Unwrapping my Creation

I thought I'd unwrap my eye candy for you now.

It's my box!
Good job box guessers.

One day during naps, I was feeling creative and thought I should channel my flowing artismic juices towards something for me. And....waaaaala! This is what I came up with.

This 5x6 "eye candy" box is made from a concentrated collection of sugar and water my very favorite pattern paper, in which a variety of flavoring and colorants were added. After tearing, sewing, glueing, geming, and labeling, I came up with this high glycemic piece of yummyness.

Now I have to decide what to put in it. I think it would be fine empty. I could imagine it has something in it....like something from Tiffany & Co., an unlimited Spa giftcard, or tickets straight to a hot sandy beach somewhere.

Another Sliver for a Sugar Boost

You know how some days you start to shake because you're so hungry? All it takes is a little something to up your sugar levels and you're back in action. That used to be me, each time I was pregnant.

But, I was hungry alll the time.

If Marvelous and I were going somewhere in the car, I always packed something to snack on, and he always planned our meals around my hunger cues. I honestly felt like I was eating nonstop. Some of my favorite boosters were: yogurt cups, cheese, dried fruit, shelled sunflower seeds, granola, cheetos (oops), and Quaker O's.

Here's another sliver of my new unavoidable.

Kid in a Candy Store

Well done! Scrapbooking paper does adorn this sweet-to-my-peeps favorite of mine. I feel like a kid in a candy store. Now...where, what for, how, why?

Eye Candy.

Sometimes there are things that catch my eye with force. Whether it be a fabulously fun hairstyle, an adorable pair of striped tights, or a delicious looking carton of Simply Orange in all its thickness, they all do the same thing to me. They scream, "Hey! Look at me and tell me how much you love me!"

Here is a piece of my new very very favorite eye candy. Any guesses?

8 Months Old

How time flies! In just 8 months we went from this:

and this:

to this:

then this:

now this:

Nothing Really. Just Human Fertilization.

I ventured out to our Supercenter today. It was like pulling my own teeth to get myself to go as I really really dislike it there. But, we were in much need of clipboards, mod podge, milk, diapers, and an hour and a half more worth of ingestables.

As I was pushing my overloaded cart down an overpacked aisle, I noticed a very large pregnant mommy. It really wasn't the extremely overworked belly button that caught my attention, it was the fact that she was roughly the 159th offspring embracer that I'd passed since I'd entered the store. Talk about reproducing!

I always wondered...if the statistic stands true, that there are 5 babies born every second, where are they all?

I've never noticed so many big bellys as I have in the last couple months. You'd think that being pregnant more than not during these last 4 years would have heightened my awareness for other human fertilization. But frankly, while I was pregnant with each of our children I was consumed with me and my own. I carefully carried my extra 40lbs with the first two and 62 with the last, I often gently moved feet and arms away from my ribcage, and I peed every 10 minutes. I ate every two hours, drank my 12 glasses of water and 3 cans of Boost each day, took my prenatal multivitamins, got my rest, and with the last two pregnancies I followed the doctor's order when I was put on bedrest.

I guess I was not noticing any other fertilized females.

Tonight this busy little guy figured out what the point in sitting on the potty is.

Three cheers for Luke! And, for his patient streak that allowed him to sit long enough for an accomplishment, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, his sideline cheerleaders, and the 1/4th of an orange Starburst that dazzled his tastebuds afterwards.

Anyone have a tissue to dry my eyes? (sniff, sniff)

Lift and Push Duty

At this stage in parenting 4under3, the 5 to 7 o'clock stretch is the most wild, demanding, hectic, and thunderous time of our day. Some of you may be able to relate to having a famished toddler hanging on your leg while you're trying not to char the goulash or spaghetti sauce. Or you possibly know, or remember, what that time of day does to babies who can't verbalize yet that they just want to sit on your hip...until bedtime.

The other night we decided to try and avoid a tiring supper time by going out to a Chuck E. Cheese knock-off type restaurant. We liked the idea of ordering someone else to cook our food and letting the kids run their energy off in the mesh enclosed towers and skytubes. And by far, I liked the idea of someone else cleaning up the dried-on pizza sauce and pureed peach and rice mixture from the table.

It was great to be able to eat with my Marvelous.. and in silence to the loud pounding techno coming from the speakers, while watching Julia help Luke up the platforms. She would lift him up at his knees and push him onto the next platform while she followed. His almost-2-year-old body was a couple inches too short to lean over and jump up himself. As much work as it looked for Julia to lift a body, a couple pounds shy of her own, up 5 or 6 levels, she didn't seem to mind it at all.

The best part, though, was hearing this conversation between Julia and a "new friend" at some point during her lift and push duty.

Cutie 4-5'ish-year-old: "Hey, you want to come this way with me? We should go down the slide?"

Julia: "Ok." (jumping up to the top platform leaving Luke on one below)

Luke: (silence. staring....and I'm sure wondering what he's going to do now)

Julia: (looking back at him, realizing he's not coming)
"Wait! I can't! I need to help my brother."
(so she jumps back down and resumes the lift and push duty)



...off they ran through the tubes, together. And who knows where her "new friend" went.

He Can't Get Away From It

Julia's Top Ten Enjoyments at the Zoo.

10. trying on the wetsuit and flippers

9. all the "Dory" fish

8. Ice Cream

7. Sun Bear

6. Monkeys

5. Sharks

4. Flamingos

3. Dolphins

2. Leopard

and the #1 Enjoyment for Julia at the Zoo...

being able to grab Luke's ear all day long, with no complaint from him.

(...being that he was way too distracted by all the excitement.)

Bordomaniacs

There was no fun to be had at our house today.

...just a ball full of boringness and uneventful excitementless humdrum.

If our walls could talk they'd vouch that from 9a-9p much of nothing went on. They'd say "ho, hum." while twiddling their thumbs.

The air sat as if it had sipped on a decaf Litenote all day. The energy lacked as an under emphasized adagio movement. This left room for serious bordomaniacs.

The only liveliness that seemed to go on here was the sound of the wind hitting our windows and the heater occasionally kicking on and off......boring. mind-numbing. bore.

Why?


Well, we weren't home....

How Thou I Love Thee?

Not just because he surprised me with this...

(Chicken Oriental Salad with the SAUCE.ON.THE.SIDE. Along with the appetizer sampler.)

or this for the kids...

(Macaroni-n-cheese, their FAVORITE.)

or even this....

(I carry them around the house with me.)

But because of this...

..that, and he's a really good kisser.

A Helpful Smile in Every Aisle

Today my...
"half hippie, half organic, I-grow-my-own-Kiefer-on-my-countertop-while-fermenting-every-vegetable-from-my-garden, hidden amish attributes girlfriend" came to visit us for the day.

Feeling the need to present my "raw apple cider vinegar fanatic" an impressive meal, I carefully researched for a non-pesticidal, non-sewage sludge menu.

I decided on a perfectly processed sandwich atop flax oat bread and this pilaf as a side.

After I jotted down my needed ingredients for the pilaf, I gathered the big kids and headed out to our nearby HyVee. Quinoa, pronounced keen-wa, topped my list yet ended up being the last crossed item. Where...better yet...WHAT is Quinoa?

Scanning aisle after aisle with no luck, I found a dedicated stocker boy. "Excuse me? Could you show me where your "keen-wa" is? By the response on his face, I then agreed that "these people really do stand by their moto." A friendly smile in every aisle is exactly what he gave me.

We followed him out of the organic section, past the floral department and into the pharmacy. As we neared the end of his chosen aisle he pointed, "There you go miss, top shelf."

Confused and a little concerned for what it really was that I was supposed to be putting in my pilaf, I looked over to see a well lined row of.....KY Jelly. Tingling Ultragel, Sensual Mist, and the row went on.

Keen-wa, KY. A reasonable communication glitch.

Long story short, the big kids and I did find our Quinoa, our stocker boy showed wonderful enthusiasm for his job that day, and our pilaf was a fabulous hit.

A Birthday Party...and You're Invited!

Someone is having a birthday HERE and there's an extended invitation for us all to join in the party. For the special occasion, they're giving away a "present" and it could be to you. It really couldn't be any easier, all you have to do is go on over, then click on "February Giveaway," they'll greet you at the door and tell you all about it.

Good luck! I'll be there...stationed next to the dessert table, with my kazoo and party hat. Hurry, before the white cake and chocolate ice cream is gone.