Whew!

I thought it was just me that couldn't keep a clean house. But look, there are so many others! And here i thought i was abnormal and all these pristine houses i enter were normal. I'm glad it's them with the problem and not me. Big sigh of relief over here. :-) I could be a high contributor to this flickr group!

Some background about that flickr group.

A Year of Mornings

A Year of Mornings
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

Is there anything better than glitter and glue to a 3 year old? Or a 35 year old? Glitter just makes you feel good.

Busted!

I'm upstairs with the littlest one while the other little one is in the basement pretending to be a plane (from what i can hear) while daddy is on the treadmill. Strange for husband to go on the treadmill first thing in the morning but hey, i like it. The littlest one was up all night and fussy all morning so i got up and was finishing a movie i had started when the boys woke up - loved it btw, Elizabethtown. I was able to finish it while they were downstairs. Anyway, an hour or so has gone by and i'm starving so i go see what the boys are up too. LD is watching cartoons and i see my husband's shadow - jumping and throwing down a magazine or something like that. I've startled him. I've caught him doing something naughty!

I tell him "I really have you living in fear don't i?" So much for the stereotype of the Muslim man being controlling lol. "Whatcha reading?"

He looks down in shame. "Work stuff." LOL. He's supposed to be taking this week off because he didn't get much time off when Baby Girl was born and I made him promise no work but keep catching him doing it. The treadmill was another excuse to get some work in. I live with a workaholic.

Speaking of people with no boundaries...i've started doing book reviews again and have committed to one magazine article too. I had emailed the editor asking for "a" book to review and got offered two. I took both. Sigh. We're hopeless.

A Year of Mornings

A Year of Mornings
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

First for both of us to do some papier mache. We'll see how it turns out. We did lots of crafts this morning. Needed to keep him occupied as the day started very early.

Halwa

Halwa
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

Take3, you asked for the recipe...here it is....

Use 1-2 tablespoons ghee (or butter/oil if you don't have ghee) and fry slivered almonds and whatever nuts you want to add. Do the same with raisins and remove from ghee.

Add 3 green whole cardamoms and 3/4 teaspoon or so of whole cloves to the ghee. When they start frying add 1 cup sooji (or cream of wheat if you don't have sooji) and 1 cup sugar. Fry until lightly browned then add 1 1/4 cups water. Stir together. Add in raisins. Sprinkle nuts on top.

Eat warm or cold. I like it warmed with a little milk poured on top.

You can also make this in cake form which is also very good.

Pineapple and Coconut Oatmeal - MMMmmmm

I was up very early today and starving by the time the little dude got up (7:00). I remembered an oatmeal recipe on Crunchy Peas blog that sounded good. Yum! I don't care for oatmeal...ate it waaay too much as a kid (read as forced to eat it) so i've always gone for cream of wheat instead. Little Dude also doesn't care much for oatmeal. Never has. I've tried putting blueberries in, apples, homemake it in the crockpot with dates and apples etc etc. But he always just picks out the chunks of fruit and leaves the blueberry stained oatmeal behind.

He ate 3/4 of this recipe and i ate a whole bowl.

I just used regular oatmeal, added some drained crushed pineapple, a sprinkle of shredded coconut and brown sugar. I had almonds on the side since LD will chew on one for an hour it's best to leave them out of his. You must try this. Adds a bright start to an otherwise dreary cold day.

A Year of Mornings

A Year of Mornings
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

Playdoh Blueberry Pie....mmmm.

I'm trying to give LD really good solo time in the morning and afternoon to ward off some of his sadness and today that was playdoh time. He keeps telling me how much he misses me and how much he loves me. He's not mad towards the baby at all, just sad a lot and trying to get attention (often acting up for it), so i'm trying to give him 30 minutes here and there of really good fun quality time instead of mediocre all day trying to juggle both attention. It made this morning already much better than usual. I also plan to start having a "date" with him once a month when the hubby is home. We'll go somewhere special just him and i. Even if it's just to the library or something.

we did it!

We did it. We did it. We did it hurray! (sing to the tune of Dora's theme song.)

I had my first solo outings with the kids this week- one was gymnastics and one was lunch. Whew, glad to have that under my belt. Today is our first big outing as a family. We're going to Disney on Ice. Lightening McQueen should be a hit. My only worry is nursing. They are box seats for hubby's work and he's kind of a higher up so it may be awkward. I figure i'll just bring a blankie and go to the back row. I really need to buy a nursing cover and plan on doing that today...online.

A Year of Mornings

A Year of Mornings
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

Out Walkin' After Midnight

This song has become Baby Girl's song. We sing this many a moment and some nights up and down the hall. Little Dude is liking it too especially when I sing it with Baby Girl walking back and forth to him.

The song i used to sing to him was this one. Funny how these little things happen without even thinking about it but now these songs will always be tied to them. What is with me singing old school songs to my kiddos?

Grocery shopping

I LOVE grocery shopping online. I admit i miss choosing my own bananas but the tradeoff is huge. And now they've given me free delivery for 2 months. I don't know what i like more, getting my groceries delivered to my kitchen without me lugging them from the car or someone else finding things i can never find (like who knew the store carried fresh pizza dough? - oh so easy for dinner!). Oh i loves this. I do wish i could somehow transport my mesh shopping bags i love so much to them but hey, you can't have everything can you. The only setback is that if the store is out of stock on something you don't get it. Kinda threw me for a loop the other day when making zucchini soup and plannning that for lunch but the zucchini didn't come. ***Update: they have a box you can click to allow substitutions. Woo hoo!

I also made an amazon order for something special for the little dude. Stamps, yup, you can order them online too. Body products...yep them too and organic and all natural even.

I have a feeling me and my computer are going to get much closer and our relationship much stronger in the next few months.

A Year of Mornings

A Year of Mornings
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

Halwa my mil made for me before leaving. Coming in handy for one handed eating.

A Year of Mornings

A Year of Mornings
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

Watched what i could of the coverage. Amazing day today. Not the person persay although i like him a lot (question some of his choices already) and i really do feel he's something special but the bigger picture of it all...that a black man, a man with the name Barack Hussein Obama has become president fills me with hope. Hope that i lost long ago...is back. A good good feeling that brought tears to my eyes today.

Solo!

My inlaws left yesterday so this will be my first day going solo all day. Baby girl has a bad habit of being held. She doesn't like swings, bouncy seats or anything else so it should be interesting. Second children are definately different. She sleeps with me. It's the only place she will. I never would have done that with LD. I took all the warnings very seriously. But with her, i do...albeit safely. Occassionally i'll try to sneak her into the bassinet but it usually results in less sleep so more often than not she's cozied up right next to me. I can't believe she's four weeks. She'll be a month in 2 days. Just crazy the way time flies with two. She's smiling and cooing now. So sweet. I actually knit yesterday with her all cozied up to me. The boys were at the airport and since that's little dude's fascination these days they stayed an extra hour or two riding the rail and looking for airport tugs and all the other machines he pretends to be these days. That gave me the time to knit some mitts for me. I really needed them. It's been downright frigid these days. I can't believe i completed them in that short time. Determination to finish something...anything. I got one done while they were gone and the other last night after bedtime. Easy pattern but oh i love em. Fingers are free for carseats etc. I'm sure that was the last time i am going to be able to knit for a while. We'll see. Wish me luck today. I'll need it!

Cherry cookie recipe

can be found here. EnjoY!

I used more cherries than she said and i used a block of white cholcolate. I did half a recipe and i really should have done a whole because they are still being talked about around here but long gone. I'm making another batch today so the inlaws can take some on the flight with them. Don't make half a recipe, go for the full. And i think it's important to make sure to use the candied cherries. My husband bought them by accident instead of marciano's. That's how me and this recipe got to know each other. Best mistake he's made at the grocery store.

A Year of Mornings

A Year of Mornings
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

These were delicious. Absolutely delicious. Really really delicious. Don't you want one? White chocolate and candied cherries. I know you want one.

Overheard

LD: Come on Dada, sit like me!
Dada: I'll sit right here.
LD: No Dada, sit criss cross applesauce like me.
Dada: I'm too old to sit like that.
LD: You can. It's okay. I'm too new to sit like that too.

:-)

an hour in the life of us

LD throws a major fit and takes a mop and swipes the counter clean with it on purpose to get attention. Grrrr. It was a lot of stuff. Imagine two weeks of clutter buildup. I clean up huge mess and send him to naughty rug. He refuses to go. I put him in naughty crib/jail. He cries and wants milk and a blanket. I go talk with him and send him up to bed. Hubby is at work. I let LD play with my hair to go to sleep (this is his habit) and i have the little one nursing on the other side. I think about the half done order on my computer (first time online grocery shopping) and how i really should have worked harder to get LD out of my bed sooner and into his own. My cell phone rings, i unhook baby, get phone, rehook up baby, see it's my friend from india who just returned, i don't answer because i want to get the kid(s)-1 out of 2 wouldn't be bad- asleep first. Home phone rings. MIL comes up stairs with home phone and says "your friend is on the phone". I say "can you tell her i'll call her back in a minute" she says "she wants to know if she can come over in an hour", i think of the mess of a house downstairs and having absolutely nothing to serve and say "i don't think so but just tell her i'll call her back in a few minutes" "Should she come today?" "no momma, just tell her i'll call her later." We settle back in then LD complains that baby is eating too loud and stopping him from sleeping while she complains about his loud talking by grunting. Finally LD falls asleep and i untangle his hand from my hair, get baby girl sleeping and pass her to dada while i finish grocery shopping.

The good news is that i was able grocery shop in my pajamas (these days i often don't around to changing until 2 or so in the afternoon). I'm just bursting at the seams of productivity around here. Task at hand today: laundry. Eek.

overreacting?

So, remember my "friend" who was supposed to watch LD while I gave birth but backed out as soon as the contractions started becoming regular? I haven't heard from her since she backed out. She hasn't shown up for the kids gymnastics class either. I'm okay with all this. It was a rotten thing to do. Well today, i got an email from her, she has said before she doesn't use email because it's too impersonal. Anyway, she gave me some names for post partem doulas and asked if the baby was here etc etc. I didn't reply. I really have no interest in continuing the friendship although somehow i'd like the kids to be able to play. We are both into nature and took them on a lot of nature outings which i don't like to do alone for safety's sake and don't know anyone else that's into it although i plan to remedy this right away in the spring by joining the environmental program for kids.

I am the type of person who forgives easily (i do have the 3 strikes rule though...violate my trust 3 times, you're out) and would easily have done so if she had just said something along the lines of "i'm sorry" or "i was wrong to do that" or any good excuse. Am i overreacting here? I figured since she hadn't called to see how things were we had the same feeling. I mean last time i talked to her, i was about to head to the hospital and she was doing nothing and didn't offer to meet me there or anything. We haven't talked since. What do i say to her?

Braindead

A Year of Mornings 41
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

I'm wiped out. Sick too. LD got everyone sick except the baby thank God. He's been picking at me a lot too. I thought he was taking the baby well but the last few days he picks on me. No one else, just me. I imagine partly because i'm trying to not let him even breathe on her much because his cough is so bad and i just dread baby getting sick this young but i also think he's competing for attention. Sigh. Can't please everyone or anyone these days.

I'm just annoyed that people send their sick kids off into the world to spread their germs. Drives me nuts. All right that's all i got. Back to wallowing in germland. On a high note, i'm totally getting caught up on movies. I've increased my netflix, rated a ton of movies and am working on that queue. Someone loaned us a portable dvd player and it's perfect for nursing and for hiding out in general.