Land of the pins and cotton balls

This is what our afternoon looks like without the tv on. I love it! First she was painting at her easel and decided that she wanted to paint her face like a lion. Doesn't she look like a scary lion?



Then she needed cotton balls. All of the cotton balls in the house for something very important. She took all of her plastic cups from her cabinet, put one cotton ball in each of them, and then topped it with a cloth wipe.



This is just her being the too cool artist.



I was on the computer and she was in the sewing room. And it was very quiet. She loves my sewing pins. I just got these different colored ones, and I knew it was a matter of time before she busted them out. She said they were going to school. You can see the boring yellow pins that have been pushed aside. And my lovely sewing to-do list in the background.



More pin city pictures.



And that is our afternoon! I will start dinner soon, Italian Beef Stew, and then Daddy will be home. He will have some time with Eleanor and I will sew. Not a bad life! :)

Looks I love from Anthropologie

Okay this post isn't hard at all. There is so much to love at this store. Here are a few things that I love. I would never buy any of them, but it's fun to dream! These are all from Anthropologie. :)

Sky High Wrap

Sylvan Scene Cardigan

Midnight's Shadow Skirt

Festive Song Bag

Chockablock Boots

Cabbage Hill Dress

Bonneville Blouse

Six to Eight Weeks left!

And then we will be back in Portland! We are so excited. We will be moving mid January to early February. That means we get to give our 30 notice in a few weeks. It finally feels like it's happening soon. I wish I knew exactly when it was happening, or even how much Jimi will be making at the new store. We have an idea, so that's better than nothing. We are just going to look for around what we are paying now, and any extra money will just be a bonus.

I am thinking that I will probably enroll Eleanor in some Parks and Rec. classes and see how she likes it. Then, possibly preschool. I was thinking of getting a part time job, but I am back to thinking about going back to school. I'm thinking something like Human Resources. But who knows. I am excited about going to school again.

I am excited about looking for a new place for us to live too. I really like the house we have now, but it will be so nice to look at new places. Think smooth 2009 moving thoughts for us! :)

Halloween pics a few weeks late

This year, Eleanor was 3 different things for Halloween. Well she had 3 different Halloween parties to go to. She couldn't wear the same thing!! :) She had so much fun this year. She keeps asking if it is Halloween again today.

At Grey's birthday party she was a ladybug.




At the Parks and Rec. party, she was a ferocious lion. Okay, an adorably ferocious lion.

And at the Waldorf School, she was Dorothy. This was a lot of fun. They led the kids around to listen to different stories. Eleanor wanted to play in their awesome playground.

Some awesome posing as Dorothy.

My buddy, my buddy, my buddy and meeeee!

Eleanor and Jimi are working on a play kitchen for Breana's family. Eleanor is LOVING doing this with her dad. Of course it is taking much longer, and Jimi is going back over what she paints. But she loves it. :) And he does too. They go out into the garage and listen to "fast drums and fast guitar". That's what she calls heavy metal.





Notice her sweet painting shoes? What painter doesn't need their red sparkly shoes to do their best work?

Taking care of Dad

Eleanor loves mailing tubes. And this plastic bucket. She is wearing it as a hat here, of course. :)




Here, I think she was "taking care of Daddy". What a good sport! :)

General silliness

In the spirit of cheating, I'm going to post a bunch of photos today in separate posts. That way I will complete NaBloPoMo. :) Technically not cheating, right? Here goes...

Eleanor and Kylin being silly at Village Merchants.

Giving thanks

I have so many other things on my list to blog about. But something happened today that made me stop and think. Jimi's friend and co-worker died suddenly today. He was 23 years old. He was playing basketball with a bunch of friends. Life really is too short. And his death won't affect everyone I know, even though it feels like it should. But it really takes something like this happening so close to you to make you think about life. And what you take for granted. And who you take for granted. I am sad about the sudden loss of this young life, and for the people close to him. I am sad as a wife, and thinking about losing my partner. And I am sad as a mother. To lose a child must be such immeasurable pain. I can't even imagine. And when I try I just sob. I take my life for granted. I just assume that we will all be okay. And that we will live until we are old. That I will see my daughter fall in love and start her family. I take my marriage for granted, this amazing partnership that I have let become neglected. And so...

I have so many people that I love and am so thankful to have in my life. Here are a few of the most important people in my life.

Jimi- You are my best friend. You have been there for me through so many wonderful and heartbreaking times. I love you so much. I chose you as my partner, and today I choose you again. I hope we have many, many days to come. :)

Eleanor- You are my sweet, sweet girl. You mean more to me than you will ever know. Your smile dries tears. You are silly and you love life. Thank you for choosing me as your mother. I love you.

Mom, Bob, Jacqui, Suzi, Michael, Lindsay- You are my family. We fight and we laugh, but above all we love. I wish we were all closer. Maybe we can't be physically, but emotionally we can try. I love you all.

Joi- You are so kind and loving. I am so thankful that you are in my life. You are strong and true. I am lucky to have you as a friend. You are my girl and I love you.

Breana- You are joy and light. You are so easy to talk to and laugh with. Your smile is contagious! You have made us a part of your family, and I am so thankful for you all. I love you.

Korin- You are a giver. Whenever I have needed you to cry to or laugh with, you have been there for me. You are funny and caring and I am glad to have you as a friend. I love you.

Leah- You are wise and beautiful. You have so much love for people in your life. I am thankful to be in your life. I always feel better after talking to you. I love you.

These 4 women have taken me in, and become my best friends. There is nothing I wouldn't do for them. They have wiped my tears and I have wiped theirs. I have cared for their children and they have cared for mine. I love them dearly, and I hope to have our friendship for the rest of my life. I love you all!

Now go hug your loved ones. Tell them you care about them. It sounds like a cliche, but life really is too short. If you aren't on my short list, don't worry you are on my long list. :) I am thankful for all of my friends and family in my life. You all make me who I am and I am grateful.

Recipes I want to try

There are so many recipes that catch my eye. Here are a few that I have on my list of recipes I want to make.

Baked Ziti (Martha Stewart Everyday Food)



Ingredients- Serves 4

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 8 ounces ziti rigate or other short pasta
• 1 cup ricotta
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1 jar (24 to 26 ounces) best quality tomato sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain and reserve.
2. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and half the mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.
3. In the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce. Top with ziti, then ricotta mixture and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella. Place casserole on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

I did read in the comments that you could use a whole box of ziti and a little more mozzarella and make a 13x9 casserole out of this. It also said to cook a bit longer. I'll just have to make it and see! I would probably just make the small size, and serve it with a salad and yummy bread. And for dessert....

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies (Martha Stewart Living)



Ingredients- Makes 16

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups solid-pack pumpkin
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts or other nuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan or dish. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper; butter lining.
2. Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Put sugar, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until fluffy and well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in flour mixture.
4. Divide batter between two medium bowls (about 2 cups per bowl). Stir chocolate mixture into one bowl. In other bowl, stir in pumpkin, oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Transfer half of chocolate batter to prepared pan smoothing top with a rubber spatula. Top with half of pumpkin batter. Repeat to make one more chocolate layer and one more pumpkin layer. Work quickly so batters don't set.
5. With a small spatula or a table knife, gently swirl the two batters to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle with nuts.
6. Bake until set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into 16 squares.

I would probably omit the nuts, as I don't like my baked goods with nuts. And I would leave out the cayenne pepper. But it looks good!

What recipes have you been thinking of making??

Favorite items for my little one

This is inspired by Mama Nomad's favorite baby items post. These are my fave items that I've used or are still using with my 3.5 year old daughter, Eleanor.

Recycled homemade play kitchen

She loves this! Jimi made her one from an entertainment center he got for under $15 on Craigslist, or it was free. I can't remember. She is always cooking something or hiding treasures in the oven. LOL She also has lovely knit food from Joi and felt blueberries from Nicole that she plays with every single day.

From ellie's madre

Cotton leggings

This sounds simple enough. Jeans and cords are so cute, but my girl has a little buddha belly. And she will push her pants under her belly. So they are usually too tight in the waist. If I get a bigger size, then they are too long. Aaahhhhh...cotton leggings. She has several pairs that I have made from Jimi's old shirts. You can see a great tutorial here, on how to make your own.

Library card

My daughter has always loved books. We read several at night and throughout the day. We pick some up at thrift stores when we come across good ones. (I never buy new books.) We love going to the library and picking up 15 or so books every week or so. Or we will get a pre-school tote that has 10-ish books, puzzles, felt toys for different seasons or activities. Plus, she loves the storytimes and play area. We can rent movies for free. I can reserve online. Love the library. :)

Hotsling or other baby carriers

When Eleanor was born, I had a wholesale account with Hotslings (still do) so I have quite a few of these. We used them most as a hip carrier. She would even sleep in it. She would just lay her head on my shoulder and I would pull up the extra fabric to support her head. Loved it. I also used a Kozy/Babyhawk carrier a few times and really liked them. It was nice to put her on my back. I will definitely get one and probably an Ergo for Jimi should we have another child.

Eleanor's creativity

Seriously. This girl has more fun with some mailing tubes! Socks become puppets, wooden dowels from the windows become swords, balls of yarn become her pet dog, Toto. It's amazing. I really don't feel bad for not buying her a bunch of toys. She really enjoys what she has, and makes up new toys with what we have around the house.

And that is all I have right now. I might add on to this or do another post if I think of more.

What types of things do your children play make believe with??

Failing NaBloPoMo

I have been posting more sinec NaBloPoMo started, but I am a few posts behind. Maybe I can catch up. Although I checked today, and I lost a follower. What's up with that? I must be boring. Or my pleasebuystufffromme post was taken the wrong way. Whatevs. I'm okay without them. I don't need them as a follower. :)

I have been reading about vitamin/mineral levels tonight. Usually I take a Women's Multivitamin (tablet). But I have some cal/mag capsules and cod liver oil gels that I was thinking of adding to the mix. I have no idea if it is overkill though. I figure since the multi-vits are tablets I'm probably not absorbing all of that anyways. Right? Mainly I'm worried about the magnesium and vit A levels being too high. Anyone want to help me? I should ask Savannah. fascinating.....

Okay, that was one more enlightening post from me. maybe tomorrow we can talk about our family budget. That should be a blast! lol

Eleanor Bean custom slots

Holiday season is nearly upon us already. Where did the year go?? I am going to list a few custom slots on Hyena cart in the next few weeks, but I thought I would offer them up to you all first. This is what I am offering:

Cloth Reusable Bags $15.00 (These are muslin-lined, pleated on the sides, and finished with a french seam at the base for stability and strength. It measures 12.5 inches wide, 21 inches tall, and 7 inches deep. You choose outer fabric.)





Cloth Snack/Treasure Bags $5.00 (You choose inner and outer fabric, or I can choose the inner coordinate. The bag measures 5.5" by 5.5" under the drawstring.)





Child-sized Blanket approx. 30"x36" (Fleece/Minkee/Chenille backed with one solid flannel or cotton print on top. Layer of Warm and Natural as a middle layer.) $40.00



Child-sized Recycled Wool Quilt approx 30'x36" (Recycled Wool sweater pieces for the top layer, and flannel for the backing.) $50.00



Child-sized Simple Pieced Quilt approx. 30"x36" (Fleece/Minkee/Chenille backed with multiple prints pieced together for the top. Layer of Warm and Natural as a middle layer.) $65.00



Crayon Rolls (You choose all fabrics, or I can choose the coordinates. Holds 12 crayons.) $9.00



Kid's aprons (You choose fabric and I choose coordinating trim.) $12.00



I can also do sets of cloth table napkins or placemats. Price would depend on fabrics chosen.



You can reply here if you are interested, or you can email me. :) Fabric gallery can be seen here.

Dear Diary,

I have been thinking so much lately about whether Jimi and I are going to keep trying for a second child. I feel a lot of pressure for us to keep trying. It's like people don't know what to say to you, so they ask if we will keep trying. Or once Eleanor was "old enough", we started getting the "when are you going to have another?" question. And people don't know they are being insensitive when they ask me if we want to have another child. Because I don't wear a sign that says...I've lost 4 pregnancies. Yes, of course we would like to have another child. It just doesn't seem to be in the cards for us.

I am not writing any of this for sympathy or to criticize anyone else's choices.

We honestly feel that the universe is just trying to tell us something. We may go see a specialist, but even that feels like extraordinary measures. And we don't want any extraordinary measures. We can't emotionally or financially afford to above and beyond regular babymaking. Even that has been rough on our relationship. The stress of "trying" to make a baby and then losing said baby countless times, is really challenging. The loss we had before Eleanor and the subsequent charting and timing sex really changed our relationship. It has never been the same.

If we decide to see a specialist, I would go as far as working on natural ways to have healthy hormone levels. Some progesterone, maybe something to regulate my thyroid. Change my diet, start exercising more, see an acupuncturist. And we may still decide to be content with Eleanor. I hesitate to say, "we would just have Eleanor". Because that sounds wrong. We are so very blessed to have Eleanor in our lives. I love being her mother and being there for her as she grows. I feel a little crappy that I can't give her a sibling. She would be a great older sister! But it's not happening for us.

I feel like if we decided our family was complete, I could go back to work when Eleanor was in school. We would be better off financially. We have so many friends with kids, that she always has kids to play with and fight with. :) I'm just really trying to work through all of my feelings about this. I need to get to a place where I am okay with what we have chosen. We haven't quite chosen it yet, but we are thinking about it.

If you are still reading, thanks! And again, I'm not questioning anyone else's choices here. I am processing my own feelings while we are working through our own choices.

You know you are an Assyrian when...

I joined a Facebook group called this and the reasons they listed were too funny. I can't take credit for writing any of them, but these are the ones that are so true for me! They remind me of my dad's side of the family.

*Somehow you have family all over the world.

*It's a shock to your parents when you get introduced to their brothers' best friends cousins sister in law and you have no clue who this person is.

* Your parents introduce you to random people saying that these people saw you when you were a baby.

*EVERYONE knows EVERYONE.

*You have an endless supply of pistachios, dates, and pumpkin seeds.

*After a family meal, the women fight to death over who should wash the dishes while the men sit on their behinds and discuss politics, waiting for their chai.

*You talk for an hour at the front door when leaving someone's house.

*You say bye 17 times on the phone.

*When your parents meet strangers and talk for a few minutes, you discover they know one of your uncles back home..later on in the convo, you realize you're related.

*Your grandparents and parent tell you to eat all the time.

*You gossip about your own family...with other members of your family.

*You teach your friends Assyrian words (mostly bad ones) and feel proud when they use them in conversations.

*You feel proud when someone famous or a celebrity has ANY Assyrian blood in them.

*Everybody you knew in school had at least one other friend to speak their language with but you had nobody.

*The women in your family RACE to get gossip around; when they're not the first to announce a juicy bit of news, you can see the disappointment in their face.

* You come home at 10 o'clock and your parents say, "eketwa? its 1:00 o'clock!" Their perception of time is 5 hours fast.

*Your house has a distinctive aroma. (My grandma's does!)

*You recycle shopping bags as garbage bags.

*You think a meal is not a meal without rice.

*You feed all your visitors.

*You always cook too much.

*Sometimes you get really fed up with explaining to people "Where Assyria is" since it doesn't exist anymore. And all the distinctions between us and Arabs, etc.

*If you don't say hello to your relatives/guests they take it like a slap in the face.

*The second you fuck up the whole world knows. Literally the whole world because you have family everywhere and they all like to talk. you will never be able to live anything down, it will follow you forever.

Dancing with my girls

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Farewell to Milks playdate/party

On Friday, we had Eleanor's goodbye milks get-together at Breana's house. I just invited a few friends for Eleanor. They did a shoebox craft, and then they had cupcakes. I didn't take one picture. :( But I saw cameras out...so hopefully some of them will make their way to me. I made cupcakes with white frosting and used Hershey kisses for the nipples. (Thanks Leah for the great idea!) It was relatively low-key, as much as it can be with a bunch of kids running around. (Thanks to Breana for letting me do this at her house.) We had a good time.

I am so thankful that we have had a pretty easygoing nursing relationship. Eleanor has always nursed and slept well, and the weaning went pretty smoothly. We had a great 3.5 years of nursing together. She is my sweet, sweet girl and I love her so much. I have my boobs back!!! I was telling Leah and Breana that I really wanted some nice bras now that we are completely done. Maybe one of these days I will head over to Victoria's Secret ar Macy's and check out the bras. How exciting!

Magic balls

A few months back I bought a Spotted Box on Hyena Cart. They also sell them on etsy. A bunch of crafty people send them samples of what they make, and they go into the Spotted Boxes. I got a bunch of sample soaps, bath soaks, washcloths, odds and ends, and the beloved dryer balls. They are awesome! Why oh why didn't I ever try these before? And why have I never thought to make my own? I am totally making a few bigger dryer balls. There is a great tutorial on goodmama for how to make your own felted dryer balls.

Here are some from an etsy shop. You can click on the picture to visit the Peaches and Green Boutique.




Wool dryer balls are supposed to reduce/eliminate the need for fabric softeners. There are some PVC dryer balls available at most markets, but I didn't want to heat up some PVC in my dryer. lol Plus, you can make these yourself! Enjoy! :)

An early evening quickie

We are headed up to Portland tonight and we will be back late Friday night. If I don't blog on Thursday, I will make up for it later! :)

Creamy toast

I'm going to try blogging during the daylight hours. Well, it's 4:24 pm and it's already getting dark outside! Anyways, I went to get some bloodwork done today. Some of my pregnancy symptoms are back and I'm still getting light positive tests. So, who knows what is going on in there. Hopefully, nothing crazy like another ectopic pregnancy. I only have one tube left, body!!

The woman who takes blood there is very good at her job. She is a little too happy for me, but she doesn't bruise my arm when she takes my blood. I'll deal with the happy. Her "blood" room is decorated in an extensive amount of Elvis pictures. She is interesting. She was talking to Eleanor today about whatever Eleanor would talk about. Which is a lot. She told the lady about how she is growing bigger and doesn't have my milk anymore. And something about barns, and then Halloween, and then Grandma and Papa.

The lady turned to me and said wow 3 years, that's how they do it in Europe. She is Greek and told me that they extended nurse over there too. She said her mom always had so much milk. Her mom used to put her milk on toast for the kids. She said it was so good, like cream on toast. I thought it was a really sweet story, and probably wonderful for their health. You hardly ever hear stories like that. It made me feel good. :)

Tugging at my heartstrings

Tonight, after the 3rd time taking Eleanor back to bed, I laid with her in bed. She was crying and saying how she missed my milks, and that she wished I could grow more. (How sad is that??) She lay on my chest and I sang her a few songs and told her a story about Curious George. She calmed down and rolled onto my arm. Then she said again, that she wished she could have more milks and how she missed them. And I shed a few tears of my own. :( I really felt like since the weaning went pretty smoothly that she was ready. Really I just kept telling her that milks were too sore. maybe she thought they were coming back. (Again...the sadness.) It could very well be, that she was just tired and expressing her feelings about missing nursing. That's normal, right? I've been tempted to nurse her since she weaned, but haven't. It's a slippery slope. Aahhh...being a mama.

The other day I was getting undressed to take a shower. Eleanor said something about my milks. And then she said, "You don't have milks anymore...just boobs." (I guess that's true.)

I definitely think I am having a rougher time with this than she is. Plus I did just miscarry a few weeks ago. Hormones aplenty. The upside is getting her to sleep without nursing. That is great!

A little bit cheating

So, technically it is Monday morning. But I haven't slept yet so it is still Sunday night for me. It's only 1 in the morning. I went on a bit of a cleaning rampage tonight. Of course it started right around the time that Jimi starts to give me that look. You may know it. It is the we-really-need-to-get-this-one-to-bed-because-I-am-exhausted look. But the playroom is clean, so yay for me. And Eleanor went right to sleep. She actually asked me to leave her bed so she could go to sleep. That's just fine by me. :)

I'm reading this book called The Bitch in the House: 26 Women Tell the Truth about Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood, and Marriage. It's actually pretty good, and easy to relate to. I can be the bitch in the house at times. I think many women feel like they have to be able to do everything. Jimi will ask me if he can help me with something, and I reply "well, I'm already doing it." Why don't I let him do it? So I can be the martyr? I need to work on that one. He doesn't load the dishwasher like me, but hey...he's loading it! And yes his dinner repertoire consists of grilled cheese or mac and cheese. That could be dinner some nights, why not?

Another point that has come up in one of the essays is similar to the way we have come to relate to one another. We always seem to be in the ring. We refuse to bend. For some reason we think the other is out to get us. Somehow marriage and life has brought us to this place. We definitely weren't like this pre-marriage. We still laugh and generally enjoy each other's company, but we are always on guard. Just waiting for some slight dig so that we can go on the attack. Honestly, I think if one of us could just take the higher road and bend, that the other person would follow suit. That's another thing I need to do.

Okay, well thanks for being my therapy audience tonight! Same time next week?? lol

I love post-its

I love office supplies. This office supply organizer makes me happy. I can walk all over the office supply stores and not get bored. Of course it is totally wasteful to love post-its so much. In my defense, I do write all over them. And then I have a stack of scribbled on post it notes to sort through. I haven't bought them in a few years. I would just buy 10 packs of notebooks during the big school supply rush. But I was sorting through boxes in the garage and found a new pad of lined post-it notes. It was glorious!

I also love fine tip Sharpies. They are great for addressing co-op packages. I also love blue ball-point pens. And lined paper must be college rule, no wide rule here.




And that my friends is the story of my love of office supplies. It could be because we got really basic supplies growing up, so now I love them all. Happy Saturday!

Fly by post

This will be a quick post as my sweet girl has a cold tonight. Daddy is playing with her and a few of her stuffed animals in the bedroom. But I didn't want to miss a day of posting! lol

Let's see, what is new with us....We are still planning for a February move back to Portland. (yay!!) I can't wait to be able to actually look for a place for us to live. I am thinking that I will go back to work part-time when we get up there. We could use the extra money and I could use the adult interaction sans kids. :) Jimi is doing really well at work, and enjoys it most of the time. We are doing okay after our last loss. In the moment, I feel like I would never want to go through it again. But then time passes, and I'm ready to get right back on the roller coaster.

Eleanor is 3 and a half now. She is talking and talking and talking. :) It is amazing to just sit and listen to everything she has to say. She talks in her sleep quite a bit too! We talk about her dreams each morning, or if she wakes up with a bad dream. I am able to remember most of my dreams in crazy detail, and am able to control what I dream about sometimes. I would love to nurture that ability in Eleanor. She is still pretty cautious, but has begun going a little outside of her box. I try to encourage her to do new things while also honoring her personality. Nothing wrong with being a little cautious!

Night all!

13 tv shows I loved growing up

I remember tv being a lot different when we were growing up. We didn't watch it too much. And there were not a ton of choices. We definitely did not have a tv in our room! There was the living room tv, the tv in my parent's room (which was a treat to watch), and the smallest tv ever in the kitchen. We usually all watched a tv show or 2 at night together.

Here goes, this is my 13 shows I loved watching growing up. :)

1. Bosom Buddies

2. Charles in Charge

3. Facts of Life

4. Family Ties

5. Growing Pains

6. Just the Ten of Us

7. Mr. Belvedere

8. My Two Dads

9. Punky Brewster

10. Silver Spoons

11. The Cosby Show

12. Who's the Boss?

13. Wonder Years

What was your favorite show growing up?

Wordless Wednesday- Gotta love co-sleeping!

Happy, happy Election Day!!

This is amazing! I am so proud of my country and hopeful for our future. I am thankful that our government can start to reflect our citizens more. It's a baby step, but it's a big one! There is a lot of work ahead of us. Yes we can people, yes we can. :)

Now, if only I still lived in California so I could have voted NO on Prop 4 and 8. Separation of church and state people!!

Technology can be evil...and awesome!

So one of my girls, Amy, posted a blog yesterday about being an internet addict. I am fully aware of my addiction and make small steps to improve. I believe that computers are awesome and horrible at the same time. I love that I can keep in touch with friends and family easily and quickly. But...I don't talk to them at all nearly as much. There is something in actually hearing someone's voice, you know? I really do try to call my friends at least once a week or every other week. Doesn't that sound horrible? But everyone is so busy, and I feel like a bother calling. I try to call my sister Suzanne rather often, but I'm pretty sure she is screening her calls. Darn those cell phones and caller ID.

I have my sites I always check when I am "checking my mail": Yahoo email, Outlook work email, Google Reader, Mothering, Hyena Cart, Facebook. I have a yahoo co-op group, that I check too. My Outlook email is for eleanor bean mail. Google Reader is to read all of my peeps' blog updates. Mothering is to mostly lurk and sometimes post. Hyena Cart is for my for sale thread and to update my store. Facebook is my most recent addiction. Almost all of my friends are on there!! It's like Myspace for grown-ups. No glittery graphics there. I lurve it. Plus, I have chatted with people I haven't heard from in over 10 years. And that is a good thing!

Tonight I am going to leave you with a delicious recipe that my friend Candice reminded me of lately. It goes by the names Puppy Chow, or Muddy Buddies. Here you go, enjoy:

Ingredients:

9 cups of any type of Chex
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup of peanut butter
1/4 cup of butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

Prep directions:

*Into large bowl, measure cereal and set aside.
*Melt chocolate, peanut butter, and butter in saucepan. (Maybe a double boiler would be better?) Melt and stir until smooth. Add vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal until pieces are well coated. Pour mixture into 2 gallon plastic bag.
*Add powdered sugar. Seal bag, and shake until cereal is well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

***I am not responsible for you eating large amounts of this. Also, please do not forward any dental bills to me. Thanks!***

Happy Day of the Dead!

I am not of Mexican heritage, but I love what this holiday is about. When my dad passed away, I was devastated. I could cry just thinking about him. (Well, that still happens!) Then I read something about the Day of the Dead. I really liked the idea about celebrating and honoring our loved ones.

We always talk about my dad, but today I told more stories about him to my daughter. I was 32 weeks when he went into the coma, so she was inside of me but they never actually met. The ultrasound tech did do a quick ultrasound of her next to his bed though. I like to think he knew about it and was so happy to "see" her.

I made pork chops for dinner, one of his favorite meals. He would cook them with a bit of butter in the pan. This might sound gross, but the bits of fat that cook up crispy are the best! I remember picking the chop with the most crispy bits on it. I made sure to share this with Eleanor. :) We set a place for my dad at the table. This thoroughly confused Eleanor. She thought he was coming over for dinner. Well, kind of. I tried to explain that his body had died, and that we were setting a place to honor him.

Today we also honor all of our loved ones that have passed away. My Aunt Alice, childhood friends Sonya and Tonya, my husband's grandmother Grace. We love you all and hope you are at peace or having a wild time.

Pomegranates

So many of my memories about my father have to do with food. Certain meals he always made for us. (Pork chops, tacos, filet mignon, meatloaf.) Or the loads of junk food he would buy us. (Pretty much anything you could imagine.) He would take us to the local pizza place the first night he had us, then straight to Blockbuster for 5 rentals. And I remember them being the most cheeseball horror movies and Karate Kid. The whole weekend revolved around us. He had a studio apartment, there was nowhere else for us to be but together. We had some good times.

One of the things I remember about my dad was pomegranates. Every fall, he would start buying them. And we would pick those sweet little kernels out while we watched tv. The other day I was grocery shopping with Eleanor. And I saw them. It has been a few years since I have bought one. We picked one out and she was so excited about getting home to try it. The girl is crazy for new fruits and vegetables. lol

Today we broke it open and I showed her how to get the juice from the kernels. And I thought of me and my dad eating them. And my heart smiled.