standing alone

while Camo hasn't taken any steps on his own yet but this is definitly the begining stage. clearly he thinks it's pretty cool to be able to stand up by yourself!

weekend happenings

so it's been hot as hell (maybe literally) here all weekend and it's not going to let up until Thursday. we finally broke down yesterday and put two window unit ACs in two of the 3 bedrooms. we put a blanket up in the hallway to keep all the cool air in the back of the house as we are keeping the bedroom doors open to share the cool air with Cameron (who lives in the poor AC less room). we figure we'll have the AC on at night because it sucks to sleep in heat like this and then turn them off during the day (but it is still cool back there because they were on all night) it's so unbelievable refreshing to walk back there... but then torture to come back out. anyway needless to say we've been in the pool a lot the last few days. what? you want to see pictures? of course i have pictures...


(notes about pictures... they are all jumbled up. some are from the Earth Fair we went to this weekend. where turns out i won 1st prize in a photo contest for this picture! oh and the one w/ the lawn mower... Camo is sleeping haha)

409

i just paid $4.09 for gas (i know you west coasters think that's cheap) which meant $52 to fill'er up!! HOLY CRAP! i am 100% determined to make this tank last (at least) one month. i will go nowhere unessesary. our little trip to see the great grandparents in Virgina later this summer might need to be put on hold because unfortunatly no one is buying tredmills (go figure).... = we have no extra $

we need HELP!

if only

i was reading this article today that stated stay-at-home moms would make around $117,000/yr if we were financially compensated for our work. oh how i wish raising a family was something our country really valued. it's funny how i always thought we never had any money before kids when Chris and i were both working full time ... now i know the meaning of no money. gosh we must have wasted so much money then.

a conversation yesterday:

May- am i a kid?
me- yes
May- are you a kid?
me- no, i'm an adult
May- and you are a human too

i'm glad she thinks so :o)

pisses me off

why in the world does the post look totally different (all over the place) from what i was working with initially?!??!?! why can't things be easy? welp, i hope you're able to follow that last post... good luck.

reeping the reward

so like i said the spinach is out of control. i picked, cooked and froze (what we didn't use for dinner that night) a bunch of spinach. i think i might have done it wrong though... i didn't pick it at the root, i picked it at the top near the leaf. i wonder if that will stimulate more growth or should i go back and pick those stems?! i also couldn't figure out if it's easier to chop the spinach before or after cooking. i chose after and actually just ended up pureing it this time. i could not believe how much better fresh, organic home grown spinach looks (super bright green) and tastes oposed to the frozen stuff we usualy buy at the store.

photo by M.R. S.

before

after

YUM!!

simply heartbreaking

why do bad things happen to good people? this is the age old question that i am sure will never be answered. i just read the news that Steven Curtis Chapman (a singer/songwriter who i used to be really into)'s five year old daughter died this afternoon in a car accident. it sounds like one of their teenage sons didn't see her in the driveway as he was backing up. tragic. that poor kid. that poor family. my heart aches for them tonight.

things like this really help put my life into perspective. 30 minutes ago i was struggling with Mayden (who is sick it seems) trying to get her to stop crying and fall asleep... wondering if i'd get much sleep tonight. now im so thankful that i just might have to be up with her little coughing self all night. i will serve her with a joyful heart tonight!

three oh

so CJS #1 turned 30 today!! thirty seems scary to me

but Chris has really embraced this milestone wholeheartedly. i still have a year to prepare and a great role model to look up to until it's my dooms day. it's been a good day...after a cozy rainy day inside, a hearty meal at Cracker Barrel and a near-fire hazard of a cake we're settling in for a night of Indian Jones & the Raiders of the Lost Arc... see how giving i am?

spinach anyone?

so our spinach is loving this cooler weather that we've been having. May (the month) is feeling more like April this year, many cool and rainy days. i'd say we eat spinach pretty regularly but probably not quiet this much spinach. so if anyone is in the area and needs some green stuff... help yourself! the next non-rainy day i will get out there and harvest it all, then freeze it for later. both kinds of squash are looking good but i think it will still be awhile until we get anything to eat from the plants. no sign of my cantaloupe yet i'm thinking i should have seen something by now so we might be saying better luck next year. i'll have to do some more research on growing cantaloupe. the tomato plants are growing but they are certainly taking their time. i still need to get a fence, cage or something for them to grow up.

kill ya early banana bread

i randomly found this recipe sweetly called "Nana's Banana Bread" i however have since renamed it "Kill ya early banana bread" because i'm pretty sure it will. this banana bread is amazing and more like banana cake then bread. the batter is better then any cookie dough i've ever tasted. seriously.




ingredients

5 tbs butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 chopped walnuts


preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray bottom of 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

beat butter in large bowl with an electric mixer set at medium speed until light and fluffy. add granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat well. add egg, egg whites and vanilla; beat until well blended. add mashed bananas, and beat on high speed 30 seconds.

combine flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder in medium bowl. add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with cream, ending with flour mixture. add walnuts to batter; mix well.

pour evenly into prepared load pan. bake until browned and toothpick inserted bear center comes out clean. about 1 hour 15 minutes.

cool bread in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. remove bread from pan; cool completely on wire rack. slice and serve with butter and jam.

movin' on up!

i've been super busy this week with moving Danica out of her room here and moving Cameron in. up until last night Cameron has slept in our bedroom every night since he was born. despite the wonderful freedom of having our bedroom back to ourselves i have to admit it was really bittersweet putting him to bed in a different room last night. another stage of his life is coming to an end and lately he just seems to be growing so fast. i really don't know what i'm going to do with myself when he moves out of the house in 18 years (God willing). his room did turn out really cute. it's only about 90% finished so i will wait to post pictures until it is 100% complete!

We helped Danica and Tim moved into their new apartment today! such a happy day as she's been waiting FOREVER to have her own place. i'm so excited for them :o)

this is me (sorta)

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal Fiscal Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

my super duper birthday & mothers day weekend extravaganza!

so i was lucky enough to have my birthday on Saturday and mothers day on Sunday this weekend. i must say that i enjoyed the sleeping in part of those days the best. unlike normal families my husband works weekends so it wasn't as laid back as it could have been for me BUT it was really nice nonetheless! the hubby & kids even got me a few books.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

and

Last Child in the Woods - which i already had (oops) but haven't read yet so i'll be exchanging it for an Anne Lamott fiction.

Happy Mothers Day!

April Movie Madness

okay so we're still slacking in the movie watching department and with the weather the way it's been i don't think it's going to be getting much better anytime soon.

The Usual Suspects - your basic boy movie with a nice twist ending. i've been forced to watch this movie before and i think i liked it better the second time around. this movie is a bit hard to follow and if it wasn't one of Chris's favorite movies i'd probably say that i didn't really like it. Score= B

The Business of Being Born - a documentary about the history of birth in the US and a good look at the current state of the birthing industry. it definitely has a pro natural (unmedicated) birth slant. needless to say this hits a soar note for me as i tried twice for this specific kind of birth and failed miserably both times. however even with that history i was able to enjoy the film and really see the truth in what was being said. since there is about a 5% chance i'll ever give birth again it was probably pointless for me to watch. a really perfect movie for anyone expecting a baby in the near future. it's always good to know all your options. Score= B

SCORE
A= loved it and will definitely watch it again
B= liked it but probably won't watch it again
C= didn't really like it and definitely won't watch it again
D= couldn't even finish it

funny faces

Mayden is getting really good at making funny faces (especially when i'm trying to get a nice picture of her). we spent a good half hour after dinner today making funny faces for the camera. here's what we did.

photo friday

here's a series from our trip yesterday to the Star Wars exhibit at the Franklin Institute in Philly. we left Camo with my mom and just the 3 of us went.

the real puppets/costumes/ robots from the first 3 films!

Chris- i am your father!

May in an artery - the real reason people go to the FI

Logan Square

on the way home

Cam riding forward facing like a unsafe big boy because May fell asleep in his car seat.

new rule

you know the 'new rule' segment of Bill Maher's show (maybe you do, maybe you don't) welp this is my new rule:

everyone MUST blog. this is especially important for those with children. it doesn't have to be fancy but it does have to be updated at least weekly and must include pictures as often as possible. at the very least have a Myspace page. how am i suppose to spy keep tabs on you & your family if you don't blog?

this is the perfect example: i just found out that my friend Beth's son had surgery recently. i have no idea even why... because she doesn't blog. and my cousin Janeen who has three kids ages 1, 2 & 7 is on my mind all the time. i am clueless as to how they are doing and i haven't seen pictures of her kids since Halloween. this could all be avoided if blogging was mandatory. just an idea.

holy crap!

literally. WOO HOO!! May-May pooped on the potty today!!! she started holding it in (as usual these past 2 weeks) and i told her i wouldn't hold her unless she tried potty and that i would go with her and hold her hand. she left the room upset and screaming in pain only to return a second later to say "i want go potty now" so we went and she went. it's clearly painful for her but she is making it much worse then it needs to be.

laughing, smiling, dancing, singing, lollipops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i am by no means convinced this is the end of our poop problems. however, this is a breakthrough and i am smiling ear to ear .... it's amazing sad how much of my happiness hinges on poop these days.

flea bitten

mosquito?

chicken pox?

FLEAS!

poor May-May has been sleeping with fleas the last few nights and i just realized it this morning! gosh i feel horrible!! i started noticing a few bug bites on her a couple of mornings ago and figured that maybe a mosquito somehow got into her room. then this morning there were a million little dots all over her. my first thought was Chicken Pox then i went online and realized the the dots were a little different. sooooo i went into her room and took a good look at her bed. one. two. three. four.... there they are. i should have know since the cats LOVE sleeping in her bed during the day.

plan of action:
getting rid of fleas is a royal pain in the ass. that i remember from my childhood. all the chemicals, all the bites, all the vet visits, all the bombs. i changed May's sheets on Monday Chris is going to call the vet to get some flea medication that you put on their necks so that when a flea bites them it dies... nice. until then the cats are kicked out. i moved all their stuff to the garage (which i was going to do anyway since the weather is nice now) why do we have cats?