I've Been Replaced

Lulu has a very large family. She has my large family, her dad's regular-size family, and my husband's regular-size family.

Each year she compiles a Christmas wish list and I give ideas out to the family members. I have been telling Lulu that she needs to start working on this list.

Imagine my surprise when I got this text message on my cell phone on Sunday morning. Here it is, in its entirety, typos and all...

From: Lulu

ok every body here is my
christ mas list iwant the
ipod chromatic and a
game called mind flex
iwant barbies and barbie
clothes and any thing tink
or aero

Sun, Nov 8, 8:41 am

What have I done to be replaced? Have I mismanaged her "wishes" in the past? Hah! Well, I can mark that task off of my to-do list.

Bro's list is easy... he wants... anything that has to do with a mode of transportation... cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, and so on.

What is the must-have item on your Christmas wish list???

Not A "Mommy of the Year" Moment

Today I cried.

I cried because I am busy.
I am busy because I have 1 husband a 1 set of parents who are working feverishly to turn our newly purchased house into a home for my family.
Thus, that leaves only me at home with the kids and the cooking... all the while making SURE to leave the house spotless 'cause a potential buyer might want to come see it at any moment.

Just yesterday, I had been out of the house for several hours while potential buyers were looking at the house. I finally got back home and put Bro to bed... when my husband called to say to get everyone out of the house... that potential buyers would be here in 15 MINUTES!!!!

Luckily, my mom told me that I could explain to the potential buyers that the baby was sleeping "yada -yada -yada" and ask if they could they open the door slowly/quietly. Turns out that I knew the agent with the potential buyers and this was their SECOND time looking at the house... so all of this went well.

AGAIN this morning - FIRE DRILL - more potential buyers coming to see the house - more scrambling to clothe, feed, play and so on... while keeping the house spotless... try it sometime - it sucks! (Sorry for the language.)

It gets worse...

let me set the scene...

Scrambling to get out of the house... going top the grocery store and then to the park to kill some time... standing in line at the grocery store... listening to Lulu on the phone tell her aunt, "... I'm going to a birthday party today."

F***!!!!! {{in my head}}

"The party -- Lulu -- I am so sorry -- I totally forgot about the party."

And then the realization that... this was a great party... to a place she had NEVER been before... it's new and cool... it started 15 minutes ago... it is somewhere I have never been... we don't have directions... we don't have the permission form... it's a rock climbing party... Lulu is currently dressed like a pop diva... we can't go home... the "potential buyers" might be there... we need to get the form... get directions... get dressed... {{my little mommy heart deflates}}... it just ain't gonna happen today. Worst of all... Lulu took it like a champ... she was so sweet... making me feel even worse... why is she so wonderful?????

So, I grabbed what we were having for lunch (cheese popcorn and Gatorade) and headed out to the car. On the way home, I called another mom to see if Lulu could go over to play.

I put Bro down for a nap.

And I cried.

I can't believe that I was so self-absorbed that I totally forgot about the party. I feel like crap.

I called the birthday girl's mom -- apologized profusely -- heard all of the fun in the background -- cried some more -- and the mom was really cool about it.

Soooo... I'm barely keeping it together today... how 'bout you?

Inaugural Dinner & a Heartfelt Gift

I told you that we bought the new house, right? And that we still own our current house, right? mkay - so now you are ALL up to speed.

How blessed am I? Dear Husband has been putting some finishing touches on the new house and asked if I wanted to pick up the kids from school and come over to the new house and visit and let the kids run and eat some pizza. When I arrived, I found Dear Husband AND Fairy Grandmother AND Luvs2Boat in their work gear and working to fix up the house... what a blessing! There isn't too much to be done... there is a faucet issue in the main bath, a leaky sink in the kitchen, some discolored laminate flooring in the kitchen, heinous light fixtures, gross grey front door, antique thermostat, oh... and a rats nest of electrical cords in the attic. Lovely, eh? And, we are missing a dryer. Oh, and "we" (hee hee hee) need to install a microwave over the stove.

Thanks to the hard work of Fairy Grandmother, Lulu will have the nicest room in the house. I'm not kidding. Her room is getting a fresh coat of paint (we'll call it "Pepto Bismol Pink" paint... if you know what I mean), a new rug, fresh curtains, an updated light fixture, and those little touches that grandma's come up with that make ya feel so special.

Oh, but the momentous part of this whole night was... as we all filed into the kitchen stuffing our faces with pizza... using napkins as plates and allowing Bro to sit in the only seat in the house... I realized... this was our first family meal in our new home... and I don't even have a picture to show you... but it happened... it really did. Pizza -- no drinks.

Later, I packed up the kids and headed on home for a night of homework, baths, and bedtime. When I pulled up in the driveway, I was surprised to see a large package outside the door... addressed to Napmom (No, it didn't really say "Napmom" but I'm not revealing my real name to the whole world -- mkay?)... and in a Target box. I mean, I do my fair share of online shopping but could NOT remember what I ordered from Target... in such a large box... and fairly heavy as well.

Guess what?

You aren't going to believe this?

I have a Fairy Grandmother too -- you know her as Grand Matriarch!!!!!

And.

She.

Sent me.

A housewarming gift.


It is.

My very own slowcooker!!!!!!!

A working slow cooker!!!!!!

You can read all the great reviews for the Hamilton Beach 3-in-1 slow cooker here. There are 71 4* and 5* reviews. There are a handful of 1* reviews, but they are mostly from people who didn't get what they ordered. Some people order the white set and get the colors and then vice versa. I don't know what Grand Matriarch ordered for me... but I got the colored set... which is gorgeous and the one I would have preferred if given the choice. Yippee!!!!!

How to Host a Halloween Party in the Rain

Problem solved. Our neighbor, the family that also provides the party space along with us, insisted that the party be held outside and that it include a fire pit. Wonderful!!!

How to Host a Halloween Party in the Rain.

Add one large tarp.

Dump in some tables.

String some lights.

Secure the napkins.

Mix in 30 of your closest friends and family neighbors.

Stir in one "Beautiful Nightmare" (she made the costume herself).

Blend in a small pinch of "the world's laziest trick-or-treater" (a.k.a. the world's smartest trick-or-treater).

Top off with beer and fire for the dads.

Voila!

All photos courtesy of S.L. - a.k.a. the best babysitter a boy could ever ask for

Not in the Rain

Uh...

"we" = Dear Husband

okay... "we" have been getting our house ready to sell. Since, I am pregnant, I cannot help much with this process. I can box up our "clutter", but I can't move those boxes up and down the stairs nor can I stay up 'til 2 in the morning, every single day, working on this project. I'm 'sleeping for two' ya know? Basically, this means that I help with the project from 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. and then I'm off to bed, while Dear Husband works on getting the house ready. But, every morning I wake up and ask, "how much did 'we' get done last night?" or "how much more do 'we' need to do?" Hah!

Luckily, I picked a great hubby and he has been the best-ever about the fact that, after all, "we" = Dear Husband.

I ALWAYS wake up before Dear Husband. This morning, however, he came barreling up the stairs in the same clothes that he had on last night. I asked, {{evil grin}} "did we finish it last night?"

He responded, "Yep - it's all done."

I asked {{feeling very guilty}} "uh, did you get to sleep last night or did you pull an all-nighter?"

He responded, "I fell asleep on the couch shortly after 2:00 a.m."

Shewsh - yes, he got some sleep.

But POP THE PROVERBIAL CORK - THE HOUSE IS GOIN' ON THE MARKET TODAY!!!

... which brings me to my next dilemma...

... for the first time ever... I have an immaculately clean house. For the first time ever, I have invited 25-30 people over for a halloween party, which was supposed to be a bbq on the front driveway. And now it's gonna rain??????

Oh my gosh, I am going to have to fit all of these people in my house??? They won't even fit; my house is tiny. These kids are gonna go crazy! So, tonight I am going to research some fun games and stuff to keep them happy. Maybe order a cool movie and do popcorn... maybe. The good thing is... this also means that the basement is free of clutter and I can stick all of the kids down there, if need be! :-)

please don't rain!

please don't rain!

please don't rain!

please don't rain!

What is your backup rain plan for Halloween?

Sharing

I read several food blogs... 'cause you know I'm gonna be a baker when I retire (the best little baker a grand kid could ever want) but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I have a few baking recipes that I have come across, in my travels, that I want to share with you.

In honor of National Candy Corn Day (always October 30)... may I present to you...

Candy Corn Cupcakes, except that I am going to make mine in a bundt pan. Cupcakes are too much work.

And we also have...

Yummy caramel apple cider

World's Best Dinner Rolls - These look like they might taste exactly like the rolls that my grandpa would make when I was little. Yummy!!! There is one local restaurant who makes 'em like that. Otherwise, I go without. I hope they are the same. They look the same.

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing - I love real ranch dressing. I mean, the stuff in the plastic bottle that comes from the grocery store, it's okay, but I really love the real stuff. Hopefully this is tasty.

Last, but NOT least... Easy Halloween Party Food - We are having a Halloween party, but I'm not making any of this food... but it is fun to look at, hmmmm....

Aren't these pumpkin pie bites adorable????

I think that my new motto is going to be... so many recipes... so little time!

What's your motto?

Does it really do that? A Product Review

Let me give you a little run down of my life... you tell me if YOU would be stressed?

Bought a new house.

Still trying to fix up (paint/spackle/tile - all of the stuff we have been ignoring for years) the current home... cause we need to sell/rent it.

Trying to move (i.e. drowning in boxes of "stuff"). Seriously, we are boxing up the clutter. The boxes are labeled as such: beside the bed clutter, on the dining room table clutter, and kitchen counter clutter, just to name a few.

Dear Husband wants to sort through the clutter before we box it up. I told him that time is NOT on our side and we do not have the luxury of sorting through all of this stuff ahead of time. We will have to pack up the clutter and take it with us. [Insert picture of the Beverly Hillbillies here.]

Note: While we fix up and box up... we have to achieve and maintain a "perfect home" atmosphere at all times... for anyone who will want to come look at the house... to buy or rent.

Ahem... next time you take on 10 million home improvement jobs AND boxing up stuff at the same time... imagine also trying to simultaneously maintain an immaculate home. Easy? No - I think NOT!!!!

To top it off, I also signed up to be the troop's cookie mom (WAY before I knew that we were going to be moving) and took over control of and distribution of 113 cases (1,356 boxes) of Girl Scout cookies.

I am also a pregnant... exhausted... mother of two.

There is a silver lining here...
1. I am in possession of a working crock pot (finally).
2. I have discovered the world's best cleaning agent. (Okay - a neighbor told me about it. Napmom is way to smart to fall for the claims of a so-called magic eraser - side grin)

The magic eraser has taken years of grime off of almost every surface in my house. It doesn't contain any dangerous chemicals - check snopes if you don't believe me - which is good because I shouldn't be near harsh chemicals. And, it requires little to NO elbow grease. :-)

It turns your grout white and look what else it will do... "remove adhesive residue after removing stickers." Fabulous!!!!!

Check here for a list of hundreds of uses for this one small, but truly magical eraser.

Do you have a great cleaning tip that we should all know about? Am I the last one on the planet to hear of these all-time-best-ever "magic erasers"? What am I going to do when I don't have these wonderful neighbors to tell me about these sorts of things??? Really?

Meatballs

I'm trying the meatballs again... in Fairy Grandmother's crockpot this time... of course.

Em walked downstairs this morning... took one look in the crockpot and stated (very sarcastically), "Oh, you're trying the meatballs again, huh."

And, we made these so cute single serving pie in a jar treats for tonight. Yummy!!!!!

Speaking of slow cookers, Grand Matriarch recommended a Hamilton Beach 3-in-1 pot. She says that it is great. How does she know this? She doesn't cook. Hah! Busted!

Weekend...

How was your weekend?

We have been so busy at home. I use the term “we” lightly. I mean to say, Dear Husband has been so busy… when he is not working, helping with daily house matters, or sleeping (not much sleeping going on), he is… getting ready for us to move. We should be closing on the purchase of our new house on Thursday. Yippee! There will be lots to say about the new house, most of all, it is a smaller house (for our GROWING family) but in a better school district. So, well, you gotta do what you gotta do! For future reference, we prefer to call it “cozy” not “small.” On the upside, it does have a backyard so now my kids don’t have to grow up playing on a slab of concrete for a yard. On the downside, I am deeply saddened to be leaving such wonderful neighbors. I know that we can “still be friends” but it won’t be the same.

I did NOT make the Halloween costume that I promised to make. Lulu wants to be a Starbucks disposable cup. I had intended on using a round, white trashcan for my base. But, I can’t find a round, white trashcan… you know… big enough to fit around Lulu. And, we have no idea what Bro is going to be for Halloween.

I love my new crockpot the crockpot that Fairy Grandmother let me borrow. I made Maui Chicken for dinner tonight and we’ll be having meatballs later this week. (Will post recipes if we deem them tasty enough for posting). Yummy!

So, the real reason for my post is because I found this most amazingly yummy recipe online (baked rigatoni cake) and want to share it with you. It’s basically a variation on baked ziti… but look at the presentation! Wow!

What's new for dinner at your house?????

Family

We loved, loved, loved the visit from Grand Matriarch and Pops.

As you can see, we are Ravens fans and Redskins fans, but most of all... family.

Call it a clan,

call it a network,

call it a tribe,

call it a family.

Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.

~Jane Howard