A Cali Girl Momma

Saving Money with Coupons

2010-05-18T22:24:00.003-04:00

Saving money is on everyone's minds these days. In our house we pay special attention to online coupons anytime we're making a large purchase. When ever we buy things from large stores like Sears, Home Depot, Lowes, Amazon and even Toys R Us.

Recently we saved some money using an online printable Lowes Coupon. The coupon is good for 10% on certain purchases so it can really add up if you're buying something large like new cabinets or a lawn mower.

Counting

2009-03-10T20:15:00.003-04:00

Can I get a head count of how many of you count to anywhere between 1 & 5 to get your kids to do something? I do it all the time. All the time, despite wondering what this means about my parenting skills, I prefer it to yelling or spanking ~~both of which I have been known to do on occasion.~~

So...Little Man was sick, but coming out of it. We were packing up to go to daycare and work. I was trying to get my almost 4 year old, who is fairly self-sufficient, to get on his jacket. My attempts fell on the heels of him not wanting to get out of bed, not wanting to brush his teeth, not wanting to come downstairs...I was already annoyed. So when he wouldn't put his jacket on this is the unbelievable conversation we had:

Me: "little man. Put. Your. Jacket. On. Now."
Little Man: Waaaaa, Waaaa, Waaaa. "I can't. I don't know how."
Me: "If you do not put your jacket on by the time I count to 5, there will be no movie in the car."
Little Man: Waaaaa, Waaaa, Waaaa. "I can't."
Me: One.
Little Man: Waaaaa. Waaaa. Waaaa.
Me: Two.
Little Man: Ahhhhh. Waaaa. Ahhhh. "STOP COUNTING."
Me: "Three."
Little Man: WHAAAAAAAAA. "STOP COUNTING YOU IDIOT!"
Me: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I could not believe my ears. Did my precious Little Man, whom I carried in my womb for 9 months, whom I nursed for one year, whom I snuggle when he's hurt, just call me an idiot and use it in perfect context? By the time I was done yelling at him up one side and down the other, I am fairly certain he will not say the word IDIOT ever again.

When it was all said and done, I realized that he really doesn't know what an idiot is. He knew how to use it in context, knew that it is a name you call another person, but didn't really know what it meant. What I wonder, however, is what's the next horrible thing he's going to call me and how long will I be waiting for that one?

Knocked to our Knees

2009-03-09T08:34:00.004-04:00

Where have I been? I have been through Pneumonia with 2 kids, an ear infection, 2 teeth and melanoma. It's been a rough couple of weeks, but I think we have pulled through it.

So Little Man started with a fever one Sunday and just wasn't feeling good. I did what any ~~good~~ parent would do when he woke with a fever on Monday morning (and I had to be to work because my boss was on vacation and 8 new employees were starting that day), I loaded him up with tylenol and motrin and sent him to daycare. I get so angry at those parents...darn them for exposing my child, then I went and did it myself. He was okay at the end of the day and for the rest of the week. Then the next Saturday he woke at 1:30am crying in pain. I went in and calmed him down, he felt warm but I didn't do anything about it. He woke again at 2:45am. That time he was burning up and taking very short and shallow breaths. I gave him some motrin and breathing treatment. He was breathing normally during the treatment, but went right back to short shallow breaths as soon as I took the mask off. I took him back to my room, then decided to take him to the ER (30 minutes away). By the time we got there, his fever was gone and he was breathing normally. $100 later, we got sent home.

He threw up Saturday morning then he was in and out of a fever of over 102. By Sunday I couldn't get his fever down. At one point he had a temp of 102.5, I gave him motrin, and checked him 45 minutes later - he was up to 104.1. I called the pediatrician who said to take him in. This time I took him to the best hospital in the area (45 minutes away) that has a pediatrician on in the ER staff at all times. Another $100 later we found out he had bacterial pneumonia. Oh...and by the way, since your daughter is cranky and running a low grade temp take her to the pediatrician tomorrow.

Little Man got his antibiotic on Sunday and starting taking that with the probiotic miracle powder (if you haven't used this stuff for your kids when they are taking antibiotics, start - it's great).

On Monday Ladybug went to the doctor where we discovered she had viral pneumonia and an ear infection. Hellllooooo....this explains why my normally easy going child was being a cranky and clingy mess. Poor little thing cut 2 teeth during this whole thing.

Both came out of it like troopers and are back to normal. During this whole thing we also discovered that the hubs had another Melanoma. If you are counting, I think this makes #5. It was another one that he found himself and asked to have it removed. Another one where the doctor thought it was nothing but removed it anyway. The path report came back last week, and thank goodness it was a melanoma that was just on the skin level; it hadn't gone in any deeper.

The doctor seems to think that he is rare because his body is making melanomas out of moles that appear to the normal run-of-the-mill moles. This rarity does not make me feel good. It actually scares this crap out of me because he has hundreds of moles and we just don't know what's lurking in any of them. The doctor suggested that he get back in touch with his doctor at Mass General in Boston because he is the number one guy in the country for up and coming genetic testing for melanoma. I am working on the hubs for this. I am also working on getting him to call his oncologist, whom he only sees once per year, about a full-body scan.

After all of that, I was sitting in my office last week listening to two of my co-workers (just outside my office door) discuss the pros and cons of a particular tanning salon in the area. I wanted to scream at them!

So what appeared to be a long bloggy vacation wasn't a vacation at all. It was a time of sickness and healing.

Diapers

2009-02-26T12:22:00.002-05:00

I buy my diapers in bulk at one of the big buy in bulk stores (like costco). I went today to buy 2 boxes, and in the time span of one month the cost of said boxes has gone up $6 per box. That's right - $6 in one month. That was a 15% increase in cost over 1 month. What the hell? How can they do that? I know how...we are stuck and they know it. They know most mothers will not switch brands once they find one they like. We mothers are very picky about which diapers leak and don't.

I am so annoyed...those little pampers point do not make up for the cost!

Lessons Learned So Far

2009-02-20T11:35:00.000-05:00

Things I have learned on my quest for a healthier life:

1) Chewing a piece of sugar -free fruity gum helps cure my craving for a sweet treat. I recently discovered a pina colada flavored Trident White. Delish. When will they have a chocolate sugar-free gum? Now that's something I could really, really use.

2) Everyone in the house of Cali Girl has been sick at least twice since the first of the year. I, on the other hand, have not. I am convinced it has to do with the amount of water I consume. I flush (literally)away all those bad germs.

3) Once 8-10 glasses of water a day become a habit for you, you find yourself sprinting to the bathroom less often.

4) Fiber One is my new favorite brand. They have some many new and great products out there. I love their english muffins, their bread and their frosted shredded wheat cereal. Their granola bars have peanut products in them, so sadly I have to stay away from them. I’m pretty certain they don’t read my blog, but I will post my request anyway: I would love for them to add refrigerator biscuits and/or crescent rolls to their line of products. The dough boy needs a "healthy" dose of competition to lighten his roly-poly self.

5) Said Fiber One products should not be consumed the night before a weight check. One serving on the frosted shredded wheat cereal packs 8 grams of fiber, which is 1/3 of your entire daily needs. I find that it leaves me feeling rather bulky in the morning and not at all prepared to face the scale.

6) Not all hummus is created equal. My brand and flavor of choice is Cedar's original, which has just 30 calories per 2 tablespoons. My local grocery was out of the original, so I opted for the Heavenly Spiced variety. After a week of spreading 2 tablespoons on my pita, I noticed that my weight loss had slowed down. I read the dietary info and notice that this little concoction packs 90 calories per 2 tablespoons, which is really okay when you plan for it. I wasn't planning for it.

7) If it passes by your lips, write it down. The only way for me to be successful is to write down everything I eat. It holds me accountable and is a great visual reminder of what I can and can not eat at the end of the day.

8) After 7 weeks of drinking only 4 ounces of wine a couple of times a week, I can not drink 16 ounces without expecting to be looped. Calm down...16 ounces is only 4 glasses. Sometimes I need more than a 1/2 cup of wine.

9) Salad with salt sprinkled on it and dressing on the side, for dipping your fork into, is not as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I prefer it to the light dressings on the market that aren't so great.

10) 1/4 cup of golden raisins has the same amount of calories as 3 small peppermint pattys. I am all for healthy these days, by 3 bits of minty and dark chocolaty deliciousness might be worth trading in the golden raisins on occasion.

11) 1 reduced fat Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookie is worth 1 weight watchers point and sharing it with my 11 month old makes it worth it.

12) Applebee’s weight watchers meals…at least the one I had….aren’t that great. I would have been more satisfied at another restaurant with a plain salad and a grilled chicken breast. I would have spent less points and could have enjoyed it with a nice glass of wine.

13) Wii Fit can be your friend and foe. I love the fun of trying to beat my score each and every time I turn it on. I don’t love knowing that my wii fit age is 54, a whopping 19 years older than my real age, and I don’t love seeing my cute little mii turned into a pudge pot.

14) The WW oatmeal raisin cookies, for just 1 point are really good! Unfortunately, I don't think they intend for you to eat all 9 cookies in the box one day.

15) Sliced strawberries with light vanilla yogurt on top are a delish way to have dessert and satisfy a sweet tooth craving once the kids are in bed.

16) I'm an evening snacker. I do my best to save a few ww points for the end of the day when I know my temptation will be greatest.

I am quite sure I could keep this list going and add to it every day. For now, these are the lessons I have learned and am happy to know them. If you have any lessons or tips to share…don’t be shy….leave me a comment!

Foreclosure

2009-02-19T15:30:00.004-05:00

I know the political season is over. I tried to stop talking about it. I can't help myself today because my butt feels burned.

It would seem that our new president is formulating a plan to bail out people who are at risk for foreclosure on their home. President Obama has dropped the annual income range to eliminate me (he's moved me to the upper class), which seems so odd to me since my pocket book doesn't feel out of the middle class (and it certainly doesn't feel like Channel pocket book of a Real Housewive of Manhattan or Orange County or Atlanta), so I am not eligible for any tax breaks. Okay - I knew that was going to happen. When his number dropped a few times, from $250K, right before the election I knew we were going to be out and it would drop to less than $75K.

His new bailout is my new beef. Why am I busting my bum at work? Why did I even go back to work? Should I quit and let my family become threatened by foreclosure just so we can be bailed out and enjoy our lovely home on hardworking Americans? No! You know why? It's not in me personality to do that. We built a house that was more expensive than we could afford on one salary, so I went back to work. Simple. I am doing what I can to make it work and to help us pay our own way. We found a way to live within our means. Sure, we built outside of it, but we fixed the problem ourselves. There is no way in this world that I would ever let someone bail me out like that - no, not at the expense of my fellow hard working Americans.

What would happen to this country if other families like mine decided "to hell with it" and just quit working to accept the fine free benefits being offered? I know what would happen...the system would fall apart b/c our tax dollars wouldn't be there to support the "freebie" system.

I feel us becoming more and more socialistic all the time.

Yuck!

2009-02-18T06:43:00.000-05:00

How in the world, blogging universe, do you get a 3-year-old to stop the most disgusting and foul behavior you can think of? He's putting his fingers in a place where no fingers belong, and I am not talking about his nose people. Do they have books on this matter? I need a book. Do I need a parenting book or a picture book that says, "Don't stick your fingers there?" Quite frankly, I don't want to see a picture book like that and I'm pretty sure such book wouldn't be publishable.

I took my "no! That's foul and disgusting!" to a whole 'nother level this week when I saw it happen in the bathtub. I asked him what he would do if he knew his friends at school did that. Would he play with them? What would he do if they started calling him names based on his disgusting digging? What if I asked him not to touch me anymore because of it?

I don't know if I made an impression, but I am fully grossed out and don't know where to go. Help - has this happened to you? Am I alone in this foul behavior?

Owe! Owe! Owe!

2009-02-17T06:34:00.001-05:00

Little Man has reached the phase where he says, "Owe!" over and over again until some responds with, "Are you okay?" or "What happened?" Some might find this phase endearing; I find it annoying. Seriously - a minor trip or a small bump to the leg does not require my mommy medical attention. My mommy medical attention, however is what he gets...simply to save my sanity, I respond after hearing "owe!" 3 - 4 times.

Yesterday morning I was in the kitchen at 6am preparing my lunch, my bag and the daycare bags before heading up to get the kids. I mistakenly left the monitors on overnight, so I heard a sleepy "Owe." "Owe." "Owe." "Owe." "Owe." "Owe." then an annoyed "Owe." "Owe." "Owe." "Owe." "Owe." "Owe."

I knew that I needed to make my move or he would just keep going for the next 15 minutes. I went upstairs and this is how the conversation went:

Me: What's the matter buddy?
Little Man: That wall hit me in the face.
Me: Are you okay?
Little Man: Yeah, but the wall just hit me in the face.
Me: That stinky wall. Can you go back to sleep for a few minutes?
Little Man: Yeah.

Fast forward and hour and we are at Daycare. Here was the conversation that took place there as we walked in the door.

Little Man: Miss Cathi. The wall hit me in the face this morning.
Miss Cathy: Why'd the wall go and do that?
Little Man: I don't know.
Miss Cathy: Darn wall.

And this was the way the morning starting. This little episode I did find endearing and humorous, thereby making it an exception to my "this is so annoying" typical attitude to this phase.

Lobsters, Laptops and Closets Oh My

2009-02-16T13:08:00.000-05:00

In my little teeny tiny mind I think President Obama should give each tax paying adult a check for $30,000 and watch it stimulate the economy better than any stimulus package he can think of. Seriously - $60K in the house of Cali Girl would go a long way and would stimulate the economy with us finishing our basement and taking a vacation – pretty sure other households would do similar things with all that money. What would you do with $30K per adult in your house?

I’m a realist; I know that won’t happen. …So here at the house of Cali Girl we are doing out best to stimulate the economy without a fun little check from the government.

My Valentine’s Day gift to the hubs was a lobster dinner. We don’t believe in going out to dinner for lobster, so we buy it at the local grocery store and steam it ourselves ~~and light a gazillion candles to get rid of the boiling seafood rank smell~~. It’s as easy as can be and delish. We both had an abundant and decadent amount of lobster – two 2 pound lobster each. Yikes, but hey we wanted to stimulate the economy! The hubs ate his dripping in butter and I ate mine with lemon only, which was a new experience for me…but my abundant tush needs to squeeze into a bathing suit on May 1st and that was only 8 points of lobster! Aside from my 11 month old bundle of joy crying and whining while we were trying to finish our dinner together, it was a lovely meal.

My Valentine (aka the hubs) bought me a laptop. It started out as a mini laptop (have you seen these cute little things?), then went to a regular size for $50 more, then ended with a Dell laptop because they were having a sale. You see…we really do want to do our part in stimulating the economy, so we upgraded. The hubs was very sweet and upgraded even further to get me a pink laptop. Thank you, my dear Valentine! I will look at its oh so girly color and smile ~~and giggle when I see my big burly hubs using it~~.

Valentine’s Day weekend also greeted us with a new closet system from Easy Closets.com. When planned for a walk-in closet in our master bedroom when we built our house, but never finished it. We have his and hers reach in closets, so the walk-in was never a priority. It became a priority and now we have a beautiful closet system. When it’s finished, I’ll post some photos. Of course you know this means that I will have to further stimulate the economy and buy some lovely clothes to fill it up!

Foul Behavior

2009-02-11T07:54:00.001-05:00

Often times I find myself saying I am not surprised by anyone anymore. I have worked with enough people and seen enough personalities, to not be phased by most actions. This weekend, however, I was surprised (but I shouldn’t have been). Maybe I was surprised because it was personal and not professional.

Have you ever had someone not like you because you have figured out who they really are and what they really did? I am in this situation now. I assume that she doesn’t like me because of this. I assume she doesn’t like my whole extended family because of this. Her actions were and are despicable, but none of us has said anything to her because, quite frankly it is not our place to say anything.

Her dislike for me and my immediate family was made evident to me this weekend when she proved it by snubbing my 3 year old child. That’s right, you heard me. She used my innocent child to prove her own point of dislike for us. It’s sad and petty that she would find it necessary to use a child, who has no idea the dynamics of what’s happening.

I wish I had some witty little quip to go along with this story, but I am not feeling especially witty or quippy at the moment.

Just Another Sunday Night

2009-02-10T08:59:00.000-05:00

A random Sunday night in New Hampshire? Nope. This was Super Bowl Sunday night in New Hampshire. We fried up a turkey, which the house of Cali Girl has never done. Forgive me for saying so, but it just seems so white trash nation and I have tried to avoid it. Not to mention that the preferred oil for frying is peanut oil and I am allergic to peanuts, so I haven't been able to try it. Someone suggested it for the super bowl, so we went with and got out our lobster pot.

I gotta tell you, white trash nation or not, fried turkey is pretty darn tasty. It's not something me or my dieting butt need on a regular basis, but once every couple of years is not a bad idea.

Baking on a Diet?

2009-02-09T08:51:00.000-05:00

We had a super bowl party, so I had to make a sweet treat to go along with all the other goodies. My diet and my love of baking do not get along. As a matter of fact, my love of baking is probably what got me in trouble in the first place. I've never met a brownie batter that I didn't absolutely love.

My solution this time...I made banana flavored cupcakes. I loathe bananas (every little thing about them sends me reeling - yech). Perfect solution. I can still enjoy baking and not be tempted by the batter or the cupcake (in this case) itself.

To make banana cupcakes: I used a box of yellow cake mix added the amount of oil and water called for on the box, then add the pudding powder from one box of instant banana pudding. (no eggs). The hubs, a devote banana lover says there was just a hint of banana and that they were delish.

Adding the pudding powder to any cake mix will make your cake super moist.

Hundreds Attend Global Warming Protest

2009-02-05T11:38:00.000-05:00

Bed Head

2009-02-03T16:18:00.000-05:00

Little Man had a serious case of bed head following his nap. I had to capture it - doesn't he look so sweet in this picture??? It makes me wonder why the grumpies have to come out in him.

Mantel

2009-02-02T19:23:00.006-05:00

The hubs built this beautiful custom mantel about 2 years ago. I have stared at this mantel, which is quite big, with nothing on it for 2 years. I knew we needed to decorate in a big way. The hubs would have happily lived life for the next 30 years without decoration on the mantel or anywhere for that matter; we have a lot of blank walls in our house. These walls were expensive, so I won't settle for just any ole thing to hang on them. I need them to be perfect.

I couldn't take the mantel any longer, so we set up a date night on Saturday. We went to dinner and took in some quality time at Pier One. We walked in the door and the first thing we saw was the picture. It was staring at us with a red sale sticker. We both knew we had to have it. We carried it around Pier One aimlessly trying to pick accessories to go with it - accesories on which we could agree. After waht seemed like an hour, we settled on what you see in the picture. A complete and total improvement that won't have me staring at the blank space and thinking annoying thoughts!

Stand in the Place that You Are...

2009-01-31T11:33:00.007-05:00

Ladybug took it upon herself to stand alone last night - in the bathtub of all places. She was holding onto my hand with one hand and holding a towel in the other. She let go of my hand, understood what she was doing, then looked at me and the hubs (rare family occurrence that we would both be there enjoying bath time) with a look like..."ummmm...do you see this people," then she promptly sat. But she did it for about 10 seconds. It was exciting, but it also came with the knowledge that she was gonna be off and running shortly.

I warned Little Man that he had better watch out; Ladybug has been keeping a list of all the rotten things you have done (throwing a block at her head and making her bleed, dropping your geotrax airport on her head, smacking her in the eye even though you didn't mean to, stepping on her hands, ripping toys out of her hands, etc), and she's gonna get you back for each of them. Little Man was not impressed with this new turn of events and the laundry lists of injuries inflicted upon his sister.

Decorate

2009-01-30T04:15:00.000-05:00

This is our mantel. I look at it every day from our family room. Our house has an open floor plan, so I can sit on my tush, watch tv and see the mantel in the next room all at the same time. The only problem is, my mantel needs some decoration. We built our house 2 years ago...I think it's about time we throw something up there.

When it comes to decorating, I am always so torn. When we lived in an apartment it wasn't as big of a deal. This, this however, is my beautiful home, and I want it to be perfect. I have no idea what to put on this mantel. We are going on a date Saturday night - following dinner, we will head to Pier One, where I hope to find some inspiration for this mantel.

Anyone have any ideas?

Chili Chicken with Yogurt Sauce

2009-01-29T16:09:00.004-05:00

Chili Chicken with Yogurt Sauce

Chicken Marinade
2 Pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup OJ
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove minced
Salt and Pepper (my own addition)

Yogurt Sauce
1 8 ounce container of plain low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons minced red onion
2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine marinade and chicken in a ziploc bag. Let sit at least 4 hours or overnight.

Make yogurt sauce and store in the airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.

To cook. Spray broiler rack and pre-heat broiler. Thread chicken and tomatoes onto 6 18 inch metal skewers. Broil 5 inches from from heat until chicken is browned and cooked through. About 6 minutes on each side.

Serves 6 people at 7 points each (if you follow points).

****I swapped the chicken thighs for breasts. I cooked the chicken on the stove top with a little cooking spray. I will roasted (cooking spray, salt and pepper at 375 degrees) the roasting veggies (red peppers, onions and yellow summer squash). I will weigh the chicken and count the weight as my points (but I will add a point because of the oil and sugars in the marinade). I will serve the chicken, veggies and sauce with rice.

Skittles

2009-01-29T08:55:00.000-05:00

And this is why I don't eat skittles any longer!

Tuesday's Tip Jar

2009-01-27T10:49:00.000-05:00

Are you dieting? Does your sweet tooth sabotage you like it does me? My way around it is sugar-free, fat-free instant pudding. It sounds so simple, but it really works. I usually have it after the kids have gone down for the night. When that insane craving gets to me at 2:30 in the afternoon and has me searching for the nearest candy jar, I am now able to think of the pudding that I am going to make for myself. It works for me.

My Goal

2009-01-26T08:19:00.002-05:00

This dress is my goal. In case I have said it here, I am going to the Grand Cayman in May for a wedding and vacation. We haven't been on a real vacation since our honeymoon in 2000. We need a vacation and I need this dress. It's a $139 dress marked down to $36.99. How can I not have this dress??? It would be perfect for the wedding and a night out whilst vacationing.

The problem? What size do I order? Clearly, based on the price it is from last season. Right now they have all the possible sizes I could need, but at a price like that and with spring rapidly approaching, I fear others will find this deal irresistible, thereby leaving me without what I desperately want. Do I order what I want to wear? Do I order what I am wearing now? OYE!!! It's just too hard to decide. A friend, who is very practical and financially savy (who also needs a blog alias name), has advised me to buy 2 sizes, wait 25 days, try both on, send the one back that is too big within the 30 day return policy. Do I do that now or wait until mid-March to do that? The fact of the matter is that I have lost 10 pounds since the first of the year and I am working my arse off to lose another 20 by May 1. Can I count on what fits me mid March to fit me a month and a half later?

The next problem...my arms. The flab on my arms that keeps waving when I stop. The flab that never sees the light of day because it is horrendous. The flab that no matter how much weight I lose never seems to go away. Aside from cutting it off, how can I get rid of it??? Does anyone have the answer? If you do, I beg you to delurk yourself this one time and tell me....please!

Exercise

2009-01-23T06:42:00.001-05:00

After my trip to Cali over Christmas, I decided that the hubs and I needed to start living healthier for our kids; they are pre-disposed to thinness. We need to make some healthy changes in our house, so that making healthy food choices and exercising becomes second nature.

In my quest for a healthier lifestyle, I am weighing the option of arising at the very early hour of 4:30am to exercise. Am I crazy? Somebody put this horribly insane thought out of my head. In all seriousness, though, I can't seem to think of another time to do it. I normally get up for the day at 5:15, I wake my kids between 6:00 and 6:15, then we are out the door at 6:45. I get home at 5:15pm, we eat dinner, do laundry, do the dishes, take baths and get the kids in bed at 7:00 for Ladybug and 7:30 for Little Man. Sometime between 7:30 and 8:00 I start my work from home (which I do 2 hours 4 nights a week to allow me to stay home from work 1 day per week to be with my kids - typically a Friday). I go to bed between 10 and 10:30. Where in that day, aside from Sweatin' to the Oldies on Fridays, can I fit in exercise? I can't. I can only fit it in my getting up at an hour that should not be known to me.

We have Wii fit. I had my age calculated at 54! That's 19 years older than my actual age people - not good. I am, however, chalking up to my severe lack of coordination and balance.

Icicles

2009-01-21T04:07:00.000-05:00

This Cali Girl has always been afraid of icicles. Where I grew up, we didn't have them. I moved to New England and you can't escape them or the fact that they must come down at some point. My biggest fear is that one is going to fall on my head.

Well, guess what! My fear came to life yesterday. An icicle fell on my head as I went out a door, which is used very little, at work. An icicle, that was hanging down past the door, was hit by the door when I opened it and dropped right on my head as I went through. It friggin hurt. Then I had the weird sensation of liquid running down my head. For a brief moment I wondered if it was blood.

MLK Day in Preschool

2009-01-20T12:57:00.004-05:00

Little Man's preschool teacher, bless her heart, tries so hard when it comes to educating the kids around holidays. Yesterday was MLK Day, and Little Man must have had a lesson on it at school that day. He woke this morning telling us that if your skin was a different color you couldn't eat in restaurants. He believes that to be a current day thing. When I tried to explain to him that it was a long time ago, he was adamant that it was happening now and that Miss Fran knows all.

Now I find myself in a battle of wondering what is and isn't age appropriate. When I asked my son what dreidel was in December, he told me it was "a Jewish." Sometimes I think kids are too young to understand the depth of things. When I taught first grade we read the age appropriate books (according to scholastic) on MLK, talked about our visual differences and did an art project celebrating MLK. My conversation did not delve any deeper than "we are all the same on the inside." So, should a 3 year need to understand that our country used to have horribly insane and incomprehensible rules that made people sit in the back of the bus based on their skin color? I gotta say "no" on this one. I think he is way too young to comprehend it. Perhaps a lesson on what's the same and what's different would have been more appropriate at his age. I say let me and his teachers in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade further educate them on the day.

Tuesday's Tip Jar

2009-01-20T10:40:00.001-05:00

Looking for a way to exercise and have fun with your kids? I found a really old exercise video; you might know it - Sweating to the Oldies! I pulled it out and asked Little Man if he want to dance to silly music with me and a crazy guy on television. He, of course, said yes. We had fun dancing together for 30 whole minutes. Give it a try and laugh with your kids!

Family Guy

2009-01-15T06:13:00.003-05:00

Metro shared this Family Guy clip with Little Man. We don't watch family guy, and I must admit it's pretty funny. Little Man loves the clip and asks for it regularly. Enjoy!

PB Substitute

2009-01-14T07:41:00.000-05:00

Oh my word! I finally know what you peanut butter fanatics have been talking about. See, I am allergic to peanut butter, so I never ever understood why all of you fans would go so nutty over it. I just didn't get it.

A couple of months ago we had Little Man tested for food allergies. We knew he had them, but we wanted to see what he had other than eggs and what nuts he was allergic to (secretly I was hoping the egg allergy was gone). He's allergic to all nuts, to eggs, to dust mites (yes, dust mites - that's another post all together), and mildly to soy (he can have if it is used in moderation.

I asked the doctor about seeds. I have been operating under the assumption that he is allergic to all seeds as well. He's not. In fact, she said most seeds have a very low rate of allergens. You run into problems when they are processed in tree nut facilities. She suggested we try sun butter as a substitute for peanut butter. It is made from sun flower seeds.

It didn't take me long to find some in one of the upscale local markets. They carry it in the health food sections for $5 a jar. YIKES! Anyway, I had the hubs try it first. I'm not going to lie, I was afraid to taste it. I have a serious mental block against PB. He tried it and said it was a good substitute (much better than the soy nut butter I brought home once).

So...I gave it a taste. OH HOLY SUNFLOWER SEEDS! It was incredible. I started eating it on toast and then on crackers. Then I realized it would taste delish with chocolate. I can finally relate to you PB lovers.

On Jan 1 I started my diet again (remember weight loss wednesday???). Anyway, I had some spare points for the day, so I went looking for that jar of sun butter. When I found it and figured the points, I nearly passed out! My love affair with this new food must come to an end!

Fiber One Lesson Learned

2009-01-13T15:57:00.002-05:00

I love Fiber One. They have so many great products. There newest, at least new to me, is cottage cheese. It's delish and full of fiber. In effort to live a more healthy life in the house of Cali Girl, I bought fiber one bread.

I made a grilled cheese sandwhich for little man with that bread today. He got up from his nap and said my tummy hurts. I was standing in the kitchen when I heard him go into the bathroom. He was still in there 5 minutes later. I asked him if we was okay. Word to the wise....It would seem that 14 grams of fiber at lunch for a 3 year old has a laxative effect.

Tuesday's Tip Jar

2009-01-13T10:24:00.002-05:00

As I was making a delicious WW marinade this morning, I realized I had the perfect tip for today's jar. The marinade called for 1/4 cup of honey. Before measuring out honey, spray your measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray. Then pour the honey in the measuring cup and it will slide right out without a sticky fuss. It works perfectly.

Now to tempt your taste buds, here's the marinade I made this morning:

Chili Chicken Kebabs with Yogurt Sauce

Chicken Marinade
2 Pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup OJ
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove minced
Salt and Pepper (my own addition)

Yogurt Sauce
1 8 ounce container of plain low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons minced red onion
2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 pints cherry tomatoes

Combine marinade and chicken in a ziploc bag. Let sit at least 4 hours or overnight.

Make yogurt sauce and store in the airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.

To cook. Spray broiler rack and pre-heat broiler. Thread chicken and tomatoes onto 6 18 inch metal skewers. Broil 5 inches from from heat until chicken is browned and cooked through. About 6 minutes on each side.

Serves 6 people at 7 points each (if you follow points).

****I swapped the chicken thighs for breasts. I will most likely cook the chicken on the stove top with some cooking spray and chicken stock. I will roast (cooking spray, salt and pepper at 400 degrees) the tomatoes and add other roasting veggies (red peppers, onions and yellow summer squash) to the mix. I will weigh the chicken and count the weight as my points (but I will add a point because of the oil and sugars in the marinade). I will serve the chicken, veggies and sauce with rice.

I'm looking forward to it...hope the family enjoys. Perhaps I'll come back and post a photo tonight.

Blogging

2009-01-12T08:11:00.002-05:00

Do you ever just feel so tired that something has to give? That's where I am. I am so tired, and tired without reason (which is a whole 'nother post), that I can't seem to make it to my blog each day. Not only to my blog, but to all those blogs that I love to read. I miss reading my bloggy firends' blogs. I miss knowing what's happening in their loves and reading their quirky takes on life.

Why, oh why can't life slow down for just a little bit? I always feel rushed. I used to be able to read other blogs on my lunch break and write 5 pre-dated posts on the weekend for my own blog. My lunch break seems to be non-existant now and my weekends are full of little people that want all my attention.

I vow to try find the energy, because I do miss my bloggy friends. Maybe I'll take up exercise - I hear that is supposed to give you some kind of super energy, although I have my doubts.

The Holidays are Over....

2009-01-05T13:25:00.003-05:00

...thank goodness! I had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas 4 times, but boy am I wiped out.

We had our own little family Christmas on December 20th. Little Man was thrilled that Santa listened to him and came to our house early. He was vague in what he asked for, so he was pleased with everything. The toy he loved the most came from the $1 bin at Wal-Mart. Mental note for next year: only buy from $1 bins. Ladybug could have cared less about the whole thing.

We flew to Cali on December 24th. It was an 18 hour day. That's a long day for anyone to go through and Little Man was no exception. The hubs is now looking into some legal way to tranquilize himself or Little Man before our trip to Cali in November. Ladybug, per her personality, went with the flow.

We had 6 days in Cali of pure, un-restfulfamily fun time. 2 of those days 25 family members were together. 25 people in a small house makes for a very hectic time for the hosts; I know because my mother hosted one of the events. My father says it's not happening again - next time, he will take everyone out to eat. I suggested my wedding reception venue and charging people the $$$ per head. Is that tacky for a family Christmas? Cash bar? Sounds okay to me and only fair for the people that host it all the time - and somone else has to set-up, cook and clean up. Perfect.

While in Cali we went to LegoLand. It was a a good time, but a really long drive (3 hours) in a motorhome with 6 adults and 4 kids. Sound like fun? It wasn't too bad. We all made it in one piece and most slept on the ride home.

We flew back on December 31st. It was a 14 hour day of travel, and still very difficutl for a 3.5 year old boy. He just can't handle being over-tired. He was cranky and difficult to manage.

The New Year was greeted by the back of my eyelids. I am back to work and still feel like I am recovering.

Happy 2009!

What we Want You to Know

2008-12-16T21:20:00.003-05:00

The holidays are a wonderful time that we get to spend with our families and friends, but they are also a trying time for parents with kids that suffer food allergies. Most people that haven't had to deal with food allergies of their own or in their own children don't give it a second thought.

As a parent of little boy that is highly allergic to eggs and all nuts and seeds, I feel stress each and every time I go to a party or invite people to my home. I feel stress just sending him to daycare each day.

A few weeks ago daycare sent home a newsletter that stated they were going to make gingerbread houses and they wanted volunteers. The next day I asked if they found an egg free gingerbread recipe and frosting recipe (gingerbread house are notoriously frosted with royal icing - did you know it's made with egg whites?). The daycare teacher responded that she hadn't even thought about it. In my head I was screaming at her because I leave my child in her care 4 days a week and trust that she will think about it every day. My actual response, however, was much more appropriate. I offered to find her recipes that did not contain eggs and volunteered to make the frosting. I also volunteered to make 3 batches of frosting myself.

I say all of this not to make you paranoid, but to give you an idea of where we are coming from. This little boy holds my heart in his hands, just like your kids do. I worry about him for all the reasons you worry about your kids, but I have the added worry that he could die from ingesting a chip that has been contaminated by nut oils on someone's hands.

I subscribe to the Allergy Moms newsletter.

10 Things Families with Food Allergies Want You to Know!
By Gina Clowes

Severe food allergies require a dramatic change in lifestyle, but unless these allergies have affected your immediate family, you have no idea of what goes on behind the scenes to keep these children safe. This holiday season, we’d love to spend time you, so we need your help. With no rule book or etiquette guide, we don’t always know how to ask for that help. If you really want to know what will make our season bright, here are 10 things that we allergy moms would like you to know.

1. Be careful with your kisses! If you’ve just eaten anything that our child is allergic to, we’d prefer that you kiss her on the top of her head or give her a hug or an “air kiss”. This is what we do! Sound extreme? We know, and that’s why we feel so funny about asking you. But trust us when we tell you that the only thing worse than seeing your child suffer an allergic reaction is knowing that you have caused that reaction.

2. We’d love you to wash your hands. We don’t want to ask. But we don’t know what you’ve eaten or touched and we really don’t want to risk it. We know it sounds crazy but our child has reacted to “just touching” things he is allergic to.

3. Use care with your baby's foods and bottles. We love your children and know that they need to eat a variety of foods. However, those foods and the milk or soy formula that they drink can cause allergic reactions in our child. Please don’t allow your toddler to walk around with a bag of cookies, goldfish or cereal while we’re together. One dropped piece could cause a problem for a child with severe food allergies.

4. Please, watch your pets’ and their food. Many pet foods and treats contain allergens including milk, fish and peanut, and an innocent lick can cause a reaction in allergic children.

5. Please don’t feed our child. Raising a child with food allergies is a whole new way of life. Allergy Moms and Dads can’t possibly expect others to keep in mind all of the nuances of where and how allergens hide. If you’d like to help, hold the baby so mom can get a bite to eat, build a block tower, read a book, or follow our toddler around for awhile to give his mom a break. There are many ways to show love that do not involve food!

6. Call us! If you are hosting a child who has food allergies, talk to the parents in advance. If you are setting out foods that may be safe, save all of the wrappers. Better yet, let the allergy mom or dad help you put the safe chips out. (Remember that if you touch the cookies with nuts or the shrimp, and then touch the chips, they are now cross-contaminated.)

7. Try not to fuss over what our child is eating. If he or she needs to have a different menu of safe foods, please don’t call attention to it. Don’t make food allergies a big topic of conversation. For example, “Well what can he eat?”

8. We’d be grateful if you’d confine the food to one or two areas. For example, don’t allow food into the family room, or the basement if that is where the children will be playing. That way, all the children will be safe and your house will be cleaner too!

9. We’d love it if you’d ask your children to wash their hands. We know that your kids are able to eat whatever they like, but children are notoriously messy eaters. You’d be doing us a great favor if you’d encourage them to wash their hands when they’re done eating. We know it’s not our place to ask this of your children but it we worry that our kids are not safe if they share toys or touch each other with food residue.

10. Ask for suggestions because we want to make this work for everyone. If you want to bring something to a home with a food allergic child, talk to the parents in advance for specific suggestions. Your homemade casserole or brownies may not be suitable but a bottle of wine, some fresh ground coffee, a fun board game, whole fruit, or some beautiful disposable hand towels for the powder room might be appreciated.

2008-12-16T08:02:00.003-05:00

I walked into my dark house last night and my mood was brightened by the arrival of my Pink Christmas package. Its arrival let me forget my lack of power for a moment. I opened the box right away and put the beautifully wrapped gift under my tree. There is sits waiting anxiously for me to open it. I'm so excited.

At the bottom of the mailing box I found a necklace. I wasn't certain if it was for me or if it fell into the bottom of the box by mistake. When I got to work this morning an email was waiting for me - she wanted me to have the necklace early! So sweet. I love Pink Christmas!

I need to plan carefully for next year. I'm not super crafty, so I fear that my Pink Christmas gift (which should be safely in Cali by now) won't be up to par. Next year will be different. I will scour crafty peoples' wares for the perfect gift(s) for next eyar.

Light Me Up

2008-12-15T09:52:00.003-05:00

Power outages are rampant across the state of New Hampshire. We were not spared. The power went out at 2:30am, and was still out when I left the house at 6:30am this morning. That's 3 days without power.

We are very fortunate, however, to have a generator. The hubs picked up one of the last ones available Friday morning to the tune of $700! YIKES!!! It was well worth it though. Without it we wouldn't have heat or hot water, which many people have been without. It was 17 degrees when we woke on Saturday morning, so going without heat would have been harsh. With a generator we have limited power also; we keep only one light on at a time and don't run things like hairdryers or washing machines.

This is a first for me. As we were driving home from dinner at the in laws' last night (they have power), we noticed quite a bit of power had been restored. Many house were lit up and ~~taunting me~~ giving me hope with their Christmas lights. About 5 blocks from our house the lights stopped. Power, it seemed, was not back up for everyone. Bummer. I am hopeful for today, but am not counting on it.

Santa's Bad Day

2008-12-12T15:50:00.002-05:00

When four of Santa's elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the Pre-Christmas pressure.

Then Mrs Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.

Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum.. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drank all the cider and hidden the liquor. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang, and irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree. The angel said very cheerfully, “Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?”

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.

Cream Cheese Cookies

2008-12-12T04:53:00.000-05:00

My attempt, with Try it Tuesday, will be to post a recipe every Tuesday.

This week's recipe is for cream cheese cookies. It's my Mom's recipe, and it is excellent. The hubs swears it the best cookie he's ever had and he's not fond of sharing them with anyone else. Unfortunately for him, I only make them once per year. For no reason in particular, these cookies only get made at Christmas time.

Dough
1 Block Cream Cheese, softened
2 Sticks Butter, softened
2 Cups Flour

Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the flour, slowly. Beat until combined and smooth. Remove dough from mixing bowl and form into disc. Wrap disc in wax paper and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Filling
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
3 Tablespoons Milk
Cinnamon

Combine all ingredients with a fork or spoon. This filling recipe makes enough for 2 batches of cookies. I have also substituted (for my allergic son) raisins for the nuts, and it worked just as well. The hubs liked both versions.

Putting the Cookies Together
1) Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut into quarters. Roll 1/4 of the dough in granulated sugar into a large, thin circle. Turn the dough as your roll, to keep the sugar evenly spread on crust. Once you have rolled the dough, turn it over one last time. Upon turning it over, wipe away some of the excess sugar from the pastry mat (trust me this will help when the cookies are baking).

2) Cut the dough into 16 triangles. I use a pizza cutter for this - works really well and makes a long smooth cut.

3) Place a small amount of filling at the wide end of each triangle.

4) Roll, beginning with the wide end, each triangle to the center of the circle.

5) Place on lined cookie sheet. If you don't have a silpat, use parchment paper. It is essential that you line your cookie sheet, as the sugar on the outside of the cookie caramelizes. All 16 cookies will fit on one cookie sheet; they don't spread much.

6) Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 15-17 minutes. The cookies will be slightly golden when done. Start checking them at 15 minutes.

7) Remove the cookies from the pan right away. The caramelized sugar will cause the cookies to stick if you do not remove them right away. Scrap sugar from silpat (or discard parchment paper) and repeat the process.

Enjoy the cookies - so tasty! I wish I had taken a nicer picture of the cookies - perhaps on a nice dish - but the cookies were gone before I could think to do that!

Lullaby

2008-12-11T06:28:00.000-05:00

This is what I use as a lullaby for Ladybug. I love it and have since the moment I heard it years ago. Every time I start to sing it, she gives me an angelic smile and just listens.

Dear Santa

2008-12-10T06:16:00.000-05:00

Little Man's Letter to the Guy in Red:

Dear Santa Claus,

Please can you go put presents at Grandma and Pappa's and Timmy's house? Please bring the presents to my house early. We will have Christmas at my house on December 20th. Can you bring them for that day?

Please bring me Team Geotrax High Flying Airport and the Team Geotrax Blast-Through Barn. I would also like the barn from Word World. Please bring Team Geotrax. It is my favorite. I love Team Geotrax.

I have been a good boy this year. I have been trying to listen to my Mommy and Daddy. I have been trying to eat my food. I have been tying to put Team Geotrax upstairs so it's not messy. I have been praying to Jesus and have been thankful everyday because Jesus goes in my heart. Amen.

Thank you, Santa. I love you.

Christmas Photo Failure Contest

2008-12-09T05:23:00.002-05:00

Seriously...I thought I had this in the bag! I read Designher Momma's post about her Christmas Card Failure Contest and got super excited. I mean, it has been a real problem getting a Christmas card photo every year for the past 4 years. I totally and completely expected this year to follow suit - I mean how could I not? With a precocious 3 1/2 year old and an 8 month old - it was a disaster waiting to happen.

Then photo day came last weekend. I feed both kids then bathed them first thing in the morning. Bellies full, hair clean and holiday garb donned we got down to business. We took about 15 photos before we found the right one. I was shocked and amazed. I don't expect to win this contest, but I am posting it here so that you, my 3 readers, can enter should you have the perfect photos for this fab contest.

Here's my sampling. We chose the last one.

Christmas Reindeer

2008-12-08T04:59:00.000-05:00

You Are Prancer

You are the perfect reindeer, with perfect hooves and perfect flying form.

Why You're Naughty: Because you're Santa's pet, and you won't let anyone show you up.

Why You're Nice: You have the softest fur and the sweetest carrot breath.

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Perfect Christmas Cake

2008-12-06T04:45:00.002-05:00

If you want a cake to impress them all, try this one! My family has been making this cake for over 15 years. It came to us by a friend of the family who offered it to my Dad one holiday season. Try it for people once, and it will be the most requested dessert you take to a party.

Ingredients:
1 yellow cake mix, baked according to package directions for 2 9 inch round pans
2 pints heavy cream
2 Cans rolled wafer cookies - There are several brands out there. The most readily available at grocery stores are the Pepperidge Farm Pirouette cookies.
1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons of Bailey's Irish Cream
powdered sugar to taste
1 tsp vanilla
large chocolate bar
decorative, wired ribbon

With an electric mixer, beat 1 pint of heavy cream, halfway to whipped cream. At the half way point, add 1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream and powdered sugar to taste (I added about a 1/3 of a cup). Continue whipping the cream until it is stiff and the consistency of whipped cream.

Slice each round in half using unflavored dental floss (easiest way to slice a layer of cake in half).

Place one layer of cake on cake plate, cut side up. Drizzle layer with 1 tablespoon of Bailey's Irish Cream.

Repeat the process (drizzle with 1 tablespoon of Bailey's and top with whipped cream) on 2 more layers - a total of 3 layers should have the Bailey's drizzle and the Bailey's whipped cream. Don't forget to place the cake layers cut side up.

Clean out mixing bowl and make another batch of whipped cream, this time without the Bailey's. Whip the cream half way to whipped cream, then add powdered sugar to taste and a teaspoon of vanilla. Then beat the rest of the way to whipped cream.
Place the top layer, cut side down, on the top of cake.
Cover with fresh whipped cream (do not drizzle with Bailey's Irish Cream).
Cover the sides of the cake with fresh whipped cream.
While you want the cake to be smooth, do not worry about crumbs showing in the whipped cream - they will be covered.
Line the outside edge of cake with rolled wafer cookies, placing each cookie side-by-side. The cookies will be taller than the cake, which is okay.

Tie a wired ribbon around outside of cake and make a large bow. There are plenty of ribbon choices out there. Use whatever works for the cake's occasion.

Finally, shave chocolate curls with a vegetable peeler and add to the top of the cake. You should do enough chocolate curls to come to the top of the cookies.

This works best with room temperature chocolate. Just hold the chocolate in your hands. You'll find as the chocolate warms up in your hands the curls become easier to do.

Refrigerate the cake for several hours before serving. I typically refrigerate overnight.
This might be a time consuming cake, but it is so worth the effort. Since Christmas is past, might I suggest you make it for your love at Valentine's Day or make it for Easter. We have friends that are newly engaged. When they get around to having an engagement party, my plan is to make it for them and have the cake plate (a new one, of course) serve as the present for the bride that is a newly emerging baker.

Bad Parenting

2008-12-05T16:02:00.002-05:00

Do you ever look at your children and think you are the worst parent in the world? Do you ever look at them and think where did I go wrong that has caused them to act like this?

Perhaps Little Man is going through a phase, but he has caused me to question my ability to be a good mother. I am at the end of my disciplinary idea rope. I don't know where to go. We have tried time out, rewards, taking things away, spanking, yelling, talking sternly, whispering. None of it's working. Anyone have a magic solution? I'm desperate for help.

Thanksgiving MeMe

2008-11-26T15:59:00.003-05:00

Rebecca at A Walk Through the Valley did this great meme, so I am following suit. There are so many things to be thankful for in my life. I have been so blessed!

1. Which do you like better: hosting Thanksgiving at your home or going elsewhere?
It's less stressful to go elsewhere, but I enjoy hosting parties at home. I have only done Thanksgiving twice.

2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen turkey? Organic? Free-range?
I am far too cheap to buy anything other than a frozen turkey. We have turkeys running wild in our backyard; perhaps the hubs can shoot one next year - that would be even cheaper.

3. Do you make stuffing or dressing? What kind?
I prefer dressing. When it's stuffed in the bird it gets all mushy and nasty, or as my dad would say it becomes "buzzard puke."

4. Sweet potato pie or Pumpkin pie?
I've never had sweet potato pie, so I don't know if I like. I do know that I don't like pumpkin pie. It's the hub's favorite pie and I have one cooling now for tomorrow, but I won't be eating it.

5. Are leftovers a blessing or a curse?
Leftovers are great, but we rarely get them. This year we have our own turkey to cook so we can actually have leftovers.

6. What side dishes are a must-have in your family?
Dressing (my mom's cornbread dressing is the best I have ever had and I am bummed that I will miss it this year), mashed potatoes, green beans, squash and cranberry sauce.

7. What do you wish you had that might make Thanksgiving easier?
A laid-back personality (less type A), but when it's not at my house I don't have to worry about it.

8. If/when you go to someone else’s house for the holiday, do you usually bring a dish? If so, what is it?
I would hate to show up empty handed - that's just rude. I usually bring dessert. this year I am doing a new squash dish, cranberry sauce and a dessert.

9. What do you wish one of your guests would bring to your house?
Drinks. I never have enough and I never have something that pleases everyone.

10. What do you wish one of your guests would NOT bring to your house?
I've got nothing. Nothing is coming to mind. I just enjoy having company.

11. Do you stick with a particular menu from year to year or do you mix it up?
I am mixing it up this year (much to the hub's chagrin) with the squash dish. Instead of the traditional roasted and mashed with butter and brown sugar, I am making a butternut squash gratin. The recipe looks great. We'll see.

12. Is Thanksgiving a religious or secular holiday in your home?
It's day to give thanks for all the blessings in my life, but I give thanks for those blessings every day. I guess it's a day to be with family and to know that everyone else is just as thankful.

13. Share one Thanksgiving tradition.
In the early 1980's my great grandma started a tradition at Christmas, but we carried it on for every holiday. It started with a wrapped package that we passed around the table until a timer went off. Whoever ended up with it at the end of the timer got to open the package and keep what was inside. What was inside was an apron and the duty of doing the dishes. That person got to select the way in which the dishwasher was chosen at the next holiday. It was so much fun. Now that we have all grown up and have families of our own, we all volunteer to do the dishes and everyone pitches in to clean-up. The old way, I think, was way more fun.

14. Share one Thanksgiving memory.
My first Thanksgiving away from my family was in 1999. That was, in fact, my first holiday away from them. It was my first year living in Massachusetts. It was my first year living with my husband. I was coming from holidays were there were no less than 20 people gathered around. That Thanksgiving it was just the hubs, his 2 brothers and his dad. It was a very nice time because his Dad was so happy that the hubs had stayed home for Thanksgiving. It was nice to be there for that. On the other hand, it was incredibly difficult for me to be 3,000 miles away from home.

15. Name five things you’re thankful for.

I am thankful for God's grace. He has blessed me with so much more than I deserve. Without His grace, I would have nothing.

It's been a difficult year health wise for the hubs, so I am so incredibly thankful that he is healthy and that we have a marriage that can sustain such trials.

My children are happy and healthy. I can't ask for anything more from them. They are the bright light in each and every one of my days.

I live in a beautiful home. I am thankful that we are able to (although somewhat painstakingly sometimes) live the way that we do.

My family and the hub's family are our lifelines. Without them I am not sure we wold accomplish anything.

Manhunt

2008-11-26T07:39:00.003-05:00

I watch the food network a lot. It's my go to channel most days. Most of the shows use creme fraiche every-now-and-again. Some use it more than others. When the chefs use it, they say stuff like "you can find it in any grocery store these days" or "easy to find." Ummmmm....hello? It might be easy to find when you host a cooking show and are based in New York City. I have never, not one time, seen it in any of the grocery stores that I frequent. I've looked. Is it becuase I live in the backwoods of New Hampshire? Do larger metropolitin areas carry creme fraiche? Do the grocery store chains here assume that hicks like us wouldn't know how to use it?

I'm making a butternut squash gratin for Thanksgivng (sorry hubs...we are trying something new with our squash). It calls for creme fraiche. Well....crap! What would the holidays be without one manhunt for something. This year my manhunt was for this stuff that is (so I'm told) a slightly tangy, slightly nutty, thickened cream. I finally found it, but I had to drive to Hanover for it. Hanover is where all the ~~less hickish, more refined~~ well-off folks live. It's where Dartmouth College and Hitchock Medical Center are. They have a store there that is what I imagine Whole Foods to be (imagine? Yeah...we don't have Whole Foods here in the sticks).

Can you find it? Have you every wanted to find it? For a tub, which was rather small, I paid $5! $5!!!! Insane for fermented cream, if you ask me.

If you need it and can't find it, you can make your own. Here's an excert from O Chef:
"Most people make a facsimile of crème fraîche by adding a tablespoon of buttermilk to a cup of whipping cream, heating it gently to 110°F (45°C), then putting it in a loosely covered bottle in a warm place and letting it sit for anywhere from 8 hours to a couple of days, until thick. Store it in the refrigerator, where it will thicken further, and keep for about three weeks. You can also whip it like whipping cream.
But, Madeleine Kamman, whose formative years were spent in France, and who is one of the flavor mavens of our age, says the homemade crème fraîche is a poor substitute for the real thing. Since many people have not had the real thing, they won’t know the difference. But, Kamman says, if you run across real crème fraîche in a specialty shop — and are of adequate means — buy it."

Madeleine Kamman, whoever the heck she is, sounds a bit snobby to me.

Tuesday's Tip Jar

2008-11-25T09:15:00.000-05:00

Doing a craft project? Little Man is making necklaces for all the women in his life and all the cousins he will celebrate Christmas with. To make things easier on both of us, I sorted all the beads in a cupcake pan. Give it a try!

Pilgrim Hat Cupcakes

2008-11-24T20:47:00.007-05:00

I made these great little pilgrim hats for Little Man's Thanksgiving party at daycare.

Ingredients:
Chocolate Cake
24 Ice Cream Cones
3 Tubs Chocolate Frosting
Fruit Roll Ups
Spice Drops
Wafer Cookies

***hint, nabisco chocolate wafer cookies are too small - ignore my ingredients picture. You'll have to make your own - recipe follows

Wafer Cookies:
1 Cup Soft Butter
1/2 Cup Whipping Cream
2 Cups Flour
Granulated Sugar

Blend butter and whipping cream thoroughly. Slowly add flour; mix until a ball of dough forms around your paddle. Form dough into 3 small discs. Cover and refrigerate. Roll dough on floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out circles larger in diameter than the top of the ice cream cone. I used a drinking glass as a cutter. Poke with a fork 4-5 times. Sprinkle with sugar, Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.

To assemble the pilgrim hat cupcakes begin by spooning cake into the ice cream cones.

Frost the top of the ice cream cone, then cover the frosting with a wafer cookie. Turn cone upside down on a wire rack
****hint - place wax paper under your rack.

Melt remaining frosting in a pourable container (I used a 4 cup measuring cup) in the microwave for about 1 minute. Stir frosting, then pour heavily over each ice cream cone. You'll have to scrap up chocolate from under the cooling rack and re-heat several times to get through all the cupcakes.

Let the cupcakes set for one hour. Then wrap the base of the cone in a fruit roll-up strip and dot with a cut spice drop. I wasn't sure these would stick without more frosting as glue, but the melted frosting was still tacky enough to hold them.

The cupcakes were a big hit with the kids, parents and teachers. They were a lot of work, but the ahhhh factor made it worth while.

I was that Mom

2008-11-24T19:35:00.002-05:00

I spent all day Friday and all day Saturday with Little Man. No breaks from each other. We had a nice time. Saturday I took him to the movies for the first time. He did really well.

Something must have happened while he was sleeping Saturday night because he woke a different child on Sunday. He was a nightmare. It was tantrum after tantrum. It was the worst day I have seen. Before it started I had planned to take him to a store with me to buy some white glue for a project we were going to work on. He didn't want to sit in the cart, so I let him walk. He started the non-listening phase of the trip about 10 minutes into it. I put up with it twice. The third time, he landed himself in the cart. The fourth time I took the glow necklaces he wanted from the cart. He flipped out. He started crying and screaming, then kicking.

I stopped in my tracks and did that low growly voice (you know the one...you have it too) in his ear and told him to knock it off. It only slightly improved. We got to the register and he started crying and screaming all over again. He saw the batteries and started grabbing at those. I told him no and that he could try again next time we were at the store. That only met more crying, screaming, kicking and grabbing. I half expected to see him start foaming at the mouth and for his head to turn completely around.

There I was standing in line surrounded by at least 10 others standing in line with a tantrum throwing 3 year old. I was that mom. I was the mom we all pity and wonder what kind of discipline she uses. I was horrified, angry and embarrassed all rolled into one. I pulled the cart out of the line, I picked his ~~sorry~~ little tushie up out of the cart and left. Did I make the right decision? I don't know, I do know that I am annoyed that I didn't get any of the stuff I wanted and am forced to go back tonight following bedtime.

The day didn't get any better. He continued to have tantrum after tantrum. It has continued on in to today. Is this normal? Does their horrendous behavior come in waves?

IUD or IUT

2008-11-20T08:21:00.002-05:00

I have been reluctant to post about this because it’s not what my blog is about. However, my posting has been so sporadic lately I thought you might like an explanation. Here it goes…the most boring post I can come up with.

Intrauterine Device or Intrauterine Torture?
In my case it was torture. I don’t begrudge the oodles of women that this handy little piece of hormone releasing plastic has worked for. For those women, I say I am very happy that it works for you. The hubs has had the little snip snip, so I didn’t get this as a method of birth control; nope, I got it for a very different reason.

About 2 months ago I went to the emergency room for severe abdominal pain. If I were pregnant, I would swear a baby was about to crown. That’s how bad the pain was and it had been going on for 12 hours! They ran lots of blood work and couldn’t figure anything out. It was a mystery pain.

I started doing some research of my own. I was on my period at the time. My research pointed to endometriosis, so I made an appointment with my OB/GYN. The truth of it is, it sounds just like endometriosis, but there’s no way to really know without doing exploratory surgery. To avoid that the doctor and I made the decision to treat

it as if it were endometriosis. The Mirena® IUD has been shown to be helpful for women with endometriosis because it lessens bleeding. After 1 year of it being in place, many women won’t have any periods at all. Because pain from endometriosis typically accompanies your period, it should help.

So I made the decision to give it a shot. I bled from the very beginning of insertion. There hasn’t been a day in the past month when I haven’t been bleeding. The very pain we were trying to get rid of came back with vengeance just 10 days after having the IUD placed. Instead of one day of pain, however, the pain has continued for 14 days. Today is the 14th day. At its worst I am curled up in a ball, crying, nauseous and begging the pain to stop. At its best I am hunched over, not able to walk and reminding myself to breath through it.

On day 4 of the pain, I made an appointment with any doctor in the group that would see me. It was a man. I don’t have anything against male doctors when it comes to delivering my babies, but when it comes to understanding the pain that accompanies it or anything else female related, they just don’t get it. How could they? His advice was for me to suck it up and stick it out. Yeah, okay I’ll do that. I left there thinking, “I’ve birthed 2 children. I can handle this.”

On day 12 of the pain, I decided that I can’t handle it. I’m pretty tough, but not that tough. It’s just not normal to feel that much pain. I can’t do an hour presentation at work contort my face in pain and practice Lamaze breathing in the middle of it. I can’t carry Ladybug when I am hunched over and unable to walk. I made the call and got to see my doctor that day. We agreed that taking it out would be the best thing. It came out on the 12th day of pain. The pain, however, did not go away instantly. Nope…I sit her 2 days later still in pain. I find myself contemplating what I can medicate myself with and still be productive at work.

The plan now is to try the pill. I am hopeful the pill will work. I really want it to work. If, after 3 months, it hasn’t helped then they will do surgery to see what’s what. Then what? I have no idea. My current thought, I’m not using my uterus any longer…just take it out while you’re in there. It’s drastic, but the pain has pushed me to the edge.

Mini Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecakes

2008-11-13T08:09:00.002-05:00

Not only are these mini cheesecakes delish, they are low in calories! If you count points, they come in at only 2 points each! I signed up for a 100 Days of Holidays newsletter from Parents.com and Better Homes and Gardens. Pumpkin recipes were the topic one day. This recipe is adapted from theirs.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 8oz package reduced-fat cream cheese
2 8oz packages of fat free cream cheese
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup fat free milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla
Zest from one orange
1 15oz can of pumpkin
1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
1 envelope of unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup of orange juice

For the crust: Stir together crushed graham crackers and melted butter until crackers are moistened. Press mixture into bottom of 21 cupcake tins. Tip: do not use paper cupcake cups; I did and the filling is too wet. Buy the foil cups for this recipe.

For the filling: In a
food processor, combine the reduced-fat cream cheese, 1/4 cup of the sugar, 1/4 cup of the milk, the vanilla, and orange peel. Cover and process until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl; set aside.

In a food processor, combine fat-free cream cheese, pumpkin, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, remaining 1/4 cup milk, and the pumpkin pie spice. Cover and process until smooth.

In a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the orange juice; let it stand for 5 minutes. Then cook and stir it over low heat until the gelatin is dissolved. Stir 1 tablespoon of the gelatin mixture into the white cream cheese mixture and the remaining gelatin mixture into the pumpkin mixture.

Using an ice cream scoop (I used the pampered chef large scoop), scoop one scoop of the pumpkin mixture into each cupcake cup. Using a large spoon, spoon one spoon-full of the white cream cheese mixture over pumpkin mixture. Using a narrow, thin-bladed metal spatula or a table knife, swirl pumpkin and white mixtures.

Cover and chill overnight before serving. I was able to make 21 mini cheesecakes with this recipe.

Christmas Shopping

2008-11-12T07:54:00.003-05:00

Phewwww! I just took a huge “to do” off my list. Every child that I need to buy Christmas presents for has been scratched off my list. ~~I profited from Little Man’s accident~~ AFLAC sent us money for the collar bone incident. While it did what it was supposed to and repaid me for the $160 the accident cost me in doctors’ visits, new button-up shirts, and the “you’re a brave boy” present, that money was already considered out of the picture and spent. What that means is that the $345 they sent was fair game.

It came at the perfect time! Toys-r-Us released their big toy book and it included many sale items. Online, there were many items with free shipping. With the exception of one item, I got it all with free shipping!!! I love online shopping!

It’s going to be a game Christmas for Little Man. He’s not really into building anything other than Geotrax, and he’s got plenty of that (according to hubs…there’s always room for more Geotrax – just wait until Ladybug is ready for Barbie, hubs!). I bought him several little games that I think he will enjoy.

Don’t Spill the Beans,
Honey Bee Tree and the classic memory game are some that I found. There are other things too, but these stand out in my memory.

Ladybug was a bit more difficult. She’s already got so many toys from when Little Man was her age. It’s hard to justify buying more of the same type of toys. I bought her a hairbow holder (so cute) and a
baby doll by tidoo; it got great reviews. The developmental therapists at work told me a doll would be a perfect present for her age; she can practice washing it, combing its hair and pointing out body parts.

I still need to buy for both sets of parents. I am also questions stocking gifts. I bought them for the kids (thank you dollar section at Target), but am wondering whether or not to buy them for me and hubs. I think Little Man is at the age where he will notice if we don’t get something from Santa. I may just buy a bottle of wine and a few other little things that I will end up buying for us anyway. What do you do? Do you buy fill your stocking and the stocking of your hubs?

If you're looking for another way to save money check out these Lowes Coupons including a Printable Lowes Coupon

Tuesday's Tip Jar

2008-11-11T07:45:00.000-05:00

You know those plastic spice and herb jars that you toss in recycling (or…gasp…the trash)? Stop! Rinse them out, peel the paper label, and toss them into the bathtub. They make great bath toys. Little Man loves to sprinkle water through the shaker lid!

Baby Mum Mum

2008-11-10T19:10:00.005-05:00

When Little Man was Ladybug's age, I was giving him the Biter Biscuits, and they were terribly messy. He loved them, but boy what a chore. I think, in the end, I only ended up giving him 4 or 5 of them because of the mess they caused.

This time around someone told me about Baby Mum Mum crackers. Have you tried these? They are crackers made from rice flour and are incredible. Ladybug loves them. They leave her slightly sticky, but nothing in comparison to the other crackers.

They are wrapped with 2 crackers per package. I giver her both after she eats dinner. She nibbles on them while we eat. It works out very well. She actually kicks her feet and laughs when I pull out the package.

I buy them at Wal-Mart, but I am sure they can be found at a number of places. I know you can buy them on Amazon, Baby Mum-Mum, if you can't find them locally. If you have a little one - give them a try.

Happy Happy

2008-10-31T15:19:00.006-04:00

Happy Halloween from Little Man and Ladybug!

Our rocket!

Our ladybug!

Toilet Seats

2008-10-29T16:24:00.002-04:00

In our house, we leave the toilet seat down. The hubs puts it down when he's done with his business. I teach my son to put it down. It's just the right thing to do.

My parents are here this week. My parents actually take putting the seat down one step further; they close the lid. I don't recall them doing this when I was living at home.

Since birthing two children, my bladder control isn't what it used to be. I get within five feet of a toilet and I start doing the potty dance. If I can't get my pants unfastened fast enough, I start to panic.

I was in panic mode yesterday. I finally got my pants unbuttoned and practically ripped them off of me as I was lowering my tush to the sitting position. The moment I sat I started to go, then realized that I was sitting on the lid not on the seat. ARGGGGHHHHHH!

Slow Down

2008-10-28T08:20:00.000-04:00

I keep asking my little Ladybug to slow down, but she just doesn't seem to listen to me. Over the past week she has started to do the "army crawl." What started as a slight move forward has now turned into an across the room venture.

And now, for your viewing pleasure...a little video of my Ladybug enjoying the tulle that surrounded her infant swing (that she wanted to reach so badly while in the swing).

Oh What A Web We Weave

2008-10-26T19:56:00.006-04:00

Celebrate the season with this wickedly webby cake!

What you need to Decorate this Cake:
Chocolate Frosting
Vanilla Frosting
Edible Glitter
Plastic Spiders

Make your favorite round cake recipe (mine happens to be chocolate) and frost it with chocolate frosting. Remember, the first layer of frosting should be very thin. Allow that layer to harden, then go over it with another thicker layer of frosting.

Before the second layer of chocolate frosting hardens, pipe white frosting in thick concentric circles around the cake. Using a butter-knife, drag lines inward to the center circle, thus creating a cob-web like effect. Wipe your knife clean after each line.

Sprinkle the web with white edible glitter. (This stuff is amazing! If you don't have any, I recommend buying some. It doesn't add any flavor, but just gives your cakes that little extra sparkle.)

Top the cake off by placing plastic spiders all over the cake. I used plastic spider rings that I found at Wal-Mart. The rings made it easy to poke the spiders into the cake.

Enjoy the cake with your family and friends!

Giving up Wine

2008-10-26T07:28:00.001-04:00

I was walking down the street when I was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless woman who asked me for a couple of dollars for dinner.

I took out my wallet, got out ten dollars and asked, "If I give you this money, will you buy wine with it instead of dinner?"

"No, I had to stop drinking years ago", the homeless woman told me.

"Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying food?" I asked.

"No, I don't waste time shopping," the homeless woman said. "I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive."

"Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of food?" I asked.

"Are you NUTS!" replied the homeless woman. "I haven't had my hair done in 20 years!"

"Well," I said, "I'm not going to give you the money. Instead, I'm going to take you out for dinner with my husband and me tonight."

The homeless Woman was shocked. "Won't your husband be furious with you for doing that? I know I'm dirty, and I probably smell pretty disgusting."

I said, "That's okay. It's important for him to see what a woman looks like after she has given up shopping, hair appointments, and wine."

Flashback Friday - First Emotion

2008-10-24T13:38:00.005-04:00

Remember when you first laid eyes on that bundle of joy? That very first moment when you saw your baby? This week let’s flashback to that moment. No long labor stories, just raw emotion - what did you feel inside?

March 24th, 2005 Little Man made his debut at 5:05pm. When your first one is born, the emotion is so raw and overwhelming. I was so exhausted and so completely amazed that I had just given birth to a child. It was an amazing experience. I remember feeling annoyed that the doctor held him for what felt like an eternity. In retrospect, they probably only had him for less than a minute. The moment I laid eyes on him I started crying. Crying with joy and complete and total love. My heart was fuller than it had ever been. I didn't realize there was room in my heart for as much love.

March 14, 2008 Ladybug made her entrance sometime shortly after 8:00pm. Things went faster than they did with Little Man. I pushed like 3 times and it was over. The emotion wasn't as raw because I knew what to expect. I knew that my heart would expand to fit the love I had for her the moment I saw her. I was, of course, amazed that I gave birth to another child. I was even more amazed at how quick it happened. Then I just felt joy to have her in my arms and relief that she was healthy. While the doctors and nurses did their thing in my nether regions, I happily held her oblivious to the number of stitches and all the pushing and pulling taking place.

Electric Bill

2008-10-24T11:45:00.002-04:00

Last weekend I was in our guest room working on Little Man's Halloween costume. The guest room is where I keep the sewing machine. Little Man was all over me while I was making the costume. At some point he decided he didn't feel good and needed to lie down on the bed. Whatever, that was fine with me.

My parents will be here on Monday, so I went into the guest room this morning to strip the bed. As I was taking the sheets off, I noticed the bed was warm. "Hmmmm...that's strange," was my first thought. Then I realized that when my parents were here in the spring we loaded their bed up with an electric blanket (being from So Cal, they aren't really made for the arctic cold way in which we keep our house). While Little Man was climbing into the bed, he must have flipped on the switch. The electric blanket had been keeping that empty bed warm and toasty since Sunday! Awesome!

In anticipation of the increased electric bill, I had to warn the hubs. He was not impressed and didn't find it nearly as humorous as me.

Tuesday's Tip Jar

2008-10-20T12:23:00.013-04:00

The holidays are quickly approaching. I was browsing Etsy in search of the perfect gifts for my list for several reasons. I like the idea of a handmade creation. I like the idea of supporting a mom who stays home and uses Esty to supplement her income. I like the idea of using paypal to pay instead of my credit card (which I am really trying to avoid). And, last but not least, I need to ship things anyway, so why not shop at esty instead of going to a store and facing the crowds.

When considering gifts for the holiday season, take a look at Etsy. You'll like what you see! Below are just a few thigns that I think are fab. I may have even found something for my Mom (which I won't post b/c she reads my blog on occasion).

Take this scarf for instance. I love scarves. I wear scarves everyday in the winter. Who in New England doesn't need a new scarf every-now-and-again?

Or this pendant. I can't even begin to guess how she makes these, but they are wonderful. I really should learn to do these things myself.

And bags...I could spend many hours searching through the bags on esty. This one is fantastic!

Of course this one's pretty great too. Seriously...if I could make something like this, I could make gifts for so many people for so little money!

And this pillow is also great. I might, might be able to pull this one off if I bought the pillow. How hard could it be to add buttons (probably pretty hard). Better to save myself the stress and put it on a wishlist or buy it for someone else!

Another place you can save money this year is checking out the Lowes Coupon available to folks that are moving.

Heart Melting

2008-10-20T12:14:00.004-04:00

Prior to heading out the door last week, Little Man and Ladybug were sitting on the couch. Ladybug leaned over to Little Man and started snuggling him (as best as she can for 7 months). Little Man hugged her back and said to me whilst hugging her, "I'm going to love her forever."

My heart melted and I got tears in my eyes. How sweet is that? It's these little moments that make all the stressful times of parenting worth it. To see that my children love each other so much already is just wonderful.

Tomorrow, when I am flipping out because Little Man is repeatedly tapping his fork loudly at the dinner table, I will try to remember how big his heart is and how full of love he is.

Flashback Friday - Favorite Childhood Books

2008-10-17T16:22:00.006-04:00

Growing up most of us had a favorite book that a parent or a teacher or a librarian read us. This week I thought it would be fun to flashback to our favorite children’s books. Which books did you love?

My absolute all time favorite book was James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. I loved it. My imagination when wild everytime I read or heard that story. When I taught I shared it with my students every year. It's an amazing tale!

There's also Freckle Juice, by Judy Blume. I could totally relate to that, which made me love it.

Martini Break

2008-10-16T09:17:00.001-04:00

Chocolate Raspberry Martini!
3 Parts Vodka
2 Parts Chambord
1 Part Creme de Cacao
Chocolate Syrup

Shake vodka, chambord and creme de cacao in a martini shaker with ice. Coat the bottom of your martini glass with chocolate syrup. Pour in the martini. Drink up! Delish!

Teething

2008-10-15T09:05:00.000-04:00

Well it's begun. Ladybug is the perfect baby. I mean if you could order the model you wanted, you would order her. She is content all the time, smiles at everyone, voice shrieks of joy when I walk into the room, giggles when her neck is tickled just right, tells you it's time for bed by rubbing her eyes. She is wonderful. There is very little crying from her. If she wakes in the middle of the night she coos for a few minutes then goes back to sleep.

Given all of that, imagine my surprise when my angel woke Saturday morning at 2:30am screaming. Oye! What the heck is going on. Then I did what all "cry it out" moms do. I lied there in my nice cozy bed thinking about how long I should let her cry. The internal debate was fierce. Because she never does that, I went in to check on her. I ended up feeding her a bottle - GASP!!! I didn't want to do it, but there was not calming her.

Part way through the day Saturday, I decided to feel around on her lower gums. Sure enough...there it was. One little guy about to break free and another I could see coming to the surface. That's right ladies, two teeth at once. Aren't we lucky?

Sunday was worse than Saturday. She was beside herself in misery. The one thing she had going for her were the two 2-hour naps she took.

Monday was slightly better, but only one little guy has broken free. It's not over. This is just the beginning of good times to come for at least another year.

A Day All About Me!

2008-10-14T08:57:00.001-04:00

I love today. It's the only day that I can claim is mine. Today, I turn 35! I moved to the east coast 9 years ago, and since then my birthday has not been the big deal that I would like it to be. Hellooooo...let's celebrate me, please!

The hubs orchestrated a plan this year and some friends carried it out. It was fabulous!

Saturday night we went to a fancy dinner, well fancy by backwoods New Hampshire standard. It was a nice time and the company was great.

My friend, neighbor and Wednesday night dinner companion made a cake that was served at the end of the meal. (I have now had 3 birthday cakes in 9 years!) She took the opportunity to buy herself cake pans, a cake plate and cover, and an offset spatula. The cake was great - she did a fab job. V - if you are reading this, thank you! This same friend also has fab accessories, and I am always commenting and saying that I need to get this or that...she bought me a this/that in the form of a great red necklace. I can't wait to wear it!

The other couple in attendance, who are just amazing all around for many, many reasons (being incredibly strong through the toughest of times is the most important reason) brought me a beautiful vase.

I was so moved, I had a few tears in my eyes.

When it Rains it Pours

2008-10-13T20:44:00.002-04:00

Medically speaking the Cali Girl house has been in shambles. It started with my trip to the ER a few weeks ago. I didn't write about it, b/c I just didn't see the need to expose that much of myself. For the sake of what has been going on, I will share that I was having abdominal cramps so bad for 7 hours that I would swear that a baby was about to be born. This was not the case. In fact, my labs all came back normal. What was it? Who knows, but my next step was the lady doctor for an endometriosis screening.

Then you all know Little Man had a run in with another boy and broke his collar bone. Which, by the way, is healing nicely. He has become accustomed to having his left hand tied to his waist with an ace bandage. He has an appointment next week for a re-check. I pray that it's healed and his arm can be free to cause mischief.

Then came the other biggie last week. The hubs spent his Wednesday afternoon golfing (it's a tough life, I know). I got a phone call about 5 minutes before I was leaving work.
Me: Hello, this is Cali Girl.
Hubs: Hey. I think I need to go to the Emergency Room
Me: What? What'swrong?Whathappened?Areyouokay?
Hubs: I popped my ankle.
Me: What does that mean?
Hubs: I popped my ankle.
Me: Is it worth a $100 trip to the ER or can we wrap it in an ace bandage?
Hubs: I need to go to the ER.
Me: Okay. I'm on my way home.

Turns out he really did a number on his ankle. All the tendons in the ankle pretty much exploded. From what the doctor said it is worse than breaking your ankle. Awesome! 8-10 weeks of healing for that little round of dangerous golf.

And for your visual pleasure:

All About the Hubs

2008-10-08T15:06:00.000-04:00

I found this different kind of MeMe over at My Inner Bitsy, and I thought it looked like fun. It's a chance to showcase the man I have been with for 10 years and been married to for 8. There's not much I don't know about him and not much he doesn't know about me. There was only one question on here I didn't know the answer to, but I bet he wouldn't give me an answer if I asked.
No tagging on this - do it if you want - it's fun to introduce the world to your hubs.

1. He’s sitting in front of the tv, what is on the screen?
Fox News or flipping between the Patriots, the Red Sox and Nascar (Sunday Sofa Butt is what I like to call it).

2. You’re out to eat what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Blue Cheese. It's always blue cheese. I don't think I have known him to get anything else.

3. What’s one food he doesn’t like?
Black Olives. It's been 10 years since I have had black olives on my pizza. He also can not touch the skin of a peach - gives him the heebeejeebees!

4. You go out to the bar, what does he order?
He asks about he beer on tap. Usually he orders a Sam Adams beer, but during the cooler months he orders a Guinness.

5. Where did he go to high school?
In a small town in NH. I went to his 10 year reunion and it was eye-opening, yet I agreed to move here (imagine that)!

6. What size shoe does he wear?
I really don't know and I really don't care. I try to stay away from his shoes. I have given up telling him what kind of shoes to wear.

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Money. He's pretty good at collecting money. In all seriousness, he doesn't collect anything. My mother thinks he should collect bridges and corkscrews, so she makes it her mission to buy him bridges and corkscrews, which drives him insane and only inspires her to buy more (she's tricky that way).

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
Ham and cheese with mustard if it is sandwich bread. If it is a sub, then it is ham and cheese with all the veggies and mayo - and don't you dare put mustard on the sub style sandwich. I have made this mistake, and it's ugly.

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
Steak. He loves his steak. Although I tested his theory of being able to eat beef everyday and he was wrong. He can't. When I was preggo with Little Man, I couldn't stand the sight of chicken or pork, so we had beef for 9 months. He was so sick of it by the end and was begging for chicken. He even ordered chicken when we went out to a nice dinner.

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Yikes - I don't know. We don't really eat a lot of cereal. When I buy a sugary cereal he tells me that he never go that kind when he was a kid. My response is usually something like, "wow, that's a shame. My mom always let us pick out whatever cereal we wanted."

11. What would he never wear?
Capri pants. A friend of ours, who will remain anonymous once wore capri pants and will never live it down.

12. What is his favorite sports team?
Baseball - Red Sox
Football - Patriots
Basketball - Celtics
Hockey - Bruins
Nascar - Jeff Gordon

I, by the way, do not enjoy sports at all and can't understand the anger he expresses at the television when something "bad" happens. My "it's just a game" saying is met with very evil scowls.

13. Who will he vote for?
McCain/Palin - He's a hardcore Republican.

14. Who is his best friend?
I'm gonna say me, because why wouldn't I be?

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do?
React so sensitively and emotionally to any and everything. Spend money. Want to buy gifts.

16. How many states has he lived in?
Two - New Hampshire and Massachusetts

17. What is his heritage?
He's a mixed breed of white.

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
Red Velvet, because that's what he got for birthdays as a child.

19. Did he play sports in high school?
Track and Ski Team. I think he played football for one year.

20. What could he spend hours doing?
Blogging, computer games, tinkering in his garage workshop, mowing the lawn (even though he doesn't like to admit that he enjoys it)

Boots

2008-10-03T21:13:00.004-04:00

No...not the cheeky little monkey from Dora the Explorer, actual boots. I have had the same black ankle boots for many, many years. I think well over 5 years. They are in bad, bad shape, so I am on the search for a new pair. My budget is limited so I have been checking out sites like 6pm and Cutesy Girl for a bargain.

In my search I have come across many boots like these. If I had known these were going to come back in style, I would have kept mine from Junior High. Helloooooo...shoe sellers and designers! 1987 called. They want their boots back.

Yeah...what he said!

2008-10-03T21:02:00.002-04:00

I have no idea who this guy is, but when I saw it posted at Blogging Obsession I knew I had to post it here. I love what he is saying. It's amazing. The video is well over 9 minutes. If you have the time, listen to him.

Broken Collor Bone Part 2

2008-10-02T12:22:00.003-04:00

Littl Man's collar bone is, in fact, broken. In looking at the x-ray, you can see that it actually looks bent. No wonder he was shrieking out in pain!

After cutting his long sleeved t-shirt off of him yesterday morning, I realized that I needed to get him a few button-up shirts. I planned to go to work (I don't baby him. I want him to learn ~~to suck it up and shake it off~~ to do things on his own despite what ailes him), but decided that Little Man should have a choice in it too (see...I have a heart). I asked him if he wanted to stay home or if he wanted to go to daycare and see his friends. He chose daycare, so off we went.

On the way to work, we stopped at Wal-Mart. All before 8:00am and 85 whopping dollars later, we took 2 trips to the bathroom, changed one poopy diaper, had 4 new shirts, a new shirt to sleep in, a new ice pack, an ace bandage, a diet coke, hair clips and a you're a brave boy present.

I dropped him off at daycare and left him with a scooby doo ice pack, bottles of medication, instructions to ask for help in using the bathroom and on not yelling at his teachers because he hurts.

I called daycare and checked on him at 9:30; he was doing fine. I called daycare to check on him at 11:30; he was doing fine. I left for an offsite meeting (cell phone in pocket) at 11:45. I was in said meeting until 1:00. I pulled my phone out of my pocket at the end to see that I had no cell service! Crap...I just knew that if anything was going to happen, it was going to be then. Sure enough, I had 5 missd calls and 3 voicemails.

Little Man was fine, but he had an appointment with an orthopedist (45 minutes away) in 1 hour. I picked him up and we were off. He was like a totally different kid from Tuesday. He was joking and happy the whole time. He even let the doctor examine him.

The only thing that came from the $35 specialist appointment was the confirmation that it was broken and a new sling. He has to wear the sling for 3 weeks! That's going to be tough to do for a little boy as rambunctious as him.

All in all, he seems to be doing much better. Lying down and getting up from the position still seem to be the most challenging for him. It is then that he cries out in pain, but is also fearful of the pain he might feel. In watching him play last night, I could see that he has already gotten used to using one hand. That one hand is good for playing, for helping him up off the floor, for helping him scooch on and off the toilet, for eating....so many more things. Kids are amazingly adaptive!

My Little Pumpkins

2008-10-02T09:05:00.000-04:00

What's a trip to the apple orchards without a little pumpkin fun?

Little Man had fun climbing the hay bales and running in and out of the pumpkins like it was an obstacle coarse set up just for him.

Ladybug is growing by leaps and bounds. She is learning to sit on her own more and more, so she took a moment to pose among the pumpkins.

Weight Loss Wednesday

2008-10-01T07:46:00.000-04:00

Meet Veronica V. (V. for Vixen). She's my weight loss octopus. My weight loss group decided we needed something visual to help us along. Each week we set a goal. If we meet that weight loss goal, we get to braid a leg on our octopus. If we don't meet the goal, then no leg to braid. The person to braid all 8 legs first wins the pot.

My octopus couldn't just be a plain ole octopus...no! I needed to vamp her right up. She is my sassy alter ego, so she needed some fancy eyelashes to match the personality that I have given her.

I got to braid a leg my first week. Last week I lost .2 pounds. This week I gained the .2 pounds back. Darn dieting for being such a pain in the tush! Today there were only 2 of us not braiding a leg, and that was a pretty darn crummy feeling.

Broken Collar Bone?

2008-09-30T22:20:00.002-04:00

So I got a call from daycare today. Little Man and another kid collided while racing trucks around the playground. He began complaining of shoulder pain from the time it happened. I got the call a couple of hours after the fact. I went to daycare to check him out. He had full range of motion at the time and his collar bone didn't feel tender to the touch to him. I gave him some tylenol and went back to work while he took a nap. I got a call 2 hours later. He couldn't get off his mat from nap time. I got him immediately and took him to the doctor. He wouldn't let the doctor get anywhere near him. He cried in agony during the exam and shrieked out during one particular part where the doctor fully extended his arm. Little Man and me were both in tears at that point.

They sent us for x-rays, which didn't happen until after 5. I snuck a peek at the x-rays b/c little man wanted to see where the lady was disappearing to. I am not an expert, but it looks a little bent to me. I didn't get close enough to it to see an actual break, but it didn't look good to me. Because it was after 5, we will have to wait until tomorrow for results.

He had motrin at 4:30, more tylenol at 7:30 and more motrin at 9:30. By 9:45 I was on the phone with the on-call pediatrician who told me there was nothing else I could do. It's very, very heart-wrenching to hear your little one scream out in pain and agony and know there is nothing you can do to make it better.

He can't get comfortable. He can't put pressure on his left arm at all. When he tries to adjust his body to get into a comfortable sleeping position, he screams. At the present moment my little man is propped up on pillows and trying to sleep sitting up. If the last hour is any indication, it's going to be a long night.

He reached out for me, on impulse, at one point and started crying and say "owe, Mommy. Owe." It's difficult for any of us to control bodily impulses, but for a 3 year old who doesn't understand it's even more difficult.

During a calm conversation about 15 minutes ago:
he said: "Momma, how we gonna make this boo-boo better?"
I said: "I don't know. It's going to take a lot of sleep and rest."
Hubs said: "When you get some sleep, Jesus will be able to help make it better."

I may have to take a day off tomorrow. I feel incredibly guilty about that because I am supposed to be working from home one day a week. When life happens and I have to take other days, I feel like my attendance at work will be judged poorly. On top of all of that, my boss is on vacation so I am the only HR person. The agency will not fall down and crumble because HR isn't there, but I don't feel good about it at all.

My heartache and frustration has be in tears. Oh why can't we take the pain away from our children?

Tuesday's Tip Jar

2008-09-30T09:03:00.000-04:00

Take the time to make applesauce with your kids. Use your old apple corer, peeler, slicer (yep, the one you have way in the back of your cabinet). Kids love to help with that. Dump your peeled and sliced apples into a crock pot and add some 100% apple juice. Turn the crock pot on low and let the apples simmer all day. At the end, add a little bit of brown sugar. You'll have a delish treat and a great memory!

Apple Picking

2008-09-29T09:39:00.001-04:00

We took a day last weekend and went apple picking with friends. It was such a nice time. We have lived in New Hampshire for the last 3 years, and have taken Little Man to the same farm in Vermont each year. They have a great petting zoo and yummy apples. This year we ended up with all cortland apples. They are a great apple for snacking, baking and applesauce.

September 2008 with Little Man reaching high for apples.

September 2008 with Ladybug enjoying an apple.

September 2007

September 2006

October 2005

6th Birthday Cake

2008-09-27T21:11:00.008-04:00

I enjoy making cakes. Baking, in general, relaxes me. I was delighted when a friend let me bake the cake for her son's 6th birthday party. He didn't request anything other than chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I knew I had to do something a little special for him, so I decided to make a number 6.

I have 16 inch round pan, so I made the cake in that. I baked the cake, as I would any cake - using a mix (hey...I need to take help from somewhere) and using powdered pudding mix in lieu of eggs to accommodate my Little Man's egg allergy. A 16 inch cake pan requires 2 cake mixes.

Tip: even though the chocolate cake mix boxes say to grease the pan only...use flour too. If you don't use flour, you run the risk of the cake sticking to the pan. It's going to be covered with frosting anyway, so a little flour on the outside won't hurt.

I baked the cake at 300 degrees and began checking it every 10 minutes after 1 hour of baking. When the cake began to pull away from the edge and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, then I knew the cake was done. I let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then turned it out onto a cardboard pizza round, which I wrapped in foil. I let the cool completely.

We had pizza the night before I made the cake. The cardboard round the pizza came on was 16 inches, so the hubs drew a number 6 on it. I put wax paper over the top of it, traced it and cut it out. After the cake was completely cooled, I placed it in the freezer for 30 minutes. Placing it in the freezer will make it easier to cut.

I placed the cut out 6 on top of it and used it as a guide to cut the cake. I used a large serrated knife to cut the cake.

Once it was cut according to the 6 pattern, I took the time to do some trimming by free-hand to make it a little thinner in shape.
When frosting cut edges of a cake, it is very important to do a very thin layer of frosting and let it harden. That thin layer is called the crumb layer. The crumb layer seals the crumbs to the cake and makes the 2nd, thicker layer of frosting smooth.

With this cake, I piped the edges, sprinkle it with jimmies and finished it off with balloon candles. the cake was a hit.

Tuesday's Tip Jar

2008-09-23T13:16:00.002-04:00

Consider adding this question, "What was your favorite part of today?" to your evening discussions with your family. A friend of mine started asking her teenage children this when they were very little and hasn't stopped. She asks the question everyday and always gets a thoguhtful answer.

I have started this with Little Man. While his answers are very simple, I am trying to form open lines of communication with him now and trying to foster a relationship where he will know that, no matter what, I will always care enough to ask him about his favorite part of the day.

We do it at bedtime. It comes after our prayer and before the "I love you." It gives me a chance to talk with him quitely and thoughtfully about his day. if your kids are older, it might be a good dinner time conversation and the whole family can be involved.

Give it a try tonight. See what happens.

Embracing Life

2008-09-22T13:02:00.003-04:00

Here is a transcript from the Rush Limbagh Radio Program

Family with Down Syndrome Child Meets John McCain and Sarah Palin September 9, 2008

RUSH: Kurt in Pittsburgh, hello, sir. Nice to have you on the EIB Network, and how about the Steelers defense?

CALLER: How about those Steelers, huh?

RUSH: How about that?

CALLER: Hey, listen, Rush, longtime listener, first-time caller, one of those Bible, family, gun clingers from western Pennsylvania.

RUSH: Thank you.

CALLER: And I wanted to share a story with you. A week ago last Saturday we went to the Palin-McCain rally in Washington, Pennsylvania, was the day after he announced her, and we have a five-year-old daughter with Down syndrome, and we made a sign that said: "We Love Kids with Down Syndrome." So when they pulled in in their bus the sign did catch their, McCain and Palin and the rest of their family, it caught their eye, we could tell, they gave us a thumbs-up from the bus, so we were all excited just by that --

RUSH: Wait, wait, wait. Who gave you the thumbs up, McCain and Palin?

CALLER: McCain, Palin, Cindy McCain, we could see them from the bus. We were in a position where we had eye contact with them --

RUSH: Oh, cool!

CALLER: My wife was holding our daughter.

RUSH: Very, very, very cool.

CALLER: It was really cool, Rush. I was like, "Wow, that's awesome," because I love Governor Palin and so I thought that's really neat. So then we moved around as the bus was getting ready to pull out, we kind of positioned ourselves so we could just wave them on and a Secret Service agent came up to us and said, "Hey, can you come with us?" I was like, "Do we have a choice?"

RUSH: (laughing) You shouldn't have worried. It's not the Clinton administration.

CALLER: Right. So we accompanied them up the hill, we went right to the bus, where it was, and Governor Palin, Senator McCain, Cindy, Todd Palin, they're all standing there We're in this inner circle with just us and them, and the Secret Service agent, and they came right up to us and thanked us for coming out, said they loved our sign, and Governor Palin immediately said, "May I hold your daughter?" and our daughter Chloe, who's five, went right to her, and I have some pictures I'd love to send you maybe when I'm done here, but Governor Palin was hugging Chloe, and then her little daughter brought their baby Trig who has Down syndrome from the bus, he was napping, and Chloe went right over and kissed him on the cheek, and my son Nolan who's nine, he thanked her.

RUSH: This is amazing.

CALLER: I will send you all the stuff, Senator McCain was talking to my son, and we thanked him for his service, and he asked my son if he wanted to see the bus, and we were hanging out and it was very surreal. I felt like we could have had a pizza and a beer with them, they were so warm.

RUSH: You know what? I want to put you on hold. I want Snerdley to give you our super-secret, known-only-to-three-people here, e-mail address.

CALLER: I will send you everything, Rush.

RUSH: And then could you send us these pictures? Would you mind if we put them on the website?

CALLER: I would be honored, and my main thing is they are warm, kind, genuine people, and they represent the best of this country.

RUSH: That's right. And when you send these pictures, make sure you identify them. I mean, we'll know Palin and McCain, of course. Identify yourselves.

CALLER: I will, I will identify everybody in the picture, Rush, and God bless you for being a beacon of hope and truth in this country.

RUSH: Oh, no, no. It's nothing, it's nothing. You're doing the Lord's work.

CALLER: Well, we're very blessed and I want people to know what a blessing it is to have a child with Down syndrome. These kids, they're angels.

RUSH: That's the thing. There's always good to be found in everything that happens. It may be a while before it reveals itself.

CALLER: Absolutely.

RUSH: Right, and when she hugged my daughter I said, here's the difference, this candidate embraces life and all its limitless possibilities.

RUSH: All right.

CALLER: That's what she is.

RUSH: Terrific, okay, I gotta run here, but I'm going to put you on hold.

CALLER: Thank you, Rush.

RUSH: Thank you, Kurt. I really appreciate it.

Patriotic Taxes

2008-09-18T20:44:00.003-04:00

If you are a democrat or even an independent voter that plans to vote for the democratic ticket in November, I implore you to read this post so that you can help me answer my questions and make sense of it. If you can do that, you might convince me to vote for the democratic ticket.

Burg lit a fire under me tonight with her post today. For the last week I have been writing a post in my head about the threat of increased taxes. Burg's post forced me to actually put it out there.

Growing up I listened to my Dad talk about middle America getting the screws put to them with ever-increasing taxes. It's not the very wealthy that suffer. It's obviously not the poor that suffer (they are the ones benefiting), it's middle America that suffers. I never understood what my Dad was talking about. It just didn't make sense to me. Now, it does. Somehow the definition of "upper class" is different for both political parties. In one political party, I am part of the upper crust. In the other, I am part of the middle class.

In our house, we pay a mortgage, a car payment, property taxes, weekly daycare costs, credit card payments, monthly asthma medication for my son, grocery bills; we buy our own diapers, formula, baby food, milk, cheese, bread, etc. There are times we live by the seat of our financial pants. There are many luxuries that I forgo in an effort to do my part to save money and scrape by. I don't allow myself some simple pleasures. No manicures, no fake nails, no pedicures, no waxed eyebrows, no highlights in my hair, no text messaging on my cell phone, no internet access on my cell phone, no downloaded musical rings on my cell phone, a hair cut only twice per year, the cheapest wine I can find ($2.99 a bottle for Golden Gate found at Albertson chains across the country and not half bad, but also not my wine of choice), generic brands of almost every food I buy, clothes for my kids on ebay and at second hand stores, and many many other things.

If my taxes are increased, where am I going to cut back? Please, tell me. I beg you to tell me where I should cut back. Should I sell my house and live in a cheaper one so I can help those that are less fortunate? Should I sell my car and buy a moped with a side car to drive me and my kids back and forth to work and daycare each day? Tell me, what should I do? I need to know this. I can't survive without knowing where this extra money taken from me is going to come from.

My hubs and I both work very hard for our money. How is it fair that the money that I am being paid for my hard work gets taken from me? How is that fair or even patriotic that those that receive help from the government get so much? How is it fair that they can get a daycare supplement and I pay $330 a week (that's over $17,000 per year, by-the-way)and can only claim $6,000 of that per year on my taxes? How is it fair that I won't take my son to the emergency room for an asthma attack until I have given him at least 2 breathing treatments at home (on a nebulizer that I paid $400 for) because I can't afford and extra $100 for the emergency room co-pay, when people granted free health care for their kids can go without even doing one breathing treatment?

I don't begrudge those that receive assistance and are truly grateful for it. Those that try to save money in other ways. Those that don't have fake nails, that don't cells phones with internet access and text messaging, those that don't have highlighted hair, those that don't buy cartons of cigarettes and that don't buy fancy coffee every morning. I know there are people out there like this. I know it in my heart, but I see people at the grocery store and at super-chain stores that do the exact opposite all the time. Those are the people that burn my butt.

Here's my suggestion, should I be forced to become patriotic and pay increased taxes. Instead of taking my money and spreading it over the "poor" evenly, give me a name and address of a person to sponsor. I would rather just cut them a check off the top of my salary and mail it off to that one person...maybe I would get a thank you note that way - probably on nice personalized stationary because a large chunk of my income affords that for my sponsored American. Perhaps my sponsored American can send me a photo, so I can post it on my refrigerator. I do hope the picture captures the essence of the luxuries that my help affords. Perhaps they can pose nicely in their new clothes, freshly highlighted hair, fake nails, while text messaging on their blackberry.

Now that I have gotten all of this of my white trash McCain/Palin supporting chest, I feel better.

Weight Loss Wednesday

2008-09-17T14:51:00.001-04:00

Another Wednesday. I conveniently didn’t post last week on Wednesday. The idea of this weekly MeMe is to keep me accountable. Last week was not a good week for me, and the scale showed it; I couldn’t bring myself to admit it here.

This week, however was another story.

My co-workers and I have a little support group going. All of us are in the same in the same oversized predicament. So, we put together a two part contest (my boss calls it gambling). One is to put a dollar in the pot if we don’t lose or if we gain. The other I will tell you about next week.

Having to put money in the pot frightened my ~~cheap~~ frugal ways, so I lost weight. I lost 5.2 pounds to be exact. Before you start throwing streamers, don’t forget about the bad week last week.

I find I do best when my days are pretty regular. Here is a sample of what I eat on a normal day:

7:00am Diet Vanilla Pepsi
8:00am Whole grain, light English muffin with 2 Laughing Cow light cheese wedges
10:30am Light yogurt
12:30pm Frozen WW meal or lean cuisine with a red bell pepper sliced and 4 tablespoons of hummus to dip them in.
3:30pm Fruit (pear or grapes last week)
5:30pm Dinner with the family. The dinners range from roast chicken to soup, but nothing super fatty and I limit my servings of starchy foods.
8:00 Glass of wine. Sometimes non-fat, sugar-free pudding or popcorn.
And buckets of water. Tons of water. I might just float away from all the water!

That snack at 3:30 is imperative. If I don’t have it, I overdo it at dinner.

Next week, I will introduce you to Veronica V. My weight loss buddy!

More Mommy Guilt

2008-09-15T12:47:00.001-04:00

We moved from Mass to NH shortly after Little Man was born. We made the move so we could slow down and so I could stay home with him. I was blessed to stay home for 2 years with him. The Monday following his second birthday, I returned to work. We didn’t have a choice. Staying home was not something we could afford any longer. It was really difficult. The daycare, however, was great. After a few short weeks I realized that he was benefiting from it. I made peace with going back to work at that point.

A few months after my return to work, I got pregnant with Ladybug. I knew that we would not be so fortunate this time around; I would need to return to work following a 12 week maternity leave. Dropping her off at daycare was so very difficult. Dropping her off with the knowledge that I could not give to her what I gave to Little Man left me feeling so guilty. I eventually made peace with her being in daycare as well, because I what other choice did I have?

I picked her up from daycare last week. She had just woken up from a nap and was snuggling with her teacher. The teacher turned her around to see me, and Ladybug burst into tears when she saw me. That’s right. She cried at the site of me. My heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest. I felt wretched and that “mommy guilt” returned full-force. I held it together in daycare, then burst into tears myself when we got in the car. She’s with these people 9 hours a day 5 days a week. What did I expect? The same thing happened on Tuesday when I picked her up. Arghhhhhh. I hate this.

There is no other guilt quite like the guilt mothers feel. I put a lot of pressure on myself to be the perfect mother. In the end, I have tried to level the “playing field.” My agency is being kind enough to let me be the trial person to work from home 1 day per week. That starts this week. What that means for me and my kids is that they will have 4 days at day care and 3 at home. That makes me feel somewhat better.

The trick now will be working 2 hours 4 nights each week and being available by phone, fax and email on Fridays. I am already exhausted, but now I have committed myself to two extra hours of work each night after the kids are in bed. My house will suffer, the laundry will suffer, my television habits will suffer…but it is for a good cause. My kids and I will benefit.

Commentary from the Sticker Gallery

2008-09-12T12:59:00.002-04:00

We got the Disney Movie Club mailing this week. They always send a sheet of stickers in the mailing, so Little Man ends up with them. This morning he was offering the hubs and me stickers. Here's the conversation:

Little Man: "Daddy, what sticker you want?"
Hubs: "Donald Duck"
Little Man: "Okay, Dad. Here you go."
Little Man: "Momma, what stick you want?"
Me: Always trying to teach language and perform reflective listening, "What sticker do I want? I'll take Daisy Duck."
Little Man: "Okay, Momma. Here you go."
Hubs: "Daisy Duke; yeah!"
Me: "Ughhhhh!"
Little Man: "No. Dad. Daisy. Duck."
Hubs: "Mommy's my Daisy Duke."
Me: "And Daddy's my Boss Hog."

It's Giveaway Time at Blog Mommas!

2008-09-10T06:14:00.009-04:00

The Queen Momma at is doing another fantastic giveaway! Up for grabs is the Crayola Digital Camera Scrapbooking Kit! It's an amazing kit perfect for kids 4-8! Check out all the great features!!! A camera for the "just starting out" sect, scissors, fancy paper, stickers, glue, an EZ Type Keyboard for clumsy fingers, and so much more ...amazing!!!

I don't scrapbook, and I feel guilty about it. I feel guilty when I go to friends' houses and see their beautiful works of art (because let's face it: they are art), and then I slip my pictures into a typical photo album without note or comment. It's kinda sad really. My Mom does digital scrapbooks and loves it! She has such a fun time putting them together. With this kit, Little Man could start his own scrapbooks and ease some of my guilt!

Little Man has become quite the photographer recently. Every time he sees me pick up the camera, he insists on taking pictures of his own. He loves to do it! He likes it so much that I asked my Mom to get him his own camera for Christmas - a junior digital camera. A perfect gift for him.

What makes this kit excellent for Little Man is that it will help him develop his passion for photography and it includes things he loves - markers, scissors for cutting paper (a huge pass time in our house), glue for gluing that paper, stickers, a keyboard made just for him, and a reason to be at the computer (which he loves and begs to use). What makes it perfect for me is that it will help ease some of my scrapbooking guilt and will make it easy to teach Little Man how to use a keyboard and computer.

To win this phenomenal giveaway, visit Blog Mommas, write your own post about the giveaway, then leave a comment on the blog. While your at Blog Mommas, stick around awhile. It's great blog!

Blog Mommas

A to Z MeMe

2008-09-09T12:52:00.003-04:00

Bitsy over at My Inner Bitsy and Heather over at One Teacher's Journey have tagged me for the A to Z about me MeMe. I figured that everyone wants to know everything they possibly can about me, so why the heck not participate!

Attached or Single? Attached to my Hubs of 8 years. Attached to the Little Man that fills my heart with love and makes me nuts at the same time. Attached at the hip and heart to my Ladybug, who completes me.

Best Friend? The Hubs, indeed. He knows all my secrets. We tell each other everything. We love each other without question.

Cake or Pie? Are they both on the table? You've read my Weight Loss Wednesday posts, right? I'm not writing those because I hate cake and/or pie. As a matter of fact, I heart both of them. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting is my favorite cake. Bosenberry is my favorite pie.

Day of Choice? Saturday. I love a whole day with my kids and my hubs.

Essential Item? Hairdryer. What the heck would I do if I lost my hairdryer? I'm not sure. I need to dry my hair everyday!

Flavor of Ice cream? Strawberry with strawberry sauce. Once upon a time it was Uncanny Cashew by Ben & Jerry's, but then they had to throw that (24 points for the whole container) ice cream in the graveyard.

Gummy Bears of Worms? It's a toss up. Throw some sour patch kids in there and then it's a choice I would make. 'Member the scene in Ferris Bueller where the principal gets on the bus at the end and the girl offers up some gummy bears...all soft and squishy from being in her pocket all day! YECH!!!

Hometown? I've lived many places. My hometown, or the town I grew up and still refer to as "home" is a little place amongst the orange orchards in Southern California.

Indulgences? A pedicure and eyebrow waxes. I love them both and don't do them very often. I keep telling the hubs when he makes his millions off his blog, I am going back to eyebrow waxes and pedicures twice a month.

January or July? Hands down, January. Who could forget my I hate Summer post?

Kids? Two. Little Man, who never ceases to amaze me with his whit and energy, is 3.5. Ladybug, who lights the room up with her smile (and clears it with a little breaking of wind), is 6 months.

Last Movie I saw in a theater? I love to go to the movies, but am married to a man that doesn't. He owes me a chick flick (I won't say why) from a deal he struck with me Christmas 2006. (Note to self...don't make deals with the hubs.) The last movie I saw in a theater was Because I said So. It was a girls night.

Middle Name? I share it with my Mom and was supposed to share it with Ladybug, but her first name didn't sound good with the middle name in question.

Number of Siblings? One older brother, who is one short year away from 40 - gasp!

Oranges or Apples? I like them both. I do not, however, like to peel oranges. It takes me forever to get all the little white strings off the orange. I will not eat the white strings.

Phobia or Fear? Spiders have been numero uno on my list for many, many years. I also have a tremendous fear of plane crashes and home invasions (I see too many movies).

Quote? "I'm not a Republican because I grew up rich, but because I didn't want to spend the rest of my life poor, waiting for the government to rescue me." Mike Huckabee

Reason to Smile? Genuine laughter from either of my kids. The kind that is so genuine that it goes on for what seems like hours and ends with a cackle. The laughter that gets everyone to giggle and warms the hearts of everyone around.

Season? Fall. The sights, smells, chill in the air...love it!

Tag five more: Ummm...no, I don't think I will. I just throw this out there...do it, if you want.

Unknown Fact About Me? I am a freak about the dishwasher. Everything has it's proper place people. If you learn where to put it, then the thing can be loaded to maximum capacity and my world will be a happier place.

Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? Oh pullleassse! Who wrote this question? I'll take my steak medium rare wrapped in bacon and topped crab in a bernaise sauce. Perhaps I'll have chicken satay as an appetizer prior to the meal. Have I covered all the major animals? Cow, Pig, Fish, Chicken...yep, they are all there.

Worst Habit? Eating when I'm not hungry. Hellooooo...again, after reading my blog, this should be obvious!

X-rays or Ultrasounds? Ultrasounds are super cool!

Your favorite Food? Good Mexican. If it's Mexcian in New Hampshire, it's not up to par!

Zodiac? Im a Libra, but I don't really know anything about it other than the scales. I used to read my horoscope in my monthly cover to cover reading of Cosmo, but they never came true.

Thanks for tagging me, Bitsy and Heather! This was fun. Join in the fun, won't you?!!!

Sour Grapes

2008-09-08T13:49:00.003-04:00

I love grapes, so when someone does something to harm my grapes in any way, I get a little annoyed.

The whole family went grocery shopping on Saturday, which doesn't happen very often. It's usually just me and Ladybug, in the Baby Bjorn, strolling through the store. Not this time. This time it was all of us.

We were strolling along just fine. We made it to the checkout line without much drama. The checker was ringing in my items, including my bunch of green grapes and my bunch of red grapes (they were on sale), and sending them down the belt for the bagger to bag them.

I happened to turn my head to talk to the hubs and, as I was turning back around, I noticed the 95 year old bagger, Millie, pop one of my red grapes into her mouth! Are you kidding me???? She ate one of my grapes! One of the grapes that I already payed for (yes, only a fraction of a cent, but payed for never-the-less).

I was speechless. The worst part of it was, she saw me see her do it. She didn't chew it; she just held it in her mouth as if not chewing might make me think maybe she didn't just eat one of my prized nuggets of sugar.

I didn't say anything to the hubs, who would have made a ginormous issue of it. I didn't say anything to her, but only because she was of an age where I thought I should show some respect and not tell her off.

I am still annoyed by this. Who does something like that? I mean, c'mon - hands off my grapes!

Biased Media

2008-09-03T21:04:00.005-04:00

Us Weekly Cover Stories show their bias as plain as day. It's fairly disgusting that a media gossip rag feels the need to get involved in a political campaign. They paint a beautiful picture of the everyday American family, the Obamas. They paint an ugly picture of the everyday American family, the Palins. How did they decide which was beautiful and which was ugly? I guess I can look at both of them and see beautiful families. Regardless of my political position, I don't feel the need to tear one family down and lift the other up. I like my Hollywood gossip as much as the next person, but you can be sure that I don't plan to read this magazine again.

I guess my biggest gripe is that they won't even give this woman a chance. Sarah Palin deserves as much a chance as any other person that could have been chosen for this VP candidacy.

The republican campaign made a decent choice. A choice that shakes things up quite a bit. A choice that makes women like me sit up and take an interest in this campaign that we otherwise weren't interested in because none of the candidates were like us.

Quite frankly, she is a person I can relate to on a personal level. She's a mother of five. She works full time. She faces struggles that many women and mothers face. She's got a 5 month old. Her daughter is pregnant (how many of know someone with a pregnant teenager?). I can't relate to any of the other candidates for President or Vice President. But I can see that she's like me. I can see that she will appreciate what's important to me.

It's about time a campaign took notice of a growing voice: The voice of women who so badly want a person that can relate to them, women who want it all, women who want to protect their family with an extreme fierceness, women who love their country, women who love their God, women who respect the right to choose but that understand the right to life is more important.

America, The Beautiful : Ray Charles '91

2008-09-03T19:44:00.001-04:00

As I watched the opening to the RNC tonight, I was struck by how beautiful this song is. God really did shed His grace on us. We are a blessed country in so many many ways.

Hairy Subject

2008-09-03T07:54:00.003-04:00

Help me! If you lurk, I implore you to leave a comment today. I have had the same hairstyle, give or take bangs, since the mid 1990's. There are a couple of readers out there that can back me up on this. I need a new hairstyle. I have an appointment coming up, and rather than just my normal trim I want a new do.

Sure, there is Hair Thursday out there and willing to give me advice, but her waiting list is forever and a day long. Now...it's up to you (my 5 readers) to tell me what to do with my hair. I beg you...look at this picture and tell me what to do. I need somebody to come up with something ~~less ordinary~~ ~~less of the same~~ fabulous.

Weight Loss Wednesday

2008-09-03T07:45:00.003-04:00

It's official. My scale hates me. I am up 2.4 pounds from last week. I don't necessarily think I had a horrible week, but it was a long weekend. I always get into trouble on the weekends, then you throw an extra day in there and it's pandemonium!

NSV of the week: "Would you stop losing weight already. You are going to disappear!" While I know she was just being nice and there is no real threat of me disappearing any time soon, it was still very nice to hear.

Tip: Fiber One is an amazing brand. They have their original cereal that is great to snack on (don't forget the water), and now they have added a whole slew of products: granola bars (which I can't eat b/c they have peanut products in them), english muffins (delish), bread, yogurt....Hooray for Fiber One. Go out and get yourself some. The products taste great and they add a ton of fiber to your diet.

Tuesday's Tip Jar

2008-09-02T12:10:00.002-04:00

Do you need trees in your yard? Go to ArborDay.org and become a member. For just $10 you become a member and they send you 10 free trees that will live in your zone. We live on a 1.5 acre lot that doesn't have a lot of trees. We have renewed our membership twice. It's a good cause and we get some great trees out of it.
Give it a try!

Are You Your Mother?

2008-09-02T09:53:00.001-04:00

I knew I was very similar to my mother. In fact, when I know my parents are coming, I tease the hubs constantly about their being two of us in the same room. In so many ways we are very much alike.

Last week, however, it became official! I opened my son's car door and saw something stuck on his face. Before I could do anything about it, my finger went to my mouth for a little spit, then went to his cheek for a little scrubbing! Yep....I did it. I swore I never would. I did it on reflex; I couldn't help myself; it was so natural! Little Man, I could see, was not having a good time with this primate type cleansing.

The only difference between my mother's spit bath and mine...mine didn't wreak of coffee.

Halibut with Balsamic Browned Butter

2008-09-01T09:42:00.000-04:00

If you read my blog long enough, you'll know my infatuation with Rachel Ray. Below is a take on a recipe she did on her show last week. She used Talapia, I used Halibut. Either way, it was absolutely "delish!" And....it was the first meal I have made of hers that actually took less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
4 halibut fillets (or any other firm white flesh fish)
1/2 cup flour
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Olive oil

Pat the fish dry.
Season the fish with salt and pepper.
Dredge the fish with a light coating of flour and shake off any extra.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Cook fish 4 minutes on each side or until firm and lightly brown.
Removed fish from the skillet and cover loosely with foil.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the skillet.
Brown the butter- about 2-3 minutes.
Stir in the vinegar and simmer 1-2 minutes, until reduced by half.
Pour the brown butter & vinegar over the fish.

The fish received rave reviews from the hubs and Little Man. Enjoy!!!

Flashback Friday - 1st Car

2008-08-29T12:50:00.005-04:00

For most of us there is a defining moment in our teen years when we suddenly feel we have gone from being a kid to being an adult - it happens around the age of 16 when we get our driver’s licenses. Suddenly we feel this surge of freedom that we never had before - that is, until we realize we don’t have a car. But somehow along the way most of us do end up with our own car - maybe not at age 16, but at some point. This week I thought it would be fun to flashback to that time when you got your first car. How old were you? What kind of car? What led to the buying of it?

My best girlfriend (I often wonder what happened to her and if she is happy) was 6 months older than me. She got her learner's permit slightly after 15 1/2, which meant that I had to have mine then too. I had mine slightly before 15 1/2. We took driver's training together, which was way back when there was no cost for it and high schools still provided it.

She turned 16 while on a ski trip with me and my family during our sophomore year of high school. When we got home, she found her present - a red convertible mustang. It wasn't new, but boy was I ever jealous of that car!

I turned 16 in the fall of our Junior year - on a Saturday, which really bit! I had to wait until Monday to take my driver's test (yes, my parents allowed me to miss a few hours of school for the test). I took it and passed with flying colors. Just a few days before my birthday I came home from school to an empty house. My parents, it would seem, were in LA. They drove down there after reading about a car sale in the newspaper. They came home late that night with my present. A brand new 1989 white Nissan Sentra. It was less than $5,000 - can you believe that? Less than $5,000 for a brand new car?

Long story shortened, I didn't choose the car. It was a gift to me, and a wonderful one by very generous parents. The car served me well. I drove it for 7 1/2 years. During those 7 years, I changed out the am/fm radio only to a cassette radio. I bought an air conditioner for it (which never really worked right and caused sparks on the passenger side floorboard). It was even stolen from me once. Heather, if you are reading this, you can tell the story.

Sarah Palin

2008-08-29T11:10:00.002-04:00

Sarah Palin was chosen as McCain's running mate. I am so flippin' excited! This is going to be a great and historic election year! As far as I am concerned, they couldn't have made a better choice!

Summer

2008-08-28T13:20:00.002-04:00

I have been wanting to get something off my chest, so I am just going to throw it out there. Here goes: I am glad summer is over! I really don't like summer. I have never liked summer. It is my least favorite season. I know...most of you (okay, well all 5 of you that read my blog) are sitting out there with your jaw on the floor - someone who doesn't like summer? How can that be?

I don't like the heat.
I especially don't like the humidity.
I don't like the skimpier clothes.
I love my yard, but I don't like the time it takes the hubs to care for it (yes the hubs -this Cali Girl doesn't do lawn care).
I don't like the constant worrying about sunscreen (and reapplying it every 2 hours) and skin cancer.
I don't like misquitos and the annoying little bites they cause.
I don't like that spiders are more prevlant.

As the summer season draws to an end with Labor Day this weekend, I will raise my nice glass of merlot to toast the end of the season and wait for the lovliest season of the year to begin. The season where the weather turns a little crisper, the leaves change, the apple harvesting is in full swing and leaves a sweet aroma in the air, the season in which we remember to give thanks for everything around us.

Weight Loss Wednesday

2008-08-27T16:11:00.003-04:00

So another Wednesday has come. Another Weight Loss Wednesday. Another Wednesday to tell you I didn’t lose any weight. I stayed the same, which is a small victory, but a victory all the same.

My tip for the week: enjoy the Non-Scale Victories (NSVs). When you are enjoying a healthy lifestyle and making positive changes in your life, there are NSVs all around you.

For example, someone whose hasn’t seen me in awhile came into my office last week. I got up from my desk to grab something for her, and (as my back was turned to her) she said, “Omygosh, Cali Girl! Your ass is not there anymore. Omygosh! How did you do that?”

That, my bloggy friends, is an NSV. Look for them – they are everywhere and just waiting for you take notice and give them a title. They will make youfeel better about yourself and your day instantly.

Are you pants feeling a tad looser? Can you see your collar bone again? Did the construction worker whistle at you, finally? Whatever it is – take it and relish in it! You’ll be glad you did!

Sprinkles

2008-08-26T14:26:00.004-04:00

I am guilty of giving my child the overly processed, full of sugar, not-so-good-for-you breakfast pastry known as the Pop Tart (no offense kellogs, but it's true - you can try to market them as whole grain and low-fat, but nothing is going to change the bad-for-you-ness about them). I know what you are thinking: Reason number 723 why I won't be getting that "mom of the year" award.

Anyway, I usually buy the low fat version because they have less calories than the whole grain version. I figure I should cut back somewhere. The low fat version has frosting and sprinkles on it. The whole grain version has a squiggle of frosting on it.

A couple of weeks ago my grocery store was out of the low fat version, so I bought the whole grain version. This was met with a bit of discontent on Little Man's part. He demanded to know where the sprinkles were each and every morning.

The box, finally emptied, was in need of replinishing so at the grocery store yesterday I picked up aa new one. Little Man was with me. They actually had the low fat version. I handed it to Little Man, and this is the conversation that took place:

Me: Look, Little Man, I found the kind with sprinkles again.
Little Man: Strawberry?
Me: Yep, straberry.
Little Man: (whilst hugging said box of Pop Tarts) Oh Pop Tarts, I knew you'd come back to me.

Toilets, Buckets and Theme Parks Oh My!

2008-08-26T14:16:00.004-04:00

It has been insane at the Cali Girl house. I got up Thursday morning to feed Ladybug only to have her throw it all up. She went back to bed for an hour and woke with that distinctly "sick" smelling pooh. Great. I chose to ignore it.

I got a call from daycare at 8:55am Thursday morning about Little Man. He had been complaining about his stomach and was saying he was going to throw up. Wonderful. I picked them both up and assumed he was faking it because he know Ladybug threw up that morning and was just "talking" about it.

Boy was I wrong. Thank goodness for the puke bucket I keep in the car. He started puking just as we turned onto our street. I got him all cleaned up and the bucket all cleaned, layed him on the couch, covered him with a blanket where he rested for a couple of hours.

There was only one episode of vomiting, thank goodness. He continued, however, to have the stomach bug afflict his derryaire until Monday! Ladybug was better by Thursday afternoon.

Friday I started to feel crummy. I woke at 2:30am Saturday morning with that same bug. Yechhhhh! We had plans to go to Storyland and stay the night Saturday night. I couldn't cancel and crush Little Man, so off we treked. We both made it through, and had a good time. Neither Little Man or myself ate anything but a few crackers the whole trip (note to self: stomach bug excellent diet aide when going to a fat ladden theme park).

My Junior Photographer

2008-08-21T06:17:00.002-04:00

Little Man has become obsessed with taking photos. He asks to use our camera on a daily basis (the camera, mind you, that I spent hours researching, that would break my heart if something happened to it - that camera).

Anyway, he's getting better. This is the picture he took of me and Ladybug a few mornings ago.

Weight Loss Wednesday

2008-08-20T12:54:00.002-04:00

Work has left me in a state of constant stress over the last 2 weeks. I don't see it slowing down. The only good thing to come out of it is that I haven't had time to eat anything extra. When I am going along at a calm rate I have time to think about a snack. When I am busy and running from one meeting to another I don't have time to do anything other than survive and complete my tasks at hand. Take this morning for example. At 6:45am I had a Diet Pepsi. I ate lunch at 12:45 - I had nothing in between. I didn't do it on purpose, but there was literally nothing I could do about the situation.

Weight Loss - I am down 3 pounds since last week.

Tip - Increase your stress level and number of tasks that need immediate attention. I'm kidding, of course. Days like my day today are not healthy. If you know you are going to have a busy day, grab a healthy snack that can be eaten on the run. A low cal, low fat granola bar, grapes, celery sticks, meal replacement shake.