Giveaway!!!!

To celebrate the end of NaBloPoMo (and because I've been the recipient of one of Mommy Daisy's giveaways AND because it's finally cool enough I can mail these without fear of them melting) I'm hosting a giveaway!

One lucky reader will win a large holiday-themed tin full of homemade chocolates:


(This is a picture of a small tin from last year, but you get the idea)

There will be peanut butter cups, chocolate covered cherries, mints, and chocolate rice krispie treats like these:




And a variety of fudges like these:


(That's a truffle in the middle)


AND a variety of truffles like these:


(There are two squares of fudge in the middle)





Everything is made from scratch by me or my family (we get together and make chocolates every year).

To enter, simply leave a comment telling me what your favorite holiday treat is. To enter twice, link to this post on your blog and then come back here and leave a second comment telling me you did so. The contest ends at midnight on Wednesday, December 3rd; I'll have Sydney draw a name out of a hat (very scientific, I know) and I'll post the winner on Thursday. Be sure to leave your e-mail address in your comment if I don't already have it so that I contact you for a mailing address.

Good luck!!

Wish Us Luck

We're instituting the full-on "Cry it Out" method tonight with Evan. It's the best thing for all of us, even if it is pure torture.

All I know is that three or four nights of pure torture beats three or four more months of exhaustion.

Hopefully I'll have some good news to report by this time next week.

********

Also, how is it possible that "A Christmas Story" is 25 years old?

Our Thanksgiving

To the tune of the last verse of "The Twelve Days of Christmas":

On my Thanksgiving weekend, my family gave to me:

12 bouts of crying,
11 dirty serving dishes,
10 hours of "visiting",
9 temper tantrums,
8 pounds of sweet potatoes,
7 types of veggies,
6 food stained bibs,
5 kinds of pie.......
4 screaming children,
3 boring football games,
2 gigantic turkeys,
And a head cold that won't go away.

Thankful Thursday 3

My last set of non-serious things for which I am thankful:

* Bibs that catch gallons of drool
* Cornbread dressing
* Warm pecan pie with vanilla ice cream on top
* Icicle Christmas lights
* Hot showers
* Coupons
* Stain remover
* Swings (even as an adult, I still feel like I'm flying when I'm on one)
* Itty bitty newborn clothes
* The library for feeding my reading addiction free of charge
* My parents who are keeping Sydney and Liam overnight tonight

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Because I'm Out of Blogging Ideas

Your Pilgrim Name Is...

Damaris Allerton

What's Your Pilgrim Name?

Your Native American Name Is...

Olathe Litonya Your name means: Beautiful Darting Hummingbird

What's Your Native American Name?

A Good Day

Evan's tummy seems to have calmed down and today was happily a vomit-free day for us. He'll be back on solid foods tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. :) Thanks to everyone for your concerns and well wishes for my sweet, digestively challenged baby.

The other part of my good day was that I got to go see "Twilight" this morning with my sister and her girls. I haven't seen a real (no animation or talking animals) first run movie since before Evan was born. Two hours of mindless entertainment - ahhhhhhh.

So how was your day?

Here We Go Again

Tonight was Round 2 of Vomitfest 2008 in our household. Naturally, Ryan had band practice this evening so he missed the whole thing. But in the span of two minutes, Evan projectile vomited all over himself, me and the recliner, Sydney spilled her drink on the living room carpet and Liam woke up crying from all of the commotion.

I'll spare you from the really gross details, but I will tell you that Ryan came home to wet carpet, a sink full of dinner dishes that I just couldn't get to, a washing machine full of stinky clothes (including not one, but three sets of Evan's pajamas), puked-on sheets and towels, a half-naked wife (in a totally non-sexy mood) and a half-naked, vomit crusted baby. After the third Exorcist-esque episode, I simply gave up on clothing for either of us and sat with Evan in the recliner with nothing but a diaper for him and a towel for me. And sure enough, there was a fourth episode and I was thankful that I hadn't bothered with clothing.

So I'm off to take a shower to wash off the ickiness of the evening. Come to think of it, I might just take two showers. It was just that bad.

Shopping Scenarios

Scenario #1: I used to have grocery shopping down to a science. I would go on Tuesday mornings because there are light crowds, the shelves are restocked from the weekend and I only have one kid with me due to school/preschool. Well, Tuesday mornings aren't working so well with Evan's schedule, so I have to find a new plan.

Scenario #2: I started going Monday or Tuesday evenings after dinner. Again, stocked shelves, light crowds and NO kids. But last week, a woman got mugged in the store while I was there, too. I heard the whole thing. So shopping at night is out.

Scenario #3: I went this afternoon to give Sundays a try. Maybe it was the fact that I was in a hurry or that everyone else in The Land of Fruit was doing their Thanksgiving shopping, but it was horrible. The aisles were packed and the shelves were almost bare and traffic was so bad it took me 30 minutes to get home when it should have taken me ten.

So, when do you go shopping? Do you take your kids and if so, how do you keep your sanity? Do you do a week's worth of shopping at one time or do you break it up into segments? Inquiring minds want to know.

Bullies Anonymous - Liam's Post

Hello, my name is Liam and I am a bully. I acknowledge that I am a bully, but I don't think it's a problem.

You wouldn't think it to look at me since I'm smaller than most kids my age, but my classmates at preschool fear me. When I saunter in the room, some of the boys instantly cower. A couple of the boys are complete wimps; they cry for their mamas every single day. What in the world is there to cry about? We get snack and juice, time to play on the playground, all the books we can read, new toys to play with and cool cots to sleep on. Best of all, there are no moms around! Dudes, you gotta get yourselves together. Enjoy the time away from your moms.

As for the ladies, I've discovered that they love a bad boy. The two girls in my class, twins no less, are totally crushing on me. They call my name when I enter the room and wave bye to me after nap time. All I need is a leather jacket and a motorcycle and I'll even have the teachers swooning over me. I suppose my fleece jacket and tricycle will have to suffice for now.

I don't just bully my classmates, either. You ought to see me wail on my little brother. The kid is a total pushover. Literally. I just pushed him over yesterday for no reason at all and he didn't fight back. Mom put me in timeout, but I just did it again because it's fun. She warned me that someday Evan is going to pay me back for all of the abuse, but I don't see it happening. The kid is way smaller than me and cries all day just like the sissies in my class.

The only person who fights back is my sister. I pull her hair and she pushes me away. I push her back, she yells at me and tattles to Mom. My revenge? I bite her. Two weeks ago, I bit her really hard on the stomach. You can still see the mark. Sometimes I impress myself.

The best part of being a bully is that I know when to turn it off and be charming. I can charm the pants of anyone. I've got my grandparents totally snookered; they think I can do no wrong. In fact, everyone over the age of 55 thinks I'm adorable and that's just the way I like it. It's the retired crowd that has the money and can buy me great gifts.

Granted, I have gotten in trouble for my bully ways. Not only does Mom put me in time out like ten times a day, but my teachers at school have written me up several times. You ought to see Mom's face when she sees an Incident Report in my cubby when she picks me up. An Incident Report means that I hurt someone else, usually one of the wimpy boys, but you know, if they would fight back, then I'd learn my lesson. At least that's what Mom is hoping for.

Maybe someday I'll grow out of my bullying ways, especially as I figure out that all the other boys are bigger than I am. If not, then I suppose I'm on my way to becoming the next Napoleon and then my parents are really in trouble.

Six Things/Fun Fact Friday

Mommy Daisy tagged me for a Six Things About Me post so I thought I'd make it my Fun Fact Friday post. Here goes:

1. I've lived in Texas for most of my life and I've never been to Dallas. I hear it's loads of fun, but I've never had a reason to visit The Big D. I've also never been to El Paso, but in my defense, it's like 750 miles away and that is one car trip I don't care to make.

2. I belong to two book clubs here in The Land of Fruit. One is made up of a group of ladies I found through their website. The other is made up of the ladies in my sister's Sunday School class. I am so thankful that both groups let me crash their parties and join in the fun (yes, I said fun). Not only do they keep me reading great books, I have an excuse to get out of the house two evenings a month to have child-free time (and sometimes wine, too). And yes, we do actually discuss the books.

3. When it comes to music, I have perfect pitch, but my sense of rhythm stinks. Ryan thinks it's hilarious.

4. I've never played organized sports.

5. I don't like wearing socks. I'd rather walk around the house barefoot in the winter and have freezing feet than put socks on. I will resort to wearing house shoes, but only if it's cold enough for snow. Which is, you know, almost never, since I live in southern Texas.

6. I really want to start exercising again, but can't figure out how to fit it into my day. The only solution is to get up before the kids and do it before the day starts and considering that I already have to get up at 5:45 to get our daily routine going, it looks like the exercise just ain't gonna happen any time soon.

Now it's your turn if you choose to accept the challenge. Write six things about yourself and then tag six others.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Thankful Thursday

Another edition of non-serious things for which I am thankful:

* Pink sunrises and sunsets.
* Being able to see the stars at night (since I couldn't really see them when we lived in the city).
* Showing Sydney and Liam how to "see their breath" on cold mornings.
* The neighbor's cat that lets me pet him.
* Sydney's sweet giggle as she watches "Tom & Jerry" cartoons.
* High thread count sheets (we only have one set and I love them dearly).
* Antibiotics that make my baby feel better.
* Homemade pot pie.
* Allrecipes.
* The beautiful park nearby that has a lake with a one mile track around it.
* Curbside recycling.
* The fact that when her teacher asked what she was grateful for, Sydney said she was thankful for her brothers.

Tell Me a Joke

I'm elbow deep in Evan's bodily fluids (the old "both ends at once" digestive issue) so I don't have time write anything of substance today.

But I do need some cheering up to take my mind off of the fact that not only have I had to change Evan's outfits several times today, I've had to change mine as well. The Resolve carpet cleaner had to be put to use, too. It hasn't been pretty around here.

So, anyone know a good joke? I really need the laughs.

Mommy Math

Solve for X:

1 baby (4 shots + 1 ear infection) + 1 toddler (2 shots + teething) = X hours of sleep (mom + dad)


Any guesses?


Tomorrow….word problems!

Bad Mama

The boys had their well baby checkups this morning and I feel like the worst mother in the world. While their heights and weights were fine, it turns out that Evan has an ear infection. After his screaming fits last week, I told Ryan I thought he might have one, but we kind of shrugged it off since we knew he'd be going in today for his checkup. So who knows how long the poor little guy has been in pain. He hasn't had a fever and hasn't been pulling at his ears and short of learning how to use an otoscope, I don't know what else we could have done. He'll start an antibiotic this evening and hopefully that, along with the acetaminophen for his shots-related fever, will keep him comfortable until it clears up.

As for their statistics, once again we were reminded that our children are not going to grow up to be linebackers.

Liam - 32 inches tall (5th percentile), 25.7 pounds (25th percentile), BMI in 75th percentile
Evan - 26.5 inches tall/long (50th percentile), 15 lbs, 10 ounces (25th percentile)

Both boys got shots and while they both cried, amazingly, I did not. That's a first, for sure. Maybe I'm finally toughening up a bit.

The pediatrician did warn us that if Liam has another ear infection then she'd like us to consult with an ENT. I was hoping to avoid the whole "tubes" thing, but if makes him more comfortable, then we'll have to seriously consider it. Unfortunately, I think Evan is on the same path seeing as he's had three ear infections in the last six months so it looks like at least one of our boys will have to have something done.

Anyway, considering all the things that can wrong in such tiny bodies, we are very lucky to have such healthy kids. Heaven knows there are worse things than ear infections and short statures.

The Ick Factor

I've cooked thousands of dinners for our family over the years (seriously - we've been married almost eight years and I cook six nights out of every seven) and we've had chicken as our main source of protein for probably one-third of those meals. Not just any chicken, mind you, but boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I use them for everything from grilled chicken to baked chicken to casseroles. That's a lot of chicken. And a lot of money. And just like everyone else these days, we've been looking for ways to cut back on our grocery bill so the days of using expensive chicken breasts three times a week are over.

So in the spirit of pinching grocery pennies, I cooked not one, but two whole chickens for the very first time yesterday. I'd found whole chickens on sale at our local grocery store (2 chickens for $8) and used probably $3 of lemons, herbs and spices. Our little herb garden came in handy for this recipe that saw on Oprah a few weeks ago so that saved us even more. And while I was thrilled that I could save money by cooking whole chickens, I was not so thrilled with the process.

I thawed the frozen chickens. Very easy, not messy at all. So far, so good.
I opened the packages and rinsed the outside of the chickens. Very easy, a bit messy. Still so far, so good.
I put my hand inside a chicken to pull out the innards. And this is where I lost it.

With a pile of gizzards, necks and who knows what else piled in the dish I'd used for defrosting, I slowly slunk down and away from the cabinet leaving my hands over the sink and put my head as close to my knees as possible. My gag reflex was working overtime and I was certain that my lunch was going to make a reappearance. Sydney came running to see what was wrong and then ran to get Ryan who finished cleaning out the chickens and patted them dry.

While Ryan laughed his head off, I composed myself long enough to use a pair of forks to stuff the birds with lemon rinds and herbs. And while I'm sure it was not the fastest or most efficient way of doing it, using one fork to lift the chicken's tail area (I think that's what it was) and the other to stuff the flavorings into the smelly cavity worked quite well for me and my gag reflex. I poured the marinade on top, covered them with foil and shoved them in the oven.

They came out quite juicy and tasty and those two birds supplied us with enough meat for four meals. We had roasted chicken with vegetables last night and this week I'll be making chicken enchiladas, chicken pot pie and depending on the weather, perhaps chicken and dumplings.

On the upside, we saved quite a bit of money: we got at least sixteen servings of chicken for about $11.

On the downside, there's a huge ick factor involved: I don't think I'll ever get the image of the innards or the smell of the inside of a chicken out of my head. And despite the money we saved, I don't know if I can go through the process again.

But, since Ryan didn't seem to be bothered by it (apparently that's one advantage to growing up in a family that hunts for its meat), I think I'll just make him do it from now on.

After all, I've cooked enough meals - it's his turn.

Christmas Card Sneak Peek

We finally took the kids to have their pictures taken professionally after my attempts did not turn out so well. We went to Portrait Innovations at the suggestion of Allie at Adventures in Imperfection (thanks, Allie!) and they turned out really well. Here's a sneak peek at our seemingly well behaved children:








So if you get a Christmas card from us, you're most likely going to see one of these pictures. Hope I didn't ruin it for you. :)

Fun Fact Friday

I'm running short on ideas for posts today, so I'll have to fall back on the old Friday standby: fun facts.

1. The kids got a ton of Halloween candy and are only allowed to eat a piece or two each day. It's been 14 days since Halloween and it's almost all gone. Oops.

2. My dream car is an Audi TT with no car seats in the back.

3. I'm cooking a whole chicken for the very first time tomorrow (we usually just eat chicken breasts). Keep your fingers crossed.

4. There is a lady down the street who has introduced herself to me twice and I cannot for the life of me remember her name. I'm usually good with names so I'm pretty embarrassed to have to ask her again.

5. The boys have their well baby checkups next Monday and I have to take them by myself. Both of them are scheduled to get shots. What was I thinking?

Thankful Thursday

Seeing as it is November and the month is dominated by Thanksgiving, I thought that I would devote the next few Thursdays to thinking about what I'm grateful for.

I am, of course, grateful for my family, health, comfortable home and plenty of food to eat. But on the lighter side, I'm also thankful for:

* red toenail polish.
* the seat warmers in my van.
* the DVR that lets me revisit great shows like "The West Wing" and "Malcolm in the Middle".
* jeans that fit "just right."
* underwear that fits "just right."
* seeing my kids' faces light up when they open gifts.
* my little herb garden.
* finding awesome new recipes to try.
* scented bubble bath.
* finding the perfect stocking stuffers.
* Ryan who lets me steal sips of his Coke.
* Sydney who lets me experiment on her hair.
* Liam who hugs me ten times a day.
* Evan who giggles when I make funny noises.

What non-serious things are you grateful for?

Amazed

Would you believe that I have become an expert on mommy type issues? Yeah, me either.

But the other moms in our little Wednesday singing group at church seem to think that I have all the answers for baby/toddler problems. Once they found out that I had three kids (they only see Liam and Evan since Sydney is in school), I have been bombarded with questions:

"Where did you get that pacifier clip?"
"How do you get green bean stains off of a baby-sized collar?"
"Is separation anxiety at 6 months normal?"
"How did you get him to sit up by himself?"
"Where did you get that snack carrier?"
"How do you get him to be so friendly?"
"How do you go to the bathroom with a toddler and an infant?"
"When do you eat?"
"How do you do it all?"

I answer as many questions as I can, but some of them stump me, like the "How do you do it all?" one. I usually just say, "One day at a time," and they laugh, but I seriously don't know what to tell them. And when I'm answering something easy, like the green beans on the collar question, I want to shout, "If only you knew how incapable I am of getting my baby to sleep through the night!" But I don't shout that because it would scare the babies and more importantly, I don't want to shatter their image of me. :)

I'm amazed that in their eyes, I am the expert. Would they still think this if they saw me bribe Liam with a cup of juice or snap at Sydney because her room is a mess? Probably not. Would they still think I'm a Super Mom (I have visions of a woman in "mom jeans" with a spit-up covered cape) if they knew that the toy room is a perpetual disaster area or saw the frying pan that I just can't seem to scrub clean? Nope. By the way, anyone know how to get dried/burnt barbecue sauce off of a supposedly non-stick frying pan?

It seems like yesterday that I was the one asking all of the questions and I realize now that the moms from whom I was seeking advice were probably thinking that they weren't experts on anything mommy related, either. But I guess there are no experts, just women who don't mind sharing the wisdom they've gained from their experiences. It's just crazy to think that now I'm one of the wise ones.

Happy Day

For all my fellow Americans, Happy Veteran's Day! If you know any veterans, please take the time to thank them for all they've done for us.

For anyone who is not American, Happy Armistice Day! I always thought it was so neat that the treaty to end The Great War (aka WWI) was signed at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month.

And, if my memory serves (which is questionable thanks to "mommy brain"), Happy Birthday to Matt! For those of you who don't know Matt, he just got engaged and he wrote about his sweet proposal here. If you need a pick-me-up today, you really should read it.

And the Award Goes to....

....Evan.

What award is that, you ask?

Why it's the "Crappiest Sleeper in America" award.

I know I whined about it before, but it has gotten so much worse the last couple of nights. We have no idea what is going on with him, but he just will not go to sleep. Or stay asleep.

There's the screaming. Nothing calms him down and he screams. And screams. And then screams some more. Saturday night/Sunday morning, he screamed for an entire hour. It didn't just seem like an hour, it was an hour - I watched the clock. He didn't have a fever, he wasn't gassy and I can't feel any little teeth buds along his little gums so we have no idea what was going on.

And he insists on touching either our faces or hands while he's sleeping; as long as there is skin to skin contact then he'll snooze until he's hungry (which is still every 3-4 hours at night). Ryan wound up sleeping on the couch last night so that Evan could sleep with me. I pretty much had a baby's hand on my face all night long. It sounds cute, but it's a little hard to sleep that way. That just may be me, though. You might be able to sleep with someone's hand on your face and if you can, please share with me how that doesn't make you feel a bit claustrophobic.

We're pretty much at our wits' end with the kid. He was baptized yesterday (pictures coming soon once my camera cooperates) and I briefly thought last night, "It would not look good for me to smother my baby after I just promised in front of God and the entire church to protect him his entire life." (And before you call Child Protective Service, I would never, ever, ever do this.) So, he's still alive, but I'm about to drop over dead from the sleep deprivation.

Anyway, I just needed to whine some more. I keep telling myself that I just have to get through this and reminding myself that he will eventually sleep through the night. Until then, I'll just have to find happiness in something other than sleeping. In fact, I think I'll do that right now by eating one of the cupcakes left over from Liam's birthday party. I might even eat two of them. I think I deserve it at this point.

The Big Two

Today my sweet baby boy turns two years old. At exactly 1 pm on November 9, 2006, he entered this world screaming his head off, all 5 pounds and 11 ounces of him.

Today he's a rough and tumble toddler of a boy who doesn't hesitate to let you know when he's not happy. But he loves to give out kisses and hugs and flirts shamelessly with every little old lady we meet. His smile makes my day and when he says "mama" my heart just melts. He has brought an endless joy to our lives and I cannot imagine life without him.

So, Happy Birthday, Bud. We love you.


*Pictures of the big Blue's Clues day will be posted once our camera decides to let go of the pictures that are on it.

Don't Bother

I'm sure that Ryan and I were two of the last people on the planet to see the latest Indiana Jones movie, but if you haven't seen it, can I just say....do not waste your time. It was terrible. Thank goodness we didn't spend money to see it.

When we moved to The Land of Fruit, the welcome wagon people (also known as the local chamber of commerce), sent us some coupons for local businesses. One of them was for three free movie/game rentals at a local store and so I took advantage of the coupon last week by renting Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Sex and the City and the the Wii Music game. Luckily, the other two choices were great, because the Indiana Jones movie stunk.

***Spoilers below***

It should have been titled " 'Stargate' + "The Mummy' + 'National Treasure' + the Other Three 'Indiana Jones' Movies" because it was very unoriginal and contained almost every adventure movie cliche:

* Long, silly title? Check!
* Angry, half naked native people? Check!
* Female foe with a strong accent? Check!
* Drawn out chase/fist fight scene? Check!
* Friend that turns out to be a traitor? Check!
* Character that dies due to greed? Check!
* Foe that gets what he/she wants and then dies? Check!
* Large temple full of treasure? Check!
* Temple that is actually a space ship? Check!

I had such high hopes for this movie. I adore the first and third ones of the series (sorry, Kate Capshaw, not a big fan of all the screaming in #2). And I thought that since the third one was so good (my favorite, actually), the fourth one was bound to be at least amusing. Wrong.

It took us two nights to finish it because I kept falling asleep and that right there should have been a sign that it was not worth it (that and the fact that they kept mentioning the Mayans in South America - gah!). But we finished it anyway and then looked at each other and immediately agreed that it was a big old stinker.

The one thing I did like about the movie was the fact that there was no helpless, screaming love interest. Karen Allen (Marion) revised her role and I loved her character. But other than that, total waste of time.

However, I do give two big thumbs up to "Sex and the City" and Wii Music game. Those two are definitely worth the money if you loved the HBO series or have a Wii console. I would pay to rent those again, and that means a lot from someone as cheap frugal as me.

Postcrossing

Let me first say thank you to everyone for your tips and sympathy regarding our little non-sleeper. Sometimes I forget that we're not the only ones who are going/have gone through sleep deprivation. We will be trying some of your tips and with any luck, I'll have some good news to report back to you in a week or two.

**************

A few months ago, I read about Postcrossing in this post by Swistle. I was immediately intrigued by the concept.

Here's a quick rundown: register with the site, request addresses, send postcards to random people around the world, they update the site saying they got your postcard, wait, you get postcards from around the world (or the US if that's an option you chose on the site).

As a former geography teacher, I am loving it. I've sent postcards to Finland, Italy, Spain, Taiwan, Japan, New Zealand and Germany.

I've received postcards from Australia, Germany, Italy, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Spain. I'd show you pictures of them but my camera is acting up. But trust me, they're beautiful and I love the little messages that the senders have written on them.

I love opening up the mailbox and seeing a postcard from a surprise location. And since the economy is tanking and traveling is pretty much not an option for us, I feel like I'm still getting to see other parts of the world.

And the best part is that it's cheap, albeit nerdy, entertainment. I found Texas-y postcards for a quarter apiece and the international stamps cost 90 cents each.

Of course, it's also educational, which I LOVE. I show Sydney each card that I get and we've even pulled out her globe to locate the countries on them.

So, two huge thumbs up. Happy postcrossing!

Running on Empty

I am tired. Not just "Hey, I could use a nap" tired, but "If I don't get some real sleep soon, I'm not going to make it" tired. I don't think I've ever been this tired in my entire 30 something years of life.

At nearly six months old, Evan is still not sleeping through the night. We've tried reinserting the pacifier when he wakes up in the middle of the night and that works for say 20 minutes and then he's awake again. And he doesn't just whimper; he wails. Loudly. The boy has a great pair of lungs.

We've tried the cry it out method and he just won't stop wailing. After several nights of what seemed like hours of angry screaming on his part (although I was pretty close to screaming, too), we gave up and I just went back to feeding him when he woke up. We can't just put him in his room and let him go until he wears himself out because he'll wake up the other two. And heaven knows we don't need all three of them awake in the middle of the night.

I've tried focusing on his naps because according to the experts, "good sleep begets more good sleep" in the infant population. But, thanks to the schedules of the other two kids, the poor kid just can't get regular naps. He naps for twenty minutes and then I have to get him up to take Liam to Mother's Day Out or to go meet Sydney at the bus stop. I've tried keeping him awake until after we've done drop-off/pick-up, but he either falls asleep in the car or gets overtired and then can't go to sleep at all. I'm at a loss for what to do and we're all suffering the consequences.

Ryan is so tired that he dozed off at a stop sign the other morning. Thank heavens he was stopped and not on the freeway.

The circles under my eyes are becoming permanent. Makeup doesn't even cover them anymore.

Use any cliche you want and I probably fit it: I look like death warmed over, like the walking dead, like something the cat dragged in, like something the cat threw up and then dragged in.

And even worse, I am grumpy. Actually, grumpy is an understatement. I am one of those people who has to have sleep. I function best when I get nine hours of good sleep (Ryan thinks this is ridiculous, but I know myself and I'm sticking to it). The last time I saw nine hours of uninterrupted sleep was March of 2006. Two and half years of sleep deprivation is enough to make anyone crazy. Come to think of it, isn't sleep deprivation a form of torture in some countries?

If ever there was a reason to not have any more kids, lack of sleep is it (at least for me). Yes, kids are expensive and yes, we're out of rooms for them to occupy, but those are things that we could deal with. But I absolutely cannot deal with the sleep deprivation that comes along with babies anymore. I don't know how the Duggars do it. Maybe they're those lucky people I hate envy whose kids sleep through the night at six weeks. Or maybe they just function better than I do on no sleep. Who knows.

So, any tips on how to get the little man to sleep better? I "top him off" at 10 pm or so and he has started eating solids (although I pretty much have to force it down him) so those two things should help, but I'm not noticing much of a difference. Any other ideas?

Well, Duh....

You Are a Moderate Mama

You're not overly political, and your views fall more with the American mainstream. In fact, it may be difficult for you to decide who to vote for at times! Your approach to politics is reasoned and well though out.

Are You a Liberal Lady or a Conservative Chick?

I Voted, Did You?

Have you voted? If not, put down the computer and go right now. Seriously...go right now. All of your e-mail and blogs will still be there when you get back.

OK, now that you're back.....

My all important "I Voted" sticker has a skull next to it because I voted early last Friday. And because I voted on Halloween, I got to vote next to an Indiana Jones look alike. I bet no one else can say that!

I took all three kids with me because what else am I going to do with them I want them to learn how important voting is. And true to form, we had some Sydney-isms.

As we were walking in, she asked if I had to raise my hand to vote. The man passing us on the sidewalk chuckled. I explained that too many people were voting to do that so I was going to use a machine and punch some buttons instead.

As we were leaving, she declared in a very loud voice, "I hope Barack Obama wins!" (She's seen him on TV - Ryan and I don't discuss politics in front of her). The man walking in to the polling location thought that was rather funny.

And she told me yesterday that her school has a mock election and that she voted for John McCain and Sarah Palin. She didn't really tell me why, but I think it's because she liked the SNL Sarah Palin skit that she caught a glimpse of on the news. The little boy that gets off at the same bus stop as Sydney told me he used the "Eeny Meeny Miney Moe" method to decide. I have a feeling he's not the only one who uses that approach.

Anyway, I hope you vote/voted. And I hope your "I Voted" sticker is just as cute as mine.

Lost

We have the tradition of carving our jack o'lanterns the day before Halloween. We can't do it any earlier because they'll get all mushy and gross thanks to the lovely Houston humidity. So Thursday afternoon, I pulled out our carving paraphernalia and began to prep our pumpkin.

I must tell you at this point that I have the habit of putting my wedding and engagement rings in my pocket when I'm in the kitchen. I'm afraid that if I leave them on, they'll get all gunky with whatever I'm working with and I'm afraid they'll fall down the sink drain if I leave them on the counter. So into my pocket they go. It's not the best solution, but up until last Thursday, it worked for me.

So my rings went in my pocket and I began to work on the pumpkin. To avoid having pumpkin guts flung all over the kitchen, I carried it out to the back porch where Sydney and I gutted it while the boys looked on. This basically means Sydney complained about the sliminess, Liam transferred pumpkin seeds into an old dirt lined planter, Evan fussed and I did the actual gutting.

Once the poor pumpkin was sufficiently emptied of its innards, we all hosed down and went back inside. I left the prepped pumpkin on the counter so that Ryan could do the actual carving later and got to work on dinner.

It wasn't until about an hour later when we were filling and rolling our spring roll dinner that I noticed my wedding ring had gone missing. My engagement ring was still in my pocket but my wedding ring was gone. I panicked. I dug through the garbage. I ran outside and dug around the leaves on the back porch. I peered between the slats on the deck thinking that maybe it had fallen out of my pocket while gutting the pumpkin. I crawled around on the floor thinking that maybe it rolled under a cabinet. And the whole time I cried.

Ryan hugged me and said it was OK. He said we could pull up the boards on the deck and look for it. I cried even harder. All I could think was, "What kind of idiot loses their wedding ring?" I was so mad at myself that I would have hit myself if that were possible.

Defeated, I sat down to eat dinner. And then a light bulb went off inside my head. I ran, and I mean ran to our blue recliner. I lifted it up, reclined the back, and ran my hand along the seat. And there it was between the seat and the armrest. Whew! I'd forgotten that I'd sat there to feed Evan in between the pumpkin and dinner prep.

So the ring has been found and all is well. I celebrated by having a glass of wine with dinner and vowed to never leave my rings in my pocket again.

But now I'm trying to figure out what to do with them when I'm in the kitchen (at night they go in my jewelry box). What do you do with your rings? Do you wear them all the time or do you have a special spot for them when you know your hands are going to get dirty?

NaBloPoMo

It's November and time for NaBloPoMo again. I've been falling behind on my blogging (and commenting) lately so I thought NaBloPoMo would give me a chance to get back in the game. I can't promise that all of my posts will be interesting and/or witty, but I'll give it a try.

As we're headed to my niece's 13th birthday party in a few minutes (how is it possible that she is 13?), I don't have much time to write, but I'll leave you with a teaser for tomorrow's post:

I lost my wedding ring last Thursday.

Chew on that until tomorrow!

Trick or Treat!

Last night we trick or treated in our new neighborhood for the very first time. The kids made quite a haul in the candy department. Now if I can just keep myself from eating it all!

Here they are in their Halloween finery.

Sydney as a bride:




Liam as a dragon (the headpiece didn't fit):




Evan as a pumpkin:




And since we let Sydney pick our jack o'lantern pattern this year, I give you Princess Aurora (aka Sleeping Beauty):






I hope everyone else had a fun Halloween!!