Bunny Recap

What better way to kick off Easter weekend than with a pitcher of Blue Moon and the best pizza in town? None, I tell ya! Arwyn's at her aunt Banana's house for the weekend? Even better!


We'll skip right over Saturday and the boring trip to Lowe's to pick out faucets and grass seed (we just go hog wild when our child is out of town) and get right to the good stuff. Who wouldn't love to wake up to a plate of orange rolls hot from the oven and an Easter basket on the table?


Bubby's basket. The Easter bunny gave him women's flip-flops. Oops. No pictures of Arwyn with her basket because she got so much crap from other people that we decided to keep the goods and use them as potty bribes presents.


Neither bone-deep wind chill nor snotty noses shall keep us from hunting eggs at Grandma's house. Those cows better stay away from my eggs.


Breaking up fights between cousins and eating your kid's chocolate. Its what Easter is all about. Isn't it? What?

Smells Like Christmas

I went to bed with the AC on and woke up to turn the heat on. Bizarre weather that put me in the mood for baking and soups, so I tried the no-knead recipe that Alicia posted recently.


I am a fairly accomplished cook and I love to bake, but there are some things (mostly bread-y products) I just cannot make, no matter how many times I try. I've overcome my pancake problem by sticking with a recipe from a Bizquick cookbook. I just add different things to it to make various flavors of pancakes. Its the only recipe that works for me, whatever the reason. This might be my new bread recipe.


Isn't it pretty? It was easy to throw together, it rose like it was supposed to, and it is de-lish. I pre-heated the oven early and left the oven door cracked to raise the kitchen temperature, so perhaps that's why a bread product finally decided to turn up properly. It was easy enough to make while running to the basement for laundry and overseeing a paint project by my very own little Picasso.


It made a lovely afternoon snack, topped with Dillman's Black Raspberry Seedless Preserves (shameless family plug).


I give it a hearty five fruits.

Swaparooni

OMSH is cookin' up a swap!

New Knife

Not Chai

My doc of natural meds recommended I drink a cup of this vile concoction every day:

Brew 1 cup peppermint tea. Mix equal amounts of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cayenne pepper, and cardamon. Add 1/8 to 1/4 tsp to tea. Use Stevia to sweeten.

Every morning I get to look forward to the sensation of my mouth and throat being licked with the flames of hell.


I would MUCH rather be drinking this:

Goodies!

I received my order from the super talented Theresa of Rock-Paper-Scissors fame last week. So much fun stuff! I immediately tore the package open to see inside, but haven't had a chance to play with any of it yet.


Go check out her etsy shop!

More Potty Talk

I'm researching potty books and DVDs online. On Amazon, I come across a cute book called Does a Pig Flush? WHY is this book $73.96?!?! Does someone from the publishing company come to your house and potty train your child for you? If so, then it might be worth the price tag. OK, it would definitely be worth the price tag. (Hey, maybe I could start my own business: We Wipe for You) Is this a typo? After looking at this listing three separate times and trying to figure out what I was missing, I finally see (in small type) that there is a paperback version available for $5.95. That, I might consider.

No Words

Sometimes I rail against the forces that brought me to be living the life that I am. Sometimes I get so angry for having to do all of these jobs. Sometimes I am ungrateful and ugly. Sometimes I lose my shit. Sometimes I read something that makes me remember how lucky I am.

As My Garden Grows

This tulip is outside our back door and it has now been joined by seven of its brothers and sisters. And that black plastic which I loathed? Gone! I plan on filling this space up with flowers, flowers and some more flowers. We might be eating canned beans by the end of the summer, but at least our yard will look good. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!


This is a small tree in our backyard. It was half expired when we moved in and we (by 'we', I mean Bubby) had to remove several branches, and we weren't sure if the tree would survive the amputation. Now it is so pretty! Our neighbors told us it had beautiful flowers in the spring, but this is the first year it has looked this good.


The peonies are coming out of hibernation. These babies grow so fast! I think I took this picture two days ago and they are already doubled in size. Incidentally, I've always called peonies "pee-on-mes". Sick, but true.


I have no idea what my recent fascination with the flowers in the backyard is all about, but I'm going with it. It's that or poop talk. That's all I've got right now.


This is a really pretty little tree on our side yard. I have no idea what anything is called. It has these gorgeous flowers in the spring and then dark red heart-shaped leaves in fall. I like it.


Bubby, I hope you like canned beans.

A Real Moment

I saw OMSH had joined the Real Mom 'movement' and decided to start my own flickr set celebrating moments of what? Insanity? Ineptitude? Survival?

More times than I'd care to admit, Arwyn enjoys her lunch in front of the computer or the tv. It keeps her busy and quiet for a few minutes so I can enjoy my own meal without the constant stream of "Sit down. Get back in your chair. Don't do that with your fork. Eat your lunch." etc, etc. This works as long as it is a game she can do by herself and I don't have to rescue her.


Today's Real Moment was brought to you by the letter P and the number 2.

Oh My

I just discovered another blog to add to my ever-growing bookmarks. Because really, who doesn't have the time to read 500 blogs per day?!! I mean, its not like I'm doing anything but cleaning up bodily fluids anyway.

I'd seen OMSH referenced on other sites but had never checked her out before today. And wow, I'm really glad I did. She's straight forward and funny and sounds like a person who would be great to get to know. And she loves Sonic, so how could I resist? I'm loving her Real Moms flickr set and have decided to attempt something along those same lines.

Tonight the girls and I are having a night on the town. And by girls, I don't mean me and my ta-tas. I mean iMollie, our buddy BJ and myself. I think we're all looking forward to it slightly more than may be appropriate, so here's hoping it lives up to the hype.

And now I'm craving Sonic. The best birthday gift my brother-in-law BW ever gave me? A Sonic gift card. I'll have a large coke, please.

Can You Dig It?

I made a list of everything we planted so I wouldn't forget anything. I'm such a nerd, but we already knew that, didn't we.

• Hyacinths (2) - one purple, one white
• Cosmos (seeds) - orange and yellow
• Zinnias (seeds) - multi-colored
• Daisy mix (seeds) - multi-colored
• Anemones - purple
• Dutch Iris - don't recall
• Bearded Iris - black
• Phlox (2) - purple
• Viola (6 pack) - orange and purple

Here is the "tool" I was using before Monday. This is actually a promotional item given away at a library grand opening. Suffice to say it was not meant to be used to dig any actual holes, but I did anyway because that was pretty much all I had on hand.


My first actual gardening tool. Its amazing how much faster the digging went once I wised up.


My assistant's tools. They don't dig too well either, but they do fling dirt really well in all directions and water anything in sight.

Wilderness

We walked outside this morning to leave for errand-running and were thrilled to see a profusion of flowers had popped up overnight. This is the second year for these and they were one of the first things I planted in our yard. We have an odd assortment of things planted around, but most of them were put there by the previous owners. I was truly amazed that they lived and continue to do so, as it seems the multitude of squirrels living in the tree above these tulips like to dig up the bulbs. Perhaps I'm messing about in their favorite nut hiding place.


We have quite a few daffodils scattered around and I'm always glad to see them show their sunny heads. These are in our front yard, which is still a bit of a muddy mess from pulling out old shrubs last year.


Arwyn and I spent some time outside Saturday and today putting in a few new additions to the 'flower garden', which is quite an overstatement. We both ended up sweaty and covered in dirt, but I felt like I'd accomplished something and have the sore hands and arms to prove it.


And, lest you think the whole place is brimming over with beauty, we have a few of these as well. I actually don't mind them and Arwyn likes to pick them, which keeps her from picking the actual flowers. Although, she seems to have moved on to a worm obsession and every time one was uncovered she would carry it around until it escaped her clutches.


The weather here has been amazing, and even a little frightening. 80+ degrees and running the a/c in March seems a tad scary, even though I am so glad for the sunshine and ability to be outside for long stretches.


Happy Monday.

Poop Fest '07

Who would have thought that a day that started out with this:


would end up like it has? A little time line of my day so far:

8:40 am Arwyn announces her awakening.. She has peed out of her pull-up and pooped. Clean her up, strip bed and changing table, get her dressed, start laundry.
9:00 am Eat breakfast. Watch Sesame Street.
9:30 am A friend calls, inviting us to the park. Throw on clothes and pack a bag.
10:00 am Arrive at park.
10:30 am Arwyn has to pee. Park bathrooms are LOCKED. Concept of squatting has not yet been introduced. Attempt to hold her above the ground behind a trashcan while she pees. Partially succeed.
10:45 am Get pooped on by a bird. I could not make this stuff up.
11:50 am Grab Arwyn's feet to keep her from falling off playground equipment. Get kicked in chest and covered in wet sand.
11:00 am Arwyn has to pee again. Attempt behind-the-trashcan maneuver a second time. Succeed less than first time.


11:45 am Arrive home covered head to toe in wet sand and dirt. Strip Arwyn outside, try to shake off sand. Comb sand out of Arwyn's hair and give her a much-needed bath. More laundry.
12:15 pm Make and eat lunch.
12:30 pm Arwyn pees in her pants on the recliner. Strip Arwyn, get her dressed again, strip recliner, scrub recliner, more laundry.
1:00 pm Play computer games with Arwyn.
1:15 pm While I am in the bathroom, Arwyn poops in her pants, then sticks her hand down her pants. I return to find her covered in poop. CUT OFF her clothes and throw them away. Give her another bath while she cries, throw away bath puff and get her dressed for third time. Clean tub, bathroom floor and chair she was sitting in. Take out trash. More laundry.
1:45 pm Put Arwyn down for a nap before I lose my mind.
2:00 pm Take a shower. Wonder when I can start drinking. More laundry.

Spunky

Tomorrow is our niece's 14th birthday. Fourteen?!! How did this happen?? Our sweet little funny gal has grown up into a punk-loving awesome teenager(!), hence the stripes and skull. She lives in Texas and we don't get to see her very often. She was in town last week for her Spring Break and we had a great time hanging out and shopping, of course.

Bubby and I feel that she is part of the reason we got together. She was here for a visit when the Bubs and I were working together. I saw what an awesome dude he was with her (great daddy-to-be) and he saw what a goofball I can be. She has always been, and definitely still is, a completely wonderful and very special person to us.

Happy B-day, Tay. We miss you.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Dreaming of what the weather was like last week (was it only last week?) when Arwyn and I spent the morning at the zoo with friends. I saw our first daffodil is finally blooming this morning, so I am holding out some hope for Spring's return.


I finally got my cookie fix. I know you all were worried. Crisis averted.


Arwyn modeling her tiara and earrings (thanks, iMollie!) and trying out her new jump rope. They're never too young for multi-tasking.

B-day Mania

Mid-February marks the beginning of birthday season among our group of friends with kids. Saturday we went to a raucous party at iMollie's house for Henry. Best quote of the day: "Time to break out the New Castle."


His pressie was a retro-throwback t-shirt. I got a red and white three-quarter-sleeves t-shirt for my 8th(?) birthday that had letters just like this, only mine were my initials. I love making (and buying) things that remind me of stuff I had when I was a kid.


Sunday's party was an indoor/outdoor affair complete with blow up jumping thing in the yard. Arwyn declared her place as life of the party by walking into the garage and announcing, "I pooped!" to anyone who wished to hear.


We spent the remainder of the day camped out at home with a recurring fever, which seems to have mysteriously disappeared over the course of today. I'm hoping we didn't spread the germy love to everyone at the party.


I've spent the majority of the day pouring over the Strawberry Shortcake listings on ebay. We are currently in a phase and I am happy to encourage this one. It brings back all those rainbow colored childhood memories, coveting my friend's humongous Strawberry Shortcake collection while sniffling over my one little measly doll. I sound like a spoiled brat. I wasn't then, but am now! hee hee


After reading a magazine article about people who won the Lottery, Bubby and I had a funny discussion about what we'd do if we hit it big. Now he's accusing me of harboring a secret toy fantasy all these years. But it's all for the girl! I swear!

Outdoor Cooking

This morning I spent $13.73 (including tax) on a little thing I like to call MY SANITY.


Thank the Good Lord it has been warm the past few days. If I have to watch one more episode of Dora the Explorer I'm going to vomit. Then Dora will scream at me from the tv, "Vamanos! Help Arwyn's mommy clean up the vomit!" I'm all about the cultural diversity and introducing Spanish to the youngsters, but why does she have to yell all the time?

While out running errands we stopped by the thrifty consignment shop to drop off a few things and this lovely plastic kitchen happened to be sitting outside. I've thought about getting her one for a long time, but had no idea where to put it. Inspiration smacked me upside the head this morning and I thought, "Well, duh. We'll put it outside." The pots and pans were brought outside as well, and then we made soup for an hour and a half. And the only person yelling was me, which I don't particularly like to hear either, but we seem to be going through a "willful stage" otherwise known as age 2.75.


Combine that with the potty training and it makes for some interesting days. I'm not sure if she just isn't used to what all this feels like yet or what, but while we were outside she had to come in 12 times to go potty. Of those 12 trips inside, she only actually peed three times. And she would walk. as. slow. as. humanly. possible. inside. to. the. bathroom. Mama needs to grow some patience. Do they make a plant for that?

Milestones

I'm blaming my absence this week on the potty training going on at our house.


It's been a little difficult to get much of anything else done. Such is life, I s'pose. It beats buying diapers!

Easy as ...

This is a little ABC book that I made for Arwyn a couple of weeks ago. I knew if I didn't make it right away, it would join the pile of unfinished projects on the dining room table, so I stayed up until 1 am to finish it. Go me!

Bubby researched Disney characters for me to fill in some of the difficult letters (I and Y). I started out wanting it to include only people we knew, but that proved to be impossible. So I switched gears and included several characters that she is familiar with and a few that she's not.


This was a fun project and would make a neat gift for a kid. As you can see, I just printed the pictures out and glued them to some card stock. I used a black Sharpie to draw the letters. Not very glamorous, but she doesn't care!


I punched holes on the fold and tied it with a pretty ribbon.


Self publication is the way to go.