Story Time!

Ever notice that my blog goes from me being 5 months pregnant, to me being a mother of a 2 month old?   That period of time was extremely stressful, yet an incredibly rewarding time of my life. I'm going to write some of it, but in small parts, because, no one likes scrolling to read a blog post!  A recent email from a friend has prompted me to share this with you, and offer some encouragement to her, as she is in a similar situation.   God's timing is perfect.

Although, most of the time... it doesn't feel perfect.

Part 1: The begining...

July 2007. I can't believe the husband is taking a trip and leaving me "on the farm" for 2 weeks by myself. Up until this point the husband and I have spent no more than a night apart, so 2 weeks may as well been years. I had also recently been chased by a vicious pig (another story for another time) and was a little afraid of staying by myself. I dropped him off at the airport on ridiculously early on Saturday and hurried home to take a nap with Chimichanga (our Chihuahua).


Late that night there was an incredible lightening storm that created a strobe-light effect that made our bedroom look more like Studio 54. I was not doing the robot or any other dance, because I spent the night blowing groceries in the bathroom. (Trust me, I considered several different ways to say that, but that one won out.) Geez... I must of eaten something bad. Half a box of pepto and 3 hours later, I'm asleep.

The next afternoon, I go out to give Swashbuckler (buck) our lab some dog food. (yes, we have strange pet names, what of it). Buck is rather... rambunctious.... And just when I grab his collar, I realize it's too lose and he ducks out of the collar and takes off down the street. After chasing him almost a mile in flip flops, I catch him, collar him and drag him home. I get in the house and immediately start bawling. I’m talkin’ full-blown, ugly cry. What?? Why am I crying?, I ask myself. Am I so out of shape that physical exertion breaks me down? Do I miss the husband this bad after only 36 hours? Am I pregnant?

WHAT?? Where did that last question come from? I didn't seriously think that, did I? Before I can even comprehend where that thought would come from, I’m taking a pregnancy test. While “testing” I’m reading the directions… Ok, so I set it down and check it in 5 minutes. I look at the test, and IMMEDIATELY get 2 lines. That must be wrong, I think. I’ll take a shower and come back in 5 minutes like it says. Shower, still 2 lines… Pace the house, yep, still 2 lines.

What am I doing? I mean, I want babies someday, but now? Going into my last year of law school? That's stressful enough  by itself, but childbirth thrown in the mix?? How on earth am I going to do this? Surely this is a mistake… I’m reading this incorrectly. 3 hours, a gallon of water, and 3 “word tests” later… Pregnant, Pregnant, Pregnant.
God will never give you more than you can handle, I chanted over and over to myself while frantically searching Google for “pregnant in law school”. Turns out, this HAD happened before (even though I felt totally alone). There were varied opinions from students between, “this was the best time to have a baby”, to “I dropped out and never went back. My half-empty attitude kicked in, I’ve just wasted 2 years and thousands of dollars. Law school was definitely not a highlight of my life, so I knew that if I dropped out, I would never go back.  Anyone who said this was the best time to have a baby was clearly delusional, or independently wealthy, I reasoned. To make matters worse, to co-producer of the baby now in my belly was 2 time zones away, and this isn’t exactly the kind of news you break over the phone.

To be continued….

Just in case some one reads this besides my mom...

Leave a comment, ask a question, let me know you're out there so I can read your blog too!

P.S. Hi Mom!

Resolutions for Type-A people

I'm a weird complex individual...
If you saw the state of my house right now.. the mounds of laundry... the toys haphazardly tossed about the living room (maybe a few in the toy box), you might call me a slob; or, if you were nicer "extremely laid back".
If you saw my planner, with appointments and tasks scheduled down the half hour, you might call me meticulous; or if you were meaner, anal.
I think it drives the husband crazy that I’m a mixture of the two extremes. I may leave a pair of jeans in the closet floor for a week, but the world might come crashing down if the green beans are in the wrong place in the pantry. (Ok, maybe I’m not THAT complex… but you get the idea.)
I can never stick with New Years resolutions because they’re too ‘abstract’ for me. There are no deadlines, no consequences… they’re just a little too slack for me. So, I was excited when I came across this…
101 Goals in 1001 Days
Goals with deadlines… complete with a brainstorming ideas and print outs… Be still my list-making heart!!

If you’re like me and can’t function without a to-do list, you might want to check it out. You can even make rewards/consequences for meeting/not meeting all your goals.
I’m still in the process of making my list and plan to start my 1001 days later this week. I haven’t decided whether I’ll post my list, I guess it depends on how personal it gets. HA! Maybe I’ll add “ease up about the green beans” to the list… Husband would probably appreciate it.

Living in the boonies has it's drawbacks...

Like, super slow internet connection.  Yes, it's awful.  *throws pity party*

I was doing a year end/Christmas post and I went to upload the first picture...

5 minutes later, still uploading.....

I go get a snack, still uploading...

I eat a snack, still uploading....

I throw a snack at the computer, still uploading...

I go to put a snack away, TIMED OUT! 

How Rude!

So, I'm planning on putting some of the pics on my flash drive and posting them on my lunch break.   

Speaking of snacks... here are some of my favie snacks while you wait for the glorious aforementioned post.

This one is from my momma.  I insist she make this at every family gathering.  Last time she sent some home with us, I ate it before poor RG even got a taste!
Cranberry Jalapeno Dip

1 (12-ounce bag) or 3 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
3 small jalapeno chile peppers, cored, seeded and minced
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

Rinse, drain, and pick over cranberries, (discarding all that are soft or bruised). Place them in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped but not mushy.
Place crushed cranberries in a bowl; mix together with  jalapeno peppers, sugar, cilantro leaves. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours so flavors develop (This is important... if you try and eat it now... it's supa soua!)
If you're Ryan: On a serving plate, place cream cheese; cover with the dip.  Serve with Wheat Thins.  Act prim and proper.
If you're me:  Place softened cream cheese in a bowl.  Dump that cran-peno goodness on top.  Stir it all together until it looks like pink mush. Eat a ridiculous amount of delicious pink mush on each Wheat thin.  Don't leave any for husbands. 

This next recipe I made for some Christmas goodies.  I made 5 goodies in one night... then, as if on cue, AG woke up and sprayed spaghettio's all around her room. That was a SUPER long night. (Puts a whole new meaning behind the blog name, huh) Ok now, who's hungry?!?!
Spicy Pretzels

15 oz Bag of Small Pretzels
3/4 c. Canola or Vegetable Oil
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
2 tsp Cayenne Pepper*
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1.5 tsp Lemon Pepper

*You can add another teaspoon of cayenne pepper if you'd like your pretzels REALLY hot. Or, you can scale it back.  I have to admit, I made these with 2tsp, and it melted my face off, but they were still really good.  I'll do 1.5tsp next time.  You could also omit it all together and I think they'd still be delicious. 
Mix together seasoning and oil. Place pretzels in large ziploc bag (the gallon size works for one batch), add seasoning mix, and toss periodically for 12-24 hours before serving.

Happy Snackin'!

Sorry Mike...

So, God decided that dogging weathermen was not so Christmasy, so he sent a blizzard.  Sorry Mike Morgan, but in the future, if you could tone it down just a notch, I'd appreciate it.    

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! 

Mike Morgan is a drama queen.

I apologize for all of you "out of towners" who get to hear my rant against local weathermen.  I should preface this by saying that I, like all good Oklahoma-bred children, were taught that Gary England IS the supreme authority on all things Oklahoma weather related.  I believe this with all my heart.    I *stormcloud* Gary England. 

Have you ever noticed that Mike Morgan is just wound a little too tight when it comes to weather.   Seriously, if it's April or May, and you want to watch something on NBC,  Fughetta 'bout it.    Mike Morgan will be on there flappin his yap about dime sized rain drops in some county 80 miles away.  He preempts more tv shows than any other network weatherman around here. 

That's why when channel 9 preempts something, you know it's serious. If Gary breaks in, it's to say... Get off your hiney and get in the 'fraidy hole because your house might blow away.  

Anyway, same rule applies to winter weather.  I know we get some nasty ice storms, but I remember last year when Mike Morgan predicted 1-3" of ice and it didn't even rain...   All it did was make everyone rush to the store like it was the apocalypse and stock up on canned goods and bottled water, while it takes me 30 minutes to make it out of the store with some toilet paper.   Last night, MM said that there was a "100% possibility of a winter storm".   (Isn't there always a 100% possibility?)  Meanwhile, the weatherman in shining armor said only a 80% chance of precipitation  (not even snow for sure) and nothing about accumulation.

 Mr. Morgan came out with this prediction today....

And guess who's out of toilet paper...

Saving you the embarrassment...

It's been cold the past couple of days... I'm sure my "northern" friends are laughing at me, but the wind chill yesterday morning was -5.   I wore so many layers I could barely get my pants buttoned. (At least, I'm telling myself it's because of the layers.)  

Yesterday, I was pulling out of the parking lot to go home when husband called.  I took my glove off to answer my phone (iphone drawback) and quickly put it back on because it was sooooo cold.   We finished the conversation and rather than take my glove off again to hang up the phone, I quickly brainstormed my other options to end the call...  (Unfortunately "just wait until he hangs up and the phone disconnects" wasn't one that came to mind at the time.) 

Just so you know, you can't hang up the iphone with your nose. 

But, you're welcome, to all those people who watched my attempt to do so in 5 o'clock traffic yesterday.  I'm sure it was amusing.

A is for Apple

The other day, I was reading to Avery from a past issue of Elle Decor (ok, so we were just looking at pictures)  when we stopped on a 2-page spread of a kitchen.

Apple!  Avery exclaimed.  I looked all over the double page and didn't see any apples.  Interested to see what she thought was an Apple, I asked where were the apples.  In the bottom corner, barely visible was a tiny bowl filled with apples.  

My first reaction was, "Whew, she's not blind like her daddy."  (Ha!  Love you Husband!)  and secondly, this girl is obsessed with apples.  
Apples are the second most requested food for little A, right behind cheerios (which actually sounds more like "turtle" when she says it).  Heaven forbid if she's in the kitchen when you open the refrigerator door and she happens to see an apple in the crisper.  APPLE APPLE APPLE!!   Mommy, APPLE!  Dada, Apple!  APPLE!!!  So needless to say we are never short on apples around here. 

Since honeycrisp apples (our favorite) are in season, we've been buying the 3-lb boxes so that we always have them on hand.  And even though Avery could eat apples everyday, I get tired of them and look for ways to spruce them up. 

Here's one of my favorite apple dips... cream cheese makes almost everything better.

Carmel Apple Dip

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened (Neufchatel Cream Cheese works well too)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

BEAT cream cheese in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add brown sugar and vanilla; beat until well blended.

SPOON into serving bowl.

SERVE with apple wedges for dipping.

The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear...

Forget what you learned from Buddy the Elf... it's not true... Now, it may be true if the statement was "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear in the proper venue."  I could go along with that.

However, singing loud Christmas carols is NOT the best way to spread Christmas cheer when you're singing at the top of your lungs in Target while meandering down the baking aisle at a snail's pace when I'm creeping behind you just praying I can get to the unsweetened cocoa before you get to the chorus of Jingle Bells. 

*Warning: Going into a store to pick up 4 things and spending over an HOUR trying to get around people standing/singing in the middle of aisles may cause Bah Humbug-ness. 

About time...

So, I finally built a bridge and got over my anger at the internets eating my first halloween post attempt.  I won't lie, this is probably going to be the readers digest of the first version, because well... Bloggy just hasn't earned my trust yet.... "Draft saved" isn't enough for me anymore... 

Moving right along *snap snap*  (Phi Theta shout out)  On to the halloween pictures! 

The weekend before Halloween, my parents came to visit.  Since we were not sure of our Halloween plans, we decided to do a costume dress rehearsal so Nana and Poppy (or Puppy) could see the cute little zebra. 

I even added a bow so everyone would know that she's a GIRL zebra.

Pretty successful costume experience... no tears or attempts at undressing.

Then came the fall carnival at Avery's daycare.  The kids were encouraged to dress in their costumes.  However, something had changed in the last 5 days and we ended up like this...

Mad/Sad Zebra

Then came the Great Pumpkin Festival.  Avery is obsessed with all things pumpkin.  Upon arrival she went charging towards a pile of pumpkins screaming "Punkin Punkin Punkin!!!!"  Ryan sang,  Avery got a tatoo, good times were had by all. 

The Pied Piper for the Children of the Corn.

The "punkin" tatoo which she LOVED.

*side note* Do you know how HARD it is to take a picture of a toddler's hand?!?  I mean, I spent a good half hour chasing her around and this was the best shot I got.

Then on Sunday, we decided to make the trek to D-town to go to  my home church's trunk-or-treat.  But when Avery heard she'd have to wear the costume again she wasn't happy.

I promised her that I wouldn't make her wear the hood, and she went along with it.... mostly.

I can't believe you're making me do this AGAIN!

Who knew colored rice was so much fun?!?

I have many more pictures, but my internet connection has to walk knee-deep in the snow both ways to get us on the world wide web, so it makes uploading pictures a royal pain.  (Now you see why the blog and I had a lover's spat?)