About Me

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I AM: wife to 1, mother to 3, sister to 2 and 5 steps, aunt to 27, not-so-much-a-chocoholic-anymore, coffee loving, cloth diapering wanna be (my youngest potty trained herself recently), friend to many.

Friday, January 29, 2010

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Darling son got mad at me today. His 4 year old mind could not fathom why we couldn't just jump in the car and go to Disney World today. The conversation lasted about, oh, say, 30 minutes at least! "But WHY can't we go?????" and I was doing a pretty good job of explaining until he sadly sadly said, "but N. (baby sister) wants to go to Disney World, too. She doesn't like Santa, but she likes Mickey." If Disney wasn't a 3 day car ride away, and was a free attraction, that little statement would have had us at Disney world TODAY I tell you!
So, we did the next best thing. (not really, but humor me please) The monkeys sat down together and watched The Jungle Book. And all the while the littlest monkey held the Disney World ad from the Family Fun magazine. The ad that has the Muppet cast working like the Extreme Home Makeover show, and then the next page the Muppets are riding a fire truck down Main Street, Disney World, as Gonzo is being carried away by balloons shaped like Mickey Mouse's head. Cinderella's castle in the background. Boy. I bet that ad does get Disney a LOT of new business. How dare they put that ad in the ONE magazine we have a subscription to. I think tonight I will sing them to sleep with "when you wish upon a star". Maybe that little dream will come true.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Just so that you know...

Just so that you know... My home computer has a virus, so there will be no picture uploaded from my phone tonight.
Just so that you know... We had pancakes for supper tonight. At 9:00 pm. We NEVER eat that late. 2 of the monkeys were begging to go to bed before I ate my last bite. That NEVER happens either.
Just so that you know... I love to sew.
Just so that you know... I am a major procrastinator. I don't know why. I just am. I am not proud of it. I am trying to change. And I've been saying that for about 10 years. The little engine that could??? I think I can, I think I can. Put put put. steam out ears.
Just so that you know... I hid in the bathroom from my children the other day. Really. So I wouldn't end up having a tantrum in the middle of the living room floor with them. It did work for a few minutes... and then... steam out ears...
Just so that you know... I still love coffee. And I love good chocolate. But I am not quite as bad a chocoholic as I have been in the past. Interesting.
Just so that you know... I don't think there is any point in washing my car when there is fog/rain/slush/puddles all around and MORE in the forecast. But, dear husband, if you tell me I need to wash it, I will.
Just so that you know... I have made my own bread from scratch all week. Until yesterday when my honey wanted some samichis (that means sandwiches, but its funner to say like that) and I didn't have time to make up the dough and let it sit and rise for a couple o' hours, so he was stuck with Sara Lee. At least nobody doesn't like her. (if you're scratching your head saying "what???" and picking your nose, remember the commercial jingle for Sara Lee.)
Just so that you know... I just threw a load of cloth diapers in the wash and added bleach to the load. For the first time in our cloth diaper journey. And I am scared to death I might have just done something very very bad. But hey, if they come out splotchy but smell good, maybe it'll be ok. (The little monkey has been eating a lot of raisins, and raisin bran this week. This has been a horrible mistake. Bran and raisins in a 21 month old create horrible nastiness I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Well, on second thought, maybe I would...) Lets just say, we KNEW when she entered the room BEFORE she entered. The scent preceeded her. PEEEEEEEE EEEEWWWWWWWWW
Just so that you know... I am wearing my pretty apron right now. I was too tired to take it off after cleaning up the kitchen after making pancakes at 9:00 tonight. who knows. Maybe I'll sleep in it, too. lol
Just so that you know... My mom and I are getting really motivated and excited about the upcoming craft show at the Missouri State Fairgrounds in March. It will be our 2nd time having our own booth. Me thinks it's the 2nd weekend, but right now, I couldn't promise. So check back soon. I'll get it posted.
Just so that you know... I made my first attempt at baked potato bags and rice packs this weekend. Baked potato bags for putting potatoes in, and then putting in the microwave, to give you nice and fluffy baked potatoes to eat. Rice packs to either put in the freezer to put on boo boos, or in the microwave to heat to put on your sore muscles to help with aches and pains. They turned out rather well, if I do say so myself. And I do.
Hmmm.
Just so that you know, since it is getting late, I am going to turn off my husbands old laptop computer (That I am ever so grateful for) and am going to go brush my teeth and crawl in bed. I am really quite tired. Have a wonderful night, oh dear cyber friends in cyber world.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Nachos ala Gayle


Hubby was gone the other night. I was getting ready to put the monkeys to bed. I was getting bored. I called my friend Gayle. I hadn't talked to her since the day after Christmas, and that's just too long. We chatted for a bit and she asked me what we did for New Year's Eve. I told her (that because of our crazy Christmas) we spent a quiet evening at home, complete with Rotel dip and chips. Who DOESN'T have that on New Years??? As any good conversation goes, we stopped talking about the kids and our schedules and focused on the food. She asked if I had put taco seasoning on the meat that I added to the Velveeta. And I replied No. And she asked if we dressed it up with lettuce, and I replied "No, but if you keep talking like that I am going to get a hankrin for Nachos!" To which she replied, "Me too". And that's when we decided she would come over with nacho fixin's (minus the Velveeta, because I still had some o' dat) and we were going to feast properly. What a great friend! She ventured out in the freezing weather to the store, and then to my house. And that's when I learned how to make the best nacho plate ever. She made her plate first, and I copied every layer.
1. Crushed tortilla chips in the center of the plate
2. Lettuce encircling the chips, making a nice green decorative boarder on the plate
3. Hamburger--with taco seasoning-- on the chips (not on the lettuce)
4. Rotel Velveeta Dip on the hamburger
5. Sour cream
6. a squirt from the packet of "taco vinaigrette dressing" that came with the lettuce (WONDERFUL STUFF WITH A KICK)
6. shredded cheese
7. tortilla chip strips
8. more tortilla chips layered on the lettuce

We feasted. I don't know if it was the best nachos I've ever had because a) I was hungry b)they were just plain wonderful or c) because it was shared with my friend.

Use #567 for Duct Tape

Making sure the 7 foot artificial tree stays in the storage container that is too small to house it.
Mister who invented Duct Tape, This Bud's for you!!

Somehow I talked my husband into letting me throw out our old artificial tree last year after Christmas with the "plan" of purchasing a new one on clearance. And then when I went to shop for the clearance Christmas tree, the stores were already sold out.

And then I forgot.

Two weeks before Christmas the oldest monkey was fussing that we really needed to put up our tree, so I sent her out to the garage to find the box. It had housed an artificial tree that served us well over the last 11 years. And it too was held shut by the trusty duct tape. But alas, the box could not be found. And I hear a little bell in my brain reminding me that maybe, just maybe, last year I disposed of this tree. I couldn't remember for sure, so I called my sister to see if I could have really been this barbaric. You see, when I do anything major, like throwing out a Christmas tree, or throwing out holy socks, I call my sister to let her know just because someone needs to know what I am doing. Someone needs to care. So she humors me and listens to all my goings on.
She chuckled and said she did remember the day I threw out the tree. Yes, it was gone. And sadly, we were not in a position to fund a new tree just before Christmas. Before majorly flipping my lid, ideas started swirling in my head. Ideas like "paint a tree on the wall" and "make a tree out of construction paper, complete with fringed branches". Ideas like "let the children have a hay day with the arts and crafts supplies. We can repaint next year". And then I remembered there is a magnificent thing called "Freecycle". I am a member of this group! So I turned my computer on and went to my Freecycle page, and sent out a plea for a free Christmas tree. It went something like this: Wanted: Artificial Christmas tree. Doesn't have to be fancy. Prefer all pieces present.
That afternoon I got a reply from someone who had a 7 foot tree waiting for a new home!!! But it needed a stand. I knew my hubby would fashion something for a stand, even if it was made from potatoes and a coffee can. I set up a time for pick up, cleaned out my trunk, and loaded the 3 monkeys in the car to go get our new tree! We brought the tree to its new home. And it sat in its box for about a week awaiting a stand. My hubby didn't concoct a stand, for I found one at Hobby Lobby. The Saturday before Christmas my oldest begged and begged to put up the tree. I was not feeling the greatest, so I supervised with my head resting on the arm of the couch. I watched as she gingerly took all the branches out of the tote and separated them into their color coordinated families. I watched as she started assembling the pieces into a tree. I watched as this tree started to take up all of the space in my living room. We live in a modest sized house. The way I had moved the furniture to make room for the tree to be centered in front of the picture window was not going to work. The tree was covering a couch cushion from both couch and love seat: across from each other on opposite sides of the room!!! When she stated 7 foot tree, I thought "great! We have 8 foot ceilings!" But I failed to think about the width that accompanied the height. oops. I told my monkeys, "Daddy's not going to like this tree." And as the next row of branches was added to the tree I said, "Daddy's going to make us take this tree down." And when I could no longer see my book case or window, I exclaimed, "This is not going to work! This tree is bigger than our house!" And that's when my daughter put her foot down. "Mom, I want a Christmas tree! We can live with this tree for a week! Daddy's just going to have to deal with it!" And that was the end of the argument. She was working diligently on the tree when all of a sudden she threw a branch and screamed. She had seen a spider. I got a tissue and captured the spider as she freaked out. She yelled, "No wonder that lady wanted to get rid of her spider infested tree for free!" I had a little shiver run up and down my spine as well, so I got out the vacuum, hooked up the hose adjustment, and proceeded to vacuum all of the remaining branches. Then started laughing and praying the tree wasn't really infested. She finished putting together the tree, and applied the lights, and then helped her brother put on the ornaments. The tree was indeed a beautiful tree. I really think the only reason the previous owner got rid of it was because it needed a stand. The color was gorgeous. The branches were full of life and not brittle. It was a great tree. The next day I figured out how to arrange the furniture so we would be able to be in the living room with the tree without having to sit under the tree. We enjoyed our treasure for not only one, but two weeks. And then I decided we didn't live at the North Pole, so it was time to take it down. I did that deed myself one night when the oldest monkey and my hubby were gone hunting, and the little monkeys were in bed sleeping. I don't know how I did it, but somehow all the branches got stuffed back into the little tote the tree came to me in. But it was so full the lid wouldn't stay on. I thought about waking up the little ones and having them sit on the box. But then I figured I couldn't store them in the garage with the tree for the next year. So I found the solution. With each strip applied to the tote, I smiled and said a little blessing for the inventor of Duct Tape. And finally, the tote was sealed and ready to be stored. Did you see the little black thing on the floor by the tote? Can you tell what it is? A mouse. My son thought it was really funny to plant his rubber varmints he received from Santa all through the house. I found a spider on the piano. But I'll save the rubber spider story for another day.

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