Well, the tech couldn't find the cyst at all to measure it, so it's considered gone. Woohoo!! Baby is also ahead of schedule in the growth department by perhaps 3 weeks. My dr's appt is tomorrow and we'll know more then.
For your slow dancing around the living room, arm waving in the air, you know all the words by heart pleasure:
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Monday, October 29, 2007
Food, food everywhere!!
My dear friend is moving soon. She found out that her husband was rocked from training here and then they were given 8 days to get their house in order before they had to move and he had to report at different training. Talk about stressful.
So she came over yesterday with some food they couldn't take with them. Thanks to the generosity of her parents, they were well stocked with all kinds of food both fun and practical. So, over she came with 6 garbage bags full of loot. Man and I poked through the bounty is absolute wonder. Apparently my friend isn't used to having such food, herself, and is understandably sad to part with it.
I've never seen so many boxes of cereal in one place, or so many varieties of honey and ice cream toppings. Last night we tried some sort of microwave popcorn that you pour marshmallow topping over, the gourmet amaretto hot chocolate, the chocolate cereal straws, and the pizza blasted goldfish crackers. There were varieties of snack sized applesauce, cake mix, and prepared frosting. One that made me laugh were a couple of sacks of presifted bread flour. That's right, presifted. There was also a "complete meal" kit of the chicken fettuccine alfredo variety. There was Crystal Light in all manner of shapes and flavors, as well as herbal teas in abundance. And much, much more.
We've never, ever eaten like this in our lives. I've never seen so much prepared food come from one pantry. A lot of the easy stuff I'm going to save for after Freida is born. It's just too easy to go through bags of chicken nuggets and tater tots with a new born in the house.
Maybe we could hand out the individual servings of Crystal Light for Halloween. But not before I try all the flavors.
So she came over yesterday with some food they couldn't take with them. Thanks to the generosity of her parents, they were well stocked with all kinds of food both fun and practical. So, over she came with 6 garbage bags full of loot. Man and I poked through the bounty is absolute wonder. Apparently my friend isn't used to having such food, herself, and is understandably sad to part with it.
I've never seen so many boxes of cereal in one place, or so many varieties of honey and ice cream toppings. Last night we tried some sort of microwave popcorn that you pour marshmallow topping over, the gourmet amaretto hot chocolate, the chocolate cereal straws, and the pizza blasted goldfish crackers. There were varieties of snack sized applesauce, cake mix, and prepared frosting. One that made me laugh were a couple of sacks of presifted bread flour. That's right, presifted. There was also a "complete meal" kit of the chicken fettuccine alfredo variety. There was Crystal Light in all manner of shapes and flavors, as well as herbal teas in abundance. And much, much more.
We've never, ever eaten like this in our lives. I've never seen so much prepared food come from one pantry. A lot of the easy stuff I'm going to save for after Freida is born. It's just too easy to go through bags of chicken nuggets and tater tots with a new born in the house.
Maybe we could hand out the individual servings of Crystal Light for Halloween. But not before I try all the flavors.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The Halloween before Halloween
Our ward Halloween activity including trunk-or-treat was tonight. We all started the day sleeping in as long as possible, especially since Man took a whole headache pill pretty late last night and was shaking it off even after 11am. He says that they seem to be helping but he's still working on getting full nights' rests.
Anyway, the little neighbor kids were all a-twitter with their grandparents in town for little G's birthday. By the time we got everyone fed and ready to go to the b-day party, bought G's b-day gift and wrapped it, and trooped on over, it was 1pm. We stuck around playing, visiting, and Man was helping set up their new Wii while I made Tag's Halloween costume. Pebbles didn't fall asleep until about 4pm which made her desperately tired for about half of the ward activity which started at 5.
At the activity, Tag had a hard time getting into the spirit of things, refusing to do much of anything except that silly fishing game you always see at ward Halloween parties. The haunted maze scared him enough to make him scream, and he didn't get any candy from the pinata (but you know, there were about 3 dozen kids around that thing) so he was severely bummed out until the actual trunk or treating started. After that he was a-rarin' to go, telling people all about his costume and being his engaging, sociable self. Princess had a blast the whole time and did all of the games without any sort of prompting at all. It was so very odd to see them temporarily trade personalities. Pebbles mostly clung to one parental unit or the other.
We left early after one round of cars which was enough to net them a whole evening's worth of Halloween plunder (including such oddities as key chains and small tubs of play dough). On the drive home we realized that no one had lunch or dinner today and the kids were happily munching on candy. Oops. We swung by a few different places to try to pick up food but found our attempts all closed for the evening at just before 7pm. Home again to whip out some burgers, wipe all the kids down, get teeth thoroughly brushed, and tuck the little darlings into bed. Poor Tag was so very whipped out that he fell asleep within mere minutes of hitting the pillow, also very uncharacteristic.
Oh, btw, no pics yet. I'll get those on H night after everyone gets into their real costumes. Princess is a flower fairy, Tag is a gumball machine, and Pebbles is a dinosaur.
One of the people handing out candy tonight had two options: a "witch's brew" selection of normal, safe treats, and the haunted basket of horrors with a dare to even peek at the macabre collection inside. The basket contained such oddities from her cupboard as canned mushrooms, shelf stable soymilk, and canned black eyed peas. I might try that next year, using cans from the local ethnic groceries and their odd fruit or mushroom selections.
And now to sleep, perchance to dream.
Anyway, the little neighbor kids were all a-twitter with their grandparents in town for little G's birthday. By the time we got everyone fed and ready to go to the b-day party, bought G's b-day gift and wrapped it, and trooped on over, it was 1pm. We stuck around playing, visiting, and Man was helping set up their new Wii while I made Tag's Halloween costume. Pebbles didn't fall asleep until about 4pm which made her desperately tired for about half of the ward activity which started at 5.
At the activity, Tag had a hard time getting into the spirit of things, refusing to do much of anything except that silly fishing game you always see at ward Halloween parties. The haunted maze scared him enough to make him scream, and he didn't get any candy from the pinata (but you know, there were about 3 dozen kids around that thing) so he was severely bummed out until the actual trunk or treating started. After that he was a-rarin' to go, telling people all about his costume and being his engaging, sociable self. Princess had a blast the whole time and did all of the games without any sort of prompting at all. It was so very odd to see them temporarily trade personalities. Pebbles mostly clung to one parental unit or the other.
We left early after one round of cars which was enough to net them a whole evening's worth of Halloween plunder (including such oddities as key chains and small tubs of play dough). On the drive home we realized that no one had lunch or dinner today and the kids were happily munching on candy. Oops. We swung by a few different places to try to pick up food but found our attempts all closed for the evening at just before 7pm. Home again to whip out some burgers, wipe all the kids down, get teeth thoroughly brushed, and tuck the little darlings into bed. Poor Tag was so very whipped out that he fell asleep within mere minutes of hitting the pillow, also very uncharacteristic.
Oh, btw, no pics yet. I'll get those on H night after everyone gets into their real costumes. Princess is a flower fairy, Tag is a gumball machine, and Pebbles is a dinosaur.
One of the people handing out candy tonight had two options: a "witch's brew" selection of normal, safe treats, and the haunted basket of horrors with a dare to even peek at the macabre collection inside. The basket contained such oddities from her cupboard as canned mushrooms, shelf stable soymilk, and canned black eyed peas. I might try that next year, using cans from the local ethnic groceries and their odd fruit or mushroom selections.
And now to sleep, perchance to dream.
pics
Some pics of the kids. Man didn't really want to participate so is staring off into the distance. Oh, well. Princess was noting that she's the only one in the pic with a red face, but she also went to the pumpkin patch with her class yesterday. She gushed about her first field trip quite a bit, so happy to have gotten a small pumpkin, drawn on a picture, gone through a corn maze, enjoyed a small petting zoo, and seen wild turkeys.
Goodness, can you tell these two are sisters? Their coloring is sure different, but man, they are so alike. Pebbles' hair is getting lighter nowadays, now that her kid hair is starting to put in an appearance. Her corn-silk baby hair, with that strawberry tint to it, is giving way to more of a straw color but it's still so soft and silky, just like her much darker older sister. Such beautiful girls, if I say so myself.
Goodness, can you tell these two are sisters? Their coloring is sure different, but man, they are so alike. Pebbles' hair is getting lighter nowadays, now that her kid hair is starting to put in an appearance. Her corn-silk baby hair, with that strawberry tint to it, is giving way to more of a straw color but it's still so soft and silky, just like her much darker older sister. Such beautiful girls, if I say so myself.
Song ringing through my head
Everyone gets it from time to time, that song that just won't go away even after you listen to it a few times, hum it in the shower, discuss it with a spouse or friend, and no matter how much you hear it or otherwise obsess over it, it never quite goes away. I'm not annoyed with it yet. If I get to that point I have tons of other songs to take its place.
House of the Rising Sun
The first time I heard it was at a marching band competition but my ear wasn't trained well enough at that point to hear the melody well, especially one I'd never heard before. Since then I've gained an appreciation of classic rock, especially revisiting the oldies my dad always had on the radio.
House of the Rising Sun
The first time I heard it was at a marching band competition but my ear wasn't trained well enough at that point to hear the melody well, especially one I'd never heard before. Since then I've gained an appreciation of classic rock, especially revisiting the oldies my dad always had on the radio.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Farmer's market
My neighbor got her husband to watch my two older kids while she and I snuck off to the downtown farmer's market this week. I took the stroller and Miss Pebbles. The market was a few blocks long and divided by product: shirts, crafts, jewelry and other handmade items on one block, and across a street you'll find the food.
There were samples of Indian and Greek food, produce in fantastic abundance and variety, fresh salsas and salad dressings, samples of decade-old and more balsamic vinegar, rich and flavorful olive oils, and did I mention the Greek food?
I have never, in my entire life, tasted tomatoes that had me rooted to the spot in absolute ecstasy. The texture, color, and flavor of meticulously grown heirloom tomatoes had me in wondering awe.
Ambling on down the lane we found some salad dressings. At first we both were a little reluctant to sample salad dressing dripped on a plastic spoon. I mean, come on. But curiosity got the better of us and we sampled every last flavor available. Tasting those salad dressings was like going to Penzey's for the first time: revelation. I had no idea that salad dressing could taste like that. I felt like Salieri listening to Mozart for the first time: reverent, transported, and somewhat jealous that she could make such a thing while my talents remain in mediocrity, and I wished that she would share her recipe so I could bask in her glory by reflection. I walked away with two bottles and didn't cringe at the price. After all, salads are a great way to get veggies right? And with dressing like this that has so little fat and so much flavor, how could I go wrong?
My version of heaven shall have such foods in it, such tomatoes and dressings. Throw in the cantaloupe we found at a farmer's market in Colorado and the fresh, juicy peaches, and I can surely understand why the Greeks believed that even the gods would deign to eat.
I've just finished a snack of chickpeas and tomatoes dressed with a delightful cranberry citrus concoction from the above mentioned salad dressing booth. Yes, I used a spoon.
While we were walking we got to see a churro dough dispenser in action. We also each picked up a spanikopita. Can I just say YUM. Pebbles ate about half of mine, spinach and all. I adore Greek food. I do wish that Americans had picked up the Greek diet rather than whatever diet we have now. Though my Costco just started carrying Greek yogurt. Tzatziki for me with no overnight coffee filter in the fridge!
There were samples of Indian and Greek food, produce in fantastic abundance and variety, fresh salsas and salad dressings, samples of decade-old and more balsamic vinegar, rich and flavorful olive oils, and did I mention the Greek food?
I have never, in my entire life, tasted tomatoes that had me rooted to the spot in absolute ecstasy. The texture, color, and flavor of meticulously grown heirloom tomatoes had me in wondering awe.
Ambling on down the lane we found some salad dressings. At first we both were a little reluctant to sample salad dressing dripped on a plastic spoon. I mean, come on. But curiosity got the better of us and we sampled every last flavor available. Tasting those salad dressings was like going to Penzey's for the first time: revelation. I had no idea that salad dressing could taste like that. I felt like Salieri listening to Mozart for the first time: reverent, transported, and somewhat jealous that she could make such a thing while my talents remain in mediocrity, and I wished that she would share her recipe so I could bask in her glory by reflection. I walked away with two bottles and didn't cringe at the price. After all, salads are a great way to get veggies right? And with dressing like this that has so little fat and so much flavor, how could I go wrong?
My version of heaven shall have such foods in it, such tomatoes and dressings. Throw in the cantaloupe we found at a farmer's market in Colorado and the fresh, juicy peaches, and I can surely understand why the Greeks believed that even the gods would deign to eat.
I've just finished a snack of chickpeas and tomatoes dressed with a delightful cranberry citrus concoction from the above mentioned salad dressing booth. Yes, I used a spoon.
While we were walking we got to see a churro dough dispenser in action. We also each picked up a spanikopita. Can I just say YUM. Pebbles ate about half of mine, spinach and all. I adore Greek food. I do wish that Americans had picked up the Greek diet rather than whatever diet we have now. Though my Costco just started carrying Greek yogurt. Tzatziki for me with no overnight coffee filter in the fridge!
I Can Has Cheezburger
We do not baby talk our kids. Sometimes I'll do the slightly higher pitched voice when I talk to babies but all of that modified speech and baby talk garbage just drives me nuts. My kids don't even know what a tummy is, and if someone asks "how many are you?" they have no idea that what the adult really meant to say was "how old are you?"
So I've put off looking at this website for a really long time because the thought of it made me gag.
But this picture absolutely had me rolling out of my chair.
No schedule
Today, for the first time in a long time, I have a list of things to do but no appts to keep. Therefore, I have a lot to do but I can do it in my own time! As long as I make sure to pick Princess up in time, that is, and I'm home early enough for Pebbles to get a good nap. And dinner needs to be ready by 5:30, lunch at 11:30, kids in bed by 8... well, you get the idea.
Nothing but the routines which I've established on my own to get in my way of getting done that which is needful.
Nothing but the routines which I've established on my own to get in my way of getting done that which is needful.
It's cold!
- Hearing the alarm and having to get out of the covers to turn it off. That's cold.
- Putting your feet on a thin, rubber-backed rug that's on top of a wood floor. That's pretty cold.
- Stepping off that rug onto the wood floor. Achingly cold.
- Realizing you slept with the window open. Very cold.
- Taking care of morning business and the window in the bathroom was also open. Exceedingly cold.
- Turning on the shower and forgetting to point the shower head down before you switch the water from the bath faucet to the shower head. Wake-you-up-with-a-blast-of-shock cold.
- Getting out of the shower and realizing that the dang window was still open. Shiveringly cold.
- Getting into clothes you put right under that open window. Stupidly cold.
- Putting in contacts that sat in a cold, cold bathroom overnight. Blindingly cold.
- Getting a young child out of bed, taking her to the couch for a snuggle to help her wake up, then realizing that your lap is now wet. Annoyingly cold.
- (though, not so annoyingly cold as for her, when you have to remove her very warm blanket, pj's, and very wet diaper in the living room which adjoins the kitchen, where a window as also left open all night. That's bracingly cold.)
- Getting the kids ready to go, then running out the door with no shoes. Once again, stupidly cold.
- Getting in the van, turning it on, and finding that you left the AC on from the day before. Chillingly cold.
Time to get out the winter socks which can only be worn until about 11am after which we could go into a whole "it's hot!" post.
- Putting your feet on a thin, rubber-backed rug that's on top of a wood floor. That's pretty cold.
- Stepping off that rug onto the wood floor. Achingly cold.
- Realizing you slept with the window open. Very cold.
- Taking care of morning business and the window in the bathroom was also open. Exceedingly cold.
- Turning on the shower and forgetting to point the shower head down before you switch the water from the bath faucet to the shower head. Wake-you-up-with-a-blast-of-shock cold.
- Getting out of the shower and realizing that the dang window was still open. Shiveringly cold.
- Getting into clothes you put right under that open window. Stupidly cold.
- Putting in contacts that sat in a cold, cold bathroom overnight. Blindingly cold.
- Getting a young child out of bed, taking her to the couch for a snuggle to help her wake up, then realizing that your lap is now wet. Annoyingly cold.
- (though, not so annoyingly cold as for her, when you have to remove her very warm blanket, pj's, and very wet diaper in the living room which adjoins the kitchen, where a window as also left open all night. That's bracingly cold.)
- Getting the kids ready to go, then running out the door with no shoes. Once again, stupidly cold.
- Getting in the van, turning it on, and finding that you left the AC on from the day before. Chillingly cold.
Time to get out the winter socks which can only be worn until about 11am after which we could go into a whole "it's hot!" post.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Meet the Robinsons
The PX had Meet the Robinsons on sale (I love getting their weekly fliers in email. They send them out the morning that the movie sales begin and I've learned to keep a chunk available in the entertainment stash for just such movies as this) so I snatched it up.
Wow. Great movie. A bit slow paced a'times but as a whole one that really touched a deep place inside me. Maybe it's because the lesson of the movie is one we're having to learn right now. Maybe it's because of these dang hormones. I laughed, I cried, the kids think it's hysterical, it's an all 'round winner. Man has yet to watch it (weekdays aren't good for him for anything).
I like how it deals with really difficult emotions. It's a lot like Lilo and Stitch, depicting real and painful things, but it isn't as emotionally messy. It's more cartoony, taking things a little further into the ridiculous while keeping it very personal. I also really like that no one character is particularly irritating, a failing of many Disney movies (Iago the parrot from Aladdin springs to mind as an easy example).
At any rate, what have you been watching lately?
Wow. Great movie. A bit slow paced a'times but as a whole one that really touched a deep place inside me. Maybe it's because the lesson of the movie is one we're having to learn right now. Maybe it's because of these dang hormones. I laughed, I cried, the kids think it's hysterical, it's an all 'round winner. Man has yet to watch it (weekdays aren't good for him for anything).
I like how it deals with really difficult emotions. It's a lot like Lilo and Stitch, depicting real and painful things, but it isn't as emotionally messy. It's more cartoony, taking things a little further into the ridiculous while keeping it very personal. I also really like that no one character is particularly irritating, a failing of many Disney movies (Iago the parrot from Aladdin springs to mind as an easy example).
At any rate, what have you been watching lately?
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