Friday, November 30, 2007

Day 30 - Toothfairy is fired

Before I get into my blog topic of today, I wanted to take a minute to say THANK YOU to everyone that made my blog a part of their day - or at least for a moment in their busy lives - during the month of November. It was a lot of fun to come here and have a place to vent, cheer or just plain blather about things. Thanks so much for the comments both public and private - I love hearing what you have to say and you make me laugh. It's fun to commiserate the mundane together! I'm not done blogging, I hope to continue regularly, so check back often. It's easy to "subscribe" to the blog and you can get an email alert when there's been an update. Thanks again for sticking with me! Now, on to business!

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The Tooth fairy is fired. She's been slacking on the job, and forgot to fly her way into sweet Carter's room last night and snatch his tooth from under his pillow. Luckily, this is not his very first tooth, it's his '#6' as he calls it. Nonetheless, I woke to a very disgruntled little boy this morning at 6:15, informing me that the Tooth fairy did not come yet. It took mere seconds to come up with an explanation - I was on my toes, and lucked out! Yesterday, he was walking around with his new possession and I kept reminding him that his tooth matched the color of the carpet, and we'd never find it if he dropped it. Well, he dropped it. Thankfully, we found it quickly. But after that, we put it into a ziplock baggie. Well, that is not how the tooth fairy likes it. She likes it in a neat little envelope, addressed to her (she can read, you know) and what number tooth it is. I quickly explained that we will have to put the tooth in an envelope tonight, instead of the baggie. Whew... close one. He bought it hook, line and sinker!

So, tonight the tooth fairy has been put on notice. Let's see if she can remember to drop some cash. I think this one deserves a little more than the usual request. All the other teeth (except #1, that got a toy) were exchanged with one quarter, one nickel, one dime and one penny. That's what Carter said the Tooth fairy needed to leave him. She got off pretty darn easily didn't she! I think a crisp dollar bill is in order for this one and it's tardiness. A little something for his wallet. He is saving up to buy something from a vending machine. Yes, a vending machine. Forget the candy aisle, this kid wants to put his money in a machine, press some numbers and see a nice sugary drink or some Doritos come flying out of the bottom. Do you know when we ask him what his favorite part of a road trip is (to Boston or Florida), he tells us it's when we go to a Rest Area. The ones with the vending machines. Geez, who needs to spend alot on a vacation when you can just take a short trip to the nearest Rest Area! That is my least favorite stop during a trip. I'm not a fan of the public restroom. But hey, if there's a treat to be had there, then it's worth it right?

Anyway, I'm sure it's not the first time the Tooth fairy has been a day late. I will have to have some creative excuses in my back pocket in case this happens again. At least Santa won't forget the kid.... at least I hope!

View this montage created at One True Media
Carter 11/30/07

Click the video to watch....

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Day 29 - Video & 3 hour naps

Yes, I know. I'm a slacker. I seem to have slid down the slippery slope of not blogging very much over the past week. I have excuses - good ones, but I won't bore you with them. You're probably still yawning from my last post about my refrigerator contents....


Before I forget another day, I thought I would give you a snipet of Olivia this afternoon watching me clean up the kitchen. She loves music and was moving and grooving to the Christmas music - that was of course until I got the camera out to record. But we have a little bit - enjoy!



Oh, and here is how I got SO MUCH done today! Gotta love 3 hour naps! Yep, right in the carseat the whole time too...



Below is the short video clip of Olivia.... click to view!
View this montage created at One True Media
Olivia 11/29/07

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Day 27 - What's in YOUR fridge?

Here we have a photo of the outside of my refrigerator. It actually has looked alot more cluttered with papers from school - but since there were no papers from last week, we have no clutter. Perfect time for a photo!

What do we have? Left side, red paper is a list of Carter's spelling words for the month. Below that, is his report card from a few weeks ago. On the right, we have a note pad with a Halloween ghost for my constant lists. Pictures of my nieces and nephew in Colorado, and a picture of the 5 grandkids together. Below that is the school lunch menu for the month of November.

Click photo to enlarge

Inside needs to be checked for trash day tomorrow... I think I cleaned it out pretty well last week though, but there are always stragglers hanging out in containers.

click photo to enlarge

On the left door, we have typical condiments. An assortment of items from top to bottom include: A-1 steak sauce, terriyaki marinade, minced garlic, salad dressing, pickles, strawberry jam, maraschino cherries, creamer, ketchup & horseradish sauce.

In the main compartment we have from top to bottom: Grammy's Surprise dessert, mayo, individual applesauces, half & half, eggs, Carter's lunchbox, Yo-Baby organic yogurt for Olivia, Yoplait yogurt for Carter, Dannon fit & lite yogurt, & 2 jugs of Lemonade flavored Gatorade. In the cheese drawer, we have Kraft cheese slices, shredded Mexican blend, Pedialyte, package of flour tortillas & some hot dogs. The drink holders have diet coke, pepsi and diet ginger ale. Below is a 1/2 full bottle of Strawberry Marguerita mix (mmmm!) and some guacamole that probably needs to be thrown out.

The drawers contain: Red delicious apples, red seedless grapes and Honeycrisp apples. Veggies are onions, carrots, broccoli and celery in the other drawer.

The right side of the fridge contains: butter, 1% milk, Nesquik chocolate syrup & Hersey's strawberry syrup. Lemon juice, misc. marinades and a bottle of champagne.

There ya have it...a literal peek inside our lives!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Day 25 & 26 - Taking a picture, dessert, mums!

Well I didn't make it to posting yesterday. I have to tell you, it has been difficult to get back into the groove after everyone has been sick here. Thinking of something to post about has been last on my To Do list the past few days as I'm sure you can understand. I have four days left of NaBloPoMo though and I'm looking forward to it. Today's post will be long to cover both of my days! :)

We tried to get a picture of the kids for our Christmas Card this year. I have to laugh because although it may seem like a pretty painless thing to do, especially in your own home, it is very far from it. First, choosing what the kids should wear. I want it to be casual, yet have a touch of holiday colors. So we went with a red sweater for Carter and I had a cute santa-ish top for Olivia. Ok, one down. Next, the decision is where to pose. Shall we sit in front of the tree? Fireplace? Couch? Next to each other? Holding hands? On ones lap? Let's just take all of the above and pray we capture some sane moments.

So we started out in front of the tree. Get the kids nestled into an antique rocking chair that once belonged to my Mom and her brothers as children. Christmas tree is glowing perfectly, kids look cute in their clothes, everyone's happy right? Wrong. Let's see, should I start describing how Olivia was more interested in squirming herself around backwards to look at the lights and ornaments that she could get her hands on, or tell you about her constant slipping off of Carter's lap because she's arching her back in frustration? How about once we settled into this pose I can tell you about the annoying amounts of times we had to keep saying, "Olivia look over here! Olivia! Coochie (freakin') coo! Carter, stop looking at the football game! Carter just look at the camera and smile while we get Olivia to look at us. No, not that kind of hard cheesy smile, a regular smile!" Ok, do you get the scene set-up here?

Meanwhile, Tom's hovering behind me with a stuffed animal and feeling the need to reitterate how much this isn't working. Men are so helpful sometimes. So, we graduate from the rocker in front of the tree, to sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. Olivia can't grab the tree. She can't squirm and fall onto the floor because we're already on the floor. Good start right? Wrong. There may not be a tree close by now, but there's a poinsettia plant that looks just as attractive to a 10 month old! After trying all the tricks mentioned above that were performed in front of the tree, we snap a few more pictures and pray to all that's Holy for ONE to come out!

So this season, when you get a photo of family or friends in a Christmas card, think of all the tricks they may have had to try just to get you that one picture. Or better yet, find yourself a couple of constantly moving objects and try to pose them at just the right moment. You'll see. You'd rather stick pins in your eyes!

Don't you love digital pictures - you can delete and review instantly. I won't post a picture of the final cut, but here are a couple of out takes from our adventures. These did not make the cut!

Remember: You can click the photos to enlarge your view!

Olivia! Look over here!

Crap! Forgot the flash - and they were both looking! Argh!

OLIVIA - look HERE!

And these are just cute individual ones!


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I made my Grammy's Surprise dessert this weekend, along with my turkey and stuffing that I didn't get to do last week becuase The Sickbay was full.

I felt my Nana with me as I made each layer. For some reason, I especially felt close to her while cutting the cherries - she used to let me do that growing up - and we'd cut one, and eat one, cut one and eat one! Always hoping there'd be enough left in the jar to cover the dessert.

Here is a picture, and the recipe!

Grammy's (Banana Split) Surprise
1 box Nilla wafer cookies
1 stick butter, melted
1 15 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
2 bananas
1 lg. (3 oz) package of chocolate Instant jello pudding
1 12-oz carton of Cool Whip
1 jar marachino cherries
nuts, optional

Crush cookies in food processor until crumbs. Pour in melted butter and mix well. Press into a 9 x 13 dish. Make pudding according to box directions. Pour it over crumbs. Slice bananas over pudding, then add crushed pineapple, then spread cool whip over top. Slice cherries and arrange over cool whip. Sprinkle with nuts. Enjoy!


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I had to take a picture of my fall Mums yesterday that were still bursting with color and appear to be smuggling steroids somewhere in the soil! Take note of how lush and green it is here in Indiana still. It looks like I could have leprachauns playing in the yard and you'd never find them!


And they didn't make it much longer after a good frost and harsh rain overnight... so sad.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Day 24 - #1 sellers, Christmas Tree

Some exciting news we got when Carter picked up his Boy Scout popcorn - our Pack 358 sold the most popcorn in the NATION! $96,000 worth of the stuff! Carter individually sold just under $500, and that was pretty exciting. But this total is awesome! Anyway, just had to give a 'shout out' to Pack 358 in Zionsville! Now we just need to find the time to deliver it!
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So yesterday I mentioned in my blog about Tom getting the Door Buster bargain pre-lit Christmas tree on Black Friday. I have something to say about that. EVERYONE NEEDS TO GET A PRE-LIT CHRISTMAS TREE!!! Oh my - talk about as easy as 1-2-3 - we looked at each other and couldn't believe we've waited this long to jump on this sensation. It took all of about 2 minutes to set it up, and then another 5 to adjust the branches how I liked them. Tom and I think we heard a gospel choir sing, "Hallelujah"... THAT'S how fast and easy this was.

Ours is a beautiful Bristol Pine with 1400 tips and 1000 lights. 500 are multi colored, and 500 are white. It also has 7 different settings you can choose from to display your light action. Ours, of course doesn't deviate much from tradition - the lights are staying solid. Carter didn't like the blinkers, the slow fade to black, the patterns etc. Oh no - Santa, he said, would not like it the other ways. My little creature of habit. So, solid lights will stay. No motion, and no unpredictability going to happen with this tree! He did agree to liking the colored lights though - we put on all white lights on our old tree, so this multi-colored light thing is a new addition.

We spent the afternoon decorating the tree and putting up some more decorations around the house. Tom finished the lights outside and things are almost completed. Of course you know how that goes with decorating for a season, you make the biggest mess first (at least I do!) while taking other stuff down and getting out all your tubs and boxes filled with glee. So my house looks like a bomb went off inside it - things amuck here and there, dining room tabled filled with 'stuff' I'm not putting out this year (and need to repack) because of Olivia's curiosity and inability to resist putting any object in her mouth. I have greenery pieces sprinkled all over my carpet, glitter here and there and just overall clutter and chaos that comes before you can enjoy it all. By the end of the weekend, I hope to have things straightened out, the dust swept under the rug and be dreaming of a white Christmas.

Here's a few pictures of some favorite ornaments hanging on our tree...
CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE VIEW

Here's the decorated tree and mantle...



Carter's first ornament. Given to him from my grandparents. It's the first one he wants to hang every year.

Boston Lobster ornament given to Carter from my parents when they lived there.

Cute star ornament with Carter's school picture on it from last year.

Tom's Colts ornament - no need to explain.

A cupcake ornament that Carter picked out as Olivia's first ornament...

A couple of my Christopher Radko ornaments - hard to choose a favorite so I'll share these 2...

Friday, November 23, 2007

Day 23 - Black Friday

Do you shop on Black Friday? Are you one of those crazy shoppers that gets up before the sun (and temperature!) to save $10 on an item, at a store 30 minutes away, and stand in the cold for an hour (maybe two) with a bunch of strangers you're hoping you don't have to wrestle for said item? I don't do this. I'm not saying there has never been a time or two that the insanity hasn't bitten me in the past. But there are several reasons why I don't like it.

1. I hate shopping. Of any sort (unless it's for Yankee Candles, or cute baby clothes). Or I have a specific list of what I have to get. Very specific. I don't want to have to hop from store to store on this search. I don't care if yultide carols are being sung by a choir over the store sound system.

2. It's cold. And you know I am a person that's alway hot, so the cold shouldn't bother me right? Well when it's 10 degrees out and 4:00 in the morning - yah, that bothers me. Brrrr...

3. My family never has anything on their wish-lists this early in the season. Or they want a gift card to some store that I can get on Dec. 24th, because that's how gift-card shopping goes...

4. I have high speed internet to shop online. I love Amazon.com! I can sit in my pajamas, no lines, no parking spots to search for and still get some pretty great deals throughout the month.

5. The lines are long. Have you seriously ever seen this madness? Oh my gosh - this should have been my #1 because I get really irritated standing in line, and standing in line, and standing in line - watching the Associate ring up the 700th shirt on sale for Buy-1 Get-1 from the woman 5 heads in front of me with 3 carts full of stuff.

The department stores need an express line for Black Friday Shoppers. No, not those stupid self-checkout lanes like they have at the Super Grocery Stores (what's the point of those anyway - they take 10 times as long because you don't know what the heck you are doing and it always talks back to you - "please scan the item again" - Bah!). I'm talking about an express line for people with 10 items or less on Black Friday. Possibly even 5 items or less. Because people like me are probably there for one specific item, ok maybe a couple of them - and they get stuck behind Here Comes Spoilin' Grandma buying everything in sight for the grandbabies. I just wanted this paper shredder for $10 off!

You see, it's worth it to me, the EXTRA $10 I would pay to not have to endure this craziness on Black Friday. Tom doesn't mind though - he's a shopper. He'd stand in the cold, wind and rain at 4:00 am on any Black Friday if there was an item on his mind. He's in IT Purchasing, so he's always on a mission to find the best price. It's good to have this balance in a household. I can still take part in Black Friday without having to take part in it. Ours started a little late. 9:00 am - Tom got one of the last two pre-lit Christmas tree Door Buster Sale items for us. A $339 tree for $108! What a bargain!!

What's not to love about Black Friday again?

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Day 22 - Happy Thanksgiving!

A day late, but no less thankful for this special day! Mary Jane & John put a lot of effort into a delicious meal and they were gracious hosts as usual! John cooked the turkey on the grill rotisserie after soaking it in a Trader Joe's brine for 2 days. It was SO tasty! Everything that accompanied the bird was checked off the list of our family's traditional 'must haves' for a Thanksgiving Meal. Mmmmm!

We felt well enough to attend dinner, but it was an early night for us when we arrived home. Me and the kids were in our beds by 8:15, while Tom stayed up to watch the Colts game. I had the game on in my room as background noise, but don't remember much of it. I do remember how terrible Bryant & Cris were at calling the game though. I hope never to endure that commentating AGAIN!

Hope your Thanksgiving was everything and MORE! :)

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Day - 21 No post - sickbay is FULL!

Sorry - no blatherings today. Unless of course you want to hear who's turn it is to get sick, or clean up after someone who just did. Yeah, I didn't think so... The Bug made it's way through the entire family. Lovely.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Day 20 - Sickbay update and misc. blathering

Update from the sickbay....

Carter is feeling alot better today. He kept everything down yesterday (which was easy because he didn't eat anything!) and finally caught up on some sleep late yesterday afternoon. He's eating some crackers and Gatorade, but saying his legs are still "tired", which I figure means he feels weak in them when he walks. We must get some nutrition in him now that he doesn't need his 'choke bowl'.

It was Olivia's turn last night, around 5:13 when I finally decided to wake her from her FOUR HOUR nap. I knew something wasn't right if she was still asleep. I gave her a bottle after bringing her downstairs and a few minutes later - I'll just say - picture the Exorcist scene. Both ends. 'Nuf said? My back was turned to her as I was loading the dishwasher, I thought the splashing sound I heard was the water in the sink. Until Carter said, "uh oh Mommy - look!" *sigh* Poor thing. This later happened again, that time in the living room, which was alot more work to clean up after. Kitchen floors are easy - carpet, furniture, clothed baby and drenched Mommy are not. Ew. Alas, she's better today! No fever and is keeping things down, er in.

So after being elbow deep in nasties of all kinds, I would love to dip my house in some bleach to ensure that proper disinfection has happened. Crossing our fingers that neither Tom or I catch The Bug. I've Lysoled every surface one may have touched. It's gonna have to do...

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I did a little organizing in my attic this morning. Got my Fall stuff all shoved back into it's proper corner, and began to drag out the Christmas decorations. We will put up the tree this weekend sometime, and Carter's really looking forward to that. It should be interesting with Little Miss Curious crawling around and getting into everything possible.

Aside from folding and putting away the enormous expanding pile of clean laundry that has built up in the laundry room over the past 2 days, I think today I will attempt to decorate my stairway banister with my lights and greenery. It all sounds like a solid plan, but things change quickly around a house with 2 kids under toe. We'll see how it goes.

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Misc. thoughts bouncing around my head....

Trash day tomorrow - clean out kitchen & garage refrigerators...
Pick up Scout popcorn tonight...
Start committing to a menu for my party a week from Saturday...
Put fall Mums on back deck - Santa decor standing next to blooming flowers looks out of place...
I really don't like the new receiver that replaced my TiVo... really...
Do I send regular Christmas cards, or attempt a photo of both kids? Hmmmm...
Need to start bagging sand for Luminary Night...
What's an idea for dinner tonight?
Need to return some phone calls... and emails...
Start thinking about Olivia's 1st bday party, and what to do for Carter's 7th...
Would like to read 2nd half of the newspaper when I get a minute...
Can't believe it's going to be near 70 degrees today, and flurries on Thanksgiving...

Monday, November 19, 2007

Day 19 - Sending out an SOS!

Sending out an S.O.S! Bah!

Sounds from the sickbay: "Mommy! I had a little accident!"

Nurse Ratchet: thinking - oh crap, "What happened honey?"

Sounds from the sickbay: "I got a little choke on the coffee table, and a little on Daddy's shoes!" (choke is the word Carter uses for puke)

Nurse Ratchet: thinking - double crap, "Coming!"

Nurse Ratchet: "I'll clean it up, let me get something. Why didn't you use the choke bowl you've been using?"

Sounds from the sickbay: "I missed..."

*Sigh* Here we go again. Is there ever a dull moment you ask? Not really. I've got a sickie. Of course I do, he only has school 2 days this week, and he'll probably miss those. I think his body senses a vacation of sorts, because it's impecible timing. Let's hope this is not some bug that's getting ready to infect the whole family. Yikes! Wait! I know why he's sick - the New England Patriots are 10-0! 56-10 final score. Yep, there's some puking going on... I'm digressing...

This is not officially how my morning started. The kickoff to the vomit marathon began at around 3:17 to be exact. A.M. When I was woken up by a frazzled sickly one who said he got a little choke on his bed sheets and floor. I was a child once - I remember not making it to the bathroom. I knew there was not going to be a little choke on the sheets and floor. I was right. It covered pajamas, top sheet, bottom sheet, pillow case, a few stuffed animals and a trail of discernable leftover chunks of gook on the carpet. Mmmmmm - just what I was hoping for at 3 in the morning! I don't know if it was the time of night, er morning, the smell of vomit permiating the air, or having to clean it all up - but my stomach began it's acrobats too. Although I did not get sick (yet), I felt mere seconds away. I'm feeling better now though.

So from 3:17am on, we had a total of 2 pajama changes, 2 sheet changes (then I started adding towels to catch the goods so I wouldn't have to change the sheets again!), about 7 cleanups on aisle 1 (thankfully those did not miss the bowl) and then Tom woke at 5:15 (without a clue as to what had been going on around him all night) to get ready for work (early meeting). I felt like a Mack Truck has run me over. I'm so tired! Every 15 minutes I would hear "Mommy!" screaching from the infirmary. It would jolt me out of whatever semi-coma my body was trying desperately to get back into. The thought crossed my mind to grab my pillow and a blanket and sleep on his floor so I'd be close. But I didn't want him to miss the choke bowl and get ME! My eyes are burning and I just want to sleep. But I can't. The day has well been started and I have 2 short people to account for. Sleep will have to wait. Motherhood, what's not to love? Maybe the Swivel Sweeper or some Oxy Clean would come in handy today... I'll never know.

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Edited ** PS....

My doorbell just rang and a box from Amazon came -oooooh don't you love that? After ripping it open I found this little gem inside thanks to this awesome dude! Maggie Mason has her own blog that is SO funny! What a nice surprise to an otherwise miserably yucky sick day here in the infirmary! Can't wait to devour this! THANKS UNCLE JOHN!!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Day 18 - Tree lighting, Thanksgiving chat & pictures

Last night, we had our our town's annual Tree Lighting ceremony. It was so Norman Rockwell - we loved it! The cherry on top would have been a sprinkling of snowflakes - but we were pretty close to perfect last night without them. In the center of town, there is a tree that gets donated and decorated right in the middle of the intersection. Zionsville's quaint brick streets and boutiques line the Main Street, and some shops stayed open late for the festivities. The town crier said a few words after Mrs. Claus arrived on a local fire truck, and we all gathered around the tree and counted backward from 10 to light the tree. After the children give their letters to Mrs. Claus to bring back to Santa, we participated in the organized scavenger hunt. There is a sheet of clues, and the answers are posted on the doors and windows of the shops along Main Street. So we take our time to walk up and down, gathering our answers and then turn in our paper at The Brick Street Inn. That's where they held a drawing for a special toy and announce the winner after Mrs. Claus has read the children a story. The Inn was collecting canned goods as well, and the children got an extra ticket for the drawing if they brought something in. We brought soup.

It was a lot of fun, and a tradition we are keeping as a family. It's so nice to run into friends and neighbors in the middle of it all. Each of us sharing a night with our families, creating memories. Doesn't it just make you all warm and fuzzy?

Ok, snap out of it. Now it's the countdown - Thanksgiving is in a mere few days. Carter has school only Monday and Tuesday of this week. Boy Scout popcorn just arrived, so we have to pick that up Tuesday night and figure out when to deliver it (probably attempt this weekend). Can you believe Carter sold $495 worth of popcorn? He was such a doll selling it too. Wednesday evening I'll go to Mom's house and we'll make our family recipe stuffing and a batch of Grammy's Surprise to share. Even though we'll be a guest at our cousins Mary Jane & John's home for Thanksgiving dinner, we always make our own 10 pound turkey to enjoy sandwiches etc. over the extended weekend. Mom brought back Bell's Stuffing and Seasoning from her last trip to Boston, so that we could enjoy our New England tastes so nostalgic to us, now that we're here in Indy. Last year I think we had to order it online because our grocer did not carry it. The Grammy's Surprise is a holiday dessert tradition we've had as far back as I can recall, and it hails from my great grandmother. She always brought it to our dinners, then my Nana would make it, and now the rest of us down the tree branches always have to make it. My mouth is already watering!

Ok, I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from last night.... enjoy!





Saturday, November 17, 2007

Day 17 - Saturday Six!

Welcome to my Saturday Six!

Paper or Plastic? I tend to annoy the bagger at the grocery store when I go. I feel bad sometimes, because I remember a time that I worked as a cashier at a local grocer. I hated picky customers when it came to what bags they preferred. I was young, give me a break! So now, karma has come 'round and I request paper most times (unless the store does not have handles on their bags (Kroger)) because I can get more in them. And I recycle and need them to put my newspapers in from the week. And because I have one set up in the garage that I toss dirty diapers into. And because they don't slide around in the van and spill everything out of them. 'Nuf said? But sometimes, when I'm running low on plastics, I request to have paper IN plastic! Ugg.. this is so torture to the bagger, I remember so well, and now I'm doing it! I need to have plastics around though. Everyone uses a plastic bag for things, right? So, in a nutshell, I'm a paper AND plastic girl. I guess I'm only half green...baby steps!

Sweet or Unsweetened Iced Tea? I grew up with my iced tea tasting like I added a spoonful of tea to my sugar. Yes, I said that right. Sickly sweet. And instant! And no, I'm not from the South to have had it that sweet. Nestea was the brand I think, or Lipton. Whatever. Now that I'm a grown up (some would argue - heh!), I like it without sugar. Straight up, no lemon, no sugar and not instant. I can't believe I used to drink it the other way! Ew!

Coffee - black or dressed up? I'm not a big coffee drinker, but when I do have it, I am just the opposite of how I like my iced tea. I want my coffee with cream as creamy as one can get it, and delight in a flavored cream! Oh yes, and sugar me up! I like a little splash of coffee with my cream & sugar please... for the record, my hubby likes it black. What's the point I say? Oh, and I do it decaf mostly, because I get weird heart dabbles when I have too much caffeine. See? I don't have any need to be a coffee drinker. I dress it up so much that it no longer resembles coffee in taste or color, then I want it decaf...might as well just have a glass of water. I can ask myself now, what's the point?

Snooze Button or Get Right Up? Hmm... this one depends on the activity I would be setting my alarm clock for. I'm generally a get right up girl, because there's nothing more annoying than that 9 useless minutes in between hitting the button. I only know this, because of course I've done it! And it's stupid.... and there's one alarm clock that does this 5 days a week. It's not mine, but you can probably guess who's it is by elimination. I mean, if you have to get up at 6:30, then set the alarm for 6:30! Not 6:00 then hit it for a half hour.... Grrrrrrrr.... C'mon, I do not have to be up that early, yet I'm forced to be jolted awake. No fair! Oh, then there's those people who do that crazy thing like put the wrong time on their clocks - set it 15-30 minutes wrong. Do you know people that do that? I'm related to people that do that. I won't say who, but you know who you are. What.The.Heck! You already know you "fooled yourself", it's not like you closed your eyes and hit the time before bed button and you will have to guess what time it really is in the morning. No - you already know when your alarm goes off that it's 15 minutes wrong. Who are you trying to fool anyway? (names have been left out to protect the foolish).

McDreamy or McSteamy? In case you have been living under a rock and do not know what this is referring to, they are characters in the tv show Grey's Anatomy. They are male doctors (cuties) that have been given secret nicknames by their female coworkers. They are referred to in conversations as McDreamy and McSteamy for obvious appearance reasons! Ok where was I? I think McDreamy is, well Dreamy! And McSteamy is uh....um... yeah. That. I could not choose - they are both so different. Maybe they need a character that has both man's qualities rolled into one.... McPackage!

Toilet Paper - over or under? I put the paper roll on the holder with the paper over the top. I have been known to switch it in other people's homes. It drives me nuts when it's under. It's too much effort for me. I have also been known to fold the end piece like a little triangle the way the hotels do sometimes. It looks prettier. You know, when what you're looking for is pretty toilet paper when you're in there and all. So, if you like it under and you've found it changed after I've been visiting, I'm sorry. But I will do it again the next time too, so you might as well just get it the right way before I get there.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Day 16 - Movie night, Christmas Lights and more...

Whew - cutting this day close to my posting cut-off time. Still got two hours left of the day so I'd better get typing!

Ok.. where to start. I'm a bit frazzled because I just returned from volunteering at Movie Night at Carter's school, so I'm unwinding by writing....

Today was a didn't-get-too-much-accomplished day. Again, I had to catch up on my Tivo'd stuff because alas, The New Receiver is ready to be rolled out tomorrow. Well, I did manage to get some stuff done, like the usual straightening up and a couple loads of laundry - but nothing else! Oh, actually, I tackled the ever-growing pile of magazines that I hardly get the chance to flip through, and put them out in the recylcling for next week. So, sometime between 8:30a-12:30p they will be here to install it tomorrow. Tom is pretty excited. Me, not so much. Now I have to learn a new system for recording my shows. And a new remote controller. I'm more from the school of not fixing something if it ain't broken - and my Tivo is not broken!! Grrr... but I've already vented about that in an earlier post, so I won't drag you down with me. Anyway, I caught up on some Oprah's - the Osmond's were on - that was a pretty cool show! I also saw one this week, a 2-part with a woman that hoarded "stuff" for the past 10 years. I could not believe the stuff they took out of her home. 75 TONS of garbage first of all, then filled a 10,000 SF warehouse with all the things she hoarded that were new with tags etc. Just when you think YOU have problems..... heh. Still have to watch Grey's Anatomy tonight, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Then it's a clean slate for tomorrow's transition.

Christmas light installers came a day early and they were done in under 2 hours! I couldn't believe it - last year it took 5 hours or something ridiculous like that. Today there was a crew of 4 and they were fast. Can't wait to plug them in next week. Tom will probably work on getting the other lights up in the bushes and trees etc. this weekend. Ugg, that means the pressure is on me to start moving my decorations out of the attic. Aye yi yi! We just threw out our pumpkins from Halloween - I'm feeling the crunch! I can not believe Thanksgiving is less than a week away! I'm looking forward to it though. This year, we're going to Mary Jane & John's for dinner. Carter has already been thinking about what movie he's going to watch in their basement home theatre room - it rocks! Wonder if they have Finding Nemo? I may have to bring ours, but I wouldn't be surprised if they already have it. They have quite a collection of movies!

So as I mentioned, tonight was movie night at school. The showing was The Polar Express. This is one of Carter's favorite movies (and book that we read alot), so I knew it would keep his attention most of the time. I was very proud of his behavior tonight. He stayed in his spot the whole time and kept his hands to himself. A challenge of his for sure - and he met it! I'm going to give him a pack of football cards tomorrow for doing such a nice job making good choices tonight. Tom bought one of those 15 pack of 6-card packs so we reward him with one or two when he does something commendable. He hasn't figured out we have them stashed, we just spring them on him when the right time comes. He is really into them - as he is with the NFL in general. He even has a book with pages to slide the cards into. I love that he gets such a huge smile when we give him a pack of cards (there's 6 cards in a pack), because he gets so excited to open them up and see who's in there!

So I need to go swallow a bottle of Tylenol for this Movie Night headache I suddenly have (nah, it wasn't THAT bad, but I do need some!) and say goodbye to my Tivo. Hopefully tomorrow when I'm not so tired I will write something a bit more interesting. Maybe some photos? Until then.....

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Day 15 - Photo Montage Video

Please enjoy this video montage I created. Caution! Amateur montage maker and photographer created this, so please lower your standards before entering!! :-)

Simply click the picture below and you can hit the play arrow. Remember to turn your sound up a little to hear the music!

View this montage created at One True Media
What a wonderful world....

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Day 14 - More Conversations with a 7 yr old...

Sometimes conversations are pretty interesting around here. To quote Forest Gump, our conversations are like a box of chocolates; You never know what you're going to get.

Do you own a Swivel Sweeper? How about Oxy Clean, Kaboom, Orange Glo or Bowl Bright? I don’t have any one of those, and it’s making my son really annoyed. Lately, he’s been a walking infomercial. He memorizes lots of things, but this has got to be over the top. He’s allowed to have a little TV time after school before dinner, and for some reason, the commercials shown in between these children’s shows are mini-infomercials. You know the ones – the overly excited man that dramatizes everything to the max and tells you all the reasons you need a product NOW – or your life will be horrible. My son falls for it, and insists that I need to be reminded every day about these products. I don’t poke fun at him, I simply tell him about the products we use instead that do the same thing. I tell him maybe when my products run out, I might get Oxy Clean or the like. This doesn’t always satisfy him, so he goes into ‘infomercial mode’ and gets all excited to tell me about these products and what they can do to ‘help me’…

Let’s start with the Swivel Sweeper: I hear this so often from him, that I too have memorized it.

Carter: “Mommy, you need the Swivel Sweeper! It picks everything up! To crumbs, to paper clips, to hair, and fuzz and everything! Forward, backward, and side to side and even picks the crumbs up in any direction. And it doesn’t push it all around, it picks it up and rolls it right in. Let the Swivel Sweeper do the work. Call 1-800-5947. You’ll get 2 swivel sweepers, one for each room too, Mommy!”

Me: “Carter I don’t need the SS, I have a vacuum cleaner, 3 brooms and 2 different kinds of Swiffers.”

Carter: “But Mommy, I can have one for my room! It picks mulch up when it comes out of my sneakers! And you can have one for downstairs to clean up your dirties. It told me it picks EVERYTHING up! That’s what you need to get, Mommy. It’s only $19.95. Do you have that much money, Mommy?”

Oh boy...

Now, to Oxy Clean: Another one I wake in the night from talking in my sleep about.

Carter: “Mommy, you need Oxy Clean Laundry Stain Remover. Do you got extreme stains? Then you need Oxy Clean Laundry Stain Remover.”

Me: “Carter, I use Tide in our laundry, but I have Shout in case we have a tough stain.”

Carter: “But Mommy, it overpowers greasy hamburger stains, even tackles tough grass stains. Your detergent doesn’t remove all stains, and bleach may whiten your laundry, but it’s a disaster if you spill it on dark clothes.”

Me: “I’m very careful when I need to use Bleach. Hey Carter, why don’t we work on some homework so you don’t have to do it later?” (me trying to change the subject)

Carter:
“No, that’s ok Mommy. Hey Mommy, we can go to Walgreens and see if they have Oxy Clean! Maybe Mrs. Vitale (this is my friend who uses oxy clean and he SAW IT over there one day and I thought he might FAINT!) got her Oxy Clean at Walgreens?

Me: “No, probably not at Walgreens Carter.”

Carter: “There is an easy way to fight stains and brighten your laundry Mommy. Just pour Oxy Clean in the wash to remove stains, brighten colors and whiten whites. I promise you won’t miss the stains.”

Me: Trying very hard not to chuckle because of the cuteness going on around me!!

Carter: “Mommy, you should get both of those oxy cleans. There’s even a small one that I can use in case I get a grass stain on my pants, I can just spray it on! You know you can get Kaboom Bathroom cleaner too. Oxy Clean is for the laundry, and Kaboom protects everything in the bathroom when you spray it. Kaboom! and the stains are gone, Mommy. Do you have enough money to buy all of those? Do you have enough money to by three stain removers? That’s what you need to get at the store. Maybe you can get it at Walgreens. Maybe Marsh or Target Mommy! Where do they usually have it? I will go write it on your list.”

Then he starts on his hunt to find a little stain somewhere on the carpet and says “seeeee Mommy! You need this!”

I think I need to stop allowing TV time after school, or buy those products. What do you think?

Well , there’s a little peek inside a day in the life of us….

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Happy Birthday, Nana.

I miss you. 11/14/29-3/22/07

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Day 13 - Bento anyone?

Have you joined the Bento craze? Obento is what the Japanese call a packed meal, usually lunch. Bento boxes have internal cubbies, containers and dividers, so that different kinds of foods can sit in their own little pretty spaces. There are neat lunchboxes to use (or you can improvise). Black seaweed sheets are used to decorate with faces using punches or premade cutouts. There are special cookie cutters, shapers, presses, picks and other accessories that contribute to this madness. In other words, cute lunches! It makes sense really, those smart Japanese folks who have done this for years, to present your food in an appealing way for the senses. We are visual people, and something seems to happen to a child (and grown ups too!) when their lunch is all cute and neat and sectioned.

My friend Haley mentioned this latest fad that was sweeping through her school. My first thought was that there was no way I was going to spend time pressing sandwiches into teddy bear face molds, or making hotdogs look like octopus characters. It would take forever to make cute little vegetable flower discs right? Or create a picture on his plate with the foods I’m serving right? Then I researched (because I have my fancy degree from The School of Google) this whole maddening craze. Guess what, I began to change my thought process a bit. And it really doesn’t take long to prepare your items – and some can be done in advance to use for the next few days. So now I have a few friends that have jumped into this Bento Box thingamabob with such gusto and have found the changes in their kids’ eating habits to be revolutionary! Kids. Are. Eating.

I personally, have only done a Bento style meal for Carter a handful of times. I want to embrace this, and am trying to do it, but my kid is making this difficult on me! Funny thing about children with Autism (and probably some without), is they like things “just so”. And “just so” to Carter means to have his lunch consist of the same things, every single day. Not only the content, but the shape and size. He prefers the 4-way triangular cut method on a peanut-butter only, white bread (but I can sneak in the whole grain white) sandwich. He wants 6 pretzels and 6 grapes – because he’s 6 years old. His juice box has to be in his lunchbox on the left. Bah! I have to resort to hiding such foods and pretending we’re out of them, so that I can send along something different in place of pretzels and grapes. Sometimes the sandwich can be substituted with peanut-butter crackers (thanks, Nana) because eating peanut butter crackers is in the genes.

Recently, he marched off the bus, into the house – and before I could ask him “how was your day?”, he began his diatribe (hands on hips and crunched up angry face in full swing staring me down) about how he never, ever, ever, NEVER wants to have Snowman shaped peanut-butter sandwiches again! After I regained my composure of shock, then laughter, I attempted to convince him that it was hip and cool, and fun that he got a surprise in his lunchbox! He demanded to know what happened to the plastic Ziploc baggies I used to use to put his goldfish and grapes into. He wanted to know why they were in “gray cups” (I used cute tinfoil muffin wrappers) and why I wrote on his napkin! Oh my….. I was in trouble. It’s going to be a little difficult to try the Bento shtick on Carter it’s looking like. I thought it might help him to discover how to be a little less rigid about things in life. I will keep trying, but in the meantime I will have to live vicariously through my friends who are having more success. There are thousands of pictures of Bento ideas on the ‘net, but I’m going to include just a few pictures of very basic and simple Bento Lunch ideas I’ve found.

Maybe you might want to try this out yourselves – either for your kiddos, or for your own dining pleasure!

You can click on each picture for a larger, more detailed look!






Monday, November 12, 2007

Day 12 - Family gathering, game chat, photos!

A few minor blatherings before I get down to it...

Did you see the Colts vs. Chargers football game last night? We thought at one point we may run out of players. My mother-in-law suggested maybe the cheerleaders could go in and help out! That.Is.How.Bad.It.Was. We're still in the cheering section, but boy oh boy, that was rough. Only thing worse would have been if it were us in a game in New England, 20 degrees and snowing! Oh yeah, that's happened already before. I'll have to come up with another scenario.

It never rains in San Diego! Why was there a typhoon there last night? Well, I'm not going to make up excuses as to why we lost the game, there's proof enough. 2 missed field goal attempts (Vinatieri WHO?), six interceptions (Laser Rocket Arm WHAT?), 99 yard return for a touchdown (Special Teams? Nothin' special about those knuckleheads). Ok I'm stopping now, there are more reasons we lost (9 injured players) but I'm just getting annoyed from rehashing the longest 3 hours ever. We'll have to see how they look next week... *sigh*

DirecTV update: Tom purchased the receiver he needed online at Circut City. Went to pick it up and they did not have what he ordered. One is supposed to be delivered to the store this week. He received a $24 gift card for his troubles. Bah! Need I elaborate more?

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Weekend Happenings!

My family (Tom's sister & Co.) came home for a long-weekend visit from Colorado. On Sunday we had a delicious lunch (pulled pork w/choice of sauce, baked beans, cheesy potatoes, green salad, fruit salad and birthday cake for dessert) at their home. I'm certain that my father-in-law must have started cooking all of this at 4:00 in the morning when he usually wakes for the day, because I don't know how Judy & Melissa found the time to whip this all up by noon, and have the house ready for the gang's arrival. Most of the gang was present, except for Mark's sisters Lynn & Tina from Chicago. In total, there were 22 of us. You can click on the hotlinks to see photos of everyone:

My nieces and nephew Grace, Grant and Jillian

Grandma Fran & Grandma Judy and here is Grandpa Larry & Grandpa Ed

Mary Jane and John our cousins, and their sons David and Mark (with John)

Brothers Neal & Mark

My neice Jillian and my nephew-in-law (is nephew-in-law a word?) Lauer here coloring some cool pictures.

My niece Grace cuddling with my daughter Olivia.

Here's the Three Amigas - Melissa (sister), Traci (Lauer's Mom/Neal's Wife), Mary Jane (cousin). Got all that? Branches are long, what can I say!

The Newlyweds Kyle & Jill (Kyle = Mary Jane's brother). Kyle was in town from New Jersey to celebrate his 30th birthday (for the 20th time). It was a nice treat to have them there.

And of course Mark & Melissa who are probably getting ready to catch their flight back to Colorado as I type this.

We had such a nice afternoon together, overeating around the table, catching up on the family happenings from here and there, laughing 'til it hurt and wishing it wouldn't end. I'm in awe at how much the kids have grown up - must be that Mile High city air. It was much too short of a visit though.

Hurry up and move back!! Picture's just AREN'T enough!

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Day 11 - Happy Bday & Veterans Day & Pictures

11/11/07 - Here's two important reasons to celebrate today!


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Happy Birthday Uncle Brian! I hope today is a day as special as YOU are! You deserve all the goodness this year can bring you. Those of us lucky enough to have you in our lives are thankful for the laughter you bring, the advice you always have readily available, the inside jokes, and the kindness in your heart. We love you! Click here to see just how sad we are that we can't celebrate with you today!


And secondly, Happy Veterans Day!

Free Clipart



A huge THANK YOU to honor those today that have served our country & those who have died for our country! I'm thankful that you volunteered and gave of yourselves to protect the USA. I'm proud to be an American - and so are they!




Here are some pictures that my Dad took while serving with the United States Air Force during '03 Operation Enduring Freedom. Please click on each picture to see it larger.








Support our troops! Continued prayers that you all come home safely to your families!

Day 10 - Meme - Random or Weird Facts

What's a meme? Click here if you're curious. I'm finding memes all over the blogging world, and noticing how nicely they are to have as a posting filler during NaBloPoMo. I've been tagged by another blog I read and so now I will entertain you with my meme theme of Saturday Seven!

List 7 Random or Weird Facts About Myself (it is hard to write only 7!)

1. Unpolished toenails drive me nuts. If one’s toes are exposed, I think they should always have a layer of color on them. I mean, they’re feet! They need some pretty-ing! I tend to use a burgundy, purple or taupe. This of course, does not apply to men. I think it would be a little strange to see my husband with painted toenails... I have the opposite of a foot fettish.

2. I have never seen the movie, Gone With The Wind. I read the book 7 years ago though and it has got to be one of my all-time favorite books. I decided to read it after seeing a documentary about slavery & the south on one of those Discovery/History channels. The book is still fresh in my mind like I closed it yesterday. Never having seen the movie either, I didn’t really know what the story was about. I was left with my jaw open at the end of the 1,100 pages! I took all that time to read and THAT is how it ends? Hmph!

3. Both of my children started life in the womb as “a twin”. They were each born as singletons though, after years of infertility treatments. My 2 miracles indeed! Thanks to these awesome people for helping us.

4. I am fiercely allergic to rabbits! And somehow have acquired an allergy to cats. I grew up with cats all my life. Now that I have not lived around one for almost 14 years, I cannot pat one without sneezing, getting a runny nose or needing to gouge my eyes out from itchiness. What's up with that?

5. I’m addicted to Yankee Candles. I have to have a candle or scent going at all times. I get cranky if I’m out of candles and need to rush to the nearest Yankee store to replenish. Some of my favorite scents this time of year include: Spiced Pumpkin, Blueberry, Autumn Wreath, Christmas Eve, Festival of Lights, Jack Frost. But I love anything fruity in the warmer months.

6. I rarely use my cell phone. In fact it is so infrequently used, that it is usually out of battery life before I think of making a call. I tell people that the two sounds in my car you are most likely to hear (besides me barking to Carter to quit copying his sister’s noises) are these, “deedle deedle deee” (high pitched and fast) and “ding (pause)ding(pause)ding”. Those would be the ‘Low Battery’ signal for my phone and the ’Need Gas’ tone on my dashboard, respectively.

7. I love the ocean. But I am deathly afraid of ever going snorkeling. I refuse to go more than waist deep in the sea. And even then, I’m scanning the waters for Jaws and the like. I know that picture you just clicked on was pretty life-like, wasn't it? Ok ok...it’s a stupid fear. But I can’t shake it. Bah! Just thinking about it makes my skin all crawly and stuff... Chlorine is my friend.

PS... and remember to check out my Uncle's blog by clicking Here. He's the one that got me started on this whole challenge of posting every day for a month! I won't thank him just yet. I have 20 days to go!

Friday, November 9, 2007

Day 9 - Tivo's replacement and our anniversary dinner

Well well well.... the new receiver and dish (see yesterday's posting) did not get installed today. Nothing more irritating than getting a time scheduled and being told "they'll be there some time between noon-5 pm" - and then they show up at 4:40. Yep, still got 20 minutes don't they. So after he and Tom roam the property and figure out where this new dish will go, they discover that the receiver is not the right one that Tom ordered. And later find out it's not an easy receiver to locate company-wide. Tom even comfirmed 2 days ago that the right receiver would be on the truck with the installer. Shmucks.

I won't bore you with the details, but in the end, DirecTV customer service people need a technology background first of all, and secondly we ended up having to go purchase The Receiver at Circuit City and get credit from DirecTV because this specific receiver is hard to come by. Nonetheless, it was so irritating to be stuck at home, on a day that Tom has off (work honors Veteran's Day with today off instead of Monday) and wait until the last possible minutes of the approx. time they said they'd be here - only to have NOTHING INSTALLED at the end of the day - and I deleted all my TiVo'd programs in a hurry for this!

Well, misery loves company I always say, so at least I wasn't alone in my annoyance. Tom was pretty peeved about it too - especially since he was really looking forward to a new electronic device in the house. Sort of like an early Christmas present. Boys.....

On a lighter note - we finally went out for dinner to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary(10/25/97). With work, and school, and kids, and life.... it wasn't easy to get into the restaurant we wanted to go to, at just the right time. So tonight it was our night - we went to The Melting Pot. We had not been there since we went with my folks and Aunt & Uncle in from Boston a couple years ago. It was a nice long lingering dinner, fondue style. We nearly needed to be rolled out of there by the time dinner was finished. But boy, was it good! You should try it out if there's a location near you. Save room for dessert!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Day 8 - Saying g'bye to TiVo

Today I have not done too much, because I have been attached to my Tivo. Tom signed us up to get the latest dish which has over 100 HD channels (this causes Tom to pant), and so I'm being forced to play "catch up" on all my recorded shows. Don't even ask how many I have on there that I have not had the chance to watch! But this new change happening tomorrow has forced me to decide which episodes of my recordings are really important. I've deleted 80% of them instead of watching. That should tell me something.

Tivo has made being a couch potato even more pathetic than what being one already makes you. If you don't know what Tivo is, or what DVR is I will explain. It's a device hooked up to your tv, sort of like a vcr or dvd player would be, but it has a computer in it that can be accessed by your remote control. Tivo allows you to record any show you want with the press of one button. You can even set it up to record a "Season Pass" of a show - which is just what it sounds like - an entire season of one program so that you never have to remember when it's on. It automatically records it for you! Tivo also allows us to never be burdened with waiting through a commercial - you can fast forward right through them - or through the boring parts of your shows. This is particularly handy for stuff like American Idol & Dancing With The Stars results shows. I can watch an entire episode in 15 minutes!

So tonight, I will fast forward through the ones I wanted to see that I have not been able to find the time for. Tomorrow will be a new day with a new dish. Men are so easy to please....

I'm going to hang my head in shame and list all the stuff I Tivo'd... keep in mind that at any given time, I am usually 6-10 shows BEHIND (I cap out at recording up to 10 episodes of a show, then they start to delete themselves....).

I have no time to watch these live during their regularly scheduled time slot, so what am I thinking that I might be able to find another time to catch up on a certain recording? I don't know, just don't want to be left out of the loop!

Sad, huh.... ok, in no random order...

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Oprah
Dr. Phil
Days of our Lives
American Idol
Survivor
Grey's Anatomy
Dancing With The Stars
Happy Feet
Cars
The Office
Inside the NFL
Pushing Daisies
The Bachelor
Misc. Food Network Challenges

It's kind of exciting having The List on Tivo be so small now that I've emptied out my recordings. I can't remember the last time I could hear my echo! Well, no worries - tomorrow the new dish will be installed and I will reprogram all of my shows to record. Only this time, I'm going to start out with being only 1 day behind! I wonder how long that will last......

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Day 7 - Conversations with Carter & some pictures

On Monday, Carter came home from school and was enjoying his usual after-school snack, when he started asking some peculiar questions. He asked first, "is the smoke alarm in my room going to go off when I'm asleep tonight?" I told him I didn't think so, but I inquired why he was asking that. I don't know was his first answer. Then he paused to take another bite and told me, "if your door is hot, you never open it!" A-ha - we're on to something. Time to reel this conversation in. Fire. They must have discussed fire at school. Sure enough, after asking him the question in several different ways, he told me that a Firefighter visited his class today and taught them what to do in case of a fire at his house.

I have been thinking a lot about this lately anyway, because one project in his Tiger Cub handbook that we need to work on is coming up with a fire plan for our family. I worry about this plan we come up with, because Carter is so literal. Whatever we tell him the first time, will be what he stands by. He doesn't stray far from what he's been taught, as far as trying to problem solve. So my gut is to tell him to stay in his room and go to his window if he smells smoke or sees fire and scream FIRE! Never try and come find Mommy & Daddy. What if for some crazy reason, the fire started in his room? I'm terrified that he would stay there if he had the chance to get out. Anyway, I think I need to contact the fire dept or something to help me gather a plan for our family. I mean, yes I could say meet us at the mailbox outside which is logical, but there's NO WAY I would ever leave my kids to fend for themselves if there was a fire in our home. Not an option. We would run through flames to keep them safe! Needless to say, we do need a plan to talk about - it's important. And I think we all do better in a situation if we've practiced the 'what ifs' and came up with some options together. Do you have an emergency plan?

He's so cute. During this conversation, he was a little apprehensive about if there was a fire at night, would we be standing outside at the mailbox in our pajamas? And how would the fireman know to come to our house - will he smell the smoke? He also told me that pets sometimes hide. And so I told him that he's right, but we don't have to worry about that because we don't have any pets. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Mommy! Yes we do! We have fish!" So after I got my composure back from giggling, I explained that fire doesn't hurt water and so they would be pretty safe in their own home and we would not need to rescue them. He told me again that pets sometimes hide, and that "Oreo" and "Danny" (his fish's names) would probably hide near the filter or behind their rock.... Isn't that the cutest? Gosh, I want to bottle up these conversations sometimes because they are so precious! Anyway, he seemed satisfied with what we had talked about, and so the subject changed to if he could have some more graham crackers now.....

Which brings me to this picture below. I think he's officially sick of his Halloween candy! Yay! Now, what to do with it all. Time to send some in with Tom to work. Like I've mentioned before, I just let him eat it when he wants and pretty much how much he wants until he's tired of it. With the exception of after his teeth have been brushed of course. I haven't had the begging, whining, fussing and sneaking that a lot of parents go through when they ration out the candy. And it works. It's been a week and the tide has turned!



Here's a couple more cute shots I thought I'd share with you too. I think we have a Jr. Picasso on our hands. His latest art picture he brought home yesterday....



And here's my girl when I went to get her from her crib this morning. She was doing peek-a-boo with me through the slats.