The Hardin's (half) cross country trip...

Okay, not even half... more like a fourth probably. 1500 miles with a 6 week old, a 2 year old and a preteen is... interesting. Or did I mean to say fun?

We drove up to see Clint's cousins near Lynchburg. Clint quickly realized that this trip would be MUCH different than his last trip there as a bachelor. After only being on the road for about an hour we made our first 40 minute stop! This particular stop was very interesting. The gas station was shady to say the least. There was no changing table, the counter was small and soaking wet and there were no paper towels. I ended up drying the counter with thin, flimsy toilet paper. I layed the boy down and opened his wipes to find two, DRY wipes. I opened the diaper to find that it was A) an enormous poo and B) the poo had leaked out of the diaper on to his back. Two dry wipes, no paper towels, and a counter covered in poo. Not the best way to start our trip.

After two days of traveling we arrived. That night, food poisoning (the result of a gas station hamburger) arrived on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas to me!! I felt much better by Christmas day and we had a great time celebrating. While we were there we toured Jack Daniels which was fun (but stinky, or great if you like the smell of whiskey).

We decided to take a mini family vaca on the way home and give ourselves 3 days to make the return trip. First stop, Nashvilee, where we stopped at Antique Archeology and ended up meeting Mike Wolfe! Hubbies dream come true!

Next stop, Memphis! We had an amazing dinner that night at a place called Amerigos that we ended up to when our first choice had a 25 minute wait, what a happy accident! The next day we toured Graceland. We also stopped in to the Cozy Corner which the guide book called the local favorite. It was in a sketchy part of town. We almost didn't stop but man were we glad we did!!! That was the best darn BBQ served by the friendliest people on Earth! Go there, just not at night ;)

We then traveled to Hot Springs were we spent the night. We journeyed to downtown for some German food and ended up in one scary looking joint in the basement of a building with a bunch of people at a bar staring at us. We quickly retreated to a restaurant upstairs where the lady at the door asked usif we had just called. We said no and she invited us in... despite the "WE ARE CLOSED" sign. WOW, delicious. Another happy accident! The next morning we went to the wax museum, the alligator farm, and a bath house. Later we headed home.

It was a hard trip. It was a long trip. In the end there were tears, fights, and a lot of crying but outweighing that there were smiles and a lot of memories made!

That is all.

I have a new title...

I guess I will start from the beginning. After high school, I went to the Marine Corps, because of a shotty body, my career there was cut short. When I came home, I made a couple of half-hearted attempts at college, had a baby and (eventually) found a decent paying job that didn't require a degree. When the bottom fell out of the mortgage business in 2008, I found myself working as a glorified data entry clerk for about half what I had made at my previous job and I was HATING it! My boss, Gary Mckiddy, could tell I wasn't happy and one day he called me to his office and asked, "What do YOU want to do? What will make you happy?" I said I wanted to graduate from college and he told me if that was what I wanted, then I better do it. He would call me back in a couple of weeks and see what kind of progress I had made towards that goal.

I went to Dallas County Community College and enrolled in courses for fall 2008 that week and now, here I am, two days away from graduation. That day, my boss believed in me, but more than that, he held me accountable. He required updates on grades and progress and he changed my life. He motivated me. I don't want to discount my husband's role in this, because he has pushed me and supported me through these years. He forced me tokeep going when I wanted to give up.And my grandfather has always inspired me. But that day as the day that changed things for me. Just knowing that someone on the outside saw potential in me changed my way of thinking.

This process has taught me three things.

Number one, never stop trying to inspire greatness in others. My boss could have just told me to quit pouting, he could have fired me, but instead he encouraged me even though he didn't have too.

Number two, never give up on your dreams. Over these years I have been supported a great deal, but I have also been discouraged. Not everyone could see the purpose in what I was doing and some people even attempted to discourage me from finishing. I blocked out the negative and focused on the positive, even when there didn't seem to be much positive to focus on.

Number three, accomplishing anything takes a LOT of perseverance!! Since the Fall of 2008 I have gotten married and had two children. I have taken books to both Jamaica and Hawaii. I studied history on my honeymoon, I took finance finals on a lanai! When my son was born 5 weeks early, I hobbled to the hospital waiting room computer to beg for extensions on assignments. When my roof caved in 5 days later, I sat in a bed in a hotel with my newborn working through a week's worth of past due assignments. My kids have sacrificed, my husband has sacrificied. It has been so hard, but I did it.

And now, I have a new title: College Graduate. It may not mean much to everyone, but to me it is the realization of a lifelong dream and ten years of blood, sweat, and TEARS (trust me there have been tears!) I approach my graduation on Friday with a mixture of emotions. I am happy of course that I have accomplished my goal. I am not as happy as I thought I would be to be finished with school. Through all the trials and tribulations, school has given me a purpose. When I stopped working, I leaned on school to make me feel like I was still contributing somehow. Now, with school done and work not really something I am ready to explore with all the little ones, I am what? A mommy, a house wife? I don't mind those titles. I actually love the mommy title, and the wife title (minus the house part ;) ) My new goal, is finding contentment in my new title.

That is all.

PS. YAY I AM GRADUATING!!!

pps please don't take my spelling in this blog as an example of my education, I am typing one handed while feeding a baby!

The Terrible Time Snatcher

I have realized something in the last two weeks. I didn't just give birth to a baby. Somewhere, somehow, when Michael was born, a time snatching monster was introduced in to our life. The first time we noticed it we were heading to a doctor appointment the day after we got out of the hospital. We were all sitting around ready so we decided we were going to leave 15 minutes early so we could stop and grab breakfast. We ended up leaving 5 minutes late because it took THAT long to get everyone to and in the car! How is that real?

Today, I realized it was time for Michael's second PKU test (which I had completely forgotten about). I wanted to get there before lunch with tomorrow being Thanksgiving to make sure someone was there to do the test. I got the boys up at 830 in the morning and we all started getting ready. We didn't arrive at the hospital until 1130 and didn't get home until 2! The test only took about 20 minutes and the drive is about an hour. Where did the rest of that time go?

I think a summary of my night last night could explain some of it. So about 5 I realized it was five and Reghanne had basketball at 6. I jumped up and threw together some spaghetti for when we got home. Then I made Denton a snack because I knew he would be hungry. I fed Michael, changed both boys diapers and by this time we were running late. I rushed everyone to the car but Denton was tired. He laid down in the driveway screaming because Reghanne opened the gate and not me. I wrestled him into his seat and drove down to the gate... I spent 5 minutes trying to get the gate opener to work (the bain of my existence). I am hauling down 1446 and my phone rings, it is Clint, no one is at the pracite facility. About this same time I drive into the dead phone zone AND Michael begins projectile vomitting the entire contents of his stomach because in my rush, I couldn't burp him. I ask Reghanne very calmly (HAHAHA NOT A CHANCE) "do you have practice tonight???" She says "Oh, haha no I forgot, sorry." Michael is heaving, Clint is saying "HUH? What? I can't hear you? No one is here? HELLO HELLO". On a side note, Denton had fallen asleep at this point and went right to bed, without dinner when we got home. So at 130 in the morning he woke up asking for breakfast and raring to go...

Maybe time just flies when you are having fun? Sometimes I am convinced I might lose my mind. Or maybe, that I have already lost it and that is how I got in this position!

Somehow, I don't lose my mind and I can even smile because, even with their antics, my kids are cute and sweet and quite comical.

I decided to go to bed around 930 last night. I got up and changed clothes. Michael was asleep so I decided to change him to get him to wake up and eat. Mid change, he peed all over the blanket and my pajamas. I got a new diaper and put it on him. Then he started eating, then the burping, then he pooped. Another change, another mid change pee, another wet leg. Five diapers later it is 1130 and I am just lying down. Sometimes you just have to laugh not to cry! :)

That is all.

Part Two of the Birth and a Qualifier

Ok, where was I... So we went home around 10, and left the kids at my Mom's house for the night. The nurse at the hospital had declared me 3 cm and told me she figured they would see me back that night. But "people like me" usually like to labor at home as long as possible. (People like me being those looking for natural births). It didn't really matter when I went, the doctor I had fallen in love with as out all week for her boards, so there was NO chance she would be delivering my baby unless I managed to stay pregnant until Friday! (no thanks)

I had contractions all night but they were manageable. I could sleep for about an hour or so at a time. I got up around 1:30 and went back to bed about 4:00. I was in some pain but just relaxing helped me a lot. The contractions were about 15 minutes apart all night, give or take. Over the last few months I have been working in the ECCHO nursery with two great ladies who know TONS about birth and so when I got up on Tuesday, I contacted them and they stayed in close contact with me through out the day helping me along. Jessica suggested I get some breakfast and try to rest as long as possible. Maybe take a bath and see if I could doze a little there. So, I got up and made some toast and made Clint an omelet and then went and hopped in the tub.

I have always heard how great the tub is during labor. My friend Julie described it as a liquid epidural (something like that) just the other day. For me, the tub was AWFUL!!!! I have never experienced "back labor" but I definetely had it this time. The minute I sat in the tub the contractions got stronger. I could barely recover from one when it seemed another was creeping up on me. I stayed in the tub for a little while and got out. Tried to rest and couldn't so Clint and I decided we would go for a walk to see if we could decrease the time between contractions. I put on my butt toning tennis shoes and we headed out. Our driveway is about a mile if you go down and back so I made that my goal.

When we got to the end, my grandfather saw us and came out to say hello and see how things were. As soon as I had started walking, the contractions went to 4 minutes apart. I didn't want him to worry so I chatted with him through two contractions. Clint could tell I was dying, apparently I am not a great actress! :) So, we headed back to the house and when I got in and sat down they went to about 6 minutes apart. I called Tara and she was encouraging me and telling me how I awesome I was doing. Jessica told me that the point of rest was over, I needed to change positions every 3 or 4 contractions to keep them rolling. I laid on one side and then the other while we watched a couple of movies.

I was really starting to get uncomfortable. Both Tara and Jessica thought it as time to go. I was nervous, I didn't want to get there and find out nothing had changed or have them stop again. We decided e would go and when I got up to get my shoes on etc the contractions were rapid fire. I couldn't complete any task without having to breathe through one. I had been marking them on a paper all day and it was to the point where all I could say was "another one" and Clint was writing them down like crazy. He said "Now it's getting serious" and we hopped in the car to head to Mansfield. The drive was interesting. We got behind a TXDOT truck on the back roads to Midlothian and he was not afraid to drive 20 MPH! Clint tried to get around him by going a different direction. Then when we got to the main road it was school dismissal so we were behind every bus, through every school zone and at every red light between our house and the hospital. I thought we would NEVER get there.

We arrived at the same time as Tara. After Monday night, I knew I needed someone there with experience or I would not make it. This junk hurt and it would be all to easy to give in to pain meds. Tara was kind enough to give up time with her family and call in to work to be there for me. They took me to observation and checked me, said I was 7-8 cm and quickly got me in to a Labor and Delivery room. It was right around 3:30.

This is when we apparently started scaring the living hell out of nurses :) They called me a "trial of labor" because I was there for a VBAC. Apparently they have no hope for people like me. They made me get an IV port "just in case" things went South, told me I couldn't have any food, drinks, or even ice chips and then pretty much checked out. Tara snuck me some coconut water (rebel). And I sat down on the weeble wobble ball. The contractions continued but again, were totally manageable. Tara was pushing on my back during them which helped the back labor immensely. I am so cloudy about most of this, I think I might have to get her to write it all down for me!

The contractions were getting more difficult to breathe through and I was really starting to dread them. I just felt like the "finish line" was never going to come. Tara suggested I try something new so I put the back of the bed all the way up and kneeled there with my arms over the back of it. About that time my nurse came in and, with a very quizzical look, said "What are you doing???" I said "Trying something new." and that was about the last thing I said in a normal voice for the next 10 minutes or so.

The next contraction I felt "something". So I told her that and she checked me and said I was an 8. I was NOT HAPPY about that and vaquely remember rolling my eyes as the next contraction came. Suddenly, my Mom walked in the room, I asked her what she was doing there, told her I was in a really bad place, and another contraction came. This time, I was more clear and screamed "I FEEEL SOMETHING DIFFEREEENNTT!!!!!" Then all hell broke loose, pardon my french but that is the only way I can describe it. My nurse told me I needed to turn around and lay down. All I could hear was sneakers on tile running like mad. By the time I managed to turn around there were about 10 people looking at me. She checked me and said I was complete, the bed started moving. I felt like the chick from the exorcist. I wanted to run out of the room.

They told me the doctor was there and was going to get dressed. I asked "WHICH ONE??" because I didn't know what the doctor looked like (which is kind of comical). For the next few minutes I didn't open my eyes. I have NO CLUE what happened except that I was screaming like a maniac, ripping the skin off people's hands, and thinking that if I could get up and run I would... It couldn't have been very long. I have no CLUE how long I was like that... in between contractions I felt like I would just barely regain "consciousness" and it would all go crazy again.

I started to cry and say I didn't want this anymore. Someone said just reach down and touch your baby. I opened my eyes and looked and I could see his head, I felt his warm little noggin' and all the sudden, just knowing it was almost over, I knew I could do it and felt calm. Then he was born at 6:24 and I was amazed. I think at some point I was like "OMG there was a baby in there!" My mom asked, "What is his name?" I looked at him and said "Michael". (We still hadn't completely decided up to that point.)

He got a chance to nurse before they put him in the incubator to clean him up. Shortly after the big kids came and we all got to watch him get his bath while I ate the SWEET steak dinner the hospital brought me! (It had a bottled Coke so I was pretty darn happy!) I felt like a million bucks. The nurses couldn't believe I was walking around and carrying my two year old all over the delivery room. After a bit, we all walked down to the other room, baby Michael in tow!

What a blessing!!! When Denton as born, I barely saw his face before they whisked him away. It was only by God's grace that I even saw him the day he was born. This experience was SO much better and our family is absolutely blessed by this little baby boy.

We are also extremely blessed to have our new friend Tara. With out her, I never would have made it. She was really my rock and I will always remember her and be grateful to her for that! (Clint was ok too! :))

The qualifier. I described the birth as a "horror show" yesterday and I just wanted to kind of clear up what I meant with that...

I was in labor for 48 hours but they were relatively pleasant. The very end of the birth, I believe it is commonly referred to as transition, was very extreme and I was the horror show. I turned into the chick from the exorcist. I was a little scary.

The Birth of Michael Emmett

Michael Emmett is here! Finally, he is here. I feel like we have been waiting forever and also like it all happened so FAST!

I want to post about the birth but I am not 100% sure I can be objective about it right now. It was everything (well mostly) I wanted but when I get to the end, the only words I can come up with are "horror show". So, I'm not sure about telling about it in great detail. So to start, I am just going to write about the beginning.

Saturday night I started having contractions before bed. I had them ALL night and was getting pretty pumped but as soon as I got up Sunday they disappeared. Sunday night, they started up again and I was pretty annoyed. I had already missed a ton of sleep and didn't want to deal with another night like Saturday. The contractions lasted all night but were manageable. When I got up on Monday they didn't go away so I was happy. I tried to stay busy, I cleaned some, walked some, and the contractions stuck with me. In the afternoon I decided to take a nap before taking Reghanne to choir and when I got up the contractions started going crazy. They went from 15 minutes to 3-4 minutes apart so we left the kids with my mom and headed to the hopsital. We were so excited!

I had them ALL the way to the hospital, sat down on the bed ith the monitor and they stopped. Like, almost completely. NONE, ZIP, NADA. The nurse told me about how to determine "real" labor. I wanted to punch her. We came home and went to bed around 10 ish.

Suddenly I am exhausted... I guess reliving it is making me tired :) Plus I did just have a baby... I will write more tomorrow!

Praying for labor...

You are all really supportive. I am hearing from a lot of you everyday, "Have you had that baby yet?" It is nice to know that everyone is thinking of me and BBQ and my family. I just want to ask you to pray for labor. I know God has a perfect plan and that his timing is always right.

It really isn't so much about actually being pregnant for me anymore. I am fairly used to it and pain free. I walked half a mile yesterday and jumped over a four foot barb wire fence, I can still put my shoes on, I'm not disabled. I can still do basically every physical task (not as well, mind you) that other people will allow me to do.

The issue at this point is that they will only allow me to "go" so long. At my appointment yesterday my doc mentioned that she would be comfortable using "some pitocin" on me. If you don't know my history, I have had a c-section, labor inducing medication can be dangerous. I am beginning to wonder if another c-section is in my future. The recovery from which was VERY difficult for me last time and I can only assume would be even more difficult with a clingy two year old. It also would put the nail in the coffin of me every having a regular birth again, and I am not sure I could face a fourth pregnancy knowing full well I am set for a third c-section.

So please say a prayer for us today. Instead of laying in bed cuddling my new baby, I am going to go to co-op and cuddle other people's babies.

That is all.

Oh Heather, Where art thou?

I'm here. I am alive. I am PREGNANT! Which is not news because I have been pregnant forever. I think what I mean to say is that I am still pregnant.

Things have been CAAARRAAAZZZAAAYYY! My mom and I switched houses. So basically, we moved, one week before my due date, with two days notice. Everything is a mess but whatevs! The house is big and there is room for us all which is nice. We have a playroom again! YAYA!

The day we moved Denton seemed fine all day. We had been packing for two days and we had moved a couple of boxes in the van and none of that really bothered him. The movers came and things changed! When they started moving out the furniture it was like watching someone who was watching someone rob them. When they took the couch out he was reaching his hand out crying and screaming "NO, my chouch MY CHOUCH!!!" and then GASP! they picked up DADDY'S CHAIR, and the world pretty much ended. The little booger was traumatized. He even kinda freaked when we took the bean bag to our own car. He does love the new house (we all kinda do!). But he calls it Bubby's house still. Someday maybe he will realize it is his house and we aren't just hanging out!

I'll let you know if BBQ (baby question mark, for those of you who are uniformed) is ever born.

That is all.

A Mommy Thought Process...

9 months pregnant and feelin' it! So far today I have been to Costco, Kroger, the bank, made 18 sausage, egg, and cheese mcmuffins for Clint's breakfast, and started me and D's laundry. Suffice it to say, I am exhausted... So I think, Denton is watching TV, I will rest on the couch.

I lay down. and here is what happens...

1. Realize I am watching Wow, Wow, Wubbzy and see that the remote is across the room on Clint's chair.

2. Get up to get the remote and decide to refill my water bottle in case I get thirsty whilst resting.

3. Walk in to the kitchen and start doing dishes from my earlier cooking session because the sink is too full to get water.

4. Realize I am starving, walk in to the laundry room to get a granola bar (this is where I store the Costco size boxes of stuff)

5. Realize the laundry is ready to go in the dryer. However, the dryer is full of the hubby's clothes so I take those to the bedroom. Denton sees me and wants to have his cup.

6. Bring Denton his cup. Go back to the laundry room and change out my laundry.

7. Lay down on the couch with no water and no remote and realize.... I need to go to the bathroom.

Kind of afraid to get up again, I may never get back to the couch!

That is all.

I'm in LABOR....

oh wait... no I am not. There are a lot of "signs" you are in labor. None of them are pretty and apparently, none of them mean a dang thing! Every time I develop one of these lovely symptoms I google it to see if it means anything and the most common answer is "Yes this means labor is coming but it could be hours, days or even weeks" Um, hello, DUH! I am 37 weeks pregnant... I think it is pretty obvious that I will go into labor sometime in the next few weeks. Thanks!

I did just recently have a baby, but I never made it to 37 weeks with him, so I haven't been this pregnant in 10 years. In addition, despite the fact that this is my third child, I have never "gone into labor" before. So, this is all new to me.

And apparently never going to happen. As Ron Washington would say "That's the way preggo go." Except he would say baseball but that doesn't really fit here.

That is all.

I run funny....

Denton likes running away these days. We go to check the mail he runs, we get out of the car he runs, and tonight we were at the park and he decided to run. He says "I run mama" and takes off. The thing about him running is that if he runs, I have to catch him somehow, which means I will most likely have to run. He likes to run as much as I dislike it. At 35 weeks pregnant, I just don't run well. I am sure the other parents though it was awesome... who doesn't need a laugh here and there.

I am starting to re-think my opposition to baby leashes.

That is all.

What I'm doin' these days!

Well, I was just sitting here thinking in my head that I bet everyone is like "Man, I wonder what Heather is doing?" So I figured I would tell you.

Firstly, I am growing a person. He is pretty much all done cookin' in there, we just have to put on the finishing touches (you know like breathing etc). I have been a paranoid skitz for about 3 weeks because I am afraid he will come early like Denton did. He must be coming soon because I have an unbelievable urge to clean things and that just really isn't my MO. I vacuumed twice in a week long period! TWICE! Obviously something is seriously wrong with me. I am also afraid that my baby will be born and my laundry basket will be filled with dirty underwear. I don't know why I care about this but I am constantly trying to do laundry to insure that this doesn't happen. It's not like Clint would do the laundry and see the dirty underwear or anything, but the though of this scenario completely freaks me out.

I am also cooking lots of foods because I am HUNGRY!! I only have a few weeks left to try to gain a billion pounds and I am working tirelessly to achieve this goal. Today I made Pumpkin French Toast and White Bubble Pizza. Both were good but the pizza was Ah-mazing.... I am considering going back in for more, finishing it and telling Clint I was too tired to cook. This week I also made a no-bake pumpkin cheesecake, from scratch too! Look Mom, no box!

Let's see, I am also busy because I have a 10 year old that is in everything. We have choir once, soccer practice twice, and a game (or two) every week. Three days a week my husband and I exchange the Denton at 6 and don't meet up again until 8. Last weekend I thought I was going to run my feet off of my body. Friday I watched my gma, went to a soccer game, had dinner with extended family. Got up at 8 am for a soccer game on Saturday, came straight home to a Crimewatch block party, left there to a skating party, and drove from there to Music for Mika. I thought I was going to die at the end of the day, but I didn't so there's that and that is pretty awesome.

So anyways, five more weeks to "D" day! Sono in the AM to make sure he still has plenty of water in the pool, can't wait to see his skeleton-y, scary face again!

That is all.

"Brush teeth Mama?" - short and sweet

We were at my grandparent's house yesterday and the babies (Maceyn and Denton) were "watching TV" in their room. They came out and D brought me a toothbrush and a tube of something and said "Brush teeth Mama?", unfortunately, the tube was Desitin.

On a side note, Maceyn had the nasal side of a bottle of nasal spray in her mouth.

Good times!

That is all.

Active Ignoring, my new favorite phrase!

Yesterday I had a parenting revelation. Well, I don't really know what to call it. That is probably somewhat appropriate. For about 6 months now, my son has absolutely refused to do a couple of things. Some of these things are, drink anything other than juice, not have his pacifier in his mouth, and brush his teeth. I know good and well that a child should not drink juice 24 hours a day and that a 2 year old with round teeth should probably give up his paci. It's not rocket science or anything.

Getting him to give up either is just NOT EASY! He is a pretty strong willed child. He knows EXACTLY what he wants at all times and if he doesn't get it he throws a big, fat fit. I don't know when it happened, but at some point we just gave up. We decided it was easier to give in than to fight. (I am not completely irresponsible, I do mix the juice with mostly water).

Long story longer, we had the 2 year checkup yesterday and the doc says he is healthy but his teeth are grody (um duh), he has to drink water, and he needs to ditch the paci before his teeth form a circle. I say "Well, look Dr. B, this isn't really something we have been able to do". She then said something that may very well have changed the course of my life. She said "Have you heard of active ignoring?" Well to start, no I guess I haven't because I thought she was referring to the way in which my children actively ignore me non stop. (You all know what I mean!).

I came home and googled it and tried it and Oh. MY. GOSH! It worked. I mean like WORKED! D hasn't had juice in his cup in a day and the paci is GONE!!! Fits, what fits? We even had a very enjoyable lunch with the doctor that Clint is buying the clinic from.

If you aren't actively ignoring your children, you aren't livin'! The gist is this: when said child begins to throw a fit, tell them the way whatever is is, and then pretend they don't exist. Easy as pie. Last night we didn't want jammies on. I said "We are going to wear them." I put them on and he immediately ripped the shirt half off, I went to the bathroom and got ready for bed and, when I came back, he asked me for help putting the shirt on, calm as can be! This morning he wanted to play outside, I said we have to get dressed and brush teeth. He said NO! I told him in that case we wouldn't be going outside and turned around. He ran and got his shirt and toothbrush. I mean for real. This might be a miracle.

That is all.

I wish he could be 2 forever!

Okay, maybe not FOREVER, but why does this stage of childhood pass by so quickly?? Of course he is a naughty little beast 80% of the time but he is just cute enough to get away with it! It has been so long since I had a little one and I am loving this stage (most of the time). I know people call it the terrible two's, I agree. He is terrible sometimes, but mostly that is just because he is an emotional basket case. The best course of action is to anticipate the meltdown (which is pretty easy, a 2 year old can be somewhat predictable in that almost anything can make him freak out) or just wait out the storm. He can usually forget whatever he was so mad about in less than 30 seconds, but with in a minute at the most (this is either an every 2 year old thing or a trait he inherited directly from his father who has the same ability).

Whoever thought that a person who only speaks in two word sentences could be such an engaging conversationalist? We hang on his every word because he says the funniest things at the most random time. His sentences sound like they are coming from a robot and I just love it "Where... mommy......... go?" Priceless! Today he was pulling his Cookie Monster wagon around the house giving his cup a ride. He would place the cup on the wagon and say "Okay cup, he go" and then he'd start of and say "Come on cookie" in his sweet robot voice.

I look at him and can hardly imagine the day when he will be a gross hairy man. When his pudgy hands and butt will be covered in man hair and his giggles will become guffaws. Someday his hurts won't be cured by a hug and a kiss and all of that makes me a little sad. I don't know how many more kids I can convince my husband to have in an effort to always have one of these little comedians around! This morning he did one of those little sleep smiles they do when they are babies. It has been so long since he has done this, but it reminded me how much I loved that stage too! This gives me a great deal of hope that I will love the next one equally. They grow up so fast is not just a cliche unfortunately!

That is all.

Don't TEXT and DRIVE!!!!

There has been a lot of necessary hype these days about texting and driving. I am not completely innocent of EVER doing this, I will admit it. I have stopped doing it since my grandfather made me look into his eyes and promise him I wouldn't though.

I think we need to go a little farther though. I would like to propose we extend this rule to shopping carts. For the love of all that is holy on this Earth people, do not text while driving a shopping cart!!!! You swerve up and down the aisles like a drunkard and your sudden stops in the middle of an aisle are a hazard. Most importantly however, you have the tendency to RAM your cart into my cart and this I do not appreciate.

Today while shopping at HEB I had such a run in. I was coming out of an aisle and this lady slammed into my cart at full speed, completely oblivious to the fact that I was half way out of the aisle because she was so consumed by her iPhone (IPHONES!!!!! ARGH!!! One of my largest pet peeves, I could totally rabbit hole on my disdain for iPhones right now but I digress). The irony of the fact that my cart was in the shape of a car was not lost on me, but the fact that the collision slammed the cart into my big round belly and nearly threw my 2 year old out, kept me from finding the humor at that moment.

I righted my child in his seat and the lady was like "OMG OMG OMG I am so sorry, I was texting!!!" I am sure another person would have said something like "It's ok" but I said nothing. I just steered by cart around her as she apologized and walked on. My mother told me if I had nothing nice to say, not to say anything at all. I was making every effort not to call a 50 year old woman an idiot, so I gritted my teeth and moved on. I think it would be best for the world if I stay home until I give birth to this baby. I am not sure if not being pregnant would have helped the situation but I'm going to say it would have. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

So, save the children, don't text and drive... shopping carts.

That is all.

Cultural Awareness - Our experience with "modern" ballet

I am graduating this December (I know right!) so this semester I only have three classes, two of which are electives. After 10+ years of going to college, I am going to be honest, I didn't exactly chose electives that would stretch my genius. I just wanted the two easiest possible classes offered at my college (that I hadn't already taken). I ended up in Understanding Dance and Understanding Drama. They are pretty similar, no thinking required, a monkey could pass them, type classes (geez I hope I pass now that I have said that!). For each class I have to attend some live performance and write a freshman level critique.

So, this Saturday Reghanne and I ventured out to the Winspear Opera House in Dallas to take in a ballet. The company we went to see is called Aspen Santa Fe ballet blah blah something repertoire yada yada. Here is a little montage of some of their work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKV4iuWDZ5U&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL1BED6BB8B3CB78FB

(Although this is not what we saw).

As you can probably see from that little snippet, this is not your mama's ballet company. This is not classic. This is not point shoes and tights. I will be honest and say that I have been to a few ballets in my life but I still know next to NOTHING about it, particularly the "modern" kind (guess that is the word for it).

The first dance/movement/whatever was interesting and strange. Reghanne giggled a little, everyone laughed some, which was odd to me considering I always just assumed all ballet was serious stuff. At intermission, Reghanne asked me what it was about, I told her I had no clue, maybe flowers growing or something, maybe fairies. She went in to the second portion with high hopes that she would "get" what they were trying to say. Oh. My. She was quite wrong. This dance was much different than the first. In fact, the first 10 or so minutes were set to COMPLETE AND UTTER SILENCE! Nothing going on in the entire opera house but the uncomfortable coughing and sniffing of people not sure what they were looking at or how to react. The only thing to break the silence was the sound of the dancer's feet stomping and their hands smacking various parts of their bodies, including but not limited to their rear ends. This brings me to the other sound that could be heard.... Reghanne's uncontrollable laughter.

Although, in her defense, I don't think Clint would have behaved any better! :)

That is all.

The Reason Small Children are Adorable

There may be some debate about this, but I am certain that small children are exponentially cuter than large children and/or adults because they are so bad. Level of cuteness must be greater than badness to enable a child to survive their younger years. It is their only defense.

Examples of Denton's lifesaving maneuvers:

I am in the bathroom and hear a huge crash, my first reaction is that I am going to have to hang a kid by his toenails, then I hear the tiniest voice say "Awwww man" (Swiper the fox style) and instead of freaking out, I am laughing.

Denton is "sharing" my bowl of lasagna (on the couch no less) and dropping it all over the place. He tilts his head to the side and makes this very cute face and says "Mmm it good"

For the 100th time Denton is throwing himself off the bed in a game called "I fall". As he crashes to the ground he takes half the covers, a pillow, and various items on the nightstand down with him. He turns over with a big smile on his face and exclaims "I'm OKAY!"

7:00 AM after he was up until 11 last night and I was up in the middle of the night with a headache. D is ripping my covers off saying "I wanna play". He slides off the bed, hands me my glasses and water and walks to the bedroom door "Come on Mama!"

He better be glad he is cute. He better be glad his big, blue eyes melt my heart. He better be glad his smile lights up the room! He better be glad his cute little phrases calm me down! If he didn't have all that going for him, he would be a current Ebay Auction Item. I am certain you can sell babies on there, right?

Birthdays, sports, and other stuff

In an effort to make me feel like I am aging far too quickly, my children continue to have birthdays. This week we had Reghanne's 10th birthday. I have been a parent for a DECADE!!!! It seems like not that long ago, I couldn't even fathom a decade, now I have been responsible for another person for one. Craziness! We celebrated in Hawaii with a trip to a nice (well in theory, it was probably nice in 1950 when it was built) restaurant and the Smith Luau (best on the island). Since we are suckers, we also threw her a little family party at Cici's on Sunday and then took her to breakfast and lunch yesterday, because she wanted too and the general rule is, if it is your birthday you get whatever you want (within reason). Cici's was fun despite the fact that she ended up dumping an entire bowl of spaghetti on top of Denton (no exaggeration, he was covered, somehow his head is the only thing that escaped mostly unscathed) She got a pretty new outfit from us for her birthday so she could go to dinner at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant with her Dad last night. She has wanted to go there since she could ask for ridiculous things and he decided hittin' double digits was a big enough occasion! She had the best time and came back apologizing because apparently Wolfgang Puck cooks better than me, go figure. The monster ordered a $63, 14 oz steak! (Really glad her Dad took her on this little adventure!!) and a $15 sliver of cake. She loved every minute of it though and I am sure it all made it worth while, until they got outside and realized her Dad had a flat tire and he had to change it in his dress clothes in the dark.... ho hum!

Denton's birthday is quickly approaching. Somehow he has managed to turn two in the blink of an eye. He is saying all kinds of things these days but the sentences come out all jerky like a robot. He also thinks that if he grabs my hand and says "come on" I am obligated to go where ever he wants me to go. Which is usually to the kitchen or to bed (he has a very limited number of interests these days). No clue what the party situation will be for him yet, but after our last few restaurant trips where he has run around like a wild animal, it needs to be somewhere he can do more of that....

Fall is here (well almost, I will be happy when the weather catches on to that fact) and that means lots of boring sports that I hate. The other night my television looked like a slot machine of dull... Nascar, football, baseball (which I like), nascar, football, baseball, nascar, football, baseball... I ended up the winner because it landed on baseball for good... really glad I have convinced myself to like at least one of these sports. I loathe nascar and football equally. Both are mind numbing to me and I do not get the appeal of either.

I thought I had other stuff but really, I have my son and my niece hanging with me while Kara and Reghanne do a complete re-organization of her room and they are being a little monstery right now.

That is all.

Trying not to die and gaining weight...

What have I been doing this last week you ask? Well, the name of this blog says it all. Mostly I have been trying not to die and gaining weight at a rapid rate! Apparently I am pregnant with some kind of life sucking rhinoceros or something. In addition to putting on more pounds than are probably necessary, I am constantly fighting with a fetus for enough room to house my vital organs and allow them to function properly.

Just to recap, I went to Hawaii for a long (not long enough) time. I came back and had my glucose test. The doc was like "SOOOO, if you don't hear from us before next Wednesday, then you are good." My phone rings the NEXT day... my head is saying "If I don't answer it until next Wednesday does that mean I'm still good?"

So I answer.

Nurse: "Hey this is so and so with Doc so and so's office"

Me: "um yeahhh?"

Nurse: "Your glucose is fine."

Me: first thought YAY! Second thought, um then why are you calling, the only other test they said they were running that comes to mind is HIV (cue heart palpatations.) "yeaaahhh?"

Nurse: "You are anemic"

Me: "I'll take it!"

Nurse: "What?"

So, I'm not diabetic or HIV positive and I just have to take a little pill every night. Done and done.

Two days later I begin to show signs of what can only be described as some sort of death disease. I am dripping snot willy nilly, sneezing, coughing, and feeling like absolute turd. I call the OB, they don't want me to come in, they prefer I take my disease ridden body to a place not filled with healthy pregnant women. I call my PCP (whom I've never needed before because I'm generally healthy) and they tell me that, despite the fact that they are my assigned doc and the ONLY one I am allowed to see, they are no longer accepting new patients. Um.... okkaayyyy. I call the OB back and they bring me at lunch so I don't infect the masses. I have bronchitis, which I figured. I have battled this many times but not for a long time and it is particularly fun whilst pregnant with baby who loves jamming hard knobby appendages into my rib cage limiting my ability to breathe deeply and cough my lungs up.

As for the second half of the title of this post. I weigh more now than I did when I gave birth to Reghanne and only about 5 lbs less than when I gave birth to D AND I gained 1.5 lbs in a week. For those of you keeping count I am up to 155 now.... (Yeah, I told ya'll, I don't care if you know... I know and that is the worse than me telling anyone else I can think of)

Anyways, I am recovering quickly and getting excited about meeting my new little buddy (mostly because if he is out HERE he will no longer be in there causing permanent damage to my body parts).

PS. Reghanne made the Southwest Children's Chorus. She didn't inherit my voice but somehow ended up with a good one. We are very excited and will have a very busy December (they have 6 performances that month alone!)

That is all.

I'm not a "real" teacher.... - Musings of a homeschool Mom

Blog or rant, you decide. I am not angry really but I am curious. Why am I not considered a "real" teacher? What parent isn't a teacher in some respect? Your baby didn't pop out of the womb walking and talking and eating with a fork. Your children weren't born saying "Yes sir/ma'am" and "No sir/ma'am" or pooping in the potty. I mean, really, we are all teachers in our own right. Even those of us who spend most of our time at work. We spend weekends carting our kids to zoos and telling them the names of animals and evenings showing them the ropes of cooking, etc. We read books to our kids, color with our kids, and along the way, those kids LEARN things from them. So what is a "real" teacher???

Teacher is defined as a person who teaches. Am I less respectable as a teacher because I teach at home? Is it because I don't have a teaching degree? I am not a teacher, as I have been well informed since becoming a homeschooling mom, so I don't know what a REAL teacher does. Here is what I do. If there are real teachers out there, let me know if I qualify.

1. Obsessively research, study, and read about all types of curriculum for all subjects and learning styles in order to choose that which best fits my children.

2. Purchase all required materials for the classes I have chosen for my daughter to take.

3. Provide my student and all other children and members of the family with three meals a day.

4. Plan weekly lessons from the curriculum I have chosen and try to plan projects and field trips around those lessons.

5. Teach those lessons.

6. Grade those lessons.

In addition, I find teaching moments in everyday activities. I care for my other children who are not old enough for school yet. I do my own school work. I manage my household. I plan outside activities with other children so I am not accused of not "socializing" my children. And, best of all, I face constant criticism for my choice to teach my own child.

While I watch all the non-homeschool friends post excited/heartbroken/nervous status messages about sending their kids off to school, I have taken on the 24/7/365 responsibility of teaching my child everything she needs to know morally and educationally to navigate this world. Yes, it is MY CHOICE. I fully understand that, I have mad respect for working parents who send their kids to school, I was one. I have respect for teachers who go everyday and teach unruly little monsters that they don't have to love because they don't share their blood. My gripe here is why am I not a "real" teacher? Where is the respect for me and those like me? Discuss among yourselves.

That is all.

Waking up in Texas...

Good morning party people. I am waking up in Texas for the first time in two weeks. Well, I guess not technically. I did sleep until noon yesterday and I woke up twice to use the bathroom in the middle of the night but you know, officially waking up.

The last 48 hours were a whirlwind!! In some portion of that time I was overlooking breathtaking waterfalls and listening to the sweet sounds of Larry Rivera (he is a billion year old guy that played with Elvis in his Hawaiian movie, the name of which escapes me) on a plush green lawn with almost my entire family while my son danced the cutest hula I have ever seen. I am getting a little teary eyed thinking about it to be honest.

I did really love Hawaii, but I wonder, would it have been the same experience under different circumstances? I was unbelievably blessed to be in Hawaii for two weeks with my mother, grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousin, step dad, and step siblings! That doesn't even count the 5 days we spent with my cousins from Oklahoma who I haven't seen in a century. I can not even find the words to express what that meant to me. My son started off the vacation a little skeptical about my uncle but at the airport on the last day he pointed at him and said "TONY!". I grew up really close to my unc but over the years we have drifted apart so that was something that, sitting on my couch right now and thinking about, actually has me crying. (is this pregnancy or what? Surely I haven't grown a heart.)

Anyways, we had the best time. I really though I would just be sad to be home in Texas but I realized this morning that the hardest part about being home is not waking up with my family around me. I have to go now because I have a math exam to take and I don't feel like I will do well if I can't stop boo hooing.

That is all.

As they say in Hawai'i ALLLLOOHHHAAAA!

What can I possibly say about Hawaii that is not cliche? This place is amazing. I don't even make plans, just sitting here in a chair next to the window, feeling the breeze is enough to make me happy. No doubt the comfortable temperatures help with my enchantment of this place, but it is just an overall feeling of peace and relaxation I feel here.

It may be hard for some of you reading this to believe that I have been living in a house for almost two weeks that doesn't even have any air conditioning! This is something that I would never endeavor anywhere else. From our first day here we have SO enjoyed the happy rain showers that start just as quickly as they end and usually produce the most vibrant rainbow your eye has ever seen. The sights, smells, sounds and people are like no other place I have ever been. It is hard not to instantly feel at home!

We have had some wonderful experiences since we have been here. One of the trips we took was barfragious though! My dear mother, who knows that I can not even drive on a highway loop with out getting sick decided we would all take a trip to Waimea Canyon a few days ago. To say the road was windy would be an understatement. Picture me for about 20 minutes with my hands over my eyes groaning "Please God let this be the end!" and you will know the experience. When we got to the top it was cold and rainy. My mom assured me it would be "worth it" to which I replied "If I see a freakin' unicorn in that thing it won't be worth it!". It was pretty but not something I would ever do again. I asked her why she subjected me to that horror and she said "It's a canyon, I figured you knew about the drive." Yes Mom, I have lived in or around Dallas Texas my entire life, of course I know ALL about CANYONS!! What a dork!

Not every second here has been pleasurable but I will save that for another time, if ever at all. Those of you who know me are free to inquire about my side of the story as I know there are a lot of malicious comments being made. I think those of you who really know me, know me well enough to know that they are lies though and will require no further explanation.

That nastiness aside, my children have been just as amazed as I have by the beauty of Hawaii and I feel like we will be making subsequent trips here in our future. I have enjoyed a scenic round of golf with my husband, wonderful dinners, a fabulous luau with my birthday girl, and so many laughs watching my son explore beaches for the first time. My step sister, daughter, and son's "sand fight" on the beach the other day will be a lasting memory for me. Seeing their brown little bodies splash through the waves laughing and giggling brings a smile to my face and happy tear to my eye just thinking about it. I would not trade this experience for anything and getting to share it with my Mom and grandparents has made it all the more memorable!

That is all.

The Swing Saga (Now with more shoe)

We had an experience today and as we were laughing about it, Clint said "I bet you can blog about that!" and he is right. I can, because it is funny, to me anyway.

So, let's start from the beginning. It all started with a swing. I am a cheap person, um frugal that sounds better. I don't like to pay for NEW stuff, but I am happy to pay less than half for "new to me" stuff. I wanted a swing for little Hudson and while I was browsing the baby resale shop in town I found one. The best part, it didn't need batteries! It could plug in to the wall. Anyone who is a parent knows that you can spend your LIFE SAVINGS on batteries for swings when your little one is small. I was excited. YAY! It was a neat swing, it rocked two ways and had a glider option plus music and all the bells and whistles. I was clicking my Tevaed heels (another story) together over my impressive find. I ran home to see how much I had saved on buying used (one of my favorite activities).

I googled... nothing. HMMM what is this thing called?? I went to the Fisher Price website. Not there. Weird. It looked brand spanky new. I finally found the swing on Amazon and I had saved about $90 buying the swing used but this wasn't the issue. This swing had one star. It might have had -1 if they allowed that on Amazon. The reviews were atrocious! They said things like "My baby weighs 6 lbs and this hardly moves him" and "I used this once and the glider broke" and it went on and on. DOH! Face to palm... plug in swing... reviews. were. right. This thing barely MOVED and, yes, as a matter of fact the glider WAS broken. Called store, "Sorry no refund, all sales final" my response "Well you should sell things that work." (I will no longer buy electronics there either).

On a wing and a prayer I called Fisher Price and long story short, they knew this swing had serious issues and offered me a full refund plus the cost of shipping them back a piece of the swing. HOORAY! They wanted the seat part back which was a bear to take apart and get in a box but I managed.

Fast forward 6 weeks... hope you are still reading because this is where it gets funny. Today we check the mail and there is the check, as promised. YAY! but we also got a box. Husband's standard response, "What did you buy?" my response "I have no clue". The box is from fisher price... strange. So I grab a pair of scissors and pop it open thinking they must have sent me some kind of "We're sorry" present. As we are opening the box we realize, it is a shoe (Hubby - You ordered a shoe from Fisher Price?) then we realized, it was MY shoe! Apparently my sweet little son snuck one of my shoes in to the box after I packed it but before I taped it shut. I can only imagine the look on the face of the person who opened that one up! Luckily they were nice enough to send me the shoe back, it is one of my nice pairs of heels!

That is all.

Tales from Mommyland Part 2... There's a turd in the tub

Warning - the following story is graphic in nature, those with tender tummies should not read further.

It is amazing how a simple word uttered by a (almost) 2 year old can strike fear into the hearts of men...

Bath time. It is a time of peace. It is a time of quiet. It is a time when the baby is confined to the tub and Mommy can spend 15 minutes alone. We had ice cream after dinner tonight and Denton decided to eat it like a puppy dog. Afterwards he looked like a mutt with rabies so we needed a bath. I put him in there with his toys and turned the water sprinkler star on and retired to my crater on the couch to relax. The bathroom is directly off the living room and we can see Denton in the tub so don't call CPS or anything.

I was working away on a Pampered Chef party and I heard it... A small little voice, echoing off the tile walls of the shower... "Poo poo.... poo poo.... poo poo...." Clint and I looked at each other, eyes wide. "Did you hear that? Did he say... poo poo?" We ran to the tub to see what was the matter and there it was, floating right behind him like a tiny turd of doom. I grabbed the turd covered baby and ran to the master bathroom, leaving the toilet water tub to the hubby!!!

This is my first experience with a turd in the tub. I know that is surprising considering I have two children. My sweet, little, precious girl child never pooed in the tub. Denton has tried a couple of times but I have thwarted those attempts. I can say that I didn't love the experience. It was kind of gross, and a little bit funny...

Never a dull moment!

That is all.

Signs that I am getting old...

I'm not saying I am old. I may not even be old. I may just be pregnant!

Here is a story that may or may not prove that I am getting old.

The other night I had the pleasure of celebrating my friend Nicole's 29th birthday, which is just crazy, I mean some one as young as me being friends with a 29 year old! So anyways, she had her party at a, um well, youngish person type restaurant on Oak Lawn. Unlike my regular trips to Ryan's Buffet, mine was surprisingly the ONLY minivan in the parking lot! I was immediately feeling like I "belonged" here. So, I waddled up to the door and inside there were a lot of very pretty people, I honestly don't think there was a single person in the place over 30 years old.

So the party started at 8, which is two hours after my regular dinner time and 1 hour before my bed time. We sit down, at a table, the lighting is so dim I can barely see the person next to me and the music is so loud I can't hear them either. I mean really... why do you play techno music at volume 4 million in a restaurant. Are we eating or dancing on tables? Isn't dinner for conversation?

So after an hour we finally start ordering and about an hour later here is my food! Hooray... it is now 10 o'clock. The fetus inside of me has begun snacking on my kidneys at this point. My water glass has been empty for 20 minutes. I am not nearly as excited about sushi as I was when I got here. I did manage to eat it. I did manage to not go deaf. I did find that the bathroom was more my style. It was quiet and they were playing the kind of music that you generally hear while getting a massage. It was nice to get to relax on my many trips to the restroom.

I got home around midnight. I had heartburn until 5 the next day.

I did love seeing Nicole and celebrating with her, don't get me wrong, but I fear that the hip sushi scene may not be my style anymore.

That is all.

Tales from Mommyland...

Sometimes I wish I was making things up!

On Wednesday I needed to do a little coupon shop at Walgreens and a run to the library for books that were due. I got to Walgreens, of course they were out of the razors I wanted to buy, but the order had just come in. We waited a few minutes while the lady found them in the boxes. Then I browsed a few other things and went to the checkout. Denton was shining a flash light in his eyes the entire time and laughing his tiny, diapered butt off. Reghanne was begging for candy (this was strange because she NEVER does that?). I got to the register with my awesome razor and M&M deal only to find that my wallet was at home, why not?? Denton is freaking because he wants the flashlight but distracts himself by bringing a 2 liter orange soda over to the checkout counter. So we undo it all and head to the car, to find that the door of the van has been standing open the entire 20 minutes we were in the store. AWESOME! Reghanne says to me "It's not like we have anything good in here". I reply "Um, they could steal the CAR" and she said "Um hello they don't have a key!" Argh.

We are just about to pull out and I realize, Denton's paci is in the basket inside the store. So I run back in and the lady says "Maybe you should just take the kids home for a nap and start over".... Wow, helpful. I did get the wallet and come back for my purchases. Yeah almost free razors, I am sure this will come in handy in HAWAII! (sorry)

So today, I am sitting here just doing my thing and Denton is quietly walking around with a little soft baby hair brush "scrubbing" everything (he is obsessed with cleaning things these days) He scrubs Daddy's chair, and his toy ride on train, and the floor, and the coffee table, and both window sills, and then he comes over to scrub my glass side table and I notice that he isn't just "scrubbing", there is definitely something on this brush. So I take it away and he holds up two shiny hands and I say "Denton, what did you do???" and he runs to his room holding his hands up in a baby shrug saying "Do? Do? Do?".... In the room I find an open jar of Vaseline, a now empty jar of Vaseline. And on everything he "scrubbed" a glob of Vaseline. At least that stuff cleans up easy!

That is all.

Cookin' Stuff Tuesday - Crepe - tastic!

I am about to go all french on you so WATCH OUT!!! I have seen crepes made on TV about a billion times. They make crepes on Chopped all the time because it is "simple". I am just going to tell you that it has never seemed simple to me.

So, the other day I was just reading random links that I rabbit hole in to whilst surfing the net to avoid doing my homework and I found a recipe for "Crazy Crepes"... me thinks I may give this a try some day. So I left the link open at the top of my screen (along with about 20 other links, I am notorious for this!)

Well, today after my doctor's appointment (baby no name is doing great btw) and during Denton's nap, I decided to give crepe making a whirl because obviously this is just something you would do on a whim, right?

Here is the recipe for those interested, it is SO simple!

Ingredients

• Crepes
• 1/2 cup fat-free milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoon cooking oil
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg and oil; slowly whisk in flour, beating until well combined.

  2. Coat a 6-inch skilled with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium heat; remove from heat. Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into skillet, tilting skillet to spread batter evenly. Return to heat; brown on one side (1 to 2 minutes) flip and cook a few more seconds.

  
  

  Man I wish I could figure out a way to post pictures. The first crepe was an epic fail. I sprayed way to much olive oil in the pan

  and the pan was really pretty crappy as well. So I switched to a big ole' pan and just didn't spread it to the edges. I made EIGHT batches of this which made around 40 -45 crepes. It took about two hours ( I know right! ) Spooning and tilting and turning and spooning and tilting and flipping. Then I stacked them with wax paper in between and put them in a ziploc bag in the freezer. From what I read, you can just pop a couple out and defrost for a quick dessert, breakfast, or dinner.

  
  

  We did go ahead and eat some. The kids had snacks with cream cheese and pb & j and they were a HIT! Girl kid wanted them for dinner so I filled them with chicken and broccoli and covered them with a lemon alfredo sauce. They were amazing and I am having a hard time not going in there to eat more but I am trying to save some for the hubs.

  
  

  Well, I was busy today so that was all the cookin' I got done!

  ENJOY!

  
  

  That is all.

The Beginnings of a "Frugal Gourmet"

I remember when I was a little kid we didn't have cable (I know right? How did I live??) so on weekends I would watch KERA cooking shows. Yan Can Cook, Julia Child and my favorite, The Frugal Gourmet. These people amazed me with their cooking but the frugal Gourmet was even more so incredible because I did not have the foggiest idea what the world "frugal" meant. I remember looking it up in the dictionary and thinking "This is for me!" I was just a kid but my mom was single and I did a lot of the cooking so I thought if I could save her money it would be awesome.

This started an interesting trend of me creating recipes from whatever was laying around the kitchen. My mom had a few cookbooks so those usually helped with techniques and inspiration but we NEVER had all of the things required.

I was certainly not the best "chef" at 10. I remember once I decided I would make my mom a meatloaf. I was really excited. I had my Mom's recipe in hand and I was ready to amaze her. I slaved away for hours making dinner just right and when she got home she was really surprised! The surprises didn't end there though, when we took our first bite of this amazing meal I had lovingly prepared we were very surprised to learn that, in my excitement, I had forgotten to actually put any seasonings in the meatloaf. It was pretty much as the name describes, a loaf of meat. Thank GOD for ketchup!

I was just thinking about this story. My mom loves to tell it and it always makes her laugh. By the way, I make a much better meatloaf these days!

That is all.

Heather

My body is a rock hard example of athleticism...

is what I would be saying if sitting on your butt and eating ice cream were considered exercise. I could probably even be an Olympian in this sport. Sadly, butt sitting isn't an Olympic sport... yet. I did some preggo Pilates this morning and I am pretty sure that lady was trying to kill me. I just did the hips and thighs series because I have 4 weeks left until i hit Hawaii and if nothing else, at least I can try to have some nice legs.

It is a pregnancy focused video so I was really hoping to see some fellow shamu types rolling around on the floor, huffing and puffing, and sweating. There was none of that in this video. It was one lady who was noticeably pregnant but there was no rolling, huffing, puffing or sweating. She was workin' it like it was her job and I was the one rolling etc. There is a muscle that people are supposed to have in their butts which I apparently do not possess. Just a few minutes in and there was a fire raging in my glut region and she had barely started! I am going to keep at it, but I certainly hope it gets easier!

Cookin' stuff Tuesday didn't happen. It was more like Doin' Stuff Tuesday. We are still working through our double car explosion of last week so I had to run all my errands yesterday morning while the hubs was around. The good news is, the van is getting fixed for half the original quoted price... thumbs up and thanks to Anglen Automotive, you guys saved us! I did make 4 batches of sausage gravy this morning but that is not really something I would think about posting a recipe for, unless someone needed it, then I'm always happy to help.

Two notable points for the week, I started selling Pampered Chef. I hope it works out! I am hoping it is a way for me to share my love of cooking and earn a little money for my dear and wonderful family. Secondly, Denton is really growing up fast!

He is transitioning to a big boy room and he has started playing like a big kid. He stacks blocks instead of throwing them and the other day he said "yellow" out of the blue. He has started saying so many words, I am amazed all the time. His new favorite thing is grabbing your hand and telling you to "COME ON!". His favorite words are still "MINE" and "NO" but we are working on it. He also finger painted for the first time yesterday which was very fun. He has also developed a huge love of all things "Dodo" (Dora) although Clint wishes he liked Diego instead. He even says "Oh man" it is really cute but I will stop gushing now !

On the baby naming front, we THINK we may have a winner. We are currently test driving Noah. We will see if it sticks!

That is all.

What's in a name??

For years, before and after becoming a parent, I have heard about the trials of parenthood. The sleepless nights, the barf in your hair, the pee on the wall, fits in public, embarrassing comments, the "guess what mama" or "why" one hundred and fifty times a day, etc etc etc. I have been able to handle all of these moments with composure and grace (well, not really but let's pretend).

I have found through my nearly 10 years of exceptional parenting that the hardest thing about being a parent happens before you even begin your trek as a parent. How on Earth do you name these things???? You are in charge of picking the thing that this person will be called for the rest of their life! What if you make a grievous mistake? What if you give them a name like Justin Case, and don't realize how easy you just made it for them to be made fun of by every single person forever.

As a "Heather feather what's the weather?" survivor, I can tell you that having a name that rhymes with lots of dumb stuff is unfortunate. With my children, I have tried to come up with all the ways in which their names could be made fun of, and I am pretty witty, so needless to say I am good at it. I remember with my daughter, my mom thought "Honor" was just adorable. Really Mother? Do you really want to name a girl a name that sounds like "On her"... doubt it. I went through a billion names, Destiny - sounds like a stripper, Honor - "Let's go get Honor", etc. For my son, we picked Jaxson early on, then Micheal Jackson had to go and die. Well, thanks a lot, if we go with Jaxson then everyone will associate my son with a bleached out, child molester... I'm good on that.

Now, here I am, pregnant again!!! From the day we found out we had the name picked out. So simple! William - after Clint's grandmother Billy, and Emmett - after Clint. Done and done! Then along comes my mom and says "I think Will Hardin might not be the best idea?"... I was like why? Hmmm... why? I said "Will Hardin, Will Hardin, Will Hardin" over and over and then BAM!!!!! It hit me... "If he stays out in the sun to long he WILL HARDIN!" UGH MY LIFE!

So that is JUST great... My husband and I don't exactly see eye to eye on names. He likes things like Wesley, I think we shouldn't name our child after a notorious killer (ie John Wesley Hardin). He likes Dallas, I think it might be a little weird to have a Denton and a Dallas (um, like Texas much ya weirdos?). I like Lucas, he hasn't told me why but he made a terrible face and said no. His comment yesterday pretty much sums up how this is going to go, "Great, now you will just be FBing me tons of names that I will hate."

So there it is... for the next 4 months we will be contemplating baby names and trying to find all the ways in which other people can turn them around to tease our little unborn baby. I really wish that we could just let him pick when he turns 10 or something... of course then his name would probably be Lightning McQueen or something equally as retarded.

What are your ideas for names and how did you ever come to an agreement???

That is all.

Cookin' Stuff Tuesday

I may do a cooking blog on Tuesdays. This is a day when my husband is home in the morning and I can get quite a bit done. A lot of people ask me for my recipes so I will do my best to post them here. In all honesty, I make up most of my recipes so the measurements where I am not sure will be to your own personal taste.

Today I cooked a breakfast casserole, freezer breakfast burritos, and enchiladas.

The breakfast casserole was a recipe that I adapted.

Breakfast Casserole

• 1 tbs butter
• enough croutons to cover the bottom of an 8x8 pan
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 cup cooked ham, cubed
• 1 cup of asparagus cut in to one inch pieces

Directions

1. Melt butter in an 8x8 inch glass baking dish or small casserole dish. Add croutons and toss to coat. Sprinkle cheese on top of croutons. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk and dry mustard. Pour egg mixture over croutons and cheese. Sprinkle on asparagus and cubed ham. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
3. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, until eggs are set. Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

Breakfast burritos

9 eggs

8 oz chorizo

1/4 onion chopped

1/2 cup grated cheese

10 burrito size tortillas

1/4 cup of milk

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook chorizo and onions until done.

2. Wisk eggs and milk in a bowl, add salt and pepper.

3. Add eggs and cheese to pan with chorizo and stir occasionally until eggs are set.

4. Put 1/10th of stuffing in a burrito and roll it up, wrap in a paper towel and foil.

5. Put burritos in a ziploc bag and putt in the freezer.

6. To reheat, take off the foil and put in the microwave for about 1 minute.

Enchiladas

8 oz tomato sauce

1 can of rotel

3 tbs of butter

3 tbs of flour

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

cumin, garlic powder, and chili powder to taste

flour or corn tortillas

1/2 onion chopped

1 chicken breast cut in to very small pieces

1 15 oz can of corn

1 cup of shredded cheese

2 cloves of garlic minced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray.

2. In a sauce pan melt butter and whisk in flour and cook slowly until light brown. Whisk in tomato sauce, rotel, 11 1/2 cups chicken broth, cumin, garlic powder, and chili powder and boil until a thick consistency.

3. Meanwhile in a frying pan on medium heat cook chicken, onions and garlic with 1/4 cup chicken broth until done.

4. Spread a small amount of tomato mixture on the bottom of the pan.

5. Mix 1/2 cup cheese, corn, and chicken mixture in a bowl. Put a spoonful of this in to the tortilla and roll up and lay seam side down in the pan.

6. Top enchiladas with remaining tomato mixture and top with the other 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake about 30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Well that is about it for today... I hope you like these recipes as much as my family did!!

That is all.

Who wants to be....

A complete and total psycho? Apparently I signed up for that show this week. It is a heck of a lot easier to get on than Who wants to be a millionaire, is that show even real anymore? I saw it was on day time with Meredith Viera hitting on young guys so I figure it was probably spiraling down the proverbial drain.

But I digress, what's new? This week has really been testing my commitment not to jump off of something head first, which is highly ironic considering last week I was feeling pretty good about life. I guess the universe caught wind of my happiness and decided to put the kibosh on that! I even had the pleasure of taking a big bite of a raw chicken breast that was parading as a cooked chicken breast, and that was probably one of the best things that happened to me.

But enough self pity, for now. Some pretty entertaining things did happen this week which allowed me to step back from the ledge every so often. For instance, a few days ago my 1 year old son was doing his best impression of a sexy gardener. It had me in stitches on the front porch. He had his shirt off and was just funny in a way that I can't even describe. I have pictures but I have no flipping clue how to post those on here because I am a complete and utter moron. Also, last night during dinner, my son inadvertently stuck his finger up his nose. This was so funny to him that he sat there for the next five minutes with his finger up his nose laughing his butt off. Again, I don't really know if this is funny to normal people but I was pretty much cracking up.

Boys are gross and I am getting another one. This was another exciting thing that happened recently. We found out last week that our sesame seed bun in the oven was going to be another smelly little, nose picking boy. Hooray... my daughter cried but oh well, she's over it now.

Well, I guess that's it... I didn't really have any reason to write this besides the fact that I am avoiding homework like the black plague. I really thought that graduating in December would be enough of a reward to get me through the next 6 months of school but boy I was wrong!!!!

That is all.