He was a year ahead of me and going off to college. Due to his flirtatious nature, I knew I couldn't trust him, so I set him "free." SO GLAD I did that!

I must mention another boyfriend from high school. My MOTHER set me up with him. She worked at the toy store in the mall, and he was ALWAYS there. He was the town's James Dean look-a-like--but only if he combed his hair a certain way (and scrunched his face a certain way), and he was much too short (shorter than I!).

S is a friend who lived in the apartment across the street from John and me. I kept seeing her walk around with her two kids and thinking, "I really should introduce myself to her," but I was too shy. When I had Keith, John put a big "It's a Boy!" sign on our door. She stopped by and gave me some brownies. She was too shy to approach ME up to then! We've been friends ever since, and she helps me keep my motherly sanity.

L (if you follow my blog at all, you'll know the name) was kind of a fluke. John and I had just moved to a bigger apartment and were looking for childcare for 6 mos-old Mary. We found someone who lived down the road, but we weren't 100% happy with her (big rottweilers and pit bulls in cages in the back yard and just a sense of..."yikes!" around the place). We were getting desperate. One day, I just happened to check the local Advertiser and see someone with our same phone exchange advertise for child care. I called the number, and the lady lived in the same apartment complex--and had one kid who was just days older than Mary! We met her and that was that. I kept sending my kids to her even when we moved and I had to drive waaaay out of my way. She's wonderful. We still call each other almost every day....

Many of my other friends I met through John. I quite like the gang he introduced me into--they're all quite amusing. And then I introduced JJ to the gang. (LOTS of phone calls at 2 o'clock in the morning of "Hey! You need to come over!") And then someone from the gang introduced her to her future husband. You two owe us big time!

I'm sorry if I left anyone out.... Still feeling anti-post-like right now.

Love you all!

Still Here

Oh, um....HI! I know, I know. It's been awhile. And I don't really have much of an excuse for my absence. Just your typical run-of-the-mill, semi-annual abhorrence to the computer that I occasionally get. Seriously. Sometimes I just think, "Ugh! I simply CAN'T turn on the computer today!" And I decide to do something ELSE instead--not playing with my wonderful children. Oh no. Instead I pick up a book and ignore my house/kids/husband/chores/life for a while and just simply TUNE OUT. It might be a seasonal (or perhaps cycle) thing.... Anyway, the cure to my recent frumpy, kinda down-in-the-dumpy mood this last week (um, or TWO) has been to reread tons of books around the house--including the complete Harry Potter septology (um....is THAT the word?). And instead of cheering me up out of my apparent depths of despair, I have bummed myself out even more crying again over the deaths of certain characters that Ms. Rowling found necessary to extinguish with her evil, sharpened quill. WENCH! (Trying to keep the blog PG as my parents DO read it occasionally!)

[And now a moment of silence for those characters who were sacrificed for the greater literary good....]


....


ANYWAY!!!

What have the Qs been up to lately??? Well, we took a portion of our governmental proceeds and bought a brand-new TV. For once, my life was like a commercial. You know--that one bank commercial where the wife disgustingly throws down the remote and says to her husband, "You're right; we DO need a new TV" and the husband gleefully goes out shopping to "I want it all" playing in the background. Yes, that was us. YES, after YEARS of grumbles and complaints from my other half, I finally HAD to admit that I could actually SEE the TV was DYING and yes, OK, we DO need a new one. And he brought home a new 46-inch HD TV and a new cabinet on which to place it. NOW we have a problem though. HD TV but NO HD signals coming in. After much deliberating and price-checking, we ended up switching dish providers. It was a bit costly to do the exchange (had to pay high dollar to get out of our contract with previous provider), but we feel it will be worth it in the long run. The new provider (who is actually a PREVIOUS-previous provider for us) had a better HD deal and more channels that we watch than the cheap provider we had previously who didn't have hardly ANY of the channels we actually like to watch. We got the new hook-up last night, and I'm in AWE of the clarity--um, in the FEW HD channels that exist.

We had our parent-teacher conferences for Units #1 and #2, and not that there was any doubt, I am proud to say that both kids are doing great. Keith's teacher is especially giddy about how well he's reading/writing. John bought the kids a new Wii game for a reward (well, that was his EXCUSE for buying it, anyway!).

Our car is acting kinda funny, so John is taking the mini-van to work, leaving me home with the kids and NO means of transportation. It's not that big of a deal usually, but why is it when a vehicle busts down is when you NEED it? Our names were on the list to volunteer for one of Mary's after-school activities the other day, and John got held up at work and couldn't come home in time. As a result, I had to walk to the school. It's not too terribly far (takes maybe 3-4 minutes driving), but it was a pain due to the fact that I was pushing Izzy in the stroller up a big hill with NO sidewalks most of the way (both ways! in the snow banks!) and THEN it started raining. Hey, we made it, and it felt good to actually be doing some physical activity. I'm thinking I will be doing more walking once the snow finally melts. (Yeah--not holding my breath on that.)

Izzy is going through the terrible threes right now and being quite stubborn and ignoring both of her parents. There are days it takes two hours to get her out of her PJs and into her clothes (and vice-versa that night). She's very independent, so I get a lot of "I do it!" And since she NEEDS to be doing this stuff on her own, instead of Mommy continually babying her, I'm taking a step back and letter her do it. But now she's not listening and not following directions and just generally driving Mommy and Daddy nuts. I tell ya. With all three of my kids, three was definitely worse than two. But John and I know that we just need to weather it out a bit, and she'll be fine again. *sigh*

March Madness has begun and once again I am awakened to regional distinctions. I sometimes even FORGET about the tourney now-a-days whereas when we lived in IN, it would have been inexcusable for me to at least not have HEARD of the teams who were in contention. Even John has gradually removed himself from basketball fever. Who ARE we?? Anyway, it also reminds me of how Memorial Day will come and go, and I'll completely even FORGET about the Indianapolis 500 since it's not on the news/radio EVERY FIVE FREAKIN' MINUTES. It's as if I'm in a different dimension. I mean, you can drive down a whole neighborhood here and see only one, maybe two, basketball hoops. That's just not NORMAL, is it? What's WRONG with these people?

I've also been busy doing my GS job that I got volunteered for ('cause let there be no mistake that I did NOT volunteer myself). So, I guess I should be honest here and say that I HAVE turned on the computer almost every day--but I was only checking/responding to emails about my "job" and nothing else. I apologize to my friends that have been pushed to the bottom of my emailing priority list. But let me reassure you all that if it weren't for this stuff I had to do for GS (darnit!), I wouldn't have even walked INTO the computer room. And even now, I'm getting antsy just typing this post and thinking oh God, WHY did I even TYPE IN my blogger address??? I DON'T want to be here.

Obviously, it's time to quit. Perhaps the Spring Fever will abate soon and you will hear more from me in a few days.... We'll see.

I must be crazy

Saturday there was a huge snow storm. Of course, it was just starting right at 1:00 when I had to take Mary to a birthday party--20 minutes away. It was starting to sleet (Keith: "Mommy! It's raining ice cubes on me!") when I headed out. And then the snow started accumulating. I had some trouble getting back into the driveway, but after a bit of rocking, we got the mini-van in the garage just fine. Two hours later, I had to head out to pick Mary up. Still snowing/sleeting, but I went out with a purpose. Since I'm ALREADY out in this crap, why not take the kids to the movies???? So, I drove across town to the Dollar theatre (which is now TWO dollars, thank you), and I FINALLY got to see Enchanted.

After the movie, we went out to the snowy landscape--and the van needed scraping. Of course, a few weeks ago John noticed that our ice scraper had gone MISSING. Seriously, how does one misplace an ICE SCRAPER? The only time it's ever taken out of the car is to SCRAPE the car! And we don't have to scrape the van very often since it's mostly in the garage all day. So where the freak did the ice scraper GO? It's a mystery. Anyway, there wasn't a lot of snow on the van, but some ice crusted on the right-hand side. I let the van heat up and thawed as much as I could....then decided that since we were ALREADY out in this crap, let's go out to eat!

We headed over to Pizzaria Uno. And this is the first I really noticed a lot of snow. The parking lot hadn't been plowed yet and it was kinda thick. Ah well.

We were only in the restaurant about an hour, and then I decided since we were ALREADY out in this crap, we should go look for an ice scraper. So I brushed off the snow with my gloves and headed over to my boyfriend Danny Wegman's place. Sheesh! He has EVERYTHING, but I didn't see an ice scraper! Danny! You let me down!

At this point, everyone is tired and cranky (including ME), so I decided to mail it in and head home. The trip home on the highway was fun as no lines could be seen, but I'm used to it. No problem.

We finally got home just after 7:00. Um. I couldn't get the van in the driveway. I tried rocking. No good. So, I put the kids in the house, grabbed the shovel, and started trying to shovel my tires free. No good. I was on my third shoveling attempt when my neighbor came over. Thank goodness! I was just thinking that if this last attempt didn't work, then I was going to knock on his door.... Larry and his son saved the day. We three shoveled out a path up to the garage, and Larry pulled the van in.

Sunday morning, I couldn't tell my driveway from my yard. A clean sweep of snow expanded the whole front of my house--you couldn't even tell where we'd shoveled tire paths the night before. I took a picture on the cell phone and sent it to John. His response, "I'm not coming back. Nice knowing you."

On the off chance that John DID come back (ha!), I went out Sunday afternoon to try to clear a spot in the driveway for him to at least pull in his car. The kids played in the snow while I tried to shovel. Getting thwarted by the amount of snow, I decided to try the sno-thrower.

John has never shown me how to use the sno-thrower, so I did what any girl on her own would do--I called my Daddy. I did manage to get the machine started, but I couldn't figure out how to make it GO. Dad couldn't help much since he couldn't SEE the machine and was going by how HIS works (didn't think until later that I could have sent him a picture with the cell phone). We both figured it was probably not a good idea for me to play with John's toys, so I got the shovel back out again. I managed to clear just enough snow at the end of the driveway that John could pull in once he got home.

John had left his car in the long-term parking at the airport. It took him 45 minutes to dig himself out of that. "I can't believe they don't clear these parking lots!" All I could think of was that scene in Fargo where the "Funny-lookin' guy" was trying to steal plates from the long-term parking lot....yeah, airports DON'T give a rat's butt about your parking conveniences!!!

John's reward for leaving me alone with the kids all weekend: having to clear the driveway the minute he got home. He told me that the sno-thrower was probably too powerful for me to handle, so he's glad I never figured it out (visions of my losing control and it running away to chew up the neighbor's house across the street are flashing in my mind!).

So....I survived the weekend. I actually did get out of the house--but I probably shouldn't have. And if Mary hadn't had that #@$% birthday party, I never would have stirred.

Oh well. At least I finally got to see Enchanted.

Home Alone

John has run off to play with his internet friends, leaving me Home Alone with the three kids until Sunday. Now that Izzy's older, I don't mind as much. AS MUCH.

So now I have to run out to the school this afternoon to be present for Mary's violin lesson (which is normally John's thing) WITH the three-year old. This might be interesting.

I'm still trying to decide if the kids and I are actually going to DO anything, or just stay hermit-like at home playing Wii and watching movies all weekend. I guess I'll see how much energy/coffee I have tomorrow, and see what kind of mood I'm in.

My internet wasn't working this morning, and I was waiting for an email from a friend clinching our plans to meet for lunch today. I kept trying to call her, but it was going directly to her voice mail. I finally left anyway since I figured it would force me to get a particular errand done--that normally would have NOT been done in a timely manner. We (Keith, Izzy, and I) ended up at the mall eating subs when I couldn't reach her. I even tried my former co-workers, but they had already gone out to lunch--at a somewhat swanky place to which I did not want to bring my kids OR pocketbook (at least not TODAY). My gf finally called--she DID email me this morning telling me she couldn't make it AND to top it all off, her cell phone stopped working. She had to go to her carrier and get a replacement. Third replacement in SIX MONTHS. And yes, folks, I DO believe her!

I got ahold of John when I got back who suggested I turn off/on the modem on our computer. And gee, it worked (duh...can you tell?).

Anyway, the busted lunch plans and the later violin lesson have thrown off my whole day. I normally do most of my cleaning on Fridays in the attempt to have a moderately clean house over the weekends. Eh. John's not here, anyway. We'll just continue walking OVER and THROUGH the crap for another couple of days.....

Hope you all have a good weekend! Hope the kids don't drive me nuts by the time John gets back!

In the mind of a three-year old

About mid-way back on our 8-hour trip home a few weeks ago, Izzy--who must have been just pooped as she spent most of it just staring, staring out the window--suddenly piped up to me, "Mommy, I like pizza."

And then went back to staring out the window.

And now we know the thoughts of a three-year old.

As if we ever had any doubt...!

A Day of Spring

It was gorgeous outside today. A big, fat TEASE by that old witch Mother Nature. Why dangle this beautiful 55* day in front of our noses, only to snatch it directly back out of our sights--with a big, huge, storm abrewin'. It's just not FAIR!

And how did I enjoy my eye-of-the-weather-hurricane day? I had to go to the DENTIST to get a CRAPPY filling. I've done a great job of taking care of my teeth lately (after the seven-cavities-and-a-root-canal fiasco of my first pregnancy), so I felt like a kid getting caught with her hands in the cookie jar (hmmmm....) when I was told I needed a filling. BUT! I've been doing so WELL! Well, so much for THAT!

I attempted to sweat it out and go without Novocaine, as the cavity wasn't too deep, but the vibrations of the drill were too much for my nerves. The dentist (I love this kind man--and he probably loves the yacht that my pregnancy-induced enamel-malaise from eight years ago presented him) gave me just enough of the juice to "take off the edge," and I was then able to submit to cavity filling again without the herky-jerky "Oh God, I FELT that!" motion which was previously hindering him. Sheesh. Natural childbirth THREE times, and I still can't handle a simple filling!

I made the mistake of making an AM appointment, so I had to drag two of my three children to my drilling date with me. I made the mistake of picking up the newspaper while waiting--and tuning out my goofy children. Before I knew it, millions of dental leaflets were being thrown around the waiting room, to the gleeful chorus of my two young'uns. I instantly turned into one of "those" parents--who had to give the stern looks and reprimands to her kids to cover up the embarrassment that the behavior was pretty much HER fault for ignoring her kids and not preventing the bad behavior in the first place. Consider me chagrined.

Knowing that I cannot trust Izzy and Keith together in the same waiting room (he just gets her up to all sorts of hijinks--case in point: dental leaflets strewn around the room), I brought Izzy back with me to witness my demise. The dentist had barely started whenever Keith just sort of wandered back into the room. The dentist was conciliatory, and the hygienist was amused. Keith and Izzy hunched down in the corner together and played with their toys (the only time I have recently let them bring toys out of the car and into a place of business--I was hoping to keep them quietly distracted--ha!). Yes, the dentist and hygienist were quite entertained by my kids' imaginations. Even I had to giggle--mid-drill--when Keith's transformer exclaimed, "Holy, Crickets!" to his foe the Bear. "Wow," says Sam, the dentist, "my kids mostly just fight." I was in too precarious of a position to throw back, "SO DO MINE--I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY'RE BEING SO GOOD, BUT THANK GOD!" But I'm sure he got the telepathic message my eyes were sending. The moochers begged for prizes (they are well aware now of the "treasure chest" for kids after dental visits) and were duly awarded. Imps. Then we went home. Mostly unscathed.

I have felt a bit under the weather (oh, HAR!) since last evening. But my poor vitamin D-starved kids demanded an outside excursion, and knowing we would not have this respite in just 24 hours hence, I played outside with them after school. Oh. So. Nice. Almost made me forget my tummy ache. Almost.

Bleh.

A Good Time Was Had By All

Yesterday we had Keith's birthday party. (Hello! My son turned six a week and a half ago--did I leave that out? Sorry!) Anyway, we postponed his party a bit due to the winter break. We didn't want Keith's party to be thwarted by all those folks who had plans to go skiing or Florida or whatever the week the kids were out of school.

We gave Keith the choice of venue: the museum or Adventure Landing. He choose the latter. AL is like Barfy Cheese's--only MORE FUN and NO annoying, singing RAT. Along with the usual token-eating fare, they have a nerf-ball cannon room, miniature golf, and go-carts. Of course, since this was the middle of freaking winter, we couldn't do the last two activities, but a bunch of five- and six-year olds are more than easily entertained by token-eating machines and shooting things at each other.

I chose to have the party at 10:00 in the morning. Initially it was because I have come to realize that I HATE those 1:00-2:00-3:00-middle-of-my-precious-Saturday parties. A party in the morning means that you still have the rest of the day to maybe get something done. But once we got there, we realized the OTHER benefit--there was practically no one else there, and we had the whole fun place to ourselves! And the other parents were thrilled about it too.

I'm feeling a bit smug here. AL is across town from where we live, but it never crossed my mind that no one on this side of town had ever heard of it. For a lot of parents/kids, this was their first time there. The kids loved it. The parents were sort of in awe. Why, yes, there ARE better places to go waste your tokens than Bary Cheese! And let me tell you, AL puts on a very well-organized party. I was consulted and kept in the loop about everything--and the hostess even wrote down the gifts for me. AL sold their services to quite a few parents that day. And don't I feel the all-knowing one for introducing them to the place! See, you East-siders! The West side DOES have its amenities, too! (There is a definite East-side, West-side war going around about here).

So, we played games, ran around in the ball room, ate pizza (bleh--the pizza at AL is just as bad as the pizza at Barfy Cheese's) and cake, opened gifts (G.I. Joes and Transformers and Power Rangers, oh my!), then went out to play more games. I took a some-what shy boy under my wing and went around with him to show him how to play some of the games. Keith ran around in the ball room with no reservations (he was a bit nervous in there the last time we were there). Keith and his best friend ran, jumped, shot cannons, and generally beat up on each other--like all best friends do. And we had three kids break down into tears when their parents told them it was time to go home.

Most enjoyable. And I didn't even have to take a Tylenol ONCE.

Pics of the Party

Gee, Marcus. Thanks for picking the MOST FLATTERING ones.

Pictures of Baby Fest '08.

(How weird to note that four bloggers were represented in these photos...and a fifth was the guy doing the flashing.)

(*chuckle*--I'll leave the "flashing" comments to MR. Marcus, buddy, you will NEVER live that down!)

Because we have a NEW scanner...

...and because I have no desire to tackle the mountain of laundry in the basement.

Here are some photos I thought I'd share with you.

My Senior Picture (BEHOLD! The late-80s/early-90s hair-do!)


















The hideous 80s bridesmaid dress I had to wear for my Mother's 2nd wedding (Which she claims NEVER HAPPENED. Wish I could say the same thing for the dress!).


















My biggest 80s hair EVA















College graduation--with more respectable hair

(John made goofy faces in ALL the pics taken that day. Dork.)















My favorite maternity pic. Taken five days before baby Izzy was born.













I guess I'll have to make a journey to the basement. I have several more photo albums I want to scan of some of their contents. Maybe I'll get a few loads done while I'm down there....

Am I too boring for you?

OK, so when I first set up this blog in May of '06, it was a super-quick, what-the-heck decision. I initially set it up as a way of communicating our life and events to our long distance family and friends. I specifically remember having a bored moment at work and thinking, "Hey, I've got a spare minute! I think I'll set up a blog!" So I literally THREW it together and OBVIOUSLY didn't think of any kind of splashy look or even TITLE for the darn thing. And then, I forwarded the blog to my friend DAVE who published it out to all the rest of my friends. So...I found myself in the midst of blogger's heaven--with a pretty boring/generic blog title.

It's a year and a half later, and my blog has grown a bit. I have some mommies from the Mommy blogs I frequent who actually do read me once in a while. And more family members pay attention, too. So, I'm more exposed--and here I'm presenting myself with this incredibly BORING title that I just threw up (BLEH) there in a five-minute setting-up-a-blog-when-I-should-have-been-working moment. I know. It's embarrassing!

So here's the deal. I'm thinking of changing the title of my blog. Shocking! I have a couple ideas, but one particular theme comes to mind.... But--will it change the image all of you have of me? Will you start thinking that I actually HAVE a personality? Will you go to read my blog, see the new title, and think "Woah! That's not right! Where the heck did that boring Carrie go?" and stop reading me?

(I still sometimes think of starting a SECOND blog--a more anonymous one where I could be a bit more forthright with certain issues in my life and not worry about offending very close family/friends whom I ADORE, but who may not be able to appreciate my RANTS which are somewhat necessary to my sanity EVEN IF THEY ARE COMPLETELY UNFOUNDED, UNTRUE AND RIDICULOUS. Um....anyway, I was thinking of saving the INTERESTING title for said anonymous blog--IF I ever get up enough guts to start it, that is.)

Thoughts?

Sick of Reality

We are back from our whirl-wind trip. Ugh. And John admitted as we were driving our eight hour drive home, "Gee, it does seem kind of silly to drive all this way just to spend one day, huh?" Indeed. Too bad he didn't come to this realization EARLIER. Maybe we would have actually had time to look up some family members that we DO honestly WANT to see--we just didn't have the time to fit it in.

A full-detailed account of our trip can be found at Dave's Beach Bar. I will only add that we were thrilled to see friends that we hadn't seen in a couple of years. It was about darn time, people! A good time. Too bad it was so short--and that we didn't have the time to see our family.

We got back Saturday just after 7:00 and had pb&j for dinner (classy!). Sunday John spent most of the day working outside trimming the trees and such. We also established that the sniffly nose Keith had during the trip was probably due to a slight cold instead of allergies as we feared (*I* spent the whole time we were in town in the midst of a horrible allergy attack and had to wait 14 hours for a Clariton tablet to kick in. Not breathing is NOT a good thing). So...um...anyway, we're glad that Keith may NOT have inherited my allergies--and that he didn't express much interest in the babies nor hold them!

Izzy picked up the slight cold and starting sniffling on the trip home, too. But the two kids with the slight colds was no big deal. It's what the OLDEST apparently brought home that posed a problem.

All morning Sunday Mary was not acting her normal bouncy self and exhibited no appetite. This kid is normally a grazer. She normally drives me freaking nuts with her requests for food--in tiny bits and proportions--ALL DAY. Sunday she said her tummy hurt, and didn't eat anything after her bowl of Cheerios that morning. And then--the barfing flu made its presence KNOWN.

Mary is now a veteran of the barfing flu and managed to make it to the toilet all the three times she paid her barfing flu dues that day. No puke to clean up for Mommy? A miracle!

Mary got to stay home from school yesterday, which for once bummed her out. I played day-care provider for an acquaintance whose normal situation was closed that day. So Mary was supposed to ride the bus to and from school with one of her classmates (and I also watched the four-year old little sister). The girls were disappointed, but I decided I didn't want to be the one responsible for passing on the barfing flu throughout the school system. And I no longer had to fight with John on who could stay home to take care of this sick kid (wonderful!). Anyway, I sequestered "Sicky" upstairs while the rest of us played downstairs in the den. When no more porcelain god trips occurred--and Mary started showing signs of an appetite again--I allowed her within the presence of the other kids. We had a pretty good day.

Now I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Sunday night I hardly got any sleep. Any time one of the kids made a noise or even turned in their bed, I ran to check on them--fearing the spread of the barfing flu monster. SO FAR we have had no other incidents. I fear to believe we are through with this pestilence and am still on "stand-by" waiting for the school nurse to call or for Izzy to barf up her lunch all over my hideously pink living room carpet. And then when I had my own upset stomach yesterday, I just KNEW it was my turn--but it ended in nothing, and I feel better today.

I'm still waiting. There's no way we escaped so easily!

My perfect TV boyfriend

Who is Your Ideal TV Boyfriend?

More on Gossip Girl. Created by BuddyTV

I'm all a-flutter!

Se7en

Semi-Desperate Housewife tagged me, so here goes....

The rules are as follows:
# Link to the person who tagged you
# Post the rules on your blog.
# Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
# Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
# Leave a comment on their blogs so that they know they have been tagged.

I'm only allowed to share SEVEN weird facts?

1. I read a LOT and always have. I was always in the highest literature class but in the lowest math class. And not necessarily because I couldn't do the math--but because I was spending all my time reading instead of doing my math homework.

2. On that note, I didn't always read traditional children's literature. I mean, I did read some of it (LOVED Anne of Green Gables)...but when my gf's had their noses in the Sweet Valley High books, I was reading books like The Shining, Clan of The Cave Bear (and its successors), and The Hobbit. In fact, I remember borrowing a Sweet Valley High from a gf and thinking it was really silly, so I never read another one. I still can't believe my mother was letting a 12-year old read The Thorn Birds!

3. I DO read children's literature NOW. I read almost every book my daughter brings home from the library. I get a big kick out of the Junie B. books. I also like to read the Fairy Realm series. And I got hooked on A Series of Unfortunate Events when I bought them for my neice--and had to read them before I shipped them to her! And just because I'd never read them as I kid, I recently started checking out the Nancy Drew books from the library.

4. I almost failed second grade. My teacher actually put that I had to repeat on my report card. I got the spanking of a lifetime. My mother called my teacher to question why if her daughter was failing she had never received ANY kind of communication from the teacher or principal or school about it? The teacher said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I meant to put down a 3." And that's why my mother put my brother and me in the Catholic Schools the following year!

5. This isn't about me--it's about my folks, but it still gives me a chuckle. After my parents divorced, they both got married again. Those second marriages did not work out--and fizzled out at just about the same time. So my folks tried to get back together with each other. And THEN my ex-step-mother started dating my ex-step-father! Wait--it gets better! NONE of those cross-matches worked. After a couple moves out of state and then back to my hometown again, my father gets married for his third (and let's hope final) time. See if you can follow this: he married his ex-wife's ex-sister-in-law. Yes, his third wife was married to the brother of his second's wife's ex-husband. Whew! Life in small-town Indiana, folks!
(My mother moved out of that town and STAYED out and therefore was able to find a bigger dating pool and marry someone NOT related to ANY of the afore-mentioned folks!)

6. In third grade I went through a "girly phase" and pretty much wore a dress to school EVERY SINGLE DAY. As an adult, I do NOT wear dresses unless I absolutely HAVE to. I HATE panty hose. I HATE slips. And except for "picture-taking" dresses I don't buy them for my girls either. Because I want them to be able to PLAY and not worry about putting holes in their tights and messing up their dresses. The sad part is that Mary LOVES to dress up. But I can't handle it as the person responsible for the care-taking of her clothes! (Maybe when she's older?)

7. As a kid, I had every single Strawberry Shortcake doll--except one. For some reason "Crepes Suzette" evaded my mother's best shopping instincts. Just a year ago, my mother got inspired and went on ebay. I got my last doll for my birthday! And I finally told her what I didn't have the heart to tell her before....that not long before the SS dolls started phasing out (in the 80s), I had noticed ANOTHER one I did not have at the store. And then ALL the dolls were gone, and I never even got a chance to ask for the doll for X-mas! All I could remember of it was that it was banana-scented. Mom was horrified! She thought my collection was finally complete! She looked it up out of curiosity. She only found ONE to buy on ebay. Someone in Germany wanted like $400 for that doll. Yes, it must be rare indeed. I told Mom that I'm quite content with my "every doll but ONE" collection again!

Okay, folks! Your turn!

All D's

Blacksheeped

Flibberty

Saly

Mommy Daisy

Playgroups Are No Place For Children

Dave

...and you have my permission to ignore this request if you've already done this meme!

EDITED TO ADD: I really, honestly tried to "tag" you all last night after I wrote this, but blogger wasn't cooperating, and I kept getting errors.

My alma mater lurves me and my man

I got a
Valentine's Day card from Ball State University. BSU is getting corny here--they sent me a card to celebrate the fact that my husband and I met on THEIR campus. I hate to admit--it did make me grin just a bit.

Random thoughts

1) I declared a Pajama Day for Izzy the other day and let her wear her Clifford pajamas all day. This of course relaxed some of the stress I feel about the fact that my bedtime attire and my daytime attire are starting to "blend." Anyway, she enjoyed it and was most sad when I did indeed, make her take the pjs off the following morning.

2) Keith is now in level 2 reading books at home (and Dr. Suess!) and is doing so well in his little reading "tests" at school that the teacher has decided instead of reading his sight words for these tests, he now has to spell them. He missed a few when we practiced the other night, so more studying is necessary. But I'm thrilled to see him doing so well!

3) Izzy is learning to write her letters! She picked up her magna-doodle the other day, scribbled something on it and then said, "Look, Mommy! A 'U'!" And indeed, it was! And just in case you think I'm going all braggy for some little fluke, I MUST inform you that she immediately erased that letter, scribbled a "T" and said, "Look, Mommy! A 'T'!" And we spent the next 20 minutes discovering she can now draw (and identify) quite a few letters. Next prodigy is on the rise!

4) Not to leave the eldest one out, I must mention that Mary's violin teacher is quite impressed with her progress and has noticed that she is naturally mastering some of the fingering [MR--keep your comments to YOURSELF] that older kids just can't do yet. We really need to practice more often. (We like this teacher better than last year's--who seemed so impatient and "bothered" by the lessons and was impossible to reach when we had any questions or were attempting to change the lesson days when John couldn't do the day assigned anymore....)

5) I bought an exercise ball and a walking DVD a few weeks ago thinking I could try to get some exercise in somehow. I'm too embarrassed to do EITHER in front of my husband (his teasing really does defeat me). The ball has now turned into a really, giant toy as I can't use it in front of the kids without them wanting to play and get in the way. The instructor of the walking DVD was so freaking ANNOYING and said so many BRAINLESS, STUPID jokes that I fear I cannot do it again unless I put it on MUTE. I will have to work on my schedule so that I can do these exercises during nap-time--instead of letting Izzy skip it so that we can run errands where I only have one child (leading to grumpy Izzy later in the day) AND instead of using my precious quiet time to read which causes me to get so caught up in whatever book I'm reading (or RE-reading since I haven't been to the library in awhile) that I don't pay attention to the other kids properly when they get off the bus. Bad Mommy!

6) I am not big on SAINT Valentine's Day. My husband knows this and really appreciates it, I'm sure. So I do not expect a V-day gift from my husband and will NOT be put out if he doesn't bother. I did, however, buy my three precious ones tiny, little boxes of candy. There were some very happy faces at the breakfast table this morning. (BTW, Dave. If my husband were to buy me lingerie for V-day, he would probably get clocked and be forced to sleep on the couch. Just sayin'.)

Clarification

Um....because I'm a dunderhead and seemingly inconsistant in my Announcement post and then the following Baby pics post, I just thought I'd clarify that we're leaving Thursday, February *21* and not TODAY--as that first post seems to indicate. I realize most of you already knew about this trip and the correct dates and what-not, but let's not cause any un-due stress on those of you who didn't.

BTW: We are expecting to see some friends we've missed on our last TWO trips home and will be very sad and feel very unloved and unwanted if we don't.

:-(

The two adorable babies I get to see next week

Christopher: born 1/11/08



Joshua: born 2/4/08


I'm in newborn-head-smelling HEAVEN!

Announcement: Quick Trip

The Q Collective is making a trip out to the Fort to see recently-born babies (and quietly laugh at how one family is adjusting to THREE and how another is adjusting to their first. ha! been there! done that!).

This is a super-quick, just-coming-to-meet-the-newly-arrived-humans trip with NO side excersions to visit other family members. IF it can be arranged, we might be able to see local kin, but nothing else.

We are heading out Thursday and plan on leaving Saturday. Last November's trip was really, really rough on the kids (and especially John, the driver) and it took several days to recuperate. We decided we needed our day of rest before John and the kids head back to work/school.

Yes, I BADLY need a baby fix and am willing to force my husband to drive eight hours to get it. (It's the least he can do since he's cutting me off from future babies of my own.)

Grade A Prime DORK

Case #1:

Yesterday I went about my usual routine and got Mary out to the garage to wait for the bus in perfect time. Then I ran upstairs to get a cup of coffee. After the stirring of the French vanilla creamer, I ran down to peek out the door--and bumped into Mary in the den. "What are you doing in here?" "I had to go to the bathroom! I'm sorry, Mom, but I couldn't wait!" Grumbling about Mary's poorly-timed bathroom breaks, I glanced at the clock--and saw that Mary had most definitely missed her bus.

Normally, I stand with her in the cold garage or wait inside and open the door to peek every 30 seconds to make sure she gets her ride. I guess I thought my coffee-stirring break wouldn't take the four minutes that lasped, and I didn't hear the bus honk. No surprise there as I have learned that I usually DON'T hear it when I'm up in the kitchen. Sooo....I didn't think anything unusual about that. And what could I have done anyway since she was obviously in the john? "You can take the time to pull up your trousers on the bus! MOVE!" (Still can't believe I didn't hear her come in the door, though.)

So, we sat down and watched a bit of Curious George while we waited for the time I could drop her off. John was still home and in bed, so I woke him up, told him of the situation, and Mary and I headed over to the school.

Driving up to the school was like an ominous approach in a badly-filmed movie. As the school gradually came into view, I saw....NOTHING. No buses, no line of cars, no jam-packed parking lot. Just one little SUV. Oh God. There is no school today???!

I quickly racked my brains. NO, I'm SURE there is no holiday. They must have canceled due to the cold weather. And living here in Rotten-chester where snow and cold are just part of life, I didn't even think to check--I thought it was just another day.

So we went home, and I turned on the local news, and sure enough, school was canceled (and not just "delayed"). So...Mary got off all her things, and we enjoyed a nice day at home playing Wii. ;-)

Case #2:

John and I have cut out most of the meat out of our diet again. Not vegetarian, per se--just a "whittling down." Basically, we're taking meat away as the center-peice to our meals, and focusing more on the alternatives.

So, browsing about our vegetarian cookbooks, I found a good-sounding tofu dish I wanted to try (oxy-moron, I know--but give tofu a chance!). It called for a sesame marianade. Not in the mood to actually MAKE this marianade (this cookbook is RIDICULOUS in that the author seems to think we all have just oodles of time to create our five star vegetarian fare--all from scratch), I requested John look for a bottled version. I must say, Iron Chef brands really do save my butt sometimes. Anyway, the recipe called for "silken tofu." I'd never used that kind before, but whatever.

Let me just say now that you CANNOT POSSIBLY "SLICE" silken tofu, and this cookbook author is incredibly crazy for even suggesting it. My sliced silken tofu immediately turned into silken tofu MUSH. Trying to save our dinner, I gamely put the marinade in the mess, anyway. Oh God. Well....it wasn't really a dish for the kids, anyway. I'll just see if I can still "fry this up" for me and John. After plopping the whole bowl in the pan (you're supposed to strain the marianade from the tofu and "fry up" the slices--but how do you separate a chunky "main dish" liquid from a very thick--probably shouldn't have been used as a marianade--sauce? forget it!), and turning on the burner, I looked at my congealed plopped mush and thought, "Hmmm....take out?"

Yeah. I'll just have to start following the recipes for the marianades. And from now on, NO MORE SILKEN tofu. Even the hungriest beggar wouldn't have touched that regurgitated-looking stuff.

We ended up going out to eat.

Guilty Pleasure: The Avatar

Mary watched more TV than I would have liked her to in the daycare in which she was situated last year. [I was shocked one day when Keith and Mary mentioned that when this lady had to watch all three of my kids due to my other daycare being closed for the week, they had watched Spiderman II which is um, NOT rated for kids and I felt my permission should have been asked. Oh--her teenage son put it on. But, um...Lady, where were YOU when this not-suitable-for-young-kids movie was put on in your house?] BUT! One good thing came of Mary's TV viewing for that year--she got addicted to The Avatar.

I had heard about the show, of course, but I ignorantly thought that it was probably too "old" of a show for her to watch. But Mary kept talking it up. She had obviously developed a crush on Zuko--the bad guy (oh dear--what to think of that!). Then we happened to catch an episode with her on TV. And then we happened to catch part of a movie. And then John and I became hooked (and, in succession, Keith and Izzy).

With part of our Christmas money, we bought the first season--and watched at least one episode, if not two, a night (um...or more). THEN we had to go and buy the second season. And now we're on the third season--but alas! Only part of it is out on DVD right now.

This is a really, really fun show. Great stories, wonderful characters, awesome writing and dialogue--and the animation's not bad either. I never expected to be so taken away by an anime-like cartoon like that.

We are now on the last DVD that is out there right now. We have two episodes left to watch. THEN WHAT?! What will we do with our precious Avatar time once we're done actually watching it????? WHEN will the new DVD come out? And should we pay the extra money to boost up our Di$h Network so that we get Nick Toons again????

Our Big, Red Izzy

Izzy has a set of fleecy pajamas that have Clifford on them. She is actually the FOURTH child to wear them as they were a hand-me-down to us from another friend. Believe it or not, the jammies are still in pretty good condition. Well, I pulled them out of storage a few weeks ago (Hey! I forgot about THESE!) and it was LOVE at first sight for the Iz.

Izzy does enjoy pretending to be a puppy, but she really hadn't done it in a while. Now that she's got her Clifford jammies, we may have to put papers down on the carpet again. If I didn't "hide" them in the drawer for a few days after they've been washed, she'd be Clifford ALL THE TIME.

Last night we put her jammies on, and she instantly started crawling around on all fours like a puppy. When I said, "Izzy, go kiss Daddy good night." I got, "Not Izzy! Puppy!" as a response. OH. Sorry. And forget about getting the kid to bed. I finally had to pick her up and carry her to her room, where she REFUSED to climb in bed. She stayed on the floor--like all good puppies do, of course. I finally gave up and put her pillow and blanket on the floor with her--and she slept there all night. And last night it finally clicked with me that the last time she adamantly refused to get into bed and slept on the floor instead--was the last time she was wearing those Clifford jammies.

I'm lucky to get those jammies off her in the morning and into her regular clothes. "No, Mommy! No clothes! I want Clifford jammies!" Sometimes I just have to trick her. "But, Izzy, Clifford needs to be washed!" She will finally peel them off and put on her regular clothes and turn into a regular girl. Then I wash Clifford and put him in the drawer--and forget about him for another week.

The Evil Within. A Public Service Announcement

Anytime you volunteer for an organization, they are going to run you dry, dry, dry and use you up like a hankie (just keep washin' and ringin' it--we kin use it ag'in!)

And anytime you put an idea out there--or even, perhaps DO the job for which you volunteered and organize a very small event which fits in your comfort- and volunteer-level--the ONES over your head are going to TAKE OVER and RUN WITH IT and make it this HUGE thing with NEWSLETTERS and a PHONE CALL CAMPAIGN and the next thing you know, you're organizing an EVENT you don't feel you have the gumption--or even qualifications--to do, and THEN you find out that your main back-me-up, always helpful, co-chair-person-thingy suddenly cannot attend and you'll be doing the whole blasted, out-of-control, event ALONE. With lots of wound-up little girls. And possibly their younger (can't-find-a-sitter) siblings.

AUGH!!!!!

I just don't feel the love

How come when all the rest of you mammas post about the FABulous sales that you catch from Tar-jay and the like (75% off!), and post all those pictures of the FABulous deals you get--how come when *I* go there, the sales racks are completely EMPTY of any kind of useful attire that fit in ANY of my three kids' sizes--even FUTURE, to-grow-into sizes???

Even when I've chanced upon the GREAT Tar-jay sale BEFORE your wonderful posts, I canNOT find decent cheap clothes for my three well-deserving kids (and my lean-mean pocket book)!

I'm just saying, that I REALLY wanted that @#$% pink puffy dress, and the only size my local Tar-jay had it in was 18 mos. My three-year old is a bit petite for her size, but there is NO WAY she could pull off an 18 mos. Not even if she STARVED herself!

Sheesh! Tar-jay seems to give out the love to only CERTAIN, deserving girlfriends!
HMPH!

(At least I did get MYSELF a new sweater and a very sleek, satiny blouse for $4.98 each.)

TMI: The ultrasound

There is nothing wrong with my girly parts. Of course, I kinda knew that after going to the gyno the other day. When I told her the location of my pain, she said, "That high up?" Um, yes. And so I went to the ultrasound today, and when asked, I showed her the location of my pain. Guess what? I have a very normal, healthy uterus, and two normal, healthy ovaries. But the actual spot of pain, oh--that wasn't even checked. It's quite a distance from my baby-making machinery.

If the pain continues (and yes, I still feel a twinge even today) I will just have to go to an internist. Because the "next steps" the gyno was discussing with me the other day only have to do with possible female problems. And since my pain isn't anywhere NEAR my female parts, I DOUBT those steps will help.

I feel like saying, "How can you be so obtuse?"

So...should I be bitter at my gyno for sending me to a completely unnecessary ultrasound (when my spot of pain was a half a foot from the body parts in which she specializes?) or....should I be grateful that she dotted her i's and sent me there to verify what she already knew--there was no female problem. I'm stuck here. But I'm leaning more towards the bitterness. Because I am thinking she wasn't really listening to ME at all--just checking into what she knows best.

BRIGHT SIDE: That's one thing the pain is NOT.

The LULL before the next storm

Now is the time of year that I always feel as if I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. We've just had two birthdays and Christmas in close proximity--and then the two month LULL--and then POW! Another birthday! And the relatives emailing and calling and asking about presents.

Presents? I haven't even figured out where the heck to put the last batch from the November-December gift-giving extravaganza--and now you want to buy MORE???!

Seriously. Can't we just teach Keith that his birthday is at some other time of year? So that I have more time to adjust, and he can actually think of more stuff he wants--besides more Leapster games (which we've already bought him).

Poor middle child, too. He's never even had a proper birthday party yet (besides the 1-yr party that I always insist on having "home" in Indiana--and he doesn't remember, of course). We honestly tried two years in a row to have a party for him, but none of our/his friends could make it. (You're busy in FEBRUARY? Doing WHAT?! OH--skiing. That winter fun activity that I cannot do and absolutely refuse to start now that I'm old--and STILL can't afford it.) Ahem.

Anyway, now that he's in kindergarten and has a whole classroom of kids to invite, we're thinking of attempting the "real" party again. But we've got to act quick to get it done in time. But--WHERE? John wants to do the big Barfy-Cheese or Museum-Expensive kind of party. The noise. The pandemonium. The expense (most places you pay tons and still have to provide your own cake AND paper products!). And the EVEN-MORE-GIFTS! I have thrown parties for Mary where I actually requested the kids NOT to bring gifts--and yet! There! they! are! It's a birthday party, you crazy lady! We are COMPELLED to bring a gift!

So, here we have 34 days until his birthday..... I guess I'd better start saving up. And making phone calls. And maybe look into Prozak or Effexor or something....

TMI, part deux

The doctor seems to think that since I've been on the pill for SO MANY YEARS and currently am using a different form of bc, that I've just FORGOTTEN how bad menstrual cramps are.

OH HO. I've NOT forgotten. 'Cause you see, there IS this tiny little problem of my feeling pain the OTHER three weeks of the month!!!?

I am going in for an ultrasound tomorrow, but despite the above terseness, I agree with her that they probably won't find anything wrong. I still think I just need to eat better--and exercise more ("more" implying that I exercise now--ha!).

Good news--I've actually lost a few pounds since being home. So, no housewifely gain YET. And that after the holidays, too! Go ME!

How to get your house clean in one hour

Answer phone call from eight-year old's classmate's mom.

When she asks for playdate, feeling guilty that last two have been hosted by HER, offer YOUR house.

When she asks if she can drop off her child in an hour, FOOLISHLY agree.

Clean like a freakin' Minute Maid (get it?) on crack.

Just make sure kids know the "no going in my bedroom rule" as there is a definite hazard to opening the door and having all the CLUTTERED CRAP fall smack down on them--causing a severe injury and expensive lawsuit from said child's parents....

TMI

**WARNING**
*TOO MUCH INFORMATION for some readers*
But I feel posting it will actually help me cleanse it out of my system therefore keeping it off my mind. Yes, I'm Daffy. How are you?

I'm going to the doctor on Monday as my left-side pain (which never really went away--just faded) has come back with a VENGEANCE. And seems to be cycle related.

Mary also has her annual well-child check-up an hour later than mine on Monday. So I had to do some serious phone-calling and finagling in order to get this all to work. And I'm still not sure it's going to work! But the nurse at my gyno's office did not have an opening for today and did NOT want me to wait past Monday.

*sigh*

Storm of the Century

Last night a huge storm came through with fierce winds. Mary woke up freaked out of her mind. I didn't blame her. The sounds from that wind (and the pelting rain) would be enough to scare anybody. I convinced her the strange groaning sounds we were hearing were probably our storm door swinging and spent the rest of the night in bed with her--only way I could get her to calm down and go back to sleep.

The wind was still howling when Mary got on the bus this morning. And when I put Keith on the bus after lunch, I looked down the street and saw that a huge pine tree two yards over had been uprooted! The tree was hanging precariously over the road--barely hanging to the ground by one root. I had errands to run, so Izzy and I buckled up and drove to Wally-World, which is just five minutes down the road. The traffic lights were out, and when we got to Wally-World, the lot was empty. A sign on the door stated, "CLOSED--NO POWER." Needing stuff for my Girl Scout meeting tonight, I decided to try the grocery store just across the street. It was fine. On our way back home, we saw three more shattered/uprooted trees!

I'm still trying to figure out how our house--which has, I believe 26 living trees on the property?--managed to make it through without a collision from even ONE of them. And we didn't lose power once. Wow.

Resolutions, Anyone??

OK, so I was going to do a New Year's meme, then I realized that my life was really pathetically boring last year, and I didn't have ANYTHING interesting to say about it. Wow. But don't worry, I'm not too bummed about it or anything. My family and I are healthy, and I can tell that even though I still need a bit of work, I'm definitely becoming a better mother. Baby steps....

Anyway, I don't usually do New Year's resolutions. John and I will go every other year (or maybe skip an extra year) and go vegetarian. THIS is a veggie year, and he just informed me the other day (um, AFTER the groceries had been bought for the whole week) that he wanted to go ahead and do it again.

It's quite the challenge as we've not raised the kids to be vegetarian, and we don't force it on them when it's our year to do it. So I have a lot of "short-order" meals I have to cook: the tofu meal for us, and something a little more "palatable" for the kids (i.e. peanut butter). I think this year I will go out in search of a new cookbook. The one I have is too difficult to do for a busy mom of three kids. I did find a kid's vegetarian cookbook in the library when we did this in '06 that had lots of simple recipes that I liked. Maybe I'll just go and buy a copy of that one. Either way, I'm thinking I may actually use that gift card for Borders (er, if I find it) some very, very sweet co-workers gave me when I abandoned my job last fall.

I guess my other resolution for this year is to find a way to stay home at least a few more years with my kids. I'd like to be here until at least Izzy starts first grade. In order to do that, I have to try to find something I can do from home to earn a little extra dough. I've already got a lead-in on possibly watching before and after school kids (there is a desperate, desperate need for more of that in this community--as other moms and myself have noticed!). Tutoring is also an option, but a little more difficult to pull off. So wish me luck on this journey!

We are NOT having another kid!!

Don't even THINK about it.

But here are some boy names that I like:

Ian (top contender if Izzy had been a boy)
Ethan
Edward
Christopher
Ryan
Joshua (great choice, Jeff and Paula!)
Brandon

Just 'cause I've been pondering boy names lately....as JJ and Dave have just SEVEN DAYS to find one for their kid (or at least EIGHT as you really don't need the name until the Soc Sec office shows up in your hospital room)!

Excitement! Beh! Adventure! Beh! These do not a Jedi crave!

Happy New Year!

It was a bit anticlimactic in the Q household. John and I decided to put all three kids to bed on time--and then wake up Keith and Mary around 11:30 and let them watch the ball drop. Well, he and I got to playing the Star Wars Lego games on the Wii and next thing you know, it's 11:45. Oops! We hurriedly woke up Mary and Keith--but Keith wasn't budging. John and I played for a few more minutes, and then I made another attempt to wake Keith. He finally climbed out of his bed. As Keith and I were walking back to the living room, John was turning the channel to watch the ball. Oops! We missed it! Heh. Guess the clock in the living room is about two minutes slow!

So, we played a bit more Star Wars for the kids' viewing pleasure (I believe we were already on "Attack of the Clones") and then put them back to bed.

Yee. Haw.

Well, at least I made myself a Kahlua milkshake. THAT was pretty good.

I SURVIVED: The Holidays

Our kids are spoiled.

And so am I.

X-mas was a ball, of course. I had started coming down with another cold, but everyone else was healthy. I spent the whole day on X-mas Eve FINALLY getting all my baking done for the neighbors. Goodies were dropped off by 5:00. After the kids went to bed, I wrapped the rest of the presents while John and I watched Dr. Who.

At 6:15 Keith was up. I nudged John, thinking the FUN was about to start. Nope. Keith went to the bathroom and then immediately went back to bed. Ha! Around 7:30, I hear the pitter-patter of feet again--and excited whispers. Oh yes! NOW it's time! John and I got up and joined the kids as they gazed upon ALL. THOSE. PRESENTS! (Actually, John and I were very grateful that the haul didn't seem to be as big as last year....) Despite my protests to just "WAIT!" I heard them tearing into the wrapping paper as I was running down to get the camera. John took over the camera--and the new memory card he had bought the night before didn't work! So he made the kids stop (they probably had about two torn into a piece) while he figured it out. To stall time, I made the kids get up and eat their breakfast, "But I'm not hungry!" Finally, we got some sort of camera action going on, so the tearing commenced.

After the carnage, John says, "Hey, let's go to the movies." Um...OK (thinking...but what about dinner?) Ah! Let's go OUT to dinner!

So we went out and saw Desperaux and then drove around to find an open Chinese place (thinking..."Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra, Ra Ra Ra Ra"). Just as we are walking into a Chinese place, we notice people walking into the Japanese place next door (which did NOT have their sign lit). Quick! We walk in--yeah,they don't open for five minutes. No problem! We'll wait!

So we sat at the hibachichi, and the kids got entertained, and the stead was absolutely PERFECT, and the waitress was amazed our kids would actually eat a) sushi and b) the onion soup. Yeah--we're raising them right!

On the way home we stopped at a gas station to buy outrageously priced batteries, so the kids could play with their new toys.

New favorites:
The Didjs and the Leapster 2 (thanks again, Aunt Lynnie!)
All! Those! Beads!
The ball thing for Keith....
New bikes for the girls!
Lots and LOTS of art supplies
Wii Fit (now I need to force myself to actually USE it)

...and we also plan on getting the kids swim lessons with leftover funds.

Much, much fun.

For New Year's we invited the neighbors over. We adults ended up just having a few beers and chatting while the kids all watched movies downstairs. All the kids (well, except the baby) made it past midnight this year. Anyway, we adults were having so much fun just yakking, that we never even managed to get out the Wii. I know! Good times....

On Health

Today is the very last day that any of my family can go to the doctor or emergency room on my old company's dime. Yep, I've been "bought out" for three months now, and the free health care that came with it is gone. As of tomorrow, all health issues will be referred to John's employer. And that policy--compared to the one I had--completely SUCKS. So, there is to be NO ONE going to the doctor or getting sick FROM NOW ON! And I MEAN IT.

Of course, that promise has already been broken. Mary went to the dentist last month and for the first time in her eight short years, she had cavities. But, but...how??? She's so good about brushing her teeth! And her teeth were FINE six months ago! The hygienist wants to do a root canal on one of her baby teeth. I say NAY to that. The child has NEVER complained of being in pain (the hygienist kept saying, "Seriously? She hasn't complained her teeth hurt?"), and until she does, that baby tooth can just ROT until the adult one takes responsibility and kicks the little cretin out. While we continue brushing and try to remember to FLOSS EVERY NIGHT.... I did, however, agree to filling the tooth that was NOT a baby tooth.

As for Mary's UTI problems--she has completely bamboozled me. She went several days with no complaints and feeling fine. Then out of the blue, she was complaining of having problems going again. My theory is that she just holds it too long.... Anyway, today she seems fine again, so I guess I'm waiting it out for a few more days again. She does have her annual check-up in two weeks, so maybe she can hold out until then.

Izzy has caught Keith's cold. Although he had more of a cough while she has a bad case of the sniffles. Poor Keith coughed so bad the other day that he pulled an "Andrew" and ended up puking all over his bedroom rug (which I had JUST put down the day before). Anyway, I thumbed my nose at the AMA and have given BOTH kids cold medicine. Keith slept better as he was no longer coughing up a lung (and his breakfast), and Izzy has slept a LITTLE better as her nose was no longer running Niagara Falls. Oh, and she can breathe better, too.

As for myself, I've been having a strange pain in my side for several weeks now, and I can't figure out what the issue is. And of course, I'm just too stubborn to see a doctor about it. Webmd has many theories about what the problem could be, but mostly I'm thinking that once the holidays are over and I've improved my diet a bit, it will hopefully go away. It's already down to just a dull twinge instead of the sharp-ish twinge it was a few weeks ago. If it gets sharp again, I will definitely choke down the astronomical deductible and go see the @#$% doctor.

Now this little hypochondriac is going to prepare for yet ANOTHER boring New Year's Eve. The family we usually get together with is celebrating with their parents this year (although not necessarily "willingly"), so it's just going to be us. The kids were just sent down for a nap with the strict edict that if they didn't actually SLEEP they would not get to stay up and watch the ball drop--um, although Izzy isn't going to get to anyway. Miss Sniffles will be put to bed promptly on time tonight, thank you. I'm a little apprehensive about letting them stay up at all since they have to go back to school on Wednesday and they've gotten in the habit of sleeping in later this break, and I'm afraid they're going to be quite GROUCHY on Wednesday morning. And Miss Mary gets QUITE snippy when she hasn't had enough sleep. And Mr. Keith turns into the whiniest boy in the world. Ugh.

The Christmas Explosion!

Toys and boxes and wrapping EVERYWHERE! Polly Pockets, Littlest Pets, and Star Wars Transformers, oh my!

Let's see:

We opened (gifts)...
We ate (a PERFECT Christmas dinner--I ROCK!)...
Wii PLAYED...

(The Wii is addictive. The kids both kick butt bowling, which is really amusing to watch. And I will probably be setting out buffets of leftovers and ignoring my precious babies until I solve Super Paper Mario.)

We exchanged/returned duplicate gifts to buy MORE gifts (and games for Wii)...
We spent an obscene amount of money at Build-A-Bear...

And at 9:00 this morning (just THREE days after X-mas and FIVE days after her gloriously gift-filled birthday), the eldest came up to me and said:

"I'm bored."


Ah yes. The thrill is apparently gone.

Mary is EIGHT!?

Yesterday was Mary's eighth birthday. 'Scuse me while I attempt to absorb that.

EIGHT years? Wow.

As part of the birthday tradition, we took the family on a scenic drive through Rochester--showing Mary the tiny apartment we lived in when she was born and the hospital where she was born (which is now closed--but her pediatrician's office is still there).

Friday night Mary got to have three of her friends over for a slumber party. We did a reindeer craft (which didn't hold together too well with Elmer's--oh well), played with the balloons, watched Ratatouille, and even built a snowman (which proceeded to melt in the rain yesterday). And she had an "Avatar" cake. It was fun.

Mary, our first-born, is definitely spoiled. She got lots of toys and clothes (she wasn't too thrilled about the clothes--but I know she will be given a few more years!). We tried to get her to pick our dinner location yesterday, but she was hesitant. Apparently it's still too difficult for an eight-year old to fathom eating ANYWHERE but Wendy's for dinner. John chose Friendly's (for the ice cream, of course). I reminded him that our last few experiences there weren't too great, but he wanted to give it another try (different branch). Yeah--we're not going back again.

The last two years Mary's been sick on her birthday, but this year she seemingly made it through and actually got to share her class treat in a timely manner instead of the week after the Holiday break (last year she had pink eye, the year before that it was the barfing flu--both of which hit the rest of the family with a vengeance). She did, however get sent to the nurse on Friday. Peeing issues again. We all thought she was fine (including the school nurse!), but now she's started showing some symptoms that SEEM to point to a UTI. And of COURSE she now won't get to make it to the doctor until WEDNESDAY. She's not in pain, so maybe it's just a fluke, and we'll make it through our presents and our turkey dinner OK.... Let's hope....

And now we're all buckling down for Christmas Eve. We will miss out on a couple of our presents as they were mailed to the wrong address, but we'll just pick them up on Wednesday and extend the holiday out a little longer. Other than that, all the cookies are baked (and exchanged!), the pumpkin pie is made, and I'm looking forward to watching "It's a Wonderful Life" tonight.

Happy Holidays to all! Love you!

Monster Cookies

When my Mom first tried this recipe, she followed all the directions. We had to use a roasting pan to mix all the ingredients. After the first cookie sheet-full, we realized that as much as we like cookies, these were WAY too big for our appetites. Now we simplify the recipe. Obviously, we only make half the batter. And we just drop regular-sized cookies on the sheet--NOT ice cream scoop-sized. We make them every year at Christmas time. So if any of YOU are adventurous (and don't tire easily from mixing all that batter), you might want to try these tasty cookies.....

Here's the whole recipe:

Monster Cookies

12 eggs (are you sweating already?)
2 lbs brown sugar (yikes!)
4 C white sugar
1 T vanilla
1 T maple syrup
8 teaspoons baking soda
1 lb butter (urp!)
3 lbs peanut butter (whoa--I gotta get to Sam's Club!)
18 C quick oatmeal (add that to the list!)
1 lb choc chips
1 lb M&Ms (no comment on how many of these last two ingredients actually make it INTO the batter)

Preheat oven to 350*. Mix all ingredients in order in large pan (where is that darn roasting pan?). Begin by beating the eggs. You can use an ice cream scoop to drop the cookies (if you dare). Flatten the cookies before baking. Bake 12 minutes. Do not over bake.

Now, excuse me while I mix this behemoth batter. 'Cause it's just NOT Christmas without these cookies!

Perfect Souvenir

John brought me back a Harvard hoodie from his trip to Boston.

Now at least when I'm slobbing on the couch, I'll look SMART.

My Routine

...has completely um, crapped the bed.

Somewhere around week THREE I suddenly lost all interest in being together, organized, and housewifely. Know how it all started? When ONE day that third week John needed to get up at the same time as I do--and asked to get in the shower first. So I didn't get a shower right away. So then my day STARTED with kids needing to be awakened, fed, homework checked, lunches packed, and sent on the bus (well, so only ONE kid goes to school in the morning, but the rest are still THERE, demanding my ATTENTION), but withOUT my wake-up shower. At that point, all I could do was mail it in and wait to get in the shower until the precious 1:30 naptime. That's a LONG time to get caught up on one's shower.

And then the next day--it happened AGAIN. John jumped the morning shower spot leaving me frumpy, grumpy and out-of-sorts. And then with a whip of the wand, there you have it--a ROUTINE!

Well, it didn't help that the bus driver had to change his route a bit, having him come to the house six minutes SOONER than before. SIX MINUTES, PEOPLE! Talk about screwing up a routine!

So for some reason, I can NOT physically MAKE myself get out of bed in enough time for this six minute adjustment. I just can't seem to make it to the shower in the morning.

I do NOT do well without my morning shower. In addition to the grumpies and frumpies I now feel that since I'm not awake nor properly attired, it's OK to sit and read or watch TV (Hey, we've only got a few weeks left of those FREE movie channels!) and do other household tasks (just not as much as before) and NOT GO ANYWHERE or pay much attention to the kids except reading to them on the couch. Add the snowfall (which started on DECEMBER FIRST!), and I've transformed myself into a Mother Bear. Snug on my couch in my sweats and blankets, waiting for the nap hour when I can transform myself into an alert--yet still sweat-pants clad--bear who is stuck in the den until APRIL.

I need to find some Mom groups or story hours or something just to get OUT in this bitter cold and get my butt moving and give me a REASON to get up six minutes sooner so that I have TIME to take my morning shower.



Do you think I complain too much? John says my blog is a bunch of whining. (And that's after EDITING.) Hmmmm.....

Golden Compass

John is out of town cavorting with his internet friends (read: FREE Steelers tickets!), so I'm Home Alone--with three kids. (Did I ever tell you that within one week's time in college I had TWO people tell me I looked like Macaulay Culkin--one of them being my now-husband? I don't think I do. But look at pics of my BROTHER as a kid--oh yeah, he coulda been a star. My parents are probably SHUDDERING at the thought of all that money they could have exploited out of him IF ONLY THEY'D KNOWN!)

Anyway, I decided to kill some time Saturday and take the kids to the movies. It's hard to find a movie that a 7, 5, and 3-year old will all sit through--and that the 35-year old can stomach, too. I suggested "Enchanted" (worrying it was going to be a bit too girly for my boy-man). Neither Keith nor Mary took the bait (maybe they're onto my obviously unhealthy Dr. McDreamy crush and didn't want to see me embarrass them OR myself while I screamed "Love Me! Choose Me! Pick Me!" at the screen at the top of my lungs).

Ahem. Next suggestion: Golden Compass. Keith got all shiny-eyed. "YES! I want to see THAT!" Hmmmm....well....OK.

I knew it might be difficult for the 3-year old's attention span, and might be too "much" of a movie for the other two, but oh well....

I don't think I can give an adequate review since I missed most of the dialogue due to the chatter, fidgeting, popcorn-stealing, water-bottle-hogging, lap and seat leap-frogging, and temper tantrum-brimming (after told ENOUGH popcorn and water!) of the 3-year old. But the movie was very confusing to follow, more violent than I expected, and Keith started whining "Mommy! I'm scared!" during the big fight scene. Yeah, I KNEW that was a bad idea. Should have listened to my HORMONES and went to see the McDreamy Fest!

Ah well. It killed some time, and I GOT OUT OF THE HOUSE.

Mommy Brain Moment

"Mommy, I gotta go potty!"

"OK!"

Take three-year old to bathroom. Hoist her up on the johnny. Notice that the dirty clothes basket is over-flowing. Heck, by the wafting fragrance this'll probably take awhile.... Gather up all the dirty towels. Carry clothes basket to basement. Hmmm...still need to move a load from the washer into the dryer from last night. Do so. Better start a new load (waaay behind on laundry despite determined effort to do one load a day). Go upstairs to get a sip of coffee. Stopped half-way up with "Mommy! I done!"

Crap! Kid still on potty!

Realize am victim yet again of the Mommy Brain. Multi-tasking is sometimes just a big no-no.

I See Spots

Red KETCHUP spots. On Keith's face in his school pictures.

Ah well. He's got a brilliant smile anyway.

More wish list stuff

OK, so I forgot to put the kids' sizes. Sorry, Mom.

Izzy: 3T
Keith: 5 slim jeans (or 6 slim for future), 5
Mary: 7 slim jeans, 7

If you buy pants/jeans, please make sure they have adjustable waists. My tiny-waisted kids can't wear anything else. :-)

Also wanted to put a note here on behalf of Izzy thanking everyone for her presents. The rocket ship and the baby doll and the Dora game are new favorites!

Love to all!

Still Recuperating

After a late start on Sunday (our usual alarm clocks--the kids--slept in late), and the trip to Three Rivers, and a pit stop to the very last Steak and Shake on the highway (Pennsylvania), we didn't get home Sunday night until 11:30.

Ugh.

Another whirlwind trip. Another series of exhausting car rides. But at least the kids were pretty good. And it was nice to see all our family/friends again....

Love you!

Turkey Plans

John and I are trying to hammer out our trip back home. We're planning on being in Fort Wayne either Thursday night or Friday. We will leave the Fort on Sunday (stopping at Three Rivers on the way home).

That's the tentative plan. Let's see what REALLY happens.

Happy Birthday to Me

Thanks to all of you who remembered (not that you had a choice since I'm narcissistic and put a big ol' countdown clock on my blog and all). BUT it's still nice to see the comments--and get the phone calls!

Love you ALL!

Dear Family: More Wish Lists

I'm in the process of throwing together wish lists for the kids.

These are basically just "suggestions" and trust me, the kids will survive if they do not get what's on the list. And obviously, these items do NOT have to be purchased from Amazon.com. I've already noticed a few items are $10 cheaper if bought from Toys R Us...!

General breakdown:

John wants to get the family a Wii this year. I put a few games that the kids would love to play on the Q Collective list. We ARE taking donations for the Wii if you don't feel like shipping boxes of other goodies in the next few weeks!

Mary: She's still into Polly Pocket and Littlest Pet Shop. Refrain from buying any "playsets" for these creatures. Mary doesn't play with them. She extracts the doll/pet and ignores the big, hulking, ugly plastic playset which collects dust until I finally remove it from the toyroom and put in the "Goodwill" bag. Seriously. It's not worth your money to buy that really, really cute revolving pet house or that tiny, converts-into-a-fashion-show jet plane. She will not even LOOK at them. Save your money, folks! Anyway, she is also reading through books like there is no tomorrow. She loves Junie B and the Magic Tree House. She's also into "real" books--about nature and science.

Keith: Still a pirate and Star Wars man. And cars. He's learning to read, so we're going through "level 1" reading books right now. He loves me to read the Magic Tree House books to him.

Izzy: Um....she'll play with whatever the other two will let her.

I know I missed TONS of things that they told me they liked. Know what? They don't need them anyway! But I'll add more stuff as I get inspired.... (Amazon.com is just SO slow! It'd be much easier for me to just type you all out a list--but not nearly as cool!)

Thank you all! We love you! :-)