i'll admit it

There is a crazy little dude at this fishing place we take the boys. He's an interesting fellow, I love people like him: true characters.

He cleaned my fish (cleaned, with the heads on) and went ON and ON about second-generation Americans and their crazy idea of what food should be. Anyone second generation and later all want the fish heads chopped off, he says, then really all they want to eat are chickens and pigs. Two of the most disgusting, dirty animals around. Then they put cheese on everything.....

I really enjoy this guy. I can get him going on cooking tips, his mean 89 year-old mother and the US army corps of engineers. He's a redneck really (probably15th-generation American), but I haven't heard him say anything racist or rightie-tightie, yet.

So on this particular day, he was rattling on about the secret weapon the US military is using in Iraq....come here a little closer, so I can whisper it to you....it is the WMD we haven't heard of...we wouldn't want this information to get into the wrong hands.....it is...cinnamon.

He says the Iraqis can't stand the smell of it and that is how the military can clear a crowd. The just infuse the air with the sweet smells of cinnabon. And woah....the Iraqis are gone, man.

ahem. like i said, interesting.

So this little guy doesn't know who he is dealing with because, I'll admit it....I'm addicted to food. and really one mention of cinnamon, even if used as a weapon has put it on my brain for days. I made cinnamon and sugar toast last night but really that didn't do the trick. The warm gooeyness is what I craved.

Today....everyone I talked to (the poor unfortunate souls) had to listen to me yammer away about cinnamon and the delicious ways I wanted to eat it. I have children and obligations that kept me from getting my fix, but I cleared the schedule and voila.....
















My
Monkey Bread
2 Cans refrigerated biscuits (I used17.3 oz Grands reduced fat Golden Wheat)
1/3 C sugar
5 teaspoons cinnamon (frankly, I didn't measure. i was feeding my obsession for crying out loud)
1/2 C ground flax seeds
1/2 C chopped pecans
1/2 C butter, melted
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C apple sauce (use one of those individual kids servings cups)

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray bundt pan with cooking spray.
2. Mix sugar, cinnamon and flax in 1 gal plastic ziploc bag.
3. cut the biscuits into pieces and shake in bag to cover.
4. sprinkle pecans on the bottom of the pan and place the dough inthe pan. add more pecans as you go along if you like. sprinkle the rest of the sugar mix on top.
5. mix melted butter with brown sugar and apple sauce. and pour evenly on top.
6. Bake for 45 minutes. invert on plate to cool.

a quiet bit of joy

My baby is two and a half years old....today.
He still doesn't really talk. He has a language that is all his own, and I only understand him sometimes.
He has made progress, don't get me wrong, but it is slow and arduous. He has picked up the sing-song sound of language and what the speech therapist calls "approximation."
telephone is ---- ((deh-deh-deh OHN))
His brothers are still lovingly called "Dah" and "Doo Doo"
People try to help....
"Have you let him play with Play-doh?"
"You need to get him a trampoline."
"You need to read him Dr. Suess books."
"He'll talk when he's ready."
As if any of those things would do....
It makes my heart hurt in a quiet heavy kind of way.

What a Cow!

K and Q feed a two-day old calf.

Our life returns to a state that I can only call normal, for lack of a better word.

We've had a week of spring break.

Since we stayed home this break, we did some work around the house and took some day trips around the area.

We took the kids to a dairy farm. Now I must say growing up in rural Ohio, I have very serious blockage paying to see cows. But alas, we are city folk nowadays, so $35 later here we go

But they make it as showbiz and educational as a dairy farm can be......

I continue to train for the 5K Race for the Cure which happens in May. Today I ran 3 miles...in a row, not stopping...I just may make it. I've instructed the fit people on our team to wait for me at the finish line with a defibrillator and a fresh Depends.

AWE-FULL!!!!

totally awesome

When you speak with a zany, wacky 5-year-old, you have to have a sense of humor or a very high level of patience.
Suffice it to day, Q's kindergarten teacher wrote in his progrees report a word that sums it all up......"goofY"
OK...that is your background....so as a family, when we would talk about how great something was we would say something like...."hey, that is cool.....awesome!!"
Then he would shout....."Awful!"
Once again....we say "up" he says "down." We say "black;" he says "white." It is just part of his silly banter.

Then one day he said to me,
Mama, why do you say it is just "AWE-SOME" when really it is "AWE-FULL?!"

QUESTIONS FROM THE BACK SEAT.....

"Mama, have you ever eaten a hot dog on the toilet?"

My five year-old threw me this question one morning on the way to kindergarten.

I thought for a moment....

and then asked...."do you mean, eaten a hot dog while sittting on the toilet? or eating a hot dog straight off of the seat of the toilet?"

because it is best to get the facts.

spring break

I have strep throat.
"We" are on spring break.
Must find something for everyone to do.....must find something....

The Jedi Master training, while the Wookie looks on.

moody

I'm in a weird crunchy mood.
I've been working on our household budget and am amazed at how we keep our heads above water. Money stuff just bums me out. I'm wondering if each kid could just take turns eating for the month.
The "W" is going to be sending me a check in a couple months. They just spent $42 million to tell me the "check is in the mail".....in several months. Talk about budget problems.
whatever, Next time, just send me an email. better yet, just send the check ....even better....instead of sending us all out out for retail therapy, why don't we use the money for stuff to run the country. never mind, just give me the damn check....i can't trust you people.
The first time the "W" sent me a check for $600, I bought a dishwasher. This time, it will just get us through.
and then today this little bit of joy...brightened my gloom.

my new favorite thing....Chocolate Plum sweets, which is a piece of prune covered with chocolate. sounds crazy and gross, but quite tasty. note- do not let your dog get ahold of these.

i really don't know how this stuff happens

So my little nephew came to visit me at Easter.
I my mind he's little, around 5 years old with a clean face and a monogrammed sweater.
As you can see from the picture, he's not so little anymore.
He tells me he's 27 years old. Which is totally weird, because that's what I am.
I wait for my boys to get bigger, for a time when they will toilet and clean themselves. I think I will then have the time to spend on the things I love. And then I realize, they are the things I love.
I have a lump in my chest everyday with my little 2 year-old, I can't reign him in. He is a wild man. I fear going anywhere with him, because of the destruction he leaves in his path.
Today I had a glimmer of what life may be for him. He seemed to understand me. We went to some physical therapy, lunch at Chick-fil-A and then Costco. A sweet little boy that held my hand in the parking lot, only dropping his body limp twice to see if I would catch him so he could dangle by one arm. I caught him every time.

you will enjoy this or else

because i was having an "aren't I a great mama" day, i took the idea from IHOP and made a Dr. Suess dinner: green eggs, ham and who cakes. as you can see, the joy on the children's faces just makes me wheeze with glee. i'm reminded of the three monkeys see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.

what happens when dad is in charge....

couch to 5k

So I'm trying to run. Actually, I think the right word is "jog" since it is a pace just above a walk.
A small group of us decided to do the "Race for the Cure" in May, and my friend emailed me the plan that was going to get us there...."From Couch to 5K."
Ironically that night a friend of mine from Japan called and by coincidence started telling me about a crazy thing she did called the "couch to 5K" running plan.
It is in the cards. When we worked together about 15 years ago, she was not someone who enjoyed being warm, let alone would put herself through the treachery of exercise. She encouraged me saying if she could do it so could I.
So I am about half way through it, though I am not looking forward to my new week.

alpha diva psycho nazi mom

Believe it or not I had to edit myself in my own blog for being too hard on the alpha-moms that surround me.

God Bless em; they are a kind and thoughtful crew. But I am reminded why it is best they stay on their side of the carpool lane.

I helped out at a teachers' appreciation luncheon, where I was told what to wear, when to refill drinks and reminded why I haven't chosen a career in the food service industry.

I thought dishwasher suited me best so I tried to say in the background as much as possible. But when I had to walk into the hall to fetch something. The Alpha-mom walked past me and stage-whispered, "You have a towel on your shoulder!"

Oh the horror.

I am the baby apraxia whisperer. Kenji is saying more and more things. The problem, no one knows what the hell he's saying. Except me. And granted I only get him about 5% of the time.

deh-deh-deh OHN -- "telephone"

neh-neh neh neh -wiggles -- "playplace of anysort, dancing, colors....or the wiggles"

One of the weekly places I shuttle the little guy around to, in hopes it will trigger him to speak is the YMCA. We've been going in the pool.

His first time in the pool was a huge success. He "talked" more in his first 1/2 hour in the pool than he does all day.

He will do anything that involves water. In fact in the picture above he had just finished a bath, was freshly dried, diapered and clothed, when he decided to get back in.

(I must mention that because of the drought. We save water as much as we can from the tub and shower to do things like flush toilets, water plants or dump into the washing machine.)

I no longer save tub water.

acupuncture

So I've started going to an acupuncturist...
I'm drinking strange teas made of roots, bark and seeds.
I'm swallowing little pellets made of ingredients that I had to Google. Wouldn't "Semen Persicae" scare you too?
I've got a bum back and basically my chi is off.
They've put suction cups on my back leaving big circle hickeys and burnt things small bits of things on me.
Have I mentioned that I am turning 40?
I am requiring more and more maintenance...

ode to a lunch

"we are early," mom declares.
there must be a reason.

always very early
or very late.

never on time.

"where's my lunch?" a kid shouts.
it is not in the bag.

always peanut butter
or salami.

never changing.

"hang on boys," mama whoops.
we are off to QT.

all-beef jerky, a dill pickle
or krispy kreme.

mother of the year...
maybe next year.

being great in 2008

This is the year that I turn 40.

I think in the new year I should resolve to clear and organize three closets that I can barely shut. Perhaps posting a picture on my blog would inspire me to do it.

Or perhaps posting a picture of my lumpy butt on the internet would help me lose 30 or 40 pounds. perhaps.

The baby has started calling his middle brother -- "Doo Doo"
Q has been saying "DooDoo...."350 times a day for weeks now. Recently he switched to "poop" and "pee pee" which is much more hilarious but not as cute as "Doo Doo." Luckily there are bonuses in being a late talker.
The baby is in speech therapy once a week and at least two days of physical therapy. I've also started the baby on fish oil, Omega-3 and DHA supplements. I just give it to all three of them. I tell them it is supposed to make them smarter. The most immediate result has been the improvement in Q's eczema.

Bumpin in the Burbs...

The guy that made this hilarious video lives in the same hood as me. yo.

mERry christmas

I haven't been doing the blog. Life has been getting in my way.
But I am still awake at 2am after an exhausting day.
I'm almost too tired to fully describe the craziness of it all.

I walked into the pediatrician's office with one thing and left with another.

We went in for an ear infection for the oldest and ended up with a day in the ER for the youngest after he ingested a pill he discovered underneath a chair.

There was a little bit left of the pill that the doctors in the office thought it might be a cardiac medicine. It was enough of an unknown that poison control called for an ER for monitoring.
Despite the fact that there was about 3/4 left of the pill, the pharmacy wasn't able to tell what it was. Which I find amazing that we can pore through the DNA of king Tut, but can't figure out what may have poisoned my baby, especially when I walk in with it in my hand.

In the end, he is fine. I will never be fine. That is just the way I roll nowadays. Especially after I have watched the movie The Wiggles Space Dancing five times in a row. I was begging for Dora, Barney, Tinky Winky SOMEONE to rescue me from my wiggly hell.

In my "free time" instead of blogging or even (gasp) watching TV (that is NOT the Wiggles), I've been learning sign language, researching childhood apraxia, finding more treatments for him.

I've gone amazon, crazy, medieval, psycho, in your face mama on this kid. I've gotten him to say his own version of "brrrr" for cold today which was my victory, but I"ll take it.

I am a tired mama, but aren't we all. Would I trade it? Not for a minute, well maybe a minute, or 20 minutes, but then I would come to get it back.