that's filarious...

I am learning to have a new appreciation for words.  I recently starting reading a fantastic blog - Rants from Mommyland.  These ladies are great.  They have taught me to seek out new words to use that are semi-appropriate around children, yet still express you distress or intensity.  My favorite word that they have introduced me to is Whuck!  You can figure that one out - I hope.  Well, I got a new one for them - Filarious!!!!  It was accidentally spewed from the mouth of my dear Mr. Diet Coke tonight and I couldn't love it more.  When something goes beyond funny - it is filarious.  Use it and love it!

Holy crapola! I read a book - yay, me!

I have to laugh when I read the title of this post, but that is exactly how I feel.  I cannot believe that I made time for a good read in my mentally insane life.  I should start by saying that I didn't read anything too challenging.  I think I will leave Atlas Shrugged or War and Peace for another decade.  I read part 2 of a... (wait for it...)
Werewolf series - LMAO!  I know, I know... but if I was going to finish a book, it better be interesting.  I am not saying that more difficult, deeper fiction is not interesting.  It is just that I get enough complexity out of my day to day life (and The Real Housewives of New Jersey - man, they will keep you sane!), I don't need any extra.  I need to add, I think I finished the book so quickly because it was number two in a series.  I was already familiar with the characters and their highschool love struggle between girl meets wolf, wolf turns into insanely cute and tormented boy... Just change werewolf to vampire, and hellooooo, Cullen clan!

Anyway, I breezed through it between work, school, Margo, Edith and Agnes (didn't you know I renamed my kids?  You have to see Despicable Me to appreciate it) and don't forget Mr. Diet Coke.  I am super proud of myself for taking a little moment of time for myself and hoarding it.  I think I may have also been motivated to finish it quickly because the book was lent to me by a lovely friend and it was due back at the library this week.  I couldn't be late, but I also can't check anything else out on my own card - my children have contributed to the delinquency of their mother.  They have lost two books I checked out and now I owe $60 to the library.  Yeah, you read that right.  I could have bought them those stupid books 4 times over.  Oh, well, do you think the library will report me to the credit bureaus????

Visitation is almost over...

July was a crazy month for our family.  It started July 8th with a 9 day visit from Mark's mom.  We had lots of fun, but it was hard to have Sally leave.  When we were in Florida, I was used to seeing Sally at the very least once a week or so.  Now, I get to see her about every 4-6 months.  Not cool.  We made an outing to Vail while she was here - it was really chilly and rained while we were there - bummer!

When she left, she also took Delaney with her back to Florida for ten days.  Wow!  Talk about a change in atmosphere in the house.  It was so quiet.  It is amazing that minus one kid can do that.  We missed her so much but she had a blast and she came back so tan from all the pool and beach time.

On her way back, she brought my parents with her.  They have been here for 8 days so far.  We had a couple of fun trips.  We spent last Friday evening at the Denver Botanical Garden.  It was amazing.  I just picked a few of my favorite shots I got there.


We also went to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.  It rained for that trip too.  Unbelievable!  We have had lots of fun, so I am sad they are leaving tomorrow.  I can't wait to see them again and they are still here!  I am hoping it won't be another 6 months until I see them.

I owe, I owe, so off to work I go

So I haven't posted in awhile... bad me!  In my defense, I have had a ton of stuff going on in my life.  I decided to go back to school to finish my business degree.  I knew I was close to finishing but didn't realize that I only have 11 classes left to take - wahoo!!!  So, no big deal, right???  Right - well, that is until my friend Mindi comes to me with an opportunity to go back to work.  She tells me about this great part-time-ish job at Boppy.  For any of you that don't know the name (shame on you), it is a small company based out of Golden, CO.  They make fabulous mom and baby support items (breastfeeding pillows, full body pillows, etc).  Check them out http://www.boppy.com/. 

So, anyway, I interview on a Friday afternoon.  The job seems like something I can totally handle.  The hours are fantastic 9-3:30.  I am so excited.  I think the interview went really well.  My future potential manager is very impressed with my resume.  So, then I wait...

I get a call the next Thursday that I am being offered the job along with the opportunity to move into the office manager role in about 30 days or so.  Yay!!!  Wait!!! What???  Does that mean that I am going back to work full time?  Holy crap... what did I get myself into?  Oh shit, what about school?  How am I going to have time for all that?  Oh yeah, now I have to find a sitter in less than a week and my mother-in-law is coming into town, then my parents.  Drowning, drowning....  Ok, breathe, I can do this.  Hahahaha!

So last week was my first couple days of work.  I am already going full steam ahead.  I can see why they need the help and fast.  Everyone here is super busy, but they love it (from what I can tell in 5 days).  I spent the entire weekend working on my paper for class.  I got 60/60, thank you very much.  I am so proud only because I thought that I had botched it royally.  Isn't that the way it always is?  When you think you have written the next War and Peace, you get a crappy grade.  When you throw a whole bunch of BS together, you get an A.  Oh well, I am NOT complaining. 

So, if you are wondering why I haven't posted, checked my email or been on facebook recently - now you know.  I will be around...

Tres cookies

Some days I just got it.... some days I don't.  I would say that I have had about a week's worth of days that I haven't had "it", but starting last night, I got it back.  I started by making cookie dough for three different test recipes.  I started with a recipe online and tweaked it several times for both taste and altitude and ended up with what I am calling my Creamsicle cookies.

After making these, which by the way, are so yummy, I started the dough for citrus butter cookies.  I originally called them orange snaps but had to change it for two reasons.  For one, I add both orange and lemon to them and secondly, because I always think of ginger snaps when I hear "snaps".  They taste nothing like snaps, they taste just like butter - mmmmm!!!!

Finally, I took a wonderful recipe for chocolate chip cookies that my lovely friend Noelle gave me and changed that too.  Sorry, Noelle.  I had all this orange zest and OJ concentrate left over, so I decided to experiment with it.  I, personally, love orange and chocolate together... maybe that is just me.  I ended up with beautiful chocolate chip cookies with just a hint of orange taste to them.  

You may ask, "What's the big deal??? So you made so flippin'  cookies."  Well, here's the big deal.  I haven't baked in about a month, so for me, it was great to have the motivation back.  Also, I think I stopped baking partly because of this altitude thing.  If any of you bake, you know it is nothing like cooking.  Baking is all about precision and accuracy.  I have done alright since moving to 6000 ft, but not superb.  These cookies mark a turning point for me.  I think I finally have it down.  

I think the girls and Mark are happy about all of this.  For dessert tonight, they had... you guessed it, cookies!!!  Well, ice cream sandwiches made from the butter cookies and birthday ice cream.  From these messy faces, I am guessing they liked them.

Hail damage...

Ok, so I usually refer to the cellulite on my legs as hail damage, but this time it is for real!  Mark had the two big girls at work with him.  I took Piper on errands and then brought her home for a nap.  I was finally going to get a nap myself - YES!!!!!!!!  I can't tell you how wonderful it was to fall asleep without hearing Regan and Delaney arguing or playing loudly.  I think I got about 15 minutes and then was abruptly awoken.  I sincerely thought  we were having an earthquake.  It was one of the loudest things I have heard in a long time.  When I sprung out of bed and ran to the window, I realized that it was the famous Colorado hail storms I had been hearing out.

This is not Florida size hail - this is golf-ball size hail and it is hard.  It sounded like rocks hitting all of our wonderful sky lights and picture windows.  I thought it was going to break something. I ran and closed all the doors and windows that were open.  The day had been so nice and cool.  I immediately  called Mark and told him not to come home yet.  The hail lasted for about 5 minutes, so what did I do???  I ran and got my camera, of course!

Here are some shots of the damage and hail.  The first one is the hail that piled up against the garage door.  The rest are shots of the damage to our back deck, including, boo-hoo, my rose bush.

The best part of the whole event is that while we were checking out the damage, we could hear the tornado sirens going off in northern Denver.  We knew it wasn't for our area but we still took advantage of the situation.  We told the girls to run down to the basement for safety.  We have now quietly enjoyed the last 30 minutes.  Ahh.... This excuse might work for the next few days.

The fluffiest buttermilk pancakes ever - blueberry, chocolate chip or sprinkles

Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons sweetner (sugar, agave, Splenda)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup milk (I recommend whole or 2%)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Optional mix-ins

1/4 cup blueberries - fresh or frozen

1/4 cup chocolate chips

sprinkles

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. lemon or orange extract

Directions

1. Preheat your griddle over medium heat.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (flour, sweetner, baking powder and soda, and salt). In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients (buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter). 
3. When you are ready to make the pancakes, pour you wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and stir  until they are just mixed.  
4. At this point, I separate the mixture into different bowls for the different children.  In one bowl, I add about 1 cup of batter and 1/4 cup of blueberries.  In another bowl, I add 1 cup of batter and the chocolate chips.  In the remainder of the batter, I add the vanilla and lemon or orange extract.  
5. Use about 1/3 to 1/2 cup to make each pancake, flipping when the batter starts to bubble slightly around the edges.  Turn and cook for a couple more minutes or until cooked throughout.  To make the sprinkle pancakes, scoop your pancake mix onto the griddle, sprinkle the goodies on top and then flip when ready.  
6. ENJOY!

This makes a lot of pancakes - plenty to freeze and enjoy on another day.

A perk to living on the mountain side

I was having a particularly bad afternoon/evening today.  I was just tense and anxious about a quilt that I am working on.  I cannot get the tension right or the thread.  I was trying to use the "clear" thread on the top and brown in the bobbin.  Well, that never worked out for me.  Then I tried white on the top and brown for the back - I still couldn't get the thread to meet evenly in the battting.  I am blaming the batting at this point.  I bought extra lofty batting instead of my normal stuff.  I am just not experienced enough yet to make it work.

Anyway, so I had to rip out a bunch of quilting and figure out how to quilt it.  Mark graciously took the kids outside after we got home from dinner.  He had them out there for a long time - at least an hour.  As I yanked and ripped at my bad quilting attempt, I continued to get more upset until my girls walked in with these...

They picked them right outside our front door - well, ok... maybe across the street from our front door, but that would be the mountain side.  They are gorgeous.  We all may have hay fever in the morning, but in the meantime, they are a beautiful addition to the kitchen nook table.  THANKS GIRLS - and Mark for supervising!  That made my night!

My first custom quilt SOLD - I couldn't be happier!!!!

I can't believe that I started something as a hobby and already had a chance to make a little money doing it.  I will be happy if I can pay for my personal fabric and the small loan from my hubby used to purchase my new machine.  I love the time I get to spend in front of sewing machine, though my kids may think I am ignoring them some.  I am not sure that is a bad thing though.  I think it is important they see me doing something I enjoy.  They don't need 100% of my attention 100% of the time - they need to learn that they can't be the center of my universe all the time (even if they are...).

Anyway, here are some photos of the new quilt.  It was sent to my friend Sheralyn over the weekend.  She should have it by the end of the week.  I can't wait to see what she thinks.  She picked out the pattern herself from Moda Bake Shop by John Cary, the Quilt Dad and her fabric was Botany by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda.  I made her a little extra gift out of some of  her left over fabric.

I was a little hesitant to start it, but it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it might be.  Come to find out, I am really good at following directions - who knew???

Why do I even bother?

I am not sure how it works in other people's homes, but I have decided that I should never put away my vacuum cleaner.  Yesterday, I vacuumed and mopped no less than three times.  I want to preface this by saying that I used to be a neat/clean freak, but living with Mark and three girls that have a tendency to follow in his footsteps, has cured me of that.  I still LOVE, let me spell it out for you again L - O - V - E, a clean house, but it just ain't gonna happen 'round here.  IF my house has ever been clean all at once, the stains on the carpet or couch tell a completely different story of  our lives.

So, yesterday started off like most other days, I drag the out the vacuum and get started.  I clean the dog hair out of the kitchen area because, well frankly, yuck!  I then vacuum the floor in front of and behind the couch which is a magnet for crumbs.  I have asked a million times that food be eaten in the kitchen, but they love to have their breakfast of champions, frozen waffles, on the couch in front of the TV.  Since I am usually still in bed when all this happens, I am not there to remind them.  Morning vacuuming DONE!  Then I have to mop because of the awful white tile in the kitchen and nook area.

Despite the threats to their lives, the kids CANNOT stay off a wet floor.  My gosh, man!... how do your little feet get dirt on them?  You went from the bath to your bed to downstairs.  I know my carpets aren't that dirty.

So back to the floors.... so once I have vacuumed and mopped and they have tromped on them, I, of course, have to mop them again and thus repeats the pattern.  I finally get them dry and clean.  I put the vacuum away, I empty the mop water and think I might get to sit down.  Nope, the dog drinks her water.  The dog tracks her water through the kitchen.  The kids walk through the kitchen with those mysteriously dirty feet again.  I promise myself I will leave the floors alone until after lunch.

Lunch, vacuum and then mop.  Repeat at dinner.  Why do I even bother to empty the water - well, because it is gross, right?  Why do I even bother to put away the vacuum?  Because, eventually, a child will trip over it, right?  Wish I had more answers.  Until then, I am buying stock in Pine Sol.

I have taken a little hiatus for the last week or so.  I have been upset and busy.  Upset because my sewing machine broke and busy because I realized I probably needed a newer and/or better one for the quilting I plan on doing.  The machine I got from my friend Kristen is a great machine, I just don't know that it was heavy duty enough for the quilting process.  I broke the bobbin case last week and have been patiently waiting on a new one that arrived yesterday.  In the meantime, I found a new sewing machine that I have bought.  It is the Pfaff Quilt Expression 2.0.  It quilts like a dream.  It took me an hour to finish the entire quilt I had been working on prior to the breakage.  Before that, it took me two hours just to finish one little strip.  If I had to rely on the old machine for free motion quilting, I wouldn't be doing free motion quilting at all.  I could stick to other types of quilting but I do love the way free motion looks and also how it hides little imperfections in your seaming.

Anyway, I am super happy with my new machine... I just have to take some classes on a few of the neat little tricks it can do...

Blogworthy...

At dinner, we have a strict no-potty talk rule in place.  I am a little embarrassed to say that it is usually my hubby, Mark, that breaks that rule.  I believe it was his instigating a very young Delaney that required it be put in place.  I sort of blew it off as "he's just a boy" and moved on.

Occasionally, I have to remind him and Delaney that this rule is still in place - much to their disappointment.  Those of you that know Delaney recognize that I need that rule in place for the both of them, seeing as how they are cut from the same mold and all...

Well, tonight was especially interesting and funny (I admit that grudgingly).  Who knows how the conversation got started, but it ended with Mark saying to Delaney that if she didn't do something he was going to fart on her.  Well, she didn't do it, and he turned his back to her and, yes, farted on her.  HUGE SIGH from me...  He then proceeded to run from her and she, of course, chased him around the house.  Well, then, my lovely and usually well mannered 3 year old couldn't help herself.  She walked over to Delaney and said, "How about this?" and proceeded to also fart on Delaney.  Another chase ensued.  Another BIG SIGH from me, but this time I had to laugh hysterically.  I couldn't believe that my 3 year old possessed the bodily control to produce a fart on-demand.

Those of my friends with boys - you thought it was only you, right????

A couple of firsts (yesterday)...

I meant to post this yesterday right after it happened but it was late and I was super tired.  Plus, I had already posted something off the wall about carpet.  I figured I would save this one for today.

We had two firsts in our house yesterday.  One kinda gross and the other a monumental step toward growing up.  Well, I guess the gross one was pretty monumental too...

1.  Piper took her first poop outside of her diaper.  I was so excited because it is a very hard habit to break, pooping in your diaper.  You (a baby) are trained from the moment you are born to do "your business" in a diaper, so doing it elsewhere is BIG!  She didn't do it in the potty.  Actually, she did it on the tile right by the front door, but yay for not being on the carpet (refer to yesterday's post).  I just keep thinking that our lives will be so different when we have all of the kids out of diapers.

2.  Delaney got her first phone call yesterday from her friend Nicole.  I know this is a big moment so I am glad I am capturing it here.  I know I should have done a better job with their baby books, but better late than never.  At least she will have this blog to look at when she wonders who and when her phone career started.  I better brace myself, she will be asking for a cell phone before I know it.

Doing battle...

So I firmly believe that white carpet and children and pets do not mix.

As many of my "fans" (what, all 4 of you?... and that is including my mom and dad) know, we live in a rented house. We made that decision when we moved out here for a couple of reasons. First, we have never lived in Colorado. We wanted to make sure that Golden was where it was at... it is. Secondly, we still own our home in Florida. It is currently rented but I doubt that we will be able to sell it with the market the way it is.

So, in this beautiful home are (were) beautiful white carpeted floors. Ummmm.... I can't say anything else. I have three little girls and THEY ARE MESSY! They have very little respect for white carpet, but I can't really blame them. They were all used to our 1913 hardwood floors. I also have a great dane puppy. She is a year tomorrow, but a puppy still. Anyone that has had a puppy in the recent past remembers potty training. Well, amplify that by great-dane-size.

Bye bye nice white carpets.

Who puts white carpets in their home and then rents it out and expects them to stay looking great???? Well, that is what I tell myself anyway.

Flowers, flowers everywhere...

So, today, I couldn't let the beautiful weather pass me by - or I should say, my aspiring photographer self. It was so nice out; the weather was perfect. Regan and I decided we would take a little stroll around our front yard and take photos of the flowers in bloom. I am, by no means, a great photographer, but I do enjoy experimenting with my camera. I bought it all by myself earlier this year, a Nikon D5000. I am still contemplating taking a photography class at our local rec center so I can better learn all the functionalities of my camera. Until then, I just do the best I can.

Several of these flowers are waiting to be planted in my front yard. We had a late snow last week, so they haven't gotten planted yet. I keep trying to find the time to get out in the yard and dig a few holes, but time eludes me these days. So many projects so little time.

A few of the pictures are even of my ever present onslaught of dandelions.I try and try to kill them, but the spring in Colorado is too strong. My doctor, upon a visit for my constant post-nasal drip, explained that plants have to EXPLODE with pollen during the spring in between the snows. No wonder I can't keep the weeds at bay.

Yay - My quilt is done!

I finished my first quilt last night, sewing on the binding while I watched Up In the Air. My opinion of the movie is that it was just ok, but I LOVE MY QUILT!
I am calling it my Sea Grass quilt because I think the wavy quilting lines look like sea grass. I was inspired by a quilt Ashley on her website Film on the Fridge. She used this style quilting and I love it.

Since I have never free motion quilted before, I did a few practice runs and decided, with this quilt, there was way too much white to make it my first go at free motion. Since I loved the sea grass look, I decided it would look perfect in the white sections bordering the coin stacks. There were several comments on how long it would take, but it really didn't take me much time at all to quilt it. I have nothing to compare it to though, so that might not be completely accurate. The quilt is 39 x 49 - a good baby quilt size or small throw. I don't know what I am going to do with it yet. I am guessing I should keep my first quilt :)

Pasta Carbonara...

I made the best pasta carbonara tonight. Amazingly, I made it as I was half-way out the door to my knitting class. I could classify it as a Rachel Ray 30 minute meal - well, more like a 20 minute meal... If you are interested in making it just make sure your pasta is really hot when you pour it on your egg-cheese sauce because that is what cooks the eggs.

1 lb linguine
3 tbsp canola oil
1/2 package turkey bacon - chopped into bize-sized pieces
1/2 large onion - chopped
3 large garlic cloves - finely chopped
4 large eggs
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp butter (optional)
pepper

Bring your pasta water to a boil. Chop your bacon, onion and garlic ahead of time. Add the oil to a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the turkey bacon once the oil is hot. Cook until crispy, stirring frequently - about 6-8 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Add the pasta to the boiling water. Add the onion to the oil and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes and then add the garlic. Stir and let cook, over medium heat, until slightly browned and translucent - about 8 - 10 minutes.
While the pasta and onions cook, crack four eggs in a bowl large enough to hold all the sauce and pasta. Beat the eggs slightly and then add 1/2 cup of cheese and pepper to taste. Set aside.
When onions and garlic are finished, drain with slotted spoon onto paper towel with bacon. Add bacon, onion and garlic to egg mixture. Drain pasta, reserving about 1/4 of pasta water to thin the sauce if needed. Immediately add very hot pasta to the egg mixture and let sit for about 1 minute. Mix thoroughly, adding butter (optional) and top with the remaining cheese.

(If you aren't sure if your eggs were cooked enough to your liking, you can always microwave the entire mixture for a minute or two)

What is it they say about idle hands???...

So, I knew I had the girls all by myself tonight so what did I do?.... I let them play while I quilted. I was really going to take several days off while I waited for the backing fabric to arrive, but I just plain ole got bored. I dug out all the scraps I had from the first quilt top I did and started playing around. Before I knew it, I had cut a gazillion 2.5" x 5" strips. I thought I might make a border around the other quilt top so it would be larger, but that didn't really look good. I then had the bright idea to just start a new quilt top. What the heck, right? I sewed all the strips together and, tada! I had a stacked coin quilt top. So, I have to stay away now - for real, this time. I don't even really know how to quilt the whole thing together yet, let alone do the binding. This is learn as I go... I have to say thanks again to Sherry for all her help. She has made some beautiful quilts. I appreciate all her patience and email correspondence.

Thanks also to Crystal. I don't think I would have even considered having enough time to start this new hobby if I hadn't seen her do it.

First full day of quilting

I worked for several hours, like a woman possessed on my first quilt. I got all but the first six squares done today and put it together. I am so proud. I am still waiting on my backing material to arrive so I guess I will take the day off tomorrow. I am so psyched to get it done. I wish it was a little bit bigger. I might add a border around it to make it bigger. We'll see. Onward and upward!

beyond fun...

I started my first quilt tonight. I can't tell you how much fun it is so far. I am making a throw size quilt out of 8" squares. I am starting with something very easy. Anyway, I don't have much time. I had to stop myself at six squares tonight because I told Mark we would catch up on a TV show. I already passed out during it once this week. Duty calls...

I will keep posting my updates to the quilt. I know I have a long way to go. Sherry is telling me to cut my other fabric on a bias - I have NO CLUE what that means. I will have to rely on my new bestie, www.youtube.com for that one. I learn much better when I can see it than read it.

Ta ta for now.

Old Adventures in Knitting

So here I sit finishing an i-cord for a purse that I am making for my friend Sherry. We made a little exchange agreement that, for our birthdays, I would knit her a purse and she would make me a quilt. Well, I should note that I got my quilt very shortly after my birthday at the end of March, and here it is the beginning of May and Sherry has not yet received her birthday gift. You should know that her birthday was January 6th. Nice - yeah - winner, winner, chicken dinner!

I am committed to finishing this cord tonight and then felting it and sending this purse off in the mail tomorrow. I always have an excuse for why it isn't done yet. I really held off making the straps because I thought I might make something else for it. I took the purse to my knitting group and they all changed my mind. So, I am sticking with the i-cord. If I would have done that in the first place, it would have been completed last week; a mere 3 & 3/4 months after her birthday.

New adventures in quilting...

So I am getting my foot in the door with quilting now. I was going to take a class but between the class, the supplies and getting a sitter; we figured that would be close to $800 over the next 12 weeks. Since that isn't really an option, I have decided to request the assistance of my friend Sherry. She was more than willing to send me lots of information on how to get started. In fact, she taught herself online as well.

Sherry warned me that this hobby can be addictive. Well, I should have really taken that statement to heart because IT IS!!! I spent the night before last on the computer just browsing fabrics. Before I knew it, 2 hours had breezed right by me. I ordered my "charm packs" and "jelly rolls" and was on my way. I have so much terminology to learn. Thank goodness Sherry is there to tell me what is going on, or I would be completely lost. I have a new respect for all of those users I used to speak to when I worked at the help desk. I always took it for granted that I knew what Gigs and RAM and IP Addresses were. Now I am in a foreign land and can appreciate how difficult it is to communicate about a subject matter of which you know zilch.

Well, I go to the store to get my measuring and cutting supplies this Friday - once the big sale at Hancock's starts. I will keep my progress posted on here. No pictures yet, hopefully, soon.

My crazy has gone new places...

So if I ever wondered if my cleaning had some OCD tendicies, the wondering is now over.

To begin... we are getting a refrigerator for the garage today. I am so excited because the one inside this house is a P.O.S. It freezes my fruits and veggies all the time, and I currently have a glacier in the bottom of the freezer composed of ice and frozen chicken thighs (bone-in). Back to the point, in order to make room for the new fridge, I had to clean out a place in the garage. Once I started, I couldn't stop.

It all started with rearranging some things and then I was going to do a light sweeping. I need explain to some of my Florida friends the difference between the dirt here in CO and the sand in FL. During the winter, Denver does not salt their roads, they lay down gravel. This mixes with the snow and creates what we fondly call, dirt-cicles. These dirt-cicles cling to the wheel wells and underside of your car. When you pull into your garage, they fall off and melt. When the water drains off, you are left with piles of very fine dust. So what started out as sweeping turned into a battle between me and this dust. I swept and swept. Finally, when I realized it wasn't going to happen, I did it... got out my vacuum.

Now, I have never actually vacuumed my garage before - not literally. I have used the shop vac, yes, but not my trusty Meile. The shop vac is meant for outdoorsy stuff. My best friend, Meile, isn't. She did her best and before I knew it, I was using the extensions to get all the cracks and behind the shelves. I think I went a little overboard - IT'S THE GARAGE! Anyway, I am not saying you could eat off it... well, not until I get out the mop ;)

Jewels up the nose...

Just a quick one here but necessary for posterity sake. Regan pulled another one... She is the child that required a call to poison control 3 times in two weeks - on more than one occasion. Oh, that child! Tonight she was playing with her jewels and next thing I know, she comes running over to me - CRYING! I cannot understand what she is saying but I finally assume she has done something bad and hurt herself. The only thing that I can imagine is that she put one of her jewels up her nose. I was right! I felt her right sinus cavity and, yep, felt a little bump in there.

I started to run through what to do at this point and I realize that the ER is going to be packed on Sunday evening. Then, I remember, duh - blow your nose!!!!! She blew that little sucker right out and it landed in her lap. She then proceeded to feel the snot coming out of her nose, laugh and then eat it. Tender moments!

Another bites the dust... well, weekend that is

I can't decide how I want to wrap up this weekend. I have had too much caffeine to relax. I am typing this, aren't I? Oh, yeah, and who knew that the word caffeine doesn't follow the rule: "i before e except after c except for the cases of neighbor and weigh". Thank goodness for spell check! Back on track. I could go for a walk but it is really cold (excuses excuses) or I could finish sewing the aprons for the girls. Seriously, none of those sound as good as plopping my butt down on the couch and watching TV.

We practiced soccer at the field by our house today. Laney missed soccer Friday and Saturday due to a late April snow. We figured we would get in a little exercise, but jeez, what misery! I hope Delaney's whining is just a stage, but I have a feeling it is here to stay for awhile. She continues to tell me she doesn't want to play, but I had to spend $110 for her to join. Also, I got no uniform with that, so it was even more out of pocket at Sports Authority. She will just have to stick it out.

Mark came back from Tampa on Friday after being gone for 10 days. It is always a challenge to get everyone back into the regular routine, especially when it is straight into a weekend. Monday is back to work, so hopefully, all will fall back into step.

Princess Nightmares

So today was just a normal day sparkled with a few unusual events. I was awoken by Regan "screaming" for me at about 4AM. When I went into her room, she was sobbing and finally managed to tell me that she had eaten, yes, eaten Sleepy Beauty and Belle. I consoled her and climbed back into her bed with her, all the while, trying to explain what dreams are to a 3 year old. I slept with her for the rest of the morning in the hopes she would be ok come sun-up.

She made it the rest of the day just great. We spoke a couple of times about the "princess eating dream" and how it can be frightening. I was pretty sure she got the concept until she came to me at 6 PM with her Cinderella doll. Now, Cinderella is about 3 to 4 inches tall and hard but slightly bendable plastic. Regan also has Sleeping Beauty and Belle to round out her collection. Again, she started with her insistence that she ate her other two dolls. At this point, I begin to worry. I am wondering if she really was dreaming or did she somehow manage to choke down two plastic dolls and then wake up in the night feeling guilty about it. I sit with her and establish that she last saw the dolls in her bed but then they got lost... "no, no, not lost - eaten." I begin to panic but then get a clever idea. I ask her to please show me how she ate them by demonstrating with her "left over" Cinderella doll.

She says, "I can't eat her, she's too hard."

I feel slightly relieved, but then say, "Then how did you eat the other two dolls? They were just as hard."

She says, "I just crunched them down."

OK, so nothing really to go on there. I told her to go downstairs and I would try to find them.

She says, "Yes, help me find them in my tummy." UGHHH!

This would all be funny if I wasn't so paranoid and hypersensitive about health related issues.

I start tearing her room apart and after a few minutes of uncovering all kinds of missing apparel and health and beauty aids, I find the two dolls. WHEW!!!!

I brought her up and she immediately started to giggle with relief. I have never seen a 3 year old express relief before. It was memorable and sweet. We sat and talked some more about dreams and how they can feel real.

She then asked, "What are dreams, Mommy?"

We'll save that one for another day. I am just happy we didn't end up in the ER getting X rays of her abdomen in search of 2 missing princesses.