Mommy Mommy Land

over and out

2007-12-11T18:23:00.001-07:00

of Blogger. I have moved this blog. Please update your feedreaders, blogrolls, and links to follow me there.

www.MommyMommyLand.com

All of the old posts and comments have been switched (except any comments posted after midnight last night), even my first blogging attempts over in Myspace have been moved. Look forward to seeing you all there! Please stop in and say hi!

Chex mix, shmex mix

2007-12-10T16:54:00.000-07:00

This post has moved here

Everybody needs a hat is over!!!

2007-12-07T23:32:00.000-07:00

This post has moved here.

How cold I forget to post the Latka recipe for Chanuka???

2007-12-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

this post has moved here.

Aba on NAIS

2007-12-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

"If in the rare case that the government does this conspiracy(NAIS) and take over our animals, and our food, then rest assured that your ancestral bootlegging blood with kick in to full gear. Stop pissing and moaning, and find a spot in the middle of nowhere and distill your own livestock. There will be be plenty of folks around to drink it up. Brothers and sisters, prepare to drape your cattle in confederate flags and we can all stick it to the man!!!"

Well, guess I am going on The List today!!! Thanks, Aba

Everybody needs a hat #3

2007-12-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, Cite Fuzz is our final sponsor for the week. Like the others, the winner will be anounced on Friday!!!

It has been designed for the colder weather. It would look adorable on any little boy or girl.The yarn used is %100 cotton in red. Then there are stripes in Tuquoise, Orange, Lime, Yellow and Aqua.There is a fur trim in Yellow for an added flare and more softnessThe hat has been lined with ivory super soft micro-fleece.The fleece comes up to about the middle of the hat, for added warmth while still allowing the head to breath.You will love this hat and baby will too! This hat can be made from Newborn to 5T, just let me know at checkout what size you need.(message to seller section) This would make a wonderful gift!All items are: Pre-washed in fragrance and dye free detergent,Machine washable,And come from a clean, smoke free environment.

To enter, please go and visit Cite Fuzz and take a look around her store, then come back here and leave a comment under this post and let me know which of her products are your favorites. Then we will see you on friday to find out who the winner is!!!

happy Hanukkah

2007-12-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to enter the Everybody Needs a hat Giveaway below (2 giveaways are currently up! Another one will be added later today!!!)

Hanukkah? Today? What??

2007-12-04T11:20:00.001-07:00

Okay, so this year I was a little taken back that chanukkah was starting already as in today. Last year it was weeks, later, and actually fell in line with the schools winter break. Sunday was actually my real wake up call, as Aba and I were debating what to do during the 4 1/2 hours we had to be away from the house for showings, and Aba was like lets get Hanukkah presents, and I was all we have plenty of time, um no, I was informed we had 2 days, so off we went, and burned a hole in our credit card (a small hole, but still a hole is a hole).

This was not my idea of fun shopping, the first store we went to we all went inside and Aba and I tried to hide things in the cart from the kids (yeah, that went well). Then I took the kids to the car while Aba paid. Overpaid, and forgot a key item that was to difficult to hide in the cart. Once he got to the car and unloaded, I checked the receipt, and found such a problem!! So back in the store I got to go.

At the next store, it was decided, I would go and do the shopping, and Aba would stay in the van and entertain the kids. That went better, except that the store made a vast mistake in the doll aisle. All of the dolls were bigger than the doll clothes. And since Miss B really wanted this gift, and I was trying to make do with what I could find in the stores (1/2 because I thought it would be cheaper, and 1/2 because I needed gifts now not in 3 weeks) that simply wouldn't do.

So off to a 3rd store, the toy mecca, I figured if anyone had what I needed at this point they would . Well, they were out of duplos, and I mean o-u-t. But I did find the dolly supplies I needed and now we are good to go. (I can't find a picture online - how odd... But it is a 12 inch You & Me doll with hair).

And what happens, when you rush? and your house is for sale? Kids find things. Aba walked in on J playing with Baby B's toys which we had stealthily hid (in the toy store bags in our closet). Baby B has claimed one of J's toys and screams when we take it from her (which I have had the joy of doing 3 times now - it is the first thing I wrapped yesterday when I got the chance). With that much fuss from little miss happy, Aba has decided we will just give it to her, and he is off yet again sometime this week for a 8th gift for J.

This is not how we like to do Chanukah's but with the house sale, and packing, and chanukah being so early this year, things got all a-mush. I will tell you later how I want to do things around here for Birthdays and Hanukkah, to prevent this last minute credit card using rush, another time.

Everybody needs a hat giveaway #2

2007-12-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

Our 2nd hat is a handmade fleece stocking cap by Susie at Gottahavahat.com .

This cute winter fleece hat for children has fringe and a jingle bell at the end of the tail. It may be worn down or with the tail tied in a soft knot on top of the head for a more "boingy" look! and is available in a variety of colors (see color choices here).

It is simple to enter for a chance to win this fun hat, simply go and visit Gottahavahat and leave a comment on this post about which product of their's is your favorite!

Good luck! The winner will be posted here on Friday. If you are not a blogger, please send me an email so I can contact you if you win!!!

Note: you may enter one contest or all of them.

Everybody needs a hat giveaway #1

2007-12-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

To start the week of Everybody needs a hat off right, our first hat is a beautiful handmade feathered fuschia hat

This bucket-shaped hat with a slightly rolled brim is knitted from a double layer of acrylic worsted weight yarn and acrylic eyelash yarn, giving the hat a lovely feathered effect. Handmade by Scribbit

Stretchy enough to fit small to large-sized heads.

Entering to win this hat is easy, leave a comment on this post and hop on over to Scribbits blog and leave a comment. The winner will be posted here on Friday. If you are not a blogger, please send me an email so I can contact you if you win!!!

If you are interested in purchasing one of Scribbits creations, you can visit her etsy store, she has a lot of great creations available, so check it out!!!

Why buy teriyaki sauce

2007-12-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

when it is so simple to make? No need to spend dollars for a bottle when two cheap and simple ingredients most of us have in our cupboards will do just fine. Brown sugar and soy sauce.

Simple mix 1 cup soy sauce with 2 and 1/2 cups brown sugar. Stir together, and microwave for 2 minutes. Stir again, and look at the spoon, if you can still see sugar crystals microwave for anther 30 seconds to 1 minute. Easy to make and keeps well in the fridge, we usually make a batch or two a week. Yummy!!!

Don't forget tomorrow is our first giveaway for everybody needs a hat

Calling my brain, where are you???

2007-11-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

I do not know why this happens, maybe it is the lack of sleep over the years that have finally build up, or I have finally gone over the key number of disappearing brain cells from pregnancies, or that I am always multi tasking to the point where I don't know quite what I am doing. Let's recount my idiocracies of the evening, shall we?

I stared at the Tractor supply fence calculator for 20 minutes trying everything I could think of to get the freakin' thing to work, clicking here and there, typing, ctrl + clicking - everything I could think of, and when I finally gave up Aba came over and pushed the power button and it was raring to go (now, how come I didn't see that button in the 20 minutes I clicked on everything else possible on the screen)???

Or the conversation Aba and I were having about the pigs he wants to get, (Walter I think we are going to try and get them from you, and yeah now it is more than 1, Thanks, for that, really, thanks) and how we will keep our animals from running away. Aba said we should just fence in the whole perimeter of the property instead of little pastures, and let the chickens, cow an pigs wander where ever they want - well except for the market garden, that wouldn't be good. I countered with how I thought he wanted wildlife on the land to hunt, so we shouldn't fence in all the land, but then again, we don't really want deers though because they would kill all the animals. Yeah, that's right I said because we don't want the deers to kill all of the animals!!!, that makes tons of sense, right? I meant Bears, not deers, and yes I know they are different. Aba just gave me a weird look and started laughing " Yep, you gotta watch out for those killer deers!

And you don't even want to know how I attempted to put out the salmon tonite that I accidentally flambeed. Note to self: Blowing on the burner will not put out flames, you must turn off the gas, and move the skillet away.

I think I should just go to bed now before I mess something else up.

Hat buttons are available!!!

2007-11-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

It looks like we should be having a giveaway a day next week! Please feel free to post the above button on your site to let everyone know about this great opportunity. I have some really cute hats by some awesome people lined up. The first giveaway will be on Monday!!!

Button code:

A chill is in the air

2007-11-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

and hat season is officially here!!!

I am working on something fun for all of you, well rather your kids. With winter weather abounding I have been hat shopping. I have been scanning the Internet and visiting the big box stores for fun head coverings for the kids. And the cutest of all seem to be those that are handmade by talented people, which I definitely am not. I can't knit or crochet a stitch, my sewing gear has all been packed away for the move, and really I can't hold a matchstick to most peoples creative abilities.

I am trying to get some very talented individuals to donate their creations for all of you to win. I am unsure at this point if we will end up with 1 or 5 hats, but it should definitely be fun! So over the next few days while I am sorting all of this out, anyone have any great ideas on a name? I am thinking something like "kids in hats" or "caps for free", but again like I said I suck at the creativity thing.

But I will keep you posted (and if any of you have a hat making talent that I am unaware of, please send me a note so you can participate too!)

watch out for personal views...

2007-11-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Now, that I have warned you, I am going to talk about something I try to stay away from, politics. While this blog is my own personal piece of cyberspace, I was taught that politics are not something to be discussed in polite company. But I am going to break that rule. We all should have a say in how our country is run, and who runs it. And frankly I am not impressed with the "top" candidates so far. However, I feel there is a candidate that is just right for the job, but being overshadowed by the more well known choices.

Hillary, may be a Clinton, but she is not Bill. This is something we should all remember. She and Bill have different views on many aspects, and a vote for her will not bring Bill back to office. Plus Hillary voted for the war in Iraq, and to classify Iran’s 125,000-member Revolutionary Guard Corps a foreign terrorist organization. (Oh and McCain and Obama? They didn't vote at all - I don't want a president that won't commit one way or the other on issues to improve their political status)

Ron Paul, wants to overturn abortion rights, which is not the government's decision (really, why does it matter if a woman wants an abortion, each individual knows their circumstances best and why would anyone want to bring an unwanted child into the world???)

My vote is for Bill Richardson he actually seems to have his head on strait, is grounded in reality, and has a proven track record. But all that is really just talk. When I watch the debates on TV, I saw a real person, one who truly wants to help restore America to it's glory, and help all of us, the little guys who seem to get looked over. Bill is not a political Robot as many of the others seem to be. Go and take a look at his website, take a look around, you may be surprised that you haven't heard of him sooner.

This is not a sponsored post, I was reading another blog and remembered that none of us are to little to make a difference, and it is our responsibility to fight for what we feel is right. Let our voices (and opinions) be heard!!!

My oldest princess

2007-11-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

has been feeling a bit left out, with Baby B's birthday, and J's birthday and upshirin, so I want to devote today to her.

A beauty, who is comfortable in her own skin, always ready to help, and be a mommy to her baby dolls and little sis. And so smart, writes letters and asks how to spell words, and the world's best color-er. My Princess, Miss B!!!

Don't you love the Colorado winter static? The electricity is in the air, with shocking
kisses

look who visited the barber!!!

2007-11-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

last week:

this week:

I should be...

2007-11-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

I should be washing the dishes
I should be folding the pile of laundry
I should be searching the Internet for boxes
I should be packing the basement
I should be polishing the stair rails
I should be baking a batch of cookies
I should be mixing some bread
I should be taking out the trash
I should be shoveling the deck
I should be paying the bills
I should be organizing the bookcase
I should be tidying the dishes
I should be waxing the floor
I should be vacuuming the carpets
I should be scrubbing the walls
I should be touching up paint
I should be doing countless things,

But I am not. I am sitting in front of the fire enjoying the peace while the kids are outside and the baby is asleep. Curled up with my dog, heaving a sigh. Sometimes life gives us pause from our stresses and worries, a chance to revive. I am an impatient waiter, and waiting is what I am now doing, the to do list is all in place because of the waiting; waiting for the house to sell, waiting to move, waiting to go on to the next stage of life.

Cardboard Cake

2007-11-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, it is not really made of cardboard. It just tastes like it is. Cardboard and sugar, no flavor whatsoever. I am really glad I had to go to a special bakery 45 minutes away to buy it too, since it is the only place to get a completely kosher cake anywhere near Stepford. My home made ( Okay, okay, Betty Crocker boxed) cakes are much better!!

Oh well at least it was cute, and I did get to design it. Oh, and J was happy.

A little boy

2007-11-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

Today was J's upshirin. A celebration of his transition from baby to boy, that is marked by his first haircut! Yep, he is now 3 years old, and by custom get's his first ever haircut. He no longer looks like a little girl, but rather the boy that he is. Everyone that attended cut a lock of his hair.
He tasted how sweet torah study is by licking honey off of the Aleph.

He received his first tzitzit and kippah.

When we got home we finished cleaning up his new do.

and curled his new payot.

A baby no longer,

now he is a little boy!!!

His locks of infancy will be donated.

Happy Birthday J!!!

2007-11-16T20:03:00.001-07:00

Today on J's 3rd birthday, lets take a moment to review him over the past year...

Is that a Hillbilly in Stepford???

2007-11-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the grandparents are either going to kill me, or shake their heads and laugh. I am after all known as "the best mom in the family who never wears shoes or puts jackets on her kids". I will readily admit it. And we do seem to do things kinda backwards, like the time Aba and I bought 2 baby pygmy goats, and kept them in the middle of Manhattan Beach. Or tried to raise chickens in a pink bathtub in the bathroom, or... well you get the picture.

Anyways, I love this picture probably because it just kinda sums us up, and I didn't do it.

Please notice the lack of Jacket, gloves, or shirt for that matter (Oh yeah and there were no socks under the snow boots). Notice the several different varieties of Camo all being worn at once on the snow boots, coveralls (at least they are winter weight) and fur lined hat. Yes, a fur lined camo hat with ear flaps hanging down. And don't forget the rasta colored beaded necklace with the huge gold star of David around his neck

Then picture where this took place. No, N was not out on a hunting adventure, in the woods, or on a "man weekend" he was here, at home, in our cul-de-sac of model homes in Stepford, where everyone is perfect at all times. Yeah.

I love my little man, he fits in our family perfectly. A little bit of class, a little bit of a Jew, a little bit down-home, and a whole Lotta himself just being him.

Children's Book of Interest

2007-11-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

I Just found this great new children's book called I Love you More. Actually, I was contacted by the publisher to review it, imagine that! Well, it finally arrived a few days ago, and it has fast become one of J's top 5.

It is a simple story, one of my favorite types with less than 20 words per page (when each child brings you a book or 3, trust me you want them to be short). It reminds me of the old 50's song My Love, or more recently Deeper Than The Holler .

Anyways, it is a great book, and your kids will love it.

Oh, yeah, and I was not paid to write this post, but I was given a copy of the book to review.

Blog Roll!!!

2007-11-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

You will notice my blog roll has changed a little (okay, a lot) recently. A lot of it is because I am researching and gathering information, but part of it is also because many of my old blogs stopped posting. I am now also using Google reader so that it takes much less time each day to find all the new posts, and I don't miss any, I have no idea how that affects their reader stats though. Please visit these blogs, maybe you will find one you enjoy as well!

How do you choose which blogs to read? Personally I will read a month or so of posts before deciding if I like a blog or not, and will give them a month of "bad" posts before deleting them (if they just stop posting I keep them in my reader, hoping they will come back, but take them off of the blog roll). How do I choose the ones I like? Some of them are funny, some are informative, some have great pictures. And some are just interesting in an odd sort of way. If there are any blogs you think are great, feel free to leave a comment and I will check them out, and for fellow bloggers, don't forget you comment, I follow.

A homesteading Neophyte
Absolutely Bananas
Adventures in the 100 acre woods
Cauldron Ridge farm
Children in the Corn
Pioneer Woman
Dad Gone Mad
Fast grow the Weeds
Free Range Living
Get in the Car
Home Ec 101
House, Poor. Homesteading Happy
Inner Musings and Misadventures
Irish Sally Garden
Kentucky Hollers
Notes from the Trenches
Oh, the Joys
Pile of O'Melays
Post Secret
Small Meadow Farm
Stuck in Customs
Sugar Creek Farm
Sugar mountain farm
The Bee Buzz
The Mountain Dweller
The Queen of Shake-Shake
The Unusually Unusual Farmchick
Touch the Earth Farm

The real estate chronicles...

2007-11-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

As most of you know we are trying to sell our home in suburbia in order to finally move to the country, something we tried to do 3 years ago but failed because we had 3 days to find a house, and it was Easter weekend, and there was a record blizzard raging, which prevented our agent from taking us to see the homes on acreage we had picked out, so we ended up in a "planned community" ie tract house in suburbia. Anyways...

The inside of our house is now boring beige and white (goodbye custom harvest colors), half of our belongings are packed (the china, 98% of the kids toys, all family pictures taken down, half our clothes - to make the closets bigger you know?, etc.) Aba dug up all the bulbs we have planted thru the years and stuck them in the fridge (yep, a whole shelf is now full of flower bulbs!!!), the toy room is no more, our dining table is in the dining room, so we now eat standing around the counter, or picnic style on the floor (the dining room is carpeted, not a good idea with kids, especially since it to is beige as well). I scrub all day, and tell the kids not to touch anything, it is tons of fun here!!!

So we have done essentially all we can do. And now we continue to wait. Wait for someone who sees this house as a home for there family. Yes, I know the market is slow, but where we live it is still a sellers market (just barely, but it is). The hardest part though is that our neighbor decided to place their house for sale as well. We both have the same perks, cul-de-sac, walk out basement, 4 beds, 3 baths, etc. etc. etc. But she works, has 2 kids that are in school all day and at her ex's on the weekends, and doesn't cook like I do. So she is not being run ragged by the process like I am. That doesn't really bother me, I know this is all only temporary, but what I don't get is why she had 17 showings last weekend, and we had 0. Yep, zero, she has a showing or 2 everyday, and we have had 1 all week.

Why would some one not look at both? Especially since our asking price is less!!! Okay, sorry with the ranting there... (It has been a long few months).

Anyways we are ready to move on, we know where we want to go, we are hoping no one puts an offer on it before we do, or before our house sells and pushes us out. Aba is ready to go - planning in his head, figuring what he needs to do once there, researching and reading about things he needs to know more of (like bees); the kids are ready to go - dreaming of fishing at our own creek, collecting eggs in the mornings and begging for horses (yeah, we are not getting horses); I am ready to go with seed lists to order; and even Master Hunter is ready to go and have room to roam.

We are living in Limbo, neither here nor there, waiting for the next step, waiting for an offer, waiting for an acceptance, waiting for the next ball to drop. Waiting for our lives to continue. Just waiting...

Homemade, from scratch

2007-11-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

So we have been doing some extra cooking, actually I have been trying to teach the kids where things come from, like bread and cheese. So this morning, Miss B and I made some homemade from scratch Cottage Cheese

And yesterday N made Children in the Corn's wheat rolls, They are just as good as she says they are, but I must confess we cheated a bit. N threw all the ingredients into the bread machine on the dough setting, and then we just cut into pieces and baked them!!! No refrigerating or anything!!! Aba and I were discussing that they should make great hamburger buns!!!

So there...

2007-11-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

thanks Queen of Shake-Shake we all need a little bit o'bling!

Piles of halloween candy sitting around?

2007-11-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

We have tons, and have decided to repurpose it into....

Cookies!!!

Simply take your favorite chocolate chip recipe and substitute in whatever candy you have instead of the chocolate chips. We used a cup of Reeses peanut butter cups chopped up and a cup of assorted Peanut m&m's, regular m&m's, reeses pieces, mini m&m's, and candy covered kisses.

it was a super halloween!!!!

2007-11-01T09:08:00.000-06:00

1

2007-10-30T20:55:00.001-06:00

That was my fault, sorry...

2007-10-29T10:07:00.000-06:00

Today I took N to school. Usually he rides the bus, but I had to hang posters for the Fall festival, so why not give him a ride, right?

So we get to school, drop him off, hang the posters and I am going over details with the principals secretary to make sure everything is approved that needs to be. All the little ones are behaving well.

Then B has to go potty, and the secretary goes to check room availability for this months PTO meeting. That is when it happened. J, the 2 year old has spotted a red lever on the wall, it shone in the sunlight, and had a handle. Apparently, it called to him.

What do you think happened next?

Yep he pulled it.

The alarm rang. Loudly.

People start moving, I apologize, they know he did it, but it is too late.

The fire department is on the way, the sirens are blaring we are asked to evacuate. I apologize again and B comes running from the bathroom.

Again I apologize. Then I go to the car and leave. I feel like I am sneaking away from a crime scene. The sirens are louder now. I pass the fire engine a half a block away from the school.

I feel awful, but what do I do?

On the bright side, I now know with out a doubt if there ever was a fire a N's school the firemen will be there pronto.

Oh, the joys of having a curious 2 year old, that does before he asks.

NAIS...

2007-10-27T15:43:00.001-06:00

I have been reading all over the Internet about this new? government (USDA) program that is being implemented, and boy am I confused!!!

From what I understand NAIS is a voluntary program for farmers, homesteaders, and ranchers to register their property and their livestock so that the animals can be tracked from birth to slaughter. Okay, I understand someone might want to know where an animal has been, but what is wrong with just keeping a log? and this is supposed to combat terrorism by preventing terrorists from doing something to our food sources. Now, this is where I started to get confused. A terrorist is going to give a cow TB or something and kill the country???

Then I read where NAIS is completely voluntary, but in Michigan there is a case where they got a search warrant to tag all of the cows and in Colorado kids were banned from participating in the State fair since their parents ranches were not registered with NAIS, What???

Apparently other "industrialized" countries are doing it so, we need to too, but it is expensive, and jeopardizes farmers privacy and requires them to immunize all animals ( say goodbye to antibiotic and hormone free!!!) . Also all animals any one Might think of ever eating including horses ( come on when was the last time you ate horse???) have to be registered. This is insane. And expensive enough that it could put many small farms out of business.

While I am admitting I don't know that much about it, and I am very confused, I am against NAIS. I also think this isn't something we need to leave for the farmers, ranchers, and homesteaders to fight for on their own. Everyone who enjoys freedom, and privacy, and organic, antibiotic free food needs to step up on this one and Just say NO! Apparently it is even being done sneakily some places where it is being hidden inside of a general farm bill.

Anyways, if anyone can give me more information, or help me get un-confused about this please leave me a comment or email me.

Mr. Rickity

2007-10-24T08:06:00.000-06:00

My painting friend, who is there for all my painting needs, well at least those that are small. When using Mr. Rickity to paint, it is an adventure all it's own, you sway you wobble and feel like you will fall, it is a constant mode of balance, while holding a painter full of wet paint, and then once you get comfortable and think things are under control...

You jolt the opposite way!

Wordless Wednesday Participants

1. Dallas Meow
2. digiMom
3. Courtney
4. marcia v.

5. Country Life
6. Little Eblings Academy
7. Mary mert
8. Jenn

9. And Miles To Go...
10. Shannon (Gabi\'s World)
11. Natalie

Check out the new Wordless Wednesday HQ!!
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Winter came early!!!

2007-10-21T22:23:00.000-06:00

In these parts, we traditionally get our first snow on Halloween. Usually right in the middle of Trick-or-Treating, but not this year! We awoke this morning to big white flakes covering everything, and by mid morning it was sticking in the street enough to have some fun...

Does anyone else notice how N's outfit looks a little Hill-billyish? I was laughing once I realized it, but he was outside in his thermal underwear, a fur lined camouflage cap with ear flaps - unbuttoned, and camo snow pants that are about six inches to long (I bought the wrong size, and we are expecting a growth spurt soon, it has been awhile for him..) no gloves, no socks ( yes Grandma he was wearing snow boots) and no shirt or jacket!!! Oh well...

a little complainer...

2007-10-20T20:57:00.000-06:00

So speech therapy has been going great. J loves his "tea-her Donna" and asks for " my Tea-her?" at least once a day; and can now actually say teacher and Donna! I can understand 98% of what he says without a problem, and if you are listening to him, most people can understand about 75%.

One of the great joys of J learning how to communicate so we can all understand him, is that he likes to complain. A lot. I am now bombarded with a variation of complaints. "Ahi hit me", " Ailey ook my shirt off!!!", "No, mine!", "no, baby! My Juice! and the list goes on and on...

It almost makes me wish he couldn't talk sometimes, but then he will be super sweet and say "Iss baby." "me too" and " chicken peas! " And I am so glad he is finally able to communicate with us.

Ai Ai Ai Ai

2007-10-17T07:46:00.001-06:00

The woes of house sales with 4 little ones in the house. It is very difficult to keep ones house looking "picture perfect" at all times. The dishes all done, the beds all made, laundry put away, bathrooms tidy with no fingerprints anywhere, the yard clear of toys and whatnot (from the dog) and the toys all picked up!!!

And to top it off, now I have to paint! Now normally I love to paint, however, not when I am trying to keep all the kids busy ( fall break = no school) and the house picture perfect. We are to "neutralize" the colors in our home. Realtors don't care that they are what is shown on HGTV and in the design magazines, and apparently the potential buyers don't like it either, so I am painting.

All this cleaning has really but into my blogging time, and fodder, unless you want to hear the trials and tribulations of making a bathroom sparkle while trying to potty train, or how to cook dinner and keep the kitchen spotless!

So wish me luck today the painting begins!!!

Pick a peck of pumpkins

2007-10-13T19:24:00.000-06:00

Despite being cloudy all day we went over to Rock Creek Farms to pick a 6 pack of pumpkins. With snow predicted for tomorrow, and Aba working next weekend, we felt it would be more fun to pick the pumpkins before we needed to dig them out of the snow!!! We attempted to follow Grandma with the fishies tradition of allowing the children to pick the largest one they could carry, and it went well with N, but Miss B had some trouble and as she started to cry it was to big, it began to rain! So with 2 other kids to get pumpkins for still as well as our own, Aba gave in and carried it for her. Maybe we will try again next year, although hopefully then instead of carrying the pumpkin to the car, we will be carrying them in from our own field! So for this year I did the best I could under the circumstances to get some pictures and follow tradition. Fortunately they only charged us for the pumpkins, and not for the 15 lbs of mud we brought home on our boots!!!

PTO makes me crazy!!!

2007-10-10T21:01:00.000-06:00

I have no idea why I signed up to help, probably because I had no idea just how dysfunctional and frustrating they could be!

If I ever try to volunteer again, shoot me!

Somehow I got involved in the fall festival, no I am not the lead, but the lead seems to lack, how do you say it nerve. Less than a a month away from the event and she still didn't have an official proposal, no budget, no estimated costs. It is a good thing that after Aba and I discussed the situation today when he got home we decide that this event better not get screwed up since the Kids are building booths for it! So I made a proposal, got a budget, and worked the particulars. And we got approved for funds. But now incompetent team leader is at the reins again. I would happily take over just to get the thing done with, but she won't share any information, just asked tons of opinions of anyone possible and then doesn't do anything with the info!!! Aaarghh! I am so frustrated.

And to top it off, now she wants to change the date and time yet again! It is less than a month away, we are on break for the next 2 weeks, and the date has already been approved and publicized!

I seriously think after this event, if we haven't sold our house yet, I am removing myself from the PTO. I do not think I can handle there incompetence anymore.

On your mark...

2007-10-09T20:07:00.000-06:00

Get set...

Go slippers!!!

Do you think they like there new slippers???

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2. And Miles To Go...
3. ellen b
4. Glennia
5. Wilson
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7. burntofferings
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11. Paula
12. Sherry

13. Andrea
14. Hoto
15. Our Happy Happenings

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No, I am not nuts, maybe just a bit crazy

2007-10-07T08:51:00.000-06:00

Inspired b y the post at Absolutely Bananas

The future: we were promised robots and hovercrafts and vacations to mars. But we have none of these. The future was always painted as a happy place where all was perfect. Where is all of that? All I hear about lately is war: Iraq, Afganistan, and now Iran!!! Global warming, how the ice caps are melting, the ocean is rising and stronger hurricanes!

Now I know some people say the American economy is doing great, and others say it is sinking. I don’t really know. But what I do know is that I want to do everything I can to provide my family with food and shelter. Along with a safe place in which to live and grow, and they have a lot of growing left to do! The other day for Breakfast a dozen eggs, 4 potatoes worth of hash browns and a pound of sausage and they were asking for more (Duggars how do you do it?).

It is no wonder so many people are turning back to the land, not to escape, but to try and improve not only their quality of life, but life for all. Now there are many ways of doing this from the most severe of going completely off grid, raising everything you eat and homeschooling, to doing small things like buying locally grown, switching lightbulbs out to fluorescent bulbs, and the 3 R’s : reduce, reuse recycle. Now don’t panic,.We are not going to the extreme here. Personally I am not really into homeschooling; but I am into gardening, and chickens. A garden is easy to grow – if you have the room. Chickens are fun and easy – again if you have the room. A cat would be great (I have always wanted one) especially if it stays outside and keeps the rodents out of the garden. And who knows what else will arrive ( I miss the goats we had to give away in the city). Best of all the food our kids eat will be clean. Organic. Fresh. Pure. Anyways…

Every little change each of us makes can help everyone. It is a combined effort people!!! So one day soon, once our house in suburbia sells (fingers crossed it will be soon) we will move to our own little piece of land and live one of the earliest American dreams.

Where have I Been?

2007-10-04T09:16:00.000-06:00

I have been down for the count with a super high temperature for the past 3 days. During which Baby B became a cling-on which I allowed because a) I was to out of it to do any different b) I figured she might not be feeling well either, and c) I think she is teething on the top now.

So anyways I was unable to get on the computer to read any blogs much less write. Anytime I tried to sit up my head went POUND-POUND-POUND and if I dared to stand it multiplied 10 fold. I even cancelled school for everyone on Tuesday because I couldn’t get in the car to drive.

While the kids were home and I was no help at all, N got Breakfast for everyone, and covered me with a blanket and everyone gave me there lovies; Teddy, koala, and froggy were my new friends. Along with the cold Owie bear. Imagine me on the sofa looking like death, a blanket on top, 3 stuffed animals a ice cold owie bear, and J and B climbing on top of me. Now that is the best way to get better, fast, huh?

You know what else the kids did? They learned how to operate the TV. Now how N went over 6 years not knowing I have no idea, but now they can change channels, change the volume, and even know channel numbers.

Oh course our house got trashed during this and we had a showing Wednesday morning!!! Oh well I got it cleaned in time.

Sukkot is here, yet we have no sukkah

2007-09-28T08:34:00.000-06:00

Which shouldn't surprise me in the least actually. Aba works. Alot. And he has friends which build these great magnificent sukkahs that can hold 100 people. And inevitably these friends ask for his help, and he always obliges. Aba also helps the rabbi build the shuls sukkah. So that means we have no time to build a sukkah of our own.

But every year while helping friends build there, loaning out our extension cords and heat dishes so they don't freeze in their sukkahs, allowing them to borrow our folding tables and chairs so they have enough seating for their guests, we go with out. Even if Aba did have enough energy to actually build us a sukkah, we would have nothing to put in it!

This year with our house being for sale I guess it would be kinda odd. I mean if a Goyam were to come and look at our house and we had a roofless shack built outside...

But every year Aba tells me of how our Sukkah will look next year. It will have walls to keep the wind out, tons of branches and greenery on the roof and walls, a table and chairs, heat dishes and lights. It sounds wonderful, and every year the vision gets grander in his head. Now I will just have to wait until the year when work does not force him to work through the holidays, the Rabbi does not need help, and friends to not call to borrow our sukkah supplies. And someday we will have a sukkah of our own.

Aba wants a pig

2007-09-27T09:15:00.000-06:00

Yes. you read that right. Aba wants a pig. Yes we are orthodox Jews and have no use for a pig or pork. But Aba wants a pig.

I have told him no on several occasions. But we all know what happens when I tell him no, and he has his heart set on it, like with the TV in his car? He gets it anyways. So Aba wants a pig, although he is not sure what type he wants yet...

He says they are great! They can eat all kinds of leftovers including spoiled milk and rotten meat! ( We have tons of that sitting around, right?) They can turn a pile of manure into compost in the dead of winter! ( yep a pile of manure) All great reasons to get a pig, right?!?!? Oh and he was going to get a pair, but I have talked him out of that since they reproduce every 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days. That is a lot of pigs!

Now don't get me wrong, I love pigs, in fact my first word was Pig ( betcha didn't know that) and I remember playing with the piglets on my uncles farm when I was little. But I also remember the smell, and the flies. And pigs get BIG.

I definitely don't want a pig! But it looks like we will be getting one sooner or later ( yes I know we live in suburbia, but we are moving to the country someday soon...) I have been informed it will be coming home as a "surprise" as well.

Aba will build a pen, get a dog (pig) house, and bring it home. And any questions that I may ask will be answered with a knowing "You'll see" Great. I guess we will be getting a pig.

So does that mean I can randomly bring animals home too? Well as long as I "secretly" build a home for them first?

So when looking for our house just look for the house with a mezuzah bigger than your head, and a pig in the yard.

Wordless Wednesday

2007-09-25T20:46:00.000-06:00

a summer favorite.

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1. Marcia
2. Nesting Momma
3. And Miles To Go...
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5. Blue Momma
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From the mouths of Babes...

2007-09-25T08:56:00.000-06:00

Shared by Miss B with me on the way home from preschool:

"Momma? 2 boys in my class lost a toof. Now they have a hole in their smiles! Hee Hee Hee!!!"

And why isn't the media covering this?!?!?

2007-09-25T07:39:00.000-06:00

Okay, I usually try to keep this blog away from politics, and email forwards, but something came across my inbox this morning that I could not ignore!!! An email that said England will no longer teach about the holocaust for fear of offending Muslims who say it never existed. What??? Since when do students, children get to decide what happened in history!!! Here is the email:
Disgrace for England!

This week in England every memorial of the holocaust has been removed from the school study programs, arguing that it hurts the Muslim population that denies the holocaust.

That is a sign of an upcoming worldwide disaster, terrifying evidence of how easily countries can give in to anti-Semitism.

It has been more than 60 years since the end of World War 2 in Europe as England didn't lift a finger to save the Jews that were butchered by the Germans and now they are Boycotting Israel Academics and removing the holocaust from the schools study programs. .

This email has been sent in order to create a chain of memory for those 6 million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians, and 1900 catholic priests, that have been murdered, raped, burnt, starved to death, and humiliated by the Nazis.

Now, more than ever, considering the efforts of Iran and others ' denying the Holocaust, it is most crucial to do whatever it takes to ensure that the world never forgets .

This email should reach at least 40 million people in the world.

Join us and become a link in the chain of memory for those who have past in the terrible events of the Holocaust. Help spread this email around the world so others may understand and help as well.

Please send this message to at least 10 of your friends or contacts. Please do not delete this email; it only takes one minute to pass it on. Thank you for your efforts.

Now, I don't watch the news, but I would think being surrounded by orthodox Jews on a regular basis one of us would have heard about this before now! So my second thought was is this a hoax? And upon googling I discovered that it is real, very real.

But I only found 2 news sources about it! Why are they trying to keep this from the public? Apparently everyone in the world needs to hear several times when Madonna takes her famous friends to Israel for the High Holidays, which has absolutely no impact on the future generations and is purely gossip, yet when a whole nation will no longer learn about the holocaust, only The Daily Mail and The British Times Online are strong enough to report it? Where is the mass media? Why is this not being blown up on news stations everywhere? Why is this being allowed to happen?

If we do not teach our children the past, they will be doomed to repeat it in the future. Why are we allowing a small religious sect to dominate what is being taught or rather not taught in schools? We need to learn from the past, not forget it.

Baby B walking

2007-09-23T09:49:00.001-06:00

Just like me???

2007-09-21T06:32:00.000-06:00

Miss B is a dolly girl. She carries her baby dolls around constantly, dresses them and feeds them, takes them for walks and puts them down for nap. I love that she is so kind and gentle and is such a good doll mama, so when we got the American girl catalog in the mail the other day, I knew the perfect Hanukkah gift for her would be a Just Like Me Doll, but apparently as I perused the choices, there is no Just-like-Miss-B doll to be had! Yes they have all the components of a Miss B doll, just not on one doll! Simple though I thought, I will call the company and tell them the combo I would like, and they can piece together the right doll, I mean you would think it would be fairly easy for a doll company to put different hair or eye color on a doll, right?

Apparently not. I described what I needed: Medium skin, Dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and earrings. I mean couldn't they pop the brown eyes out and put hazel in and add earings??? Apparently not. So disappointing on one hand that I can't get this special doll for her, but on the other hand it really shows how special she is, that they do not have a generic doll just like her.

So anyone know where I can get her a doll just like her?

No more Mr. Nice Aba

2007-09-20T07:37:00.000-06:00

this was declared last night over dinner. A dinner that did not go as smoothly as planned. Yes the children behaved, but Aba decided that we have been being much to nice to the children allowing them to get away with more than is allowed.

This is all my fault I have to admit. I allowed B to skip school yesterday because

A> N gets out of school on Wednesdays at the same time she is supposed to arrive a half hours drive away.
B> I got stuck talking to the principals secretary about PTO mishaps for over a half hour. If she went she would have been in class for less than an hour. So apparently my priorities are a bit messed up.
C> while I was at PTO Tuesday night N used this as a reason to skip his homework (basically he did not tell Aba about it).
I am sure there are more reasons, but those are all I remember.

Upon last nights declaration
1. we will have no more TV on school days and only movies on the weekends.
2.Our families priorities will be Judaism first.
3. All boys must wear Keepas at all times and say hamotzi before eating.
4. Education is our second priority.
5. N must learn to read a book all on his own. And do extra work assigned by Aba.
6. B must go to school everyday , and I will be signing her up for the ~~expensive glorified daycare~~ lunch bunch on Wednesdays so she arrives on time.
7. J must be potty trained N-O-W, despite the fact he still can not communicate properly.

I have been informed by Aba our children are a mess and we are going to be tough on them till they all straiten out and fly right. J sneaking out of bed at night? Not anymore! School trips planned on High Holidays? Not for our kids! School involvement with the PTO? Not if it takes me away from the family!

Lets see how long this lasts, but for now it is Boot Camp with Classical music, Paper and Pens, and Potties all around.

Wordless Wednesday - my boys

2007-09-19T07:49:00.000-06:00

being silly

and remember I do follow

Another Monday...

2007-09-17T11:34:00.000-06:00

overcast and wet. A great way to start the week. J had his hearing test today and past with Flying colors so it is strickly a speech issue, which is great (and he has been making great strides with his "teacher" speech therapist).

Today is one of those days where warm comfort food is what we all want warm bread and butter, rich soups and fancy coffees .

thought for the day: Why is it that babies always find the one wet spot of paint on the wall to touch?

and the push for fall is on!!!

2007-09-16T07:49:00.000-06:00

Aba has been trying to get some end of season fishing in, even though he could fish year round, he prefers to focus on Hunting with Master Hunter once the season opens ( in just 2 weeks!). N has just returned from Camp Jackson and had a great time. While I was scared he was going to loose Teddy (now wouldn't that be a nightmare) he managed to bring him home. Yeah!!!

B did her big recital in the Park yesterday and did a great job (Pictures will be coming soon) and we got the bonus of it being car show day, so we got to spend a few hours wandering through the old cars and tractors. Joy of Joys.

and sometime last week Baby B got her 2nd tooth. I think that is all the new news for now. Last week was really hectic with the Holidays and all, so hopefully I will have more time to blog this week.

wordless wednesday

2007-09-12T07:21:00.000-06:00

is going back in time many many years to bring you a pic of who else but Me!!!

Wordless Wednesday Participants

1. Gliding through motherhood
2. Ali
3. Little Eblings Academy
4. And Miles To Go...
5. 2boys2teach
6. Mommy Community
7. Lisa C

8. Natalie
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Watcha readin'?

2007-09-11T15:36:00.000-06:00

I love to read, but barely have the time for it anymore, as there is always something to do... But over the summer I scored and got 2 really good books at Costco. If you liked The Red Tent and Memoirs of a Geisha ( The book not the movie, the movie sucked) than you would like these too. The Gilded Chamber which is currently our read aloud book on car trips for Aba, and The Garden of Ruth.

On another note why is Baby B fusing more now that she got her first tooth than before it came in? I wonder if she decided she likes the numb feeling ones gets from Oragel?

4 clean kids

2007-09-07T07:27:00.000-06:00

early in the morning. A feat all its own.

The first day of Pre-K is today, and B is all set to go as long as we get the immunization sheet and health forms back from Dr. Lujan; if not her first day will be Monday.

Is anyone else as interested in the Duggar family as I am??? It is some kinda sick obsession. I want to know how they do meals, chores, laundry, handle fights, etc. Well, not just how they do, but how all large families do. I read a few blogs by moms of many, and I just have an odd fascination I guess. I like to look at it as research, since with 4 sometimes even the most mundane tasks become monumental. If you are as curious as I am maybe you should take a look over at Larger Families and Notes from the Trenches with me.

Super J to the rescue!!!

2007-09-05T07:16:00.000-06:00

Wordless Wednesday Participants

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5. Donna W
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8. patois

9. Crazy Working Mom
10. Drowning Me Slowly

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a helping hand

2007-09-04T07:16:00.000-06:00

Recently a friend and neighbor of ours found out she was pregnant. While this is great news, she has been put on permanent bedrest and is barely 4 months along, which is difficult to say the least, when she has just become a SAHM to her 2 year old, and released the nanny. With everything going on they are not able to rehire a nanny.

I have no idea what would happen at our house if that happened, how she can stay in bed with an active 2 year old... I guess this is when it takes a village, or community to raise a child. I am now bringing meals over to this child 3 times a day to help out, and while it is difficult, and I complained about it last night when I first found out I was volunteered for the job, I really am glad to help, and try to make this time as easy as possible for the mom to be and the little 2 year old.

A thunk in the night..

2007-09-03T22:14:00.001-06:00

turns out to be J, who has rolled out of bed. Good thing he is in the bottom bunk.

(picture taken in July at Mystic Springs Resort in Utah)

a day...

2007-08-31T14:44:00.000-06:00

a day of laundry.
a day of quiet.
a day of dishes.
a day of cleaning.
a day of errands.
a day like many others.
a day all it's own.

A day at the state fair

2007-08-29T22:31:00.000-06:00

so this weeks pictures were all taken by Aba, well except the one of Aba, I took that one, at the Colorado state fair.

Some notes of the day:
*at least 50 photos were taken of chickens, yet this was the only one where the bird was in focus and not showing it's butt, or wing, or something.
* B milks a cow like a princess, see her hand, the one not touching the cow, so ladylike...
* tired 2 years olds can sleep anywhere as J demonstrates.
* it is worth paying the money for a wagon to not to hear your kids whine about how much they have to walk, and how hot it is.

PTO is a disaster

2007-08-25T17:05:00.000-06:00

I have no Idea why I joined. They have a ton to do, with no money and no organization. We meet for an hour once a month, which is not enough for what they want to accomplish.

Anyone want to just donate the $5000.00 we are supposed to raise instead???

Things that make you go hmmm...

2007-08-22T20:09:00.000-06:00

A conversation with N

Me: Honey, what is Alex’s last name?
N: Zander.
Me: Thank you. I write down Alex Zander.
Me: Are you sure?
N: Yes, Alex-zander.
M: So his name is Alexander Zander?
N: No. Just one Zander. Alex Zander.
Oy Vay!

Que Aba laughing hysterically, as I roll my eyes. Somehow I don’t think that is right.

on another note, I follow.

wordless wednesday

2007-08-22T10:25:00.000-06:00

Wordless Wednesday Participants

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3. Jen
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5. Courtney

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silence is golden..

2007-08-19T12:20:00.000-06:00

or is it?

Well when the silence is me, because I have lost my voice, and haven't seen it in over 2 days now, not so much.

I can't call the kids, I can't talk on the phone, I can barely talk to Aba, let alone have full on discussions.

Aba thinks it is funny, the neighbor man laughed with Aba about it, the kids can do pretty much anything, unless I can get to them and not hear me telling them to knock it off.

Hopefully I can talk again soon. All this whispering is getting on my nerves.

Baby B has walked!!!

2007-08-15T16:13:00.000-06:00

4 steps yesterday, and 3 today.

Finally the carrot cake recipe

2007-08-13T09:16:00.000-06:00

Sorry it has taken so long Nana...

Cinnamony carrot cake
2 cups flour
2 cups of sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cinnamon
3 cups carrots
1 cup oil
4 eggs

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2.mix the carrots, oil, eggs, sugar, and cinnamon together
3. mix in the baking soda, baking powder, and flour.
4. either pour into a 13 x 9 inch pan, or into 24 cupcakes ( lined with cupcake liners)
5. bake for 350 for 30 minutes

To make this recipe gluten free I use this flour mix I Can't Believe It's Not Gluten! Gluten-Free Cake Flour Mix

and I know this is your favorite part

to die for cream cheese frosting
8 oz. butter (real butter NOT margarine)
8 oz. neufchatel cheese (its the 1/3rd less fat cream cheese)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
16 oz. powdered sugar

1. Cream the butter and cheese together
2. mix in vanilla
3. sift the powdered sugar into the butter/cheese mixture 1 1/2 cups at a time and blend till creamy.

wow, I never thought...

2007-08-10T07:54:00.000-06:00

I would ever see Aba and N sitting side by side and reading books of their own, for enjoyment. Amazing what a little Harry Potter (Aba) and Captain Underpants (N) will do.

1st grade and ballet

2007-08-09T07:10:00.000-06:00

We are officially back and trying to get back to our regular schedule. That means school and bus stops, ballet, and cleaning.

1st grade seems to be going good for N so far, although he comes home very tired each day.

Ballet is B's current activity and after 2 classes yesterday (almost 2 whole hours) she was still running strong, but a bit upset that she did not know the dances as well as the other girls (after 5 weeks away what does she expect?) but I am sure she will be fine by the time the recital comes around. Oh, and B has had the Bluegrass appliance reinstalled in her mouth, the finger sucking that restarted at Bampa's is simply not okay.

Baby B is standing on her own, but not yet walking. And I am trying my best to get her to eat something besides breast milk; yesterday I actually got her to eat something at all 3 meals (yes I am pretty proud of myself!!!).

J is being a bruiser as usual. We had his speech evaluation, and he will start seeing a speech therapist with in the next few weeks (apparently he is trying to talk with out using his tongue), and his stitches from the road trip (yes he was jumping on the bed in the hotel room) are pretty well healed, now we are just waiting for the glue to come off or dissolve, or whatever it needs to do.

Ahh, life as usual.

Wordless Wednesday

2007-08-08T07:49:00.000-06:00

sometimes they are super sweet, then there are the other times...

Home sweet Home

2007-08-04T20:34:00.000-06:00

It is so nice to be home. It is nice to visit and see new things, but nowhere is like home.

I totally got to blog about this...

2007-07-28T14:45:00.000-06:00

The carrot cake recipe is sooo going to have to wait .

Today Aba and I made a brief stop at the mall to pick up a new padres hat to replace the one that I ruined (well I was trying to clean a mysterious stain off in my usual way of an overnight oxiclean soak... but forgot to take it out before the spin cycle on the washer Oops!!!) and I had to make a pit stop at the bathroom. So off to the food court and we went and found the "family lounge" Oh. My. God. This place is great!!!

It starts with a sitting room with 8 arm chairs and side tables, and a tv with children's shows on. then 4 curtained off armchairs and side tables for private nursing, then down a small hall to nice built in actual changing tables ( not the fold up kind) with a sink and a bottle warmer next to each one, and diaper disposal bins. round another bin and you will find an additional sink and a microwave. Before you even get to The Bathroom.

The Bathroom with 2 sinks, 2 toilets; an adult sized one and a child sized one, and 2 real mirrors. This place is great. I almost wish that we could have stayed longer, but then again it is only a bathroom...

30 hours in LA

2007-07-26T11:12:00.000-06:00

What can 1 mommy with 4 little kids do at grandmas house with 30 hours in LA?

Well for me it started with reminiscing about how much times have changed, and how things look differently and the demographics have changed. The schools I have attended are still there, but different somehow. The houses? Almost all torn down and McMansions put up in their places; except for a few holdouts that have not jumped on the remodeling bandwagon. I am glad I have left, and I miss it all at the same time.

What do I miss about it? I miss the way things were, my childhood, and the certainty of life. Things that are still in my memories but are no longer the reality of my little town.
What don't I miss? The traffic, and graffiti (2 words I got the joy of teaching my children Mommy why aren't we moving? It is called traffic honey where there are too many cars and we all slowly crawl by, or turn the freeway into a parking lot. Mommy, look a circus train!!! Where ??(looking around while sitting in traffic) Over there!!! Oh, that is not a circus train (chuckling) that is graffiti.(on the wall next to the traffic on the freeway) What is graffiti? Graffiti is where some very bad people paint where they are not supposed to, because there parents didn't teach them not to. Ooh, they need to clean up there mess and get a spanking. Yep they sure do....

We visited the Zimmer children's museum, and the kids had a great time, N played Rabbi, and J visited the wailing wall. We went shopping and I got new clothes (thank you Mom!!) and we saw Hairspray, you know the new one in theatres??? Apparently I am the only one in the Universe that did not know that John Travolta was playing the part of Edna Turnblatt; It was great, B was dancing the whole time, trying to mimic the dance moves and bopping around.

And of coarse we went to my favorite place to eat, Pachanga, the chicken quesadilla is still as good as ever. As we were leaving and made a pit stop at In-n-out I realized another reason I am glad we have left, I saw 2 girls I went to school with, 1 single and living at home with mom, because it's the only way she can afford to stay, and the other old and haggard looking overweight; unloved and used. As I glanced around at my little family I knew I had the best life and just what I always dreamed of having.

Surprisingly it was the best trip to see my mom I think we have ever had; we got our argument s out of the way before we drove up, and stayed a brief enough time that it was enjoyable by all.

Gluten free Chicken enchiladas

2007-07-20T22:41:00.000-06:00

warning these are not kosher, nor are they my usual enchilada recipe, but Nana seems to love them, and Auntie LaLa requested the recipe and then left with out it in her rush to meet the parents. So here we go:

2 rotisserie chickens
1 large can of mild red enchilada sauce
1/4 sweet onion -maui, walla walla, etc.
17 corn tortillas
4 cups shredded cheese, jack/ cheddar mix ( I think at Costco it is called the Mexican mix)
9x13 pan

1. preheat oven to 350
2.dice the onion small
3. shred the chicken, discarding the skin and bones
4. pour enchilada sauce in bottom of pan to coat.
5. on a tortilla sprinkle a Tablespoon of onions, lay out 1/4 cup of chicken and a sprinkling of cheese (a tablespoon or so), roll up and place in pan
6. continue with all the tortillas (2 rows of 7 with 2 side by side in the middle and 1 cut in half above it).
7.pour remaining enchilada sauce over, spread to cover tortillas (shhh, I use my fingers for this)
8. sprinkle remaining cheese over the top
9. bake for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Yummy yummy, serve as is, or with a dollop of sour cream, and maybe some hot sauce!

milk! it does a body good!!!

2007-07-20T12:05:00.000-06:00

especially when it is organic, kosher, hormone and antibiotic free and contains DHA. Win $300 free from Horizon over at 5 minutes for mom

In the midst of vacation...

2007-07-20T11:44:00.000-06:00

if you can truly call it that. I like to think of it as visiting the family, since on a true vacation I should be waited on hand and foot
(well, I should, shouldn't I?) not cooking dinners, washing dishes and trying to keep the kids at a dull roar.

We have seen most of the family at this point, and the kids love all of the cousins they have rediscovered. It is almost enough to make me want to move back so they can see them more often, but then I remember the reality of Southern California: the traffic, the gas prices, the drama.

Many things have transpired, and I foresee changes in the immediate future for many people, especially us. It appears that some long talked about changes, might be happening sooner rather than later.

While this is definitely one of the most cryptic posts I have ever written, I am afraid to jinx it all until we know more...

I do know that Miss B will have to have the bluegrass re-installed as soon as we get home, the finger sucking has by no fault of her own.

the land of the sun is where time runs away...

2007-07-15T19:11:00.000-06:00

I have no idea what happened it is like as soon as I crossed over the Colorado river the blogger in me went on Hiatus! I have been running running running!

The munchkins and I have been to a birthday party, a family BBQ, inflataworld with Bampa, the beach, etc. etc. etc.

Everyday a new and exciting adventure that leaves me wiped out from the heat and the humidity that I am no longer used to...

I fall asleep as soon as the kids do and wake after them ( thanks to Bampa who seems to love watching early morning cartoons as much as they do).

I promise I will write more soon.

Setting out...

2007-07-10T07:22:00.000-06:00

So, day 1 was definitely an adventure. Starting out with leaving so late that we ended up lunching less than 90 miles from home, driving through5 or 6 sunny rainstorms, and bypassing arches because we were to far behind schedule!!! With a pit stop in Green valley partly because the kids were going nuts, and partly because it was the last gas stop for 110 miles. We filled up with the cheapest gas in town at $3.22 a gallon, and then headed over the town park, complete with a huge missile in it to play on the olde school equipment; a metal twisty slide and merry go round.

When we arrived in our destination of Monroe Utah, we stopped at Bullies, this only place to eat in town and had some really great eats that didn’t take a huge dent out of the pocket book. 3 kids meals, 2 sandwiches, fries, rings, and 2 large drinks for under $25. Next it was off through the quaint little town, you know one of those one streeters? And got lost. Yep we managed to get lost!! But that’s okay – some nice ladies pointed us in the right direction and we found it. We were at Mystic springs at last! Aunt LaLa’s first reaction was a bit much, but she slowly warmed up to it, and finally seemed to enjoy herself.

After we had fun in the soaking tubs, and while we were headed back Miss B was running ahead in the dark, in wet sandals, on a dirt road, in her wet swimsuit, and well you can pretty much guess what happened next, Whump! She tripped and down she went and came up covered neck to knee in insta mud. Which of course meant a detour to the showers.

Just when we though the day was over and made a goodnight call to Aba, J of all people had the loudest tantrum I have ever heard from him, and one of record length, an hour of inconsolable screaming cries before he finally tired out and stopped, the cause of this tantrum? That he had to sleep in the pull out beds with his brother and sister and the adults got the real beds, well that combined with the heat, the overtiredness, and the complete change from what he is used to…

Off on Safari...

2007-07-05T08:16:00.000-06:00

I am off on a safari, complete with wild animals; roars heard in the distance and growls of complaint. I will be up at dawn and not rest till well after dark.

A dangerous journey awaits me, one that includes a 3 day trek through the wilderness visiting places unknown, places without (gasp!) an Internet connection, places I have never seen.

My fellow adventurer? Auntie LaLa. She should brace herself for this will be like no other experience she has ever had. I am still not sure if she is crazy or not to volunteer for this trek.

Wish me luck, strength, and courage to make it through, in one piece, in my Safari west to Sun Diego with 4 kids and a minivan.

Happy 4th of July

2007-07-04T13:59:00.000-06:00

This picture is on loan from Lori.

Towards the end of the day...

2007-07-03T08:25:00.000-06:00

The biggest slide ever!!!

2007-07-02T09:22:00.000-06:00

For the past 2 summers I have had endless requests to visit the big slide whenever we visit Estes Park, and we have never been. We have gone on the family bicycle ( Pedal cycle), to the movies, festivals, fishing, camping, walking down town and eaten all over the place.But Aba and I always found a reason why we couldn't go to the slide. Well , not any more!

We finally went, well Me and the 3 little ones B, J, and Baby B went, while Aba and N were fishing. Our other option - to go to the Scandinavian festival, which I think we went to last year, and honestly with temperatures hovering near 100, with over tired kids from the night befores BBQ, I was not in the mood to push the stroller over bumpy grass amid throngs of people to look at handmade crafts that are too expensive, and that I don't want anyways. So, we went to the slide.

B was the one who was originally clamoring for it, and I agreed for her and J to take a go, but being that they have a credit card minimum (and I was fresh out of cash, and didn't know Aba's pin number) we had to buy 5 rides, which was fine, as B and J could go twice and Baby B and I could go once.

The first time up we all went. and even though B was the first ready J took off as soon as he could, deciding to roll over half way down looking up for the rest of us. At the bottom he promptly exclaimed "again!!!" which is amazing for one who hates to talk. B on the other hand had to be slightly convinced, but again they went and both had a blast. I think J would have gone again and again and again given the chance. Given it was only a buck a ride? I will bring them back whenever they request, and be sure to get an extra turn for myself!

before 7 am

2007-06-29T06:40:00.000-06:00

Hysterical laughing from B
"Wow, an explosion of blood!!!" uttered by N
a clingy koala baby B
and gibberish "a hana mu nee, hi MAMA!" from J

what on earth am I in for today???

cheap fun in the summertime

2007-06-28T20:40:00.000-06:00

We had a great time yesterday at the Foam factory. One of the kids favorite places that we don't go to nearly as often as they want to.
We got in early and grabbed a bag for each of the kids, and started to load up on the foam balls. There are literally thousands of these balls. N had a blast shooting the "bombs" at people and even more so sneaking up and throwing them at me - and hit me squarely in the face several times (note: N throws hard!!!) B enjoyed playing with all the other kids (make that girls) and collecting just pink balls, while J loved the vacuums something he has been fascinated with at home (and giving me a headache with). Sucking the balls up to watch them come out at another end, and the slide. Even baby B had a blast trying to eat the balls. And the bonus? The fans from all the vacuums keep it super cool.

We go here about once a year, and always have a great time. My tips? grab a bag and tell the kids to hang on to it (they don't have enough bags and it is first come, first served), try to get there early in the day when it is less crowded, and if you have a baby crawling around, either Sling em, or Bjorn them so you can join in the fun! And a warning: be prepared to be pelted with balls, and it is loud from all the vacuums, next year I might bring ear plugs, (geesh I must be getting old).

We stayed about 2 1/2 hours, but the pass is good all day, so we could have come back if we wanted to (and probably would have after nap time if it wasn't such a long ass drive). It is a great place to take the little ones whenever you want some good clean and cool fun. On Wednesdays it is only $2 each, and you can stay as long as you want. They open at 11am and stay open till 10 pm.

is this a compliment?

2007-06-28T18:51:00.000-06:00

Aba informed me tonight as I was busy making faces with my new red hair (it was not supposed to be red, but you know how things happen in our house) the usual cast of characters, Cousin It, Helga, Yosemite Sam, Pippi Longstockings... and that is where the compliment (or was he mocking me?) came in.

He said our House is run by Pippi. ???? Isn't Pippi the scatterbrained, unconventional dirty little girl with a monkey? The one who can lift a horse with one hand and wears red and white striped thigh highs? What does that mean? Am I scatterbrained? Is our house unkempt? Are my household skills unconventional?

He was laughing when he said it, but still... I am starting to think this wasn't a compliment after all.

Wordless Wednesday

2007-06-27T07:19:00.000-06:00

to young to fish in the river, means big crocodile tears.
Wordless Wednesday Participants

1. estes clouds
2. Crazy Working Mom
3. Leslie!
4. And Miles To Go...
5. Shana
6. Our Seven Qtpies

7. Cheaper By the Half Dozen
8. Lori
9. Some kind of Wondermom
10. MorningSong
11. SeaBird
12. mama k

13. rayne
14. Summer
15. Amy Grant

Check out the new Wordless Wednesday HQ!!
View More Wordless Wednesday Participants

totally 2

2007-06-25T10:34:00.000-06:00

always full of smiles and laughter.

Day Trip: Estes Park

2007-06-24T21:25:00.000-06:00

I know the only thing anyone is interested in is the food. So lets just jump to that.

Breakfast/Brunch: The Egg and I
very tasty! We arrived around 10 and had a
fifteen minute wait (it was packed and we were told it would be at least 30 minutes). The kids were given menus to color and toy dinosaurs to play with. The kids meal were priced right ( I expected it to be higher for a mountain tourist town) about $4 for a milk, half a waffle, a scrambled egg, and a slice of orange plus bacon (yeah I know, Bacon). They all loved it and ate every bite. I got the Denver omelet with ranch potatoes, English muffin and a pot of tea. A selection of tea bags arrived (although I did have to ask for cream). The omelet was fabulous! Hot and cheesy and filling. The potatoes however were not so good; a bit cold, and while some were super crispy and hard others were mushy and soft. I didn't eat the English muffin, and took it and the potatoes to the river for Aba who also said they were cold. All in all I would eat there again. $28 and change after tip

Lunch: okay it was Ice Cream. I had been wanting to go to the Danish Cone Factory since last summer, I had read many rave reviews about it then, and was quite shocked to see a sign in the window that said business for sale. Once inside though I noticed something, that really turned me off. The ice cream was not homemade in fact it is one of the grocery store brands Blue Bunny. I am not saying anything is wrong with Blue Bunny, in fact we have some in our freezer right now, but I am not paying $3.50 for a scoop of it when I can buy a half gallon for the same price! So we walked out and down about a block to Laura's which boasts homemade ice cream, fudge and candies on their awning. The kids each got a scoop of Fresh - home made today Mint chip on a sugar cone, while I got the cookie dough. The scoops were huge, (I even asked if it was a single, it looked like double scoops) for $2.50 each. And oh so yummy melt in your mouth! Plus the service was great. After handing N the first cone he promptly knocked the ice cream to the floor with the first lick, and the lady gave him a new one for free. I would recommend smooshing the ice cream on the cones harder with a spoon yourself after this, and did for the rest of the cones. Also get some water before you leave as it is super rich ice cream.

Dinner: Bob & Tony's Pizza (sorry no website)
after finally convincing Aba to stop fishing and get something to eat we went into town for pizza. When the kids and I had walked by earlier in the day the place was packed and the heavenly pizza smell was wafting down the street and hooked us in. Seating is plentiful, altho9ugh it is a bit odd, they request you find a seat, look at a menu and then come back to order. We got the 15 inch #1 with white sauce (basically a pepperoni, sausage and mushroom pizza with olive oil Parmesan and spices in lew of tomato sauce), hot wings and fountain drinks - no beer served here (or at the other pizza place in town - Aba had me check) The wait wasn't long and for less than $40 we had stuffed stomachs and a to go box. the kids each downed 2 lemonades while Aba and I both finished off 3 sodas (I am going with we were dehydrated because I have no other excuse for it) The pizza was soooo good and filling. Aba and I both ate more than we should, and we still had 2 slices to bring home and 6 wings. I didn't eat the wings and Aba is asleep so I can't give you a review on those, but the pizza alone is worth stopping in.

Bling Baby!

2007-06-23T20:27:00.000-06:00

Look who got her first Bling Bling!

Isn't itweird, how bling has worked it's way into our everyday language? So much so that out of touch mommies like me even use it? Remember when it was lookin' fly? or all decked out? Wonder what will be next...

Anyhow she did great. No screaming or tears, and smiles before we even left the store.

Anyone want to buy a G rated blog?

2007-06-23T09:50:00.000-06:00

My blog is worth $260,252.94.
How much is your blog worth?

who knew?

A Do over day

2007-06-22T21:41:00.000-06:00

Everything got done at least twice today. Make breakfast, spill breakfast, make breakfast again. Call Mom, drop the phone and loose the call, call mom again. Pick up toys in the living room, make beds, find toys in the living room and pick up living room again.

See a pattern here? And it just kept going all day long!!! I vacuumed the living room twice after potting soil ended up all over it. Which prompted a move for the plants upstairs to my bath where the kids are not supposed to go, Gave the kids a bath, washed their hair and had them clean for shabbat, cleaned all the bathrooms and got back to cooking up dinner, hoping the day of do-overs was finally over.

Everything seemed fine, Aba came home and BOOM!

I got to do it all over again! Sand in the living room, vacuum again. Kids covered in Wet sand with sand in their hair; wash kids and clean 2 bathrooms again. Finished? Nope not yet! I walk into my room and round the way to the bathroom and …yep potting soil. All. Over. The. Floor.

AArgh!!

It would be funny (if it wasn’t me).

Who wants Ice cream? winner announcement!!

2007-06-21T16:49:00.000-06:00

Today feels like an ice cream day. And we all know homemade ice cream is the best right? So I have decided to have a contest I am giving away a fabulous Ice Cream and Sorbet Cookbook!
The drawing will be held on June 20th. To enter leave a comment with your favorite flavor of Ice cream, and place a link to this contest on your blog (non bloggers may enter as well, just leave a comment and email me).

The winner is Sue over at Double decker Buses

Thank you everyone for playing.

My summer plan

2007-06-21T15:48:00.000-06:00

Okay since summer is a week old today at our house, of course I have already had to rethink how to tackle it twice. My first attempt of everyone sleeping in and lounging around the house lasted a whole 3 days before it got out of control, so Monday morning I started a daily chart to try and real in the kids. Everyday we leave the house, and go 3 places; 2 errands (necessary items) and one thing for fun (after said errands) that I can use as a bargaining chip for misbehavior. – which I already had to do on Monday, our trip to the pool was cancelled.

So far the chart thing seems to be working, I wrote down what dinner will be, our three outings, and the chores the kids are expected to do (the same ones they have always been expected to do, but somehow now they seem to need them written down now in order to do them!

Yesterdays plan for the day was to head over to Target get B and I some shorts, and get myself a new swimsuit. Then to Ballet class, before heading over to Miss C’s where I was going to weed the patio (you know those pesky weeds that grow between the bricks) and till up a little garden area so she could plant some flowers, but did I get that done? nope But I did clean a wheelbarrow full of rocks off of the side walk, reclaim a planting bed from encroaching grass, fix the dog door platform, heavily trim 2 trees, and adjust the sprinklers. Next week I will be going back to do it again and hopefully this time I will actually do what I need to do, it was sooo hot yesterday I was trying to work in the shade.

But back to target I was able to get a swimsuit with out much worry ( I always seem to lose half of my two piece suits, and get stuck wearing this extremely unflattering red once piece, it always happens, I even had to wear it on my honeymoon because I somehow forgot to pack half of my 2 piece suit it never fails). But the shorts were problem. Apparently Target thinks summer is over and is clearance the $3.99 basic little girls shorts. I have gone every week for the past 2 months and they are always out of size 4. All I wanted was a pair of plain little girls jean shorts for B to be rough and tumble in, and every week they store has been out of size 4’s. If that wasn’t bad enough all of the adult shorts were either low-rise, skintight, or had a 1 inch inseam. Hello!?!?! Not all of us have twig thighs, Not all of us want to show the world our butts every time we bend over and some of us have some extra tummy loving and can’t wear low rise, or .extra low rise with any kind of ~~self dignity~~ flair.. So needless to say I am still short less, at least till next week, when I will try again!

remember these?

2007-06-21T15:39:00.000-06:00

Jellies!!!

Just picked these up yesterday at Target, in the dollar bins, aren't they great? (you can get them in clear and the see through pink in sizes 6 - 8 at mine)

Wordless Wednesday

2007-06-20T07:03:00.000-06:00

Teaching the art of Catch and release.

We have a crawler!

2007-06-18T22:31:00.000-06:00

Baby B is growing up so fast! Last week she started crawling a slow and awkward crawl, but crawling none the less. She is not even 8 month old yet. She now wakes from her afternoon nap in the bed and crawls to the edge then cries (we will have to find a new place for her to nap), she crawls around everywhere, slowly but surely. She gets into the fridge drawers, the snack cabinet, the pots and pans under the stove, and that is just in the kitchen! She taught me over the laundry detergent (which I promptly moved off the laundry room floor) and now I am constantly scanning the floor for little things that I know she will out in her mouth.

I can't believe she is growing so fast, and seems to want to be on the go exploring and seeing what she can get into and make mommy crazy. Hold on world here she comes!

What a fathers day!

2007-06-18T08:03:00.000-06:00

We started off the day with a 2 1/2 hour drive to some "gold medal" waters. 11 mile to be exact. Fishing as a family is not my idea of fun, but you know what it wasn't about me yesterday now was it. It was about Aba. And he loves fly fishing. So while I am sitting at the edge of the river with Baby B in a back pack and ~~yelling~~ calmly keeping J and B out of the water, then in the shallow areas (only as deep as the knees) N and Aba are having a great time fishing. N managed to only hook himself once! He was so proud, and proudly exclaimed that to Aba at the end of the day. What he forgot to mention is that he hooked himself once, B once, J once, and me once, along with countless trees and bushes that he had me untangle for him.

And we got pictures. Lots of pictures. And strangers got pictures. Every time N would get a fish on the stream of cars driving by the river would slow to a crawl and cameras would come flying out! I have no idea who these people were, but I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on web pages and scrapbooks across the country! ( I don't know if it was the fact that a young boy was fly fishing, or the fact that a young boy and his dad were fly fishing together on fathers day.

Anyways happy belated fathers day to all the dads out there, hope you had "tight lines" too!!

A conversation from last night:

2007-06-14T10:39:00.000-06:00

Aba: you would look good with dreads what?
Me: what?
Aba: the bleach gives your hair a dreaded appearance, and it looks good. that is not possible, how...
Me: Ummm okay. – pause-take a deep breath, it will be okay let me see Holy mother of G-d!!!! What the hell?
Me: Oooohhh. great just what I needed to deal with tonite

Yes Aba had unknowingly dreaded my hair while helping.

I then got the joy of ~~ripping~~ brushing them out in the shower.

Unfortunately all did not go as planned (rubbing bleach in the hair, does not create nice even results), so I do not have a finished product to debut today, and will be staying inside until we fix it! (Hopefully sometime soon)

Today is the last day of Kindergarten

2007-06-13T07:46:00.000-06:00

and it is a half day! Wish me luck to make it through the summer! Actually to make it till we get to California in July, then I will have plenty of reinforcements called Bampa and Nana, Grandma with the fishies, Grandma with the Doggy, Auntie Lala, Uncle A, and 50 or so aunts uncles and cousins!

Wordless Wednesday

2007-06-13T07:16:00.000-06:00

Celebrate nature

2007-06-11T10:42:00.000-06:00

for any of you professional or amateur photographs out there who have taken an awesome and inspiring photo of our beautiful nation, please join in this contest offered by Parade magazine. Show the world what you want preserved for future generations to see.
**this is not a sponsored post.**