chocolate education November 29, 2007

last night my friend tammi and i went to the chocolate apothecary for a class on chocolate. it was very similar to a wine tasting (not that i’ve ever been to one of those), but we tasted many kinds of chocolates from all over the world, learned all kinds of cool things about the origins and process of making chocolate and had a wonderful time. i think one of my favorite and most interesting tastes was a dark chocolate that first tasted cinnamony and then as i swallowed it had a kick-cayenne pepper!

i never thought i could reach my chocolate limit, but last night i did. after tasting 30 or so artisan dark chocolates, i was beginning to get a stomachache, but it was so worth it! i can’t wait to go back!

snow day November 27, 2007

we woke up to a few inches of snow. not much, but enough for addie to run around the house squealing with excitement about at 7 am. when steve took her out to play (and shovel sidewalks) it quickly became apparent she was lacking in snow gear.

later in the morning we fishtailed to the wilcox house to let the kids play/hit eachother in the faces with snowballs for awhile. while they were playing i went to wal-mart to get some snow gear. i needed to find boots and waterproof gloves. i located said items (quite a feat for wal-mart) then waited in a line with the slowest checker on the planet and finally got back to jenny’s.

after devouring her scrumptious chicken pot pie we came home. addie was very excited, although a little confused about her new snow gear.

“mom, where are my poop gloves?”

“what are poop gloves?”

“the kind to wear in the snow!!!” DUH.

“oh, your water PROOF gloves!”

so we got her new poop gloves on and she played in the snow another hour.

i love snow days. i feel like i am staying home from school and any work i do doesn’t feel like real work.

i need a snow day every day!

velveteen rabbit November 25, 2007

deck the halls with boughs of shoppers… November 23, 2007

today i joined the mad throng of black friday shoppers. i was out the door at 5:15 am (should’ve stopped for coffee), and by 7 i had hit 3 stores. i got crazy good deals, worth getting up for and it wasn’t as bad at i expected, until i got to target.

i should have known by the tv crews and the fact that i had to park 1/4 mile away that it was going to be bad. i found everything i wanted and after getting stuck in gridlock, literally, in the toy section i decided i should get in line. the lines were as long as the eye could see and it took me 30 minutes to reach the register from the time i first got in line.

but that was the worst of it. and people were surprisingly nice. maybe because everyone was still half asleep, but there seemed to be a general understanding that it was going to be crazy and time-consuming, so people were quite patient.

anyway, it wasn’t a terrible experience and i may do it again next year. but this time i’ll stop for coffee first.

paige elizabeth November 21, 2007

i am dedicating this post to my second born for no special reason.

she is such a unique little girl. she has the sweetest little smile, fat pudgy hands and she likes to hold her bottle for about 5 minutes AFTER she has drained it. she needs lots of one-on-one time. she loves to wrestle on the bed and play in the pillows. she makes you work for a laugh, but when you get one it’s worth the effort.

her favorite person in the world (besides me of course) is her big sister. she has brown eyes and fluffy hair. she gets overstimulated pretty easily and needs plenty of down time. she is FINALLY a good sleeper. she loves to play with books, electrical cords (seriously) and balloons. 

she is taking little steps and eating a lot! she is a little ball of sun when she’s happy and a storm cloud when she’s not. she has a bad temper and the cutest toes you’ve ever seen.

tree climbing November 20, 2007

daddy didn’t make the cut November 20, 2007

today addie brought home a paper turkey she made at preschool. each feather had someone she was thankful for. her feathers said:

Bella

Paige

Santa

Mommy

Jesus

i thought it quite humorous that steve wasn’t on a feather. of course, this is from a feathered person, but, even a fictional character made the cut! 

if mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy November 18, 2007

 i remember how true this was for me as a child in my own family. of course, i couldn’t articulate it, but i knew if mom was mad/upset, then we were all in for it. i learned to keep my mouth shut and be “good” right then. my sister had a harder time with that.

once again, i am finding this to be true in my own family. the only problem is, i am the mom this time. my family (my girls more than my husband) reflect my mood and attitude as clearly as a mirror. it’s scary. it’s cool. it’s a lot of responsibility and i don’t always handle it well.

illustration: sunday mornings. are sunday mornings calm and peaceful for anyone? they are SO not that way in my home. i get stressed because, well, pick any number of things…i can’t find anything to wear, paige spit up on my finally picked outfit, addie is singing at the top of her lungs instead of brushing her teeth, we can’t find the other shoe, church starts in 3 minutes, etc, etc.

as my stress level rises i can actually feel it oozing out of me and being absorbed by my family. paige gets fussier, addie starts whining, steve (as always) tries to keep focused and calm. at this moment i have to make a decision, and for me it’s all about self-control. do i give in to my anxiety, thereby totally losing it, or do i control my emotions and force myself to BREATHE and calm down…

not an easy choice, but i am working on it. i have observed that when i take it down a few notches so does everyone else (most of the time!). it’s a lot of responsibility to realize i set the mood of our family. what a gift that is when i use it the right way.

a boring week November 18, 2007

i haven’t posted anything because there hasn’t been anything worth posting. here is the summary of our boring week:

we all (except steve) got sick.

addie and i slept together last night. actually, she slept and i vainly struggled to sleep while being kicked in the ribs (it reminded me of when i was pregnant with her) and hit in the face by her flailing arms as she rolled over.

i helped out at the last roller derby bout of the season.

i ate most of an 8×8 pan of brownies. gross.

i shopped for jeans. didn’t buy any.

addie missed 2 days of preschool.

paige took on another aspect of her dad, loud breathing.

addie’s idea November 18, 2007

on the way home from costco i suggested we go to the mall. addie was all for it. steve was not. addie boldly declared to steve, “it’s ok, we’ll drop you off at home and then me and mom will go!”

i’m disgusted November 13, 2007

are you kidding me?

what a futile, idiotic and worthless thing to do.

fall fall fall! November 12, 2007

    

paigey poop November 11, 2007

the other day steve heard some rustling in the bathroom. he walked in to find paige holding wet and soiled toilet paper along with a few of addie’s remnants floating in the potty. if that weren’t bad enough, he then realized paige was not just holding the soggy toilet paper, but eating it also.

10 things i don’t do November 8, 2007

for jenny-

1. i don’t like going out without mascara on.

2. i don’t like to cook.

3. i don’t like wedgies.

4. i don’t like being around christians all the time.

5. i don’t know how to roll my r’s.

6. i don’t like mornings.

7. i don’t change my sheets often enough.

8. i don’t like catty girls (which is most girls).

9. i don’t like road trips.

10. i don’t have a clean car.

roller brittney November 8, 2007

last night i had my first roller derby practice. it was a lot of fun. after showing off my mad rollerskating skills to the team (joking) we did drills. i didn’t get to participate in those because i wasn’t wearing pads or a helmet. we ended the night playing duck, duck goose. of course someone picked me becuse i was the new girl. i didn’t catch her, but i didn’t get caught either.

then last night i dreamed about brittney spears. i told her, “you should be a roller girl because you’ve got a lot of rage” i think she’s seriously considering it.