A School, A Church & A Tavern, What Else Do You Need?
Over the weekend we once again packed up the offspring and headed back to my stomping grounds for a family reunion of sorts. I have to admit, traveling with two kids is exponentially more difficult than traveling with one kid. But we had a good trip, nobody screamed the entire way (not even me) and we were able to hang out with various family members for a few hours. Arwyn got to splash around in the creek with several of her cousins. We were even the last ones to leave, trying to time things so the baby would sleep in the car and Arwyn could get as worn out as possible for the trip back home. Everything went swimmingly until we got back to town and Bubby stopped at an adult beverage store, leaving me in the van with two screaming children, one of them a screaming four-year-old who did not understand why she couldn’t go into the store with Daddy, the other a screaming baby who did not understand why she was being subjected to five hours in her carseat in one day. It kind of makes you glad these things are only once a year.
Ah-CHOOOOO!
Everyone is our house suffers from allergies. This means that when it hits, it hits us hard and we are all grouchy and irritable at the same time, which is just loads of fun! The baby is congested AND teething, which means she is drooling like crazy, chewing on her hands until she gags herself and not sleeping very well at night. This evening I experienced (I was going to say ‘enjoyed’ but that is not the correct word!) my first sore throat of the season. I made a cup of Hibiscus Paradise tea with apple juice, honey and a Werther’s thrown in for good measure. I really wanted hot apple cider, but we didn’t have any and so I tried for a caramel apple taste. It did not make the tea as sweet as I thought it would, so maybe I should throw in a few more next time. Purple tea is pretty cool, though.
I am now being summoned to play a game of Mickey Mouse Hoppin’ Checkers before bed. Night night.
Thank You, Benjamin Franklin
Hey, sorry about that long absence. Things have been a little nutty over here. We felt the remnants of Ike last Sunday and I’ve had very limited internet access. There was lots of wind, tree limbs down and many homes in our city without electricity. We lost power completely for a few hours on Sunday, then we had power in about half of our house. We had one outlet that worked in the kitchen, so we were able to keep the refrigerator plugged in. We had TV, but no stove, no AC, no lights in the kitchen, dining room or living room. We ate snacks and sandwiches or heated up leftovers in the microwave all week. The toaster was installed in our bedroom. A hotplate was starting to look like a good idea.
It is amazing how much we take for granted in this country and how hugely we depend on electricity to operate and go about our daily lives. Late Thursday night we saw the power company trucks in our neighborhood and I foolishly thought we would soon be getting full power. Instead, we went from some to none. Even though I laid down with her until she feel asleep twice, Arwyn could not stay asleep. We are raising a fan-dependent child. The only person that got any sleep that night in our house was the baby. She amazingly slept right through the power trucks in front of our house, the neighbors coming and going at all hours, someone attempting to use a chain saw at 2 a.m. (????), and her sister rising for the day at 5:30 a.m. after finally going to bed at midnight.
With our power still not restored Friday morning, I began to worry that we would lose everything in our refrigerator and freezer in the basement, including the farm-raised beef that my parents gave us. I packed up every cooler in the house, the supplies I thought we would need for the day (baby= a lot of crap) and retreated to my in-law’s house. A friend (hi, Crystal!) kindly invited us to her house so Arwyn could play with her little boy and I could have a plan for making it through the day on no sleep. I returned to our house briefly Friday afternoon to check on things. Just as I was loading a week’s worth of laundry into the van, the power came back on. I was afraid it wouldn’t stay on, but I closed up the house, turned the AC on and hoped for the best.
We are now installed back at home, and I have never been so glad to cook a meal at home in my entire life. I meant to take a picture of the back of the van loaded down with coolers and laundry baskets, but I forgot in my haste.
Praying for all of those without homes to return to.
Berry Yummy
I brought home some really ripe strawberries from the farmer’s market last Friday and I needed to do something with them quickly before they spoiled. I’d already eaten some for a snack Friday afternoon and for my yogurt-berry-Kashi breakfast Saturday morning, so Saturday afternoon I decided to make cupcakes with the remaining few berries. I am on a Get Rid of the Baby Weight plan right now and I really don’t need to eat half a dozen cupcakes, so I plan on sharing these with friends and neighbors.
Why is it that Martha Stewart recipes, though lovely, always take forever to complete? I think, “Oh, I’ll just whip up these cupcakes/this risotto/this whatever really quickly!” and nine years later I am still in the kitchen, washing every pot and pan I own for the third time. And I seem to continuously forget this little nugget of information when I am looking for something to make.
I am notorious for staining white shirts and I’ve come to terms with this fact. I buy new white shirts every season, every year. It’s just the way things are. I made it all the way through the cooking process without getting anything on me, then during the photo shoot portion of the day, this happened. Raspberry syrup doesn’t come out, you can just trust me on that one.
Day 5
I am a compulsive list maker. I love to make lists, but I especially love to mark items off my list. I have been known to write something on a list just so I can mark it off the list. I know if something is on a list somewhere, I don’t have to remember it (as long as I don’t lose the list) and I can eject that tidbit from the precious cargo space in my brain. I’m not sure what my life would be without lists. Chaos, probably.
Day 4
Arwyn and I were working on some cards yesterday. If I try to work alone, she drives me nuts. But if I give her her own project to work on and let her use some of my supplies, then I might be able to get something made without wanting to run screaming for Mexico.
Day 3
My breakfast: Mountain High all natural strawberry yoghurt, blueberries, and Kashi Go Lean Crunch. Yummy!
Day 2
After a long, busy day everyone had a bath and/or shower, even the ponies. I overheard Arwyn telling one of them that her hair was very stylish. I think it was the purple one with the braids.
30 little somethings
I am going to attempt to participate in the 30 Tiny Moments flickr pool. Maybe this will encourage me to pull out the camera more often and capture the day-to-day chaos around here. Or maybe it will just bore everyone to death, who knows. Regardless, here is my tiny moment from yesterday, some tiny toes sticking out of the blanket. We were eating dinner out last night at a local pizza joint and Lokie was taking a snooze in her carseat. Hope everyone had a relaxing holiday!
