New Years Resolutions

As I've mentioned before I don't do the resolution thing. But this year I am making an exception. I have a full plate this year and, being a listmaker, I thought why not make a list of New Year's Resolutions and see how it works.

• Exercise. I am happy (mostly) with my weight. But I really want to get in better shape. For my health and happiness. I need to start some sort of cardio. I have a treadmill and I love it. Now that Little m is a little older, I think I could use it during the day while she plays.
• Organization. My house has too much stuff. Way too much. I am purging it all. Okay not all, but a LOT!
• Eating healthy food. I have family history of diabetes and high cholesterol and I need to start eating the right stuff. More veggies of the green variety.

Weellll. That about covers it.

Happy New Year!!!!

The Preschool Years

Last night I had this song stuck in my head: "S. I. M. P. Squirrels in my pants, S. I. M. P. Squirrels in my pants" Why? Because I had seen it in an episode of Phineas and Ferb of course. In fact I find myself humming tunes from cartoons all the time.


Once I was talking to a woman about small children and she said (when speaking of the time when her three kids were four and under) "I remember there being lots of cartoons, and that's about it." I can relate. Most days are a blur of feeding-cleaning-hugging-cartoons, in no particular order.

And toys that talk and sing. Lots of those. I don't mind that they talk in an annoying voice most of the time or that they are repeated ad nauseum throughout the day. All I ask of toy makers is that they put a volumn control on these toys. Most don't have that and I truly wish they would. Even Little d is annoyed sometimes. "Mom I can't hear the TV because Little m keeps playing her car."


But this time is also filled with lots of discovery for both of them and for me. I love to watch the ingenious ways they each problem solve. Little d needed me to open a tin of cookies yesterday and I was upstairs so she moved a riding toy car over to the baby gate, set the cookies and her plate on it, climbed over the gate empty handed, then reached to pick up the cookies. Unfortunately she couldn't reach them and a meltdown ensued, but the thought and planning that went into her process was so smart to me. Little m was playing with a toy Oreo yesterday. It is part of a puzzle game and the Oreo splits in two halves. She was trying to fit the Oreo into a travel-size Huggie wipes container. When it wouldn't fit, she stared at it for a while and then pulled the halves apart and tried to fit one into the container. Again I was amazed at the thought process.


The girls are so much fun to watch. Especially when they are sleeping. HA!

Stolen!

Today I get a call from my husband that we have had a trailer stolen from our land. On the trailer was pipe for the water well and a toolbox. Aside from the fact that someone took things off our property, the replacement costs will be close to $3000. Ugh!


As a former cop I can say we can probably kiss the stuff goodbye. First, the last time it was seen was the Saturday before Christmas which means it could have occurred anytime over the last week. Second, there are no suspects known to us. Meaning no one we know of that would have wanted to take it. I'm betting the nearest neighbors out there didn't see anything either. Third, this is not a high priority crime. They won't check for fingerprints and even if they did, many MANY criminals are not in the system. Besides fingerprints are very elusive. Finding a perfect print or even a partial perfect print is mostly done on CSI.


Our best bet for recovery would be if a cop on a traffic stop ran the plate number and it came back stolen. Chances are the plate has been changed. Another thing that would up our chances is there being a string of these crimes where they are some leads to a suspect. Although I am not hoping there is a string of these crimes.

I don't feel apprehensive about moving out there. As I told my brother (he and his wife are co-owners of the land) these things happen when people aren't around. Theives don't like running into people.

I guess next on our list of items to buy...a streetlight. It's very dark out there in the country. We are quite a distance from the nearest neighbor. Crap, and I wanted the next purchase to be a water well pump. (Okay really I want to shop for paint colors, but that's a little ahead of the game at this point.)

Let's Talk Politics

I'm going to preface this post by saying it's going to get political in here. ;)

On Christmas I heard a cousin say something to the effect of "racist and redneck" in the same sentence as Republican as if the three were one and the same. As a non-racist, non-redneck Republican I took offense. Now I will say the individual she was speaking of is quite racist, likely redneck, and maybe Republican. However, I don't think being Republican made him a racist or redneck. (For purpose of this discussion I define racist as one who views people of other races as 'less than' one's own race. And I guess I define redneck as someone who is uninformed, and probably lacking in social graces.) Anyway it got me thinking about politics again. I haven't really been thinking about them since the election...

I was raised by Republican parents who taught me to respect others, to be tolerant of others' opinions and to make informed political decisions. No they did not sit down and lecture me with those three specific instructions. They taught by example. Some of my fondest memories are sitting around the dinner table having lively political discussions. I was never belittled for my opinion. I was encouraged to ask questions. My brother and I were always treated as equals with valuable opinions worthy of being heard. We all brought to the table (no pun intended) our own experiences and information. I still love discussing things with them now.

I am amazed at the number of people who are uninformed about politics, or rather about the government and current events. No I don't think everyone should get out and vote. I think you should only vote after you've researched at the very least the issues that are important to you. Making an uninformed decision is more irresponsible than not voting at all in my opinion.

After the election I saw a reporter interview several Democratic voters who supported Obama. He asked them questions about government and all the answers were wrong. For example they thought Congress was controlled by Republicans. They didn't know who key political figures were like Nancy Pelosi and they even didn't know certain quotes by their own candidate. I am sure there were McCain supporters who also didn't know key facts, but this interviewer was focusing on Obama supporters. My point is they were uninformed. Why would someone vote and not really know what the hell is going on, or have a basic understanding of the way government works? (ETA: I found the page with these interviews here.)

Oh well. It's all said and done now huh? We'll see how things shake out in the coming years. I think people give the position of President too much weight. I don't think Obama can single-handedly fix the economy any more than I think Bush was the sole person who ran it into the ground.

Okay jumping off the soapbox. More fluffy posts to follow! Thanks for reading.

Fudge...numnum nom nom

Okay this drive by post is bought to you by fudge!!

My wonderful sweet sister in law, L made us all fudge for Christmas along with some other goodies. I have eaten myself into a chocolate stupor on this fudge.

I love chocolate anyway, but this stuff is dangerous. It literally melts in your mouth and is so rich and delicious you would think you could only eat a little bit at a time, but no you can eat a ridiculous amount.

My mom tells me that L's mom, who was baking Christmas goodies with her that day, accidentally put twice the amount of butter in the fudge that the recipe calls for. (pause for effect) No wonder is so good. Paula Deen would be proud. If your reading L thank you for the goodies. And it's so sad that no one else gets to eat this fudge that I am devouring without sharing. And thank you for the recipe that you included so I can make some more. Soon.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all (this is funny because I have about three readers) are having a Merry and Joyous Christmas! I will be spending the day with my huge extended paternal family in my hometown. My grandmother's house will hold between 80 -100 people, fortunately many of them are screaming snot nosed kids. Ba-dum-dum.

We will eat, exchange gifts and visit. I didn't attend last year as my youngest was a few weeks old and I am a total germaphobe. (In retrospect I am so glad we skipped as one of the infants there was hospitalized with RSV or pneumonia or something the following day. Seriously, who brings a sick week old baby to a gathering of 80 people in the heart of cold and flu season?) Anyway, I am kind of looking forward to seeing everyone and I know Little d will love playing with the kiddos.

PS I wrote this post last week and scheduled it. That's why the tense is all bizarre.

Taking Years Off My Life

Little m gave me the scare of a lifetime today. I had given her a fruit puff. And she choked. Not just the gagging while swallowing something whole that she is fond of doing. This was a bonafied choking incident. She sucked it into her wind pipe. She was wheezing and her face turned red.

I turned her upsidedown and started pounding on her back. I was praying to Jesus that she would cough it up. I don't know if the incident lasted longer than 15 seconds, but it felt like time stopped. And I'm not trying to be dramatic. Nothing ever came out of her mouth, so I assume the damn thing dissolved in her windpipe. And the whole time she is clutching a second fruit puff in her hand and then starts eyeing it like she wants to try to eat it too. While I am still holding her upsidesown. When I can tell she is breathing normally again, I instantly start shaking and crying. She is perfectly fine. I am changed forever. I can add another badge to my mommy survival belt I guess. Let's not do that again Little m.

PS I was trained as a first responder, and know that as long as someone is coughing and making noises they are okay and you are not supposed to intervene. This did not enter my mind until after the whole thing was over.

Also, aren't you supposed to have the bejesus scared out of you with the FIRST child and be a pro by the second?? No?

An alternative to running away from home...

Just have your mom give you away. Last night as I was putting little d to bed she said "Mom if I am the bad sister, why don't you just give me away?" (Can you tell she had been in trouble alot that day?)

Me: I don't want to give you away.
d: But you could just drop me off at Knee's house. (her Godmother and my BFF)
Me: But my heart would break if you moved to Knee's house.
d: Mom, don't worry, she could handle me.

I kid you not this is what she said. And then today when we discussed it further...

Me: I would miss you so much if you lived with Knee.
d: Mom I could still call you and email you and send you pictures. And you could come visit any time you wanted to.

Apparently she has this all figured out. Now to break the news to Knee.

Therapy Thursday

Today's gripe is easy. Telemarketers. I hate answering the phone to a machine. I simply can't believe that anyone ever buys anything after getting a call from a machine. Or worse yet...being called and then asked to hold for an operator. Seriously? It infuriates me.

Now I am getting them on my cell phone. Do people really think that after I've asked to be removed from the late evening calls about my vehicle warranty and the early morning calls about my vehicle warranty that I would want to be called on my cell phone about my vehicle warranty??

Do people really buy extended vehicle warranties anyway? Oh well, I guess there are people out there buying from these telemarketers or they wouldn't keep doing it right? So if you are...please stop supporting their habit!!

My 7 Things

Saw this idea on a blog I read and thought it would be fun to play along.

7 Things I Can Do:

• I can read really fast, and pretty much retain what I read.
• I can handcuff someone in five seconds. Okay I was a cop about 10 million years ago and since I don't have need to handcuff anyone nowadays I probably am a little rusty with that skill.
• I can crochet and I wish I had more free time to do it.
• I can make really good meatballs and BBQ sauce from scratch.
• I can take pretty good pictures (not evidenced by some of the ones posted here, but I used to take pictures as a hobby.)
• I can read people pretty well. (It made being a cop easier.)
• I can match colors. I have an eye for noticing the different shades of color I think.

7 Things I Cannot Do:

• I absolutely can not drive a stick. Three people have tried to teach me.
• I cannot sing.
• I cannot watch gory movies. I hate them.
• I can't go to sleep if I need to shave my legs. I don't like my legs touching each other if they are prickly. Yes I am a freak.
• I can't just let things go. I have to analyze and re-analyze a situation to death.
• I can't go a full day without checking my email.
• I cannot make myself take my girls to the mall to sit on a stranger's lap and ask for gifts. It goes against my moral fiber or something. Or I'm just a grinch. (I was never big on Santa as a child.)

7 Random Things About Me:

• I am a total germaphobe. I hate being around sick people.
• I have a Bachelor's Degree and would like to get my Master's in Psychology when our kids are all in school.
• I have two piercings in each ear, but now I can't wear earrings as they bother my ears.
• I get a headache every time I wear makeup.
• Hypocrites make my blood boil.
• I'm a conservative.
• I believe in God, but every time I see a horrible story about a hurt child I question my faith.

7 Foods I Love:

• Thanksgiving dinner
• chocolate
• lemon pie
• dewberry cobbler
• guacamole
• fajitas
• fried oysters

That was fun, but it took longer than I thought. Whew!

Microwave Peanut Brittle

Here's the recipe from the post below. I've shown the original recipe, and then added the times I use for my microwave in parenthesis. Before you begin lightly butter a cookie sheet to pour it out on. I make my brittle in a large glass (microwave-safe) measuring cup. Be sure you have all your ingredients and measuring tools ready along with hot pads and/or mitts. This is going to get HOT!!!

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup

Step1: Stir together and microwave on high for 5 minutes (4 min).

1 cup roasted salted peanuts

Step2: Stir in peanuts. Microwave at high 5 minutes, until light brown. (3 1/2 min)

1 teaspoon butter (I used margarine)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Step3: Add and blend well. Microwave on high 2 minutes. Peanuts will be lightly browned. (1 min 30 sec)

1 teaspoon baking soda

Step4: Add and gently stir until light and foamy. Pour mixture quickly onto greased cookie sheet. Spread evenly. Let cool 1/2 to 1 hour. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container. Makes about 1 pound.

A Few Homemade Gifts

I needed to make a few gifts this year and here is what I came up with for D's side of the family. For his grandmother I made an 6x6 accordian album. Here's the overall picture:



Here's a few close-ups:

Okay and I'm not trying to brag, but I loved it so much that I didn't want to give it away. Next up I made a little coaster frame for D's great aunt. Front:


And back:




And lastly I made microwave peanut brittle for D's grandfather.


He loves peanut brittle, so this is my traditional gift to him. I hope he likes it, otherwise he's been getting a crappy gift for the last seven years. (Except the one year I burned it and as I was dumping it out, stupidly gave myself a third degree burn on my thumb. I wound up in the after hours clinic.) I'll have to post the recipe sometime-it's easy and good.


Okay--as usual all supplies are Close To My Heart.

O Christmas Tree

So here's our tree this year. I had wanted to do a candy theme and a few years ago I bought all new ornaments and told my husband that would be my present that year. I love the way it turned out. This year (since a great deal of the ornaments are choking hazards) we didn't put everything on.

I realize now that you can't tell anything from this picture. Oh well. Now for some fun family Christmas pictures... The first one will be in our cards. Three out of four people are facing the camera and smiling. It's a keeper.

The shot that encapsulates how most of the shots turned out.

I beautiful shot of Little m's eyelashes...I really love this picture.

And Little d posing alone. I couldn't get them to take a picture together.

I lied. Here's a picture of them together.

Well there you go. D is mad that I didn't let him shave before the pictures. I told him I just wanted the family shot for our house and I would only send pictures of the kids out in the cards. Now though, we don't have a picture of the kiddos together, so we have to do the family shot in the cards. I think he looks cute scruffy tho!

Therapy Thursday

Today's gripe--Christmas Crunch. I don't do New Year's Resolutions usually, but this year I may start with this one "simplify!" I feel like I am so far behind. The main reason is because I'm trying to be all 'Martha Stewart' about Christmas. I feel compelled to make these detailed cards to send out. Our Christmas picture must be all matchy-matchy. I have to do a ton of handmade gifts. I am trying to keep the house somewhat clean. It's all piling up because apparently I didn't do enough early enough. Uhg.

I used to have all of my presents bought/made/whatever by early October. I would shop and plan all year. It was easy-peasy. Now I am scrambling last minute to get gifts together for D's family's Christmas on Saturday. (Okay part of that is not my fault because he just made the decision to go this morning. He's working nights and has no vacation left, so we weren't going to go this weekend. But now he's decided that he and I can go for one hour and then turn around and come back in time for him to go to work.) ANYway...

About those Christmas cards. I had this great concept in my mind of a card that would have a vellum panel and if you put a candle behind it, it would look like a stained glass window. Yeah. I have it all stamped, embossed, and colored, let's see if I can get them assembled. PS next year cards will be a little simpler!

The picture. Since D and I have been married we have taken a picture together every year in front of the tree. Matching clothes and all. Last year after Little m was born, I never got outfits for D and me. So the picture was just Little d and Little m. This year I have coordinated clothes for us all. Now today we are going to try to get everyone in front of the tree, dressed and facing the camera sitting on a tripod with a timer for a shot. We'll see how that goes!

Okay. Off to make an accordian album, peanut brittle, and get my hair ready for the picture. Did I mention Uhg?

Little d

Today I had a moment. One of those "mom" moments. The kind you didn't know existed until you had a child. It was about little d. I saw her at 18. I mean not really, obviously, she's 4. But she had just tried on this new outfit and when she turned to walk away, she tossed her long hair over her shoulder and I just saw her as 18. And I caught my breath and got tears in my eyes. I realize in a few blinks she really will be 18 and I will wonder where the years went.