I've Been a Stranger Here...

It has been FOREVER since I have posted on this blog, and by "forever", I mean August. Really. That DOES seem like forever. The initial reason for my lack of posts this summer was because my computer kicked the bucket on me back in July and I was without a computer for a month. Being without a computer, I had to come up with a hobby to fill my time, hence the main reason I haven't been posting.

I have been busy with a new "hobby"/business that started out as something to try to bring in a little extra cash. I have been making fabric jewelry and hair accessories for women and girls. I have attended a few craft fairs, one went well, the others not so much, but now I have opened up my own Etsy shop. I just opened it yesterday, but I'm hoping that it goes well. Here is a selection of some of the items that I have made:

"Margaret" pom necklace.

"Bethany" pom necklace

"Karli" embroidered headband

"Bethany" flower headband

I also make hair clips and pins, both in the pom and flower designs, along with a few random headband designs. If you are interested in checking them out, please visit my Etsy shop: Betty Bow Blue. I also have a newer blog that follows this hobby, also called Betty Bow Blue.

Thanks for your interest, and please feel free to spread the word!

I have a new computer! A laptop, to be exact. But now I'm headed out of town to, hopefully, (she's slightly "overdue") meet my new niece in VA! Until I get back into the swing of things in the blogging world, I would like to share my new favorite photo of me and my adorable little boys!

I really don't know where the blond hair comes from...

Computer Update

I am still without a computer. My motherboard was bad, so it's time for a new one, just don't know when it will happen yet. I'll be back soon, hopefully!

Mommy Doesn't Compute.... For Good.

The Super Clap got the best of my computer and it bit the dust last night! Thank goodness for library computers! Will be back in touch with the blogging world when my computer is (hopefully) fixed!

Mommy Doesn't Compute

We have all just returned from another week-long family summer vacation (you may recall last year's "vacation"), and I was planning to share photos from said vacation, except that for some unknown reason, none of my USB ports are working. I suspect that my computer may have contracted a strain of Super Clap, because no matter what I try, I cannot heal it.

Before we left for our vaca, I tried to print out a recipe, only to be greeted by the lovely yellow and orange flashing lights on my printer and a message on my computer saying that the something or other was not being recognized. I turned off the printer and turned it back on. Same flashing lights. I restarted my computer, only to be told that it recognized new hardware and was requesting me to insert the CD for my printer so it could install the new whatchamacallit. Needless to say, I do not have the CD for my printer, or if I do, I have no idea where it is. I gave up trying to fix it and resorted to writing down the recipe instead. (Which, by the way, was a very delicious banana muffin recipe. You should really try it out).

Fast forward to today when I am trying to upload this past week's photos to my computer. I open my photo program, plug in my camera and turn it on (the usual steps to take when uploading photos). Nothing happens. I turn off the camera and turn it back on. I receive an error message stating the the USB device is not being recognized.

Image Source

My brilliant computer recommends that I reconnect the device, and try again. I do this, and then my whole computer shuts down on me and restarts itself! WTH? After it restarts, I turn on the camera again. The computer is now recognizing the camera, but asking me to choose the program to launch the action. The only problem now is that there are no programs listed to choose from! WTH? So I quickly look up directions online as to how to resolve this problem. I walk through all of the steps without any problems until I reach the one that tells me to insert my camera's CD. Crap. I have no idea where that one is either. How frustrating.

So now I'm drinking a beer, which I hate, but one of the boys dumped Berry Blue Bubble Wash on the area rug in Owen's room earlier tonight and I am at the point where I don't care to even share the photos anymore. At least not tonight. So I have given up on figuring out how to cure Super Computer Clap and am now on Facebook discussing with my sister and mother how to get the bubble bath out of the rug. (I ended up dragging it into the bathroom and attempted to rinse it out in the tub).

Has anyone else had this USB problem before? Do I really have to venture up to the attic or down to the basement to try and unearth CDs that I haven't needed in years?

Mommy Doesn't Swim

This Fourth of July post is obviously a tad late, but quite honestly, I have been too lazy and unmotivated to write it until today. :-)

We did absolutely nothing for the Fourth of July this year. Our town doesn't put on a fireworks display; our big celebration is the annual Dairy Princess Festival weekend. And we were not invited to any barbecues this year (as we were last year), and Daddio had to work, so our holiday was pretty much uneventful. Well, that isn't entirely true. We actually took the boys to the beach to go swimming. Or rather, Daddio suggested that we take the boys to the beach to go swimming and I went along for the ride.

I think he was trying to be a monster in this photo.

It's a Baby Shower!

It has certainly been a while since my last post! This one is a special edition post in honor of my twin sister's baby shower! A while back when I had mentioned that I was in charge of planning it in a Random Tuesday Thoughts post, Stacy from Stacy Uncorked had requested that I show photos from the shower. I promised to share them, so here they are!

My sister provided us with a color inspiration for the baby's nursery, so everything for the baby shower was pulled from this "inspiration board":

 

Mini-Vaca!

I am taking a mini-vaca from the blogging world. Not because I really want to, but because I currently have "better" things to do with my time than sitting in front of the computer. Like baking. And cleaning the house. And socializing. And now that Daddio has switched to the evening shift, I am able to substitute teach again. And I have been. So that's how I am spending my time during the day right now, which means no more composing posts during Ben's nap time.

And I've also been on an exercising kick lately, trying to lose some weight and tone things up. And that's how I've been spending my nights, which means no more composing posts after the boys have gone to bed. And I've been going to bed earlier because I have to be up around 5:30 AM, which means no more staying up until midnight to finish composing the post that I started during Ben's nap time.

So..........


Mini-vaca.


Be back soon.

I Am Not Myself Tonight

Or rather I wasn't this weekend.

Daddio and I took an overnight trip, sans kids, to Burlington, VT this weekend, which is a rarity in and of itself. But I also did a few things that I never do, such as try new things, which I am always hesitant to do. Here is a rundown of our visit:

We dropped off the boys at my mom's house around lunchtime on Saturday and took the Essex, NY ferry across Lake Champlain and over to Vermont. It was a pleasant ride, but I would imagine that it would be much more enjoyable during late spring or early summer, when things are actually green again. No signs of Champy, however.

Image Source

Mommy Doesn't Know Best.

I knew that one day "it" would happen, I just didn't think that it would happen this soon. All along, (meaning for 3.10 years), I have been the relieved mother who boasts that "it" has never happened to her child. I have heard stories of parents who have experienced this and felt pity for them, while secretly beaming with pride on the inside. I dreaded the day when Owen would start school and become exposed to something like this, but felt safe that "it" would not happen yet. But in my naivety, I neglected to consider playgroup, which he attends twice a week with five other kids. For the past three weeks, it has only been Owen and two other girls who have been at playgroup; three of the children (all cousins), had been mysteriously absent for three weeks. For the past three weeks, Owen has been returning from playgroup with nary a cold, but then the three cousins returned on Monday. And this week? This week saw the Great Puking Disaster of April 2011, and I am totally blaming the three cousins for it.

My Book Babes-A Blog Hop

Katie at See K Read is hosting a one time blog hop called "Book Babes". She is a mom who loves to read, and therefore, loves to see photos of babies and their books. And guess what? She wants to see our babies and their books, so dig out your photos and hop on over to participate!

My Little Bookworm

This is the earliest photo that I have of Owen with a book. He was a little over 6 months old here. He loved "reading" this baby faces book. He still loves to read, and it's not uncommon to find him sitting on his bed with a book when we thought that he was playing instead.

Ben has never been a big reader, so I'm pretty sure that this is one of the only photos that I have of him with a book nearby. (He's about 4 months old here). Thankfully, he is finally starting to take an interest in books, but I suspect that it's mainly from watching Owen reading and a desire to do what his big brother does.

Now hop on over to See K Read to check out some more little bookworms!

RTT: Tea Parties, Exercising, and Burlington, VT

It's time for another Random Tuesday Thoughts, currently being hosted by the rebellious Stacy at Stacy Uncorked.

• It seems as though the only posts I am doing lately are Random Tuesday Thoughts! Okay, in reality, that really is all I'm doing, but I suppose it's because they are so easy! I don't have to worry about gathering all of my thoughts into an organized and cohesive post. I've also been busier these last few weeks. Well, maybe not busier, but less inclined to sit in front of the computer for hours on end (because that is seriously how long it takes me to compose anything).

•  In a quest to try to lose those last stubborn baby weight pounds, I have started working out. Kind of. I'm not going to the gym or anything entirely motivating as that. I'm using the Exercise on Demand feature through our cable provider to complete various workouts at night after the boys have gone to bed and while Daddio is at the gym. It's a nice feature to have. I've tried kickboxing, yoga, cardio, pilates, "piloxing", and bellydancing workouts so far, along with various mini-workouts for my abs and buns and thighs. It's been a good experience, but I'm not really seeing too many results yet. I understand that it's only been a week, but come on! That's one of the reasons I have always hated working out; I would prefer to see instant results and tend to lose patience if I don't. But, it has been over one week since I started, so I'm hopeful that it's a sign that I will actually stick to it this time around. We will see. 

•  I am a member of the Friends of the "Small Town" Free Library committee.Basically that means that we are in charge of organizing fundraisers to help raise money for our local public library. We are in the middle of planning an American Girl doll tea party. I am on the crafts committee for it. As a mother of two boys, this will be an interesting experience for me, and I'm kind of excited about it. This is the second year that the tea party has been held. Last year only 30 tickets were available, and it sold out immediately. This year, we changed the venue to be able to host 60 young ladies and their dolls. Tickets were sold out in less than one week! It's crazy how popular this is! Basically, the girls get to dress up and bring their American Girl dolls with them to participate in crafts, and games, and refreshments for a few hours. We also offer items available for purchase and are raffling off this year's American Girl "Girl of the Year" doll, Kanani; she's Hawaiian. I was assigned the task of creating Bingo cards, and I think that I did a pretty nice job.  I had to come up with 15 different cards.

• Spring is finally here. Yay! Hurray for spring! Yesterday our temps were near 70, if not all the way there. Today, we are expecting mid-60s, while the rest of the week will see the 50s. I'm not going to complain, because as long as it's not more snow, then I am a-okay with that!

• In American Idol news, what on earth happened last week?! In all fairness, I should admit that I don't vote, nor have I ever voted, for an American Idol contestant, so I am probably one of those viewers who is to blame for why Pia was sent home last week. I assumed that Pia would make it to the final three. However, I did not think that she would win, (I've already pegged James Durbin for that honor). While Pia has an absolutely beautiful voice, and the image to go along with it, I don't think that she has shown enough personality to actually win. She is not the performer that most of the other contestants are. Apparently that's the main theory behind why people suspect she was booted last week. I think that she should have at least lasted longer than Stefano, but what do I know. 

•  Daddio and I took a mini-trip to Burlington, VT this weekend. I intend on writing more about it in a separate post, so I will just say here that on Saturday, we stopped by my mom's house long enough to throw the boys out of the car, and headed to Burlington for the night. I love my boys to death, but it was so nice having that time without them. I think that we actually enjoyed each other's company for once! Or at least I know I did, I cannot speak for Daddio on that one. But it was a nice stress-free trip together. Next time we're shooting for a whole week. I'll tell you all more about it later, but in the meantime, you can check out some of my purchases while I was there.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday: Shameless Promotion of the Familial Kind

www.SMWartworks.com or www.SMWartworks.etsy.com

*That's my sister's work; not a photograph, it's a graphite portrait.. She takes custom orders, folks. Get in touch with her!

It's Tuesday Already?

So I (almost) completely forgot that today is Tuesday. For whatever reason, I keep thinking it's Monday. Time to whip out a quick Random Tuesday Thoughts, currently being hosted by Stacy Uncorked.

I originally had a list of random ideas started, but I have misplaced it. So let's try to pull something out of nothing...

• I would like to know whose bright idea it was to package plain oatmeal in a box with blue coloring and with a picture of real blueberries on top of a bowl of oatmeal on the front. The strawberry oatmeal comes in a box with red coloring and a photo of real strawberries on top of a bowl of oatmeal, so I think that's it's a pretty safe bet that a mother who is scurrying through the grocery store with two hungry and tired boys is going to quickly glance at the box and assume that it is blueberry oatmeal and throw it in the cart. This is why I don't go grocery shopping. I wonder how many other distracted mothers were fooled by this. 

RTT: Disney is clueless, and Mother Nature is a tease

I wasn't going to participate in Random Tuesday Thoughts this week because Keely from The Un Mom has gone on hiatus, but apparently Stacy at Stacy Uncorked is picking up the torch until Keely decides to return.

Stacy Uncorked

Is anyone else upset over the fact that Jennifer Garner has been cast to play Agatha Christie's iconic Miss Marple? Apparently Disney is in the works to "reboot" the character to give her "youthful and more modern spin". Bad idea? I think so. The age of the character matters because it is what makes Miss Marple such a success. Her years of experience in St. Mary Mead and the time that she has spent observing human nature is what makes her so successful at what she does. (That coupled with the folks who underestimate mental abilities and view her as a batty old lady who knows nothing). If they were going to “reboot” the character, then why not just create an entirely new character altogether? Am I the only one who feels this way?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Owen just called me into Ben's room. He and Ben are sitting in the glider chair together, cuddling. (Awwww). But then he tells me that Ben is picking his nose. No. That Owen used Ben's finger to pick his nose. Gross. Boys will be boys. 

If I Only Had a Girl.... Or Money.

Earlier today, Jenny from Babblings of a Mommy shared with her readers some great items that she picked up this weekend. Although they were all clothing for little girls, and I haven't a single one, I couldn't resist checking out her list. She shared this cute zebra print dress from Gymboree...

 
...which led me straight to the site to see more. Here are some of my favorite baby girl items (click on the images to learn more). A mommy of boys can dream, right?:

Gymboree: Baby Girl by Betty1940 on Polyvore.com

Then she shared a few items from Kohl's. So I wandered over there to check out the selection. These are my faves:

Kohl's: Baby Girl by Betty1940 featuring floral print dresses

And of course, no "window shopping" wishlist can be complete without a visit to Old Navy:

Old Navy: Baby Girl by Betty1940 featuring old navy dresses

I was actually surprised at how many non "girlie-girl" items are available right now, (by my definition of girlie, that is). What do you think? Any favorite items?

Nail Biters

Owen has been a nail biter for a while now, and I haven't really thought anything of it. It seems like a normal habit for a young kid to develop, so I wasn't concerned. Until I walked into the living room yesterday and caught him chewing hie toenails! That's right. He was chewing his toenails.  Ew. Yuck. Blech. Nastiness. And he had chewed the darn things as far down as he could (on his big toes). So of course this had me worried.

Source

I did a little research and here are a few facts that I unearthed about nail biters:

• About 30%-60% of children and teens chew their fingernails (with the occasional toenail biters). 

•  As they get older, boys are more likely to be nail biters than girls.

• Nail biting is the most common "nervous" habit.

Little Benny Boo-Boo Hopping Through the Forest...

For my 100th post, I was going to post "100 Things About Us", but then I figured that it would have been too long of a post and no one would have read the entire thing. So instead, I'm going to split it up into separate posts. Let's hear it for Ben today!

(Previous "100 Things": Owen and Daddio).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

1. Ben was born in Plattsburgh, NY at 3:12 PM (yes, I had to look it up). He weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 inches long. Like Owen, Ben was also born on his due date, however, his was an induced labor, (because I was about 2 hours away from the hospital where I was going to deliver). Compared to Owen, Ben's delivery was a walk in the park. Thank goodness for epidurals!

2. Ben's name was a mutual choice between Daddio and myself. It was a name that had appeared on both of our name lists for Owen, and one of the only ones that we both liked. His middle name, Ryan, is the same as Daddio's.

3. Ben had really dark hair when he was born. His hair is now blond.

Please, Do Not Feed the Animals!

And by the animals, I mean my kids.

Image Source: ClipartHeaven.com

I'm probably going to come off as being one of those moms after this post, but I'll take my chances with that one.

I get so annoyed when people feed my kids something that they shouldn't be eating, or that I wouldn't normally feed them. Now don't get me wrong here, I understand that when they are visiting someone else's house, they are probably going to be eating food that I don't regularly stock. Grandma S. is sure to serve Owen five pieces of sausage, two glasses of orange juice for breakfast, and no milk. Grandma B. will always have fruit snacks and chocolate treats on hand. And it's a good possibility that Owen will have dessert instead of dinner while at his "girlfriend's" house. Which is fine. I understand that while they are out of the house, I have no control over what they eat. However, when I am in the same room, or when I have left specific instructions, then that's a different story. 

Wordless Wednesday: Every. Single. Time.

Image Source

*Toothpaste for Dinner

RTT: John Lithgow, Muffins, and Cops, Oh My!

It's another Random Tuesday! Brought to you by Keely from The Un Mom.

Did anyone happen to catch How I Met Your Mother last night? (If not, then be prepared for a minor spoiler). I was excited to learn that Barney would finally be meeting his dad! And after all of the drama and hype surrounding his father, how utterly disappointing to see that John Lithgow was cast as his father. I have never been a fan of his, especially when he starred on 3rd Rock from the Sun, but I did not mind him as Lord Farquaad in Shrek But casting aside, this storyline provided Barney with several touching scenes as he came to terms with reconnecting with his father. I just about bawled when he confronts his dad with the fact that yes, he is now a "Suburban Dad", but why couldn't he be that for Barney? I think it was also great that the viewers were given a chance to see through some of the cracks in Barney's shell and get a glimpse of the pain he feels. But I still don't like John Lithgow, even though he admittedly did a fantastic job with the role. (Click here for a much better recap than I was able to produce).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Lesson learned this week, if a recipes states to bake muffins at 400 for 18-22 minutes, DO NOT listen! The last two recipes I've used have both directed this, and both times, the darn things burned on the bottom. From now on, I'm sticking to the usual 375 for 20-25 minutes. I really don't know what else could have been the problem. I have not moved my bottom rack at all, so they should not have been too low. Who knows.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

You Like Me! You Really Like Me!

Or at least Vandy from The Testosterone Three and Me does because she's given me another award! Yay Vandy! Thanks a million! This time it's the Cherry on Top Award:

The rules for accepting this award (because there are always rules) are to list three things that I love about myself, share a picture of me, and nominate five other blogs for this award. I'm not quite sure which of these three is going to be the most difficult for me to complete! But here goes:

1. I love that I am really good with remembering names. This is especially helpful as a substitute teacher. It always freaks out the kids when they discover that I know their names, even if I haven't been their sub in two years. I can also remember every single name of anyone who has ever been a fellow classmate of mine, from Kindergarten through our senior year. Whether the person was in our class for one year, three months, or five years, I can probably tell you his or her name. I'm told that it's a special talent. If only I could get paid to remember names!

2. I love that I am such a perfectionist about certain things. If I am doing something that will reflect on me and my skills, (i.e. scrap booking, editing student writing, blogging, baking etc.), then I have to make sure that it is perfect (or at least nearly perfect), before presenting it to the rest of the world. I think that this is a positive thing because it helps to show me in a more professional light and shows that I care about my work. However, it can also be a negative as it often takes me that much longer just to get something simple finished! (Like this post!)

3. I love that I have the ability to laugh at myself and my goofy quirks. I sing and dance like a fool, especially with my boys. I trip up the stairs. I run into walls. I make silly faces and produce the most random of thoughts. How can I not laugh at myself for any of that?

And now a photo of me, which will be difficult to track down because I'm usually the one behind the camera:

I don't really have demon eyes in person.

It's not of excellent quality, but it's the most recent photo of myself that I have (taken on St. Patrick's Day, to be exact).


And now, five blogs that deserve this award:

1. Amber from Airing My Dirty Laundry, One Sock at a Time (Not only is her blog beautiful, but so is her family).

2. Erin from Things I've Learned Talking to Myself (One of the most open and honest bloggers I have encountered. And that's a beautiful thing).

3. Shannon from Welcome to the Nuthouse! (A fellow Jane Austen fanatic. She also shares a love for handbags and shoes).

4. TB from Year 31 (A woman who is just as obsessed with The MMC as I am, and in my book, that's an automatic win. And if you have to ask what "The MMC" is, then you obviously didn't deserve this award. :-))

5. And last but not least, The Bittersweet Blonde (Although slacking off as of late, she has a knack for finding some beautiful household (etc.) items to share).


Congratulations, ladies! Be sure to the share the love!

Happy St. Daddy's Day

For my 100th post, I was going to post "100 Things About Us", but then I figured that it would have been too long of a post and no one would have read the entire thing. So instead, I'm going to split it up into separate posts.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

As we all know, today is St. Patrick's Day, but it is also Daddio's birthday (who coincidentally, happens to be part Irish). So in honor of that, today's post is All About Daddio, who is currently out of town taking the boys for an overnight at an indoor water park. Never in my wildest dreams would I attempt to take all three boys to something like that by myself! He's a brave man.

Source

1. Okay, so that's not really Daddio, as if you actually believed it was. But he has often been told that he bears a striking resemblance to Matt Damon (usually by family members). Here's the real Daddio:

Not So Wordless Wednesday

It's really awful what is happening in Japan right now. I'm not going to mention too much about it because everyone else is already talking about it much better than I probably could, but I did want to share this photo:

Source: AP

It just brought tears to my eyes when I read in this article that this four-month-old baby girl, who was found among the rubble, was reunited with her father who thought that she had been washed away in the waves. It is awful how many people have died as a result of the tsunami, but when I think about all of the helpless babies lost, who really had no help at all, it breaks my heart. At least most adults and older children have a fighting chance at surviving this, basically due to the fact that they can use their bodies to try to escape. But a baby has no chance at all, unless aided by someone else. Just thinking about how many young children were probably lost to the waves hits me pretty hard. I am so glad that this lucky little girl made it through and was reunited with her father. (I have not seen any word about her mother).  

I couldn't imagine what I would do, how I would react, if anything like this were to happen to my family. It's during times like this when we should be truly grateful for the people we have in our lives.

RTT: Idol, Spring, and Imperfect Facebook Grammar

Thank goodness it's Tuesday! I haven't had any inspiration, nor motivation, to sit down and compose an organized and thorough post about anything lately. Time for some randomness! Brought to you by Keely at The Un Mom.

It's quite possible that I'm the last person to be posting Random Tuesday Thoughts today. I was not really prepared ahead of time to be doing this.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Last week I had a revelation, a reminder as to why I stopped watching American Idol in the first place; the results show. And I think it's grown worse over the last few seasons that I stopped watching. Really. Can they cram any more product placements or pointless scenes into it? How many more Ford music videos are they going to subject us to? Or awkward group performances? They should use that hour to allow the viewers to get to know the contestants better. Afterall, we are the ones voting for them. (And by "we", I don't mean me, because I don't actually vote for anyone). This week, I'm tuning in for the last five minutes to find out who gets cut, and that's it. Or maybe I won't even do that. I might just read about it the next day. We shall see.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

I am so happy that spring is finally just around the corner! I checked our local weekly weather forecast and it's starting to warm up! "Warm up" as in high 40s. And yes, that makes me happy. Although they are calling for some snow showers on Saturday (boo!). I love spring, especially when the flowers and leaves start to bloom/bud. It also means that the boys and I can get back outside for walks. (Yes, I realize that we can go for walks during the winter as well, but that's is so not happening. I am not a winter person). 

All About Owen

For my 100th post, I was going to post "100 Things About Us", but then I figured that it would have been too long of a post and no one would have read the entire thing. So instead, I'm going to split it up into separate posts. Today, it's All About Owen!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Owen was born in Alpine, Texas, at 6:50 AM (CDT). On his due date, because he's good like that. He weighed 7 lbs. 7.5 oz. and was 20 inches long.

2. We did not have Owen's name 100% decided upon until after he was born. "Owen" was not a choice on either of our name lists. About a month or so before he was born, I had a dream that his name was Owen, and it just felt right. His middle name is David; Daddio picked it to honor one of his good friends who passed away a few months before Owen was born. (Both of my nephews also share the middle name; it is my step-dad's name-their grandfather).

3. I had a rough labor with Owen. Although it didn't last very long (labor pains started around midnight, we arrived at the hospital around 2 AM, he was born 5 hours later, 2-3 hours past the doctor's prediction because a spinal block slowed down the labor), I was pushing for a while and the spinal block had already worn off; was not prepared for that at all! They eventually had to try forceps and then the vacuum thing. Thankfully that worked! But it also resulted in a huge bruise on the top of Owen's head. Which then lead to jaundice. We were released from the hospital on a Thursday, the day after he was born, only to be resubmitted on Monday so Owen could receive treatment. All of the nurses said that they were not surprised to see him back, and had in fact expected it. Unfortunately, they had failed to tell us that when we were first discharged!

Poor little guy

I'm an Awesome Blogger!

Special thanks goes out to Vandy over at The Testosterone Three and Me for nominating me for an Awesome Blog Award! Thank you Vandy!

So the rules of accepting this award are that I have to share seven things about myself that you may not know, and then nominate other blogs that I think are awesome (unspecified number). Pretty typical rules, and easy peasy.

1. I am not the greatest of swimmers. I can hold my own for short distances, but don't expect me to swim very far. Or underwater. I never learned how to hold my breath underwater. Yep. That means I'm an adult nose plugger! Keep your judgment to yourself please.
2. I love to dance. I don't mean dance as in out at a bar or dance club grinding up against complete strangers. I mean"choreographed" dancing. When I was younger I had the secret desire to be a dancer, like a backup dancer, or one of the kids from Glee, but without the singing. I can't sing. Something choreographed. I attempted swing dance lessons my first year in college, but only made it to one class. Recently, I have taken a few Zumba classes and am now taking what we call "Progressive Line Dancing" (not country line dancing) and love both. In fact, several people in my class have asked if I have a background in dance, and when I reply, "Not at all!" have said that I'm a natural. It makes me feel good about myself. Especially since most people I know are constantly reminding me of how uncoordinated I am.
3. I have a twin sister. (Most of you are probably already aware of this). She's older. By 19 minutes. And she currently lives in Virginia. And she's expecting, due a day after Ben's birthday (how "twin-like" is that?) I miss her.
4. When we were  younger, (we're talking early elementary school) my twin sister and I were world travelers. Our father was the captain of a cargo ship in the Merchant Marines and sometimes we would travel with him. We've been to Portugal, Holland, and London (possible more). I only remember bits and pieces of London; it was our last trip abroad and happened while we were in second grade.
5. I have always had a fascination with anything related to Henry VIII and his six wives, ever since visiting Madam Tussaud's wax museum in London (one of the things I remember). I think it may have been the idea that he could behead a wife without getting into trouble for it that first intrigued me.
6. I hate seafood, specifically shellfish; I can tolerate some fish if it doesn't taste too fishy. It's not necessarily the taste of shellfish that gets me, it's the texture. The chewy, spongy, slimy texture. Ew. I can't even think about it. Gross. Blech. Gag. 
7. It took me over 30 minutes to come up with the past 6 things you may not know about me. Seriously. Apparently this wasn't as "easy peasy" as I had originally thought.

Now to pass this along. I'm nominating a few awesome blogs that I have recently discovered and try to read every day:

• Mary at How To: Not Be Awkward
• Shannon at Welcome to the Nut House!
• Tonya from You Asked For It
• Ru from And then she was like blah blah blah

You're up, ladies!

Wordless Wednesday: Moments Like These

RTT: 100 Posts Later....

It's another Random Tuesday Thoughts hosted by Keely over at The Un Mom!

 

It's official! This is my 100th post! I wanted to do an extra special post in celebration, but really, who has time for that? Or the motivation. So this will have to suffice. What would have been really nice is if I had acquired 100 followers by my 100th post, but as it stands, I still only have 20. 20 brave souls who are following me publicly, that is. I like to believe that I have 100 anonymous followers out there. :-) But thank you to those of you who are still with me, 100 posts later! (OBG, SMW, and Laura were my first three followers! And an extra thanks to Laura for being my first non-family member follower).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Okay, I have to say what I'm sure all ladies around the world are thinking. Thank you Charlie Sheen for enlightening us all on what we have obviously been missing out on for years! I think it's time to update our checklist for the "Perfect Man" and add "tiger blood" and "Adonis DNA" to the list. Who knew that these things even existed? No wonder so many women have been unlucky in love! We've been looking for the wrong thing! (Seriously, how many men do you think are going to start adding "tiger blood" and "Adonis DNA" to their profiles on dating websites? My guess? Thousands).

Tasty Tuesday: Magic in the Middle Cookies

Warning: These cookies may result in a serious addiction. Especially if you love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Bake at your own risk.

Magic in the Middle Cookies

Yield: 26 cookies; Prep: 25 minutes; Bake: 10 minutes + cooling

Wordless Wednesday: A Self-Portrait

Random Tuesday Thoughts- My First One!

So I'm participating in my first Random Tuesday Thoughts. It may also be my only Random Tuesday Thoughts, but we'll see.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I watched the Oscars this weekend, mainly because I felt as though I needed to make up for missing the other award shows. I gotta say, I was not impressed. First of all, I just don't get what the big deal is with James Franco. Where's the appeal? I don't think he's cute or entertaining. I vote to bring back Hugh Jackman! And speaking of which, I've never really been a fan of Anne Hathaway, but that poor girl pretty much carried the hosting responsibilities. I loved her "tribute" to Hugh Jackman! And felt sorry for her when her nervous "geekiness" peeked through. I also think Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law would be great hosts!

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In related news, am I the only one left who still asks, "What the hell is this Twitter thing?" Seriously. I still don't get it. Obviously, I'm not signed up for it or know anything about it. But I'm in no hurry to make the choice to learn more about it. Maybe that's because everyone is doing it and talking about it. I'm sure that if I checked it out, I would get it, but not happening. I also think that it was rather rude of James Franco to be Tweeting while hosting the Oscars. 

Wordless Wednesday: Victory!

A Belated Valentine's Day Post

Lately, I have not been a fan of Valentine's Day. In fact, over the past few years, I've started looking at it as just another day, not getting what the huge deal was. Then I read this inspiring post by TB over at Year 31. She basically says that Valentine's Day should be spent celebrating all kinds of love, not just for couples. I am totally on board with this. And when I looked at Valentine's Day from that perspective, I started getting excited.

I was also envious of the awesome Valentine's Day crafts that she created with her son, and was finding myself regretting that I hadn't planned anything like that for Owen and Ben. But then she kindly pointed out to me that Valentine's Day wasn't here yet, so I still had time to do something. And I did. We totally winged it, but here's how Owen and I celebrated Valentine's Day:

Owen attends a playgroup at a local college that meets every Monday and Wednesday (two hours with just one child!) We were lucky enough to be assigned snack duty on Valentine's Day. We wanted to make something Valentine-themed, but unfortunately, the one time that I actually went to the store, I forgot to pick up decorating items for his snack. So, I improvised. His playgroup is in the morning, so I didn't want to do anything super sugary for snack. I settled on making apple muffins and disguised them as cupcakes. (I'm tricky like that sometimes)

We had some white frosting leftover from my birthday (it was still good, I read the label), and through a stroke of genius, I realized that we could use some strawberry Jell-O powder to color the frosting pink. I am brilliant. (And as an added bonus, the frosting became strawberry flavored!). Owen decorated the "cupcakes" with some red sugar leftover from Christmas cookies.

He likes to keep things centered.

The Single Dude's Valentine's Day Blues

As we all know, yesterday was Valentine's Day. It was a day to celebrate the people we love. For some people, it was all about couples. For others, it was about the kids. Unfortunately, it is also a day that many people resent; those people are usually single.

I watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother last night, and it was, of course, centered around Valentine's Day, or more specifically, the day before Valentine's Day, which Barney has so thoughtfully dubbed Desperation Day. ("It's a thing"). The focus was on single women who wear the mask and put up the facade of not caring about Valentine's Day because they don't need a man to make them happy, blah, blah, blah. Barney's theory is that February 13th is the day when a single "10" gains the desperation of a "4" and the eagerness of a "2" (or something to that extent), therefore making it an easy day to pick up hot women.

Source

Anyway. I think that it's time to focus on another type of person who always seems to be ignored on Valentine's Day, the lonely single guy. (Men have feelings too!)

Tasty Tuesday: Lemon-Blueberry Oat Muffins

Back in July, I posted a recipe called The Best Blueberry Muffins. I was mistaken. I have since found a blueberry muffin recipe that I enjoy even more than those and have decided that they are now the SECOND Best Blueberry Muffins. Here are the BEST blueberry muffins:

Lemon-Blueberry Oat Muffins

Not my photo

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1 cup all-purpose flour*

1/2 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 egg white

1 cup fat-free milk

2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, melted

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries*

TOPPING:

1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, softened

In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, combine the egg, egg white, milk, butter, lemon peel, and vanilla; mix well. Add to dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in berries. Coat muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or use paper liners; fill two-thirds full with batter. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 400 for 20-22 minutes or until top is lightly browned and springs back when lightly touched. Cool 5 minutes; remove to wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen.

Nutritional Analysis

*Note: I use whole-wheat flour, frozen blueberries, and 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice instead of the peel, because I don't keep lemons stocked in my fridge. I have not tried these muffins made as directed, so I don't know if my substitutions change anything.

Wordless Wednesday: A Cuckoo Paparazzi Klutz

Daddio=(Enter Expletive of Choice Here)

I was all set up at my computer, with a cup of coffee on one side, and a chocolate chip cookie on the other, to start writing a completely different post than this one, when Daddio called. He is at the store doing an emergency grocery shopping trip. ("Emergency" because while he was away in NYC this weekend, the boys and I ran out of just about everything, including milk, orange juice, and pretzels, all of the daily staples in our house. And since I don't have any money, or access to Daddio's money, as discussed before, we had to wait until he returned to pick up some more. Yeah, it sucks).

But back to the story at hand. Daddio called from the store. Our conversation went like this:

Daddio: You have "cinnamon bread" on the list. What is this?
Me: Um. It's bread with a cinnamon swirl baked into it.
Daddio: Why do you need it?
Krista: Because I am making a breakfast bake to take over to J later in the week. (J is a friend of mine who just had a baby last week. She ended up needing a C-section and arrived home Saturday. A bunch of us have decided to make meals for her during her first week home, since that's the last thing she is going to want to worry about right now).
Daddio: Sigh. (And then in a really annoyed tone of voice), What? She can't make anything herself?

Yeah. That's the inconsiderate a$$ that I'm "proud" to say is the father of my sons. Guess who made the meals in our house after the first couple of days home from the hospital with the boys?


Update: Daddio just called back again: I'm not getting the bread. I'm not spending $4 on a loaf of bread. Make something else.

And he wonders why I'm grumpy all the time.

It's the Right Time to be Pregnant

Man. I wish I was pregnant right now. Not with a third child, but with one of my previous pregnancies. Have you seen some of the cute maternity outfits they are peddling over at Old Navy? Where were these clothes when I was desperate for some cute items while pregnant with Ben? Take a look:

Source Link

I love that pea coat! And it's a shame that they don't offer it for non-pregnant women. And don't you love it when a website does the work for you by putting together an outfit? I wish they would do this more often?

Source Link

They do offer a similar version of this sweater for "regular" women, but not the striped shirt.

Source Link

 Yes, that's a lot of pink and peach, but they also have a lot of more neutral colors as well, including blues and grays. Love the looks, but NOT a reason to start working on a third baby, don't you worry!

10 Lessons I Learned Today.

Today I did something that I rarely ever do. I went outside in the snow. With the boys. And it was fun!

Usually, the only time I ever dare to brave the snow is when I have to walk out to my car, or take the garbage can to the curb. I do not shovel. I do not use the snow blower. That is Daddio's job. However, Daddio is away for work in New York City for the weekend  and dear old Mother Nature decided to drop a foot of snow on us last night. Wet, heavy snow. Thankfully, one of our kind elderly neighbors sent her snow blower man over to us this morning to clear the driveway for us. (One of the many perks of living in Smalltown). So that saved Owen and me the hassle of trying to shovel a foot of snow while Benny was napping. Thank goodness too, because that snow is heavy!

I still had to clear the walkway to the driveway and tidy up the spots that snow blower man missed (not complaining!). So I bundled up the boys, dressed myself up in Daddio's snow gear (to the delight of Owen who could not stop laughing at me. "Probably that don't look good on you, Mom."), and headed outside to shovel some snow!

An hour later, and we're all dressed.

Armed with our shovels and a sled, we bravely set to our task. We lasted about 15 minutes before I decided to take the boys for a ride in the sled instead. 20 minutes later (for what should have been a 5 minute walk under normal conditions), we arrived home and finished the driveway.

I learned 10 valuable lessons today from my 45 minute experience outside:

The Great Debate: SAHM vs. Working Moms

Please bear with me. This rant is going to be a lengthy one!

Typically I don't allow the whole "working" mom vs. stay-at-home mom controversy/argument/opinion/nonsense bother me, but today I happened to come across a comment on Facebook that totally got my goat. (You may need to click to enlarge this to be able to read this better, especially if your eyes are on the wrong side of 30 like mine are).

I know Deb (she's a SAHM with three boys) and I know Ann. I do not know Rebekah and I'm pretty sure that I'm okay with that. And I have a feeling that Rebekah does not know Ann, because if she did, she would have been aware that Ann is a working mom with two young boys, and may have thought twice about making that comment. (I say "may" because I doubt that she really would have. She doesn't strike me as the type of person who would think twice before potentially offending someone).

Wait. Time out.

The Stats Don't Lie

Well, it's official. I've been checking out my blog stats and my most popular post is..... Tasty Tuesday: Dinosaur Cake! It has 150 views! Yeah, that's right. I said 150. Don't laugh at me. I have a small-town blog. Actually, it may be more like a village. No, what's smaller than that? A hamlet? My blog is a hamlet. No politics or religion found here! (Seriously, that's the difference between a village and a hamlet; look it up!)

Slowly rising to star status!

Anyway. My second place post only has 30 views, so I'd say my dinosaur cake is the winner by a long shot. If you are unfamiliar with that post, go check it out and maybe I can make it to 200 views! It's not surprising that 8 out of the10 keyword search phrases that led to my blog have something to do with making a dinosaur cake. The majority of the traffic for this post happened this past January, so some lucky kids must have had some dinosaur birthdays to celebrate last month! Let's hope their cakes turned out better than my last birthday cake did!

And one of my top traffic sources? One Blonde Girl. (Thank you, OBG. Even though you don't comment, read, blog, or even essentially exist anymore, at least you are still good for something! XOXO).


P.S. Can someone please tell me how to include the "You Might Like" feature at the end of each blog? I'm looking at you, OBG!

Wordless Wednesday (Kind of): HAPPI...

My birthday was on January 17th. This was my cake:

You may be thinking, Awww. How nice. Owen decorated a cake for his mommy!

And you would be wrong.

This lovely creation was (primarily) decorated by someone who does not plan ahead to make sure there are sufficient cake decorations in the pantry. In a word, Daddio.

(With some help from Owen).

Mommy Doesn't Give it Away for Free

**Warning** This post contains references to my sex life, (or lack thereof*) so if you are a family member, you may choose not to read this; I will not hold it against you in the slightest.

Last night I partook in the following conversation on Facebook:

("M" is Daddio's brother; "J" is M's fiancee; "C" is a complete stranger)

Super proud of myself for figuring out how to do a screen cap!

I know what you're thinking, Wow, that Daddio sure has some class. Or maybe I was the only one thinking that? I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I'm a bit of a prude, so his comments here slightly disgusted me, but pretty much par for the course.