Raising a Toddler is NOT for the Faint of Heart....

A few weeks ago, I took Austin to Story Time at the Library. It was our first time. It happens on Thursday mornings from 9:00 - 10:00, so usually I am at work. But, because we are FINALLY completing our kitchen, Todd needed to work that day on it, and I happily played hookey from work.

I got Austin all ready, making a big deal as I told him where we were going, and hopped in the car for the short drive. Once there, I walked in and the room was pretty empty. Only two other moms with their precious babies. Austin wanted to walk around the room and check stuff out, so I pretty much watched him and chatted with the other ladies. The room began to fill up quickly, and it was definitely time to find a spot on the rug. Austin didn't really want to, but it was time. So, as any good mom would do, I gathered him up and sat him on my lap.
He began wiggling.
The librarian welcomed everyone.
My son started squirming.
She began the story.
He started arching his back.
I held him down and told him, "Look at the dinosours, Austin"
Yeah, right.
I was as persistent as he was. I'd remember my girlfriend, the preschool teacher, saying that you have to be stronger than your child.
He would settle down, then start to try and get up.
This went on throughout the story time.

Finally, it was time for the parachute. This is hands down Austin's favorite game. A huge nylon parachute laid out in a gigantic circle. Parents hold the ends and lift and lower it over the children. Usually songs are sung as this is going on. Well, Austin saw the parachute and ran and sat on top of it. After all, this is what he does every week at his trails and tails class at the Nature Center.

How were we to know that you are never suppose to walk or sit on it??

Everyone looked in our direction as I scooped up my excited boy and explained that he needed to go under the parachute HERE. Once it began to lift, Austin got so excited he actually began squeezing the backs of other kids. They began to cry. Holy Mama. I scooped him up again, and I took him out of parachute time. I tried to explain firmly, yet lovingly, NO HANDS! When I felt adequate time out had sufficed, I let him go back. He tore across the rug, knocking over a few kids as other moms quickly began snatching up their young ones before mine made contact. It really was just a problem for him maintaining his balance. He didn't mean to create a human pinball machine under the parachute.

The games were last, but by then, I'd had so many looks that I took Austin outside to the playground where he jumped, played and frolicked to his heart's content.

The good news. This week at Story Time and Tails and Trails, Austin sat perfectly still listening to the stories and songs. He only arched his back once, but I really think he was stretching. God is good, and so is each passing day :)

The Cow is Coming

Due to our economic state of affairs, I am racking my brain for anyway to get free money. Is there such a thing? My daughter told me last night that she goes to stumbleupon.com and she found a jewelry site that gives away jewelry for free - all you have to do is pay the shipping. She said it was for some "worthy" cause.
My sister emailed me a website halfoff.com or at least something like it, and she constantly sends me coupons for all sorts of stuff. So I guess the answer is "YES!", in our current state of economic upheaval, there are still some deals out there.

At our school, I thought it would be nice to try and help out with the financial crunch. We are having a Skate Depot night on March 18th, so I called the local Chick Fil A and asked them if we could get a percentage of sales driven by our school population. And, they were happy to oblige. All you need to do is (1) dine in and (2) bring the flyer that I will be creating. Simple enough. We'll get 15% of the sales totals from the flyers brought in.

I've even got the cow coming! He will stand below our grand marque (which of course will advertise the event)at school and draw lots of stares from confused parents. Hopefully, our student council members will be eagerly handing out more flyers to help make our "dine in only" event a success!

We are also doing "Box Tops for Education". Another great way to earn money. Each box top is worth 10 cents. If you go to their website, you can even get more coupons for the General Mills items needed to acquire the box tops in the first place. They have LOADS of products, and you can check out their website for their product list and coupons available.

Try these nifty ideas at your local school.. Anything to help in this current time of need :)

Snack Sized

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to watch 2 Food TV shows. Oh, how I remember the days that I would spend 6 hours in front of the TV catching up on all kinds of recipes and techniques. That time has gone.

But, one of the shows I saw, Robin to the Rescue, had a great idea. This is the same Robin that does the Quick Fix meals. She was helping a man with his portions and food choices. He had gained a lot of weight eating in his car and frequenting fast food places.

One positive thing about this recession, I no longer eat much fast food! I have actually lost a little weight, to boot! Anyway, back to the show. She took him to the grocery store and loaded him up on nuts, dried fruit(apricots), whole wheat crackers, and beef jerky. When they got home, they divided up the goods into snack size ziplocks and tucked them away on "his" shelf in the cupboard.

She checked his progress a month later, and lo and behold, he had lost 10 pounds. It was really cute because he was excited to show her that his wife had turned him on to the "mixed" package of dried fruits! He had continued with his snack size portions and his "good" food choices.

Of course, I went out to a new grocery store here in our town called Sprouts. It is similar to Trader Joes, but has rows and rows of bins filled with trail mixes, nuts, dried fruits, oats, whole wheat, and on and on and on. I filled bags with chocolate covered cranberries, trail mixes, walnuts, BBQ'd corn nuts, veggie chips, etc.... And when I got home, I put a little of whatever in each bag. I showed the girls and Todd, and lo and behold, everyone is loving it!

It just feels good to eat healthy, smaller sizes, and save a bit of money. I'm looking forward to my next trip back. While I was there, I also got lots of great cheeses, produce and yummy frozen foods which I usually never make. If you have a Sprouts in your area, I highly encourage you to try it out, otherwise use your local grocery store and have at it! Whatever the case, enjoy!

Hello, Again!

I think this should be the name of my blog. And to be quite honest, does anyone really care? On the off chance someone does, I'll give a brief update since falling off the end of the earth.

First of all, everyone in my house is still eating. I know the menu has been the same for months, but I assure you - there has been variety. I am going to try and recommit to the whole menu planning thing. Lately, life has been hectic and I cook whatever my husband has taken out of the freezer in the morning. We have had some delicious meals, so I will post them in the next couple of days.

Secondly, I think we might get kitchen counters, a sink, garbage disposal, and install our beautiful new dishwasher that has been living in a box in the garage for I can't remember how long now. Yes, exciting times around here.


Austin is so much fun now. Todd has been working "lightly" lately with the economy in the toilet, so he has been on childcare for a month now. Sadly, Carmen is no longer with us. I truly believe we had a communication breakdown in which English and Spanish could not save. We hope the best for her, and who knows, maybe she'll be back sometime. As for now, Todd is taking Austin to the Nature Center every Friday for his "Tails and Trails" class. Talk about cute. They're starting "Story Time" at the library tomorrow, and I sure wish it was me going instead. They are bonding and Todd is in heaven with his little boy, so I guess it is all good.

Work has been challenging, fun, exhausting, marvelous, and time consuming. But, I love my school site and the people I work with. The students are great, and I'm still saying this in February. I started a Valet Drop off program that allows moms and dads to sit in their car with their hot coffee while a student opens the door welcoming them and assisting their child onto the sidewalk. They drive off, the child goes to class, and all is well.

The worst part about the economy is that I've had to give up my weekly shiatsu treatments. This is a deep muscle massage. Has anyone in cyber space ruined their shoulders due to picking up a 28 pound child over and over and over again?? It is painful. I'm on Advil, Biofreeze, and self inflicted massage treatments. I know. Sad.

Well, American Idol is on in a few minutes. It's down to the long walk towards the judges to see if they made the cut. Just being invited to the great mansion (who lives there????) would be pretty awesome. It's beautiful in a materialistic sort of way...

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Does anyone have any special things they will be doing, giving, or enjoying - I could use some fresh ideas!! I will be making "One Eyed Omelettes" in the shape of a heart on Saturday morning, along with sausages, potatoes with onions, fruit, and hot coffee.

Enjoy!

The Porch Light

I guess the porch light has many uses: welcomes guests to a bright doorway, lets trick or treaters know there is candy at "that house", and it looks nice when driving by.

My porch light is used for all those reasons. And one more. It lets me know when my girls are home at night.

It seems that every night they have somewhere to go. When did sitting home with me become so boring?? Just because I go to bed around 8:30 doesn't mean I'm not a barrel of laughs until then. They just roll their eyes when I say I'll stay up late and watch a movie with them. They know to well that I'll be asleep snoring on the couch before the 2nd main character is introduced. God love them.

So. They go out. OK.

Kalie, being 20, and being very responsible with coming in at reasonable times, doesn't really have a curfew. Besides, she is stealth when she arrives home. If event planning doesn't work out well for her in the future, I highly recommend she become a spy where stealth activity is necessary. I never hear this child.

When she was younger, I could never wait up for her, but that wasn't necessary.
I have a porch light. And if I woke after what was her curfew, the light would always be off, and she would be tucked safely away in her bed. #1 child. Not to worry about.

Now, Ashley is a different story. Yes, she is incredibly responsible, but that porch light has been left on far too long into the morning hours for my peace of mind. Last night, the porch light needed to be changed because it ran out of juice somewhere after midnight.

Being 18, almost 19, she doesn't understand why she even needs a curfew. I'm having a bit of a hard time letting this one go. She has proven herself to be very respectful, attending college and passing (both are requirements here), and holding a steady job.

Perhaps, I should lighten up a bit. And invest in florescent lighting for the porch. I heard those bulbs last longer.

Christmas is back....

For the past several years, I've decided I wasn't really into Christmas anymore. I loved the birth of Christ, and honoring him was always, daily on my mind. It was the decorating the house, buying tons of gifts, and hearing holiday music to nausium that got to me. So we often headed to Hawaii and ended up surfing on Christmas Day.

But, now we have Austin.

How do you skip Christmas with a toddler in the house?? Yeah, right.

But with the toddler, came the feeling of wanting Christmas again. I am enjoying the holiday music in my car, we've decorated the house (so, so pretty), and I've put a major limit on spending for Christmas.

When Kalie and Ashley were little, I remember watching them tear through packages, only to grab another one to tear through with little to no appreciation for what they just opened. Tearing open packages seemed to be more fun! It was then and there that I decided, "Jesus got 3 gifts at his birth, you two can have the same!" After that, I no longer went bizzerk buying tons of gifts which would be soon forgotten by January 31st.

That rule still applies today. Don't feel sorry for them. They got 3 really, really good gifts. And stockings didn't count. I put a few extra nice gifts in there as well.

This is the Christmas photo I'll be sending out this year. I hope yours is jolly and bright as we worship the One who is the reason for this season!

Hello, Again!

I am not a picture taker. I'm the person that sees the moment and then says, "Shoot, I wish I had my camera." I wish I had my camera this past week. I was up in Big Bear - one of my favorite places on earth!

My family - Mom, Kalie, Ashley, Austin, and myself went up the day after Thanksgiving for a little R & R. Todd stayed home to work. Little did we know....

As we headed out - I drove my mom and Austin, while Ashley drove her car with her sister. As we approached the one mile mark before getting off the freeway and starting the mountain ascent, Austin began heaving and throwing up all over himself, his car seat, and the backseat in general. Of course, being in the fast lane - God miraculously cleared all lanes as I beelined it toward the shoulder. Austin was throwing up so much that he was almost gagging. I jumped out of my seat as cars whizzed by and grabbed my son. I held him over my arm as I raced to get on the other side of the car. He continued to throw up a bit more and looked at me with pleading eyes. He wanted me to hold him close, but honestly, with throw up all over the front of him - I just couldn't see pressing him against me. So I did what any other loving mother would do - I yelled for my mom to get a quick change of clothes while I stripped him down and cleaned him off with my bottled water.

After he was settled, my mom held him and I began scrubbing his car seat on the side of the freeway. Of course, this is when the call came from my girls asking if they'd gone too far as they were now approaching Palm Springs..... I told them to stop at a gas station and ask for directions as I was busy cleaning up Austin's breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past 6 weeks. I hung up to hysterical laughter on the other end. Such compassion.

When I had done my best to make the car clean, we headed toward our destination. Ten minutes into the ascent, Austin threw up all over AGAIN. No problem, been there - done that. We had the drill down. Change Austin, clean car seat, disinfect car, start again. Poor kid. Needless to say, driving 5 miles an hour doesn't make you popular when there aren't many turn outs on the mountain road. But, ask me if I cared - not when my baby's health is in question. I politely smiled and waved back as they pointed their finger toward God and mouthed what I could only take as "I hope your son is feeling better!"

We finally arrived and started to unpack. Every floor to ceiling window looked out on the lake. It was magical. Austin seemed to be ok, but he was still looking a bit blue. We pretty much did what I intended to do for the whole week: nothing. We sat around and talked. But, Austin began the dry heaving and the doctor needed to be called. That 24 hour period was rough, but Saturday and Sunday turned out to be spent throwing rocks in the lake, driving through the village and window shopping.

The plan was for Ashley to drive Austin and my mom home on Sunday, while Kalie and I stayed until Friday. So when Austin was safely asleep, they headed down the mountain. All was well, and they got home with no problems!!!

A few hours later, my stomach started to feel a bit "off". By evening, Kalie was throwing up, and I joined her. Pins and needles racked our bodies and we could not keep anything down. Pure misery. But the lake outside my bedroom window did so much to ease my pain.

By 11:00 PM I called my mom to see how she was doing. Fine. Until we hung up - then she got it. Ashley called to say that she had just thrown up at her boyfriend's house and was heading home. Good Lord, this stuff is potent. We all suffered for 24 hours, and then it seemed to go away.

Tuesday morning, Todd called to tell me he was throwing up. Somehow this virus clung to Ashley and jumped on any unsuspecting fool that walked by. Not only was Todd now clinging to life, but her boyfriend called to say that he was also joining in the fun. I tried to be encouraging when I told them they would feel better in 24 hours. It was that "light at the end of the tunnel" I was hoping would soothe their beings. Really, though, you could care less about the end of the road while pins and needles are attacking your body at the present moment.

Carmen stayed and helped Austin with his bath and bedtime to give Todd a break. I fasted and prayed that she would not also get it. But, of course, she had a small bout with it the next day.

With guilt piling up, Kalie and I decided to leave early and come home. I looked at the beautiful lake with trees surrounding, saw all the duck families contently swimming along, and envied all the boaters out on the glassy water. Until next summer -

It was quite a week -