I haven't been able to write lately because of the crazy pace of my life. It seems so fast paced, but when the first week is behind me, I hope it will be better. I haven't been doing that great on only eating a vegetarian diet because it takes more planning ahead than I have time at this point in the year. I do eat less meat than I used to, so I think cutting back is better than nothing.
The twins' first day went good. On the second day, Bear was staying with MaJe and Papa J with strep throat while I took all the rest to school. He was feeling fine except for a sore throat, so he and Lou Lou ended up feeling like his sickness was wonderful since he was able to spend the night with grandparents while his twin went to school.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Healthy Hot Dog Night
Last night, we ate hot dogs - healthy style. Actually, everyone but me ate beef hot dogs and I ate protein dogs (or whatever they were called). I can't remember the exact name of them. Anyway, they were vegetarian. We also had vegetarian baked beans, Annie's mac and cheese (Annie's is a name brand of more natural foods and sometimes organic foods), organic chili, organic ketchup, whole wheat buns, and ice water. The only thing we ate that wasn't "healthy" per se was mustard.
I had never tried vegetarian hot dogs before, but of course I kind of expected the worst, so I loaded up my hot dog with lots of ketchup. It was a little more chewy than I was used to, but I had forgotten about it by the fourth bite.
Eating vegetarian is challenging, and it makes the regular "meat" things I used to eat seem so much more delicious since I'm not having them. I eat a lot more macaroni and cheese. It seems that I'm cooking up one Annie's box everyday. I hope when school starts back, I can dig into my recipe books and find some good stuff to cook up.
Last Saturday, we had Birdie's 1 year old birthday party. We had it in the morning so we could have breakfast food. She dove into her cupcake with vanilla icing. I considered making her a more healthy birthday cake, but ran out of time and energy before I could follow through with that idea. For her birthday, she got cloth diapers for home, disposable diapers for daycare, cute clothes, a sweet baby doll named Ika, and a huge poster sized picture of her at one of Bear's ballgames.
I saved the best news of all for last...My mother defrosted her deep freezer the other day. She discovered some MaMa original apple jacks. These were one of my very favorite things that MaMa used to fix. They were not dated, and my mother said she didn't know how old they were, so they were "Eat at Your Own Risk". Because I so love to live on the dangerous side (haha), I ate one the other time, warm from the microwave. As you can see (or read), I'm still alive and kicking today. A little taste of MaMa's sugar was worth the wait!
I had never tried vegetarian hot dogs before, but of course I kind of expected the worst, so I loaded up my hot dog with lots of ketchup. It was a little more chewy than I was used to, but I had forgotten about it by the fourth bite.
Eating vegetarian is challenging, and it makes the regular "meat" things I used to eat seem so much more delicious since I'm not having them. I eat a lot more macaroni and cheese. It seems that I'm cooking up one Annie's box everyday. I hope when school starts back, I can dig into my recipe books and find some good stuff to cook up.
Last Saturday, we had Birdie's 1 year old birthday party. We had it in the morning so we could have breakfast food. She dove into her cupcake with vanilla icing. I considered making her a more healthy birthday cake, but ran out of time and energy before I could follow through with that idea. For her birthday, she got cloth diapers for home, disposable diapers for daycare, cute clothes, a sweet baby doll named Ika, and a huge poster sized picture of her at one of Bear's ballgames.
I saved the best news of all for last...My mother defrosted her deep freezer the other day. She discovered some MaMa original apple jacks. These were one of my very favorite things that MaMa used to fix. They were not dated, and my mother said she didn't know how old they were, so they were "Eat at Your Own Risk". Because I so love to live on the dangerous side (haha), I ate one the other time, warm from the microwave. As you can see (or read), I'm still alive and kicking today. A little taste of MaMa's sugar was worth the wait!
PSI - Poopy Scene Investigation
For an entire week, I was without the twins and Jimmy. They were in Florida visiting Jimmy's sister, and although it did seem calmer dealing with only two children, I missed them from almost the moment they left. I didn't sleep well while they were gone, and by this past Sunday, my overtiredness took over. Everyone was taking a nap, except Bear. I just asked the twins to have a little quiet time in their rooms, and Lou Lou fell asleep but not Bear. Anyway, I woke up as Bug came down the stairs. She climbed in my lap and snuggled up for a few minutes.
Suddenly, I noticed a brown stain all over both her legs. I immediately asked her if she had pooped in her pants and she said yes, but that she had changed underwear and tried to clean it up herself. Although I was so proud of her for being so independent (which is so characteristic of both her and me), I was dismayed to see the damage. Walking up the stairs, into the bathroom, down the hall, and into her room was like trying to piece together a puzzle to determine exactly what happened. There will small brown pieces of evidence throughout her bedroom and the hall. There were two pairs of "yuck" underwear in the bathroom. In her independence, she didn't realize that she had made the mess worse, way worse.
I called for Jimmy to awaken from his afternoon slumber and deal with the poopy carpet while I dealt with the poopy child. It took him a lot longer than it took me, but cleaning is his niche and it's always going to take him longer because when he's done, the carpet is like better than new.
Suddenly, I noticed a brown stain all over both her legs. I immediately asked her if she had pooped in her pants and she said yes, but that she had changed underwear and tried to clean it up herself. Although I was so proud of her for being so independent (which is so characteristic of both her and me), I was dismayed to see the damage. Walking up the stairs, into the bathroom, down the hall, and into her room was like trying to piece together a puzzle to determine exactly what happened. There will small brown pieces of evidence throughout her bedroom and the hall. There were two pairs of "yuck" underwear in the bathroom. In her independence, she didn't realize that she had made the mess worse, way worse.
I called for Jimmy to awaken from his afternoon slumber and deal with the poopy carpet while I dealt with the poopy child. It took him a lot longer than it took me, but cleaning is his niche and it's always going to take him longer because when he's done, the carpet is like better than new.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Birdie Can't Talk
I've enjoyed spending a little more one-on-one time with Bug and Birdie, although I'm anxious for the other half of our family to return. This morning, Bug said, "Mama, let's go to Florida and see Daddy.":)
Birdie has really come out of her shell in the last two days. She is typically the most laidback, non-crying baby in the world. In any upsetting situation, she easily calms herself with her thumb and belly button. Last night at Target, I had a box of mac and cheese. Birdie kept sticking it in her mouth (no big surprise there) and knawing at the cardboard. When I told her to stop, she screamed out loud and for awhile, a lot longer than her typical 2-3 second cries.
Tonight she got upset. I guess she was tired and I had given her a plate of a few carrots, mistakenly thinking that she was hungry. She flung her plate onto the floor, causing small carrot parts to fly everywhere. I looked at her in the face and in a serious voice said, "That's not what we do. Don't throw your plate on the floor anymore." Out comes a loud wail that continued even after I had picked her up and gone up a few stairs. It's fun to see her personality come out a bit. We'll see if she (like Bug) is extra-sensitive to being corrected or if it just makes her mad.
Later on we were reading a book. Birdie was sitting in my lap, and Bug was standing beside my chair. I pointed to the ball in the picture and said to Birdie, "See the ball? Say ball." Without a moment's hesitation, Bug grabbed my arm and said, "Mama, Birdie can't talk. She only says Mama and Dada!". Bug said this in such a "Let me fill you in" kind of way, as if I wasn't aware of Birdie's progress and development. In Bug's mind, why am I wasting my time asking Birdie to say something that she clearly can't say at this point? This was the sweetest thing to me.
Bug is the lovingest little two year old lately. All through the day, she'll say, "I love you, Mama." Sometimes she'll say "I love you so much" or "I love you so sweet" or "I love you so tight" and every once in awhile, she'll throw in a deep voice "baby" at the end of her sentence. This time together with both baby girls makes going back to school a lot tougher, so I guess it's best not to think about it right now. I can get weepy at night sometimes, so I better go to bed rather than dreading the start of my 15th school year.
Birdie has really come out of her shell in the last two days. She is typically the most laidback, non-crying baby in the world. In any upsetting situation, she easily calms herself with her thumb and belly button. Last night at Target, I had a box of mac and cheese. Birdie kept sticking it in her mouth (no big surprise there) and knawing at the cardboard. When I told her to stop, she screamed out loud and for awhile, a lot longer than her typical 2-3 second cries.
Tonight she got upset. I guess she was tired and I had given her a plate of a few carrots, mistakenly thinking that she was hungry. She flung her plate onto the floor, causing small carrot parts to fly everywhere. I looked at her in the face and in a serious voice said, "That's not what we do. Don't throw your plate on the floor anymore." Out comes a loud wail that continued even after I had picked her up and gone up a few stairs. It's fun to see her personality come out a bit. We'll see if she (like Bug) is extra-sensitive to being corrected or if it just makes her mad.
Later on we were reading a book. Birdie was sitting in my lap, and Bug was standing beside my chair. I pointed to the ball in the picture and said to Birdie, "See the ball? Say ball." Without a moment's hesitation, Bug grabbed my arm and said, "Mama, Birdie can't talk. She only says Mama and Dada!". Bug said this in such a "Let me fill you in" kind of way, as if I wasn't aware of Birdie's progress and development. In Bug's mind, why am I wasting my time asking Birdie to say something that she clearly can't say at this point? This was the sweetest thing to me.
Bug is the lovingest little two year old lately. All through the day, she'll say, "I love you, Mama." Sometimes she'll say "I love you so much" or "I love you so sweet" or "I love you so tight" and every once in awhile, she'll throw in a deep voice "baby" at the end of her sentence. This time together with both baby girls makes going back to school a lot tougher, so I guess it's best not to think about it right now. I can get weepy at night sometimes, so I better go to bed rather than dreading the start of my 15th school year.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Prayer Meeting Dress Online
Here's a picture of a true MaMa Zip and Dash. MaMa also called it a prayer meeting dress. The dresses I bought have buttons rather than a zipper which makes them look a little classier. The dress in this picture looks JUST like MaMa. I googled Zip and Dash to get this picture. These dresses cost about $20.00 but all the different prints that this dress comes in seem a little Grandma-ish and not me. I'll have to keep looking!
A New Day
So the twins and Jimmy are STILL in Florida with Mama C visiting TT. I'm eager for their return, but want to make the most of my time with only two children. My workload per day is much easier simply because there are only two children. No matter which two kids are away, the two that are left are inevitably going to be easier to deal with because they have more of my attention.
This past weekend we visited at MaJe's and Papa J's house. On Saturday I went yardsaling with my aunt. It was a great day to yardsale. I found another Zip and Dash dress which I fell in love with. It was white with a black floral print which looked similar to a toile print. The cut of the dress, especially the sleeves, look like what Alice, Flo, and Vera wore working at Mel's Diner. I found a few other clothes, two dresses for Lou Lou, binoculars for Bear, and two upholstered chairs (one for the living room, one for my bedroom). One of the chairs has a cream floral print and the other one is a bit bigger with a soft solid khaki look. The chairs are still in my mama's house because I couldn't fit both the chairs and the children, and I chose the children:). I also bought 4 pairs of shoes for $1.00. It was a great day to yardsale!
On Friday night, we visited with my aunt and uncle and their grown children. My aunt was showing Bug all of her outdoor statues. She had a little boy, a little girl, a saint (old man), and several rabbits. Recently, Bug is very into assigning roles to people. For example, when we read a book, she points out which character she is, which character I am, etc. When she came back to me after a tour of the yard statues, she told me, "Bear is the little boy. I am the little girl. That man right there is my daddy." She paused for a few seconds, and then said, "Mama, I don't know where you are. You'll have to be the bunny rabbits!"
My time off is growing shorter and shorter. I have so many more things I want to do. I'm going to try to at least knock something off my list each day.
Today I'm going to try to eat only a vegetarian diet. I've thought about this for more than a year now. I've sort of had this in the back of my mind, floating through each day considering it as a "someday soon" happening. If I don't decide to commit to it, even if only for one day, then it's not going to happen. However, today I'm visiting a friend of mine that I taught with in Johnston County. She's fixing lunch, so if she fixes something special for me, I don't want to be rude and not eat it. She of course is unaware of my "this is the day" decision. We'll see how it goes!
Last night I looked online for more Zip and Dash style dresses as well as intro. to vegetarian websites. Unfortunately, many of the recipes I found were things that sounded very unappealing. Anything Mexican is less than inviting to my tastebuds. For today, I'm looking forward to vegetables, pasta, and peanut butter toast. I've NEVER been sick of peanut butter, so this should work for awhile.
This past weekend we visited at MaJe's and Papa J's house. On Saturday I went yardsaling with my aunt. It was a great day to yardsale. I found another Zip and Dash dress which I fell in love with. It was white with a black floral print which looked similar to a toile print. The cut of the dress, especially the sleeves, look like what Alice, Flo, and Vera wore working at Mel's Diner. I found a few other clothes, two dresses for Lou Lou, binoculars for Bear, and two upholstered chairs (one for the living room, one for my bedroom). One of the chairs has a cream floral print and the other one is a bit bigger with a soft solid khaki look. The chairs are still in my mama's house because I couldn't fit both the chairs and the children, and I chose the children:). I also bought 4 pairs of shoes for $1.00. It was a great day to yardsale!
On Friday night, we visited with my aunt and uncle and their grown children. My aunt was showing Bug all of her outdoor statues. She had a little boy, a little girl, a saint (old man), and several rabbits. Recently, Bug is very into assigning roles to people. For example, when we read a book, she points out which character she is, which character I am, etc. When she came back to me after a tour of the yard statues, she told me, "Bear is the little boy. I am the little girl. That man right there is my daddy." She paused for a few seconds, and then said, "Mama, I don't know where you are. You'll have to be the bunny rabbits!"
My time off is growing shorter and shorter. I have so many more things I want to do. I'm going to try to at least knock something off my list each day.
Today I'm going to try to eat only a vegetarian diet. I've thought about this for more than a year now. I've sort of had this in the back of my mind, floating through each day considering it as a "someday soon" happening. If I don't decide to commit to it, even if only for one day, then it's not going to happen. However, today I'm visiting a friend of mine that I taught with in Johnston County. She's fixing lunch, so if she fixes something special for me, I don't want to be rude and not eat it. She of course is unaware of my "this is the day" decision. We'll see how it goes!
Last night I looked online for more Zip and Dash style dresses as well as intro. to vegetarian websites. Unfortunately, many of the recipes I found were things that sounded very unappealing. Anything Mexican is less than inviting to my tastebuds. For today, I'm looking forward to vegetables, pasta, and peanut butter toast. I've NEVER been sick of peanut butter, so this should work for awhile.
Friday, August 1, 2008
The Zip and Dash is Back!
All four kids plus me went to the beach this past week to visit with family. YaYa's crowd and my crowd stayed with one of my cousins in her beach house. Another set of cousins stayed at a beach house nearby. We had a pretty good time. Jimmy was unable to go because of teaching summer school. It would have been easier and more enjoyable if he had been there. Having the option to split up the kids and responsibilities is always nice. I had fun staying up late and laughing and talking with YaYa. The children loved the beach, and it was Bug's first time there. She became more and more comfortable around the water the longer we stayed, which is very typical for her with most new experiences. Bear loved spending time with some boy cousins, Parker and Dema. He stayed with them, spending the night and everything, most of the time. I was so glad that he was able to do this, and our cousins were so welcoming and willing to take him in for long periods of time. Next time we do this, I hope that Jimmy will be able to go so that I can have some more grownup talk and catch up time.
Now I'm at MaJe and Papa J's house with the baby girls. Jimmy left yesterday with his mom (Mama C) and the twins to go to Florida to visit his sister, TT. I miss having all my children (and my husband) here, but I'm trying to relax and enjoy this little break.
Birdie, MaJe, and I went shopping today while Bug and Papa J took a nap. As we shopped, I came upon a dress. I held it up for MaJe to see and said, "Look! It's a high-dollar Zip and Dash!" I tried it on just for fun, but immediately fell completely in love with it. I'm so excited, just typing these words in, that I want to stop typing and run to look at it. I wasn't sure about purchasing it because I already had the mindset that this dress was a Zip and Dash style, a dress that my grandmother would have cooked in as well as worn to Wednesday night prayer meeting. I loved the style and color and feel of the dress, but I just had MaMa on my mind, and didn't want to spend money on a dress that I wouldn't wear out of the house. While I had it on in the dressing room, all MaJe and I could do was laugh.
For those who didn't get to see MaMa in a Zip and Dash, it is a dress that goes just a little past the knee. It has buttons from about your navel to just about shoulder-level. A Zip and Dash typically has some kind of thin belt that goes through small hoops around the waist. It's usually made out of cotton, sometimes stripes or plaid.
I couldn't decide whether to get it or not. I decided that I would really regret it if I didn't get it, even if I did only wear it around the house. I bought it and MaJe and I laughed about it all the way home. When we got home, I tried it on for Papa J and he said he liked it. When he asked me why I had considered not getting it, I asked him if it reminded him of MaMa. He said, "Well, I was going to say that it looks like a prayer meeting dress, but I didn't want to hurt your feelings." I drove down to show my aunt (Yard Sale Guru), and she said it looked very retro and she would definitely wear it to teach school in. Now I'm completely in love with it and on the look-out for more dresses in this style.
Now I'm at MaJe and Papa J's house with the baby girls. Jimmy left yesterday with his mom (Mama C) and the twins to go to Florida to visit his sister, TT. I miss having all my children (and my husband) here, but I'm trying to relax and enjoy this little break.
Birdie, MaJe, and I went shopping today while Bug and Papa J took a nap. As we shopped, I came upon a dress. I held it up for MaJe to see and said, "Look! It's a high-dollar Zip and Dash!" I tried it on just for fun, but immediately fell completely in love with it. I'm so excited, just typing these words in, that I want to stop typing and run to look at it. I wasn't sure about purchasing it because I already had the mindset that this dress was a Zip and Dash style, a dress that my grandmother would have cooked in as well as worn to Wednesday night prayer meeting. I loved the style and color and feel of the dress, but I just had MaMa on my mind, and didn't want to spend money on a dress that I wouldn't wear out of the house. While I had it on in the dressing room, all MaJe and I could do was laugh.
For those who didn't get to see MaMa in a Zip and Dash, it is a dress that goes just a little past the knee. It has buttons from about your navel to just about shoulder-level. A Zip and Dash typically has some kind of thin belt that goes through small hoops around the waist. It's usually made out of cotton, sometimes stripes or plaid.
I couldn't decide whether to get it or not. I decided that I would really regret it if I didn't get it, even if I did only wear it around the house. I bought it and MaJe and I laughed about it all the way home. When we got home, I tried it on for Papa J and he said he liked it. When he asked me why I had considered not getting it, I asked him if it reminded him of MaMa. He said, "Well, I was going to say that it looks like a prayer meeting dress, but I didn't want to hurt your feelings." I drove down to show my aunt (Yard Sale Guru), and she said it looked very retro and she would definitely wear it to teach school in. Now I'm completely in love with it and on the look-out for more dresses in this style.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)