Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail

Easter is hippity hopping right down the trail.  Did you know Easter happens to be my FAVORITE HOLIDAY?  (I have a strange feeling I might have blogged this before)  Yes, it is.  I supposed spring is my fave as well.  When I really think about it, I like all of the seasons, especially when the seasons are changing.  Ok, I don't so much love summer, come to think of it.  But anyway....

I love spring.  I love everything getting greener.  I love the flowers starting to pop out.  I love things starting to warm up.  I love longer days.  I love being able to let the kids play outside when we get home. I love grilling.  LOVE LOVE LOVE.

I like fall and the leaves changing and the first crisp mornings.  I like winter and snow.  But I LOVE SPRING.

Ok you get the idea.

(Oddly enough I get sick every year at this time and I am currently SICK.  But I still love it!)

We are planning to go to Gallatin for Easter.  We'll go to our church and then head to my parents for dinner and most likely an Easter Egg Hunt.  I think this one will be particularly fun because both kids will get it.  Their new favorite game is Hide and Seek.  Brandon pointed out that Mason is the worst hider because while he CAN find good spots to hide, he CANNOT stop giggling while he is hiding so it's pretty easy to find him.  But his giggling cracks me up so I encourage the game.

{Post Script}

Obviously, I learned NOTHING from the Friends episode when Monica said to Pheobe "Say things quietly in your head before you say them out loud".

I posted a little too quickly yesterday and I thought about it and I don't think I gave you all of the information about my babies.

My kid are awesome.  They bicker and argue.  But seriously, it isn't constant.  It has become an everyday occurance and I know this is just the beginning.  But...BUT they also love each other very much.  They spent nearly an hour playing hide-and-go-seek last night.  They always greet one another with a hug and kiss in the morning and they always kiss and hug goodnight.

So there.  That's taken care of.  The sibling thing has begun and it drives me crazy, but there are also a lot of times when I know they adore one another.  Even though when we told Ellie that Mason was going to spend the night at Nana and Poppop's tonight her first reaction was "OH GOOD!  I can play in my room and he won't bother me!"  Just keepin' it real, folks!

{Only the Beginning}

Remember this?

Remember my jubilation?  Excitement? Thrill?  You remember.  I know you do.

My kids have started into a phase of sibling rivalry.  Is that the term?  I'm not really sure.  We start (and sometimes end) our day much like the Family Circus cartoons.  You remember those, right?  "Jeffy's looking at me!!!!"

It's not so much rivalry as it is Mason likes to bug Ellie and Ellie likes to tell me how Mason is bugging her.  Maybe that is rivalry.  I hear a lot of "Mason is touching me." or "Mason is following me around."  or "Mason won't get out of my room."  

Oh I can hear you now..."Poor Mason."  But it has kind of become Mason's hobby to touch, follow and in general bother Ellie.  Everyone needs a hobby, right?  Her stuff seems cool to him.  She prefers he not touch her stuff.  She tells him to leave her alone.  In retaliation, he bugs her.  

This has been going on in families for centuries, right?

We also have a lot of "Mason is sitting too close to me."  or "Mason won't share the chair."  And yes, Mason is not as verbal about it.  His approach is more physical.  

Saturday morning about an hour before all of the shower guests arrived, Ellie and Mason decided to have a brawl in the living room chair that sat next to a small (perhaps not so steady) side table.  I told them to stop fighting.  I'm pretty sure my mom had said the same thing.  Then as our backs were turned, they each gave one more shove and knocked that lovely little pot off of the not so steady table.

It just so happens that Fire King Oven Ware shatters into about 9 million tiny shards of glass when it hits hardwood.  

I'm not proud of my reaction.  I was very angry.  Not so much because they broke the pot, more because sometimes I feel like I have done something terribly wrong in teaching them to take care of things and not act like wild animals inside.  I was also upset because I am SO OVER their bickering.  (And yes I know it is only the beginning.)  I apologized.

Payback is HELL.  HELL I TELL YOU.  Oh the fights Biz and I used to get into.  OH the bickering we did. You can't even imagine.  Really, you can't.  But if you want to email my mom I am sure she will tell you the saga.  

But, it was just a little pot.  A pot that wasn't even mine less than a week before.  It was pretty and I did like it.  But it was just a thing.  And I have pictures!

And they are only 4 and 2.  As I (often) tell Brandon, this is not the hill we will die on.  Their breaking a pot doesn't mean they have a complete disregard for all things.  

Some day, I bet Ellie will have china of her own that she will take care of.  And some day, maybe Mason will have a pocket knife collection he values and cares for.  And doesn't break.  (It could be the other way around.  I'm not trying to push stereotypes on them.)  

And hopefully they will be able to sit within 6 inches of one another and not play the "who can push back harder" game some day.  I think this might take a while and I pray we don't have any broken bones before that time.

{March Showers Bring April Babies}

At least we hope Baby Dreadin decides to come in March and not be stubborn like his Mama.

My Aunt Nancy, my cousin Shelby and I hosted a shower for Biz at my house this weekend.  It was so fun! This was the first actual entertaining I have done since we moved in.  I really love entertaining.  It was stressful getting everything ready, cleaning and putting some finishing touches on the house, but all worth it!  We had expected 20 people and it turned out to be 30!  I think it is a testament to how much people love Biz and Tim that they would drive all the way out here.  My very own aunts and grandmother got LOST and drove around for 30 minutes!
Tim's mom and sister, Nicole came up from Mobile and Birmingham for the weekend.  They also brought Nicole's awesome mother in law, Gabby.

YUMMY cupcakes my friend Monica made!Delicious food that my parents, aunt and cousin all helped with

Biz, Tim's niece, Molly, and Ellie.  Ellie and Molly are great friends.  We wish they didn't live so far away!

What Ellie's room looked like after she and Molly played for about 2 straight hours. They had such a good time!

Biz with Mason and Tim's nephew, Luke.

Biz with the Fantastic Four, as she has dubbed them.  Won't they make great Big Cousins?

We had a great weekend.  I ended it with a bang by getting the worst. MIGRAINE. EVER! about an hour after the festivities ended.  I slept from 4 pm Saturday until 6:30 am Sunday.  BUT I didn't have anything to worry about because my house was spotless and I have a wonderful husband who took care of everything else...like the kids! (I'm always looking on the bright side.  It's how I roll.)

{My Carbon Footprint Looks Like Godzilla's}

Yesterday Mason and I went to Target.  He was great (because I fed him 5 bags of fruit snacks).  I just had a few things to pick up and we were done.  In the checkout line, he got a little restless so I gave him the first thing I thought of, my keys. We checked out and were out the door.

When we got to the truck, I made a mental note that the car next to me was running.  (Be careful.  Don't leave the cart where they can hit it.  OMG Mental image of the car next to me dragging the cart with my baby in it around Target parking lot!)

I kept an eye out for the car to pull out but it just sat there.  I finally realized no one was sitting in the car.  And it was running???  How completely irresponsible.  Don't they know about conservation?  Global warming?  Starving children in Africa who could buy 90 meals with the money they are wasting on gas???  Give me ONE GOOD REASON for a car to be running on a 68 degree day with the sun shining!

I got the truck all loaded up, fastened Mason into his seat and returned the cart.

I have a remote starter on my truck.  Imagine my surprise when I got in and found IT WAS MY TRUCK THAT WAS RUNNING.  All that time.  In the 68 degree weather.  Wasting gas.  Don't tell Brandon.

 I will be sending a donation to Africa out of penance.  And an apology letter to Al Gore.  (ok, not really Al.  But I might Facebook him.)

*************
That same afternoon, Ellie, Mason and I went to the grocery store for a few quick things.  Now this was Mason's second shopping trip of the day so he was pretty much DONE.  I tried to be creative.  In the cart, out of the cart, walking, in the back of the cart, goldfish, fruit snacks.  But by the time we were checking out, he was throwing things.  Grabbing things.  (WHY do they put pieces of cake near the checkout lanes???  Wasn't candy bad enough???  "CAKE!  I WIKE CAKE!!!")  And yelling.  Loud.  Singsongy, nonsensical,  happy yelling, but yelling nonetheless.

I finally paid and we were on our way out of the store and an older man stopped me and said with a grin "How much will you take for that boy?  He looks like a good one."  (Ok this was not in a creepy I-am-going-to-take-your-kid-and-do-bad-things-to-him way.  It was in a nice-old-guy way.) So I said, "Well, if you had asked me five minutes ago, I might have paid you to take him.  But he is doing ok now so I guess I'll have to keep him."  He laughed and said that they grow up so fast and aren't little long.  This is certainly a reminder I need hourly daily so the interaction gave me a smile.

We continued out of the store and I looked down at Ellie riding in the cart with this look of horror.  She was on the verge of tears so I said "Isn't that funny that that man wants to buy Mason! Should we sell him?"  Her immediate reply was "NO!"  Then she added "Unless he just wants to borrow him and he'll bring him back."  And then a few minutes later (I'm pretty sure Mason took a swing at her for no reason)"Well for like eighty five and a hundred dollars we could sell him."  I said "Do you mean $8500 or $185?"  She said "one hundred eighty five dollars. " So there you have it.  A pesky brother will currently sell for $185.

NO NANA HE IS NOT FOR SALE!


************
All of this happened after Mason's allergy testing.  He was such a trooper.  And I don't know what people did before portable DVD players and the movie "Ice Age".

The test wasn't so bad.  They didn't have to do individual needles.  It was more quick and not quite so painful that what I remember having (and what I know other people have recently had).  Maybe it was the kiddie version?

Anyway, the ONLY thing he reacted to was MOLD.  All kinds of MOLD.  Major eruptive reaction.  Not dust, pollen, cats, dogs, only MOLD.  I was very surprised.  I am sure living in the Little House did nothing to help with his allergy.  But thankfully now our house is not contributing to the problem  (Except the 15 bread heals that are molding in the pantry)

The doctor actually said mold is a hard one because it is EVERYWHERE:  soil, mulch, air, potting soil, houses, buildings, everywhere.

I am a little worried about his room at school.  We are in a very old building and I know for an absolute fact that there is a lot of mold.  I am going to get a dehumidifier and a HEPA filter for the classroom.  Mason is on a new medication to try to manage his symptoms.  We'll see how it goes.

But, my mom is retiring TODAY so she says all she will have to do is write letters to all the powers that be at WKU about her grandson who is being subjected to horrible moldy conditions.  Go Nana.

{Tuesday Ramblings}

Ok, first things first...Brandon says I hurt his feelings with my last post.  It was not personal.  It's hard for him to understand because he has only ever really lived one way.  He lived in "town" during college and for a few years when he moved to KY, but that doesn't really count because he didn't have kids.  I am the one who has lived both ways.  And as I said (or hope I said) the other day:  There are so many things I love about living on a farm. There are so many things that my kids will get to experience that I never did.  But every now and then, the hassle of being so far out just gets to me.


Now on to my kids...Mason is potty training.  I must tell you that potty training has been the single most scary thing about parenting.  No, I am not kidding.  I really think I can deal with sneaking out and dating bad boys.  I've already dealt with temper tantrums and biting.  HOW do you teach someone to pee on the potty???  I was lucky with Ellie.  She did it easily.

And now with Mason...LUCKY AGAIN!  He has done so well.  He is wearing underwear all day now and only a diaper at night.  And leave it to Mason to be an overachiever...he came in our room about 7 times the other night/ morning and then he finally told us that he had peed and wanted to be changed.  It was not a good night.

As a general rule, since having kids I do not even have a beer or glass of wine in the evenings.  We rarely have an entire week when both of my kids sleep all night every night.  If I have had something to drink, that middle of the night stupor is just no fun with a buzz.  But, I felt a sore throat coming on and I had been feeling really really bad.  So I took Nyquil.  LORD HELP ME.  It would have been better to drink a 6 pack and then be woken up than to be disturbed from the glorious slumber that Nyquil provides.

It was a bad night.  So last night, I explained to Mason that it is ok to pee in your diaper when you are sleeping.  Let's hope he agrees.

Say a little prayer for me on Thursday.  Mason has to have allergy testing.  Poor little guy is, at times, on 4 or 5 different medications to control his allergies and the symptoms they cause.  And even with all that, he almost always has a runny nose.  Plus, his ENT is possibly going to put his ear tubes back in.  (We go there in two weeks)  His pediatrician feels like zyrtec alone should be enough to control his allergies so he wants us to get the testing.  He has been talking about it for about a year and I have ignored him but this time he called and made the appointment and really didn't give me a choice so we are going.

But do you know what allergy testing involves???  I had it when I was 9 or so.  You have to sit still and they make about 9 million little scratches on your back and then put things in the scratches like cat dander and dust to see if you are allergic to those things.  They also write on your back.  Sounds fun, huh?  Oh and Brandon will be out of town.  His loss.  I get ALL the fun stuff.

{It's The Little Things}

I did not grow up in town.  My dad grew up on a farm.  My mom grew up in the big city.  OK, the small city, but a city nonetheless.  I had the best of both worlds when it comes to knowledge of both ways of life.  I always loved going to my Grandma's and Uncle Ted's.  I love horses and being outdoors and growing gardens.  I also liked the convenience of living around the corner from TJ Maxx.  Growing up, I took for granted the ability to run to the grocery store on a whim or go get ice cream at 9 pm.
When I met Brandon, I was not at all deterred by the fact that he lived in the middle of nowhere.  I was smitten, yes, but I also loved coming out to his house and hanging out.  It brought out my inner country girl.  There was, afterall, that stint in college when I wore nothing but Wranglers and boots and frequented line dancing establishments.  So living the country life was always appealing and when Brandon and I began to discuss marriage, it was a given that I would move to the country and get a cow of my own.
And now, having lived this way of life for nearly 7 years, there are days that I am just completely OVER country life.  And really, it's not even country life as much as living in the middle of nowhere.  Yesterday was one of those days when me and country life got in a big fight and I kind of wanted to break up.
Ellie has dance on Saturdays at 11:00 am.  It takes us 40 minutes to get to dance class.  On a good day, I get  up and out of bed and going and run any errands that I have before dance class.  In reality, I usually get one errand done before class and then do any others with a cranky 4 year old in tow. Then drive 40 minutes home and the afternoon is a BUST.
On the way home yesterday afternoon I was just done.  We'd had a not so great morning, my plans to get things done before dance had gone awry and the afternoon was not looking promising.  I dreamed of moving to the town where Brandon works and getting a house in a neighborhood.  Having chatty neighbors who I play bunko with and sit in the cul de sac while the kids ride bikes.  We'd chat up the afternoon and then run to the Mexican restaurant for margartitas and burritos.  And still be home in time for baths and normal bedtimes.  I had a similar daydream in the shower this morning only this one may have involved shoe shopping at 8:30 pm after I got the kids all settled.
Honestly ya'll I was totally ready to break up with country life.  Who needs mud and coyotes and cows and horsedrawn buggies slowing me down and never being able to run through fast food for dinner because it will be cold when we get home and all the other major inconveniences of country life?  WHO NEEDS THIS???
Then Brandon brought this in:

Are you swooning?  I did.  He said he should have saved it for our anniversary.

The vase is something his mom had and gave me a few years back.A matched set!

We had a pipe break in the Little House and while crawling under the house to fix the pipe this morning, Brandon found the little pot.  The bottom says "Oven Fire King".  I looked it up and it isn't super valuable, but it is to me.  It is just my style.  I have a major thing for hobnail milkglass.  

I figure if I lived in that neighborhood, I would not own a hundred year old house on a farm and I would never have found something so cool.  So living in the country is great again.  

{Someone Please Call Emily Post}

So I have a little etiquette question.  Say, just for a minute, that someone is having a baby shower.  And say that on the guest list for the baby shower there is a good friend of the mother to be who is a part of a couple.  And say for a minute that the couple happens to be two women.  Got that all straight?
How do you address that invite?  Miss Priss Hootyhotty and Guest?  Or just Miss Priss Hootyhotty.  I mean, I didn't invite anyone's husband.  Well, I wouldn't.  If I were hosting a shower.  Although I know Miss Hootyhotty's significant other would be more interested than anyone's husband would be in sitting around and ooing and aahhing over onesies and burp clothes.
And I also know all the guests at a shower would be way more comfortable with Miss Hootyhotty's significant other being there than having anyone's husband.  'Cause husbands at Baby Shower Brunches are weird, right???
So here's a conversation that actually happened to this girl I know today:
Girl I Know:  (answering phone while checking out at a certain very large chain store that rhymes with Falltart.  And waiting on someone to do a price check on some Burt's Bees Lip Balm) Hello?


SusieQ:  Hi Girl I Know.  It's SusieQ.  I wanted to let you know I will be able to come to the shower.
Girl I Know:  Oh good!  Hey, do you happen to know if....um....Oh my why can't I  think of her name??? SusieQ:  MissHootyHotty?
Girl I Know:  YES!  MissHootyhotty!  Is she going to be able to come?
SusieQ:  Yes, I do think she will be in town.
Girl I Know:  Ok, well does she still have her, um...girlfriend?
SusieQ:  Yes, she does.
Girl I Know:  OK, well I forgot to put her (the girlfriend) name on the invite but will you please tell Miss Hootyhotty that she is more than welcome to bring her?
SusieQ:  Sure!  I'll tell her.
Girl I Know;  Ok, thanks!  We'll see you next weekend!
SusieQ:  OK, Bye!


The Girl I Know told me that it was a weird conversation to have.  She said that first off, she is a ditz and can't ever remember things, like people's names, when she needs to and she feels like a spaz most of the time.  She's been concentrating really hard on wording invitations correctly and getting all the china and silver polished and ready.  She's even been looking for some nice linen napkins.  And she has her monogrammed table runner ironed and ready to go.  So trying to consider how to include the significant other of one of the guests didn't really ever enter her mind.

I told her I thought Emily Post should add a section to her new book.  Emily, if you are reading, call me.

{Wednesday is Senior Day}

This one is for Aunt Nancy.  I went downstairs to get baths started tonight and they were sitting at the bottom of the stairs and she was "reading" to him.  How stinking cute is that???

Biz and Lola came over tonight  because I told her I would make dinner  to see the kids and visit a little.  Biz brought her fancy new camera so all of these shots are courtesy of Photography By Biz.  I made Sesame Chicken and it was very very good. Biz offered to take pics and I felt it only fitting to share the pics and the recipe with you, my 5 readers.

 Go make it NOW!

Sesame Chicken 

1-1.5 pounds chicken breast 

1/4 cup flour 

1/2 cup sugar 

1/4 cup splenda 

3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce 

1Tbsp sesame oil 

4 servings rice noodles  I served it with rice

fresh ground pepper 

1. Cut chicken breast into bite size pieces. (I did this back several weeks ago on that "Freezer Cooking Day".  Major time saver!)

2. Mix pepper and flour in a sealable container. 

3. Add chicken to flour mixture and shake until fully coated. 

4. Spray nonstick pan with cooking spray, add chicken and spray chicken with more cooking spray. 

5. Cook on medium high heat until fully cooked through. 

6. Remove chicken from pan and place on plate in the microwave to keep warm. 

7. To the same pan add soy sauce, sugar, splenda, and sesame oil. 

8. Stir until all sugar is dissolved and add chicken back in. 

9. Let simmer for 5 minutes. 

Makes 4 servings 

Optional: Add freshly steamed broccoli to chicken before serving. 

Nutritional Info per Serving: 

Calories: 509.9 

Fat: 4.9 

Fiber: 1.2

And finally: I went to Kroger this morning.  I was having a parent meeting at school and serving sack lunches and needed to get drinks.  As I was driving to Kroger I thought "It is SENIOR DAY at Kroger".  Now I knew better than to go on Senior Day.  I did. But honestly it was a toss up:  Wally World or Kroger on Senior Day.  I made the wrong decision.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed not one, not two, but FIVE vehicles parked so crooked that they were taking up two spaces.  And the sheer volume of traffic had people (read Seniors) really out of sorts. Crazy drivers.  Seniors and sixteen year olds.  

As they got out of their cars, they were just as reckless, walking down the MIDDLE of the parking lot.  HELLO?  Do you not hear my BIG Ford engine behind you???  I mean not that I would take anyone out.  Well, not on purpose!

I made my way through the store and got out of there.  Lucky for me: Seniors don't self check so it was a fairly quick and painless checkout.  I loaded up my truck and the Bag Girl/ Cart Girl (sorry if this is not PC but she is a woman bagger/ cart person) was getting the carts from the carousel beside me and waited for my cart.  I frequent this store and this lady is always very friendly and helpful. And blunt.  But I am pretty sure we all know that I happen to like blunt.

I gave the cart to her and said a friendly "Thanks!"  and she said "Have a great day!" and as I turned to get into my truck, she said this:  "Oh!  Ma'am, do me a favor and DON'T come on Senior Day."  BAAAHHH!!!!  I almost fell down laughing.

Pimping My Wares

Did you see this?  Initial Reaction

Roasted Veggies

Ok, so yeah I am a wannabe Pioneer Woman.  Honestly folks, I feel like I have a lot in common with that girl   I live in the middle of nowhere.  That's established, right?  I too never dreamed I would ever have to know how to load cattle onto a trailer or move them from field A to field B (or know them all by name).  And I certainly never thought there was any need to can tomatoes since Kroger has them all canned for me at the low price of like $.69 a can.  Oh and I love to cook.  And I think I'm funny. 

So I think it's only fitting that I do a wannabe Pioneer Woman cooking post.  I was craving veggies the other night.  (Weird, I know) I dreamed up this recipe and it was so good I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day. I am kind of new to the whole roasting thing and I really love the flavor it brings to things.  

I used squash, zucchini, carrots, new potatoes asparagus and mushrooms.  I think it would be YUM to add whole green beans or onion.  OH or sweet potatoes.  The possibilities are really endless.  So wash and cut up all the veggies.  Just make the veggies all about the same size so the cooking time is the same.

Spread on a cookie sheet with a rim and drizzle with olive oil, seasoned salt and pepper.

Roast for 30 minutes or so at450 degrees.

I served it with couscous and pan fried turkey cutlets and it was ZOMG so good!

I think these guys are cute.