All you need is love...and murder

So, I have no laughs, learns, or loaths today.  Just some loves for you from recently.

1.  Sadly, I have completed watching all four seasons of Psych on Netflix, and so needed a new tv show for that time in between when my brain stops being functional and when I consider a reasonable bedtime.  And so we started watching 24.  Now I know this show has been around forever.  After all there are 8 seasons on netflix to watch, which I guess only gets me a week through this guy's life?  As Dylan noted, season 2 is going to suck because he's going to have to sleep the whole time.  Anyway, I had never watched it.  But this show is like crack to me.  I'm so addicted.  It kinda cracks me up though, because we've watched like 5 episodes which is 5 hours in the middle of the night of Jack's life, and by my count, the number of people he has shot at or seen die/dead in that period of time is 10.  That's a crazy friday night out.   

2.  And speaking of murder, I also watched Hanna.  I never have been a Pride and Prejudice sort of girl, but I didn't know I liked killer little girls so much!  It was quite a movie.  I recommend it.

3.  Ritter Sport chocolate.  I have no idea what is sporty about it, I just know it is the perfect combination of tasty milk chocolate and almond.   

4.  I've been on the search for a Mud Run, and have been unsuccessful so far because all nearby have been on sundays.  But I believe I have found it.  The Warrior Dash.  It looks so fun.  I mean you jump over fire?!  I no longer will have to be jealous of all those reality tv obstacle courses.  Unfortunately, I have never been known for my upper body strength and think that one month from now is too soon to get ready for things like scaling walls.  So, I think I need to wait until the next one which hopefully is in April. 

5.  I'm getting excited about halloween.  I can't bring myself to do anything for it until October hits, but I've started looking for ideas like these spirit jugs off of pinterest.  So cute.  I will so do these.

from  eighteen25.blogspot.com

That's it for now.  I'm going to eat lunch with Dylan.

Highlights Reel

Here's a few things from this week of my life.

Sigh.  I did not win the chili cookoff (at church).  Out of 20 chilis, I did get an honorable mention, and I thought it was the best chili I've made.  One of these years, I am determined to win.  Here are my reflections on it.  I have a very strong competitive nature.  I am not one to upset a gameboard and stomp out of the room if I lose (some guy I knew did that in college.  Really?  Are you 5 years old?!).  But make it into a contest, and I really will do much more work than reasonable to try and win.  I was thinking though, why are chili cookoffs so popular?  Besides Bobby Flay throwdowns, it's really all chili.  Why don't they do other mass cookoffs.  Stirfry?  Cream puffs?   I'm not sure what.  Just something more interesting than chili.

Okay.  My first video of blogland.  It's like 2 seconds long; I'm starting small.  But he's been quacking this week, and it was just too cute not to share.

And here's my first mean-ol'-mama chore chart.  I'm excited about it, and it turned out pretty fun looking, but we start tomorrow.  We'll see how it goes.  They earn a dollar a day (except Dylan) if they do both chores, and they get bonus mystery chores if they want.  I am determined to keep my house clean, and so far, I would lose any contest on that...

And while we're on cleaners, I've very recently become a little obsessed with less-toxic cleaners for body and home.  There are many more hippie folks around here who I usually just smile at in a loving but skeptic way, but I actually jumped on this bandwagon.  I attest it to the combination of getting hives last month that went away when I switched to a hypoallergenic laundry detergent, an enrichment night on natural cleaners, and Tanner having a rash that the doctor says is a sensitive skin rash from soap or something.  And since my boys pretty exclusively do the windows and dusting, I was excited about having them use something they could actually eat instead of call poison control.  So, I made a nice vineagrette for dusting, and a spray for windows from water, vinegar, and castille soap from the care2 website.  I wasn't sold on the dusting and so will continue my search, but the vinegar mix worked great.  Try it if you don't trust me.   

The third child

I have heard all my life about how I have way more than my fair share of baby pictures because I was the first child.  So, I was bound and determined as a mom to take enough pictures of subsequent children.  With Carter I would even count scrapbook pages to make sure I wasn't too far off.  Well, I pulled out the scrapbooks the other day and to my horror, this was the last picture I had in Tanner's scrapbook. 

Tanner, 1 month

Oh dear.  I'm so sorry, third child. I will do better. So, in the meantime, to reduce my guilt, this post is devoted to Hurricane Tanner.

TANNER LOVES

1.  Balls.  "Ball?  Ball? Ball?  Where is it?  Ball?"  This is what I hear all day long from my little sweety. 

2.  Tomatoes.  I'm positive the kid likes tomatoes more than anyone I know.  I mean it's a tomato.  Who is that passionate about it?  But if he spots them at the farmers market, he will point and whine for them.  And he ate an entire tomato last night as part of his dinner.

3.  His "Hi Dad" as he calls him.  If I had not had the first two (especially Carter) who had a strong preference for mama til they were three or so, I would be a little saddened by how much he prefers Dad.  I mean, if he gets hurt, he runs to Dad.  What baby does that?  I love it.  It's super sweet.

4.  Whatever anyone else is doing.  If we are doing a magic trick where we stand against the wall, that's where Tanner is.  If I'm brushing my teeth, so is Tanner.  And if anyone mentions the word "Go", he is at the door saying Hey Ho.  Can I tell you how cute this boy is?!

TANNER LAUGHS

Being chased, playing peek-a-boo, or basically anything that those brothers come up with is good for a laugh.

TANNER LEARNS

Climbing.  Oh me, oh my, is he a scary sight.  He can now climb onto my bed, the little picnic table, the toilet, and the craft chest in my room.  Usually he just stands there and yells for me until I come and get him down, and then promptly climbs back up.  And he'll scoot the stool over to get to a high surface that he can't quite reach.

TANNER LOATHS

Being contained in any form or fashion.  I guess when he started walking, he had to make up for all that not moving in year one.  Dylan accurately calls him Hurricane Tanner.  He is a disaster to take to the grocery store.  I'm still reeling from Ethan's dentist appointment that I took him to a few days ago.  It was undescribable and unreasonable.  Busy does not cut it.  The lady in the shoe store called him a tasmanian devil.


I've also added a Tanner poll in the sidebar.  I wanted it right here instead, but didn't feel ready to modify html text to make that happen.  So, it's a little awkward.  So, here are the pictures you need for the poll.  Please vote.  This is important. :)

Ethan at one year

Carter at one year

80 to 90 singing kids

Here are the lists to finish off the music lists.

10 Favorite Songs from the '80's

1.  The B-52's, Roam
2.  Phish, Fee
3.  Dire Straits, Romeo & Juliet
4. Devo, Whip it
5. Blue Oyster Cult, Don't Fear the Reaper
6. Peter Gabriel, Games without Frontiers
7. R.E.M., Fall on Me
8. Talking Heads, Nothing but Flowers
9.  U2, All I Want is You
10.Bangles, Walk like an Egyptian

10 Favorite Songs from the '90's

1. Barenaked Ladies, What a Good Boy
2. Blind Melon, No Rain
3. Cake, The Distance
4. Dave Matthews Band, Two-Step
5. Weezer, Say it Ain't So
6. No Doubt, Just a Girl
7. Pearl Jam, Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town
8. Rusted Root, Martyr
9. Blues Traveler, Hook
10. Beastie Boys, Sabotage.

And as a side note, for my 00-11 list, I should have added Black Eyed Peas, Pump It.  Entirely out of character for me, but it's a great song.

10 Favorite Songs for Fun Little Boys

1.  John Williams, Imperial March
2.  John Williams, Raiders March
3. Edvard Grieg, In the Hall of the Mountain King
4. The Surfaries, Wipe Out
5. Ivan Ulz, Fire Truck
6. Laurie Berkner, We Are the Dinosaurs
7. Rusted Root, Send me on My Way
8. Beach Boys, Barbara Ann
9. I Like to Move it from Madagascar
10. Men Without Hats, The Safety Dance

Tow heads and more

Love

The schoolbus.  After taking a week of baby steps to get Ethan comfortable with walking between his school bus and his classroom, he is officially riding.  And it saves me about an hour every single day.  That's a big deal.  First grade rocks.  And he can eat school lunch.  It all just feels so real now.

Also, Boston Cream Pie by Amy Wade.  Here's the recipe if you don't have it. 

CAKE:

1 package yellow cake mix
1 small package instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz)
4 large eggs
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Grease and flour a two 9” cake pans.   Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.   Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute.   Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.   Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 to 3 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed.   The batter should look thick and well combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula.   Bake the cake until toothpick comes out clean, 35-45 minutes (I am not positive on this cooking time.  You will need to check it as you cook it).   Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.   Run a long sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto the rack to cool completely, 20 minutes more.  I cut off the brown bottom and sides but if you don’t it will be fine, just not as moist.

INNARDS:

1 large package instant vanilla pudding mix (5.1 oz)

1 1/3 c. milk
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

 Mix whipping cream with vanilla with electric mixer until it is the consistency of whipped cream, several minutes.  In separate bowl, mix pudding mix with milk.  Fold in whipped cream into milk and pudding mixture with spatula.

CHOCOLATE TOPPING:

½ c. butter

1/3 c. powdered sugar
7 tbsp. cocoa (1 tbsp less than ½ c)
pinch salt
½ c. corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

 In food processor, process butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl as needed.  Add corn syrup and vanilla and process until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.  Scrape sides of bowl, then add chocolate and pulse until smooth and creamy, 10 to 15 seconds.  Frosting can be used immediately or held in refrigerator.  When ready to use, microwave about 15 seconds so that it is just thin enough to pour on cake.

 When assembling, make sure cake is cool.  Then spread custard in center of two layers (put on very thick layer, do not press down on top layer of cake when you put it on).   Pour chocolate on top letting drip down sides.  The chocolate portion makes about twice as much as you will need, but I have not adjusted the recipe yet to the right amount.

Laugh

Carter's peculiar little relationship with his friend Abby.  His relationship with his friend Maverick is pretty simple.  They're buddies, they like to play and get into trouble.  Abby, not so simple.  For his birthday, Carter's single requirement for what he wanted on his cake?  Something to scare Abby.  Some examples he gave, "Dead skeletons, scary ghosts that pop out..." 

He wanted to write a little card for her this week and so I wrote down what he wanted, and this was it:  "I wish you will have a nice time all by yourself at preschool."  And he wouldn't sign his name.  Just from "your friend."  I guess even at 4, those between-the-sexes relationships are a little complicated.

Learn

Tow head.  Origin (quoted from wisegeek.com): "Certain fibrous plants such as flax or hemp can be woven into cloth, but only after the fibers have been painstakingly combed out and twisted into a usable thread. Part of the combing process yields a tousled mass of light yellow fiber known as tow, although many people mistakenly render it as toe. Because these pale and tangled fibers resemble fine blond human hair, the term toe head or tow head is often applied to natural blondes, especially young children."  Example:

He's just so sweet.  I love this little guy.

Little Loath

I don't have a specific loath from recently.  I am so happy to not have hives or be sick, it's hard to think of anything bad.  So, here is a general little loath from life. 

As a background, of my four siblings, one throws up when tired and over-exercised, one throws up from strong smells, and one used to throw up when eating in nervous situations, like dates.  I will name no names.  So, it should come as no surprise that my biggest pet peeve has to do with food.  I really don't like to listen to other people chew.  I mean most people don't like to listen to loud slurping, dribbly-chin eating.  But if I am sitting on the couch, and someone else is eating anything at all nearby, it bugs me.  I can handle it.  I've never gotten sick or anything.  It is just one of those weird things.  But here's one that doesn't gross me out from awhile ago, since I've been short on pictures lately.

 

Oh, I git it.

Long, long ago when Dylan and I would go to movies by ourselves for no special occasion, we went to a horrible movie at the dollar theatre in Sacramento.  But it was only a dollar.  Anyway, there was this really ghetto lady sitting behind us and she was constantly talking in not a whisper to either her toddler who was wandering around her row, her friend, or on her cell phone, and at one point near the end of the movie, she says, "Oh, I git it!  So, Romeo was his brotha'."  Which as I remember correctly was something that one could have easily learned during the first five minutes of the movie.  So, whenever there is something that clicks even though I should have figured it out already, that is what I always think of.

This is a list of things that is basically the opposite of the last post.  My "Oh I git it" now that I am a mom.  And I wish I could apologize to those mommas that I turned my noses up at a long time ago (and do apologize to if you were one of them)

1.  Then: My first interactions with Dylan's brother Todd's family were when they had 4 young boys and a Holly.  And those kids were crazy.  They would run around like wild Indians and the parents would just sit there and talk calmly to us like nothing was happening.  Think Raising Arizona with the "Mind you don't cut yourself Mordecai" scene.  Now:  I am that mom.  I distinctly remember a time when Ethan and Carter were young and they were running around the kitchen screaming and banging on pots and pans, and I was so relaxed and relieved I was able to eat in peace with no kid wiggling on my lap and taking food and throwing it on the floor.

2.  Then:  We would constantly be waiting for my mom to get ready to go.  We would all be ready, sitting in the car and just waiting her.  She was always so slow.  Now:  Oh yeah.  We had to put on our shoes and walk to the car.  She had to put away all the kitchen food, change a baby's diaper, find money, keys, diapers and change of clothes, snacks for the road, lesson for young womens, and stop kids from fighting with each other before she could make it to the car.  Hmm.  Maybe I could have helped a little.

3.  Then:  When my parent in-laws lived with us for several months before Dylan and I had children, they were always at home and we always thought why don't they go DO something.  Now:  I used to have hobbies.  I have things that I am in theory interested in, but kids just suck up all your time.  There isn't really time for you.  So, I guess when you make it to the end of things, sometimes you're not really sure what to do with yourself and you just want to take a nap to make up for all those times you couldn't.

4.  Then:  Our house growing up was such a mess.  When someone was on their way over, we would scramble to push stuff under the bed or couch to make it look halfway presentable.  And the car?  Oh man, you climb in and your feet are resting on piles of trash.  Now:  I truly have no idea how to keep my house clean with three kids.  It drives me crazy because I am constantly stepping on stuff.  Pre-kid, we were very clean people.  Now, I feel like I never get to play with my kids because I am constantly cleaning up, and even so, it still is a wreck.  And my car?  Well, I'm happy when it's only trash.  I won't even mention the freak nasty stuff I've cleaned up in the car, for fear that my brother or sister are deterred from ever having children.

5.  Then:  When I was pregnant with Ethan, I asked a stay-at-home mom what on earth she did with all her time?  I just couldn't imagine not working when my kids went to school, and what you could possibly occupy all that time with.  Now:  I still often feel bad for asking that question.  Here are my stats for this week.   Number of loads of laundry I do in a week: 8.  Number of times I saved my one-year-old from a potentially fatal accident in one day: 6.  Number of stairs I climbed up in one day while carrying at least 25 pounds of kids or equivalent load: 187.   This mom gig is tough stuff!  I could give you an amazingly long list of things I would be doing if all my kids were in school, and the thought that I might have to leave them with someone else all summer long for me to work when they are on break makes me wonder why on earth I didn't grow up to be a teacher instead? 

So, I have realized now that I'm at the end of this list, I've portrayed motherhood in a rather negative light:  crazy, messy children who suck up all of your time.  This may not be really far from the truth, but there are plenty of other adjectives to add on top of those.  Motherhood is full of rewarding times as you see your kids accomplish things, and I love them so much.  I get to make fooseball games out of superheroes, draw Manga monsters, read books, and spend time outside going to the beach or on hikes and showing little guys what a rabbit or a sea shell is.  I'm an expert at managing chaos now.  The boys are constantly making me laugh and smile.  I certainly never feel like my life is without purpose, and I couldn't even imagine my life without them.  

What?! Everyone doesn’t roll Easter eggs down a hill?

This is a list I did in Notes on Facebook about 4 years ago.  But since nobody would ever even consider looking under notes, I thought I my blog would be a better place for it.  So, you may have already read this depending on how long you've been close to me.  But I enjoyed reading it again, so you may too.  And it has been a while since I've posted anything but I have a one year old on my lap, so not going to do much more today.

Okay. This is essentially a list of things from growing up that I just thought were normal, and came to find out later that they were not. Don’t get me wrong. I still think my childhood was quite normal and well-adjusted. Like any of you, there are just things that I look back on and smile that they were part of my childhood.

1. Every morning we would rummage through a laundry basket that contained every clean sock of every family member in the house, matched or not. Usually none were matched up prior to the rummage. It seriously occupied a good part of the morning. I don’t think it even crossed my mind that it would be easier to actually match the socks coming out of the dryer and put them in a drawer. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that I wear flip-flops always now.
2. For most of my childhood, we had no tv. At one point, some neighbors gave us a tiny black and white tv because they felt sorry for us and didn’t realize that my parents did it on purpose, not because they were poor. But I brought it back to them after a few months when my mom started watching soap operas, which I thought was the epitome of evil at the time. I really didn’t mind not having a tv growing up except if we had school assignments that included watching news or something. I remember on at least one occasion going to Sears, and completing a homework assignment in the electronics department.
3. We moved a lot. And my dad was not in the military. I am so grateful for the many experiences that I had because of the places I lived and the people I met. But the gypsy in me is hard to shake. In my lifetime of 29 years, the longest I’ve lived in one house is 4 years. And I think I have lived in 17 different homes, 9 different cities/towns. The fact that I have lived in Morro Bay for 3 ½ years really says a lot. *These numbers have changed in the last few years, but I already did a post about this, so I'm not going to change it.
4. My parents never fight. Really, ever. I know it’s weird, and super cool.
5. We had an insane number of holiday traditions. My favorite is probably rolling Easter eggs down a hill every Easter. I have forced many a relative, friend, or college roommate to do it with me.
6. My dad really loves/loved his work. Not like he tried to tell himself it was super cool so that he wouldn’t be unhappy. I didn’t realize that as Dylan says, “It’s not supposed to be fun. That’s why they pay you” was a more typical attitude. And as little girls we would fight over who would get to go to work with my dad on Saturdays.
7. My mom can find anything. I really did think that moms just come equipped with this ability, and was sorely disappointed when I came to find out my two-year old was better at finding things than me.
8. My dad woke us up at like 6 am for “lessons” during the summer. Like one day we would learn about famous pieces of art, and another day we would eat cookies that were made to simulate the three different rock types. We loved it so much. I think a lot of the love came from how interesting my dad would make it.
9. We rode the public bus by ourselves to and from school in center city Philadelphia. It was like a half hour ride if I remember right. And on the way home included a transfer. And I was the oldest of three girls at 9 years old. I have many colorful memories associated with this. Like the bus driver who closed the door on my little 5-year-old sister Katie and then started driving. And later on in the ride, he yelled at a blind person for missing their stop. Really. I am just amazed that nothing bad ever happened to us. I am sure we had many people watching over us that we were not even aware of.
10. My mom was pregnant at my wedding. Okay. That one doesn’t really count because I knew it was unique at the time, and I wasn’t a child. But it does make me smile.

Another thing that intrigues me is that we really never ate at restaurants growing up.  We would eat at fast food restaurants if we were driving across the country, and we had the several months where we thought we were in heaven because we got to be secret shoppers of sorts at Denny's.  But I really have absolutely no memory of ever eating out otherwise until I was in high school.  I realize that was because we were being frugile, but it really is quite remarkable to me now that I am a mom that my mom must have cooked dinner and made lunch basically every day.  Kudos.