Break my heart

A funny to start off your Monday…

Saturday night The Narrator was heading to Walmart for a quick errand. T-Rex wanted to go with him so badly. He was running around the house, “I come too!!! I come too!! I get my shoes!!!!!” I saw The Narrator try to hurry out the door, and I caught him saying, “If you walk out that door without him, you’re going to break his heart!” The Narrator smiled and then helped T-Rex find his shoes.

After the boys walked out the door, Little Miss Sunshine asked me, “Why is T-Rex’s heart going to break?” I explained to her that if Daddy left without him he would have been very sad and it would have “broken his heart.” She looked at me and said, “We should keep T-Rex’s heart together so that Jesus doesn’t fall out.”

I about fell over from the cute sweetness!!

Pretty Pinecones

A few months ago, I came home and discovered big, beautiful pinecones scattered throughout the landscaping on our front lawn. Since we have no pine trees in our yard, I figured The Narrator must have picked them up somewhere. I went inside and complimented  his landscaping addition. His reply confirmed yet one more reason as to why I love this man so much. “Little Miss Sunshine and I discovered that there’s a tree in the Toys ‘R Us parking lot that drops these big pinecones, so we picked up a bag full. I thought they’d look nice in the pine straw landscaping.” Sigh. Be still my heart.

A few weeks ago, I wanted to decorate a little bit for fall, so I pulled out a couple large glass bowls and thought they’d look nice filled with spanish moss and pinecones with a fall-ish ribbon tied around the bowl. And wouldn’t you know it, we just happened to “need” to make a trip to Toys ‘R Us for a birthday present anyway….. so I sat in the car while The Narrator, Little Miss Sunshine, and T-Rex picked up a grocery bag full of pinecones. It started to lightly drizzle and they had a BLAST gathering the pinecones. I insisted that I stay in the car to be the mall security lookout. Because, you know they might be upset that we are collecting these nice pinecones to put in bowls on our table….or something. The Narrator insists we are doing their mowers a favor. At any rate, I can’t help but smile every time I see the bowls of pinecones on the table. Eat your heart out JoAnns, this was much more fun than buying them!!

Pain Problem

Tuesday morning I was clearing the table when I felt my neck muscles begin to tense and cramp and seize up. Next thing I knew, I was on my knees moaning, “NO!! no, no, no!!!” The kids came rushing out to see what was the matter. When I told them I had a neck cramp, Little Miss was curious as to what one looks like. All day long she kept scribbling on paper asking me if that was what a neck cramp looked like.

Needless to say, once the cramp passed, I was left with an immobile neck and was on the phone with the chiropractor making an appointment ASAP. That’s the last time I go 5 months without an adjustment. Pain makes you do crazy things, and messes with your mind. Later that day while on the way to the chiropractor, I stopped at a green light and was oblivious until the intense honking started behind me. The next light I stopped at really was red and I sat there saying, “it’s red, it’s red” until it turned green for fear I might run the light.

So, that has been my week. It’s been hard to think or write and I’ve spent a lot of time laying on the couch with an ice pack! Let’s hope it’s all better in a couple days!!

The sweet memory

Thank you to all of our veterans. We owe you all our gratitude and respect for the freedoms we enjoy every day.

I am constantly reminded of the sacrifices made by those who have served our country. My family history is filled with a rich military history. In fact, almost 32 years ago I was born on a military base in Okinawa, Japan where my Dad was serving. I can’t imagine being pregnant and having my first baby so very far away from home, but that is exactly what my parents did. My Dad’s parents made the journey from Ohio to Okinawa for my birth. I knew it was a huge trip for them; if I remember correctly, my Grandma hadn’t traveled much, if at all, outside of Ohio prior to that

Last Sunday when we went to visit Grandma, who is recuperating from a hip replacement in a rehab center, she relayed a touching story. She said during one of their group sessions they were stretching and chatting when the therapist asked everyone in the group to describe their favorite vacation. Some patients recounted a cruise or a trip to the Grand Canyon. Grandma said when it came her turn she got so choked up she could barely tell her story. She said the biggest trip of her life was travelling to Okinawa for the birth of her first grandchild – me. And even as she was telling me about it several days later, she choked up again. Her words couldn’t say what her eyes did. It touched me very deeply to realize that after 80 plus years of living and all the incredible things she has experienced in her life (she and Grandpa later travelled to Hawaii and across Europe), trotting across the globe for my birth was what she recounted as her best trip ever.

Loving Lentils

I’ve been getting in the soup mood lately. It’s been a bit chilly here in Florida. In fact, while we were in Michigan a few weeks ago, Little Miss Sunshine started insisting, “I WANT TO GO BACK TO FLORIDA WHERE IT’S WARMER!!” When we arrived back in Florida, we had some 55 degree days and were dressing the same as we were in Michigan (and Little Miss kept telling me – TOO MANY CLOTHES!!) Little Miss was rather unhappy with this situation and kept asking me “WHY IS IT COLD IN FLORIDA???? IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE COLD IN FLORIDA!! ONLY MICHIGAN!!!!!”

Trust me, I don’t mind the cool spells. So the other night I was in the mood for soup and pulled out a bag of lentils. If you haven’t ever tried lentils, you really should. Unlike beans, they don’t require soaking or hours of cooking. In a little over a half hour, you can have a delicious, hearty, healthy soup. T-Rex and Little Miss devoured this soup and asked for leftovers at lunch the next day. Enjoy!

from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook
Lentil Soup

1 cup dry lentils, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped green sweet pepper
1 cup sliced carrots (2 medium)
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules
2 teaspoons snipped fresh sage or 1/2 teaspoon dried sage, crushed
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (I didn’t use this)
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 ounces fully cooked smoked sausage links, quartered lengthwise and sliced (I used fully cooked turkey ham diced)

In a large pot mix lentils, sweet pepper, carrots, onion, boullion granules, sage, ground red pepper, garlic, and 5 cups water. Bring to a boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until vegetables and lentils are tender. Stir in sausage and heat through. Makes about 7 cups (5 main dish servings).

Birthday (cake) rules

According to Little Miss Sunshine and T-Rex…

1. You must eat cake on your birthday. It does not matter if your party is the day after your birthday, you MUST eat cake the day you were born.

2. It is best if the cake is chocolate for a variety of reasons:
a. chocolate is the hardest cake for Momma to frost, thus making it much more challenging for her, which is the point of toddlerhood.
b. chocolate is the messiest cake to eat, again see the second half of part a.
c. when your face is covered in chocolate cake, it is great fun to chant, “CHOCOLATE FAYCE!!”

3. You do not actually turn a year older until you have eaten your cake. So, T-Rex is still “one” until he eats his cake tonight, then after devouring the cake he shall be deemed “two.”

4. You must practice blowing out your candles. Two candles are much harder to blow out than just one. Blowing off your macaroni and cheese at lunch is good practice grounds.

5. All children living in the house of the birthday child must supervise and assist the Momma in the baking and decorating of the birthday cake. See the second half of 2 part a.

6. You are not allowed to sing “Happy Birthday” to the birthday child until there is a cake with a candle in front of him or her.

7. The birthday is all about the cake.

The end of babyhood

T-Rex turns two tomorrow. I know it’s just a number and that his babyhood ended long ago, but it feels so final to me. Even though he’s potty trained and has refused to sit in a high chair for six months and is talking in complete sentences and running and jumping and whining and doing all the things that toddlers do, I wanted to hold on to those last few days that he is “one.”

This morning I had given him a quick bath and had him wrapped up in a towel. I held him in my arms for a few moments longer since he was still sleepy and cuddly. I asked him “Are you still my baby?” He looked up at me and said, “You’re Mama Dude!!” I guess that was my answer. No more baby for him. He has big muscles now, remember?

I snuggled with him a little longer than usual tonight after putting him to bed, and I just couldn’t believe how quickly these two years have gone. He went from a square little baby boy with a head of dark curly hair to a full-blown boy who picked out his own jammies (Spider Man Mama!!), his own story (This is my favorite, Mama!), and then asked to be hummed to. I’ve sold the crib and all the baby gear, making room for tricycles, basketball hoops, and firemen and construction costumes.

Happy birthday, T-Rex! I’m so proud to be your Mama Dude!!

Conversational Cuteness

It’s been such a long time since I’ve posted that I’ve got to get some of this conversational cuteness out. I’ll ease back into blogging

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Little Miss Sunshine has been “making” breakfast lately. She pulls the milk and cereal out and puts them on the table, and then comes and tells me that she made breakfast and it is ready. A couple days ago, there was a fight that erupted over who was going to put the milk on the table. T-Rex insisted that he wanted to get the milk out of the fridge and put it on the table.
LM – No the milk is full and it’s too heavy for you!
T – I get the milk!!
LM – It’s too heavy for you!
T – I have big muscles!!
LM – It’s too full!!
T – (now screaming) I HAVE BIG MUSCLES!!!! I HAVE BIG MUSCLES!!!
He has big muscles. And he put the milk on the table.

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A couple days after Halloween, The Narrator was dishing out one piece of candy to each kid. T-Rex had picked a lollipop but then decided it was too hard and wanted something he could chew. The Narrator said, “Here, buddy, have a Tootsie Roll. They are chewy.” Little Miss, with a mouthful of chocolate said, “I want a se(x)y roll!” I looked at The Narrator trying very hard not to laugh, because that is not something I want to hear about from her Sunday School teacher and asked, “Did she just say se(x)y roll?!” Oh yes she did. Needless to say, that one has become quite the little joke between us here at home!!

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Stories are a big deal around this house. I’m not the only one who loves to tell them. Little Miss is getting into stories too. We stayed with one of The Narrator’s brothers and wife for about a week while we were in Michigan a few weeks ago. As we were pulling out of the driveway to spend the last couple days of our trip at his parents’ house, Little Miss said rather matter-of-factly, “That was the story of Uncle K and Aunt M. The end!” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry!!

Back online…

I’m sorry everyone (this is The Narrator) for breaking the site. Everything should be back up and running now. Happy stalking… I mean… happy blogging!