Done

I'm exhausted. Now I know how a chef can claim to be tired after their shift. I assumed cooking all day would be an easy job.

Well, I'm no chef, but after 2 days of cooking over 20 meals, wrapping the meals for the freezer and washing the dishes after every meal... it is NOT easy. Kudos to the real chefs!

At least now I can rest a bit. The corn husks are due in on Tuesday. I'll be preparing the meat on Tuesday night. The masa dough will get made Wednesday night and hopefully, my family will help me out then or Thursday night with the assembly of the tamales. Then the freezer meals will be done.

C has been busy cleaning and reorganizing her bedroom all weekend. Or so she says. I'm afraid to look. She's put lots of things in a room I've designated as the "yard sale" room. Things that have a use for someone else, to be sold in a yard sale, in the spring. She bought her "to be born soon" twin nieces some cute bibs for us to bring down to VA in February. Too cute.

I'm off to bed now because I'm that tired. Will I sleep the whole night? I hope so.

Is Some of That for Us?

I'm taking a break.

I'm in the midst of getting meals made and frozen to bring down to T and M. I'm certain the Relief Society in her ward will be present when the BIG day arrives. T and M won't need to do or cook anything when they get involved! This is my way of helping out instead of just being the person bringing a crib to them.

The house is full of aromas. B walked in from his Saturday chores and asked if the food I was making was only for T or would he be able to have some too. Not to worry B, there will be plenty for all. I'll be cooking all day for 2 days, never mind the tamales next week too!

Our neighbors house (about 100 or so yards away) burned down early this morning. With the frigid weather (4 degrees last night not counting the wind chill factor), I think there may have been some "inventive" heating going on and unfortunately, they have lost their house to fire.

Fire is the scariest "danger" thing for me. So, I'm double checking our heat sources today. Nothing flammable will be allowed within 12 inches of the baseboards, no candles burning unattended and we need to be careful while cooking. I'll check the batteries in smoke detectors (are they even on the walls from the last smoking oven fiasco?) I'll make sure our extinguishers are accessible.

Well, back to cooking.

What meals will I be preparing for T you may ask? Chicken Azteca, Pepper Guts, Beef Stew, Pirate Treasure Stew, Shepherds Pie, Ham & Broccoli Casserole, Stuffed Italian Shells and Taco-filled Shells. There will be Tamales, Chili, Pasta e Fagioli, Chicken Spaghetti Casserole and possibly, Chicken Soup.

My Hot Tamale Adventure Begins

As I mentioned last week, I want to learn how to make tamales. Why? Other than they freeze well, I'm not sure. They sounded yummy. I've been looking for meals to make that I can put into T's freezer. I know M served his mission in Texas where he found a love for all foods Mexican. With the babies due soon, I'm trying to help from far away.

As I do research and gather my tamale making supplies, I've discovered that making tamales is supposed to be a bonding experience. One person cannot make this time consuming food product by themselves. It's a 2-3 day process.

I've learned that this Mexican food is usually made in ONE large batch and only during the holidays.

Why?

First, making tamales is time consuming and since everyone visits at the holidays, finding people to help make them is easy. Second, dried corn husks are readily available during the holidays, not so much afterwards as I'm discovering. Third, they freeze and reheat well. Several dozen are made to save for eating throughout the year.

When I get my dried husks in the mail (Thanks B and Mexgrocer), I'll be recruiting C and B to help make our 1st tamales. If the tamales turn out to be tasty, T and M will be receiving several frozen tamales. I'll have a new family tradition to enjoy during the holidays. I also have a feeling that this experience will have me agreeing with the generations of Mexican families... tamales should only be made ONCE a year! You know, like turkeys for Thanksgiving!

If the tamales turn out to taste terrible... you'll never have to hear about them again.

Squall

SQUALL. That's a funny word. In my opinion, any word that has a "Q" in it makes it a funny word to say aloud.

SQUALL. It's not much fun to drive through a snow SQUALL. It's not any fun driving on the untreated roads after a snow SQUALL either.

SQUALL. To all you big SUV drivers who think their 4 wheel drive option will keep them safe while going faster than the speed limit in icy SQUALL conditions or those drivers who think tailgating me will make me go faster for them... SQUALL it won't!

SQUISH. Another funny spelled word with a "Q" in it. SQUISH-ed is what may happen to those drivers who don't know SQUAT about driving in winter conditions in New England.

Maybe they were in a rush to get home for their SQUAB dinner. Or was SQUID on the menu?

Whatever! I made it home safe and somewhat sound. Did I hear a SQUEAL of delight?

Crafty Love

Since I will be in Virginia for Valentines weekend and my mindset prior to that weekend will not be on doing Valentines crafts with the kids, I decided to get a jump start on the "Love Holiday"! The finished product looked much better with glitter and gemstones.

This is a fun holiday to celebrate with kids. Especially with girls who love the color PINK! The boys? Of course, they love the candy that comes with this holiday! And the party at school.

I Love You!

Hot Dog

I've enjoyed eating hot dogs my entire life. Growing up, hot dogs were the main course of our family's Saturday night meal along with brown beans and brown bread. (Wednesday's was spaghetti night and Friday nights were fish sticks.)

Summer B-B-Qs and camp out menus always included hot dogs. I love the natural casing variety the best. It has a "snap" when you bite into it. I enjoy the skin a little toasted, not blackened, with mustard, dill relish and minced onions. Once in a while, I like my hot dog with some sauerkraut or chili.

All the football game I've attended sold great steamed hot dogs and the booster club never skimped on the condiments. I'll admit however, I'm not a fan of the Fenway Frank. My high school served foot-long franks with a tasty homemade roll that I remember fondly.

So why am I bringing up hot dogs in my blog today?

I ate a hot dog for lunch almost 12 hours ago. It is STILL reminding me that I ate him for lunch! I only put mustard on it, no bread. I had a cupful of steamed carrots too. Why does this hot dog keep reminding me what it tasted like at lunchtime?

Growing old is weird, yucky and comes with heartburns more often.

Goings On

I've going to teach myself how to make tamales. It's said that they freeze and reheat well. Toss a salad or add rice w/refried beans and you've got a quick meal.

We're looking for a tutor for C to help with Physics and AP Stats. I'm checking out Sylvans.

T doesn't answer texts much. I'm assuming she's OK and looking forward to our visit.

Kaya was shy. She didn't want to go to dance class! Turns out she was enjoying the "Fly Guy" books I was reading to her and she wanted to hear all 4 of them.

I'm getting used to Krista's kitchen. Their kitchen sink has a sprayer that's also the faucet when you nest them together. Sprayer works great! IF you remember to push the OFF button before nesting it back into the faucet! My shirt got soaked! Several times! The old style sprayers stopped spraying when you let go of the handle. I miss the old one.

The rain brought lots of dense FOG. Driving home in the rainy darkness with a tailgater using their hi-beams was fun! NOT! I saw my cars shadow in the fog! I came close a few times of going off the road while driving around NHs fun, twisty, turny roads. It was easier once the tailgater turned onto another road.

Happy Birthday

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I'm a terrible gift giver. I'm an even worse birthday rememberer (I think that's a word) unless you live in my house and constantly remind me.

Today is my mother in-laws mgjth birthday (numbers aren't important) and I would like to wish her a Happy Birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RUTH!

She's been a good mother to B, raising him to be kind and loving. She's been a wonderful in-law to me with her advice in parenting. As a mother, I'm thrilled on how terrific she has been as grandmother to T and C! I look forward to seeing how she fares as a great-grandmother. I'm certain she'll exceed expectations.

Have a great day! Love You!

DIY

Last night, I had a burst of energy so I decided to get started on my tub caulking project by scraping off the old stuff.

It was not a pain free experience.

I used a caulk removing tool (that's what it was called) that was supposed to remove old caulk like butter. HA! It didn't! My knuckles hurt from being knocked into the wall because the tool kept slipping. Then, IT BROKE! I couldn't find a putty knife (I know we have some). I used a flat screwdriver for a while but stopped when I scratched the edge of the tub.

I cleaned up my mess and decided to start anew in the morning.

This morning, using a new putty knife, I finished removing the caulking. Noticing that one of the soap dishes on the tub wall had a huge crack in it, I decided that instead of putting new caulking on, we'd remove the old walls and get new adhesive tub walls at Lowes.

The old walls came off easy, a little too easy. I don't claim to be knowledgeable in construction, but what was behind these walls... well, even I knew that it was incorrectly built.

The drywall, what was left of it, was sitting on the edge of the tub. There would never be enough caulking that would've prevented the drywall from soaking up moisture. And soak it up it did. Thankfully, there's not much mold or mildew, but the dry wall crumbled in my hands. The studs appear to be OK.

The previous owners did several DIY projects to sell the house and now, we're finding out about them and paying for it. This summers house sill replacement due to improper deck building, a new roof 3 years ago because of inadequate venting, and now the bathroom, just to name a few projects of theirs that have cost us.

Well, the tax refund will be here soon and we'll hire our friend, Mario to come and fix the latest discovery of why one should never do too much DIY without seeking professional help. Maybe we'll get a new water softener so. Now the new tub and wall won't be orange.

We have the downstairs bathroom to use while we fix upstairs. Ouch, my knuckles hurt.

New Flavors

Krista's kitchen is done. Yea, I can breathe again.

Our upstairs tub is getting caulked this weekend, by me. Yuck and Yeah.

We're celebrating B's 45th birthday on Saturday with corned beef and cabbage. Yum, I hope.

I got 2 Asian/Hawaiian cookbooks from HA. New tasting (hopefully successful) experiences coming soon to my blog. Thanks and Aloha, L and M.

We can call T and M's babies by their names now! Charlotte Nicole (Charlie) and Evelyn Noel (Eve). That's a nice change from Baby A and Baby B.

C has decided to attend SNHU! And her Saab passed inspection today!

Fresh Air

"Breathe it in."

That was the thought in my mind on the way home. I opened the car windows until it got too cold. Oxygen. I missed it today.

Krista's having her kitchen cabinets refaced. They were honey oak and now it's becoming dark walnut.

She thought it would be a good idea to go to my house to have more room to play.

The children, who aren't keen on changes, would not leave! They felt protective of the house.

I explained that we'd have to stay in the family room for 6 hours. "No problem," they said.

The bathroom next to the kitchen was off limits. We'd have to go upstairs to pee. (They are afraid of being alone upstairs on a good day) This would mean using a path through the kitchen, near the workers (kids are shy around new people) to pee. "We can deal," they replied.

I couldn't cook and the fridge was in a corner. I couldn't get to it. Fluffernutter sandwiches and water was what I could feed them IF we stayed at their house. "That sounds like an adventure!"

They couldn't be persuaded leave, so Mom says, "Let them stay."

The men hung drop cloths on entrances/exits in the kitchen making the family room feel small.

After the initial destruction, they began gluing the dark walnut laminate on. The odor was terrible. Yes, there was ventilation. The doors from the garage and basement were wide open. Yes, we were freezing. The odor gave me a headache. The kids said they couldn't smell anything and weren't willing to go sledding lest the men did something wrong to their kitchen.

I found joy in watching their 3 cats. Maxie slept upstairs all day. Lightning kept hiding behind the sofa when the power tools were on. Then she peeked under the drop cloths to spy on the workers. Blackie kept sneaking out the garage door, going around back to the family room deck door and begged for us to let her in because the deck outside was still snow-covered. When we did let her in, she would repeat her actions.

Well, we do this again tomorrow. I think they're done with the gluing though. I hope.

Wash Your Hands After...

Most of you are thinking of something to fill in the blank in my title of today's blog. And you would be correct! Always wash your hands after ... that.

However, that's not what I'm blogging about today.

Did you know that the "heat" in peppers such as jalapenos are found in the seeds? I knew that.

I also know that one should wear gloves while preparing or wash your hands after handling these little seeds of heat. I KNOW THAT!

So WHY didn't I do that before I picked up a cucumber slice with my fingers and placed it to my mouth? The slice slipped a little and my full hand ended up touching my lips WHICH ARE NOW ON FIRE! Why didn't I listen to myself?

Jalapenos are not the spiciest of the peppers, but that pepper is my "heat" limit. I was making guacamole since B was at Scouts, it was safe to do so. He HATES avocados and lets his opinion be known every time I use one. Well, so much for safe! (BTW, the guacamole was delicious. Ask for the recipe if you wish. Be careful with the peppers!)

Memories of crushed red pepper flakes on the tongue for lying or swearing are flooding into my mind. Whew, my lips are hot.

Happy Birthday B!

Who Needs Christmas Snow?

"Frosty, the Snowman is apposta be made wib Christmas snow, Miss Jem."

"Oh, I think this snow will work too. What do you think?"

"Will it melt afore summatime?"

"No, I think it will last a while. As long as your brothers don't smash him."

"Miss Jem. You not making him like Karen did."

"Well, Karen had help making Frosty. Who's helping me?"

"I will sing da Frosty song to you. 'K Miss Jem? Dat will help."

" I know it will."

You'll have to imagine the song. If I knew how to download her song from my phone you would hear an adorable 3 yr olds rendition of Frosty, the Snowman. right now.

"Kaya, I can't find a magic hat for your Frosty. Can I use this beautiful red scarf instead?"

"Oh, sure. What if we can't find a carrot for his nose?"

"I have an orange piece of chalk in the garage we can use."

"Good idea Miss Jem."

Later on...

"Phew, I'm tired. If anyone breaks this snowman today, I think I'll break their necks."

"Miss Jem, do you mean our real necks or da pertend ones?" (I didn't think anyone was listening to me! Better watch my mouth next time!)

Snacktime...

"What do you want for snack today?"

"KRINGLES!"

"You want to eat Santas elves?"

"No, I want Kringles chips."

"OH, you mean Pringles!"

Who needs stimulating grown-up conversations? Kids say some funny stuff.

Ramblin' On

Our dinner went well. Good turn out, fun games and conversations. Next month, we go to Nathan and Kris Draney's home. They live in Fremont, 5 miles from us. They have a 3 year girl, Lorelei. Yes, the mom's a HUGE Gilmore Girls fan.

Snow came in big and heavy last night. We got close to a foot of heavy, wet snow. B loves that we have a snow blower. He was a good son and shoveled his parents driveway on his way home from work. He did it on his own, no prompting from me or his mom. Good boy B! You're growing up. Or are you trying to butter up your parents for a good birthday gift? Haha! Just kidding!

I slept a lot today. I think I got what the kids had on Friday. Headaches, sleepiness and general aches. I made it outside to pick up my car from getting inspected, new tires, wiper blades and an unexpected repair... a tie rod. What a difference new tires make! And my wipers now wipe the whole viewing area on the windshield. Nice.

I'm sending out the materials for the babies blankets tomorrow. I wish T would respond to my text to her before I seal the box. The owner of the studio assured me by email that once she gets my materials, she will put my order to the front of the line so the blankets will be made in time for the babies birth. Very exciting and I made sure I continued to save C's stuff for a future blanket.

Progress

I made progress in many areas today.

• My kitchen got a deep cleaning. No more dust or cluttered shelves! Everything has a place.
• Family room was dusted and I plan to reorganize the bookshelf. Cat hair on stuff was removed.
• Tub got an Iron Out treatment. More fixtures to get the treatment. White is prettier than Rust.
• Closet got neatened and vacuumed. Girls baby clothes were readied for memory quilt shipping.
• Laundered many things like T's baby blankets, C's clothes, towels, bedding. Even folded them.
• Dishes were done by C and later on, B. Thanks guys! Remember, everything has a place.
• Grocery shopping and a run to Walmart for cheaper paper towels were fit in my day too.
• Ate homemade turkey potpie with veggies from Raymonds Turkey Farm in Methuen. Yum!
• Missed the Saints vs Cards football game. Argh! But I was busy being busy!
• Played with Gracie and Zee. Hid some treats for them to find.
• B worked all day. So I left him alone tonight to prepare his church talk for tomorrow.
• We're having friends to dinner tomorrow. Prepared the Sweet and Sour Meatballs with Rice.

SNOW!! We haven't seen new white stuff in a while. Snow is forecast for tomorrow! YEAH!

Another Yes!

C has been accepted into Southern New Hampshire University! She is still holding out for Worcester State, but is excited about SNHU nonetheless.

Have a great long weekend everybody! I know I will!

Ew! EW! EEEEEEW!

Connor was sick today. Really, this time he was sick! He's the loudest and most demanding. I figured it would be a long day. He should get sick more often. The germs in his body slowed and quieted him down to an acceptable level.

I'm sure he let some of his germs on me! I got tired of saying, "Please, cover your mouth when coughing! Use a tissue, not the corner of the blanket! Turn your head away from others when sneezing!" Ew! I know I'm going to get his sickness now!

Their parents forgot to empty the trash barrel in the kitchen this morning. EW! I hate emptying trash in my own home, never mind in someone else's!

It was close to 2pm. Each child was busy playing with their toys in separate areas of the house. I was enjoying a relaxing, quiet moment. Ahhh.

Their cats, especially Blackie (Zee's sister), like to cuddle next to me during these rare times. I heard Blackie playing behind the red couch in the family room. Some toy had grabbed her attention and she was having a blast. I ignored the commotion she was making and settled in to do my crossword puzzle.

"Miss Jem? Blackie caught a mouse."

There are several mouse shaped toys in the house.

"That's nice, Kaya. Let's let her play with it."

" But Miss Jem!! It a real mouse and a tail!"

"I know honey, their toys look like real mouses. Don't worry. It's only a toy."

"NO, MISS JEM! IT A MOUSE! COME LOOK!"

I went to look.

" Yep. That's a real mouse, Kaya."

Of course I like to remember being calm when I saw that it was a REAL mouse. However, in truth, I screamed, ran, called Krista (like she could do anything to help me), shivered with the heebie jeebies, ran some more and finally, somehow, got control of myself. I didn't want the kids to be upset. But there was a REAL mouse... in the house... being caught and played with by a kitten that licks me! EEEEEEEW!

I began to construct a mental plan of attack on getting rid of this... thing.

How does someone get a playful kitten away from its first mouse capture? (congratulations Blackie on your first mouse capture) Was the creature still alive? Was it only "playing" dead? If it was dead, who would be the one to discard it? Would there be blood or entrails? Where did the mouse come from? Were there more mice, in the walls, waiting to pounce on me? All valid questions, right?

Enter... MY HERO! You know him well. The kid who has more sick days than any other human! Thank Goodness he was home today! Connor shooed Blackie out of the room. He got some paper towels and covered the dead (yes, it was truly dead) mouse. He grabbed the towel and mouse together, by the tail, and placed it in a plastic grocery bag fetched and held by Kaya. It seems that she found courage to help when she saw her big brother coming to my rescue. I had to tie the knot though.

After calling Krista back and telling her of her heroic children, I began to clean a house that's NOT mine!

If there was one mouse, there may be others. I needed to find evidence to support this theory. POOP. I needed to find rodent poop droppings. I began in the kitchen. All the kids were in full co-operation with helping me clean.

For the next 2 1/2 hours, we emptied cabinets, washed down the shelves, tossed old food, and restocked the shelves. We pulled the fridge out from the wall and cleaned behind it. We didn't get to finish all the cleaning before Krista got home. Did we find any evidence of rodents poop where we did clean?

NOT EVEN ONE DROP! Where did that thing come from? Ew.

Collections or Clutter

As a kid, I wasn't allowed to "collect" anything. It was clutter and one could not have clutter in the house where I grew up.

As a newlywed, I had collections that I didn't know were collections until someone brought it to my attention.

Games. I have board games, card games, DS games, kid games, adult games (not too adult though), games you play with dice, games where you need a timer and more.

I had a vintage Fisher Price Little People collection for a long time. I sold them on ebay for over $1000 about 4 years ago.

You've heard about my frog collection, though that one was not one that I started up.

Whenever my kids got a toy that they enjoyed, I tried to find the "other" pieces that went with it so they could have a collection. With the girls grown, I find that I still like to collect toys in sets. Maybe my grand kids will appreciate that one day. Littlest Pet Shoppe, Playmobil, Legos, Mr. Potato Head, Kid K'nex, Planet Heroes and more.

I buy the sequel even if I didn't like it. If I have the first movie, I need to have the next one too! Popular book series too. I haven't read much since high school, but I have the books. Others read them, just not me... at this time. I have the girls book collections too. The Babysitters Club, books by Roald Dahl and Judy Blume, just to name a very few.

My collections have to be used. They may not have dollar value in 25 years, but they will have been used well and loved.

The boys I care for are collecting Go Gos Crazy Bones. Aah, it brought back memories of my girls and POGS, Xena and Pokemon cards. Kaya collects whatever she is "into" that month. She's got the Elmo's, Dora, the Explorer, baby dolls, any and all Disney princesses and is currently into HORSES! She wants a real horse so badly. I grew up around horses so she loves to hear my stories.

The dumbest collection I have: recipe magazines. You know, the ones at the register with a picture of a yummy food dish on the front? I buy them as an impulse purchase thinking that there has to be at least ONE recipe inside to justify the purchase. HARDLY! I've sold several on eBay to try and reduce my collection. Then I go and buy more. I don't really WANT these things. I'm not that good a cook. I admit, there's only about 7 recipes that I enjoy and have incorporated into my rotation of meals. If you're ever at the house, go through these cook magazines and help me clear them out! Except Cook's Country. They explain the recipe. Those I know I will use... eventually.

This cook magazine collection that is becoming too much like... CLUTTER!

Update on Baby B, As I Understand It

This is the news on Baby B as I understood it from my conversation with T yesterday. If I messed up anywhere, I'm certain T will alert me and I will be required to publish a "correction".

T met with a neonatal team at the University of Virginia, about a 3 hour drive north from Radford. They re-did the tests that were done in Roanoke and the results about Baby B were confirmed.

So, what does that mean? First, Baby A is fine. She's a little bigger than her twin, but she's doing well.

Baby B, if it survives the birth, will have to undergo 2- 3 operations, over several years, to fix the heart. If it survives one operation, then the 2nd will be scheduled etc. The heart will never be very strong. Care will need to be taken to ensure that Baby B's physical activity is closely monitored.

A leg separation isn't being discussed until after birth when doctors have a better view of what's going on with them.

Baby B continues to grow! There's amniotic fluid, which indicates kidney function. Because amniotic fluid is present, the lungs continue with their growth.

T says the ultrasound measurements put the babies at about 3 lbs right now.

T says she feels Baby B kicks much more than Baby A. Baby B is up near her lungs and T finds herself out of breath at times from Baby B's kicking.

The doctors at UVA want to keep the babies in womb until T goes into labor. Because both babies are continuing to grow, they feel it would be better NOT to take them out too early. The neonatal team has never had a pregnancy go this far along with the possibility of a "live" birth of a baby with mermaid syndrome. Usually, it has been a miscarriage or stillborn that they deal with. Go Baby B!

T sees her doctor in Roanoke next week, then back up to UVA next month. Her regular due date is early April so the closer she can get to that date, the better chance Baby B has of being strong enough to be born. She was NOT placed on bed rest, which I thought was odd.

They're moving into a bigger, better apartment before February 1st. She's telling me she's taking it easy and making Michael do the heavy stuff, but I'm not too sure.

Bob and I still plan on visiting them in VA on the long President's Day weekend.

That's the update. Everyone is cautiously optimistic. This baby is quite the fighter.

Fair Weather Fan

Being a New England sports fan, I admit that over the last 20 years or so, we have been spoiled. Our teams may not always win the championship, but we are always in the hunt. Always, that is, until today.

Why am I writing a blog entry during a Patriots playoff game? Well, 27-7 Baltimore is why. I cannot stand to see Brady throw one more interception or at the feet of his receiver. I cannot watch Randy Moss do a whole bunch of nothing and I really miss Wes Welker.

So, until next season, Go Sox!

Huh?

I cooked up frozen Brussels sprouts the other day with a little butter and salt. These veggies get a bad rap. I like the slightly bitter taste and cabbage texture. Mmmmm, so yummy! B likes them too. Our girls? NEVER!

Strangely enough, our cats seem to like them. HUH? Cats, eating Brussels sprouts? I had left some of the stem parts in my dish which was on the table waiting for me to clear it. Usually, we catch the cats before they get on the table as they are not allowed up there when people are eating. Zee must've seen that my back was turned so she picked out a stem and began eating it. Not too much of it, but she was eating it. I guess she must've dropped a bit of the sprout out my line of sight because I saw Gracie eating something weird today. It was a Brussels sprout stem. Weird cats.

Though... Gracie's actions have inspired me to do a deeper cleaning of the house this week.

Fair warning to B and C. Unless you plan on helping me clean MY WAY, then stay out of THE WAY!

Cool Idea!

I have clothing from my childhood that was saved by my mother(s). I've never known quite what to do with the items besides take them out once in a while and reminisce. I have several articles of clothing from T & C too.

"What should I do with them?"

We'll be leaving to visit T next month and this question keeps coming up as I go through closets to see what I should bring to T.

I think I've found the answer as well as thinking of another question.

"Why didn't I think of that?"

I found this company's website, willowcreekstudio.net , where you send your saved clothing, blankets, bibs to them and they'll create a homemade quilt for you using the items. Prices start at about $80 and vary according to the size blanket you request. For those who may need ideas (ahem, B and C), I know what I want for my Valentines, my birthday, Mothers Day or anniversary gift.

I'll be having 2 baby blankets made for our grandbabies newborn gift. I know T still has her own newborn quilt which she loves. Maybe these new blankets will be as loved too.

Todays Blog Entry

Not much happened today. T has her first consult with a neonatal team at the University of Virginia on January 11th. Aside from a spill she took at church on Sunday, she's doing well. She continues to feel both babies kicking, so that's good news.

Our cars are due for inspection and registration. Here in NH, whatever month the birthday of head of household falls, is when this stuff needs to be done. Thanks Ruth and Charlie for having him in JANUARY, less than a month after Christmas! Of course, tax refund checks arrive less than a month after his birthday, so we've always been OK. I just like to complain.

We'll be visiting T, M and babies A & B during the long weekend of Presidents Day. We'll be bringing down a crib and a few things they may need. This crib is the same crib Tracy slept in as a baby. C used it too. I love the drawers that come with it for extra storage. It's made by Childcraft and has never been recalled. I've measured all spaces and they fall into today's safety recommendations on cribs. We bought a new mattress for it too.

I'll never buy a Baby Alive for my grandchildren! Kaya's new doll pooped and peed ALL DAY! It even spits up. The animatrontic face is huge and scary. But she loves it. She reads books to the baby. I can't believe that I was changing a DOLLS diaper today... several of them!

Scary Things

Everyone knows of my fear of reptilian/amphibian creatures, namely, FROGS! Over the years, I've amassed a collection of frog figurines thanks to friends and family. I've banned anyone gifting me frog figurines unless it will increase in value. Sounds rude and callous, but the collection had gotten too big. Something needed to be done.

This blog entry is not supposed to be about things that scare me.

Gracie has a most unusual phobia. She's a cat and is supposed to be afraid of the sound of the vacuum cleaner, strangers and such. She is afraid of all those things. A normal feline, right?

Maybe not. She's afraid of... the sound a soda can makes when opened.

Opening soda bottles is fine with her. But open a soda can and she will wake from a deep sleep and bolt to a safer place. Too funny!

On a different note...

Both cats like to "model" when they want attention or treats. They'll find a high traffic area where they are sure to be seen. They lie down, stretch, bat their eyes and swish their tails. Gracie has shown this behavior for some time now. She chooses to model on the hallway floor where bathroom, office, family room and kitchen all meet.

Until recently, Zee would meow to get attention. Apparently, she has been watching Gracie and thinks her way of getting attention makes more sense. (I don't like the meowing and usually ignored it) The spot Zee has chosen to do her "modeling" is on the corner of the kitchen table where our cells, purses and mail get deposited at days end.

She needs to get in some more practice though. Yesterday, she modeled too close to the edge and Kerplunk! down to the floor she went. Did she learn her lesson? Of course not! She still gets too close and the same thing happens! Cracks me up! It does get her the desired attention though. As well as a blog entry.

Winter Fun

I remember that my brothers, during our summer vacations from school, would clear trails on the large hill in our back yard. Of course, to a young child, that "hill", was really a mountain! It was covered with enough trees to be called a forest. My brothers did this work because they had a plan in mind for the winter.

When the snow fell, they went back up the hill, stringing ropes and Coleman lanterns (for awesome night-time sledding) to mark this trail. At the top of the hill, they placed a sign that read,

Maniac Trail Sledding at Your Own Risk.

The sleds in those days were wooden with metal runners that got rusty. Paraffin wax or a bar of soap kept the runners slick. The sleds were "steerable" which was good because my brothers had made some incredible turns that one had to navigate through the trees while careening down the trail. It was amazing that over several years of this event, no one got more than some minor cuts to the face or bruises to the body. But it was their fault for not steering properly!

As my brothers left for college, this event got lost. Plastic roll-up toboggans were becoming popular and those things were/are hard enough to get flat, never mind trying to steer them. So the new sledding tradition then began at the top of the driveway, over the flat turn-around area and down another embankment into a field. With some snowfalls, the conditions were perfect for a long, straight shot downhill. It was fun, but not like the Maniac Trail.

My own kids never had the opportunity to sled in their own backyard. We never seemed to live where there was a slope. I piled the snow from the driveway into one large bank of snow. I made a way for them to climb up one side then slide down the other for a few yards. I would place a small board (3'x5'ish) to disperse their weight allowing them to climb to the top. It was working perfectly when C decided to try a sled run on her own. She placed her little sled at the top of the mound. She got on her tummy in the sled. Then she went down, backwards, hitting the board with her chin and splitting it open. This fun sledding mound I made caused C to get 5 stitches in her chin only 3 weeks after getting 3 stitches removed from her eyebrow from a different fall.

I made a similar mound of snow for the kids today. The picture above is a side view I took with my cell phone. It was more like a "launching pad" for their sled as their front lawn does have a slight slope. I buried a Step 2 seesaw into the mound and packed in the snow all around it. This seems to work great. And, should they go BACKWARDS, there are no sharp edges to split their face on. Kaya loves to go fast. Colin likes to try and spin the sled into a 180 degree turn. Connor loves to do a standing launch. He seems to get more speed that way. Of course, my back is sore. I shoveled and packed snow for about 3 hours today. When I left, they were still outside sledding. Nice.

In A Zone

My mind was not fully aware of all that was going around me on the drive home tonight. This has happened to me before and most likely... it WILL happen again.

I was driving home. It was dark and I was heading right into the middle of rush hour. You know what rush hour is, right? The time when EVERYBODY leaves work at the same time and only knows one way home so that road is jammed for a while?

Anyway, I knew it was rush hour so I planned out, in my mind, an alternate route. It's a twisty back road with a low speed limit, but during rush hour, it's much quicker.

All of a sudden, I was in the traffic jam! WHAT!! How could this have happened? I had planned ahead!

My guess is that I was so into the oldies music on the radio and thinking of what I was going to do once I got home, that I not only went by the road I wanted to take, but I even went by a second road that would've gotten me home sooner! ARGHH!

I've driven past the exit on my way to church several times only to find myself going to Walmart or the High School instead. All I can say is, Thank Goodness that I know several ways to get places. As I get older, I find myself zoning out a bit more.

Thankfully, I still have enough going on upstairs that I've kept myself and others... SAFE!

Chillin'

C snapped these pics of Gracie and Zee relaxing during the snowfall this weekend. A cat feels very secure in its surroundings when it exposes its belly. Gracie must be really secure!

It's 9:30pm, I'm tired and can't fall asleep. Why? Because the cats are crying. Yes, they are crying and scratching at the basement door. Why? Because C has let them sleep in her basement bedroom since Christmas Eve. Since school starts up again tomorrow, she has closed the door on them.

They are very sad. There are so many nooks and crannies to curl up in for sleeping down in the basement. So many cool smells and noises to check out.

Man, I hope they stop crying soon. I'm really tired and want to sleep. I've never seen or heard them act like this at night. In the afternoon, looking for attention, yes, but not at night. This better not become a habit kitties, I NEED to sleep.

If A Picture Paints A Thousand Words...

Several years ago, Grandparents Lambert brought T and C to the Big Apple Circus during its stay in Boston. As I was going through the pictures B scanned for me, I came across the photo that Ruth took of the girls that day. I never noticed it before, but C looks so scared! That smile makes her look like she is trying to be brave. When one remembers how scared she is of furry animals, one could assume that there were some animals close by that were making her nervous. Cool T-shirt T!

Blog

I am thankful for my kids.

I watched Julia & Julie on DVD this afternoon. It's New Years Day, not much else to do, so why not.

I loved the parts of the movie where Meryl Streep portrayed the great TV chef from NE. I almost believed she was Julia Child. I wish the entire movie had been just about her. But alas, it wasn't.

A girl from NY had blogged for a year about cooking her way through Julia Childs' cookbook and how it changed her life. Maybe it did, I didn't see that, though it did get her a book/movie deal.

Near the end of the movie, my favorite part was when the great chef herself had been contacted by a reporter doing a story about her 90th birthday and asked for her comments about this blog. She said she didn't like the blog. She found it disrespectful. Yes! Go Julia!

I try not to be disrespectful in my blog writing. If I am, it is unintentional. Not that I have an interesting enough life to get a book/movie deal! Who would read about cats and kids? Besides my cats and kids?