An overdue word of thanks

With all the talk of the BlogHer Conference throughout the “blogosphere”, I’ve been thinking about all that the bloggers there on my sidebar have given me-most of whom I do not know personally.  For those of you that don’t know, BlogHer is an organization of mostly female bloggers and they host an annual conference to discuss the many facets of blogging and generally have a great time together.  I’d LOVE to go some year and meet all the great people whose work I’ve been reading for months now.  However, it simply isn’t in the cards for us right now with 3 small kids and J forbidden from taking time off in July.  [This is the time when all the new residents begin training and aren’t able to take as much responsibility.  Read: Don’t have an emergency that requires a visit to the ER during the month of July.  Oh I jest!]  The thing about BlogHer is: way more people want to go than are able to go.    Those that do go have a FANTASTIC! WONDERFUL! time and want to share that excitement with everyone.  And those that don’t go have a wee bit of a tendency to get jealous.  And maybe sometimes they say things they shouldn’t about the bloggers they loved just yesterday.  I thought maybe it was time to throw a little praise around.

So my point here…I have oft mentioned here (and to anyone within ear shot) that Little Lamb is not the easiest going kid out there.  As I sat on the floor folding laundry today, with LL crawling in and out of my lap (a severe pet peeve of mine), I realized how quickly her second birthday is approaching.  Thinking over these past two years, I remembered how desperate I felt in those early months when I quite honestly wasn’t certain we would all survive in one piece.  LL loved to be rolled over in a ball, sleeping in my arms.  But as soon as I’d set her down, she’d scream.  And scream.  And scream some more, long after I picked her back up.  Now, I can only sit in one place so long.  And TV quickly became quite boring.  So, I turned to my new found friends on the computer to help me through.  

 

Were it not for these dedicated bloggers, mostly women, mostly people I’ve still never met, I would never have survived with any shred of sanity.  I want to offer these folks a sincere thank you for sharing your lives with me-the funny times, the sad times, and the everyday learning times.  Even though she now pushes me out of the chair and hits my hand off the computer desk if I try to distract myself from her craziness, I’ll never forget what you gave me during those dark months.  Or, how good I got at the single hand hunt and peck method of typing!

 

So here’s a grand list of some the early blogs I found.  Clearly I’ve added many more great blogs to my list, but this is where it all started for me.  Now, go give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done!

 

Kristjana at Mommy Blog

This is the very first blog I read.  I had no idea people were writing blogs about interesting stuff.  I thought it was all just political and geeky tech stuff-like the blogs my husband read.

Mir at Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

Mir is one strong, loving, hillarious woman.  I learn something from her in every single post she writes.  I remember the first email she sent to me in response to a comment I made.  I nearly peed in my pants!  And then, when she answered a question I asked her AND she used her son’s real name…well, I nearly fainted.

Chris at Notes From the Trenches

She’s always good for a laugh, but she’s so much more than just that.  The way she embraces the growth of her children (she has 7!) inspires me to enjoy the ride instead of lamenting the past.

Susan at Friday Playdate

Oh so funny.  And wow.  What a writer.  She’s also extremely caring, and I can only imagine what it would be like to hang out with her. 

Jennifer at As Cozy As Spring

The one blogger I really knew back then.  Her love for her children, and their education, is quite apparent.  She knew me and loved me through my ugly phase, otherwise known as junior high…what more can I say?

Michael at Charlotte’s Web (now Riding With No Hands)

A dad who loves his girls and sweetly shares their stories.  I love how he expresses what few men allow themselves to share.

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Food, yummy food!

I’ve got a few recipes to link to for you guys.  Sort of a hodge-podge, if you will.  But, that’s my life!

 

A small twist on a classic dish: Mama’s Lasagna  I made this in two square pans, one for tonight, one to freeze.

 

A simply dessert: Frozen Lemonade Pie  You have to plan ahead on this one as it has to freeze all day (or overnight).  I’m generally an all chocolate girl, but this is nice for a change of pace.  I’d love to figure out a way to get a similar result without using Cool Whip…ideas anyone??

 

If your kids are like mine, they LOVE to dip.  Here’s a couple of great dips, one sweet (Fruit Dip) and one savory (Onion Dip), that would also be great for a party.  I halved the recipes for our family and still had PLENTY left over.

 

And now for the “pie” Amy mentioned in the comments of my last post.  It’s really just a big chocolate chip cookie, baked in a pie plate.  But, it’s delicious just the same.  We served it with my dad’s homemade ice cream instead of the whipped cream.  Mmmm, I might need to make this again later this week.

 

Ok, that should keep you busy for a few days.  🙂 I need to go clean up the kitchen.  Yuck.

And finally, some beach pictures!

Slowly but surely I’m getting a grip on life once again.  We went from the strict schedule of school, to moving chaos, to vacation bliss, back to moving chaos, back to vacation bliss, and finally just plain home.  The thing is, I do best when I’m in a strict schedule.  Less chance for me to get lost on the web or to sit watching TV for an hour.  I’m dreading this coming week as J starts ANOTHER week of nights.  This will be the last one of this type for a while (not to say there won’t be other similar types of things on different services), and it can’t pass quickly enough.  

 

The only real tragedy of the moves was me dropping our camera on the wood floor from the high mantle, sending it bouncing along the hard flooring.  It tried to turn on, but couldn’t.  Then, it couldn’t turn off for several hours.  We tried this a few times and finally gave up.  We purchased a new camera before the trip, because I simply could not miss out on all those photo ops.  

 

Here is a selection of some of my favorites.  I’m trying something new here on wordpress by entering all the pics in as a gallery.  We’ll see what happens!  Enjoy the pics.

 

Good news

Long time readers will know that we’ve been fighting issues with Little Bear’s ears since he was 6 months old.  He was such a happy baby, I never would have known he had troubles if it weren’t for the well baby checks.  

 

Long story short, he’s had fluid and negative pressure in his ears nearly all his life.  He had tubes put in around 16 months, but they came out within 6 months of the surgery.  We saw an ENT here in VA for a while and he was given the mostly-all-clear last November.  He had an infection within 10 days of that and has never fully healed since then (not that I was surprised!).  The doctors don’t want to repeat the surgery if they absolutely don’t have to, but I have been increasingly worried about his hearing and the fact that he’s had several other ear infections since that one in December.  

 

Last month when we saw the pediatrician, I asked when we draw the line and go back to the ENT for another round of tubes.  She suggested we use a nasal spray (Veramyst) for a month and see if there is any improvement.  Ultimately, the risk involved in using a medication is far less than surgery.  

 

We went back today and I am thankful to report that both ears appear fluid free!!  His right ear drum moves both in and out while the left moves only one direction.  So…we are much improved, almost normal.  We’ll continue the Veramyst for 2-3 more weeks and pick it back up with any nasal symptoms.  I’m actually hopeful that we will make it through without a repeat of the surgery.

 

Hopeful is a good feeling indeed!

A silly moment

We arrived home safely on Saturday, and spent the evening enjoying time with Daddy.  Sunday was spent preparing the house for the arrival of our dear friends, whom we have not seen in 2 years.  They are the sort of friends that, no matter the distance or time apart, we all pick up right where we left off.  Our visit was short, but wonderful just the same.

 

I’ve spent some time this morning catching up on my blog reading.  I must admit I was a bit annoyed when Belle came in, protesting LB’s claim that she had spilled some cereal on the floor.  

 

“He’s lying!” she whined.  “I didn’t spill anything!” she added, storming out of the room.

 

LB came close to me and said “I not turning to a lion.”

 

I smiled and pulled him into my lap.  I don’t know who spilled the cereal, nor do I really care.  I do know that he has a way of lightening the heavy moments around this house in ways I never expect.

Having fun

We are having a wonderful time here in TX!  So far we’ve attended a birthday party, swam in the swimming pool, played with cousins, gotten pedicures, gone to the Disney store (we don’t have one near us, so that’s a big treat), had a girls’ day of shopping at the American Girl Store and seeing the Kit Kittredge movie while the boys went to an airplane museum and saw Wall-e.  And today, we went to the zoo!  Wow, I’m going to be tired by the end of this week. 

 

I’ll try to stop back in before the week ends with more updates.  We’re having family friends over for dessert tonight so I’ve got to go help clean up the living room.

Tying up loose ends

The kids and I head out of town tomorrow morning.  We’re going to TX to spend a week with my parents.  I’ve made list after list-things to bring, things not to forget, things to find, things to buy, etc., etc.  

 

I’ve never flown by myself with all three kids.  With the state of the unfriendly skies these days, I’m a bit nervous.  We’re all set in just 2 suitcases, which will cost me a mere $30.  You know, I could kind of understand charging after the first bag.  But this charging for EVERY checked bag?  Is completely ridiculous.  

 

I’ve got a small list of things that must happen before I leave-clean out the fridge, scrub the bathroom, change sheets.  Fun things, you know?  In fact, I think I better get out of this here chair and get to work!

What I like right now…

* My new breadmaker  I figured I deserved some kind of reward for surviving two moves in less than a month.  I scooped it up off Amazon on a Friday sale.  If only I could find our old breadmaker recipe book…I hope it’s in a box somewhere around here.

 

* Chocolate Chex  Mmmmm, so yummy.  Especially with a cup of coffee.  

 

* Roasted Red Pepper Pesto and Chicken Pizza  Take your pizza dough (see breadmaker above), spread it with the pesto (I bought mine pre-made at the store).  You can use any flavor pesto you like.  Top with mozzarella cheese and shredded chicken leftover from some other meal.  Bake in the oven and Ta Da!  

 

* Wild Blackberries  Most every evening we walk the perimeter of the mowed portion of our yard (we live on 10 acres now, but most of them are wooded) to pick the ripe blackberries.  The kids love them!

 

* Paper crafts  If there is one thing I love, it’s an excuse to make some sort of paper craft.  Invitations and announcements are among my favorites.  Some times I get all complicated with the layering of papers and vellum and doodads with those foamy dots.  Right now, I’m working on our moving announcements.  These are super simple-a purchased card with a “homey” design with all the info printed on the card in a fun font.  Back in TX, we had this nice, somewhat pricey, stationary store down the road.  A couple times a year they would have a big clear-out sale and put the cards down to 10-20 cents a piece.  If I was lucky enough to stumble in on the right day, I’d stock up on all kinds of cards.  They have come in handy for many a birthday or other special occasion.

 

* A stockpile of homemade waffles  I don’t generally make elaborate breakfasts for actual breakfast.  I will, however, make breakfast for dinner about every other week.  When I make waffles, I usually double or triple the recipe and freeze the leftovers.  I can pull out just what I need and toast them up.

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you all are having a wonderful celebration with family and friends.  We, of course, will be celebrating tomorrow since J is on call today.  The good thing is our city is holding it’s big celebration tomorrow as well.  J’s department is also having their welcome party for the incoming residents tomorrow, so we should be busy.

 

Here’s hoping Belle’s fever/headache bug leaves as quickly as it came…We also think Little Bear may have sprained his big toe in a fall yesterday.  So maybe you could say an extra prayer for us?  Thanks!

in case you ever wondered…

Yes!  It is true that you can kill a spider and have lots of tiny spiders come out and run all over the place.  

 

How do I know this, you ask?  Let’s just say, I’m glad Belle didn’t notice why I kept banging on the floor long after I’d killed that big sucker!  It still gives me the willies!!