Jan 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
We’ve had a secret/surprise since around New Year’s Eve…
After dance and guitar lessons (Manic Mondays) we decided to tell the kids the news so that they wouldn’t be wondering why mommy’s been so (grouchy, sickly, tired, tired, tired.)
*Note- we were at a restaurant since we eat out almost every Manic Monday night.
Scott said “Guess what?”
“What?” say the kids, mouths full of cheese sticks and marinara.
“Can you guess our surprise?” he says.
“Not really.” they say. (Hoping secretly that it’s another Disney trip I’m sure.)
Well, Jac’s going to be what Max is!” he says.
“What?” they say.
“Well, what is Max to you, Jac?”
“Bigger?” says Jac.
“HuH?!” says Max, wide-eyed and choking on his mozzarella.
“Oh, no.” says Emily, laughing and hiding her head. “I knew it.”
“What?” asks Jac.
“A big what?” says daddy.
“Brother?” Max asks.
“Yep.”
“What?” says Max, “You ARE kidding, right?”
“Nope.” I say. “You’re going to be a big brother again too!”
“No way.” he says.
They all start laughing hysterically.
“Yep, we thought we needed to fill in the extra chair at the table.” we say.
“You ARE kidding?” Max says. “Let me see your belly, mom.”
“Kid, it won’t be big for awhile.” I say. (Hoping.)
“Where will they sleep?” the boys ask.
“How about in your room if it’s a boy and if it’s a girl Emily will finally have to share a room.” I say.
Emily gasps.
“No way.” says Max. “Babies break stuff.”
“They can’t even crawl for awhile, honey.” I say.
“I think I might push the baby down the stairs if they break my toys.” says Jac (still not realizing what we are saying, I think.)
“What?!” I gasp. “What if Emily or Max had pushed you down the stairs when you were little? You didn’t push Max or Jac did you, Emily?”
She smirks “No. But I probably wanted to.”
Wow.
“I’m just kidding.” Jac smiles. “I’ll be a good big brother.”
“We know you will.” daddy says. “You’ll be awesome.”
“Well, we need to get a baby gate right now.” says Max. “I can’t have the baby ruining my Lego creations.”
“Don’t worry, there is one in the garage from when you were a baby.” we say. “So you wouldn’t ruin Emily’s Barbies.”
“Oh, I guess it’s okay then.” he says.
Wow. Sibling love.
They are all brainstorming baby names already so I guess they aren’t too upset!
*Side note: I found out Max had told everyone at school the day after this conversation! Yikes. I am not out of the danger zone yet so was hesitant to post this, but hey, I think everyone knows already!
Jan 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
For MamaKat’s Writer’s Workshop I chose prompts #3 & #4:
3.) Write a list of 10 things that can be done to stave off boredom.
4.) “How many homes have you had? Write a journal entry about ALL the places you’ve called ‘home’ in your life.”
ALL the places I’ve called home? Honestly, Mama Kat? Wow. I am choosing this just to see if I can do it. (Mom, if you’re reading you can check and see if I left anything out.)
- I was born when my parents were in grad school (well, mom was finished and working but dad was still in) so we lived in Fayetteville, AR near the U of A. First house I remember was a rock house?
- Then a duplex there where dad had a motorcycle…
- A farmhouse in Hogeye, AR (yeah, that’s really the name!) I loved that house- guess from when I was 2-3. I remember the owner had a big scary white horse but he was nice. Also we had to help the cows get their heads out of the fence sometimes which I thought was funny and my little dog, Mona, loved to chase the cows. And I had the best tire-swing EVER!
- MuscleShoals, AL when I was 4 and I remember it was a pretty house with a fireplace and a nice patio where a cute greensnake would come and hang out with us. We had sunflowers that grew out back and that was the first time mom ever didn’t work and I loved it.
- Knoxville, TN when I was 5. We had an awesome backyard at the end of a cul-de-sac and a little woods behind our house where I could roam. Mom stayed home the whole time we lived in Knoxville and was like June Cleaver- making cookies and playdough, homemade eggroll wrappers even and tofu! My baby brother was born here and my dad died here.
- My grandparents house in Ancon, Panama.
- A nasty apartment in France Field, Panama- where we could hear voodoo drums sometimes (really.) My brother got pushed off the slide by mean kids and we saw a hammerhead shark.
- CocoSolo, Panama– my favorite home. Right by the ocean and across the street was my elementary school.
- Margarita, Panama when they closed CocoSolo. Much nicer house.
- Watertown, New York- Day’s Inn for 9 months until we found a house. I was 15 and got a little chubby for the first time in my life because we had to eat out every meal (think “SuperSize Me”)
- House in Watertown (finally.) Not to offend anyone but wow, I hated Watertown.
- Back to Panama! Apartment on Davis by the gym (good for me- by now a workout freak.)
- College dorm
- Apartment where the train would shake my bed at night. (college)
- Apartment where I was scared someone would come in the long window (college)
- Home to finish college (see 12)
- Married life- apartment on the hill until we were evicted for having a dog (all 2 lbs of her.)
- First house together on Olive. We remodeled the whole thing on my teaching salary.
- This house!
As an added bonus (woo-hoo)
I’m adding TEN THINGS YOU CAN DO TO STAVE OFF BOREDOM:
(Just a list kind of day I guess…)
- Have some kids, you’ll never be bored again. (Believe me!)
- Have some more kids if you dare.
- Blog.
- Take a walk anywhere.
- Take a road trip anywhere (can you tell I’m a Saggitarius?)
- Make something yummy with/for someone you love.
- Plant a garden.
- Play in the mud with your favorite kids.
- Make playdough and play with it.
- Clean your computer’s files (I’ve not been that bored in a LONG time.)
To join in on the fun go here.
Jan 21, 2010 | Green Living, In-Edibles, Recipes, Uncategorized
This is a great recipe for playdough!
4 cups of flour
1 cup salt
4 cups water
4 Tablespoons oil
1/2 cup of cream of tartar (I get my from Penzey’s.com- much cheaper!)
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over low/med. heat until dough is completely
formed and no longer sticky. Allow to cool a bit before putting in a bag or tight container to store.
*You can add food coloring, kool-aid (for smell and color,) I usually put True Lemon in it to give it a nice scent. This recipe lasts a LONG time (as long as your kids put it away!)
Jan 18, 2010 | Missouri, Travel, Uncategorized, United States
We decided Friday to make a run for the border. (Missouri border that is,) so we headed up to Branson. We hadn’t been there in years and thought we’d give it another chance. I found a free room at this place everyone said was great with kids The Castle Rock Resort and Hotel.
The hotel has an actual waterpark with 2 large slides, large kiddie pool, lazy river, and two other pools indoors. Now, I have to admit the beds were so horrible we didn’t sleep a wink, but there was an alcove for the boys with bunkbeds and their own TV which they loved (we don’t do cable etc. at home so they don’t watch TV normally.) The upswing was the waterpark part is all part of your room fees, and we did get the room free thanks to AMEX points! (EVEN BETTER!)
Half of the waterpark
Loving the Lazy River
They loved it.
After they played a bit we drove around looking for things that were open (it’s the off-season in Branson so not much was open.) We toured the Butterfly Palace. A bit expensive for my tastes- I’d been in better butterfly habitats that weren’t so pricey.
Butterfly Bar
Then we found a new open-air mall down on the river called Branson Landing where the Bass Pro Shop was. We ate at an awful restaurant somehow connected with Bass Pro called The Fish House (I think.) Yuck. Downtown Branson has really changed since we were there about 4 years ago to ride Thomas the Tank Engine!
Got back to the hotel and the boys went to swim for another three hours or so in the waterpark while Emily and I went to the room and vegetated. (The chlorine in the pool was so strong it was making us sick.)
This morning we woke up and hit the town.
Today we got up and hit the town.
First, we toured the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum. (Complete with shrunken heads and world’s largest ball of twine!)
World’s Largest Ball of Twine! (really, aren’t you impressed?)
Next, we did the Titanic Museum. Yes, pretty depressing, but the kids seemed to like touching the cold water and “iceberg.” Very interesting to say the least.
Then we headed back to Branson Landing to some place the kids really wanted to go, Ridemakerz, where they build their own car (think Build-A-Bear for boys.) I normally don’t fall for that corporate junk but the kids are really happy with their dumb cars.
All in all it was a fun, cheesy trip, but I think I’ve had enough of Branson for another ten years or so.
Jan 15, 2010 | Uncategorized
My heart is just aching.
I can’t imagine the devastation that Haiti is experiencing.
I found a list on NPR’s website and also on the White House’s site listing
reliable organizations.
