Liquid Nitrogen and a great site

It’s not very often that I can go ‘surfing’ outside a few sites. But tonight I needed a break and went out wandering around. I found this new blog that is being added to my list:

BrainHop – daily offbeat news stories from around the world

Why? Because I went to the link they had on 1001 things to do with Liquid Nitrogen and just about LMAO. They had some other stuff, but I didn’t have time to really go to far. I will be visiting them again soon!

The Military Christmas message

This is for my nephews. One is in the Marines and the other is in the Navy. I received the following note from the Wife of my Nephew in the Marines:

Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your small part to plant this small seed.

The Military Christmas Message:

T'was the night before Christmas. They lived all alone in a one-bedroom house made of plaster and stone. I had come down the chimney with presents to give, and to find out who wanted in this house to live. I looked all about me - a strange sight I did see... no tinsel....no presents...not even a tree.

No stocking by mantle, just boots filled with sand... on the wall hung the pictures of a far distant land. With medals and badges, and awards of all kinds, one sober thought came into my mind...
...because this house was different, it was too dark and too dreary; I'd found the home of a soldier, once I could see clearly. The soldier lie sleeping - silent...alone, curled up on the floor in this one-bedroom home. His face was so gentle - the room ... such disorder! Not at all how I'd pictured a United States soldier.

Was this really the hero of whom I'd just read curled up on a poncho with the floor for his bed? I realized all the families that I saw this night, owed their lives to these soldiers who are willing to fight. And soon, round the world, the children would play, and grownups would celebrate a new, bright Christmas day. They all enjoyed freedom each month of the year... because of each of the soldiers (like the one lying here). And I couldn't help wonder how many others lay alone on a cold Christmas Eve in a land far from home. This very idea brought a tear to my eye... and I dropped to my knees and I started to cry. Then, the soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice, saying, "Santa, don't cry...this life is MY choice; "I fight for freedom, and I don't ask for more - my life is my God, my Country, my Corps." The soldier rolled over and drifted to sleep. I could not control it - I continued to weep. I kept watch for hours......so silent...so still. and the both of us shivered from the long, cold night's chill. I just could not abandon on that long, cold dark night this guardian of honor so willing to fight. Then the soldier rolled over, and, with a voice soft and pure, whispered, "Carry on, Santa -Christmas Day is secure." One look at my watch and I knew he was right. "Merry Christmas, my friend... and to all a good night."

Is it just me?

I seem to be having the worst time with Blogger and Image Shack the last 2 days. I thought posting was going to be slow because I’m busy. It is even slower when I can’t get to anything. Though I did notice Blogger was much better today.

I’ll put more out when I can… I was hoping to put out pictures. We’ll see.

Pajama Party!!!

Thought I would like to try something different for the Pajama party this week. I went to BareNecessities and decided I would like to wear this:

Where Am I? Writing The Christmas Letter

I am trying something again this year. A.Christmas.Letter. I tried in the past to write a Christmas letter and it never worked right. But this year… try try again. Last year I didn’t get cards nor presents out. I’m hoping that since I have all but 10 cards addressed and the start of a Christmas letter… that I will succeed in getting them out this year.

It is taking time away from my blogging to write this letter. I also have discovered that even though I don’t think life is that bad, it is hard to find major things in my life that sound positive to start with for this year. When I wrote the outline… it went something like this:

New Child
Speech Therapy
2 Hurricanes
Dad Died

I’m trying to put a positive twist on most of these items. Funny stories to go with them and the like. It is just that writing it made me stop and realize - I am an optimist. I never realized it. But even with all these things that have happened, I’m happy. I love my kids and husband. I got to see my parents and sisters a bunch this year. My in-laws have been wonderful to me. Now and again I would like to leave and go to some isolated island with chocolate, good books, good food and the ability to sleep for days. GRIN. Overall, when I look at it, life is a positive experience.

So until I get this ‘Christmas Letter’ finished, my blogging entries may be only one or two a day. I’m here. I’ll be blogging and surfing, but just not as much.

Three Molars

I had so many different titles for this – 2:30am to 6am, Sleep Deprivation, and more. But basically I have run into a problem with getting any sleep the last couple of days. My #1 Son has 3 of his 2 year old molars coming in at the same time. I didn’t realize when he said his mouth had an owwwwie, how bad the owwwwie was until yesterday. I finally made him point to exactly where this owwwwie was happening. And I bravely stuck my finger in his mouth. I found 3 of the 4 molars are breaking skin. The one that hurts him the most right now is the one that is about ½ way out. The other two have just broken skin and I’m sure will be next on the list. It seems to be causing him to wake up at night. His sinuses are running and causing pressure on those top molars coming in and the inability to breath. Sigh.

#2 Son isn’t much better. He is waking up twice a night and all I hear is gas, burb, gas, burb. Moan. I think he has another tooth coming in as well.

Sleep… I need some sleep. GRIN. I know, I know, another 2 years and I’ll get more than 3 hours of sleep at night.

Two Times in One Day

Take a deep breath. Now let it out. I actually went out, not once, but TWICE on black Friday. I left the house. That is a first in at least 15 years. What is really scary is the fact that it wasn’t that bad.

First trip. Get the kids up, fed, dressed and head out the door a little early to meet Bou for breakfast. I get there 10 minutes early. Looks good. Lots of parking spots left. Bou calls and says she is bringing her 3 sons. Ahhh, now the entertainment factor has increased. Within that 10 minutes, at least 20 cars arrive and out of the 20 cars, at least 15 of the cars’ occupants go into our Breakfast Restaurant. Oops, now I’m getting worried. Luckily the restaurant had opened the back part of the sitting area and had extra staff. We got seated. Normally an outing like this takes about 45 minutes. Which is just perfect for my young children. Bou’s kids behave great no matter how much time has passed, as we have done this before and I have some background on this. But this time, with all the people, we were there about an hour and 20 minutes. That last 20 minutes was very hard on #1 Son. He wanted to get out and play or do ANYTHING but sit still. Even with Bou’s kids coloring with him and making him laugh… he just wanted down. We survived it. He even went P in the restaurant’s bathroom. That’s a first. Some other time I’ll tell you about a couple of those experiences. Phew. The morning went by and I survived being out on Black Friday.

Second trip. Dad gets home and says something about some specials for the kids Christmas presents. I take a look. Yep, not only is something we want on sale, there is a coupon for another $5 off. Sigh. I do NOT want to go out. But I take a deep breath and tell my Husband, “Let’s Go”. We pack up the kids and head off to the Toy Store and Sears. We go right by the Breakfast Restaurant to get there. #1 Son starts noticing as we get close and says “Bouie, Bouie, Bouie” at the top of his lungs. Dad is cracking up and I’m trying to convince him that we are going to the store, not to see “Bouie”. What really surprised me was it was not that bad. Honestly. There were no lines in either store. Both stores had what we wanted, except for the Toy Store being out of the Hotwheel cars that were on sale.

This does not mean I am going to do this again. For me, this Black Friday was, in fact, not that bad. Phew.

Carnival of the Recipes is UP!!!!

This week's hostess is Mary Beth of Random Thoughts from Mary Beth. There are so many great recipes. Including some on what to do with those leftovers. Which, peak down a ways and change Chicken Tetrazzini to Turkey Tetrazzini - Ta Da - another way to get rid of some of that Turkey. Enjoy!

What Number Are You?

Every once in a while I go take one of the ‘tests’ they put out for people to try. Usually I don’t post them. But this one was too funny. Thanks to Josh at Hello Infidels.

You Are the Investigator

5 You're independent - and a logical analytical thinker. You love learning and ideas... and know things no one else does. Bored by small talk, you refuse to participate in boring conversations. You are open minded. A visionary. You understand the world and may change it.

There’s a Fly in My Soup

Or more like… there’s a flying bug in my noodles. If the kids don’t do something to drive me crazy, the bugs do it for them. I decided to make spaghetti for lunch. Nothing unusual about that. It was when I picked up the wooden spoon to stir the noodles that I saw the bug fall from the spoon into my noodles. Now what would you do in this situation? The noodles are a minute away from being done. You only have a limited amount of time to eat, particularly if you want to eat something hot. I decided that boiling water would sterilize everything enough and fished the bug out. It was just a little bigger than a gnat, definitely smaller than a fly. Probably a fruit fly.

Of course my Husband saw all of this and just laughed. I don’t remember all the comments he made (probably because I have selective amnesia when it comes to me doing stupid things).

I probably shouldn’t admit to this… as no one will want to eat at my house anymore. Normally I would have thrown it out and started again. Well, given it to the dog. I hate to waste food and he loves noodles. But honestly, I didn’t know what the right answer was and I was HUNGRY. Amazing what you will do when you are hungry and have a very limited time to eat. Naturally, I am expecting everyone to be appalled and no one to admit that they would have done the same. GRIN.

Ahhh. What will happen next in this crazy household?

Ruth's Chicken Tetrazzini

Time for the Carnival of Recipes. Send your recipe to recipe.carnival@gmail.com to be added. Whether you send one or not, be sure to check it out and enjoy the wonderful recipes. This is my addition this week:

Ruth’s Chicken Tetrazzini from Southern Heritage Cookbook

Ingredients:

½ cup & 2 tbls butter or margarine
½ cup flour (Wondra flour works well here)
1 cup hot milk
1 cup hot chicken broth
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
¼ cup dry sherry
¾ cup heavy cream
1 pound thin spaghetti
½ pound mushrooms, sliced (or 2 cans, 4 oz each, mushrooms drained)
2 to 3 cups diced cooked chicken
½ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions:

Heat ½ cup butter and stir in flour. Combine milk and chicken broth and stir into flour mixture. Cook, stirring, until sauce is smooth and thickened. Blend in next 4 ingredients. Stir in cream and remove from heat. Cook and drain spaghetti. Saute mushrooms in 2 tablespoons butter 5 minutes. Mix half the sauce with spaghetti and mushrooms. Place in buttered shallow baking dish. Make well in center of spaghetti mixture. Mix remaining sauce with chicken and place in well. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) 20 minutes. Serves 6 to 8

Notes:
The sauce can be made and frozen for later use. I usually double the recipe for the sauce so I can freeze some for the next time.

Pajama Party!!!

Actually it's a 'make up what you wish you were wearing while blogging' party. And for this week, I want to wear something that will protect me through the shopping season. So I found this interesting number to post out there. Go check out the rest of the pictures at Grandpappy's Bad Example blog on Sunday.

This is not necessarily work safe, so click here to see it. PS This is NOT me, I just like the outfit.

Twas the night before Thanksgiving

For all of you that are cooking for Thanksgiving!

Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the kitchen;
I was cooking and baking and moanin' and b.tchin'.
I've been here for hours, I can't stop to rest,
This place is a disaster, just look at this mess!
Tomorrow I've got thirty people to feed,
They expect all the trimmings...who cares what I need!
My feet are both blistered, I've got cramps in my legs,
The dog just knocked over a bowl full of eggs.
There's a knock at the door and the telephone's ringing;
Frosting drips on the counter as the microwave's dinging.
Two pies in the oven, dessert's almost done;
My cookbook is soiled with butter and crumbs.
I've had all I can stand, I can't take anymore;
Then walks in my husband, spilling rum on the floor.
He heaves and he wobbles, his balance unsteady;
Then grins as he chuckles "The eggnog is ready!"
He looks all around and with total regret,
Says "What's takin' so long? Aren't you through in here yet??"
As quick as a flash I reach for a knife;
He loses an earlobe; I wanted his life!
He flees from the room in terror and pain,
and screams "MY GOD WOMAN,YOU'RE GOING INSANE!!"
Now what was I doing, and what is that smell?
Oh, spit, it's the pies!! They're burned all to hell!!
I hate to admit when I make a mistake,
But I put them on BROIL instead of on BAKE.
Lord, don't get me wrong, I love holidays;
They just leave me exhausted, all shaky and dazed.
But I promise you one thing, If I live 'til next year,
You won't find me pulling my hair out in here.
I'll hire a maid, a cook, and a waiter;
And if that doesn't work, I'LL HIRE A CATERER!
Author Unknown

Thanksgiving Fun

Tink sent me this and I just had to share it. Something to make you smile before Thanksgiving starts!

Different thoughts

I was going through the blogsphere and saw many interesting entries. I’m not quite back up to speed (something about 2 hours sleep, 11 hour car drive, 18 hours awake, all in one day...) and thought I would link you over to these entries instead of writing any more of my own today. Starting with the sad and ending with the happy.

I have a nephew in the Marines and right now he is in Fallujah. He just made the effort yesterday morning to call my Mom (his grandmother) to give her sympathy about the lost of Dad. Then I read this entry from Random Fate. It made me cry.

Ok… I have 2 children and I KNOW who the father is – without a shadow of a doubt. But this threw me for a loop. I had to read it twice to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. It’s this entry about which twin fathered the child over at Not Exactly Rocket Science.

Being I have in-laws, friends and relatives farther north than south Florida… I just loved this entry about our weather from Lee Ann’s View.

And when I need a chuckle I can always find one at Madfish Willie’s Cyber Saloon.

Ok, there is a lot more good info out there… I’m just running out of time if I want to post and do the other 100 things that need to be done today… starting with sending Hubby note on what to buy at Grocery store and ending with doing laundry. Ugh.

He Can Read!

Well, not really. But it sure does seem like it. I got a book from the library called “One Bear, One Dog”. The first page shows a picture of a bear and says “One Bear”. The next page shows the bear and a dog and says “One Dog”. And so on for about 9 pages. At the very end there is a reflective page and it says “And ME!”. #1 Son is pretty good at knowing the animals except for the beetle and bee. He wants to say Bug. {snicker snicker}. But he will ‘read’ me the book. I’m so proud of the little guy.

Mamaw feeds the Imp

One of the advantages of being at my Mom’s house is getting some help feeding the boys. This little imp was being a trouble maker. Look at that face… even if he did hit the spoon, spit it out or the other items he was doing… you just couldn’t help but grin.

VW is back

We made it back. I want to say Thank You to all that took the time to comment or send emails. Even if you didn't know what to say. It is appreciated. At a later date I will give some info on the funeral. Some of it was humorous. Fits my family perfectly. The burial was respectful and just as a military funeral should be. Planes flying overhead, gunshots, and the Taps. It still tightens my chest and makes my eyes tear up.

I cannot say Thank you enough for the support I have had from my family, friends and all the friends I have made through my blog. Soon, I will be back to telling tall tales of my children.

Update

VW and her crew made it up to Pensacola without event. Her newest theory is that the quality of sleep you receive with 2 small children is directly proportionate to the size and quality of the hotel room in which you are staying. I guess that her husband could stand in the bathroom and touch all four walls without moving and the room itself was not much better. Sleep deprivation... all around.

The wake was last night and the funeral is happening as I write this. She said the wake was lovely and when I asked if she saw a lot of people she replied, "I forgot how many people Daddy knew! People were everywhere!" It warmed her heart to know people cared about her father enough to come to his wake.

This is why I continue to tell people, you must attend wakes and funerals. It is part of the healing process for everyone. It is forever burned into the memories of the family, how many people thought enough to come by and express their condolences. When my mother in law passed unexpectedly, I was more overwhelmed with the expression of sympathy from those around me... than I can probably ever convey.

And that is what is happening for VW and her family right now. Their friends are gathering around, they are remembering what a wonderful man her father was, and they are comforting one another.

You Say Spaghetti Dinner, I Say Finger Painting!

OK, I don't know what y'all see when you see this, but I see... happiness is a boy who can play in squishy stuff. And... I see potential surgeon... I don't know, something about all that red!

Blogging for VW

I will be blogging for VW over the next few days as she is away at the funeral. She left me some lighthearted things to post as well as pix of the boys.

If you are a close family friend of VWs and need information with regard to places to donate in lieu of flowers or you need funeral information, and you are not able to reach the family, please e-mail me at boudicah (at) hotmail (dot) com. (replace the data in the parenthesis with the signs... it's to keep the spambots away) She left me with all pertinent information and told me to disperse it as needed.

-Bou.

Few words about VW's dad

Bill put this in a comment and I thought it deserved to be an entry in my Blog. VW

Just a few words about VW's dad. Like Tom I am retired Air Force and a long time friend of VW's dad and mom. Tom and I have known each other since about 1953 when we were both stationed in Puerto Rico. His sickness is heartbreaking to me since I lost my wife last month due to cancer. My wife and I were married on Guam in 1972 and Tom and Sylvia stood up for us at a last minute wedding (details of which I will not go into at this time). Also VW was the young girl that managed to find us a chaplain at the last minute to marry us. Tom is like a brother to me and has always been a good and faithful friend. I will miss him. Bill Barrett

Update on PaPaw

VW's father passed away this morning. They were able to keep him out of pain and he was surrounded by family.

The family is making funeral plans as we speak. My thoughts and prayers are with them during this time of grieving.

Breakfast with Bou

Today I actually remember to bring the camera – AND use it. They say a picture is worth a thousand words… so here is 3 thousand words worth.

Banana Bread

Carnival of Recipes is being hosted by Boudicca at Boudicca’s Voice. This is an easy recipe that even the kids can help out with. Gets rid of those last 2 old bananas and tastes good too!

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas (mashed)
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup and 1 tblsp buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ¾ cups unsifted flour
(optional – 1 cup chop nuts)

Directions:

Grease and flour 9x5 pan. Mix all ingredients well and bake until top is golden brown and starting to split slightly. 375 degrees for about 1 hour 20 minutes (may take longer).

Update

It's me, Bou. VW has asked me to post for her tonight. If you read the previous post, you will understand why.

Her father was sent home this afternoon so he could live his last hours and days in his own home around family. He is not lucid at this point. Hospice is sending a full time nurse starting tonight or tomorrow morning and doing what Hospice does best, they will keep him out of pain while offering support to the family.

VW also asked me to please thank everyone for their comments, thoughts and prayers. She greatly appreciates all of it.

I wish I could put into words what a wonderful man her Dad is. Gentle and sweet, he always brings warmth and laughter with him. I am praying tonight that he does not suffer and that VW and her family continue to be comforted by all of our prayers and positive thoughts.

What a Day

Yesterday was a very difficult day. I cannot express enough thanks to Bou for being there to listen and offering to post for me. Luckily I had already written up some stuff and put it out. The other entries… well at least it gave me a break. Today on the other hand. Well, we’ll see how I do.

Yesterday was my Mom’s Birthday.

Yesterday morning (5am or so) my dad was in the hospital on life support.

Around 11am, my Mom decided to take him off life support per the fact they had both decided many years ago to have living wills and such. Yes, she was the one who allowed them to put him on life support and now she had to make the decision to take him off. He was going in and out of consciousness, blood pressure was up and down and so on.

He lived. This is wonderful. But from the time I got the call at 6am until around 2pm a lot of stuff happened. At 2pm they thought him well enough to make arrangements to move him out of ICU and to another floor. At 6pm I got the call that he was moved and the room number. Now these times I am quoting are approximate until I called him. I know I called him at 7:08pm. He had just finished eating (which means the tube was out of his throat!!) but he still had difficulty talking. He did say Good Night to me and I will hold that memory dear.

I need to thank my friends and my Husband for being so supportive. They listened to me say I hope he is not in pain and dies quickly … to the realization it is my Mom’s birthday and vehemently praying he not die that day. Off the point, while writing this today, I keep thinking “How typically female – can’t make up her mind”. And all other sort of odd thoughts keep popping in and out of my mind which I won’t put in writing for fear of being put in the ‘funny house’. So I won't be blogging much today. My mind is not quite 'with it'.

The greatest point of this whole entry is that he is not in pain and he is alive. And to...

Thank you everyone for being there for me.

Organized?

My life since I have had children is complete Chaos. I use to have a clean house and was working on one bedroom at a time to make it into something. The guest room had a start at being tropical (fish, sea scenes, ect). Then children came into my life and I am happy if I get anything more than dishes and laundry done.

I saw an entry over at Angela’s Fresh as a Daisy and made some smartarse comment. She very nicely sent me a link to a website called FlyLady.net (Sigh - I'm a smartarse and she is nice in return - what is this world coming to? Thanks Angela for being so nice!).

I am hoping it will be the kick in the rear-end that gets me going again. And I noticed today she is working on her kids toys. I give her the best of luck. I dread trying to get my kids toys organized. I was happy when I got a 3 drawer plastic unit to put all the toy cars in. (Like they stay – NOT).

Ahhh. Christmas is coming and more toys to add to the Chaos. Life is going to be very interesting as my house busts from all the stacks of paper and toys. GRIN.

Auburn Won!

Despite the fact that I watched the game they won… again! It seems that I can no longer be associated with their losing games. Phew. My Husband graduated from Auburn and for a couple of years, when ever I watched a game with him, they lost. It was unbelievable. But that streak seems to have stopped. Yesterday was the 2nd game I watched were they won. I can breath again… I can also watch football with My Husband again. GRIN.

Humor I gotta post

Oldie but goodie... and somehow I can picture my sons P'ing on the fence (#8).

Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash with Wylie Post in 1935, was probably the greatest political sage this country has ever known. Enjoy the following:

1. Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco.

2. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.

3. There are 2 theories to arguing with a woman...neither works.

4. Never miss a good chance to shut up.

5. Always drink upstream from the herd.

6. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

7. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in your pocket.

8. There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.

9. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

10. If you're riding' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.

11. Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back.

12. After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral:
When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.

2 Hour Nap

I got a nap! I got a nap! I have not had more than 2 continuous hours sleep a night for almost 2 weeks. It is amazing how you can still function with no sleep. But by this weekend, I was pretty much a total wreck. Saturday morning, My Husband offered to let me go back to bed for a little while. I took it! I feel so much better now. Though trying to post with a squirming 1 year old in my arms is difficult. EEEWwwwwwww he f.rted. Now I know why he was fussy and wanted to be held.

Slapdash thoughts

Needed to go to Walmart today to pick up some of those Feel & Learn diapers. They are the only place that seems to carry them around here. It surprised me that they really appear to work for my #1 Son. Since he has been wearing them, during the day he usually asks at least once to go to the bathroom. Night time is a whole different story about how to delay going to sleep. Back to the story, off I go to Walmart with both boys in tow. #2 Son proceeds to fall asleep. Sigh. Therefore when I get there, I put #1 Son in a basket and sleeping #2 Son in an umbrella stroller. This does not work well. I had random strangers asking if they could help me. I bit the bullet (due to my arm hurting) and picked up the stroller and proceeded to see if it will fit into the cart. Yipeee… It worked AND #2 Son stayed asleep. I got some of the strangest looks while in Walmart but I was able to get those diapers.

Today I asked my #1 Son if he wanted to have a bologna sandwich. He is starting to repeat words, and not necessarily what you just said. He asks for things and tries to talk to you. So after asking if he wanted the sandwich, he looked at me and said “Blow me”. I stopped dead in my tracks. I tried again. I asked him “What do you want?” He replied with “Blow me sanmich”. Phew. He was trying to say he did want a bologna sandwich. But it is amazing in those few seconds what goes through your mind. I’m thinking – what did he watch on tv? Did he hear it somewhere while we were out? Naturally, I’m happy he is trying to speak. I’ll just have to be more aware of those words that may sound like something else. GRIN.

CancerForums.net

I found this site while trying to come up with some answers on my Dad’s cancer in his bones. They did a great job in answering my questions. Hence, I’m passing on this website to others. It may not be as good for you as it was for me… but it has good information and they try to help you. If you know someone with cancer or just have questions about cancer, give this site a try.

http://cancerforums.net

Good Food

The Carnival of Recipes XIII is out for all to enjoy.

There is Cajun Chicken Drumsticks, Cranberry Sauce with Zing, Oatmeal Cookies and so much more. Nope, didn't link them here... go check out ALL the recipes at Carnival of Recipes XIII at The Common Virture.

The Easy Way Out

Talk about making my life easy today. Bou over at Boudicca’s Voice wrote up about our breakfast together yesterday. She had it right on the button. So I’m going to just give you a link over to her entry here. Enjoy!

1 2 5 6 9 10

Does this have something to do with HeLa cells? Nope. Possibly a pseudorandom number sequence? Nope. Give up? Yep! Good, because the real reason for those numbers is that is how my #1 Son counts right now. This morning, My Husband was playing with #1 Son and listening to him count. Being a Male and having to fix things, he tried to get our #1 Son to count correctly. Also being male, #1 Son said “No No Dada it 1 2 5 6 9 10”. I thought I was going to laugh out loud. But then they both repeated the process, this time #1 Son being very emphatic and saying “No No… DaaaaDaaaa it 1 2 5 6 9 10”.

Being the ever so playful Husband, he turns to me and says something like I really should teach our son to count correctly and proceeds to count to 10 for me. I was laughing or I would have heard it better. Ohhhhh. Living in a houseful of male beings certainly brings in unexpected entertainment.

Humor for Dreaded Wednesdays

A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband.

Suddenly her husband burst into the kitchen yelling "Careful .. CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my GOD! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my GOD! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER?

They're going to STICK! Careful ... CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"

The wife stared at him. "What the hell is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?

The husband calmly replied, "I wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving."

Beef and Mozzarella Bake

Time for the Carnival of Recipes again. Erudite Michael of the Common Virtue will be hosting the recipes this week. Get your recipe in by Midnight Nov 11, 2004. Send them to recipe.carnival(at)gmail(dot)com. Where (at) = @ and (dot) = .

This is from the Campbell’s No Time To Cook Recipe book. I found it to be good for a quick and easy meal. It says the prep time is 10 minutes and cooking time is 35 minutes. It took me about that long but not necessarily in that division of time.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 tsp dried basil leaves, crushed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove garlic minced
1 can Campbell’s condensed Italian Tomato Soup
1 can Campbell’s condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
1 ¼ cups water
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese ( 6 oz)
4 cups cooked medium shell macaroni (about 3 cups dry)

Directions

In 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef, basil, black pepper and garlic until browned. Stirring to separate meat. Spoon off fat.

Stir in soups, water and 1 cup mozzarella cheese; add macaroni. In 2-quart oblong baking dish, spoon in mixture. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup mozzarella cheese. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

Monkey See Monkey Do

Or more like younger brother sees what older brother does and repeats. My #1 Son has a tendency to twirl his hair when he is tired or nervous… this morning I saw #2 Son watching #1 Son and then #2 Son grabbed his own hair and pulled it. At least #2 Son has not figured out how to twirl it yet.

Yesterday during Speech Therapy for #1 Son, #1 Son was saying the word ‘blue’. No, it doesn’t sound like blue but close. Suddenly #2 Son is saying it as well. And it sounded just like how #1 Son says it.

#1 Son goes to play with his enormous number of hot wheel cars, and right behind him goes #2 Son to try it as well. Though #2 Son has not figured out how to put them on the track yet. He is getting close.

And during our walking of the #1 DogSon yesterday I had the biggest laugh. #1 Son was making ‘raspberry’ noises (aka fart noises) and shaking his head. Every time he did this #2 Son roared with laughter. They kept this up for over 5 minutes. I had tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard at the two of them.

Wonder what today will bring?

What Happened Over the Weekend?

It was a pleasant trip up to Pensacola. We stopped in a hotel overnight (see this post) and continued the next morning. We arrived by 1pm. The boys had both napped in the car and woke up as we arrived. Made it a little hard on them, but they were rested and they had fun once they really woke up.

I forgot to bring back pictures of the house before the cleanup. Oh my. It is just so hard to believe. And there is still so much to do. I have to brag about My Husband. My Husband was wonderful. He spent 2 days doing yard work to get their backyard looking decent. I have no idea how much time and money was spent to get it to the point it was at when we arrived but there was still so much to do. As it is, there is still more to do… fences to put up, borders to put it back up, and more.

The kids did their usually funny stuff. Tink, my oldest sister, was with #1 Son out in the backyard looking at Mamaw’s stuff. They had some cement animal that my #1 Son was pointing out to Tink… pointing out the Butt. Repeatedly. She was laughing so hard when she came back up, that all I could understand her to say was he was talking about the Big Butt.

#2 Son gave Tink a bunch of kisses. For those without a 1 year old around… it is like getting a wet sloppy kiss from a dog. At least from my 1 year old… open mouth, drool and sometimes a little tongue. Ugh. But Tink took it in stride and let him do it.

Shorty, my middle sister, (who I have decided to use her old nickname – mind you she is only 1 inch shorter than I am) played ball with #1 Son. I was worried. She was sitting in the grass and threw him the ball. He proceeded to get it and walk about 2 feet away from her and throw it back. Luckily she is well coordinated and caught it before it hit her in the face. They continued to play like this for a while. It was interesting to try and get #1 Son to back up. I would ask him to back up and he would take 3 steps back. Then when it was time to throw it, he would walk 3 steps forward. That’s my boy. Grin.

Ok, this is long enough. I have more to tell about Mamaw and Papa and the trip from the darker regions back home.

Thanks Bow hmmm Boo Ah now I remember… Bou

Just wanted to say Thanks to Bou for posting for me while I was gone. And I am very happy she didn’t tell you some of the college stories. {phew}.

I have some stories to tell, but it will take me a day or two to get it all out here. After an 11 hour trip yesterday, my children getting up at 5:30am today and 2 appointments to attend to today… I’m not going to have much time for blogging.

Though my in-laws made it nice to come home. They had made ham, mac & cheese and beans for dinner and had it waiting for us. Ahhhh. Now that is the life.

Thank you everyone!

We survived and made it back.

We made it back. Just a quick picture to show my #2 Son, who is a year old, with my niece's son who is 6 months old. Yep, you read that correctly. My son is no short kid...I can't wait to see how tall my niece's son gets!

More later... tired and have tons to do before putting the kids to bed in 20 minutes.

Side note: That is my sister's, Tink, grandson. Big GRIN. She is a grandmother for the 3rd time with that one.

A Baby Cinderella????

Geezoweez, don't they have child labor laws against this stuff?! Next thing you know, VW will be throwing him the keys to the riding lawn mower saying, "Have at it kiddo!" *Grin*

Look at those little stubby legs. He's so daggum cute.

A Moment of Zen

How can you not look at that picture and not feel your heart laugh? You don't even have to know how sweet their voices are or how yummy they smell. You just look at these two wonderful boys, doing what boys do best... playing in the dirt, and it covers you in a blanket of warmth. I want to reach into the picture and smooch their cheeks and rub their blonde hair.

You have the intense concentration of the 2 year old... and the impish grin of a 1 year old... "Life is Good! I'm sitting in dirt and I have a stick!"

Children can bring so much happiness to your heart. VW's boys are beautiful children...

Made it Safely

VW just called to let me know she arrived safely with her family. She said it was interesting when they arrived at the hotel last night. Son#1 was clomping all over the floor and one single little person sounded like an entire herd of elephants.

Kids have this thing about hotel rooms. They can be fast asleep, beat from the day, they arrive at a hotel and BLING! They're Awake! There is so much to see... to us it is a place to sleep, to them it is beds they can climb on, a remote they can reach, different TV programming, different smells, different sounds... Argh!

She says her Dad looks well... but that's as far as we got before Son#1 started to cry for her. I am sure it's the whole 'this isn't my bed, this isn't my house, this isn't my room' adjustment.

I'll keep you posted.

HMMMM....

(drumming my fingers on my desk) I am sitting here wondering, do I tell stories from college and our work years??? Do I spill the dirt? To tell or not to tell...

Pay back is hell. I will not tell. *grin*

Ha! Who did you expect...

VW? NO! 'Tis I, Boudicca, sitting in for my buddy VW. Muwahahahahaha!

VW is on her way to her folk's home in Pensacola to see her Dad and lend a hand for her Mom. We all know the situation, so many prayers to VW and her family.

On a lighter note... she is currently in her mini-van with her two young boys. This time they left their horse dog at home. Please, allow me to tell you that traveling with two babies for 9 hours is hellish. Hellish I tell you! I don't know how she continually does that trip with horse dog. Let me just say, she is a better woman than I. *grin*

I think right about now, she's in Stuart, feeding the kids in the car, looking at her watch thinking, "Dear God, I have 4 more hours until we stop!"

I'll keep you posted as I hear from her.

One Happy Dog Speaks

Trip to P’cola

It’s time to take a trip. My family and I will be heading up to P’cola tonight to visit with Mamaw, Papa and my sisters. We’ll all be back on Monday night. During that time, I may have a guest Blogger to keep you up to speed on my insanity… strike that… wonderful life and how my dad is doing.

See Ya Monday night!

First day of Day School

What a boy. I was finally able to get into the Day School for my #1 Son. He will now go twice a week from 9am to noon. Tuesday was the first day. We went in and met the teachers, the other students and saw all the new toys. It came time for me to leave. I walk over and give him a kiss on the forehead and say bye. He looked up briefly and said bye. I looked at him as I left and he never looked at me again, did not shed a tear and didn’t care I was leaving. PITA. I do love that boy.

More Wednesday Humor

I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me and we all could use more calm in our lives. By following the simple advice I heard on a Dr. Phil show, I have finally found inner peace. Dr. Phil proclaimed

"The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started."

So I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of both Prozac and Valium prescriptions, the rest of the cheesecake, some saltines and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how freaking good I feel. Please pass this on to those you feel are in need of inner peace.

Dreaded Wednesday is here - time for some humor

Oldie but goodie:

A LESSON FOR ALL

RULE 1: Life is not fair; get used to it.

RULE 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

RULE 3: You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice president with a car phone, until you earn both.

RULE 4: If you think your professor is tough, wait until you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure.

RULE 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity... Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping; they called it opportunity.

RULE 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

RULE 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try "delousing" the closet in your own room.

RULE 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades; they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

RULE 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

RULE 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

RULE 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Chocolate Butter Icing

This week, David Schuler of The Glittering Eye is hosting the Carnival of Recipes. This icing recipe came from Joy of Cooking. It has my adjustments to what I like. I use this on the cakes I make from a box as well as from scratch.

Ingredients:

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons butter (I use unsalted butter because that is what I have in my house)
¼ cup hot water (or cream or coffee – I use water most often)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups (or up to 4 cups) of sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Melt over a very low heat (or use a double broiler):

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate

Melt in it:

3 tablespoons butter

Remove these ingredients from the heat and add:

¼ cup hot water (or cream or coffee – I use water most often)
1/8 teaspoon salt

Add gradually:

2 cups (or up to 4 cups) of sifted confectioners’ sugar (I do this to taste, depends on if I want more of a chocolate taste or a sweeter taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Hi Papa

My #1 Son likes to talk to Papa on the phone. The other night my Husband called me in to the room to hear #1 Son. Yep, he was saying “Hi Papa”, “blah blah blah”, “Bye Papa”. Did I mention he was holding his puppy by the tail and talking into the butt? GRIN.

Next, yesterday I hear him saying “Hi Papa”, “Bye Papa” while holding his hand up to his ear. So cute! Then I realized there was more to this than just his hand… specifically he was putting his finger in his ear. Hmm. I get suspicious. I go over and look at his ear. Oh geeze. There is a cheerio in it. I take it out.

About 15 minutes later, I need to take his temperature. He has the sniffles and I want to make sure he isn’t running a fever. I use an ear thermometer on #1 Son. For some reason it isn’t registering a temperature. I look into my son’s ear. Ta Da. There is another cheerio shoved even further into the ear. Sigh. This time I very carefully check both ears. All Clear. Also, no fever. It is still just his molar coming in the upper left that is causing the sniffles.

Amazing what kids will do. Wonder what I will find next (and where)?

Foot Size

Ready for this? I think my 2 year old (#1 Son) will be wearing my shoes by the time he is … 3? And #2 Son is not far behind. #2 Son was only a ½ size smaller for is first shoe than #1 Son. I have high hopes that #2 Son can wear #1 Son’s shoes in the future… at least until they get old enough to complain about it.

Here are 2 pictures of my #2 Son’s shoe, #1 Son’s shoe and my shoe lined up. Unbelievable. For those out there who don't know what size I wear, it's a size 6 wide.

Time Change

The time change happened over the weekend. My #2 Son expresses my feelings exactly on this issue in this picture:

Acrobatics

Do you remember a Sit & Spin? Well my in-laws bought my #1 Son a Sit & Spin last year for Christmas.

Notice the top? You press it and the most horrendous music comes out of it. Loud and horrible is the best way to describe it. And my sons love it. Particularly making music with it. #2 Son decided to show his acrobatic abilities by standing on it. You heard me right, standing on it. Not holding on. I was expecting a broken neck, big bruise on the head, something major to happen. I couldn’t even get the camera going because I was in shock. He did just fine. Leaned forward, played that terrible music and sat down.

Not to be out done. #1 Son decided to do a special balancing act as well. He decided to stand up, hands free on this toy. I have since moved it away from the couch.

I am totally amazed I didn’t end up in the emergency room over either one of these balancing acts. Gotta love those kids.