Death

I know that’s not a very pleasant subject, let alone a subject title but unfortunately it’s something that’s close to us right now. Brad’s grandfather, Pappy, or Happy as the kids call him, is 90 years old and ending his battle with cancer. He has lived a good life and has accepted that this is his end and I believe he is at peace with it. He is still alert and able to talk with us, is not in significant pain but is nearing the end very soon. We have known that he has cancer for a while, has been on hospice for a little over a month now but still it somehow feels like this has all snuck up on us. Truly, we all accept that this the end, we know he’s ready so that helps us be at peace, but it’s still death.

Death. Such a harsh word. The finally to life on earth.

It brings more emotions to the surface and forces each of us to reflect on our own feelings of personal death, death of other loved ones and the quality of the lives we’ve been gifted with. That’s a lot of heavy thinking.

Bring kids into the mix and it makes it just that much more difficult. Kids at any age, including myself at 30 years old still have a hard time thinking of “my grown-up’s” passing away. When faced with loosing a generation everyone feels like a kid again.

On top of Pappy’s emanate passing, Helen, Brad’s mom is also dealing with the soon to come passing of her oldest sibling. Helen is one of 10 children whose parents are still alive and well. The oldest sister was battling cancer and is the final stages of her life. Like Pappy, she has had a great life, great loves and many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. None the less, it’s still taking its toll on everyone to be faced with two lives coming to a close. My children do not know Helen’s sister well as she lives out of state but it is still difficult to know that Nanna (Helen) is losing a sister. Anthony’s comment was “I would cry for ever if I lost one of my sisters.” It broke my heart because I know that ‘forever’ in his definition is not a reality yet none the less, I’m confident that Helen and the rest of her siblings are feeling the same in their hearts. It also pains me that Anthony had to contemplate that thought to come up with that statement.

As a parent to multiple children it has been an interesting observation for me to watch both situations. Both Pappy and Marion, Helen’s sister, are enveloped by their siblings. Pappy’s sister is 86 years old and not in the greatest of health herself, yet she has practically moved in with Pappy to help take care of him and he still try’s to take care of her. When we were at Pappy’s house yesterday he was having a hard time hearing Brad and I even with his hearing aids but he appeared to hear every word his sister Francis said. They bickered over silly things and had the exact same eye roll that my kids give each other now. Yet, there was an obvious deep routed bond between the siblings.

Marion’s brothers and sisters have all rallied around her to celebrate her life, help take care of anything they can, support Marions children and just simply hold her hand. They have all in turn, multiple times and sometimes together, traveled to see her through out her short cancer battle despite what ever was happing with their own families, financial situations, jobs or any other potential obstacles. The bonds of blood run deep and it appears they tend to resurface with fierceness when faced with loss.

I know this is not always the case and the question arose as to whether or not this is a generational thing or something that knows no boundary. When I’m long gone, God willing I will be before my children ever are, will my kids rally together to support each other like this? Is it a value I need to work on instilling on them? Should I be pointing out my current observation in hopes of planting the seed in their memories? Or is this one of those things that should just be considered a blood drive. Something we do with out conscious thought or objection, something done and felt all the way down to the blood coursing thru our body.

The other thing that has been heavy on my mind for a while is the obvious passage of time and how it forces me to be an adult more so than I ever considered. Most of you, readers, are the same age as me, 30-ish (ick!) so that means your parents are also in the 50-60 range, making your grandparents 70-80 range. Now is the time in our lives when we will most likely be saying goodbye to our grandparents and in the next 20-30 years most of us will have to say goodbye to our parents. How am I supposed to do that? How do I not have my mom here? How do I say goodbye to my dad?

 It breaks my heart to see my father-in-law grapple with these very questions now as his father, Pappy, is packing his proverbial bags. My mom is forever altered after the loss of her father; my step-mom is still actively working thru the grieving process after her father’s recent passing. Are we ever really ready to be “grown-up?” To not have our parents? I talk to my step-dad every day; I call him for everything for cooking advice, to funny stories to fix-it solutions. Who will I turn to when he and the rest of that generation are gone? How will I know how to answer those questions when my children are in my spot and are calling me or Brad for those same types of questions. I don’t have all the answers yet, how am I supposed to respond? At what point do I age enough, grow up big enough to be the Parent? Where do I turn when I don’t know the answer to my 40 year old daughter’s questions? Is that where my siblings come back into play? Relying on each others collective knowledge of life to answer those questions?

Even now, I’m grappling with how to prepare my children for the passing of Pappy. I find myself turning to my grown-up’s who have lost their father’s, to my mom who has had to prepare my brothers and I for a funeral when our uncle passed away when we were little. I’m pulling on their collective knowledge to help me thru this. Does that make me the key keeper for this box of how-to’s? Should I be writing this all down so I don’t mess it up later in life when I don’t have Mom, Susan, Dad or Michael to turn to?

I know, heavy ponderings for a light blog but I think, or at least feel, that death of a generation is felt with a greater impact now than it was in the 1950’s. Historically, once you grew up and out of the house, you still spoke to your parents or grandparents but I think that our generation and the few before us have fostered a closer relationship to our elderly than was practiced in the 50’s. Therefore the loss of this generation has a wider impact. Maybe that’s a narrow view as I am only here now and have no references on how someone felt after the loss of a grandparent in the 50’s. I wonder how tight knit the family tree will be in 60 years from now. If my theory is true, then we share and show our love more now to the various branches of the tree thus a close knit. The benefits are obvious, bountiful and a true blessing. The disadvantage is also more of an impact of death. Are our children’s, children’s, children’s going to feel surrounded by death with such a close knit tree? Will they begin distancing themselves to save themselves from the feeling of the death of a branch? Is that worth the potential loss of the closeness during life?

Despite my ramblings, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I truly feel blessed to have known and been close the generations before me and all around me. Their life lessons, loves and losses helped shape who I am and thus who I am raising my children to be.

Sometimes you just need a laugh

Today was definitely one of those days. Anthony was at his B-pa's after school today and when I went to pick him up. Here’s how the conversation went:

Anthony: (Waving a green square pouch at me) Mom, what’s this? *snicker*

Me: Where did you get that? Were you digging in the cabinets?
Anthony: Yes
Me: Did you ask B-pa?
Anthony: Yes (long pause)
Me: Did B-pa tell you to ask me?

Anthony: *Giggle, giggle, giggle* Yep!

Me: Great! *sarcastic eye roll*

Anthony: So, what is it?

Me: Just go get in the car.

Anthony: Tell me!

Me: Just go get in the car and I’ll tell you.

Anthony: Ok *runs to the car*

Me: (to B-pa) Thanks for setting me up!

B-pa: *Snicker*

*Door slam*

Anthony: Ok, Mom, we’re officially in the car, what was that thing? *Snicker*

Me: Humm, well, ok... (Seriously? This conversation, today?!?) That’s a maxi pad, it’s a pad that women put in their underwear during their monthly period.

Anthony: Period? Why?

Me: Once a month, women and some girls your age and up, go thru a period. It’s when the lining of their uterus sheds off and exits thru their vagina (I'm all for the clinical explinations) The pads help collect the lining and small amounts of blood that come with it and stop it from getting on our panties or pants.

Anthony: *Snicker* It’d be funny if it didn’t catch it!

Me: *Angry scowl* Why is that funny?

Anthony: Because there’d be a big red stain! *Snicker*

Me: NOT Funny! You have to be mature about this, how would you feel if you walked around with a big red stain on the crotch of your pants because of something you can't control?!? HUH! (*Biting cheek to avoid laughing from the ridiculous threat that just crossed my lips*)

Anthony: Ok. *dejected frown*

Me: The monthly period is what signifies a woman’s beginning ability to have a baby, the uterus remember is where the baby stays while inside the mom. So every month, the uterus grows soft and cushy so that if the woman gets pregnant the egg has a soft spot to grow. If the egg does not grow (side-step the whole fertalization conversation) then the lining and the egg shed out making room for next month.

Anthony: Mom, the bikes at school were different because they had gears, my mongoose doesn’t have gears. Thats why I had a hard time riding them.

Me: Huh? What the heck batman? I was just talking about uteruses and you switch to bikes?

Anthony: Yea, I’m done with that conversation.

Me: Oh, ok (Boys!) *eye roll*

I guess it was a day for that type of thing. Apparently, B-pa and Anthony were watching Mythbusters this afternoon, as they usually do, but today’s episode was “Son of a Gun. Can a bullet shot thru a civil war solders groin impregnate a woman near by?” I guess they played around with what was actually the needed “material” on the bullet to impregnate the innocent bystander woman. B-pa said that he was just waiting for the questions. Fortunately, Anthony is an introspective boy and instead of asking B-pa he will think about it for a few weeks and next time we’re having a conversations about bikes, he’ll interrupt with: “Mom? What’s Sperm?”

Weekly Meal Plan

We spent a fortune this last week and to be shamefully honest, I couldn't exactly tell you where. Sad huh? Needless to say, this weeks meal plan is based on what I have in stock and the $50 more I could bear spending.

Monday night: Steak fried rice
Tuesday: Hot Dogs, grilled onions, side salad
Wednesday: Open face tuna melts on broccoli bread
Thursday: Pasta with itallian ground turkey meat sauce
Friday: Dinner out (pay day!)

The fried rice tonight was super yummy. I had left over steak from fajitas last week and rice from this weekend.

4 cups rice (cooked in advance)
2 cups chopped steak
1 celery stock
2-3 small carrots
4 green onions
1 can water chestnuts
1 cup frozen peas
2 eggs scrambled
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp ginger
Soy sauce
Teriyaki sauce

Heat the oil over med-high, add the rice and fry for 1 min until some of the moisture is removed. Make a hole in the middle of the rice add the egg, cook until done, add in the veggies and meat. Stir together, lower the heat to medium, add the ginger and soy sauce to taste. Serve with the teriyaki sauce drizzled over top.

Easter 2011

What a great Easter. I feel almost as exhausted as I do after Christmas for some reason though! This weekend was non-stop! Brad de-constructed our laundry room (more on that to come), Princess Mia had to be cleaned before her holiday, we had shopping to do, bunny cakes to make, eggs to dye and baskets to assemble. (shh!) Egg hunts, family meals and wine to be drank!

 Her royal blow-dry (not sure if that's the front or back!)

The gifts from the Easter Bunny -

 Hailey left the Easter Bunny a gift (some change she found put into a small box) and Anthony left a note asking the Bunny to take a break and enjoy some snacks as a thank you for all the gifts from the past, the present and the future. He also asked what the Bunny's name was.

The Easter Bunny's Reply:
_________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Anthony, Hailey and Makenna,
Thank you so much for the snack, I really needed it! I hope you don't mind but Princess Mia came out with me a bit tonight to help. Thank you for taking such good care of her. I did promis her that I would tell you she would like more strawberries, they're her favorite.
Anthony - My real name is kind of embarrasing, I'll tell you but you have to keep it a secret. It's Melvin, Everyone just calls me EB.
Hailey - Thank you for the present. It was so nice of you, I am going to spend it on something nice for myself.
Makenna - Hop Hop!

I love you three, see you next year!
EB
_________________________________________________________________________________

Anthony got a very nice snorkle set for the pool, here he's showing off his mask. I'll just keep this one for the wedding slide show. 

 The bunny cake that the girls and I made:

 Sorry for the smudgey picture, I didn't realize there was a little girl fingerprint on the lense.
This is a close up of the mini cakes we made, aren't they cute!

 The customary family Easter picture.

 Easter egg hunting

Black egg hunting! The black egg is hidden by B-pa and is the hardest to find. Who ever finds it though, gets the money inside, usually $20. This year, B-pa went a little over the top and was saying that no one would ever find it (what's the fun in that!) but he was a good sport and gave Anthony ton's of clue's that made him think and reason it out. Finally it came down to "hot or cold." It was somewhere between Anthony and the girls. No one could find it.  (Do you see Mia in the backround laying on the grass? She had her own outdoor pen she could roam around on the grass in today)

 Finally B-pa had to help.

Luckly, despite the fact that he didn't actually find it, Anthony got the money.

Dinner was great, desert was rich and the kids were in bed by 7:30pm! Brad and I quickly went around and stashed all the candy out of sight and are ready to collapse into bed. Tomorrow is tornado clean up. Hop everyone had a great Easter!

Mini-Mega cooking day

Sounds funny huh?

I have been asked to help make meals for my husbands ageing grandfather. He is over 90 years old and for now, still lives independently; however, he is starting to have a difficult time cooking his own meals. He has been widowed for many years and has been self sufficient the entire time so the slow loss of ability that comes with advanced age is difficult for him. We’re hoping that since he knows I love to cook and often do big batches of cooking and baking that he will not take it as us viewing him incapable of doing it but rather as just the good gesture we intend it to be. I’m going to the dollar store to get some containers and plan on making approximately 20 meals. They all need to be relatively soft and easy to chew and also ones that can either be microwaved or reheated in the oven with little not no fuss.

So far, my ideas are:

Chicken and rice casserole

Taco Sheppard’s-pie-style with pureed hominy instead of the mashed potatoes

Stuffed tomatoes

Pastina and itallian sausage soup

Chicken noodle soup

I may not make all those or I may add more but that’s my idea list thus far. I will probably shop for ingredients on Monday and bake on Wednesday.

Spring Cleaning list

In no particular order:

·        Wash, iron and re-hang curtains

·        Sew new pillow covers, curtain tie backs and table runners for summer

·        Rent carpet shampooer and shampoo all the carpets

·        Paint Anthony’s room and clean out

·        Order prints for my above cabinet posters

·        Prep backyard for the summer – weed spray, lay down bark, pest control

·        Wash all bed skirts, take comforters to dry cleaner, flip mattresses, clean under the beds

·        Clean up blog – recipe’s page, remove Dirty Laundry replace with “out of context,”  add search bar

·        Give the dog a buzz cut

·        Re-assess and re-evaluate New Years Resolutions

·        Redo wreath above dining room table (take out the Christmas decorations)

·        Wash all fake plants and flowers

·        Clean out and organize bathroom cabinets, kitchen cabinets and pantry

I’m giving myself until the end of May to accomplish this entire list. Does anyone have a spring cleaning list they’d care to share? Am I the only loon who still makes a spring cleaning list?

"The List" update

Ok, although the Starbucks Fairy gifted me with a super awesome $25 gift card I have had no way to redeem it yet as I have a house full of kids that don't all fit in my car. That and I'm pretty sure if I took them all to Starbucks I'd spend the entire $25 in one trip or risk tantrums of epic proportions. After all, that old saying 'misery loves company' was invented by a mom of multiple toddlers. Once one starts complaining, crying or melting down the others soon follow suit and considering I currently have 4-5 toddlers with me right now, it wouldn't be a pretty picture!

Regardless, I have been treated to 'bux three times recently, twice by my 10 yr old niece and once by my husband. Both were phenomenal treats and combined with the promise of more caffeinated heaven from my gift card I have finally made great headway on my priorities list.

·        DONE! I have to file my taxes – not a hard task, I already completed all the paperwork I just have to review and file – It’s money just waiting for me to claim!

·        I have to clip coupons and organize my coupon file – I need a mega coupon shopping trip here soon, we’re getting really low on staples and that’s dangerous, it means I’m more likely to pay over my “buy now” price and we’re trying really hard to be extra frugal with money right now. (*I clipped all the one’s I had and started to organize them into a new file but my Grandma brought me 8 more inserts last night so I’m behind again)

·        DONE! I have to clean out the girl’s room – once again we can’t walk in there without stepping on something and I swear something squished last night when I went in.

·        DONE!  (the list is done at least) I have to make my spring cleaning list and get to it! – My curtains need to be washed and re-pressed, my floors need to be shampooed, my couch has a year’s worth of junk crammed underneath the cushions.

·        I have to buy weed killer and get the landscaper back here (yes, I know, shut up!) to clean up the weeds before our HOA yells at me again.

·        I have to do a run to the dump to clear out the crap in our garage so I can organize for a yard sale (also, given that I drive a dark blue car it would be nice to park inside so we don’t get scorch marks when we try to put our seat belts on)

·        I have to do a garage sale – that or just give up and take it all to goodwill and get it over with

·        I have to search Craigslist for new dining room chairs ours are falling apart and at this point are not only an eye sore but a health hazard! (We’re waiting on the tax return to get new chairs – NEW! Yea! I’ve never had new chairs, everything’s yard sale, craigslist or hand-me-down and I’m ok with that, but NEW! Yeppie)

·        DONE! I also need a new dryer.

I do believe, I do believe, I do, I do, I do!

Once you become an adult all those fun, motivating, exciting and mythical beings that use to spoil us move on to the next generation. In general I'm grateful, my kids have been blessed with some great gifts from the Tooth Fairy, Santa spoils them beyond their wildest imagination and we all know about those naughty leprechauns.

However, every once in a while, I still wish upon a star and daydream about House Cleaning Fairies, Laundry Godmothers or bunnies other than the dust ones that frequent my house. I sometimes long for the days when the excitement of a legendary holiday visitor would tear me out of bed at the crack of dawn with fulfillment of wishes I didn't even know I had. These guardians of childhood innocence took a personal back seat and faded with each calendar year I added gleefully to take the reins again when the addition of my own children reinvented my love for them. But, this morning at 3:02 am precisely, I was visited by my very own mythical fulfiller of wishes: The Starbucks Fairy!

When I woke up this morning at 6 am and was lazily perusing my email, pondering how I was going to function today with five kids under 5 years old, no working dryer and piles of laundry, I came to this email:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Enjoy your Starbucks Card eGift

Hi Jennifer,
Your Priority Motivator wanted to make your day so they’ve sent you a $25.00 Starbucks Card eGift to spend on your favorite beverage.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How phenomenal is that! No name, just "your priority motivator." I giggled! Yes, giggled, when i read it and I got out of bed with a spring in my step!

I guess this means I should accomplish the things I said I would if I had $25 in Starbucks money. I wouldn't want the Starbucks Fairy to think I'm ungrateful or unworthy.

Starbucks Fairy, wherever your caffeinated home is, I hope you heard my child-like giggle and know that you made my day!

Bountiful baskets tropical pack

Have you joined Bountiful Baskets yet? Really it's simple, worth it and a great experience in food! You order on Monday, pick up on Saturdays. It usually only takes me 30 min.'s round trip on Saturday mornings.
Here's everyone lined up:





Here is a picture of the baskets waiting to be claimed. (the $3 first time basket charge pays for the white baskets to store your produce until you pick it up)





This is a bad picture but cut me some slack, it was early, I only had 1/2 of my coffee and was on auto pilot. These are ready for me to pick up. One fruit and one veggie white basket equals one order. Make sense? I had two orders.





This weeks basket offered a tropical pack for the first time. I'm so excited about it!






The tropical pack included:
1 pineapple
1 coconut
3 mangos
1 lime
2 lemons
1 star fruit
2 fresh vanilla pods
Large bag of fresh mint

The last time I bought vanilla pods they were jarred from McCormak and I think I paid $8 for two pods. They were dry and yielded very little pulp. The tropical pack with everything above was $10.50 and the vanilla is wet, soft and so fragrant! The mint alone is probably another $8-10.

This is the tropical pack and regular basket combined:






The basket this week had:
1 bunch celery
1 large crown broccoli
2 bags carrots
6 small cucumbers
1 yellow onion
3 organic romain lettuces
3 small bags radishes
1 bunch banana
1 cantaloupe
1 clamshell strawberries
7 apples
6 mangos


I think we're going to have a tropical feast tonight!

Mango mint mojitos
Brown sugar grilled pork tenderloin with mango pineapple salsa
Jasmine lime and cilantro rice
Tropical green salad with star fruit and lemon lime balsamic vinaigrette
Coconut tres leches cake with caramelized bananas

Yum!

I want to be a peacock

Today the girls and I returned to the zoo with some friends. Yes, I remembered the pull-up's this time, but even more shaming, for the first time ever, Makenna packed her own purse with a pull-up tucked inside. (See, I told you, scarred for life!) The monkeys were sorely disappointed! We were greeted with whoops and monkey calls that abruptly stopped when Makenna crawled up the railing thus revealing her pull-up. Ironically, that's not an exaggeration but the docent assured me it was a coincidence not an actual reaction to my daughter. (Ok, that parts an exaggeration, I did not ask a docent for their opinion on the subject, I couldn't find one.)

The birds were particularly friendly today, coming very close to the crowds and proudly displaying their bright feathers. The peacock was no exception. We saw three full peacock displays today. They truly are beautiful. Actually, I think handsome, is a better description, as the full magnificent feathers display we associate with peacocks is actually from the male. They developed the display to entice female peacocks. The females are more monotone in color and their tail feathers are much shorter and lack the iridescent colors that shimmer on the male.



Tonight is date night, and as I am painstakingly curling my now chocolate colored hair after a shower, exfoliation, shave, a 20 min. makeup routine and at least 5 outfit changes, I realized something. I want to be a peacock! I bet those long feathers require quite a bit of grooming and I chose to believe that it's physically taxing on the male to grow, maintain and display his handsome feathers. All the female peacock has to do is sit back and appreciate the view.

I bet when the Peacocks hit the town for a date Mr. Peacock has to come home early enough to primp his feathers, groom and straighten them and spends most of the date sucking in his gut the to help support the plume. (He wouldn't want the other animals thinking that Mrs Peacock chose a sloppy male.) Mrs. Peacock gets to proudly walk next to him basking in the beautiful iridescent shimmers catching every other creatures eye.

Yep, in my next life I want to be a female peacock. I wonder if Brad would 'primp' his feathers to dazzle me as I am primping for him tonight? :)

Priorities update

Nada! Yep, that's my update, nothing. Ugh! I gave myself till the end of this week to finish my list or make a huge dent in it. Looks like the rest of this week's going to suck. I am almost done with our taxes, I just need two more pieces of info from Brad and I can hit file. I also have a dryer that we just need to go pick up this weekend so I can once again resume the oh so glamorous job of laundry.

On a side note our camping trip was canceled last weekend due to a very random cold rainy day. We went from 90 degree days down to 47 degrees on Saturday and back up to the 80's on Monday. We thought about going this weekend instead but have too many things that we (I) need to accomplish. I really need one of those days where I wake up mega motivated and just blast thru my house cleaning, organizing and accomplishing all my goals. Please? Either that or a $25 gift card to Starbucks to fuel a fake motivated spree. Yea, $25 ought to cover a days worth of Starbucks. Just don't tell Brad.

Balsamic chicken with sundried tomatoes over egg noodles

This turned out better than I expected. I found the basic recipe on the back a can of cream of mushroom soup but modified it for our tastes and servings. I was looking for something light-ish, kid friendly and easy to make. I picked up the light cream of mushroom soup with intentions of making tuna noodle casserole even though it didn't sound good in the store. I couldn't think of anything else, it was one of those cooking brain-fart moments. This sounded a bit better than the tuna so I thought I'd give it a try. I'll be adding this to my recipe list to make again.

4 chicken breasts, diced

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp lawrys seasoning salt

2 tsp dried oregano

1 cup diced sundried tomatoes

2 stalks celery, diced

½ onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup water

1 bag egg noodles

Cook egg noodles according to the package.

In large sauté pan, sauté the chicken in the butter until browned and almost done, then add the celery, onion, garlic, sundried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. Cook for 2 min.’s over medium high heat then add the can of mushroom soup and the water, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-7 min.’s stirring occasionally until combined. Once egg noodles are done, pour the sauce into the noodles, mix and serve or you can dish out the noodles and spoon the sauce over separately. I splashed a little more balsamic on the adult’s plates and served with some fresh diced sundried tomatoes on top as well.

My favorite child

Back before I had multiple children I couldn't understand when a parent would say they didn't have a favorite child. Let's face it, we all have favorites. What I didn't realize was that being a favorite was not a permanent thing; it's an ever evolving, constantly changing, heart felt and illogical spot that can be both positive and negative and held by multiple children at a time for various reasons. Thus, when someone asks if you have a favorite, the answer is no, I have multiple. Even when they are my favorite pains in the butt, it's still a place of honor. There is so much humor, growth and education to be found in the irritating ways they get on my nerves. Now, I rarely see these good things in the moment, lets face it, when you have no patience, ‘humor, growth and education’ are the farthest from your mind its more like time out, yelling and emanate headache. However, in hindsight I can usually find all three lurking in even the most irritating situation.

Anthony is my favorite son, a title he will forever hold. Sometimes he's my favorite child for his imagination, his creativity, his kindness and/or his sense of humor. Sometimes he's my favorite pain in the butt for his stubbornness, lack of attention and lack of organization in thought and deed. Even when he's my favorite pain in the butt I still love him of course, but he, like any child, can grate on my nerves something fierce!

Hailey is my favorite Hailey in the whole wide world, again a title she will forever hold. She is my favorite for her girlieness, her twirllerina skills(a word she made up because she's not just a twirler and not just a ballerina, she's a tiwrllerina), her gentle manor and her genuine happiness in life. She's my favorite pain in the butt for her need-to-be-the-mom attitude, unwavering sense of style and her oversensitivity.

Makenna, oh Makenna, she is by far my favorite Makenna in the whole wide world. She is my child that breaks all the rules, molds and guidelines I so rigidly placed for myself. She is my favorite for her spark, her black and white sense of her own rules, her contagious laugh and her goofy smile. This child can go from happy to sad in 2 seconds and back again. She is completely in her own little world most of the time and if you don't comply with her rules or abide by her requests she’ll protest and loudly let you know that she does not approve. She challenges me every day yet finds a way to reward me as well. She is my favorite pain in the butt most of the time I'll admit, but it's a title that she basks in. If you tell her she's a pain in the butt she just looks at you and smiles that cheesy smile!

Although her and Hailey are very close in age and spend every day together and even dress alike almost every day, they are two completely different personalities. It amazes me how different they are! Hailey is generally very calm, follows the rules, and is almost always happy or at very least content in any situation, even if it's not an ideal one. Makenna has the capacity to be a happy child, but again, it’s only under her conditions. If those conditions are met, she is a gem. If not, she’s a spitfire!

Last night for example, Brad was getting Kenna ready for bed, taking off her clothes and putting on her night shirt. He grabbed a new pull-up to put on her but when he checked, her pull-up was still dry so he didn’t change it out. She freaked! She completely melted down wanting “Dora!” the character on her diapers. He tried to talk to her, reason with her, explain to her, but she was gone. He broke her conditions for compliance. She was in full hissy fit mode. Brad carried her to bed, back arched, howler monkey scream and flailing arms and all. He told her sorry, kissed her and closed the door. Kenna cried for 20 min’s until I went in to put Hailey to bed. When I got in there, Kenna proceeded to tattle-tale on Brad and explain to me that he didn’t get her Dora and said No. I told her to stop crying and I would show her Dora. I turned the light on and showed her that the pull-up she had on was also a Dora one, so she had Dora all along.

“Oh”

She immediately quieted down, kissed me good night and was out in 10 min’s.

See? Her conditions. 

She's always been this way, even as a baby. Happy or Sad, very rarely is she in-between.

Happy

Mad - we had just woken her up - see the hand print on her forehead? She was sleeping on her hand. *Smile*

Happy, but cautious because I was laughing at her and had a washcloth in my hand. The countdown to meltdown was already at critical.

Happy

Mad because we told her she had to eat a bite of food before she could have more drink

Happy, she had unlimited access to popcorn - about to be mad when I put her in time-out and clean up

Mad because we made her sit on Grandpa's lap for a picture

Happy - she found a place to play!

Mad - we told her it was time to get out of the pool, took of her suit and she threw a hissy fit on the steps

Anyways, you get the point, she's just a very unique personality and for that, right now she's my favorite!

Priorities

I’ve been seriously lacking lately in many areas of my home. I HAVE to get this under control or the clutter is going to consume me! So, I figure if I put it “on paper” so to speak for everyone here to see maybe I’ll actually follow thru. Lord knows I go thru this list each night when I go to bed promising to get to it the next day….every night for the past two weeks. Maybe this will work.

• I have to file my taxes – not a hard task, I already completed all the paperwork I just have to review and file – It’s money just waiting for me to claim!
• I have to clip coupons and organize my coupon file – I need a mega coupon shopping trip here soon, we’re getting really low on staples and that’s dangerous, it means I’m more likely to pay over my “buy now” price and we’re trying really hard to be extra frugal with money right now.
• I have to clean out the girl’s room – once again we can’t walk in there without stepping on something and I swear something squished last night when I went in.
• I have to make my spring cleaning list and get to it! – My curtains need to be washed and re-pressed, my floors need to be shampooed, my couch has a year’s worth of junk crammed underneath the cushions.
• I have to buy weed killer and get the landscaper back here (yes, I know, shut up!) to clean up the weeds before our HOA yells at me again.
• I have to do a run to the dump to clear out the crap in our garage so I can organize for a yard sale (also, given that I drive a dark blue car it would be nice to park inside so we don’t get scorch marks when we try to put our seat belts on)
• I have to do a garage sale – that or just give up and take it all to goodwill and get it over with
• I have to search Craigslist for new dining room chairs ours are falling apart and at this point are not only an eye sore but a health hazard! I also need a new dryer, my laundry is taking over and I can’t keep taking it to my parents to wash – seriously, I’m 30 years old, not a college kid, I should not be taking bags of laundry to Mommies house. (Eww, did I just admit I’m 30? You should see the scowl on my face when I re-read that!)

Ok, my gosh that seems like a huge list. Breathe….I can do this….Damn, I need more coffee!

Turkey Sliders

I somehow thought I’d posted this recipe but I guess not. Anyways, these are super easy to make and were a huge hit with the kids. My favorite were the ones with the sweet peppers.

Start with rolls, I prefer my homemade sweet rolls for this. It compliments the peppers well. Don’t separate the rolls, instead cut them open as a whole.

Place the bottom layer on a baking sheet and top with the ingredients. I did several different types just for fun.

6
Rolls I spread with a thin layer of mayo then diced pickled sweet cherry peppers that I coated in a tbsp of italian dressing. I topped that with swiss cheese turkey and more swiss cheese.*

3 Rolls had mayo,thin sliced apples cheddar cheese, turkey and more cheddar cheese.*

4 rolls had just mayo, cheese, turkey and more cheese.*

2 rolls had mayo, deseeded tomatoes, pepper jack cheese turkey and more pepper jack cheese.*

Then I put the top bun back on and basted with a mixture of butter and Dijon mustard. Cook in a 350 oven for 5-8 min.’s until the cheese is just melted. Cut apart and serve warm. Yum!

*The cheese on top and bottom adhears the bun's together, plus, cheese is GOOD!

Chili

I kind of cheated last night and just made the chili with a seasoning packet and instructions from McCormick.

Did I mention the failed beans on Saturday night? Somehow I ALWAYS screw up homemade refried beans. Seriously, refried beans! Should be simple right?  Not to say that there isn’t skill in Goooood refried beans but I was just going for good. I would have settled for ediable! First off, they were purple! Purple! No I didn’t use a red onion. Second, despite the bacon fat, onion, garlic, milk and ton of cheese, they were bland. We tried to fix them but they were so far from tasting good that my guests decided to go to Safeway for can refried beans instead. How bad is that! Thank goodness the rest of the food was great or my ego would have taken a serious hit. Plus, I warned everyone that I have never successfully made good refried beans so no one was shocked.

Needless to say, when faced with yesterdays chili, I decided to stick to a bona fide, tried and true recipe. Go McCormick!

Maybe I need to watch someone make refried beans from start to finish and figure out what I did wrong. I really don't know! I did not over season; I followed what I thought my Mother-in-law does with her beans complete with the Lawrys and all. I soaked over night; I drained, slow boiled, re-fried, mashed and seasoned to taste. Bleh! So gross!

If you have a tried and true way to make good refried beans please share!

Rapunzel No More: first hair cuts and movie rant

Both girls had their first official hair cut today. I’ve cut their bangs before (badly!) but neither have had the length of their hair cut before. Both girls are tender scalps and I was getting tired of the daily battles to brush their hair. Hailey’s hair is pretty straight but would gnarl up at the ends so we just cut a little length off. Makenna on the other hand, has curly coarse under hair and soft fine hair on the crown of her head. It always gnarled up right at the base of her neck, so it got cut short.

Both are super cute!

Hailey before:

 Makenna's before:

I LOVE the cheezy smile!

On a totally side rant, have you seen the new Rapunzel movie Tangled? (I know, friends, you've all heard this rant, go ahead, skip to another web page, I will understand if you don't read the rant I've shared a million times already)

I took Hailey to the theater to see it when it first came out. Today the hair stylist referred to the girls as Rapunzel. It really bothers me!! This is probably way anal and over analyzing but in my opinion (and lets face it, its my blog, my opinion - *smile*) it’s a terrible movie to have young girls grow up watching.

Slight spoiler alert – that is if you don’t know the story of Rapunzel at all.

First, the witch kidnaps the baby Rapunzel and raises her as her own. Rapunzel grows up calling the witch Mom. She’s a mentally abused shut in who’s convinced that it’s all for her safety and own good. The mom is so demeaning, funny to an adult, confusing to a child and constantly showers Rapunzel with loving words.

Second, Rapunzel, which is marketed to young, 4-10 yr old girls, is the story of running away when her mom tells her no. And, when she runs away, she’s rewarded with “the best day ever!” and finding the love of her life who promises to keep her safe. Can we say teenage rebellion? Why don’t we just teach them how to sneak out of the house while we’re at it. Oh wait, they show that too. Rapunzel asks her mom for a special birthday gift that ensures her mom will be away from the house for a bit securing Rapunzel free time to get away.

Third, the witch, aka mom, stabs Rapunzel’s love when he comes to rescue her. Yep, STABS him!

Forth, (and I promise last) with the help of Rapunzel’s hair, the quirky chameleon sidekick trips the witch, aka Mom, so she falls to her death outside of the tower. It shows her hitting the ground and all. Despite the fact that Rapunzel realizes her “Mom” is the witch, this character was called Mom the entire movie except for the last 10 min’s. When the witch fell, Hailey said: “Oh No! Her mom! What happened to her mom?”

Really bad! How do I explain this? I know the movies of my childhood weren’t all roses. I see similarities in Little Mermaid but the villain was Ursula she was cut and dry villain. I know Tarzan was dark, you see the hunter being hung in the background shadows. Cinderella was a mentally abused shut in as well but we always knew she was being treated badly for no reason by people who didn’t love her. Rapunzel’s mother “loved” her, told her and Rapunzel returned the sentiment. This is the first movie I’ve seen with the girls that I thought: “Nope, not going into our rotation!”

Ok, rant over….