Mama needs coffee

I just had my personal best, most epic coffee spill.

I was sitting at the table, chair pulled in and everything. I should have been good, you know?

But then, my teething baby bit my leg.

He bit. my. leg.

I jerked, knocked over my cup, then watched a full (but luckily only warm) cup of coffee (I drink out of a REALLY BIG mug) cascade down my front, all over my jeans, and SHOWER over Benjamin's head. And as another example of how I shine in times of crisis, I sat there and watched, mentally gauging how hot the coffee was and what I should do if it burned him while I watched my precious coffee drip from the precious eyelashes of my precious baby.

One of my children (not sure which one, but someone who is obviously better at crisis management) brought me a towel before I was even out of my chair.

Benjamin was fine. Mad, but fine. He is particularly hostile right now about getting dressed and undressed, so I think that was his main complaint.

So. Benji has had a bath, we are both in fresh clothes, and I'm off to make another pot of coffee.

In which we enjoy a beautiful weekend with the nature.

Friday night, as Brian and I got on the same page about our weekend, I asked if we could clean up the yard. Yesterday we did just that, raking leaves, cleaning up patio furniture and throwing away or recycling masses of broken toy pieces. Props go to Brian for his willingness to put up with me, as I sent a text to a friend yesterday morning that read

"Oh, the hormonal flux. I am so ANGRY today."

(I'm sure you're sorry you missed it)

(Also, her response? "Let's give them up for Lent!". Because she's awesome.)

So anyway, the point here is that our yard looks lovely today, so we decided to eat lunch outside.
I walked in the house to grab sunglasses, then bolted back outside when Benji started screaming, sure he'd fallen off the chair he was sitting in.

It was much worse (for him).

Teriyaki The Friendly Chicken had jumped into his lap and pecked at the food he was holding. He was inconsolable. I ended up grabbing both our plates and bringing him into the house to finish.

Five minutes later, Brian came in to let me know that the chickens were no longer allowed to attend lunch because Teriyaki The Naughty But Friendly Chicken next jumped to Nathan's chair, ran behind his rear, then to his armrest, then ran across the table. Brian raced around the table to shoo her off, so being the naughty chicken she is, she turned around, retraced her steps across the table to Nathan's chair and made her way back down.

Teriyaki, The Naughty But Friendly Chicken

The chickens were summarily sent to their room.

Chicken Jail

The moral of the story: Chickens have no table manners.

Random Thoughts

This is totally random, but last night I made chicken noodle soup, partly because my sweet girl wasn't feeling well, and partly because it was a rainy, gloomy day. I accidentally over salted it. Not a ton, but enough to give it more of a kick than it should have. Here's the thing: all day long, I crave salty stuff. SALT! And I am thrilled to pieces with my too-salty soup! I ate so much at dinner last night that I made myself sick, and the next hour or so will tell if I've done the same with the leftovers today! And score! I'm totally getting tons of veggies, lean chicken and homemade broth (simmered overnight for maximum benefit) and SALT! Also, the gloomy weather and disapproving look of my midwife is making me crave coffee in the middle of the day. 'Cause I'm a rebel.

Today I'm attempting to create our new budget.  There has already been one panicky call to the husband to ask, "why are you making LESS money than before we left two years ago?!" And the answer, of course, is TAXES. Gag.  The thing about budgeting when we move a lot is that each time, the things that are covered, reimbursed, or considered a normal living expense, change. Then you factor in state taxes, changes in commute length (fuel), and the things you don't necessarily see, like a thriving garden that means we don't have to buy produce for six months of the year (unfortunately, we did not make it part of our deal with the landscaper that he would plant and maintain a garden indefinitely... must make a note of that....).  So here I am, putting my ever-changing puzzle together again and praying that none of the kids need shoes for the foreseeable future :)

Note to Grandma: As of this writing, everyone has enough clothes.  Just sayin'.

(although Brenna could use some dress shoes)

Speaking of clothes, because of the wonky timing when we moved home, we arrived on a Tuesday, and that Sunday, Brian left for a week in Omaha. While he was gone, I was hanging up his shirts and felt inspired to count them, as it seemed there was an unreasonable number. 55. FIFTY-FIVE! Add to that, we had not yet done laundry from the trip home (came home to a leaking washing machine. woohoo!) and of course, he had a weeks' worth of shirts with him on his trip. All told, I'd guess he has 70 or 75 shirts. And at least half have his company logo on them, because they really like to give out shirts. I suppose if everyone stopped drooling, pulling, grabbing, and otherwise mangling my shirts, I might have somewhere close to that number... or not. I think I have about ten. All but one of them are stained. Poor me. Anyway, the point of this (there really is one, I promise!) is that I tried to find tutorials for repurposing men's shirts and could only find a couple, nothing that really struck me. So if you know of something cool (like I remember, years ago, coming across a little girl dress tutorial, but couldn't find it) I'd love a heads up!

So my son is officially getting to the age where he notices me doing things that are weird.  Luckily, I don't think he's embarrassed per say, but oh, it's coming! One of those recent ones is how often I ask my kids "Y'all ready for this?! Dunh, duh dunh duh dunh dunh duh!" And Nathan looks at me like I'm possibly insane. I keep having flashbacks to my mom dancing, I'm pretty sure with the sole intention of embarrassing me, in clothing stores that played rap. I'm pretty sure I know what my face looked like now... and why she kept doing it!

And so I'll leave you with this fine piece of entertainment:

A nice, relaxing Saturday morning

Isaac must be having a growth spurt because he's been sleeping in 'til 7:30 for a couple weeks now.  And the big kids are feeling particularly self reliant, so they don't wake me up.  So I've been sleeping in 'til 7:30.  SEVEN THIRTY, y'all!  So if you don't count that someone wakes up with a hacking cough every night (usually the girl child), I'm getting like nine hours of sleep.  Don't worry, I'm not getting attached to it. I figure I have about one more week like this. But you would think I'd feel rested, wouldn't you?  Well, I sort of do, but the advent of a puppy joining are life has made our little family busy again. 

For the first time ever, I have to get my shoes on the moment I'm dressed because when I get downstairs, we're off and running.  The pup has to go out, Isaac needs milk, anyone who did not take care of their own breakfast has to be fed, anyone who DID take care of their own breakfast has to be directed to clean up the huge mess they made, and why can't the coffee just make itself?

Brian has pointed out on a couple of occasions that the signs all say I didn't brush my teeth this morning.  Well, DUH. Once I'm downstairs, I don't go back up until bedtime.  At least give me credit for showering!

So anyway, the combination of sleeping in and not ever leaving the puppy unsupervised have caused a reboot of our daily patterns. Like laundry. This is the first Saturday since we got her that hasn't started with load after load of laundry, and that is because NATHAN IS AWESOME!

This whole six years old thing is interesting.  Nathan is spaz-tacular in a whole new way. From what I can see, he's not alone; it's the way of the six year old boy population.  They are slightly insane. However, yesterday, when I came down after my shower, Nathan had run a load of laundry (unloading the dryer, switching the wash to the dryer, then a new load in the wash) AND run a load of dishes.  Then, when the dishes were done, OF HIS OWN ACCORD, he unloaded the dishwasher, refilled it, and ran it AGAIN! 

(At this point I should probably point out the obvious: we were way behind on dishes, too)

For the first time this month, I don't feel buried under housework that needs to be done.  I can officially turn my husband's attention to the other things that need to be done around here, like sorting out all of the outgrown clothing that gets crammed into whatever empty space is readily available, and figuring out where the long-term home of the dog crate will be.  Lodged between my sewing table and hope chest, it doesn't really add the the simple, clean look I'm ultimately shooting for (how come the pottery barn dogs always lay nicely on a beautiful pillow?).

Also on our to-do list today is to plant the early spring vegetables. Because it looks like we can count on still being here in the early spring. Beyond that is anyone's guess. I can't decide if planting food is optimistic or pessimistic, but it is super relaxing for me and a joy for the kids. So we'll go with that.

Life is sweet, if unpredictable!



'

Lots of Random

I shared this on facebook, but I thought I'd share it here too:

Today Nathan and I were talking about (of all things) the gender roles of women in other cultures (have I mentioned that this kid asks a lot of questions?).  He asked me for a specific example, and I, as usual, couldn't come up with something when put on the spot.  I told him, "I can't think of anything off the top of my head."

"Do you have anything at the bottom of your head?"

Hmmm....

*****

Paisley loves Brian's shoes.  She loves all of the shoes she finds, but she curls up and sleeps on top of Brian's with her mouth open, so that her tongue is against the inside.  Yum.


*****

I was totally craving mashed potatoes earlier this week, during my monthly bout of insanity.  So I made A TON.  And they're now sitting in the fridge, because my kids won't eat them unless under duress.  I think we'll be eating Shepherd's Pie tonight.

*****

I've ordered our literature supplies for the rest of the school year, and little by little, they're arriving.  New books!  And the one day that I didn't put the RING THE DOORBELL AND DIE!!! sticker out, the guy rang the doorbell.  I would get a plaque if it weren't that the schedule is not consistent throughout babyhood.

*****

Isaac and Paisley are sort of hysterical together.  Isaac is so strong willed, I haven't figured out how to enforce appropriate behavior with the pup.  Consequently, our day goes like this:

Isaac attacks Paisley.

Paisley attacks Isaac.

Isaac cries. 

I come to the rescue, separate the offending parties, calm everyone down.

Isaac attacks Paisley.

*****

Speaking of Isaac, he's calming down!!  Sort of.  This week, he discovered that the tops come off of the six inch gutter drain thingies.  Our toy car bucket has been reduced by about half.

I feel the need to note, though, that we cleaned out toys in a massive way last weekend.   So the toys now floating somewhere underground?  Those were the few we wanted to KEEP.

While I was on the phone lamenting the situation to a friend's voice mail (so that I would not lament the situation to my toddler at top volume), Isaac was pulling the keys off my computer keyboard.  So if you notice anyplace that an "r" is missing, it's because that one is broken and wobbly now. 

Also, I got the requisite Toddler With Lipstick All Over His Face Picture yesterday.  He was cute, I have one of each of the kids, and he didn't ruin the lipstick, though (like Brenna did for her picture), so I'm not holding that one against him.

*****

I think there's a huge benefit to having a puppy while having a toddler.  Bodily fluids are such a part of my daily existence, that another creature having accidents on the floor doesn't even phase me.

*****

So things are kind of busy around here, what with the new puppy and all, however, our floor has never been cleaner!  Since Paisley thinks anything left on the floor is hers by default, it all get picked up.  And put on a counter or table.  So if you come to my house, just stare at the floor, and you'll think I have this thing figured out!  But you might run screaming from the house if you happen to glance at any other surfaces.

Happy New Year, Y'all!

Beautiful Disaster, or something like that.

Isaac.  Isaac, Isaac, Isaac. 

Yesterday, he dumped half a gallon of hand soap on the hall rug and in the laundry closet.

Today, there was this

and THEN he decided he's FAR too mature, at the ripe old age of 22 months, to use the hand rail when he comes down the stairs.   Have I mentioned that the stairs are really steep?  Because HE CAN.  That's why.  It's a heart-attack-a-minute around here.

Just now, I heard him dump the basket of cookie cutters on the kitchen floor.  ALWAYS BUSY.

Cute is not really cutting it right now.

Okay, while I've been typing, Isaac unrolled a roll of toilet paper and took the cap off the toothpaste.  I found him when I ran upstairs because one of his new favorite pastimes is reprogramming Brian's alarm clock.  So that it goes off during naptime.  And not when Brian needs to wake up.  Lord, help me.

Milestones

Isaac has reached another glorious toddler milestone!  

He can now take off his own poopy diaper in his crib.

The event was celebrated with much weeping, 

an extra load of laundry and a bath. 

A Difference of Opinion

So I really like the new beds we got, as do the kids.  Brian thinks we paid too much for them (they came as a set with the hutch/dresser for $400) but I disagree.  As the person who has been pricing these suckers, I think I'm qualified to say that for solid wood pieces, we got a great price, even if they're not in perfect condition.

I was really surprised that Nathan fell asleep on the top bunk with no fanfare... I really was expecting some fear and trepidation, or at least some pretend fear for our benefit, but nope.  He's all good. 

The second night he slept up there, we heard a HUGE thud around 9:30 and took off at a sprint up the stairs.  He had JUMPED down to use the restroom.  We both just about had a heart attack!

Yesterday I told them I wanted to paint the set and asked what color they'd like.  I was envisioning some lovely soft grays or taupes, a la The Nester with bold details inspired by the houses here in New Orleans. But alas, both my children really like "the nice brown color."

Brian reminded me that the beds are "brand new to them", and if I wait a few months, they'll probably be more on board.  I'm counting on it, 'cause when I saw these, I immediately pictured them painted!  Crazy kids with their own opinions!

A Little More Homey

Brian and I have known since we bought our little 1930's cottage that we wanted to fill it with period appropriate furniture and restore the details that gave it charm before they were modernized.  Then we moved to New Orleans with a bare minimum of furniture, and no storage.

Part of our challenge has been to acquire furniture that is useful here, and will fit in when we go home.  I had pretty much lost hope of finding anything affordable.  I was starting to troll the aisles of Walmart, Target and Cost Plus World Market (which I love, but quality?  Ummm... not so much) for anything that would be affordable (read: cheap) without regard to style or quality.

And then.

Man, I love Craigslist!

These two pieces were built in the 20's and refinished somewhere along the way.  They were being sold about ten minutes from our house (which is really good, because we only saw the ad for the buffet and didn't take any extra money) by a man who is in the process of restoring his 1860's home.  The only thing that dragged us away from a very fun conversation were the three children screaming in the car!

The grand total of our purchases?  $200

Seriously.

Well, I suppose it was actually $202, because we had to cross the bridge twice :)

And we are in love.  We have been very surprised by how much warmer and cozier they've made our house.  A wonderful addition.  And an added bonus?  I can now display the china plates Brian's grandmother gave me.  These belonged to her mother and Grandpa's mother.

God has provided.  Again.

Our Yummy Thanksgiving Mess

Actually, that's not entirely true, since I knew I would need to be as efficient as possible in my tiny kitchen, I cleaned it from top to bottom before I started and kept it pretty clean along the way. I was quite proud of myself (and briefly considered why I don't do it that way all the time, but well, whatever).

I started cooking on Tuesday night, with the pie crust and first set of dinner rolls.

On Wednesday, I had a wonderful helper, who's only flaw is that she gets really mad when I won't let her help with something. Here she is helping me unearth the stock pot from that cabinet behind her for mashed potatoes. Can I just say, I probably should have realized that if I was using a stock pot for a party of eight, three of whom definitely weren't going to eat them, it was entirely TOO MUCH POTATOES! That's okay, I found an awesome recipe for mashed potato pancakes (which my children still won't eat).
Rolls getting started in my wonderful, awesome and amazing bread machine:


Thank you, Sam's Club, for potatoes on steroids. I have never, in my life, seen such gargantuan potatoes. And being the lover of potatoes that I am, I made about two thirds of the bag, ten pounds or so.
I tried a new stuffing recipe, and it was PHENOMENAL! This is going to be my stuffing recipe. The corn bread is another of my favorites, and was used Wednesday night with taco soup.


Were you wondering what the boys were up to while Brenna and I cooked? Brian was helping clean up, Nathan was playing with Legos, and Isaac was eating washable crayons, which foam when they get wet, by the way. I heard Brian yell, "Miranda, I need help! It's getting on me!" by which I'm pretty sure he actually meant our precious baby is eating something and I'm terribly worried about his welfare!
Just a side note, but see those really steep stairs behind Brian? I fell down them this morning. Which is why I'm now sitting here blogging, and not walking to the park with my family.

Here's the turkey. I got a big one, 15 pounds, I think, because I figured if I was going to spend the better part of a day cooking it, I wanted to be able to use if for a while. Mission accomplished! It was lovely, but too dry. Next year I'll try the bag thing like Linda told me I should...

And here is the meal. My moment of glory! And a little fear, because what if it was terrible? Oh, the green beans were. Terrible, I mean. Scrap that recipe. But everything else was wonderful. Yay!

I bought a puzzle for the evening because, well, I love puzzles, but also because Brian's aunt and uncle had one out a couple years ago at Thanksgiving and I loved how it gave people a chance to sort of exit the main conversations and have quiet conversations, but not actually feel out of the party. It turned out really well in this case; our three guests were people Brian works with who for whatever reason were staying in New Orleans. I have no idea if they know one another socially, but I had never met them before they rang my doorbell. So the puzzle gave us something to do with our hands and softened the inevitable breaks in the conversation. One young lady left pretty early in the evening, but the other had to be dragged away from the puzzle because her ride needed to get home :)
Oh, and those leaves on the wall behind the table? They were part of our school project a couple weeks ago, when we were talking about Fall. We've spent the time since we made them thinking of things we're thankful for and writing them on the leaves.

I know it's a little blurry, so if you're interested, here's the list:

Hannah and Claire
Get together
God takes care of us
Yummy breakfast
Our family
Isaac
Daddy
Clayton Community Church
We got to New Orleans safely
Our bedrooms
Our garden at home
Wonderful friends
Our new beds
Sophia
Mama
Brenna Mae
Daddy's job that helps provide for us
Toys
Jesus took away our sins
Nathan

Here are my favorite recipes that I used:

Sweet Dinner Rolls
I made a recipe of regular flour, and one of half whole wheat.

Stuffing
based on some of the comments, i added two granny smith apples, 1/2 cup walnuts and a handful of cranberries. And I used homemade cornbread instead of a mix.

Speaking of:
Cornbread
I love this recipe because it isn't crumbly. very moist and sweet.

Potato Pancakes

Teeth! And Our New Home.

That guy is so cute. Unless no one is paying attention to him, then he looks like this:Yes, his face really gets that red when he's mad. Poor kid.

In other news, here are some pictures of our house. It's in what's called an "urban renewal" community. From what I understand, the builders took an old, run-down neighborhood, bulldozed it, then built a new community in it's place, keeping with the architectural style and street layout of the area.

The house is fine, nothing special inside, and COMPLETELY LACKING IN SHELVES! I mean, ANY shelves. So be forewarned, the following pictures are messy, because I can't figure out where to put anything with NO SHELVES.

And also, no artwork with very large walls. I'm working on that.

There are two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs, which we're using as a playroom.

So, that's that. We're just trying to get back into a routine, fill up the refrigerator, find a place to put toys. I think we'll enjoy it here.

Cough, Cough, Gag

This is our new chalkboard! I'm just thrilled with it. It was a nice, easy project that only took a couple days, and that only because I had to wait for the calendar layers to dry. I came across the pattern when i googled "chalkboard paint" on Martha Stewart's site. I plan to write something pithy or wise at the top. I'll let you know how that goes ;)

Please note the pink dust on the floor. Awesome.

Now if I can just stop gagging on the chalk dust...

It Totally Works... In Theory

I think I've solved my laundry dilemma. The everlasting mountain of laundry will be gone!

So here's my idea:

Each person in the family will get a color. Like red for Nathan, because he looks great in red. He will get five of the exact same red shirt, a pair of jeans and a pair of khakis. AND THAT'S IT (well, he can have red underwear and socks too, because I'm generous like that)!

I already do laundry everyday, the problem is that the quantity overwhelms me. So this way, I can easily sort a small amount of clothing, get it hung up, and voila! Laundry's done. No need for socks in every color for Brenna, because she only wears pink! Five pairs of pink socks, and they are all hers! If she gets food all over, no problem, because we'll just change her shirt to another just like it!

This is awesome. I'm a genius. I'll even let them pick a new color every year or as they grow out of the old stuff, whichever comes first.

I guess they'll also need one set of dress up clothes... and a couple sets of jammies... and swim suits... crap. Wait, their old shirts can become the jammies! Yes! Another problem solved!

Seriously, this is what I think about while I face my own personal Mt. Everest.

Oops.

You'll NEVER guess how this happened:
Man, our carpet is gross. This beautiful embellishment is right inside the front door to greet any visitors to our humble (and getting humbler) home! And to you problem solvers: it is not in a place that can be covered. Trust me, I tried to figure out a way.

Nothing To Show For It

This last weekend Brian took a tree out of our side yard. Check out my manly man!

He did have some help. We're all about child labor.

Pay no attention to Brenna's hand up her skirt, hard work gives her a wedgie.

Alas, the work force deserted him. Time to cowboy up.

Oooh. Muscles!

Brian insisted I put this picture in here. Look at those skillz!

I totally underestimated how heavy that thing was. I asked him to hoist it over his head and he looked at me like I was crazy.

Gross. Man sweat.

And nothing to show for all his hard work! But I guess that was the point.

My Favorite Smell

I love when the lemon trees bloom. Walking by, you might catch a hint of the smell of these blossoms; but in a few days, when they're all open, they fill our yard with the sweetest scent.

Spring at our house