Don't Lick Your Screen

You may want to when you read my post but it's really not a good idea. I read a recipe for "Potachos" on an e-newsletter that I get from Kraft Foods. I like their website because their recipes are simple and usually only require foods that I have on hand. In this case I made a couple of changes. Instead of regular Kettle Chips I used Ranch flavored wavy potato chips. I piled on the cheddar cheese, nuked it, sprinkled on bacon bits (omitted green onions, didn't have 'em, and tomatoes, don't like 'em) and added a dollop of sour cream. The resulting American version of nachos tasted like deep fried baked potatoes with all the fixin's. Fabulous!

Then I was perusing a kid's cookbook that my sis passed on to us and was inspired by a recipe for chicken noodle soup. A little later I was blog-surfing and found another recipe for chicken noodle soup. So I do what I do and I took what sounded good from both and made up my own. I'll share it with you, pretty basic and easy.

Boil about 4-5 cups of water. See, I told you it was easy. Add about 4 teaspoons of bouillon (or 4 cubes). Chop up a few stalks of celery, a couple handfuls of baby carrots and what's left of an onion that needs to be used up before it melts in the drawer (oh wait, maybe that's just me that has that in the fridge) and add that to the liquid. Add a scoop of minced garlic (since Rob left and I don't cook so much I've taken to keeping a jar of garlic in the fridge instead of fresh, I'll go back later). Whether your scoop resembles a teaspoon or tablespoon is completely up to your personal preference (or your spouses if you ever want to be kissed again - mine is thousands of miles away so guess which I picked). I also added about a half teaspoon of white pepper. You could do black but use less then. Set the pot to simmer and add your favorite pasta (or rice I suppose) and let it go another 15 minutes or so. About 1 -2 minutes before it's done add chicken in the form of your choice and about a tablespoon of roux (butter and flour mashed together) to thicken. I chopped up a chicken breast and cooked it real quick but just about anything will work. The results were super yummy.

I thought that some biscuits would go nicely with the soup so I grabbed the can of biscuits out of the fridge. I don't normally do canned biscuits for actual biscuits and I think these ones knew that because they started whispering sweet nothings in my ear (not really in case you're starting to worry about my sanity) so they became dessert instead. One of my bread pan's bottom got lined with chopped walnuts, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Then I cut up the biscuits and put down a layer and sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar. I repeated that step until the biscuits were gone and then then baked at 350 for about 25 minutes. Gabe, Zion and I have already finished off half the loaf - oh so good! I think I'll need to throw in another work out this week!

Five Months Old

Don't know how much he weighs or how long he is but there are a few things that I do know.

His favorite toys are his feet. Diaper changings are the perfect time to check for toe-jam.

His favorite hang out is his big brother's chair. Merely tolerates his own bouncy seat and swing but looooooves this chair!

He absolutely hates being on his tummy but loves to practice sitting up.

His favorite food is Mama's milk but I'm not showing a picture of that. ;)

He's still a pretty happy fella. Seems to value a regular bedtime (he's our first baby that doesn't get happier the later it gets) but is still waking a lot at night. He really likes to eat.

And the best thing about him - I could just about go swimming in those baby blues of his. I wanna just dive right in to those aqua pools and not come out. Though I suppose Gabe and Zion would miss me. Eventually.

Darn It!

Yesterday I noticed that I was up around 198 posts on this here blog. Yeah, really! So I was thinking I would post a really cool 200th post. Well, I guess I got a little overzealous with the blogging yesterday and somehow, well, I missed it. This is post two hundred and ONE! Ugh! How did that happen? *sigh*

Well, I don't think there is a traditional post for 200 (though on 100 you are supposed to post 100 things about you but I didn't know that then and I really don't think anyone wants to know 200 things about me so we'll just have to leave that one be) but I do think you are supposed to buy me something. So maybe I will post 200 things that I like and you can just choose from the list. Here goes:

1) cookies
2) puppies
3) shiny things
4) books
5) clothes
6) craft supplies
7) sparkly things (yes, this is different from shiny things)

really goin' strong here

8) music
9) a clean house (I know you aren't going to buy me a clean house but you could send a service over, that'd be nice)
10) shoes (size 8 1/2)

yoohoo! I made it to ten!

11) brownies (fudgy ones, not cakey ones otherwise you might as well just have cake - duh!)
12) cards (you know, blank ones so I don't have to go to the store when something comes up)
13) naptime
14) orange (you can't buy me a color but just in case you need to know what my favorite color is for the thing you are buying me)
15) kitchen gadgets
16) stamps (OK, I don't really love stamps but the cost of a stamp keeps going up and I need something to mail the cards with)
17) babysitters (oh, how I love babysitters! Please send me one!)

Can't wait til the babysitter comes.

18) sushi (Doesn't mail real well though)
19) Brown (It goes really well with orange)
20) a pony (One that doesn't bite)
21) snow on days when I don't have to go anywhere
22) sun on days when I do have to go somewhere
23) brand new crayons
24) something on which to color
25) a 50mm 1.4f lens for my camera (which is a Nikon D70s so you can be sure to get the right one)

1/8th of the way there

26) a nice MLT, a mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe, they're so perky... (that's a line from Princess Bride in case you are really confused right now)
27) horses
28) horseback riding
29) movies about horses
30) pictures of horses
31) the smell of horses (they should make perfume or lotion or at least a candle)

OK, I think I pretty much exhausted that one

32) uh oh, Gideon's awake from his nap. I gotta go (where is that babysitter!) I guess this will have to do for now but I think I've given you some really good ideas. I'll start checking the mailbox tomorrow. Thanks! You're so generous!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY September 29, 2008...
Outside My Window... is a large green tree. I've just noticed that some of the leaves are turning yellow and I'm suddenly in love with the thought that soon there will be a big pile of leaves on the ground for the kids to jump into.
I am thinking... that I'm relieved a big decision has been made and is over with and that a new session of classes are starting at the Y and hoping that this time the kids will have classes at the same time which will buy us some free time.
I am thankful for... everything. Too broad? OK, I'm thankful that I wasn't wearing socks when I stepped in dog pee this morning. I'm thankful that my family has a lot of people that love us and help to take care of us while Rob is away. I'm thankful for the gorgeous weather we've been having and that Zion is taking a good nap today (even though it means I'm letting her sleep through her swim class). I'm thankful that when I called Rob today he was actually free to talk.
From the kitchen... leftovers. Sad isn't it? But at least they will be good leftovers from one of my favorite restaurants (The Rock Woodfired Pizza).
I am wearing... black workout pants and a brown tank top. Both have been decorated with spit up that has since dried. I bought a new watch today (I have a horrible time with watches, they always break or fall apart) but haven't put it on yet. No jewelry, not even my wedding band since it's a workout at the Y day.
I am creating... this blog. ;) I have a trio of "Daddy dolls" in the works as well as a cross stitch.
I am going... to Bible study later. I should be driving us to the Y for Z's class but, as I said, she's sleeping and for fun things like this I have a pretty strict "let sleeping kids lie" policy. Right now she needs a nap more than she needs to splash around in the water.
I am reading... "Growing Kids God's Way" by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo, homework for my Bible study tonight. I should also be catching up with my homework for my study on Thursday by reading Joshua chapters 1 and 2.
I am hoping... that my knees won't grumble at me too badly for the workout that I gave them today. I think I'm outta luck there though.
I am hearing... Gideon babbling and squealing, the dog drinking water and his nails clicking on the floor, the movie that Gabe is watching.
Around the house... the gift bags from Gideon's "welcome baby shower" that the ladies at my church had for us yesterday, washing the new sheets I bought today, a few dishes in the sink and a few things to tidy - oh yes, and my kiddos.
One of my favorite things... sleep. Which I have not been getting lately.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Classes at the Y on Wednesday, Bible studies, AWANAs for Gabe, meeting up with an old friend.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...

the best way to watch TV, a flowered hat and no pants.

Oh Lord.

I hit the Trifecta of sleepless nights last night. Between Gideon, the major contributor, and the dog, who had what we call "fast poops" and had to be let out quite urgently at about 4AM, and Zion, who lost her paci and couldn't deal with the tragedy alone, I got very and I mean very little sleep last night. Already this morning I can tell that this is going to be very long day, not just because I'm tired but because I also have a very short rope with the kids. So, my Prayer Warriors, hit the mat for me (and my kids). Not only that we'd survive the day but that Gideon would start sleeping better - and soon! For some reason he is not convinced that he can go longer than two hours and also something is going on that is making him not go back to sleep once he does wake up and that is unusual for him. So please pray for us. Thanks!

ETA: Right after typing this post and publishing it the first time, I walked into the kitchen for a wet rag to clean up Zion after breakfast and - splat! Stepped in an enourmous puddle of dog urine. Yep. I don't know when it happened since he had already been out that morning but it wasn't from a cat or child and, though I've been known to throw a tizzy on occasion, piddling on my own brand new comfy squishy mat in front of my sink really isn't my style. The dog is so in the dog house and that is an understatement!

That said, I'm grateful that I wasn't wearing socks (yuck!) and that papertowels were within reach so that I didn't have to leave wet footprints through the house trying to find something to clean up with. I also managed to get us to the Y on time for Gabe's swim class (which he was crying about because he didn't want to go - long story). After a rather stressful night and morning I decided to leave both Zion and Gideon in the nursery instead of walking with Gideon like normal and went to the Fitlinx room by myself instead. I biked 4 miles on the recumbant cycle - yoohoo! I'm still tired but my energy level was given a boost by the exercise and I hope to go take a nap now. Zion is sleeping, Gabe was convinced to take a train and have quiet time in his room so it's just me and Gideon. Wish me luck!

Knight Rider

My review. I'm a car chick. I loooove the rumble of a big ol' motor. The right engine sound can actually bring a tear to my eye. Honest. The original Knight Rider (from here on out let's just call it OKR) was one of my favorite shows growing up. The new Knight Rider fails to please. For one, the graphics are insanely cheesy. The stupid fire on the outside of the car (or any time they have a shot inside the car when it's moving - or any time any car is moving). Puleeeze! The OKR would have used real fire. And it would have looked so much better. Can't stand fake fire. Consider the latest three Star Wars movies (computer generated special effects) versus all three of the Lord of the Rings movies ("real" special effects). Based on that alone which was funner to watch. LOTR of course!

Two, Kitt turns into a truck? Really? I mean really? Come on writers, this is Knight Rider NOT Transformers. Gimme a break! Naturally the new Kitt would have new technology but transformation is neither necessary or desirable.

Three, what's with all the bare bodies and S. E. X. stuff? I want to watch to see a car do cool tricks not see some chick strip down to her bra and panties - or the guy strip either for that matter. Lame! When is Hollywood going to figure out that if you make a show worth watching you don't need all the trashy stuff.

Four, cheese. I hate cheese. And by cheese I mean cheesiness. Acting, plot, jokes, writing. Not all of it but enough to qualify as big time cheese. Lame.

Knight Rider gets two thumbs down for me and I'm kind of bummed about that. I really wanted it to be cool.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Yesterday was my Grandma's birthday. I called my Grand Dad. He picked her flowers as usual and this year, for the first time, she watched from Heaven. Can I say again that I miss her so much without you rolling your eyes? I've said it a number of times on this blog. *sigh* Anyway, that's not why I've posted today. I meant to post her Happy Birthday wishes yesterday but wouldn't you know, the Internet (and cable and phone) went out and I couldn't get online.

Isn't she the coolest?!

Bad Dog, No Biscuit!

I have a very naughty dog. Wanna know how I know? The evidence:


Exhibit A - green planter missing its plant. Exhibit B - remnants of said plant. I know, it's almost too grotesque for film.

Exhibit C - one guilty-looking dog. Notice he refuses to look at me.

Exhibit D - One Hungarian Hot Wax with fresh teeth marks, all greenery forcibly removed.

It is interesting to note that the green plant is completely annihilated yet the pepper itself remains intact but for these teeth mark representing only one bite. Perhaps the Hot Wax is really hot after all. Poor Towz. I suppose the shock of biting into this should be punishment enough.

Green With Envy

Someone has come between me and Rob and I can't say that I'm just a little bit jealous. I'm a LOT jealous! Rob got to hang out with lil' miss Ripley all day today. Burnett, long lashes, legs that go on for miles. He even had the nerve to send me a picture with his cell phone! Ugh! It's not fair! I want to hang out with Ripley! Here I am feeling bad (off and on) that Rob is so far away missing out on all the neat things the kids are doing but he's over there going HORSEBACK RIDING (on Ripley in case you haven't figured it out yet)! One of my absolute favorite activities! Apparently, there may be an opportunity for Rob to be near horseflesh once he gets over "there" so this was another thing that he received training on. It sounds like he had a lot of fun and I tried not to be too envious. This could be a very good thing for me in the long run. If he ends up liking it a lot maybe he'll go riding with me when he gets back. :) Double :) :)!

Sit On It!

Or maybe just sit and stay and we're not talking about the dog. Nope, not the dog but Gideon! That cutie stayed sitting up for a good long time on my bed today. He was so proud of himself too you could just tell. He just beamed up at me like "look Mom, I'm doing it!"

What We've Been Up To

Perhaps a better question is what haven't we been up to. Let's see, on the 8th both Gabe and Zion started swim classes at the Y. I have fallen in love with the Y. Sadly, they didn't get classes in the same time slot so we're there at 10AM for Gabe's class two days a week and back again at 4 for Zion's class the same two days. On the 9th Gabe's preschool started up again, that's four afternoons a week. On the 10th AWANAs started again, that's one night a week. Then on the 15th my "couple's" Bible study started up again (though I study alone for now), that's also one night a week. And on the 16th my MOPS group started back up again. I am so thrilled to be a table leader again this year. If you are a mom of a newborn to a kindergartener look up your local MOPS group and get involved! Next week my women's Bible study starts up again and that's one morning a week. Whew! Busy, busy!

I really do love the Y and so do the kids. They LOVE their swim classes. Zion practically vibrates with joy when we arrive for her class (and sobs when she gets put in nursery because it's Gabe's turn). The other day she started stripping in the lobby while I was checking the boys into the nursery because she was so excited to get started. I am amazed at how quickly and instinctively she caught on to things like reaching for the wall, climbing out and moving along the wall. As for pool noodles, she doesn't want to float on them. She picks them up one at a time and tells me "No eat!" Maybe she's confused because I keep calling them "noodles" or maybe it does appear as though someone has nibbled on the ends of some of them.

So while Gabe swims and Zion plays in the nursery, Gideon and I go for a walk on the track. He has the luxury of hanging suspended in the Moby Wrap (which I LOVE) and attracts many smiles and comments, both because he's so happy and because of the wrap itself. Later, Gideon and Gabe get to play in the nursery and Zion and I get to splash in the pool. You know the funnest part of the Y? Putting our dripping suits into that fantastic swim suit water extractor. Who was the genius that invented that little spinning bucket of fun?!

Gabeisms and Typical Zion

A couple nights ago we're hanging out while Gabe gets ready for bed. This is how the conversation goes:

Him: When Daddy comes home can he stay for a pattern?

Me: What do you mean, a "pattern"?

Him: You know. Work. Home. Work. Home.

He means instead of just work, work, work and never coming home. Can you break my heart a little more my Baby? Yes, Gabe, God willing, Daddy will stay for a pattern.

_______

A couple of days prior to that Gabe is eating a peanut butter cup that he and Jamie made. As he finishes up with hands and face completely covered with chocolate he says to me "Sometimes I'm sad when special treats are all gone." I couldn't agree with you more!

________

Sunday night, all up-to-here in taking care of sick kids and being stuck at home and not being able to get out, I called Applebee's and ordered Carside To Go. Threw the kids in the car, didn't even bother putting shoes on Zion and went and picked up my Orange Glazed Salmon with wild rice and a Caesar salad. Gabe and Zion shared chicken stripes and fries. Safe back at home Zion insists on some of my Caesar salad dressing. She is The Condiment Queen you know.

Somewhere deep in that little mind of hers she gets the idea that salad dressing is body paint. Or maybe she thinks it's the cure for the common cold and in her desperation to shake the bug she has her Monet moment. Regardless, with a fry as a brush she covers herself and her cup, with some splatters to the table and chair, with a perfect layer of dressing. I don't think this is why many mommies say they could just "eat up" their chubby babies.

Help Baby Mia

I got the the Y today for Gabe's swim class (more on that later) and discovered a big table covered with baked goods, tremendously yummy looking baked goods, and a board talking about baby Mia. Mia is the daughter of one of the teachers at the Y, she is about two months old (I believe) and was born with a congenital heart defect that requires she have a heart transplant. Friends of her parents are holding a bake sale all this week at the Mel Korum YMCA to raise funds for her transplant and other medical expenses.

Please visit the Y (even if you're not a member you can buy a cookie, the Snickerdoodles were awesome!) and give yourself a treat whilst helping a family in great need.

Or you can visit Baby Mia's blog and donate there.

Whatever you do, please pray for little Mia and her family and, should a donor be found, the donor's family as well.

A Message From Rob

Hi all,

Happy *almost* fall to you! It's hard to believe it's mid-September. I know that many of you are either back in school or have family back in school now. But apparently it's not quite time for the new fall line-up of TV to be in full gear. Not much longer for that I'm sure!

I don't have much time to update you today, but wanted you to know that I'm doing well. Where I had been keeping up with 2-week updates until now, the last 3 weeks have taken me quite off guard. You see, the situation at Tent City for internet was far more desperate than I was lead to believe before getting here. Additionally we have had a VERY full training schedule. The reward, however, has been a well-deserved day off today that the Army likes to call a "soldier maintenance day". I'm up on the main base doing some shopping, having lunch, and catching up with the internet. I'm being told that it's all down hill from here... for what it's worth, I hope so! Today marks the 1 month point for me going home on leave and it's great to see that light at the end of the tunnel.

If you've been keeping up with Julie and the home page you've had some great stuff to see lately! So have I! What a blessing. We tried the Skype connection the other day and while it was great to see each other, the connection was rough. So the home web page has been a great thing.


My picture taking has been hindered a bit lately with the breaking of my brand new camera. I think I'll be able to get it fixed since it is still new, however working that issue from Fort Bragg is a monumental challenge to say the least! Still, here's one of the latest and greatest for your viewing. Life at Tent City.

Here's a quick look around Tent City with some of my peers in the foreground and some typically awesome big skies in the background. I'm really enjoying my team here and am glad to be serving with such bright and capable folks as we see our Afghanistan destination on the horizon.

Take care all of you,

Rob

Praise

Psalm 31:22 "...you heard my cry for mercy when I called you for help."

Boy does He, dontcha know? This has been one of the harder weeks for me since Rob left. I've been very emotional, both down in the dumps and frustrated. I've blown my top more than a couple of times and have had to ask the kids for forgiveness for my reactions to them. But God does know my needs and, in addition to a phone call and e-mail made by friends, He sent me Patsy. Thank you God for Patsy, that she listened to you when you told her I needed an angel. Thank you Patsy for the ever so yummy food you brought today and for taking Gabe to church for me. You knew exactly what this pent-up-with-sick-kids-Mommy needed. God bless you.

Prayer Request

I just got an e-mail from a friend, her little girl Virginia has a temp of 104.7 and is being rushed to urgent care. Please take just a moment to send up a quick prayer for Virginia and her mommy and daddy. Thanks.

ETA: Virginia is doing much better. Came home later that day after some meds that worked to bring her temp down.

Face Lift

I have been pondering the problem of what to do with Gabe's ugly dresser for some time. Notice that it doesn't even have drawer pulls in all the right places in addition to being quite hideous. The drawer pulls each had two screws at intervals that they don't make two-screw drawer pulls anymore but I knew if I replaced them with one-screw drawer pulls the ugly remaining hole would show and I didn't think that merely painting it was going to be much of an improvement, but what then? Perusing some of my favorite blogs the other day gave me some inspiration. Check out this post at Homemade By Jill. She's great, I wish I had half her creativity.

So off I went to collect my jar of Mod Podge, sponge brushes, paper and drawer pulls.

Last night I thought I would just do one drawer to see how it went. I wasn't sure how long it would take, how easy it would be or how long Zion would sleep (Zion and glue products don't mix). It was actually incredibly easy. The first drawer does have a couple of bubbles that I didn't work out well enough but I actually ended up doing it while holding fussy Gideon and talking to Rob on the phone.

Holding infant while gluing - not handy!

Holding infant's burpcloth while gluing - handy!

I was able to paint on all three coats of Mod Podge last night before bed and this morning Gabe and I put on the new hardware. I carried the drawers upstairs where we reassembled and refilled his "new" dresser and - voila!

Gabe's "new" dresser. I'm still debating as to whether to do the side or the top.

The first thing Gabe did was to rehang his craft from VBS that he made two summers ago. It has a picture of his class which also had his best friend Abby in it so it's a treasure to him. And of course pose and say "hi" for the camera.

So what do you think of the end result? Should I do the top and/or side?

Well What D'Ya Know!

I'm not taking care of a sick baby today. Nope. I'm taking care of TWO sick babies. Yep. Sometime after putting Gideon to bed last night it became apparent that he had picked up Zion's cold. He was miserable all last night. Not really sleeping, having a hard time breathing through his nose, wanting to nurse but panicking the second he tries because he couldn't breath while eating.

What were you doing at 3AM? I was sitting in my living room with Gideon in my lap hand pumping breast milk and then feeding it to him via syringe. Poor little guy. I'm sure he had a fever but I don't have good luck with thermometers. Mine says his temp is 96.something. Yeah right.

This morning when I got out of bed my appearance rivaled Gary Busey's mug shot. Rest assured, I'm at least slightly better looking now having wiped the sleep out of my eyes, getting my contacts in and putting on some non-breast milk soaked clothes.

Zion slept from 5PM yesterday to 7-ish AM this morning. I looked at her and thought "wow, her nose cleared up - great!" Then she coughed. Nope. All that congestion just moved to her chest. Poor kid.

So say a prayer for their quick recovery and that Gabe and I don't get it also. That would really be not good.

Flashback Friday

This isn't too far back in time, just a little skip to the end of July. I took this on the way home after leaving Rob on base shortly before he left on his "little" trip. Aren't I a lucky gal that this is the view that I get when I'm on my way home. True that technically "my mountain" is a volcano and could go all Mt. St. Helens on us at any time but that just adds to its mystery and beauty.


Of course, the picture doesn't do justice to how beautiful it really is - not to mention the fact that I took this while driving. Shh, don't tell anyone.

Oops. I think I just did.

Laugh A Little

Having a bad day? Well, fret no longer. Alex will have you fixed up in no time. Just go here - Hysterical, and laugh a little.