Deep thoughts

• It is impossible to bake cookies and not eat any of them... or most of them.
• "Your hands feel like feet. " That's what my mom always told me whenever she touched my hands when they needed lotion. Right now they are so dry from washing them millions of times a day. The skin under my wedding ring is cracking!
• One time I was holding the choir book in middle school and the girl next to me told me that my thumb looked like a big toe. Try holding a book open to share with someone else while hiding your thumbs from view... it is very hard... especially if the book is heavy.
• Also, one time in middle school, it was the first day of school and I went to sit down at a desk in my math class, and a girl whipped around from the desk in front of me, pointed to the other side of the room and said "You and your little friends can sit over there!" I was totally shocked at her tone. It could only mean one thing... I went home and announced to my mother that I had just discovered that "I'M a NERD!" Then my mother responded very matter-of-factly with, "You can't be a nerd. I'm not a nerd. Your father is not a nerd. Therefor, you cannot be a nerd." So there you have it - it is genetically impossible for me to be a nerd - take that you middle school girl!
• Sophie has a little tumor or something on her lower eyelid that is poking her in the eye... apparently the vet wants $550 dollars to remove it... and clean her teeth of course. What the? I said, I'll wait till Sophie starts winking at me because it is bugging her. Is that wrong? After all remember the million dollar procedure (and teeth cleaning, of course) that Kaia had to have a few months ago?
• My family is asleep, my to-do list is a mile long... and yet, I've picked right now to finally write another blog post.
• I like my own sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies better than yours. Don't worry, everything else you make is better than mine... but not these cookies.
• I'm contemplating setting an impossible goal... running 365 days in 2010. This is big, since I've only run three times since April. BUT I really want to run the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco next October, and I don't want to be as crappy as my last marathon... so it'd be nice if I shed some pounds and got my groove on instead of just talking about it. I think I'll start with a Couch to 5K plan and go from there. Also... I was thinking that for everyday I run this December, I'd allow those to be my buffer days next year. Like, if I run 5 days now, then I'll forgive myself for missing up to 5 days next year... I'm still thinking about it. I think my stipulation would be that I have to be run/walking for at least 30 minutes. Then, as soon as I can run for 30 minutes without walking... the stipulation would change to running for at least 30 minutes. Do you think 365 days is too big of a goal for this all-or-nothing chick?

Do not read.

Posting every day leads to a post like this one.... ummm... I don't know what to say. I want to tell you about a few things, but the posts in my mind take a little more thought than I'm willing to give right now and photos that are not on this computer. So, instead, I'll waste your time by posting absolutely nothing... from my bed, before I go to sleep.

Have a great night!

Updates

Post updates...

• The founder of Drop in and Decorate Inc., Lydia Walshin, saw my post and posted about our event on the Drop in and Decorate site. Which reminds me that Emily and I had a fun idea when we were dropping off the cookies at the shelter, you can read about it on the Drop site. I also noticed that Lydia recently posted a much needed tip about how to make perfectly red icing... all of ours turned out different shades of pink... even using and entire container of Wilton red food coloring.
• After my massage, I was hoping that all of my neck-shoulder-arm pain and numbness would be gone. AND it was for a few hours, till it came back in the middle of the night with a vengeance. I even woke up with it accompanied by a rip roaring headache and ALL of those fabulous feelings lasted the entire day Thursday. HOWEVER, I haven't had it nearly as bad since, so maybe it DID work.
• Answers to my cake decorating questions: First, to frost the crumb sides of a cut cake, it worked out nicely to freeze the cake, brush away the crumbs and put a thin layer of frosting (a crumb coat) on and then freeze it again. Then I frosted it with a wide frosting knife and was able to get a "smooth" finish (OK, mine wasn't that smooth, but it wasn't crumby). Second, the mini cupcake papers worked out just fine for removing the mini cupcakes nicely. Third, the Lego candies were chewable, about the consistency of Sweet tarts, and they Do stack for building. Finally, the Lego Fruit Snacks are no longer available in stores nor online.
• Bedtime is an absolute miracle (knock on wood). The new rules and routine are working great... he falls asleep within minutes of me leaving the room, sometimes within seconds! I'm not kidding! He didn't even get thrown off with daylight savings.
• Still working on the mealtime problems.

Cheers and Jeers

The goings on of late...

• JEERS: The handy man ended up charging us almost FOUR TIMES his original quote without ever updating us along the way to this fact. AND because his original quote was so low, I didn't make a claim to the insurance... and now it is doubtful we'll get anything back. Grrr.
• CHEERS: Fischer's BFF had a fabulous sledding party that we all loved. Andy took Fisch and BFF down the hill a number of times, each time they flew further and further away! Fischer actually preferred "sledding" on his snow pant butt to using an actual sled, though.
• JEERS: We decided that I had jumped the gun on having Fisch sleep in underwear instead of pull-ups. He is not quite ready for that.
• CHEERS: Fischer has told me today that I am "amazing" a "good mommy" and has called me "Mommy Sweetie Pie". Awwww. Everybody needs a guy like him around!
• JEERS: I have felt nauseous every day this week.
• CHEERS: I haven't gained any weight.
• JEERS: My body has expanded and I look WAY more pregnant that I actually am!
• CHEERS: I have been nicer to the dogs...
• JEERS: Kaia still stinks so bad I could vomit!
• JEERS: I thought there was an intruder in my house today... I panicked a bit and got Fisch and I out.
• CHEERS: It seems to have been my imagination!
• JEERS: I am obviously crazy!
• CHEERS: I'm OK with that!
• CHEERS or maybe JEERS: I've been going to bed between 7:15 and 8:15 almost every night lately!
• CHEERS: I think I'm really back to blogging now. I hope I didn't lose you.

Ummm.... What to say?

It is 8:20 in the morning, I'm sitting in my nice warm bed listening to Fischer play and sing in the other room. I am desperately trying to think of some fantastic and interesting thing to blog about. You may have noticed that I've lost my blogging momentum. Andy was home for two weeks over the holidays and we enjoyed being lazy and hanging out as a family. I am off routine and am trying to get back together. Somehow, though, after all of that rest and relaxation, I am feeling uninspired to write.

Hmmm...

I could tell you about a few new philanthropic organizations that have recently caught my interest, but it feels like after a long stint of no blogging, I should write about something more personal.

I could tell you about how Kaia is emitting the most horrific smell on a fairly regularly basis and it makes me want to throw up. I've lost all patience with her and am constantly trying to get her to stop following me around... so now she seems depressed and I feel guilty... But talking about dog gas isn't very classy and why would anyone want to read about it?

I could tell you about how the other night when I was giving Fischer a bath, he said "You have good energy, Mom!" But then you'd probably start wondering about what we talk about at our house... Seriously I don't know where he got that.

If I wrote about that then I would start to get on a roll talking about of all of the Fischisms of late. Such as, before Christmas when we were talking about Christmas being Jesus' birthday, and Fischer wanted to bake Him a birthday cake. I said that'd be a good idea, but then he wanted to TAKE it to Him. I tried to explain that Jesus is in our hearts and if we celebrate His birthday and eat His cake, that will make Him happy. Then, after a really long pause.... he gets this worried look and asks me, "How did Jesus get in my tummy?"

But if I told you all of that then I'd have to tell you about the bumbling answer I gave about God creating us and putting a piece of himself into us and while I was talking I realized that to Fischer this might sound like God put His toe inside of him and an His elbow in me and and his eyeball inside Daddy... which sounded scary and then I just kept talking and talking until I felt that I'd been totally clear and insightful... and he had no comment.

OR I could tell you after this long saga of home repairs the work men should be done today. Hopefully the bill will come close to the original quote.

I could tell you that we are in the final stages of potty training, and Fischer has given up the night time pull-up for underwear at night. Which means we made it through with only having to buy one case. It also means that he wakes up twice a night to go potty...and so do we.

I could make a little announcement about being pregnant. That is kind of an exciting thing to talk about but maybe not as exciting of a thing to read about. Plus maybe you already knew. AND I have had the realization that I may not be able to sleep through the night without interruptions for FOUR more years!

So as you can see, I'm at a loss for words today. So I think I won't write about anything, and I'll just get ready for the day and go pick up BFF for a playdate.

Have a great day!

Updates and Challenge

So, I am happy to say that today was a very good day. The guys came to fix the pipe, so now we can use our dishwasher, our sink and our washer and dryer. They have to come back on Monday to replace the ceiling and the wall, though. OH, GUESS WHAT? When they removed the drywall from the ceiling they found... a stack of smutty magazines from 1994! Gross. I don't know why anyone would have put them there, there was no way to get to them... so strange. Someone must have stuck them up there when they were finishing the basement. When we moved in a few years ago, that was all said and done. Anyway, gross. I want to put them in someone else's recycling bin!

Fischer and I ran errands and did some shopping today during the snowstorm. It was great to scratch a few things off the big To Do list! The snow is beautiful and has been coming down on and off all day. Fischer's new L-Bow gloves arrived just in time for the fun.

Today Andy and Fisch and I played at least 20 hands of Go Fish (Fisch's first time). He caught on really fast and can certainly hold his own in the game. Although, I was a bit startled to find myself getting competitive! Seriously embarrassing.

Finally, it is time to check in on the December Exercise Challenge. Today is December 13, how many of you are still IN? You should have 12 or 13 days of exercise depending on if you started on the first or second. No skipping. Anyone? I know a few of us are out (including me) but have still been working out past the slip-up. There were a few who joined the challenge too late for the prize, but still wanted to push themselves. So, how are you? I'd love to hear the good and the bad. If you missed a day or a few days, keep going... you are making good healthy habits regardless of the challenge or the prize. By the way, the prize is still totally fabulous and I'd love to give it to one of you. So please chime in.

Random Ramblings on beds and cheese

Thank you all for your well wishes and emails, I am cured and Fischer is on a TV detox program now. He was such a good boy while I was sick, he sat on the bed and watched TV when I couldn't muster up much interaction, and he sweetly read books and played games on the bed with me when I felt up to it. The two of us lived on my bed for 2 days and have come out of it healthy wealthy and wise.... or at least healthy.

While we are talking about it, let me just say I LOVE my bed! I do. There is nothing super spectacular about it. But it is big (king) and high (on cinder blocks), piled high with pillows (10) and draped with thick cozy blankets. I love it.

Oooh and my mother-in-law just finished the most incredible quilt for it. I'll have to snap a picture to show you. It is gorgeous - but of course I don't actually want to use it because it is too pretty and because the dogs and Fischer are always on the bed and that might goober it up! So instead I'll seal it up in a bag and unzip it for guests to have a quick peak at its beauty while I'm bragging about it, and then I'll zip it back into safety. Or maybe I'll just wait till Fischer isn't so sticky and the dogs are too old to jump that high, and then I'll put it on my bed and admire it all day long and never get anything done again.

All of our other bedding has at least one drop of chocolate milk, if not a spattering of it or a large stain of it, from Fischer who drinks it every morning.
-I feel that I should clarify "chocolate milk" for you as really Carnation Instant Breakfast that our doctor recommended he drink in lieu of vitamins. So really, I'm not a bad mom... I'm following doctor's orders (I'm just positive he meant have him drink a full packet of the stuff EVERYDAY for the rest of his life).

Some people use the phrase "in lieu of" to mean "in light of" BUT it does not mean that. It means "instead of". I always remember that from the movie My Girl, and of course that "you can never wear too much blue eye shadow".

While I don't wear blue eye shadow, in the past I'd been known to say (with a mouthful of cheddar) "you can never have too much cheese". (Once, I even said this to a guy at a party! Can you believe he didn't ask for my number after that?? He obviously must have been a vegan.) Anyway as it turns out, I can tell you for sure that that statement is so totally untrue. Shocked? I know, I was too.... totally disappointing. A few years of lactate pills and lots of lingering pounds have squelched that statement for me. It is only funny to say that when you are skinny. Oh and while I'm giving out free "life" lessons... Being a vegetarian doesn't mean that you just substitute all meat products with extra cheese. Trust me.

Where in the heck was I going with this? I'll let you know if I remember.

Good Morning!!

It is snowing!!!!!!!!!!!

You know...

You know when something is about to roll of the counter, but your hands are full, so you just catch it between your body and the cabinets? Well, that doesn't work as well when that something squished between your thigh and a slab of wood is an egg!

Why am I posting this?

I'm sitting here in my underwear, don't picture it, without my glasses - squinting to see the computer screen, stewing about the long list of things I wanted to do before 11:00, wishing Fischer would wake up- but not wanting to wake him up because it is so strange that he is still asleep at 9:15 am - and waking children up seems like some sort of sin - especially when I complain about him not sleeping all of the time. How's that for a run-on sentence?

What? You say I could be cleaning up my house or completing a number of in-home tasks that need to be done and I should rearrange my schedule to do the out-of-house things after our 11:00 soccer? Shut up. It is nice of you to offer up your practical advice, but I'd rather sit here and waste time while blaming it all on my baby boy!

You think I could at the very least put on some pants and go find my glasses? My, my, you are a bossy one today. I'll have you know that my underwear is full-coverage, and I am giving my eye muscles a work-out... so really no problem. I had wanted to be running right now and then go to the library and drop some crap off at the thrift store and be showered and dressed for soccer.... but it looks like only the dressed part is going to happen. Why can't I shower? Well, because if I shower now then I won't want to get all sweaty by running, and I may not do it at all today.

Involuntarily unplugged

I have been having some trouble with my Internet and my phones for the past week. It really causes a problem when a person has a computer and phone addiction!
It has made me a bit more productive, though. We're not talking anything too spectacular, but I did vacuum under and behind furniture - not my norm!

Today, I cleaned the kitchen, entertained, ran a few miles, showered, shopped, made homemade pickles, cleaned the kitchen, made homemade salsa, cleaned the kitchen, made banana bread, cleaned the kitchen, made sugar cookies and cleaned the kitchen.

Unbelievable! Imagine what would happen if my phone and Internet were permanently down!!! I might just take over the world!! Thank goodness that couldn't happen because I'd have every geek in America over here trying to get us up and running again!!

Just clicking around: What I'm interested in today.

• Jenny welcomed a gorgeous little Hadleigh Evelyn into the world on Friday. Congratulations Jen!!
• The Write Spot has a good article called: What every blogger should know about copyright protection for photos and content. She has also posted links to more information, and there is interesting info in the comments too.
• Chez Pim has a fun looking recipe for making your own Pop Tarts (come out of the closet - you know you love them!).
• About.com has a great tutorial about How To Add a Text Watermark to a Photo in Photoshop Elements. I've been fooling around with it a bit, and I think it is a good idea. Especially because of what I talked about at the end of this post.
• Firebox.com introduced me to the chococlock. Umm, could a clock get any better? (link via goodyblog)
• It's Nice That has some incredible sculpture pics. Very cool.

A random bit of catch-up

The past couple of of weeks have been quite busy.

• We had a lot of family in town for Fischer's Uncle's wedding. Fisch got to see grandparents he'd only met once before and meet aunts and uncles he'd never met. His highlight was a cousin he'd never met and she was a cutie! (He also had a HUGE crush on the bride - his new aunt!)
  

• He has been playing with friends a bunch and taken more than a few trips to the farm. In fact Dino made a new friend that seemed quite happy to see him!


• I had a fantastic birthday and a Day o' Fun with "Sheila". We realized we hadn't been out together alone since BFF and Fisch were born!! We have got to figure out how to make that happen more often! We went to lunch, and to a movie (Swing Vote - I liked it and we both cried), we lounged at Starbucks, we went to see the Matsiko Choir, and finally wound up back at my house for chocolate cake ( a fabulous one from my MIL) and margaritas with Andy. A great day! The night before we'd had dinner with my parents to celebrate. We had my dad's famous fried chicken and my mom made a really yummy strawberry cake. Am I spoiled? I think so!


• Yesterday Fisch tried out the ice excavation. I put it on an old towel so that it wouldn't slip around and he could work easily. He enjoyed finding coins in the ice and rescuing all of his sea animals from it. I will say, that his favorite part was watching Sophie do all of the work and he just reaped the benefits!!!

Wordless Wednesday: Ummm...Aquariass?

We're Back

We are home from Denver and we had a fabulous trip!! Fischer and BFF loved playing with their friends.

They played kitchen, dolls dress-up, slides and toys with I2.

They played squirt guns, spies, and Star Wars and other so-called "violent stuff" with P6.
They played dinosaurs, vehicles, bikes and Lightsabers with Q4.

They played hard and fought hard everyday. Fischer, BFF and I2 spent a lot of time learning about cause and effect as they tormented each other! We discovered that both BFF and I2 can hold their own and will not give up - ever!!! Meanwhile, Fisch gave into them and cried about it every time!

(If the slide shows below are trying to make you do something, just refresh the page. They should just go ahead and show you the pics.)

While we were there we went to the Downtown Aquarium. All of the kids had a really great time and loved looking at the fish and the tigers! Fischer and I2 enjoyed having snacks and running from exhibit to exhibit. Fischer was a scared of the flash flood storm, but BFF loved it! We took some pics of Dino while we were there.

We went to the Lookout Mountain Nature Center and Preserve. We went for a little hike that Fischer hated (he was having a bad day). He proclaimed to everyone that he did "not want to have any fun!". The rest of us thought the area was beautiful and we admired all of the flowers and butterflies. Fischer perked up when we went into the Nature Center. He loved the puppets, head phones, binoculars and all of the great animal displays.

The kids loved the Montclair Recreation Center where we went swimming a few times. They had a large shallow area for toddlers with fountains and slides.

We went to many different parks and some great fountains. The kids played and played.

I think the kids loved just being together in the house and yard eating, playing, sleeping, bathing and relaxing. Fisch and BFF got a taste of "big family" life.

One funny thing:

The first morning we were there, I woke up to P6 in my room with a very serious question to ask.

P6: "So are you two married or do you just live together?"

Me: "Who? Me and Fischer?"

P6: "No. You and Aunt Sheila?"



One not-so funny thing:

I fell asleep on the bed one afternoon and woke to find Fischer had painted his face, his clothes, the portable DVD player, the sheets, the table, the lamp, and the DVDs with my make-up foundation!!!!! I now know that it stains.

PS: I hope you didn't get motion sickness from all of the slide shows going at once!

Call me the Bird lady!

Would you believe that Thursday I came in contact with ANOTHER distressed bird? What in the world? This was a tiny baby something, probably a robin (a nestling). It was on the ground under a tree in the park. It was barely strong enough to hold its own head up. It kept tipping onto its face. Kristy and I were running with Fisch in the park when we saw a little dog pawing it. Kristy yelled at the oblivious owner to pull her dog off. We inspected it and deliberated over it for a VERY long time. Fischer thought we should take it to the hospital. Kristy suggested moving it into a safer area hidden under a tree. I was racking my brain for what was the "right" thing to do. In the end I scooped it up with a diaper and hid it under a tree. Andy (via cellphone) thought we should let nature run its course. I remembered that a baby's bird best chance for survival was with its parents, so I hope they found it.
As an afterthought, I wondered if the bird was possibly kicked out of the nest for being too weak. OMG, don't tell me that I just left a special needs bird alone to die?! I don't want to go back downtown to check on it, because I'm afraid it will be dead, and I can't handle that guilt. Poor little baby!

The Bird lady's other recent encounters: the juvenile robin attacked by fat dog and the trespassing pigeon.

Purging Pigeon

Another bird rescue. Last night we got a call from my parents' neighbor that they could see a bird in my parents' bedroom window. My parents are out of town, so we rushed to the rescue.

Sure enough, standing on one foot on the king-sized bed was a pigeon! Upon seeing us, it immediately started flinging itself at the window (it does have 2 feet, but obviously one may have been injured). Andy opened the sliding glass door to the balcony and it flew out... but not before I took a quick pic!

I think it came through the chimney, there was a feather behind the fireplace screen. Sure this was a one person job, but who doesn't love a bit of drama. It took Andy, me, the neighbor and Fischer to really purge the pigeon from the bedroom. Miraculously I couldn't find any bird poop ... anywhere!

Doesn't it's face look a bit mischevious or at least possibly tickled by the spectacle it has created?

FOUND

My new guilty pleasure and extreme time waster is Found Magazine. People find notes on the ground or in books or anywhere, and send them in. It is a glimpse into a stranger's life and kind of makes you want to know more. For some reason, I can sift through these notes forever. I think it is just like my obsession with old photos of strangers. All of these things can make for a jumping off point for writing a book or story.... But that takes time and thought and effort.... nah, I'm not into time and thought and effort - I wish I was - but I'm kind of too busy doing nothing. Anyhoo, enjoy these notes and so many more! The captions underneath are sometimes as good as the note itself. it is fun to find out where the note was found and wonder how it got there!

Don't you think I probably NEED these shoes?

I have these shoes, they are a few years old now, but I LOVE them! They have been my absolute favorite shoes - EVER! This picture is of the shoes relaxing on my feet after hiking around Zion. The shoes hiked it and did great! Years later, they still look this good!

Don't you think that this pair is COMPLETELY different and that I probably need them too?

Sorry, I couldn't resist: P-Mate

Female Freedom has developed a product to help women keep their privates hidden and their shoes dry when there isn't a potty around. While I can appreciate the convenience... it is just a bit too weird for me. Check out the photos here.