Need Another Hint?

Actually, Uncle L sent me an email & has correctly identified the main characters drawn by Sofie in yesterdays post, so another hint really isn't needed.

In his email he passed along this photo of the REAL artists rendition & when put close to Sofie's drawings, you can see the resemblance. Thanks for playing!

A Budding Artist!

During our quiet time today, we watched a 50 minute cartoon DVD. In the bonus section, an animator taught the viewer how to draw 2 of the main characters faces.

On her 1st try, Sofie did pretty well... for someone who will turn 5 yrs in less than a month!

Can you guess the 2 lead characters she drew?

Hint: A famous cartoon duo for several decades &they still continue to delight youngsters today!

Good Luck!!

Jack and the Beanstalk & Two Mi-mutts

Anna knows parts of many stories & tells them to me in her 2 year old language.

I'm starting to understand much more of her language.

She doesn't like it when I use my voice to sound like the giant in Jack & the Beanstalk.

She covers her ears and begins to cry.

So, in our version, the giant whispers quietly, "Bee Bye Bo Bum!" I cannot stop laughing when she says those words. A whispering giant seems so silly to me in the 1st place & he becomes even more silly to me when he says "Bee Bye Bo Bum!"

She reminds me to NEVER say "BOO!" too loud around her.

The loudness scares her. Halloween books were fun to read in a whisper!

She was a strict "mommy" to her stuffed animals today. She had no desire to color w/Sofie & myself, so she played w/her toys in the same room w/us instead.

Several times, her toys were "misbehaving" and needed a "tie-ow" (time-out).

In her house, you stay in time-outs for 1 minute for every year you've been alive.

She got right up in her toys faces and told them, "2 mi-mutts" while holding up one finger on each of her tiny hands.

Adorable.

Sofie's been trying hard to re-think her reactions to what's going on around her. She whines, screams, pouts & says "NO" much less since she & I have begun a chart for her mom & dad to see about her behavior, emotions & her interactions w/her sister.

A smile face... if she did her best, a neutral face... if she could've done better & a frowning face... if she failed to improve.

She tries to trade toys w/Anna rather than grabbing or screaming & has put herself in a time-out to calm down. I'm proud of her!

Has she achieved perfection? Not yet, but she has improved!

I was nervous about this 1st day back w/them after a Christmas overload of gifts, treats & visitors. I was pleasantly surprised! Thanks, girls!

2011 Christmas

Phew! Christmas Day is coming to a close.

I have steak tips & funeral potatoes cooking as well as steamed carrots. This meal was requested by C, who is craving real food not from a cafeteria!

Presents were opened by 9am & our monkey bread was in the oven!

C got a Keurig mini coffee maker & all the fixing's. B & I got our big gift back in November when we were able to visit w/Carlotta & bring Christmas. I got a rolling plant stand for my Evergreen gardenia! She continues to grow & thrive even in NE!

I wore my Wes Welker football jersey all day!

Thanks, Saumsiegles! I LOVE the portrait of me & the kids, too!

B got some dress socks that will fit him, a few backpacking mags, toiletries, candy, a telescoping back scratcher & a car air freshener from C.

By 10:30, we were Skype-ing w/Carlotta as she opened her Santa gifts. She kept trying to have us open her toys through the computer screen!

I would've Skype-ed all day, but they & we had other places to be!

Got to K & G's house by 1-ish. Chili bar was on the menu & later there was the traditional ice scream sundaes! Kids are all growing up so fast. There were 3 gift exchanges... One from Grammy & Grampy Lambert, then all the cousins swapped gifts and finally, the adult-ish Yankee Swap. Wondering how I made out during the swap? Check out the pictures above!

All in all, a nice day! Happy to see all the nieces & nephews & even more happy that all those noisy toys are going home with them! Have fun, parents!!

Why Am I Stressed?

T is hosting her 1st party for her husbands side of her family... @ their new place in VA.

She's very excited about it & considers this to be a grown up thing to do.

It is!

She says that chicken pot pie is on her menu! Good for her!

So,

• if T is hosting @ her place
• & her in-laws are the guests (not me)
• & all she has to cook (or heat up, if she's not doing homemade) is a chicken pot pie or 2,

Why am I so nervous & a little stressed out about it?

It's NOT my house or event!

I'm not even going to be there!

I believe I'm nervous about what people will think of me.

Teaching kids to be smart, responsible, clean & neat people is a mother's job right?

Was I successful @ it?

T left home, got married so fast & so young. I feel my job, as her mother, did not have the opportunity to be completed.

She's been married for 4 years & is a mother now. Her husband & daughter love her very much & seem happy with the way T "keeps house".

I need to learn to be understanding & believe that I did all I could do, in the time I was allotted, to teach my daughter all she needed to know about being a homemaker & a grown-up.

She will learn through trial & error & in her own way & I need to get over it!

So, Good Luck, T with your grown-up party!

You'll have everything ready to go & everyone will have a good time! You've been blessed with a very loving, caring & non-judgmental bunch of in-laws who aren't as OCD as me!

Have Fun!

When in doubt, use paper & plastic! LOL!

Hmmm, sigh.

Snowed another little bit this morning. Made the world pretty to look at, so close to Christmas. It will all be melted in less than 48 hours & there is no snow forecasted in the near future.

Just enough snow to put most people in a Christmas mood!

C & I sat for the "former" kids last night & we didn't get home until 2am. I had to be @ the "newest" kids house by 8am! It was hard to open my eyes after less than 4 hrs of sleep.

Thank goodness for grandparents & a special auntie! The girls are excited to be hosting their beloved Grandma, Granddad & Auntie for the Christmas weekend! I was excited when they showed up @ 12:30! I was able to get home earlier & now I get to take a nap!

Of course, as nice as it was to leave early, I wish my grand daughter was nearby for Christmas! I know, we spent some time w/her & T & M just last month. We even had a "Christmas"! It's not quite the same though! I'll take what I can get & continue to just deal w/it.

I watched the grandparents faces light up as they walked through the door. I think they are more excited than the girls about this visit! Little A was 30 minutes into her nap & S wasn't home from school yet. They will have to hang out for an hour or so & be bored until the girls are up & home. But they didn't mind one bit!

So Merry Christmas Eve eve & I hope everyone made it onto the "NICE" list this year!

Pretty, but Deadly!

There was a small snowfall this morning. It looked like little, sparkly diamonds glittering on the lawn & trees. So pretty!

A bit too early for a white Christmas & too little snow to stay until Christmas!

I had an 8am appointment with a groomer to trim my cats claws. It should've been done a few weeks ago, but I kept forgetting.

With C coming home today for the Christmas break, I figured it could be put off, no longer!

The groomer is 2.5 miles away, a 5 minute drive, tops! Except this beautiful snow was an icy snow & it takes 2 storms for New Englanders to remember how to drive in these conditions!

In case you're wondering... IT'S SLOWLY!!

The sand trucks had not begun their routes when I left for the appointment. I fishtailed a few times, slid through the twisty turns, but I went SLOW & left plenty of room between me & the car ahead of me.

It took 25 minutes to get there!

Silver lining... I drove so slowly, Gracie didn't get carsick! She waited for the ride home.

I had to go over Rt 101, twice, during my drive. The traffic was at a standstill. I saw trucks & cars off the road, across the road & emergency vehicles all over the place.

The radio announcer said parts of the highway were closed due to the high number of crashes.

I called C & told her to stay @ school until the sanders were able to do their job.

I hope B is alright. He left while it was still dark. Schools weren't delayed, so I guess some roads were passable.

A Brownie Experiment

Here's the recipe of my latest cooking adventure. I've recently been introduced to chocolate made with a touch of salt and came across this recipe for:

Brownies with Gray Salt (also called: Sel Gris, it's a gourmet coarse salt, gray in color and moist.)

1 & 1/2 sticks of UNSALTED butter

8 oz (about 1 cup) of high quality SEMI-SWEET chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli Premium)

1 & 3/4 cup white granulated sugar

1 tsp of REAL vanilla extract (don't skimp & sub with the imitation stuff!)

5 large eggs

1 cup all purpose white flour

1/3 cup unsweetened DUTCH PROCESSED cocoa powder

(you can use the cheap kind, but dutch processed adds a deeper flavor)

1/2 tsp of gray salt (Sel Gris), divided

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, making sure the rack is in the middle position.
• Line a 9" x 13" baking pan with parchment paper, coming up about 2" on the sides. (I'll try the quick release foil next time)
• Melt butter, chips in a medium saucepan over Med/Low heat, stirring until smooth.
• Remove from heat & allow to cool to luke warm.
• Whisk in the sugar & vanilla.
• Whisk in the eggs, ONE @ a TIME until the batter is glossy & smooth.
• In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, leaving 1/4 tsp of the gray salt aside.
• Slowly whisk the dry mixture into the wet mixture until combined & smooth.
• Spread the batter into the prepared pan & bake for 30 minutes.
• (I feel my batch could've used an extra 5 minutes or so, but every oven is different)
• IMMEDIATELY upon taking the brownies out of the oven, sprinkle on the reserved gray salt.
• Allow to cool. Cut & enjoy!

Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific!

When I was a teenager, there were 2 shampoos on the market I always wanted to try.

However, due to their pricey cost, my mother wouldn't buy them for me.

(I had no allowance, no job, so... no special shampoo for me!)

The first one was called: "Body On Tap".

Even if I had the money, I doubt I would've been allowed to use it.

Because there was supposedly real "beer" in the ingredients, Mom would've thought I would drink it & get drunk!

She had odd thoughts like that all the time!

The 2nd one was called: "Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific!"

Someone brought some to Girls Camp once & the labeling was true! It did make your hair smell terrific! The neon bottle it came it was appealing too!

I do not like dirty hair. I don't like the way it looks, feels or smells.

I try my best to clean my hair every day.

Recently, I've noticed my hair was thinning

(which I now believe was caused by a headband, breaking my hair strands)

I've tried different shampoos (not Minoxidil though!) never using the same one twice in a row. I've even skipped a day or 2, hoping to slow the hair loss process down.

My broken strands are growing back, on their own, since I changed to a gentler headband.

One certain shampoo in this process has become my favorite due to its smell & overall results.

Today, @ Church (yes, I went to Church, Kathryn!) I was hugged by women I haven't seen in some time. Almost all of them commented on how nice my hair smelled!

It's hard to find the above mentioned brands (Vermont Country Store does sell the 2nd brand I mentioned), so I thought I would share with you, the name of the kind I use now.

It too is a bit pricier than most, but well worth it, in my humble opinion.

And there is no BEER in it, Mom!

Neutrogena T/SAL Therapeutic Shampoo.

So, if Santa or his helpers were to place a new bottle of this stuff in my stocking, I would be most grateful!

Carlotta's Christmas....Tree... and a spider song

The above video is of Carlotta with some promptings from T, she tells us about her tree.

In the video below, Carlotta will serenade you w/her version of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"

Another "Jogged" Memory or Two

I was heading to Toys R Us (a trip down memory lane in itself) in Portsmouth. To avoid the highway holiday rush, I took the back roads through the old Pease Air Force Base (now called Pease Tradeport).

I passed a hospital (now an office complex) where I was a patient for 12 days in November of 1987 when I was severely dehydrated due to being preggers, with T!!

While there, I remember listening to the news story about 18 month old, Jessica McClure, falling down a narrow well in Texas.

I was an emotional wreck! Even more so when she was finally rescued several days later!

Motherhood does strange things!

All the nurses were edgy one day during my stay. A helicopter landed @ the hospital carrying the First Lady at that time, Nancy Reagan.

She was there to have surgery due to having breast cancer.

It was real hard to get any nurse to answer the "HELP" call button that day.

When T was almost a year old, I drove us in a Jeep Wrangler (my favorite vehicle of all time) from Virginia Beach to Fort Meade, Maryland to visit my oldest sister & her family.

While we were there, there was to be a dedication of a new NSA building on base. My sister got several tickets, so T & I were able to attend.

Going through security, even back in 1989, was a treat!

T was strapped into her umbrella stroller (called the Umbroller). She was whisked, patted down & "wand-ed" with a metal detector!

I remember thinking how silly it was to believe a bomb or a weapon would be hidden inside a baby stroller, while the baby was in it!

I don't think it's so odd, nowadays!

So, we got into the outdoor event, finally.

We saw a few helicopters coming in for a landing, each heading for a different part of the base. This was a security feature I learned concerning the safety of the President of the United States. Several copters are used to foil any assassination attempts.

No one knew which copter He was on!

Who was... He?

Ronald Reagan, silly! And Casper Weinberger, the Sec. of Defense. There were other generals & people too, but I've misplaced the program! Sorry, that would've been interesting to see again.

I couldn't tell you a word of what they said in their speeches that day. It's probably in an archive somewhere. I do remember the cool feeling I had... being within shouting distance of someone as famous as Ronald Reagan! And my year old daughter with me too!

I'm sure she remembers everything that was said! LOL!!

T, C & I haven't had too many encounters with famous people.

Remind me one day to blog about John Cena, the wrestler from the WWE & star of some recent forgettable movies. Someday it may be interesting to know how I know this guy!

Just Some Old Pics, from a galaxy far, far away...

I watched her & her brothers the other night. She has grown up so much!

The above picture was taken just before Easter 2008! Kaya was soo little!

Here is Kaya (circa 2008) with 2 of Gracie's sisters, just before they were given to new owners. The gray one was Scaredy Cat (for obvious reasons) and the other ones name was Peanut Butter.

Proof of His Existence

Don't worry!

I'm not blogging here to sway any of my readers one way or the other on the existence of a Heavenly Father! It would need more than a quick blog entry!

No, I'm here to talk about Santa Claus, the big guy from the North Pole who brings good boys & girls a gift or two every 25th of December!

T was almost 12 yrs old, (well past the age where kids usually have an inkling that Santa is not a real person), when she announced that THIS was the year she would scientifically prove to everyone... Santa was real!

HOW?

She would write him a letter & if she got a handwritten, personalized letter from him, she would know, w/o a doubt, that Santa was real!

I'm a middle child of 15, my older siblings broke" the news" to me @ a young age.

I wasn't hurt or upset, but I do wish now that I had been able to hold onto the "magic" a little longer.

T has the luxury of being the oldest of 2 kids. If SHE stopped believing, the younger one would follow suit. I'm grateful that T had no older siblings to ruin her imagination or her sisters'.

Back to the letter of proof.

Uncle B was a senior in High School & his class was having a fundraiser. We could send in a letter from a child & they would write back, as Santa, for a small fee!

I will always remember the happiness & satisfaction on her face when that letter arrived!

In her mind, she had just proven Santa's existence, once & for all!

Now over a decade later, T still remembers this event, with much fondness.

She still believes!

A website, portablenorthpole.tv lets you fill in bits of information about a child.

Then, SANTA himself, will send the child a personalized video. FREE!

I sure wish this service was around back in the day!

I sent one to Carlotta, though she may not even know who Santa is yet!

I'm quite certain that her mom will keep the magic alive for her, as long as possible!

Weather or Not

This has been an unusual autumn here in NH.

It began normal enough in September. The leaves turned beautiful colors, the air was brisk & the windows remained open at night.

Until October! We had some HOT days. One weekend got up to the 90s! We had planned to remove the window A/C's & fans that weekend, but had to postpone it.

Then about 2 weeks later... 8 inches of snow, on Halloween!

Some towns had trick or treat... IN NOVEMBER!

It warmed up again, enough to melt all the snow. Leaf removal in the yard (in shirt sleeves!) was able to be completed. It's OK for snow to fall now.

Off to VA we went, in mid November.

The weather here stayed in the high 50s to low 60s while we were away.

In VA, the 1st day was FREEZING! Then it too became humid & warm.

T put her A/C on for us. Thanks for that, honey.

Now we're less than 20 days until Christmas. It's been too mild for snow.

Monday was in the 60s... IN mid-DECEMBER!

Gary drove his motorcycle to our house that night because it was so warm.

Today is about 50ish with gloomy rain. It's been looking like 4:40pm all day.

Snow is forecast for the morning commute. Depending on where you live in NE, you could see up to 6 inches! We're expecting about 2" in our area. I'm finding it hard to believe that it can get cold enough for snow with the warmth we have been having lately.

As crazy warm as the weather has been...

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas anyway!

It's Catchy

I will be going to Manchester later today. I have an appointment to meet up w/C @ school.

Why?

She, like T & M, is having some budgeting issues & has only $60 left on her meal plan for the next 20 days. So, off to the rescue I go w/soup, crackers, cereal & water.

I'm sending T a water filter & a gift card to purchase fresh fruits & veggies, in a care package tomorrow. Having a grand-daughter has made me a softie. If I didn't have Carlotta, T would only be getting crackers & soup, just like C!

Meanwhile, I'm making B very hungry. I'm simmering a homemade, thick beef stew for TOMORROW'S dinner! It's frustrating him for sure! It smells very good!

I'm trying out a recipe that does not include a McCormick Beef Stew Seasonings envelope!

So far, so good!

Potatoes & Pasta

Ahhh! Newlywed bliss!

Very early in our marriage & before children, B & I were trying to be adults (still hard for us at times) and pay our bills as they came in.

During one meager week, the bills were paid (YAY!) but it left no grocery money for the week. I hadn't been successful in locating employment & the USN doesn't pay overtime! I knew my mother would NOT send money!! I didn't know R & C well enough at that time to know if they could or would help us out. We were going to have to make it through on our own!

In our home back then, food storage was non-existent. We had a 5 lbs bag of potatoes and several boxes of spaghetti. There were also a few of those "envelope sauces" in the cupboards, like herb & cheese, beef gravy & hollandaise sauce. I think we had some ketchup & mustard.

We survived! We had interesting meals to say the least! And as soon as the USN sent the next paycheck, groceries were the 1st thing we bought! And we have NEVER repeated the mistake of having no food for decent meals in our home. Though I remember my kids complaining that there was NO FOOD in the house! Kids! What do they know about having NO FOOD!

T & M are about to find out!

Of course, I won't let them starve (or let Carlotta go w/o Pampers) but I'm interested to see how creative they can be with the little bit of food in their house!

T & M will celebrate their 4th year of marriage next week! So why, after 4 years of marriage, are they so broke these next 14 days? They spent their extra money this month, on a DC trip to the temple to witness Carlotta's younger cousin be sealed to her parents. Good cause!

Hang in there guys! Someday, you'll look back on this experience with fondness.

Dulse

My grandfather, NRM, Sr, owned his own painting business in the Nbpt, MA area, back in the 1930s to 60s. Working for himself meant he was able to be home off and on throughout his work day or when it was raining.

I recall my grandmother cooking pork chops, mashed podaydas (that's how she pronounced, potatoes) with gravy, a veggie and rolls for his LUNCH! There was usually a homemade dessert. Later, she would have an equally large meal prepared for his dinner! My grandfather must have worked real hard or had high metabolism to remain slender AND eat what he did!

Breakfasts were a big deal in their home too!

The memory that I recalled today was about a food my grandfather kept in a small pouch.

This pouch was similar in shape & size to his pipe tobacco pouch. Touching the tobacco pouch was a "no-no", but we could play with the other pocket pouch all we wanted!

Perhaps it was due to not being able to touch the tobacco that made me want what was in the other pouch! Its contents looked like tobacco to me. I wanted this stuff so badly! Finally, I was able to get the pouch open. I helped myself to a slug of this salty, purple, slimy goodness!

My grandfather called this stuff, DULSE!

I must have FORCED myself to eat it, no kid would like this stuff, naturally!

Whenever he visited, I insisted on trying it again & again.

Soon, I had acquired a taste for it, even a craving at times.

Time went on. I saw my grandfather less & less. I got married, had kids and he passed away before my kids knew him. I never found out where he bought Dulse. It became a forgotten memory along with his constant aroma of pipe tobacco.

A few years ago, I discovered an old time country store, a bit north of where we now live.

They had DULSE! I purchased it, ate some right away.

I remembered my grandfathers scratchy whiskers & how he would swing me around, always happy to see me, his Jenny FooFoo!

I bought another package whenever I was in the area.

Then, one day, they didn't have it anymore!

Until today!

Maybe they only carry it near the holidays? I bought 2 packages today.

That should last me a few months.

My kids hate it. B thinks its disgusting.

I love it! And I love the fond memories it invokes for me.

Now, whenever I get a hankering for something salty, I'll take a slug of Dulse.

A slug of Dulse must be healthier for me than a bag of podaydo chips, right?

And my grandfather will be remembered.

BTW, Dulse is a product of Canada. They call it a "marine vegetable".

It is harvested from Grand Manan in the cold, North Atlantic. I eat it straight from the package, but have been told it can be used in cooking or on a salad.

Dulse is dried SEAWEED!

Be careful, Dulse is hand packed & a small pebble may have been missed by the handlers!