ATTENTION ALL MOMS!!!

RUN RUN RUN...DO NOT WALK...

To your nearest bookstore and pick up a copy of "Momfidence, An Oreo Never Killed Anyone and other Secrets of Happy Parenting" by Paula Spencer.

Lose the Mom Guilt in a quick easy read....

This book is great, it talks about making parenting fun again, and not feeling bad that your kid is not an overscheduled piano playing Tolstoy reading genius. It's all about letting Kids be Kids and enjoying parenthood for what it is.

I never buy books, but I bought this one and will refer to it often in my daily life. HIGHLY recommended!!!

The family

Here are some photos of my family. I Love these guys!!

No, he's not potty trained. He just thinks he's Mr. Big Pants.

This is the NEW and IMPROVED Kristen. We like her. She's really smart too, so we're still wondering what she likes about my brother!!! Okay, he's kinda cute..... (people say we look a lot alike) :-)
A rare quiet moment side by side. It's amazing what food can do for people.
The entire Fam. I think my dad was pinching my sister's butt. He thinks he's funny when he does that in picutres. From L-R there's Craig my Brother in Law and Brooke, my sister, my dad--who if he had more hair bears a striking resemlance to Earl from My name is Earl, Hubby John with Nate, Jack in front, Me and The Divine Miss M, Richie, and my mom. What a gang!
My ma and sister bought this little number at a Craft fair. I think the bow on the hat should go on the front, but I think it looks sassier to the side. I swear if she wasn't in pink you'd think she was one of the boys...they all look like their dad!!

Cookies

Dear Julianne,

You have been writing a lot in your blog about chocolate. I am posting this recipe for you, but pretty much anyone can enjoy them. They are EASY EASY EASY!!

I grew up on these cookies and Jack ate 3 for breakfast the other day. Since they have oatmeal and peanut butter, I figured they were healthier than some cereals on the market these days, right?

So, everyone, enjoy. Talk about a craving fix!!! Beware, you can't stop eating at ONE cookie!!

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

2 1/2 Cups granulated sugar
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1/2 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C creamy peanut butter (if you like nuts you can substitute chunky)
3 C QUICK COOKING (important) rolled oats, uncooked

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil ONLY for 1 minute (Use a timer and do not overcook). Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, PB and oats, mixing thoroughly. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper and let cool.
Yum yum yum!!!

Crime Fighters and Princesses

It's just a preview for next week, but wouldn't you want this Batman and Robin Dynamic Duo to come KAPOW!! and BAM!! and ZOWIE!!! the evil doers in your local suburbs?

And Miss M? She's sweet sweet sweet. Her picture is old, but pretty much that's what she does---sleep through the antics of Mutt and Jeff.

This is when kids are fun. This is when I can say I enjoy motherhood. However, at 2 a.m. I'm sure I'll be writing a different tune---SOOO tired!
Enjoy!

Bosses Day vs Sweetest Day

Happy Sweetest day. Belated. Of course it's a Hallmark Holiday, but every once in a while it's nice to give and recieve a card that says you still love someone, even when the trials of daily life don't necessarily allow for adult conversation.

I forgot all about Sweetest day, but remembered my mom's birthday, so when buying her card I noticed the Sweetest cards. I also saw the Bosses day cards and remembered that Mr. Big Pants (John) got a promotion recently and is a true Boss at work. He was ahem...upset that his employees didn't recognize him on bosses day. This from the man who never recognized his bosses ever, but still.

So, I considered getting him a bosses day card for sweetest day, but then I remembered, DUH! He is NOT the boss of me, no matter what anyone thinks, so a cartoon Cat saying a goofy poem about spending money and breaking appliances it was...as it is every Sweetest day and Valentine's day.

Then I felt like garbage because for a Hallmark Holiday he got me a massage and made dinner. He said the massage was for all the work I did for Maddie's baptism, but I still feel like a bad wife. I didn't get him a gift. Aaaargh!

Maybe I'll make it up to him and let him be the boss of me for a little while. Maybe that will be gift enough....only for a LITTLE while though.....

A Month of Meals

Well, I did it. Yesterday my friend and I, along with her good friend got together in her kitchen and made 24 freezable meals. I am sooo excited about this once a month cooking thing. 4 p.m. seems to be witching hour here, some days I have all 3 children screaming and yelling at me. It is not stressful at all, really.

Anyway, it's really hard to make dinner at that time, but family dinner when John gets home at 6 is really important to me. Even if I have to leave to the next room to breastfeed, the t.v. is off and we are there as a family. What to do, what to do?

Solution: we made meals for a month. All I have to do is take one out of the freezer in the garage, thaw and cook according to the directions on the label our friend made. Easy breezy.

John was laughing at me earlier today (he works from home Mondays and Fridays) because I took chicken out to thaw. He said "Uhh, didn't you spend NINE HOURS cooking yesterday? Why are you thawing chicken?" Obvious answer: Why waste a frozen meal when he's home to help supervise and calm screaming children? Right? Am I right? Of course I am!!

Soo, the 30 day gourmet has yet to be tested. But I'm sure it will be fine. The best part is that it averages out to about $9 per meal to feed my family. That's a complete meal folks, meat, veggie, and starch. How awesome is THAT???

A Butt!! And A Wave!

Jack thinks he's superman. He really does. And I love my dad and Uncle for putting in my new carpet (finally) but I know that right below the bottom step it will get worn out quickly, simply from Superman "flying" (and landing quite heavily) on the living room floor.

Next time you want to fly, just put your arms up, yell "A Butt, and a wave" just like the Big S man himself, and you too can pretend to enjoy my soft new carpet and thick padding that will last about another 50 flights or so.....

Skinny Girls Suck

In case you don't know, there's a new show on CMT about Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader tryouts. These girls are very very very very in shape. They make a new mom feel, um, a little on the plus size side.

Anywho...I was watching last night and I think I now know why I'm depressed and crabby today. These gals are in training camp, with the coach and choreographer commenting on 'So and so is a little thick in the arms, don't you think?". And, "So and So needs to lose some weight". HELLO???? These girls look like they need a few happy meals and then some!! They are all SKINNY SKINNY SKINNY!!

CMT just lost MY count in the Nielsen ratings. From now on, I'm sticking to nice shows, Like Celebrity Fit Clubs, and Biggest Loser. And least those people don't make my size 8 butt look like I should be the next Anna Nicole look alike. In fact, they make me feel like I could be one of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.

If only I could still do the splits....

Fall Fun

Last Saturday we went to a pumpkin farm near our house. I learned a few things that day.


#1: Nate DOES NOT like pony rides.


#2 As much as he loves animals, sheep kinda freak him out.

#3. If we lived on a farm, Jack could drive the tractor...if it had no engine and worked with pedals.

#4. Being a grown up means you'd look silly sliding down this fun pile of straw. I also learned that growing up and being a parent kind of stinks...all the kids looked like this hayrolling was at the very least, the best thing they'd ever done.

Under Witch's Hats

Jack is learning the Pledge of Allegiance at school. He's got the "under God" line down right, but that's about it. It could be due to the fact that I think he's trying to rival Uncle Richie for the title of "Ultimate Class Clown".

When the teacher called us in yesterday before pickup to listen to all the darling voices recite the pledge, there was Jack, under the toy workbench, not listening, and definitely NOT reciting the pledge. When we got home we had a chat and have been practicing. I just don't have the heart to correct:

"and to the public,
under witches hats...
nation
UNDER GOD
under God,
Under God......"

That is where he gets stuck.

So until then, Under witches hats under God we go.

Logrolling

You know you are officially OLD OLD OLD when you take your kids out for a walk to the hill at the end of the block, teach them how to logroll by logrolling down the hill yourself, and you get dizzy. Very very very dizzy...as in still haven't recovered an hour later dizzy.

I may be old, but I had fun logrolling, and laughing on this beautiful fall sunshiney day. The boys seemed to love playing together too, despite bronchitis (Jack), and teething (Nate).

Oh, and I only got 2 "Wow, you have your hands full" comments today. One at the mall (had to buy nursing bras) and one while logrolling. So, I guess even when I look like I'm having fun (which I was) people still need to comment on my choice to have 3 kids.

Nice.

Fun with Nate

While Jack was in school today, I took the babies out with a friend for a walk on a nature path on School grounds. It was a perfectly crisp fall day, and I had a blast with my happy, beautiful, smiley boy.

I loved every minute! He is such a sweet, funny, and fun loving kid. I enjoy spending some special time with him, and he enjoys the donuts he got that he didn't have to share with his brother.


Here he is right before Brooke's baptism. I've been told that the only thing I've really taught him about life so far is how to use this fine bit of technology. I think I have a very similar photo of Jack... I love these boys!!

The War on Food

Thank you to Oprah, Dr. Phil, Dr. Mercola(www.mercola.com) , my monthly gym magazine http://www.lifetimefitness.com/magazine/ , anorexic celebrities, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Morgan Sperlock, and any other "expert" in the field of good nutrition.

Thanks to those listed above, I have MAJOR issues with not only what I am eating, but what my kids eat too. Although I realize balanced meals and lots of fruits and veggies makes for health in general, foods I ate and enjoyed as a kid are no longer okay enough to feed my kids.

Take for example, the staple of PB & J with a glass of milk, maybe some crackers on the side. Peanut butter...NO good, unless you buy the all natural kind with no sugar or salt added (which, by the way I do). Jelly? FORGET IT!! Unless you by all natural without added sugars, you get nothing but high fructose corn syrup (which by the way is in EVERYTHING). This HFCS is blamed mainly for childhood obesity trends and this type 2 diabetes trend with young ones. On to the bread...Forget white bread, or anything with the word "enriched" in it. It has to be whole grains or bust. And the milk? Umm, unless it's organic, it might contain some Bovine growth hormones...Whatever the hell those are!! The crackers just add too many carbs, and may also have the dreaded TRANS FATS in them somewhere. I will not even go into the whole lunchmeat and hot dogs issues.

I no longer feel comfortable eating out, (especially at 'chain' restaurants) and I TRY TRY TRY hard to buy organic when possible, finding foods with little or no fructose syrup, and absolutely NO trans fats, but it is hard, and it is waging a WAR ON OUR POCKETBOOKS.

It's not to say my kids have a perfect diet, far from it I'm sure. I can't just feed them granola all the time for crying out loud. We're just NOT those people. But I still feel guilty...my family doesn't have the best genetics and has years of unhealthy eating to boast about. Practically my mom's entire family is diabetic, and/ or obese (1 in 4 Americans are obese!!) and high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, and heart attacks are on both sides of my line. John has nothing but Alzheimer's really to worry about, but they're finding dietary links to even THAT!!!

And whilst I wage this battle with the food industry, I am optimistic to know I'm not the only one. There are actually FIGHTS being fought over cupcakes in schools:

http://www.dailycampus.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=431c0b48-cd70-41c7-9e29-ba7a57efbbc4

http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/04/28/school_system_mulls_over_ban_on_cupcakes_and_sweets/

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-me-cupcake27sep27,0,4544237,full.story

As if just the simple act of raising my children without the need for too many therapy sessions when they're older isn't enough, I've got to worry about some DAMN cupcakes!!!

Call me crazy...because that's where this Crazy Mm is headed!

Anatomy Lesson

The kids were all in the bath. Maddie was in hers on top of the sink, the boys in the big tub. Jack decided to get out and wanted to say Hi to his sister.

A close inspection revealed the obvious: "Mom, I can't find her penis".

That's right, you can't find her penis. She doesn't have one.

"That's cause girls just have butts. It's okay Madilynn, I'm a gentleman, I'll take care of you".

Touche 3 year old innocence, Touche!

Yes, I KNOW I have my hands full

Thank you to everyone who continually tells me "Wow! You've got your hands full, huh?". Although I recognize the need for some cameraderie by random strangers, I do not need their sympathies. Me trashing and bashing with my girlfriends is one thing, but I'm really getting irked by well to do random people giving me that look, then that "grin" and then that line..."You are very busy", OR "You must have your hands full".

Maybe I'm post partum depressing right now. Maybe I never paid attention to it before because I was too busy. But today, I got it TWICE at church alone, and once at the gym. I have a feeling that my count of sympathy was low today because we weren't out in public much, but I swear if I'm out I hear it at LEAST 5 times a day.

And if I don't hear it, I get that look. Ohhhh you all know that look. The "That chick must be crazy, just look at her kids" look. Or the "Wow, do they know what birth control is" look. I can also do without the dirty "She can't even control those kids" look. YOU try buying enough groceries for 5 people with 2 kids in the cart and one strapped via Bjorn onto your chest. YOU try functioning on 3 hours of sleep, and then tell me how much control you've got.

And I'm wondering if it would be different if I had all girls? Or if I had 2 girls and 1 boy, or Hell, what would I be getting if I had ALL boys??? Ugh ugh ugh.

So, My girlfriends and family, when I complain to you, it's because I know I can. To you would be sensitive random stranger trying to make nice, Yes, I know I'm busy. Now, please stop giving me that look!!!