my kids are hilarious

MMM! CHOC-OH-WIT!!!

Henry’s dream comes true.

xxx

My favorite part of Christmas as a young person was always going to my grandparents’ house on Christmas Eve.  Now, my grandfather died when I was six, so I don’t have too many memories of him.  But the house is so amazing and full of meaning for me – My sister, cousin Ben, and I really enjoyed introducing Henry to some of those things this past summer (the laundry chute, the pantry with the sliding door where we played elevator, the coffee table that looks like a spaceship… anyway.  Here is a partial list of what is typically present on Christmas Eve at Gram’s:

• chicken soup on the stove
• plastic cups with Peanuts characters on them (these are still in use after about 30 years – we watched, horrified, one time as a newish family member started to throw one out in the yellow garbage can)
• giant shrimp cocktail tray on the kitchen table
• rolls and cookies made by Anna, MaryLiz, and others
• Hershey’s kisses
• snake skins (real, found in Gram’s basement) strung on the tree *shudder*
• The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (in English AND Latin) on the living room table
• sausage made by either my dad or Uncle Richard, sometimes both
• stuffed Mr. & Mrs. Claus, standing watch by the stairs so no snooping kids will wander up to look for presents
• MaryLiz’s chocolate peanut butter balls
• a large box of Russell Stover’s chocolates on the table, picked over and the gross ones left behind
• lots of singing
• many, many laughs

I miss it, a lot.  I’m committing here and now to spend Christmas Eve 2011 enjoying all of the above.  It will be Gram’s 88th Christmas on this earth.

And with that…

xxvi

Scenes from Thanksgiving:

xxiii

I went to renew my drivers license today.  I made the observation that the parking lot of the Tax Collector’s office would be a gold mine for identity thieves, since new regulations require you to bring along every conceivable personal identity document.  I brought my passport (if I hadn’t had one, I would have needed my birth certificate), my social security card, my W2 and voter registration (to prove my address – most people who don’t live in a church-owned home could bring utilities), and my marriage certificate.  I don’t want to give identity thieves ideas or anything, but if they were to hold up people in the parking lot at gunpoint, they’d make off with an entire life’s information on the spot.  Perhaps most importantly, my new picture looks great!  I’m so much more pleased with it than I was with the old one, in which I resembled Michelle Duggar a bit too much. 

The in-laws have arrived, Auntie Amy has arrived, and preparations have begun.  I bought our biggest turkey ever (20lbs!) and can’t wait to get that thing in the brine and into the oven around 11 on Thursday morning.

x

If you would like to eat something so totally delicious that you will want to kiss me in gratitude, then make this recipe:

ENCHILADAS VERDE

one rotisserie chicken
one jar salsa verde
one cup quinoa, cooked
one 8oz cup plain yogurt
two 4oz cans green chilies
8oz monterey jack cheese, shredded
extra large flour tortillas


In a pot, put the salsa, yogurt, and chilies together.  Let warm while you shred the chicken and cook the quinoa.  Put the salsa mixture into a blender or use a stick blender in the pot to combine thoroughly.  In a large bowl, put the chicken, the quinoa, 4oz of the shredded cheese (PLEASE shred this yourself.  Did you know they put a coating on the bagged pre-shredded cheese to keep it from sticking together?  I am totally grossed out by that.) and about 1/2 the salsa/yogurt mixture.  Stir this together.  Fill the tortillas and roll them up, placing them in a greased casserole dish.  Pour the extra salsa/yogurt mixture over the enchiladas and top with the rest of the shredded cheese.  Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes.  Eat them, and die of deliciousness.

viii

I like to cook.  In fact, this year we’re hosting my parents-in-law, my sister-in-law, and the new neighbors for Thanksgiving.  I’ve almost decided on the menu.  I am a control-freak when it comes to Thanksgiving.  I wake up and watch the Macy’s parade in my pajamas.  Depending on when we’re eating, I may take a break to put the turkey in the oven.  Then I shower and get dressed, and get to it in the kitchen.  I will have made the mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls, and set the turkey to brine the day before.  Mashed potatoes live in the crockpot.  After I get the turkey in, I prepare the green bean casserole, pie(s?), and get the table ready.  We’ll be using the china given to us when Timon’s grandfather died, which has lived in the boxes in which it came to us a few years ago.  I love the work of Thanksgiving.  Perhaps I will let all the other people clean up, while I put White Christmas in the dvd player.  (Timon always thinks he’ll stop me from doing this, but he is wrong time and time again.)

saturday morning leftovers.

Yeah, I'm just now getting around to posting what I should have posted last night.

• Turns out that when you stick a potato covered in eye sprouts in a pot of dirt and ignore it, you just might get potatoes.  We ate them in our dinner last night and haven't died yet, so I think we can all consider this a success.  Seeing as how the only things we've consumed from our garden thus far have been parsley and mint, I am thrilled to eat something I grew myself (albeit accidentally).
  
  
• Our zucchini plants have only produced male flowers so far.  Obviously female flowers are the ones that make fruit, so we are still waiting to see them.  Two of eight tomato plants have flowers - I'm hoping the cardinal I keep seeing in the backyard leaves things alone so that they can produce.
  
  
• Monday Maria and I are taking off to go see Jen & Elizabeth before they abandon us move north for a great work opportunity.  We're also hoping Barb & baby E, and Farah with MT & Armadillo can join us, too.  I will be taking custody of Jen's strawberry plants.  What are the chances they'll survive under my care?
  
  
• We almost never go to the movie theatre anymore - the last movie we saw out was Star Trek.  However, I WILL be seeing Iron Man 2 as soon as possible.  LOVE love love RDj, Sherlock Holmes was (surprisingly) pretty dang good and I'm hoping Iron Man 2 does not disappoint.
  
  
• You may remember I have a great love for Rockin' Green soap.  I recently purchased the Hard Rock variety and am even more impressed.  We were having some diaper cream issues (we use wash cloths as a barrier but still usually get some cream on the diapers themselves.  Hard Rock took care of all that residue and they are back to being squeaky clean.

today

7:01am    Eyes snap open, look at the clock.  Stretch, get out of bed, go to the bathroom, and head to the kids’ room.

7:05am    Rub Henry’s back and tell him good morning.  He does his typical rolling over onto his stomach in an attempt to stay in bed.  Maria is stirring, and I pick her up to realize the front of her pjs are wet from diaper wicking out the top.  I groan since our washer is broken, and this is just another pee soaked item to stink up the house until I get a chance to do laundry.

7:10-8:00am  Get Maria and Henry breakfast, set out their clothes, shower, and get dressed.  I shove down a grapefruit (too sour) while sitting at the table with Timon.

8:15am    Out the door with both kids.

8:20am    Drop Henry at school.

8:28am    Drop Maria at her caregiver’s house. 

8:35am    Meet Timon back at the church to give him ice for his work cooler.

8:40am-12:35pm    Settle in the office for the morning.  Clear out emails (and ok, Google Reader, too) (ok, and update my FB status, too), decide what the plan is for youth tomorrow night, pick praise band songs for the week and send the email to the band.

12:40pm  Walk home for lunch, realize just how bad the pollen has gotten (REALLY BAD, FYI). 

1:30pm    More work, this time reading some work materials.  Also deal with drama-filled work emails.

2:40pm    Realize the diapers MUST be washed today, laundromat is the choice at the moment.  Gather up those, plus another load to wash while I’m there.

2:43pm    Leave with laundry in back of car to get Henry from school, run into praise band member, discuss drama.

2:51pm    Get in car line, pick up Henry.  Go to Walgreens, pick up prescription for Henry, get cash to use at laundromat.

3:15-3:45pm   Arrive at Maria’s caregivers.  Henry is ushered into the kitchen for a massive snack, since they like to spoil our children (in the nicest possible way).  Chat for a while.  Leave with large hunk of cake in hand for tonight’s dessert.

4:00pm  Get to laundromat, obtain quarters, start diapers in one machine, clothes in another.  $1.75 for cold wash, $2.00 for warm or hot!  Pray that the necessary part for our washer arrives PRONTO, since who can afford the laundromat?!?

4:10-5:00pm  Observe older man who might just be folding laundry for the very first time, judging by his skill at it.  Feel sad because perhaps his wife has recently become unable to do the laundry after a lifetime of taking care of her husband.  Chase children around in futile effort to contain them at the laundromat.  Finally remember the stroller is in the car, get stroller, put Maria in stroller for Henry to push around the aisles.  Learn that despite my long-standing assertion that removing diaper inserts prior to washing is unnecessary, apparently some will not come out in the laundromat washer.  Discover this after both wash cycles have completed and we’re getting ready to leave.  Decide they’ll get fully clean next time.

5:15pm    Get home, see Timon is already home, am thankful for the help bringing everything (including large hunk of cake) in the house.  See he’s already done the breakfast dishes and thank him as profusely as is possible with the level of fatigue I experience.  Put diapers in the dryer, which currently works.

5:20-6:40pm   Prepare, eat, and clean up from taco night dinner.  Get Maria dressed and diapered for bed, not planning to put her straight to bed at 7 but she comes out of her room saying “nigh nigh” to her daddy, and walks back over to her bed.  Refuse to look a gift horse in the mouth, and put her to bed.

7:00pm   Post to the photoblog.  Watch the Rays’ lineup get introduced.  Watch the beginning of the game while typing about my day.

7:36pm  Type these words.

A look into the future:
7:50pm   Consume part of large hunk of cake.

9:00pm   Change channel to LOST, during commercials rotate between Rays game and UCONN women’s basketball attempting to win the NCAA championship (they’ve got pretty good odds). 

10:00pm  Change channel to USA, watch Vincent D'Nofrio’s last episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.  During commercials rotate between basketball and Rays (if they’re still playing).

11:00pm  BED, no matter who the heck is still playing whatever.

twenty-sixth

Scenes from our Thanksgiving:

Henry, catching sight of Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Maria, acting out the “Mommy’s little PIGGY!!” mashed potatoes scene from A Christmas Story. 

twenty-fifth

Apparently the day before Thanksgiving is traditionally my busiest day of the year. I re-read last year's post from this day and today was very similar, with the notable differences that today I did not nurse a baby or change diapers during the day since Maria was at daycare. I worked 9 hours in the church office filling in for the secretary and doing my normal office work of the bulletin plus creating, printing, and bundling a new flyer for our next movie night. People were coming and going for all sorts of reasons - some were picking up their pies baked by a women's group for a fundraiser. Of course I was only doing this work when I wasn't obsessively stalking Farah's FB and Twitter, and checking my text messages for news from her. At 4:20 I got a text saying "pray... about to push." And so I did! And later I read the news that at 4:39 Armadillo was born! I'll let her share all the specifics on her blog. Then I came home and cleaned out the refrigerator to make room for the inevitable leftovers that will be created (not to mention freeing up the containers to hold them). And then I had to go to the drugstore for TP, PT, and sugar. Next up was making pumpkin-cranberry bread for breakfast. And then I made an apple-cranberry pie, including homemade crust in record time so that I could sit here and watch GLEE. Which I am doing.

The menu tomorrow:

• Turkey! Stuffed with onions and basted with butter and herbs. No brine this year.
• Mashed Potatoes, PW style.
• Creamed Corn NOM NOM NOM
• Green Bean Casserole, which I fully expect Maria to inhale like she did last time we had it.
• Stuffing with dried cranberries
• Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish (this is entirely for Timon)
  
• French Bread
• Apple-Cranberry Pie
  

Everyone have a lovely evening. I'm just going to sit here and stare at pictures of Amy and Mike's sweet little boy a little more.

twentieth

GAH I'm so glad there are only ten more days of this daily posting... Today's events of note:

• Maria was well enough for daycare! YAY! She seemed excited when she got there, and when I brought her home after naptime, she slept for another two hours. I guess she had fun.
  
  
• Timon and I ate lunch with Henry at school today - that means two cafeteria meals in roughly 18 hours. Let's just say last night's turkey dinner was FAR SUPERIOR to today's mexican pizza.
  
  
• In the last two hours I ripped one of the two pairs of pants I feel good wearing and look decent on me... I am NOT PLEASED; and locked Maria and me out of the house. Well, I guess technically it was Timon who locked the door, but it was me who went next door to movie night at church without my house keys. The beauty of living in a church-owned home? The extra key kept by the church.

Up tomorrow: pancakes! House cleaning! Praise band practice! Nap! Blog! I wouldn't mind if SOME BABIES WOULD GO AHEAD AND BE BORN ALREADY, either.

fifteenth

We just returned from a wonderful evening with friends – we had an early Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie (and great company).  We’re stuffed!  I was hoping to take a picture of something that would help me post tonight, and so I took a couple shots of our gorgeous and quite tasty turkey.  However, on the way home we saw a sight that only a fortunate few will see in person in their lifetime; one that deserves top billing:

 
Oh, and just for giggles, here’s the turkey:

(I’d much prefer seeing photos of TURKEY, if you all know what I mean!!!  Hurry up, little one!)

chicken tortilla soup

I do not boast when I say that last night I made the best chicken tortilla soup of all time. It's not bragging when it's the truth, right? Anyway - there was a recipe in the Food Network magazine and I only used it as the basic guide. I couldn't find one key ingredient it called for so I made a substitution. Clearly it was fine since we all ate it like crazy last night and I just now ate the rest of the leftovers.

First I put half a large yellow onion (chopped finely) in a pot with a little olive oil over medium heat. When it was good and soft I added 2 14oz cans stewed tomatoes, one can condensed tomato soup, one small can ro-tel original, and one small can mexican red sauce (I found this brand). Use a stick blender (or I suppose you could put all of this in a food processor) and puree the mixture until everything is blended, with only small chunks of tomato remaining. While that's heating up back in the pot, boil two chicken breasts with vegetable bullion. Shred that when it's done cooking. Add about 2 cups chicken broth to the tomatoes, add the chicken. At the last minute I decided to throw in about 1 cup of frozen corn. Let cook on med-low for 45 minutes. Serve garnished with cilantro (aaaaand THAT RIGHT THERE is where I lose Jen & Barb, among others [ANTI-CILANTRO WEIRDOS]), shredded cheese, and plenty of crunched up tortilla chips.

In non-soup news, Maria has pink-eye and a sinus infection. She was looking pre-tty pitiful this morning and was unbelievably clingy and whiny. I took her to the pediatrician this morning and she is now snoozing away in her crib. We're praying we don't all get the pink-eye since it's so contagious and she touches everything she possibly can all the time.

But don't dwell on Maria's crusty eyes... go make yourself some soup!

what you missed around 5:30 last friday night

I could pretty much have summed up Maria’s cupcake experience with just this one photo:

But instead, you should see the rest… It was quite the experience for us all!

{click to enlarge – trust me on this one.}

twenty six

Here are the only kind of bullets of which I am a fan... Today, I:

• answered 15 phone calls regarding everything from Thanksgiving turkeys to Key Limes.
• made 8 phone calls to gather up Advent wreath candle lighters and scripture readers.
• put together the church bulletin (cover and 2 inserts)
• typed out Advent wreath readings
• nursed a baby 3 times
• got to work on a special project for our pastor
• made a brine for the turkey
• changed 3 diapers
• answered the door buzzer 6 times

That's all I can remember so far. It's only 4:15 so I'm sure there's plenty more to come. I have praise band practice soon, plus I want to get the turkey prepared and in the brine so it can work its magic, I'd like to get the potatoes mashed, plus there's a new Law & Order on tonight... Tomorrow we're going to watch the parade, roast the turkey, make gravy and rolls, and then head over to our friends' house for the big meal. What are you guys up to?

twenty three

We have been eating some good food lately here in Casa de Knuckleheads (my affectionate term for my children). I've finally gotten a good pumpkin bread recipe under my belt, which I try to make as often as we can stand because, as Henry would say, it's SO YUM. Last weekend I threw together a white bean chicken chili and that was very good. Last night I browsed my soup cookbook [NOTE: Unless I am baking, which really does require precise measurements, or trying something COMPLETELY different than anything I've ever made before (like brining a turkey), I don't use recipes. I will look at cookbooks for ideas, and then once I get the general gist of things, back it goes on the shelf. I sort of just throw things together and it usually turns out just fine. There has only been one time in my life as a cook that a meal has been truly inedible. Also, I think you become a much better cook doing it this way - follow your instincts and your tastebuds, people! Close those cookbooks! Put DOWN that measuring spoon!] and found a good looking spinach soup idea, which I modified since I didn't feel like hunting all over town for uncooked barley. It was just sauteed onion and celery, 2 pkgs frozen creamed spinach, chicken broth, and brown rice. I will save this idea for whenever we can get together with these vegetarians I know, or maybe this other vegetarian I know, and substitute with vegetable broth which I'm sure would be just as good.

I really enjoy cooking for people. When one of those aforementioned vegetarians still lived here in FL, he was subjected to a meal at our house about once a week. I may make a pot of lentils in his honor sometime next week, after all the Thanksgiving/birthday hullabaloo. I guess it's the mothering instinct in me - I want to make sure all the people I love are fed well. Plus, I'd rather hear a complement on my homemade pizza than one on my appearance any day. Well, almost any day.

nice things

Today, I'm feeling better. Physically - I slept very well last night, thanks to the Vicodin. While I don't necessarily LOVE the fact that I'm taking a strong narcotic, at least it's one that doesn't give me the crazies. And yes, it's safe, which I know in my head although I freely admit to prodding my stomach this morning to make damn sure baby was still kicking around. In return for this rude awakening s/he has been moving non-stop ever since. I feel like I have more freedom of movement today, although I've taken it very, very easy. My one trip out of the house today was this morning - I forced myself to return two DVDs, and then I thought if I had to be in my house for ONE MORE MINUTE without any fruit to eat, I'd go nuts. So I went to the grocery store and bought cantaloupe, blueberries, apples, and bananas. (And okay, fine, a Reese's PB Cup, too. Whatever.) I started feeling the bad pain on the way home, and so I got here, cut up the cantaloupe and then laid down on the couch to eat some of that and some of the berries. And the peanut butter cup.

Emotionally - As the wise K suggested, I'm putting off thoughts of what this condition will mean for the birth until I can better think it through. And thanks again to the rest of you who've been so kind in your comments. I do feel more focused today, which is nice.

And so, I present some photos of other things that are nice:

It's nice to ride your first big boy bike!


It's nice to have the birthday cake you asked for.


I mean, seriously - have you ever seen anything so nice as this?
(the only possible way to make this nicer would be to have the corn
picked and bought TODAY from here, and cover it with butter,
and for it ALL to be mine.)


And, YAY! Birthdays are SO, SO nice! Happy 6th, ANNA!

decision '08 (overheard at a debate)

"I'm pretty sure your screw-up was worse."

"Um, no. Messing up a fish dinner for which you had no recipe and were experimenting is NOT worse than misreading 1/2 cup shortening for 2 cups shortening in my dad's tried-and-true recipe and wrecking the banana bread."

"But then we had no meal, we had to scrounge around!"

"I had to clean the oven TWICE after the shortening bath it took with your disgusting mess. And besides, me making a gross fish meal without a recipe... well, let's just say I could be compared to the Wright Brothers. I was trying to be an innovator. You, on the other hand, are like Boeing, screwing up one of the same engines you've been making for 30 years."

"I still disagree, but I have to admit that I cannot dispute your logic."

*****************************************
Who do you think won this round? Or let me put it this way: Which would you be more likely to turn down - a fish dinner, or fresh baked banana bread? Which loss is greater? Weigh in in the comments, please.

dream

Last night's dream was awesome - I dreamt (dreamed?) about our baby, who was a girl, and that she was an excellent nurser, and that I felt amazing after the birth. Then in the dream I got an email from my cousin A that said she'd be here to visit soon, and I was so excited.

Wouldn't that be a nice dream to have come true?

In other news... I'm feeling lots of baby movement, particularly after eating Breyer's Coffee Ice Cream. Who wouldn't jump for joy getting a taste of that deliciousness? As a related note, I just weighed myself on the scale in the church gym and I still haven't gained anything. Obviously I don't expect that trend to hold for much longer... I feel pretty good, just tired sometimes. Heartburn and nausea still enjoy visiting occasionally, especially if I make the mistake of say, eating lasagna out at a restaurant at 10pm like I did Friday night. Dumb, dumb, dumb. But we couldn't get into the restaurant to which we had a gift card until after our movie was over. We saw 21; it was pretty good. Fairly predictable, but still entertaining. Henry spent the night at his surrogate grandparents' house and had the expected fabulous time.

I'll close this up with a photo Henry took a few weekends ago when my mom, aunt, and gram were here to visit. I think he did pretty well, don't you? And aren't we posing so prettily?

picnic

We went to one of the best beaches in the country (seriously, a couple of years ago, it was rated #1) on the spur of the moment Saturday and had a little picnic. It was perfect - it wasn't too hot, Henry had a blast in the water and sand, and the food was delicious. It was capped off with a lovely sunset.

Doesn't Henry look SO tall?

I know this was wrong to do. But come on, look at that cute tush!



Everything tastes better when cooked and eaten outside.



Even Henry agrees.



This is the payoff for the insanity of Florida summers.

On another note, I'm seriously considering moving from Blogger. I hate not being able to reliably upload photos, the limits for blog design with the "new" Blogger templates, and other crap too dumb to mention. Any non-Blogger... ummm, bloggers out there have any good advice? I don't want to pay too much for a service, but I might be willing to pay a smidge for better and more blogging options. Let me know in the comments, please.