son of a...that's gonna leave a mark.

Twins!

2009-11-10T13:57:52Z

Sometimes I look at Ethan and see Jacob all over again and sometimes I see a completely different face. But I took this picture of Ethan last night and had a flashback, rightly so. Jacob was several months older than Ethan when his picture was taken, but you get the idea.

Ethan, Jacob...in that order:

Boys and men are the same when cookies are involved

2009-11-09T21:52:52Z

So one of my LJ friends, vurumai , posted this picture today:

aaaaaaaand let's just say it reminded me a little of a picture I took several months ago of Jacob:

I guess all men are built the same?

Crock Pot Love and Carrots

2009-11-09T21:26:42Z

Some friends have asked for more recipes and Crock Pots came up so here's 2 of my favorite Crock Pot recipes that you will love, guaranteed!

I love Mexican food...it's my fav, by far. At restaurants I order shredded beef tacos and decided I had to figure out how to make this stuff at home. It shouldn't be too hard, it's basically just spicy pot roast. I tried several times on my own and it was always pretty bland. Then I found this recipe. WIN!!

Spicy Shredded Mexican Beef

Ingredients

1 (2 1/2 lb) boneless beef chuck roast (can use a 3-pound roast)
1 (14 ounce) can chopped diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup spicy salsa
1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno chiles, drained
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
2 cups beef broth
black pepper

Check the website for more detailed instructions but basically dump it all on the Crock Pot and turn it on. The end. Shred it up and it will make the yummiest soft tacos you've ever had. For extra yummy, pair it up with the homemade salsa I posted last week. This is seriously EASY and delicious for a party, btw, if you're sick of serving the same old stuff to a crowd.

________________

Next- Chicken. Who doesn't love a home cooked chicken dinner? This might be the ultimate comfort food. This is probably the easiest thing I make that actually tastes really good.

My Crock Pot Chicken

4 chicken breasts (frozen or thawed, doesn't matter)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup white wine
Kosher salt
Pepper
Dried parsley

Ummm there is nothing more to this recipe than throwing the chicken in the Crock Pot (even if it's frozen solid), and then mix up all the other ingredients and pour it over. Turn it on. If the chicken is thawed turn it on Low and cook for 6-8 hours, if it's frozen turn it on high for 6-8 hours. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

______________

Bonus recipe: I can't make that chicken without making my roasted carrots as a side dish. No this isn't a crock pot thing but oh well.

Carrots- peeled, sliced in half on the thick parts and then in pieces. Rule of thumb: Make them the size of your thumb. :-p
Olive oil
Kosher salt- a generous amount but don't give yourself a heart attack
Pepper
Dried thyme- same as salt...use plenty of it, you almost can't over-do thyme. Almost.

Coat carrots in olive oil and then sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme. Roast at 425 for about 30 minutes or until they get browned. I usually turn them a couple of times.

10 years of wedded bliss...

2009-11-08T19:20:37Z

and here's what I have to say about it.

Clicky clicky.

Pickchas.

2009-11-04T19:32:14Z

A couple (more) Halloween Pics, just 'cause.

I decided the only reason I dress up for Halloween is because no matter what my costume is I will find a way to incorporate blue eye shadow and glitter, and way too much mascara.

Last year I was a gliggery Go-Go dancer. This year I ended up being a glittery bee (again...same as 2 years ago):

I don't know what next year holds in store for me, but rest assured it will be glittery.

Baby Tiger

Like most ninjas, Jacob managed to evade the camera all night, so I don't have a good one in full costume, but here's the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle himself, sans mask:

And now a couple randoms:

They were holding hands, how cute is that?

Ok I had to snap this picture because it cracks me up...I put him down for his nap wearing two socks and he woke up from his nap wearing no socks, and one sock was up by his head. The other sock? I never found it. How does a 7 week old get a sock above his head? He doesn't grab or throw things yet. I blame gnomes. That must be what keeps him up at night, too.

Two things

2009-11-03T20:07:36Z

1. Column- if anyone wants to read it. I finally got over my freak-out yesterday and came up with something. Not that it's awesome or anything but it was SOMEthing. Baby steps.

http://www.thewhitehousestar.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=6&Itemid=50

(The top one is new, the other two are old ones he threw up there the other day to fill space.)

2. Recipes- if anyone wants to make yummy food.

I made these two favorite things for a Halloween party on Saturday and I thought I'd share them with you because a) they are really good and b) very easy and c) everyone has a fit over them. I believe that is a southern expression...so "a fit" over something is actually a good thing, unless you're talking about a bratty child. Then "a fit" really sucks.

First: My recipe for homemade salsa. It's 100% mine and it took me years to perfect it. I always wanted to make homeade salsa and it always turned out wrong wrong wrong. I started out using fresh tomatoes and there lied my problem....just too watery and flavorless. Eventually I tried canned tomatoes and voila! Salsa magic.

The next recipe is for Garlic Chicken Pizza which is a knock off of a bar we like to go to- The Flying Saucer. The place is like Beer Paradise, but they have good food, too. Anyway- one night, my sister declared "I can make this" as we were chowing down on the pizza and sure enough she came pretty close. Actually- I like it better homemade. I bring this to parties a lot and cut it up in small squares...people seriously go nuts for it. It's also good for dinner/lunch.

__________________________

Salsa

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes, use a good brand...I like Red Gold
1 jalapeno pepper
1 small white onion
1 bunch cilantro
Juice from 1 lemon (lime is fine too, I actually think the lemon gives a better flavor)
1 clove garlic
Kosher salt- I've never measured...usually about 3 good sized pinches (about a teaspoon, I guess??)
Pinch of sugar

Chop onion and jalapeno in large pieces and pulse in a food processor with the garlic clove for a few seconds. Then add the tomatoes, cilantro (just cut off the top of the bunch, discard the stems) lemon juice, salt and sugar and pulse for a few more seconds.

__________________________

Garlic Chicken Pizza

1 Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Crust
1 small jar basil pesto
2 cups mozarella cheese
6 (or more!) garlic cloves, minced (I use my garlic press)
1 package grilled chicken slices, diced into very small pieces (Or sometimes I just use leftover grilled chicken)
Diced jarred (pickled) jalapenos

Roll out the pizza crust and bake for about 4-5 minutes. Mix the chicken and the minced garlic together. Top the crust with basil pesto, cheese, chicken/garlic mixture and scatter the diced jalapenos. Use as many as you like depending on how spicy you like things, but a little of these goes a long way. Bake for at least another 10 minutes or so until the cheese is bubbly.

Halloweenie

2009-10-30T16:46:34Z

Happy Halloween, kids. And now, this year's edition of obligatory cute kid photos. I feel bad because the only one I have of Jacob was taken on my phone and he's at school right now. Maybe I will get some better ones of him later. But who am I kidding? Nothing is cuter than Halloween Babies anyway.

Rawr!!!

Ninja Turtle...why are all of these dumb characters making a comeback? It is pretty funny though. He even says "KAWABUNGA, DUDE." Sigh.

Mmm muffins

2009-10-27T14:27:49Z

Seriously is there anything better in the fall than pumpkin foods? Pumpkin pie...pumpkin bread...pumpkin lattes. Ok so I don't really like pumpkin lattes but they seem to be a big hit with everyone else I know. My favorite though, are these pumpkin muffins. I stumbled across this recipe a while ago and I can't get enough of them. They are easy and I make them all the time. I think the next time I make them I am going to make a pecan streusel to go on top....I'll let you know how that turns out.

I pretty much stick to this recipe except for a couple of variations:

1. I use more pumpkin...about 1/4 cup more
2. I never have pumpkin pie spice, so i use 1/4 tsp (heaping) each of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice and nutmeg
3. I use way more cinnamon sugar on the top than called for...it makes a yummy crust on the top, hence my idea for the pecan streusel that I'm going to try probably sometime this week.

RECIPE FOR PUMPKIN MUFFINS
From Gourmet November 2006
Adapted from the American Club
Makes 1 dozen
Active time: 15 min.
Start to finish: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpking (from a 15-oz can)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice)
1.25 cups plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Equipment: 12 foil or paper muffin liners; a muffin pan with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups

DIRECTIONS:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven toe 350F. Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1.25 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then spinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a wodden pick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Pig licker

2009-10-26T12:57:31Z

Good Morning...

Coffee? Check.
Clean house? Sorta Check.
Swine flu? Check.
Insane dreams? Check.

First things first...Jacob has swine flu! Ack!! OMG my kid has pig flu...this is the worst thing ever!! That's exactly what I thought until he actually got it. Newsflash: It's not a big deal. At all. In fact, I have seen him more sick when he's well. He had a very low fever and threw up Friday night. I had a funny feeling so I called the doctor...mostly because when you have a 6 week old infant in the house you really can't be too careful. Anyway- they said it would probably be a good idea to see him. This was at 11:30 am. They closed at 12:00. My regular office wasn't open on Saturday, but the one 40 minutes away was. Hmm. OF COURSE Hub was at work. The baby was crying because he was hungry. We were all in our pajamas. But I just had this nagging feeling that I should go. I seriously pulled out the best Mom Win of my mom career. (Horrifying child birth experiences not included.)

Did you know that it is possible to get yourself dressed (albeit in a huge ugly sweatshirt, jeans, ugly shoes and no socks), a 4 year-old dressed, a bottle prepared and a baby flung in a car seat in approximately 2.5 minutes? Yeah I didn't think so either. We managed to get to the office at 12:12...they waited for me, thank goodness. They tested him and sure enough he had it. Since it was caught within the first 24 hours they can give him Tamiflu...a wonder drug, if you ask me. By yesterday morning he was bouncing off the walls again. Oh joy. Anyway- he's perfectly fine...but I'm still obviously making him rest. By "making him rest" I mean telling him to rest and him not listening.

Oh and the makers of Tamiflu can officially kiss my rear. I think I need to take out a second mortgage to buy their stupid drug. Let me just say if this is, according to our fearless leader, supposedly a "national emergency" WTF do they not make the drug that treats it AFFORDABLE?

Moving on- I went on a mad disinfecting rampage yesterday morning. Which resulted in a very clean house, at least most of it. Of course now it's close to post-bomb state again, but it was nice while it lasted. I seriously do not understand how that happens so fast. If I am literally not cleaning something during all waking hours it just evolves into this explosion of crap. I guess I know what I'm doing today. Again.

And now for the dreams...I am having crazy nightmares lately. First- flesh eating vampires take me hostage and try to impregnate me. Unfortunately they were not hot sexy vampires like Edward Cullen, who, come on, let's face it, I wouldn't mind that dream so much. Except for the flesh eating part. These were uber creepy, disheveled, zombie-looking vampires. Incidentally, their methods of procreation didn't involve anything carnal, thank goodness. They had these viles of blue liquid which reminded me of those shooters you get in Cancun at those skeezy bars...Anyway- it was freaky. And they would force their captives to bite out chunks of your own flesh and spit it out so they could eat it. I managed to escape and find a cop, who turned out to be one of their own. This went on and on...and it really was more like I was living in horror movie inside my own head. Eventually we (myself and another hostage) managed to outsmart them, lead them to the outside of this strip mall we were hiding out in and then they vaporized in the sun. The end. (neither of us got knocked up)

The next dream was much scarier, in the sense that I related to it. I ended up in some middle eastern country, in a Tom Cruise movie. (Why do most of my dreams have me in movies? But it's real. But it's still a movie?) Anywho- we were in this weird flea market type department store, which was inside a mall. If we could just cross the "border", which was really just leaving the store and making it into the mall, we would be safe. But I had my children with me...Jacob, Ethan...and another baby. After a shootout, ninja-style fight, high speed foot-chase, sneaking around and eventually negotiating, they released me. But they only let me have the two babies and not Jacob. I refused to go, but the threw me out the doors with the babies. I was on the floor holding them just sobbing and screaming for Jacob, but they wouldn't let him out. It was AWFUL.

The end. Going to go boil my house now. Later.

Fall Yummies- Beef Stew and Biscuits

2009-10-21T18:54:30Z

As promised, a food blog.

The other day fall temps really hit us hard, and every year at that time I get catapulted into the kitchen to welcome it with style. I don't know what it is about fall...I guess because summer is so hot and the last thing I want to do is slave over a stove or eat anything warm.

Anyway- one of my favorite fall and winter dishes: the quintessential beef stew. This one is a little less ordinary than your brown-gravy drowned old-timey beef stew. Not that there is anything wrong with brown gravy. I love me some brown gravy. And this stew also sports its own version of brown gravy, with lots more flavor.

I have to admit, I'm really hesitant to post my recipes on here. The thing is, I love to cook...but I don't exactly pay too much attention to measurements...so I'm afraid something is going to get lost in translation since I just instinctively throw in ingredients. I will do my best to guesstimate though, and hopefully it will turn out right.

(The supporting role in Beef Stew was portrayed by Garlic Cheddar Biscuits- recipe also to follow)

So...here's how I do it.

Beef Stew

1.5-2 lbs stew meat (If your grocery's stew meat looks like dog scraps, skip it. You want good quality meat here. Sometimes I just buy a chuck roast and cube it up myself, discarding all the icky looking pieces)
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
1/4-1/2 cup flour
1/2 small can tomato paste
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 yellow or white onions, sliced in large chunks
1.5 tsp dried thyme
1 cup red wine
1 (quart) box beef stock
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes undrained
5-6 carrots, sliced
4-5 red potatoes, diced
1-2 tsp sugar, optional

Place the meat in a bowl and cover with salt, pepper and flour. Place a stock pot on medium-high heat and let it get hot. Coat the bottom with olive oil and then brown the meat really well. Add onions, garlic, thyme and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add the tomato paste. Make sure your pot is still really hot and then add the wine. Scrape off all the bits at the bottom of the pan, then add the stock and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for at least 4 hours, longer if possible. I prefer to make it in the morning and simmer it all day. About 30 minutes to an hour before you're ready to eat, remove the lid and add the carrots and potatoes. Increase heat to a low boil and it's ready when the sauce thickens and the carrots and potatoes are soft. (If you like peas, add a handful of frozen peas a few minutes before serving) And always, before serving, TASTE IT! It usually will need additional salt and pepper, and I usually add sugar at the end, it brings out all the flavors and takes away some of the tomato acidity.

****
And now for the biscuits...yep...these are a replica of the Red Lobster biscuits. Not that I frequent Red Lobster, but back when Hubs was in college he worked there and man those biscuits were goooood.

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

1 cup Bisquick (I never have Bisquick, but I found this "recipe" for Bisquick and it works well.)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup milk
2 tbs butter
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Mix Bisquick, cheddar, garlic powder and milk. Don't over-mix it. Scoop them out on a greased cookie (8 medium sized biscuits) sheet and bake at 400 for about 8 minutes. Melt the butter with the garlic salt and parsley. Brush onto biscuits and bake for about 5 more minutes until browned.

A few pics

2009-10-20T17:44:23Z

Ethan is 6 weeks old today!

Ethan: Must I be in a dress?
Me: It's not a dress.
Ethan: Really? It looks remarkably like a dress.
Me: Well if you must know, it's called a gown.
Ethan: Isn't a gown a dress?
Me: But it's in very masculine colors...chocolate brown and blue, your favorite.
Ethan: But it's a DRESS.
Me: Look at the bright side, look how well you match the couch.
Ethan: I give up.

"Brothers gotta hugggg." Yeah I know they aren't hugging but I will quote Tommy Boy any chance I get.

Hello Monkey, I will eat you now. (he really tried)

Practicing for his first KISS concert, I think. Except for the duck outfit...that will have to go. But he's got the hand thing down.

The resurrection of the blog

2009-10-20T15:14:25Z

No really. For real. Seriously. I'm going to blog more. Yep. Must. Write. Something.

I had an idea. Besides my normal rambling about things such as my kids, dog, chores, shopping, things-that-annoy-me, etc...I'm going to also focus more on the one thing I love very much...cooking. So- there will be some posts dedicated to food, specifically, stuff I make (usually original recipes, sometimes other people's recipes I love.) Sounds fun, eh? My idea came from a really good dinner I made (recipe to follow in another post) and I found myself wishing I could make this for all my friends. Well, I obviously cannot do that, so I will do the next best thing and tell you how to make it, if you're so inclined. Why would you want to do that? Because anything I blog about is guaranteed to be AWESOME, that's why. So even if you aren't much of a cook you can learn how to be. And if you are much of a cook, it's always fun to try new things.

Moving on...being the mom of a new baby I find myself awake at odd hours, like, a lot. And I have been cursed with the inability to fall asleep immediately upon hitting the pillow, unlike my husband who will be snoring the instant his eyelids close and sometimes before. Anywho- even when I should be sleeping, I'm likely lying awake in bed thinking of ridiculous things. As a treat for you I am going to fill you in on some of the inane things I spend my precious sleeping-non-sleeping time obsessing over.

For example:
1. I spent a great deal of time thinking about double o's. Have you ever stopped to think how many different sounds in the English language come from the twin o's???? (book, shoot, cooperate, floor, poor...) Think about it. You too could spend an hour or so thinking of oo words in the middle of the night. You will be amazed. Yes I know we all probably learned this phenomenon in like 2nd grade, but still...pretty fascinating. Incidentally, there is an actual reason I got on this train of thought. I recently started reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels and I found myself wondering (at 3 am while trying to fall asleep) if her name was pronounced Sookie like "Spooky" or Sookie like "Bookie". Obviously I have not seen the True Blood shows so I don't know the answer. Feel free to inform me.

2. Lists. This is a good one. Grocery lists, to-do lists, Christmas lists...etc. Virtually a huge waste of time because of the simple fact that a) I don't have a pen and paper in a dark bedroom and b) I will remember none of it while I'm awake and near a pen.

3. Virtual organizing. "I could put this here, and that there...and my closet would really look better if I moved my shoe racks over here and my purses over to this side...hmmm...then where will I put storage bins..." and so on and on and on and on. Before I know it, my entire house is completely organized before I even leave my luscious fluffy bed! Oh wait...

4. "I really need to start writing again. What can I write about. I need to reinvent my blog. Maybe I can write about food. Food is love! My blog needs a name..."

5. "Hmm. Maybe I love food too much. I really need to start working on losing this baby weight. Ok who am I kidding? There was some pre-baby weight that needs to go too. I know! ..." and then I proceed to lay out the perfect weight loss plan complete with exercise schedule and menu. (And then I wake up and have 2 cups of coffee and cinnamon rolls.)

6. 5 always morphs into 6 which is obsessing at great length over clothes, shoes, hair and general appearance. Things I want to buy, things I already have...basically playing paper dolls in my head and creating tons of really cute outfits that I could wear...you know...for the next time I need to go somewhere not acceptable to be covered in spit-up.

That's enough of that, you get the idea. Stay tuned for more from me. In fact, you might get sick of me.

Monster Mash

2009-10-19T13:48:42Z

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Hot and not in a good way

2009-06-19T22:46:55Z

My dog, I think, is seriously mentally challenged. I have mentioned how he won't leave me alone, and believe it or not it's getting worse. But can someone explain to me why he won't eat or drink unless I am standing in the same room? I mean, I can leave a room with human food unattended for .03 seconds and he will eat anything and everything he can shove in his face...but when it comes to his food and water I have to be present to witness the beast at the trough. And the sound of him drinking water is enough to make me want to kill someone...it's like nails on a chalkboard. I have tried everything. I have tried putting it on the deck and I've tried leaving the room immediately after filling it up...he's like a damn camel, he won't drink for days...it was a battle of wills...and he won. It was either I win and he dies of dehydration or I give in and stand there and plug my ears. What an ass.

It is so hot and gross outside. Summer is the bane of my existence. I would give anything if we had a pool. No way am I going to take my big pregnant self to a public pool right now. Besides, there isn't one anywhere near me anyway. Mark my words: one of these days I am going to have a pool in my backyard. Yeah I know they are a lot of upkeep, blah blah, but that is what pool boys are for. I will gladly work that in my budget and give up things like food and clothes. Who needs food when I need to be skinny in a bathing suit anyway? That solves the clothes problem, too.

Oh- I put this on my Facebook this morning that I heard Spandau Ballet has reunited. Seriously, wtf? That ship has sailed. Like, a quarter of a century ago. Move on.

Lastly- I am married to a 14 year old boy. Today when Hub had to call AT&T he told the automated operator several, progressively worse, x-rated requests when she asked what he was calling for. She responded with "I don't understand your request." Eventually she said "I am forwarding your request to an operator." That's when he lost his balls and hung up. I can just see this poor girl getting that fed into her headset.

How to kill 5 birds with one shake

2009-06-12T14:08:55Z

(you know, as opposed to 2 birds with one stone...) My only attempt at being clever today.

Anyway- good times at the Brown backyard last night. My curious little boy all of a sudden walked over to a small tree in our back yard and started shaking it "to make some leaves fall down". But he got more than he bargained for when 3 baby robins plopped down instead. The 3 baby birds scurried a little and then immediately just froze...in terror, I assume.

Hub and I sat there for a minute on the deck and laughed, trying to figure out what to do next. The mama and papa robin's were sitting on the fence, doing the same thing, except they weren't laughing, they were squawking hysterically. Jacob stood in the yard, watching the birds in amazement.

Finally I say ok...I'm going to go get some gloves...we have to put them back. They were clearly too small to get up there on their own, and it would only be a matter of time before the neighbor's cat or my stupid dog wants a snack.

Speaking of my stupid dog...it was all going pretty well until he decided he was going to go investigate the birds and perhaps eat one, because as soon as his mouth got within range of one of the babies, the parents went completely apeshit and started dive bombing anything and everything they saw as a threat, not only the dog, but Jacob, me and Hub as well. We all ran up on the deck and started to map out our next course of action. By this time, before the mayhem began, we had managed to get one of the babies back up in the nest. 2 to go.

But the parents were flying around like rabid beasts, clearly not aware that they were about 1/1000th of our size. Any time we went near them they attacked. I figured we had to go on the attack as well, to get them far enough away, or at least distracted enough so that we could save the babies. So naturally I sent Jacob to fetch the broom, and this is where it gets good. I am sure the neighbors got a nice treat, watching a pregnant woman manically waving a broom around trying to fight off two really pissed off robins while her husband is running around the yard trying to capture two terrified babies. Anyway- teamwork prevailed, and we were able to get them back home safe and sound....although I suspect that they all immediately died of cardiac arrest as soon as the whole ordeal was over.

I am SO over baby birds this year. They seriously need to go find somewhere else to live.

Baby stuff

2009-05-27T17:43:29Z

I've been working on the baby's room a lot, becoming a little obsessed actually. I have at least 3 months to go, so I don't really know why I'm being so gung-ho about this except:

a. it's fun
b. I feel pretty good now and I know I won't later so I want to get it done before I'm too blimpy and lethargic
c. I want to have it pretty & perfect so I can enjoy it and anxiously await...

Anyway...here's what it looks like so far:

So as you can see I still have some work to do but it's coming along! (Incidentally, that was my dresser when I was a little girl. Aww.)

Anyway. It needs some personality. I've been rug and curtain shopping with not much luck. I think I might just go with plain white curtains, I found these at Target that have ruffles and swiss dots....I will probably get them. But then I found these cute dot ones...

As for the rug, I just don't know. Maybe dots... I found a few that are ok but nothing I love:

And then there's the wall art. Probably some letters like these for whatever his name is...(not Brendan)

Then I thought I'd take some photographs I took of my friendly neighborhood cows and blow them up and have them printed in black and white and framed...

Other than that, I don't know yet. Probably some paintings...my sister is an artist and I might ask her to do something original for him. I saw a couple online, abstract, fun cow paintings....something like that might be cute but I don't want to over-do the cow thing.

So there you have it. My latest obsession.

bitch bitch bitch

2009-05-22T14:24:00Z

So I don't blog much anymore for those who have noticed. I just am not feeling it. I feel like I am such a negative person lately and who wants to read that? I'm going to do it today anyway. If you don't want to hear me complain, you should just stop reading now. Although I might be able to muster up some fun and positivity once my fingers start tapping away on the keys. You never know...

1. WHAT am I going to do with all this stufffff? The baby's room is coming along nicely, albeit slowly. While I was in Memphis this week my sweet husband, without being ~~nagged~~ asked, did the following:

-painted the nursery
-brought down the crib from the attic, in 30982305838 pieces
-brought down all the newborn clothes/blankets, etc
-washed said items
-notified me that he washed them "in that baby detergent stuff", and when I raised an eyebrow because we don't have any of that "baby laundry detergent stuff", he informed me that he made a special trip out to the store to buy some. This surprised me for so many reasons, but mostly because I didn't even think that he knew such a detergent existed, much less the importance of it.

I was so moved by him doing this stuff without me asking and he laughed and said "Well I think I'm nesting." lol. So cute.

Mom rant: for the record, I'm not a nutcase about washing all of baby's stuff in ridiculously expensive, specialized baby laundry detergent, however, I think it is vitally important at least in the very beginning to not bombard perfectly pure skin with harsh detergents, dyes and perfumes. That being said, once this first bottle of baby detergent is gone and I'm sure he has been properly exposed to all of those things, I will never buy it again and he can suffer with the Tide like the rest of us.

ANYWAY- back to my original problem of the STUFF. The baby's room was my guest room and goodfreakinglord I had a lot of crap in there....which is now spilled out around the rest of my house, and is subsequently making me want to throw myself in front of a bus. I want to have a yard sale but it's SO much work. Can't I just open up the doors to my house and sell anything and everything anybody wants?

Moving on.
2. Since my child won't eat ANYTHING I have become one of those parents-I-never-thought-I'd-be and stopped and got him a Happy Meal before I had lunch with my girlfriend the other day at a restaurant that didn't have a kids menu. (Note: he didn't eat any of the Happy Meal anyway.)

I was really annoyed when we got to the restaurant and noticed that there wasn't a toy in the Happy Meal. WTF, McDonald's? Who do you think you are? That was my plan for entertaining him at the restaurant while we ate and talked. Instead of a toy, like they have done since the BEGINNING OF TIME, there was a CD in the bag. Gee thanks. Not only was it a stupid ass CD, it was a KIDZ BOP CD. For f*ck's sake!!!! The thing I hate most in the world. Kidz Bop. Are you freaking kidding me? Of course it was too late to dispose of the evidence, he saw it and immediately informed me that we would be listening to it as soon as we got in the car.

KILL. ME. NOW.

Whyyyyyyy why why why why is it necessary to ruin perfectly good songs by having annoying children singing them and adding random, high pitched and obnoxious "WOOOOOH!"s or "YEAHHHHHHHH!"s during the middle of the song? WHY? Parents, why can't you teach your children to appreciate music by original artists??? I would understand if it was related to bad language or whatnot, but these are just regular, G-rated songs!

That being said, I'm not sure I'd rather listen to Fergie sing Big Girl's Don't Cry over the annoying children, but that's for another day. What am I going to do? Maybe it will get lost or broken before I have to pick him up today.

3. My hair. Ugh. Yes I am going to complain about my hair again. I had a gift card to use in Memphis and while I was there I figured I'd go get my hair done because I didn't really have the $150 it would have cost me to do it here. :-(

BIG MISTAKE. It was a disaster from beginning to end. In a nutshell:
-Appointment was made at the wrong location. When I showed up at the spa/salon location, they informed me that my appointment was at their satellite location...AT THE MALL. Oh God. I should have known to just run away then.
-The place was filthy.
-She ruined my hair.
-She spent 4 hours trying to fix it
-She didn't fix it
-She then asked for a tip

So now, instead of my really pretty light auburn hair with blond streaks, I am back to having hair as dark as night, because that was the only thing she could do to fix it, to cover up the FIRE ENGINE RED color it was when she ruined it. I am not kidding when I tell you it looked like this:

I don't know who this girl is, but I appreciate her letting me borrow her picture from Google Images, which came up when I searched for FIRE ENGINE RED HAIR.

So after she "repaired" that, now I have short dark hair. Which is not bad, I've had it this color before and it's really pretty I guess, but it's not what I wanted. So yay now I get to save up $150 to go get it fixed, again, like I had to do after that great Dora incident. At least I don't have a Dora haircut now, but that is only after I made her re-do the haircut too because it was a disaster when she originally was finished.

I have more to say but this is too long as it is. Toodles.

Come and see I swear by now I'm playing time against my troubles

2009-04-26T17:08:36Z

I think I'll do my review of the Dave Matthews/Jason Mraz concert in a Top Ten form...just for fun.

Top Ten (or 6) Reasons Why Pregnant Women Should Not Attend Dave Matthews Concerts:

1. I have never felt so old, fat and pregnant in my entire life. Apparently, attending a DMB concert on a college campus can do that to a girl. Who knew? The standard uniform for all females in attendance was either a short strapless sundress or the tiniest shorts known to mankind. My Old Navy maternity jeans and black top (which I thought was cute until last night) had me feeling a bit self conscious. The average age seemed to be about 20. Thank God for the token too-old-to-be-there-lady-dancing-in-the-aisle that seems to be at every concert, she made me feel young.

2. Hazard #1: Navigating stadium bleachers with baby-in-tow, I did pretty well actually.
Hazard #2: Being around extremely drunk people who are navigating stadium bleachers all around me. I had at least one drink spilled on me, possibly more, and a few people nearly ended up in my lap, but no major injuries to report except for a bruised toe that got stepped on once or twice.

3. Alternating between standing/dancing and sitting on cold backless bleachers for more than 4 hours might not have been such a great idea.

4. Then having to walk 3+ blocks back to the car was really not a good idea. I was cramping all over by the time I sat down in Hub's truck. He asked me if I needed a hospital. lol

5. I think my baby is going to be born with a drug problem, given the amount of second hand pot smoke I inhaled all night long. I felt like I was in high school again, except I wasn't actually high...and I'm pregnant. (although I had some friends in HS that were both)

6. I had NO PATIENCE for the people around me. This is normal, but I will blame my rage on hormones this time.

a) Why is there always a gaggle of annoying drunk females sitting directly in front of me that apparently paid $75 per ticket to sit there and talk (scream) to each other the entire concert? STFU already. I don't even think they liked the bands. The only time they showed interest in the music was when Mraz did "I'm Yours" and DMB did "Crash Into Me"...that's when they jumped up and started screaming ~ eyeroll ~

b) Two drunk boys sitting in front of us that were seirously on the verge of puking the entire show. Everyone around them moved away. And even though it was a no-smoking event, they kept lighting up, even though security came over three times and told them to knock it off. Normally I'm not a smoke-snob, do it, whatever, I don't freaking care, but for hours right in front of me with it blowing in my face.... GROSS. I was close to playing the pregnant lady card, but then I would just feel even more old and out of place than I already did...so I kept my mouth shut and hoped they would pass out. They didn't.

c) The PDA couple. I can't tell you how many times I had to see this girl shove her tongue down her boyfriend's throat. At one point she was on his lap. Oh, and her entire ass was showing. Every time she sat down you could see the entire back of her thong. I was hoping he would just take her to the bathroom and bang her so I wouldn't have to see her in heat anymore. It was so revolting.

7. I can't think of any more reasons...besides that...it was totally freaking awesome. They put on an amazing show. I am totally bummed though because they didn't play any of the handful of songs I would have killed to hear live. I found a set list website this morning and saw that they did my absolute favorite song ever (#41) the last two shows before this one. BOO!!!! Better luck next time.

picturerama

2009-04-24T15:24:42Z

We had a great time on our little trip to the Smoky Mountains. Jacob had a BLAST. Here's a bunch of pictures...

First GoKart adventure. He was in heaven. The look on his face was priceless. This was the highlight of his trip by far.

Getting to drive one solo!

View:

Self portrait, with a view.

Parrot Mountain...this place was awesome! TONS of beautiful exotic birds everywhere you looked..you could feed and hold some of them. It was so cool. Here are just a few of them...

This purple and red one was hysterical...it sounded like a ringing cell phone...we were getting annoyed that someone wasn't answering their freaking phone...but it was this bird.

Speaking of birds....lookie what's in my grill!! I wish I had my camera yesterday when I opened it, they were all awake and craning up their necks looking for mama and worms. Today they were sleeping (um, or dead). I'm going to leave them alone now.

Not much

2009-04-20T11:38:38Z

My life is boring. Nothing much to post.

My son is hilarious....some of the things he says seriously crack me up. None of which I can think of right now. I need to start writing them down as they happen.

I nearly had a nervous breakdown yesterday regarding the state of my house. I seriously cannot keep it clean, or even remotely orderly for more than approximately 10 minutes. And I have too much crap. So when I do try to clean, I have nowhere to put stuff. It's driving me CRAZY. I spent a long time yesterday cleaning out my closet and am donating a huge pile of stuff. It didn't help much, but at least I have more room to put the stuff I actually use.

The toy situation is maddening. He can't keep pieces of things together so everything just ends up a hodgepodge of tiny toy parts and it's going to be the death of me. I wonder sometimes if he would notice if I just went through them all one day while he wasn't home and got rid of 90% of this junk?

On the baby front...I picked out his bedding and decorated the nursery (in my head), and while it's not as cute as the pink and tangerine dream I had envisioned, I think it will be sweet and calm...something my house needs. Regarding names, he still does not have one. I have ONE possibility at the moment that I'm not ready to share because a) I honestly don't want opinions about it and b) It's just a "maybe" so I'd rather not discuss it at length and then have it stuck in my head and it just becomes his name as a default. Regarding The Belly...I'm getting pretty pregnancy huge. But I went shopping for new maternity summer pants and I had to go DOWN a size from the two pair I bought in February before my cruise. I still haven't gained any weight yet my belly is getting enormous. How weird is that? By this time with Jacob I had probably gained at least 20 pounds.

Oh...and today I'm going here and will be here for the next couple of days:

http://www.goldenvalleyrentals.com/dream_angel.htm

So...

2009-04-16T21:09:03Z

88% of you said it was a girl, and 88% of you were...

Wrong. It's another boy.

Just for fun

2009-04-14T13:46:22Z

I'm going for an ultrasound on Thursday...one of the local colleges here that trains ultrasound techs is offering free ones so I figured why not go a couple weeks early for a sneak peek? My 20 week scan at my doctor's office is in 2 weeks. Anyway......

Let's see what y'all think.

View Poll: #1383378

We'll see who was right on Thursday. :)

Oh, hello there.

2009-04-11T20:13:19Z

Today Hub was going to grill burgers for lunch (for him, not me, I'm still on a meat-strike...ugh.) and came running inside...

"You HAVE to see this."

Hmm...ok, what is it, I wonder. With Jacob outside there is no telling, but it could be entertaining, so I went.

So I go on the deck and look at the grill...and see...

Hub's like "ha ha very funny, someone put hay in my grill."

Backstory- we have a neighbor friend who likes to play little jokes on Hub and vice versa...you know, trash can on the front porch, trash can upside down on the mailbox, Thanksgiving pilgrim yard art being positioned in not-so-innocent ways...that type of thing. So, bale of hay in the grill? Par for the course. What can I say, we live in the country, it's readily available.

But the he looks closer...

So...nice...apparently a flock of dinosaur birds has taken up residence in my grill. Look at the size of that nest! I also happen to love this second picture because if you look closely in both bottom corners, there is further proof that, AT ALL TIMES, I am followed around by at least 2 of the three males in this house. Bottom left: My son's foot. Bottom right: My dog's foot. Out of camera view: Hub right behind me.

Anyway- wtf is wrong with this bird? As she's house-hunting she apparently has a check list:
-Nice, open, spacious floor plan: Check! (seriously, this is a big grill.)
-Off the beaten path: Check!
-Nice schools: Check!
-Friendly neighbors: Check!

What she wasn't thinking about?
-The likelihood that at any given moment her new home would instantaneously burst into flames.

So what's any understanding and sympathetic mother like myself to do in this situation? Close the grill and stink up the house with pan-fried burgers. How long does it take for bird's eggs to hatch?

etc

2009-04-03T21:14:11Z

Random things because I have lost my writing mojo.

1. My child, like most men, has developed selective hearing. He can hear a candy wrapper rustling from across the house, and the garage door opening when Daddy comes home from a mile away, but things he cannot hear are:
a) The Cowboy Song. STILL, that song has to be "LOUD, Mommy, LOUD."
b) His cartoons. "I can't hear it. I can't hear it." ...until it's at a deafening level.
c) His name when I want something from him.

2. The pirate birthday party is tomorrow and it's turning into a huge ordeal, as I knew it would. As hard as I tried to keep it simple it has taken on a life of its own.

My inner dialog:

"The party will be from 2-4 so that leaves no place for food. Cake and ice cream for the kiddies. That's it."
But then I got to thinking and remembering that I am not capable of having people enter my home without offering them something yummy.
"Hmm..ok, I'll make some homemade salsa and homemade spinach artichoke dip for the parents/adults while the kids are having their cake and ice cream or while they're playing/treasure hunting. Cool."
...more obsessing ensues...
"Well that's not very nice. I can't have snacks for the adults and not the kids. I'll pick up some pretzels and Cheetos for the kids."
...a few days later...
"Crap, that's not very healthy or well-rounded at all. I'll get some fresh fruit and cheese and crackers..."

So now we have: cupcakes (which I have to make tomorrow), ice cream, 3 kinds of juice, Cokes, bottled water, pretzels, Cheetos, candy, Pirate Booty Popcorn, salsa, spinach artichoke dip, a cheese and fruit plate, BEER (because who can have a party without beer?), ...and I know I'm forgetting something.

Also, I still have to stuff a thousand metallic eggs for the pirate treasure hunt, "hide" them all in the backyard, and oh yeah, make the salsa and the spinach artichoke dip, cut up all the cheese and fruit, put together the goodie bags, decorate......

3. For the love of God, WHY am I still throwing up? And it's worse now, entering my 5th month, than it was in the beginning. I threw up in the car this morning after I took LG to school. Yeah, that was SO pleasant. It probably didn't help that I had just passed the body of a decapitated duck by the park that clearly didn't know how to wait his turn to cross the road. The sad thing is, the poor little guy bit the dust right there on the crosswalk. How can you not see a giant duck crossing the road where the speed limit is like 20 mph??? Anyway, yeah it was a gross morning all around.

4. Still no new car because we still have no tax return back yet.

5. I just want to sleep for days. :-(

6. Oh yeah...one more thing I'm heavily stressing about what to do with the influx of dogs my house is about to have. My one dog is hard enough to deal with on his own, but my sister is bringing her two miniature poodles and my mom is bring her miniature wiener dog. Kill me now. One of the poodles is brand spankin' new, too, and will probably crap all over my house.

Today....

2009-04-01T15:05:11Z

is my little boy's birthday!! He's four. I can't believe it.

Happy Birthday, Jacob!!