Mommy Monday - Da-Da

I'm going to have to file a formal complaint on this one.
They always say da-da first.  It has something to do with language development but every time I take it a bit personally.
I put a lot more work into them than da-da has at this stage and I would really like some credit.  It's just not fair.  Of course it is good practice for me to start accepting the fact that they will rarely acknowledge all I do for them and it eases me into the next stage where they make one word demands and then scream if you don't immediately comply.
The first ma-ma is only cute for a short period anyway, it turns into "Mo-om, [insert complaint here]", way too fast.  And then there's the ever popular "Mom, mom, mom, mom,mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom,mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mommy!"  Yeah, one of my kids is actually doing this as I type.  Sigh.
That first ma-ma and all the "Mom, I love you" s make up for an amazing amount of the rest of it.

Photo Friday - Tent Fort

Thursday Thoughts - Thoreau

...I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life... Henry David Thoreau

Word of Wednesday - Spelling DOES Matter

If you've seen the message about how we don't really read all the letters in a word and spelling is therefore irrelevant this is the answer to that argument.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNStNUizxhE

And of course, always remember : BAD SPELLERS OF THE WORLD UNTIE!

I may not be perfect at spelling but I'm constantly striving for improvement.

Tasty Tuesday - Olive Garden Ravioli With Chicken

We went to Olive Garden last night.  I wanted to try the ravioli from the commercial.  There's a shrimp one and a chicken one right now as a special.  Jared got the shrimp and cheese with pear ravioli, I got the chicken with cheese ravioli and veggies.  So good.  I liked mine better because it had bits of zucchini-like squash and the chicken was super tasty having been grilled in something bacon-y.  We tried the melted cheese and bread slices appetizer and it was good, I still like the artichoke one better.  Jared's ravioli were good but with the pear in them they were sweet instead of cheesy-salty and the sauce on top was kind of tangy like teriyaki so it was a surprising combination, good but not as good as my chicken/bacon, yummy.

Mommy Monday - Big Boy Bed

Andrew got a big boy bed on Saturday.  We've been talking about it for a few weeks and he has been insistent that he wanted to keep his crib.  I didn't want to keep lifting him in and out, he is almost two and a half and he's sleeping part of the night really well in my bed most nights anyway.  So it cuts down on the frustration and I don't have to worry that he's going to jump/climb out of the crib and suprise my by breaking an arm.  There is also the fact that we borrowed the crib from a neighbor because we had to put the baby in a crib but Andrew wasn't ready for a bed yet.  So anyway, I asked Jared to take apart the crib and return it and set up the twin bed while I kept Andrew busy with some books.  Jared came in and told me it was done and I sent Andrew to go have a look.  He ran into his room, jumped onto his new bed and yelled "My bed broke!" then jumped up and down on his new bed a while.  He's still convinced it's his crib but that the sides fell off.  I'm not going to argue it with him.  He only fell out of bed once that night (it's on the floor, we'll add the frame in a couple of years so short fall) and didn't have a problem with sleeping in his broken bed.  The one problem I found was that we have LOTS of girl bedding but only one flat sheet with a boy theme (Superman) so I feel a bit guilty that his fitted sheet has blue flowers on it right now.  I'll see what I can do about that...

Photo Friday - In-Laws

Thursday Thoughts - Family

A second cousin of my husband found me on the internet and we have been exchanging family history and family currently information.  I had to try to explain some of the issues with my husband's family deciding not to speak to each other for a couple of decades and then carrying out that plan.  I recently met one of Jared's brothers on facebook (first time I had ever made contact of any kind with him and I've been married to Jared for more than a decade).  Jared has one sister I still have yet to meet or talk to as she has nothing to do with the family.  So anyway, this cousin asked if I knew the names of Jared's first cousins (his father's only brother's children).  Nope, no clue.  Jared doesn't know either.  This is NUTS!  I can name like a hundred of my cousins (yes, I actually have that many, it's a big family) and even the ones I have never really gotten to know I still have names and addresses for.  Jared has ONE uncle and spoke to him the first time a few years ago when I found the uncle on the internet.  At least the internet cousin was understanding, he said his father was the same way with his uncle so maybe it's an inherited trait in their family.  Whatever.

Word of Wednesday - Besom and Espadrille

   Both of my words today have to do with the world of fashion, a world I rarely visit.
   While looking online for pants for my father I came across some that might fit him and read the details of the description which included 'besom pockets'.  Now a besom is a broom so I thought this was possibly some kind of cross between bosom pockets and the behind/seat of the pants.  I looked it up and came to find that a besom is indeed a broom, but a besom pocket is a kind of flat pocket with a seam around the slit.  So you can't keep a broom in your pocket.
   My next dilemma came in the form of some wedge shoes with that rope stuff stuck to the outside of the wedge.  What is the name of the rope stuff?  I am not sure of the answer but I did learn a bit about espadrilles while looking into it.  Espadrilles are flat with a rope sole and canvas type top and have a history of being the shoe of necessity in poor areas.  So these wedges have an espadrille association but I still don't know what that stuff is called; probably just 'rope'.

Tasty Tuesday - Snyder's Pretzels

Snyder's Mini Pretzels are yummy.  They even have a gluten free variety that are pretty good.  We have them in Nursery with the small children during church.  They stay fresh pretty well for a while.  They're good dipped in chocolate or cheese.  I prefer the minis but there are also sticks and other shapes and kinds.

Mommy Monday - Talking Points

   Parents magazine for Feb 2011 has a great page of suggested topics for talking to your spouse on a date.  Before we had kids Jared and I had all kinds of things to talk about on dates.  After we had kids we talked about our kids.
   We went out the other day and I had seen this article so I kept mental track of what topics we hit on; Kylie's homework, Krista's field trip, Andrew biting, April fighting us on bedtime, Jessica teething and other baby issues, oh, and we talked about Jared's work a little.  It's like this most of the time, we can get out but we can't get away.  So I loved the page of topics.  Things like; Who would you want to play you in the movie of your life?  What would you do with 10 million dollars?  Where would you go on your dream vacation?
   These are great topics because there is no wrong answer, they aren't about the kids, and they give us a chance to talk about random things that lead to talking about interesting things.  There were lots of other fun topics, pg 74 of the magazine if you want to check it out yourself.

Photo Friday - Cake I Decorated

Thursday Thoughts - Sorry

   I missed two days, sorry.
   Tuesday night I went down with a migraine and pretty much couldn't manage to stand up let alone sit at the computer for a few minutes to type.  Yesterday was my husband's birthday and it was busy and I didn't take time for my blog.  I don't think I have much of a following (that's fine, I've talked to myself for years now) so I'm only feeling a small amount of guilt.
   So what's Amy thinking about today?  La la la la, la la la la, Amy's world...   Ummmm...
   My mind is pretty much blank because Krista (age 10) is off with the fifth grade girls for the OVERNIGHT science camp in the mountains where it is FREEZING COLD AND SNOWING and I am going to worry constantly until she gets home tomorrow.  That's all I can think about.  Sorry.  This doesn't bode well for her going off to college and whatnot, does it?

Mommy Monday - Breastfeeding

   I've never given my kids formula.
   It takes a super freakin' LOT of work and devotion to achieve this.
   I'm at the first teeth stage with Jessica which is when I always have to take a few days to assure myself that I do indeed want to keep at this even though this small person is now ARMED and dangerous.
   I've been extremely fortunate and am very grateful for my success at breastfeeding.  It works for me and my babies.  I've never had major problems, no thrush outbreaks, my clogged duct issues resolved themselves, and the dreaded engorgement-in-the-middle-of-the-night-so-I-can't-sleep-because-the-baby-has-decided-to-sleep-for-more-than-five-hours-straight-for-once is my worst complaint mostly because that kind of irony just makes me question the general workings of the universe.  I wish breastfeeding wasn't such a controversial issue.  It bothers my husband when I breastfeed (always modestly covered up) in the same room with other people, this makes me sad.  I work too hard at it not to feel supported and appreciated.
   Formula isn't a bad thing, I was a formula fed baby and so was my husband.  I'd say something about how we turned out just fine but we're both a little nuts, however I can't attribute this to our infant nutrition.  I encourage other breastfeeding moms but I don't discourage moms who use formula, I'd like more people in my "club" but I don't feel like we're choosing "teams" if that makes any sense.  Healthy kids are a goal that can be reached by many paths and women who are insensitive about the options don't help people like me who are just looking for a little acceptance and a quiet corner to feed my baby in.
   I have five years of practical experience, if anyone wants some encouragement or advice just let me know.

Photo Friday - April's Ballet Class

Thursday Thoughts - Princesses

I read an article in Parents Magazine about how the whole princess thing has gotten out of hand.  Too many little girls are being sold the whole princess package and being taught that they are supposed to be all about the accessories.  I could see the point of the author.  I have met more than one parent with spoiled little kids who believe they "deserve" everything and are their parents little prince or princess.  That sense of entitlement ruins people.  Work and earning what you get are such important concepts in life, even small children can learn to earn things by doing small chores.  I let my kids have a few princess toys, I want them to be able to imagine a happy ending, but I also talk to them about right and wrong and give them plenty of opportunities to help around the house.  Good values come in a lot more handy than glass slippers.  I don't buy the whole anti-womens-lib aspect of princesses, most of us have kissed a frog and turned into a real girl by the time we're big enough to be getting liberated and whatnot so I'm going to let my girls play princess while they can.

Word of Wednesday - Syncline, Anticline, Scarp

    Yesterday I spent an hour helping my fifth grader do some worksheets on mountain formation.  There were a couple of words we had to look up.   Apparently I've forgotten a lot of information since fifth grade.
     Synclines and anticlines are the downs and ups of folded mountain formations (think wrinkles in a tablecloth).  Here is a diagram showing syncline and anticline.
    Scarps are the rock faces/cliffs produced when an earthquake cracks the ground leaving one side higher than the other.  Steep mountain faces created by movement of the earths crust are scarps.  Fault block mountains have scarps.  Fold mountains do not.  Dome mountains are made by magma pushing up a "pimple" of earth then draining away without blowing up.  Volcanoes are dome mountains with a more self-destructive bent.
     My spell-check does not know the word syncline but I do, this makes me feel rather superior.

Tasty Tuesday - Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Toll House Butterscotch Chip Cookies  -  Prep Time: 15 mins  Total Time: 35 mins
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 cups butterscotch chips

Directions:
1 Mix together the flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl, set aside.
2 Cream the sugars and butter together, add the vanilla.
3 Add the eggs one at a time.
4 Slowly add the flour mixture.
5 When completely mixed, add the butterscotch chips.
6 Drop by the spoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
7 Bake 8-10 minutes at 375F degrees.

Found this recipe at:
http://www.food.com/recipe/toll-house-butterscotch-chip-cookies-16110#ixzz1Cki4vtHY
 
I bought butterscotch chips to try and stay away from chocolate as it seems to upset Jessica's stomach when she drinks "chocolate milk".  Decided to make cookies.  Found this recipe.  It worked pretty well.  Keep an eye on them towards the end of the cooking as they get really crunchy if they get overdone.