Monday, May 31, 2010

Stuck on you

I have been extremely busy the past few days. Truthfully, it isn't that I was so much busy (though we were), but any free time I had was taken up by a certain baby who was stuck to me like glue.

Thursday, we met my dad and went shopping at Babies R Us for my SIL's baby shower. I spent way more than I planned, but I decided to get some things for Alice to give. I don't know how all of you registered for baby showers, but I wanted to beat my head against a wall by the time we left there. I have never seen so many pacifiers, etc. in my life. AND I HAVE A BABY! Then we went to Noodles & Co. for dinner. I love that place!

Friday, I finally got my hair cut. It looks and feels so much better. I think I got about 3 inches cut off. I dropped Alice off with Sean before my appt. I met him at the insurance office to pay the premium on Alice's life insurance, and while I was writing the check Alice slammed in to their magazine rack and busted it. Of course, she got a nasty bruise/welt on her cheek, but she won the fight ;) Then we hung out at Monica's for a bit and she got to play with the girls.

Saturday was the baby shower. It started at 11:30 so we had to leave the house an hour earlier. Alice normally doesn't get up until 10:30-11 and goes back down about 12 until 1. So you can probably see where this is going. She was tired and a tad fussy; which even when she is fussy she is still much better than most babies. Of course, she isn't familiar with any of them (including my SIL and mom) so she was stuck on me for awhile. My mom was in her face and picking her up... and Alice would scream, cry, and try to get away. Of course, my mom blames me for all of that, but that is a post for another day. That evening, we went to our former neighbor's for a cookout.

Sunday, Alice and I stayed home and tried to avoid race traffic. Alice slept most of the day. I think she was just catching up on the day before. We did manage to get outside for a few hours and play in the grass!

So that brings us to today. I am trying to play catch up on chores, but I still have a baby glued to me. So I'm just getting done what I can. I figure everything can wait. She won't always want to be carried or in my arms. I'm just enjoying it for now!

I should note, I'm on my phone so I won't post pictures today. I hope everyone has had a wonderful Memorial weekend. Thank you to all the men and women(past and present) who have served or are serving our country. Thank you for all you do, and all you have gave! God bless you and your families.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Greetings from Alice!

Hello Mama's Lovely Blog Friends! This is my first auto-post. Mama says that if things go according to plan today, she and I will be hanging out with my Grandpa Joey! I love my Grandpa Joey! I can almost say Joe. It sounds like Dee-O. My mama is mean. She keeps me in my stroller. (Note from Mama: I DO not keep her in her stroller, contrary to what these pictures show. hehe)





HELLO PEOPLES!




Don't I have pretty eyes?




How you doin'?





"KiKi!" (She was trying to get the cat to come to her)




Happy when the cat came to the stroller!



Ciao Peoples! See you soon!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Trying not to get bent out of shape

I was going to post pictures of Alice today, but I need to get something off my chest so that will be pushed back.

While I proclaim myself to be laid-back now, I wasn't always so. In fact, it has been quite a journey. I would get thrown in to a tizzy if plans were changed or things didn't go exactly as I had planned. So most of the time, I was high-strung, irritable, crabby, and the list goes on and on. I can only credit Alice for this growth that I have made.

A little background first. I have been at my job (in my current position almost 8 years) for almost 10 years. I work at a bank. I do processing. Basically, when you deposit your checks, make your payments, transfers, etc. I am the person actually doing that transaction. The tellers are the "front-line" people. Technically, I really do the balancing and corrections. Inevitably, customers can't add or get all their checks in their deposits, or have extra checks. Of course, this goes both ways... tellers can't get their work right either; sometimes there is actual cash in the work. Have you ever read your receipt from your bank where it says something along the lines of "Transaction subject to verification by the Bank". Here is where I come in. I make a correction to make the transaction balance. Whether you get money credited or money debited, I am the one doing that at my bank.

Okay, so I get to work today and my manager tells me that our whole severance is being pushed back a month. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal. Great, I get at least 4 more weeks of income, and my severance could potentially be a bit larger. There are a few problems. Granted, not problems of great monstrosity, but they are there. Perhaps mostly just perceived in my still "trying to be laid-back" mind, but in actuality I'm trying not to get bent out of shape. See, I wasn't planning on really staying at my job after I had Alice. I was going to come back for the required 30 work days and then put in a two week notice. I was burnt out. I hated the place most of the time. Sean agreed that I should stay home and work on getting back in school. Well, when I came back they told me then that it was 100% guaranteed that they were closing us down. It was just a matter of when. So I talked to Sean, and we decided that I should stay on until then. I mean, why not? We were only talking about maybe 9-10 months, and then I could get a 30 week severance. Granted, that doesn't last forever, but it would be just fine and dandy to get paid to stay home with my baby.

We were supposed to get our severance package (9 weeks out from the expected end date) tomorrow. However, they pushed that back to next week (June 3). And today, I found out they pushed that back a month. So we are looking at roughly July 7th probably. Figure in 9 weeks... that makes it September 8th (I'm just guessing dates here people). Well that puts a kink in my plans. I wanted to travel with Alice to visit relatives. I wanted to enjoy the summer and go swimming.

Should I also mention that Alice's babysitter is pregnant. Her EDD is September 30 (I believe), but she will be having a repeat c-section at least a week or two earlier than that. Do you see where this is going? If the bank pushes this back anymore I'm going to be out a sitter. What do I do with Alice? I can't very well find someone to watch her with my hours (I am scheduled until 11 pm, but most nights I get off by 9:30pm) and only temporarily at that. And what if I do find someone? Will I have to pay them a lot more than the current sitter because of the time and it is only temporary? ARGH! FREAKING OUT!

Calming down... I know it will all work out. I'm just frustrated. I want to BE.DONE.NOW. NOW, NOW, NOW! At least I am on vacation until Tuesday after I get out of here tonight.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Pictures and More Pictures

As promised, here are the pictures from the weekend and a few of the kittens. Did you know that kittens open their eyes around 7-8 days old? If I had paid closer attention to the first litter of kittens I may have known that, but I had a newborn and she required most of my time.

I pulled each of the kittens out and took separate pictures. Unfortunately, they don't show their faces due to the angle.

Looking just like momma cat!


My all white kitty, isn't all white. Apparently we have an all white/tabby/spotted kitty here...with a grey tail. I'm still so in love!


Here is Star. Star has also changed. Star is no longer all black/grey, but not black/grey with orange stripes. Star still has the orange blotches around the left eye and white around the right.


Look at my fluffy butt! And if you notice in the corner, you can see my favorite kitten with it's eyes open!



Jinx with her babies. Normally it is too hot to hang out in there with them all the time, so she watches guard by laying in front of the box. And if you look closely, you can see all four kittens and how different they all look.


Here are Monica and T's girls, Fiona and Sofia. And down (literally) in front is Alice!


"RAAAAR! I said no pictures! Now you get Angry Baby!"


Looking quite tired on Monica's lap, eating corn on the cob.


Sofia and Alice cheesing it up! I actually think Alice was trying to steal Sofia's bike.



Monday, May 24, 2010

Weekend Update and a Recipe Too!

The weather was MUCH nicer this weekend. In fact, it was too warm on Sunday-I think it got up to 89 at our house. I think the inside of our house got up to 77, and I had Sean put in the air conditioner in our bedroom. We still have to put the other one in the living room, but that can wait until the weekend. During the week we don't spend much time in there.

Saturday, Alice and I went to my friend Monica's house. It was so fun to watch Alice try to play with their girls, Fiona and Sofia. They are 7 and 4 (soon to be 8 and 5). They thought it was so cool that Alice was walking. Alice kept trying to "run" with them, but they were in the grass (and it is uneven ground) and she kept tripping and doing semi-somersaults... which resulted in a few head bumps. Sofia was riding on her little bike, and Alice thought that was the coolest thing EVER. So for the remainder of the night, she kept trying to climb on it. I have quite a few pictures of Alice with the girls, but I don't have my camera with me at work. I'll post them later. Oh, and Alice also ate corn on the cob for the first time. I know she actually managed to get some of the cob, as there were kernels in her diaper the next day *wink*

Sunday, I planted my herb garden and did laundry and cleaned a bit. We grilled out steaks and had carrots, broccoli, and southwest potatoes. Then I made the most delicious Strawberry Lemonade ever! It was the perfect drink for a really hot day!

Strawberry Lemonade:
2 lbs whole frozen strawberries (you can get fresh, but freeze them for at least 2 hours)
2-3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups water
1 qt lemon juice
1 gallon water

Mix 2 1/2 cups water and sugar in a pot. Stir until dissolved and then bring to a boil. Turn off heat and CAREFULLY add frozen strawberries. Let steep for at least 20 minutes (I think I waited 30-40). Mash strawberries into syrup. In a separate container (I divided this amond two containers as I don't have any container larger than a gallon) mix lemon juice and water. Pour in strawberry syrup and mix. Refrigerate and enjoy!

I should note that I only used 1 cup of sugar the first time (with 1 cup of water) and it was really tart and not very sweet. So I made another batch with about 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1 cup (or a little more) of water. So if you use at least 2-3 cups of sugar with 2 1/2-3 cups of water, it should be just fine. It isn't too sweet, but not too tart and bitter.

If you decide to try the lemonade, let me know what you think!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Did You Know

Just a few random facts and ideas on this dreary Friday (at least it is dreary here). Though it is supposed to be very beautiful this weekend (YAY!) and I have a short work week next week (WOOT WOOT!).


Did You Know...

...I have been contemplating doing an online course for Medical Transcription after my job divorces me.
...this would require me to have better internet than we currently have.
...I can get dial-up (UGH!) through Earthlink-possibly DSL.
...Either of these options would require a home phone line.
...I think I'd still be paying less for both of those than I'm currently paying for our internet card (which has a limit and is really slow and unreliable-so dial-up doesn't sound too bad)

...I normally listen to talk radio when I'm in the car. I know, I'm a nerd! Unless Alice is fussing, and then I will play whatever it takes to calm her down (usually some hip-hop or r&b-she is a big fan of Katy Perry, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, etc).
...I bring this up because I normally listen to Rush Limbaugh during the day drive and Clark Howard during the night drive.
...Sometimes when I've had a hard day, I'll listen to Kim Iverson. Mostly her show is relationship stuff, but occasionally there will be topics that I'm intrigued in. Not to say I don't occasionally relish listening to peoples' relationship drama. The other day there was a guy on there from SnapKitchen and he shared two really yummy sounding recipes for lemonade. Since it is getting warmer, I think I may have to try these.
...I'm thinking about asking Clark Howard what he thinks I should do about my severance. Don't worry, I'll ask your opinions too (but that is a post for another day-and I'm guessing that day will be June 3rd or 4th).

...Minx has been MIA since about 12 hours before the kittens were born. So I saw him last Monday. I wonder if there is a pheromone/hormone that made him run away.
...I'm not too worried at this point about him. I figure his mom made it as a stray, and he is very much like her. If I don't see him for another week or two I may start worrying.

...yesterday was the day from hell at work. I seriously think I got pissed on!
...Seriously! Everything that could have gone wrong did; plus some. It was one of those days that I wanted to sweep my arm across my desk, knocking everything to the floor and scream, "Eff it! I'm outta here!"
...well I guess the power didn't go out, or the building burn down. So not everything.

...Alice is still not feeling well. Poor baby! She was up most of last night crying.
...which means I was also up.
...if it wasn't Friday, I would have called in to work today.

Well, I think that is enough things to bore you with! Perhaps I will continue doing this from time to time... you know, because I can ;)

I hope everyone has a good weekend! If you are lucky, I may manage a post sometime in the next two days.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

9 Months

Happy 9 Month Birthday, Alice!

Your eighth month was quite a busy one for you. You got your first teeth. You started really walking. In fact, you are almost running. Though, I'd call it more of a toddle! You have started actually saying words. You say cat, kitty, here, Daddy, DaDa, Dad, and Nana. I don't know who Nana is, but I think you are calling me Nana. In fact, you laugh and have this devilish look in your eye when you do. I think you know I'm Mama, but you like pulling my chain... just like your Daddy! And to finish the month all off, you got an ear infection! Your first. Aww! We found that out today at your 9 month appointment. You are 28 inches tall and weigh 19 pounds 6 ounces. Growing like a weed, you are :)

I can't believe it has been 9 months already! Time if flying by. I fall more and more in love with you every day. You are by far the best blessing your Daddy and I have ever received. I am contemplating grounding you from your first birthday. You are growing up too fast. I'm just kidding about your birthday... I think I'm looking forward to it more than anyone (yourself included).

Alice, thank you for these past nine months. You are an absolute treasure! I am looking forward to many more months and years to come.

I love you!

Love,
Mama

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

This Laid-Back Mama is About To ERUPT!

Yesterday, I got a text from the babysitter saying she had strep throat. So trying to give her a day to rest (she is pregnant) and thinking I'd save ourselves the potential of getting it, I made other arrangements. Turns out, I wish I would have just taken Alice down there and risked the possibility of strep...

My brother agreed to come to the bank to pick up Alice when he got off of work. So Alice was at work with me for about 2 hours. Lets just say that it is really hard to get work done with an almost nine month old walking and crawling around... and oooh outlets! Fun stuff!

So he picks her up a little before 5 pm, and I transfer the carseat to my sister-in-law's car (which is a coupe)... that took about 10 minutes of creative wrangling on my part. Try getting a Britax in a small coupe. HA! Then I went over the whole eating/bottle/sleep thing with him. I called on my pumping break to see how things were going. He informed me that his wife was irritated with him (and possibly me) for not knowing when "a 9 month old last ate or slept". So I told him to try to give her some of the bottle, and if she didn't want it then heat up her little meal. I have been buying the Gerber meals for toddlers/preschoolers for the babysitters... it is easier when doing BLW (baby-led weaning) and I also know what she is eating.

So I get off of work and go pick her up about 10pm. My SIL gives me a run-down of the evening. Alice slept for 8 minutes! Yes, 8 minutes! I mumbled something about the sleep regression thing (she claims to know nothing about it). Then she says she was really fussy and crying most of the evening. Oh, and she only ate just a few ounces (FIVE!), but she just kept chewing on the nipple and playing with the bottle.
No big deal, I think. She just didn't want milk.

So we get home, and I start unpacking things and find her meal in the bag. Along with her cheerios and goldfish. ALL UNEATEN! No wonder my baby was crying and fussy... she was STARVING! So I quickly heat up her meal (who has time to make food when I can heat up her meal in 30 seconds and give it to her) and feed it to her. She ate it all in less than 7 minutes! I have never seen any child eat anything so fast in all my life. Then I nursed her and she fell asleep. I put her in her crib, where she slept for 33 minutes before she was back in bed with us and nursing most of the night.

I have a few problems with this whole thing. First, I'm not sure where the problem broke down, but I have two guesses (and either one could very much be the correct assumption)... my brother, either out of not caring or his inferior baby knowledge skills to his wife, decided not to tell her about the meal. OR she decided not to give it to her. I know she had to have seen it... it was right next to the diapers and wipes. Perhaps she thought my baby shouldn't be eating solids. All I know, is that my baby was crying and I'm sure they ate in front of her. Poor baby! I don't care what your personal opinion on feeding a baby is. You want to give your baby purees-fine. You want me to give your baby purees-fine. I give my child solids. I ALWAYS have. If you have a problem with that, I'm sorry. Get over it. Feed my baby.

I think I should also mention that my SIL is a NICU nurse. She claims she is "The Baby Whisperer". I also know she has not read a single thing on baby/child development... and she is 33 weeks pregnant. YUP! She tried to tell me that I needed to put Alice on a feeding schedule every three hours. I told her you can't do that with a breast-fed baby. I have also told her about BLW and wonderweeks, and a few other things that I "buy" into. She hasn't heard of any of this stuff. I think now may be a good time to try to figure it out. Just sayin'.

So I spent the majority of the night awake. And feeling like a horrible mommy. I cried. I still feel like crying, but now I'm more to the screaming part. Alice is fine. I think she has probably forgotten all about being hungry. Thankfully, she will not remember any of this. Me... well I unfortunately will not.

The Amazing Alice

Behold the pictures I promised... these are all pretty recent. Most were taken in the past week or two.


Someone got caught getting into Mommy's peanut butter M&M's!


Hey, what's happening? Also, please notice her eye... no bruising!!! And it looks pretty well considering.


See? I do exist! And my double chin doesn't always look like that (I'll have to take a better picture of me). Though, Alice seems to have one too. Hmm...must be the camera ;)


These are Alice's new sandals that my dad bought her. You can also see her wearing one of them and one of her Converse shoes.


Trying to show you the pink Converses... someone was half blocking the picture.


Ahh, here they are. They rock! Also, this is the last time that I have seen this remote. I think Alice hid it shortly after this picture was taken. So I know it was in the house on Sunday. Hmm... have you seen it?



CHEESE!


CHEESE! This is her "cheese" face. I love it! I say "cheese" and this is what I get! Loving it!!! Also, you can see her two teeth.


POPEYE!


"Hey! No paparazzi allowed!"


Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Kitties and Baby!

FINALLY! Introducing the newest additions (and most likely temporary residents)... along with a few with my baby! I should mention that we will most likely keep one. It is too early to say which one, as we will initially go off of temperment/personality, but I'm particularly fond of the white one and Star. Though they are all so cute, I'd love to keep them all... but can you imagine how much cat food we'd go through? Last time we had a litter here, we went through 16 pounds of cat food in a week and a half! I think we may let Alice pick out which one to keep and let it be her kitty. Since she says "CAT" and "Kiki"!


Here they all are. Can you see all four of them? Isn't it neat how they can all look so different?


Alice and mama holding "Star". I have no idea if Star is a boy or girl, at least as of this post, but Star has two starbursts around his/her eyes.



This one doesn't have a name yet. S/he looks just like Jinx and Minx. So maybe we'll call it Linx.


OH! This one was initially my favorite. An all white kitty with spots of gray/black and a few striped patches on his/her butt! I have yet to come up with a name for this one either.


This one doesn't have a name either. It looks quite a bit like the other striped one, Linx. I know that they both appear to look similar, but one has a calico/tabby thing going on, on it's rear, and the other has a whole tabby thing. Forgive me for not knowing which is which yet. They are only 1 week old though!


All curled up in to a ball! Can you see all four of them?



And again, all hanging out together! I think they were about 12 hours old in the pictures... except for the ones with Alice. They were about 3 days old in those.



Tomorrow, I will have more pictures of Alice. I didn't want to overwhelm anyone (or their computer) today.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Sooooo Tired

It is a nasty, rainy Monday here. The forecast calls for rain all week. I wish I could blame my fatigue on the weather... though it sure isn't helping. Apparently, Alice has decided to quit sleeping and just nap. I never got the memo.

Saturday night, Alice went to bed at approximately 1:15 am. She slept for less than two hours before she was back in bed with us. She and I were up all night, or at least it felt like we were. I know part of the reason I am so tired is because my body doesn't get a break from producing milk. I have more convenient hours than most places. Sean, being the wonderful husband he is, let us sleep in Sunday. Sweet, right? Yes and no. See we didn't get up until 11:30. Do you see where this is going?
We are caught in a nasty cycle now. I started to put Alice down last night about 10:30, after her bath. She fell asleep and I carried to her crib. As soon as I put her down, she was back up screaming and crying. So we went back to our bed. 30 minutes later, I attempted to put her in her crib again... same thing. So back to our bed... and so on and so forth until 1:30. Then I got to wash and sterilize bottles and shower. I think it was almost 3 before I went to bed. Alice woke up about 3:50 and was back in bed with us. Ugh! I know there is a light at the end of this tunnel... I just can't see even a glint of it from here.

I will try to post pictures of the kitties tomorrow. Along with Alice's new shoes. My dad took us shopping and out to an early dinner yesterday. He bought Alice 5 pairs of shoes. I tried telling him that she will just outgrow them, like next week, but he insisted. I did manage to get 3 pairs in the next size up, so hopefully that will last until her birthday at least.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Seven Quick Takes

I have stolen this idea from my sister... thanks Lindsay!

1. Alice's eye was a bit oozy/pussy last night and this morning, so I called the pediatrician. Apparently, that is all part of the healing process and does not require medical intervention (unless it gets worse).

2. I think it is about time to break out the air conditioners in our house. No, we don't have central air... we are in a very OLD farmhouse. Last night, our house was 75 degrees, and all of central Indiana was sticky/humid/muggy. Ugh!

3. Sean told me today that we need to plan something. I asked him what he meant. He said, "Like go somewhere and do something. We can bring Alice. I don't mind taking her along." Well, I'm glad we clarified that :) I don't know what we would have done with Alice if she wasn't invited. So I'll let you know how this potential trip somewhere develops.

4. I have made my own facial toner. I think it may be the new cure for breakouts. Seriously! I have never had really bad skin, but I still get a few pimples/zits from time to time. I will be using it for the next 60 days and let you know what I think. So far, I have not had a single blemish. I may be looking for some test subjects in the near future.

5. My manager described our sentiments about our job to his manager by saying, "It is like being pregnant. You know that 9th month comes, and you are just done. You want that baby to come out, but you don't know when it will happen. We are essentially in labor." Umm, yes, a man said this. About our jobs. To his female boss. I know I need to go in to more detail about getting laid off, but that is a post for another day.

6. I have been thinking about what I want to do while I'm staying at home. I'm sure I will be plenty busy with Alice, but there are a few things I would like to do, such as: learn to sew (and eventually make dresses and other things), start making headbands, go back to school (though I think this will be put on hold for at least a year or two), and conquer the world. Seriously, I have a list of things that I want to do... and quite a few of them could help supplement my lack of income.

7. I rescheduled my rescheduled hair appointment. If I am forced to reschedule this next one, I am just going to cut my own hair! Lets hope that I am not forced to go through with that!

Friday Fun...a Giveaway!

Unfortunately, I'm not the one having a giveaway. I have nothing to giveaway at this time... unless you like apple bread, and I'm planning on making some this weekend :)

One of my blogger friends, Sarah, is having a giveaway! If you like books, you don't want to miss this! Hop on over to her blog here to find out about the book and details on the giveaway!
Make sure you tell her that I sent you :)

Thursday, May 13, 2010

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Lets start with the good:

1. It is official. Alice has said her first word... CAT! She has said other things, but I wasn't really sure whether to count them or not, but yesterday (twice) we saw cats and she said, "CAT!"
2. It is almost the weekend.
3. I am feeling quite a bit better today.
4. My husband is wonderful!

The Bad:
1. Alice has been having a rough time lately. Especially at night. I'm not sure if this is because of gas, teething, a wonder week, or what. I'm about at my ropes end. She seems to be "reverse cycling" in regards to nursing. She is too busy and too distracted to really nurse during the day (though she does take a bottle fine at the babysitters) when I am with her, and only "snacks". Then comes night-time...and I feel like an all you can eat buffet. Any suggestions on getting her to sleep through the night?
2. I have to reschedule my hair appointment (that I have already rescheduled once) because I just found out LAST NIGHT that we have a graduation party for my husband's best female friend, Gwen. Whom, I like, but have only met once (right after giving birth and I hadn't showered... and she was all cute, tiny, perky, pretty, etc.) and who's party conflicts with my rescheduled appointment. My hair is getting SO long, and looks horrendous. I will reschedule, but come Hell or high water I will make this next appointment!
3. I was awoken from a very sound sleep this morning (I was having a wonderful dream) to Alice screaming hysterically. I quickly got up and looked for her (she had been in the bed with me). I found her in between my husband's side of the bed and his nightstand. That is right. She was stuck. Apparently, she was trying to grab an almost full beer that Sean had left on his nightstand (No we don't give her beer...she has a fascination with cans and bottles. As if I'm not already worried that CPS will come knocking on our door). To make the situation a little worse, she had hit the corner of her left eye and bumped her head in two spots. Her eye has a small cut and is really swollen.

And now the ugly (not that my baby is ugly... just the eye for now):


I imagine she will have the best black eye ever in the next day or two. Just in time for the graduation party... so we'll be "those parents" who don't watch their baby. In my defense, I ALWAYS know when she is moving while in bed with me... I just didn't today because she had been cuddling with Sean, and he didn't move her over next to me. WAY TO GO MOM! I'm just glad it wasn't any worse than it was. Lord knows it could have been.

Oh and my blog... way ugly. I was trying to change a few things yesterday, and I think one of you tried to make a comment at the same time, but I have no idea who it was or what you said. And now my blog is mixed between what I want and what I don't. All in due time... all in due time.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Wacky Wednesday

Today is Wednesday, right? Things are just kind of a blur. I lose track of the day sometime after Monday. In fact, sometimes I think it is Tuesday by the end of Monday. Can you tell that I need a little more sleep?

Lets see, what has been going on? Yesterday, I was awoken around 4:30ish by a certain little baby. I noticed then that my right ear was oozing some fluid and hurt to lay on that side. Unfortunately, I did not have a choice but to lay on that side, as we co-sleep and I was nursing. So I fell back asleep. I woke up a few hours later, and decided to go to the doctor before work.

As I was taking care of the animals, I noticed our cat, Jinx, was MIA. Knowing that she was about to pop with kittens (plus she didn't eat all of her food, and the blinds in the breezeway where we keep her were torn down), I went looking for her. I found her... having kitties! So I carefully moved her and the cardboard box (that Alice's highchair came in, but it was wet from the rain-the barn is old and needs a new roof) they were in, and moved her back up to the breezeway. At that point she had two kittens. Oh, and one more thing... I do have pictures of the kittens, but I don't have my camera with me right now, so I'll post them later.

After getting ready, I went to check on Jinx and there were three kitties and she was having the fourth! So I got to see the last one being born! Awesome! We then headed to the doctor. I'm glad I brought several snacks, as we waited for almost an hour, and then over thirty more minutes in the exam room before the doctor came in. He thinks I have an upper respiratory infection, so he gave me amoxicillin. Then I talked to him about my chronic headaches, which he said he couldn't really "treat", as they were chronic (I've been having them almost daily for 3+ months), but he referred me to a different doctor. So now I may have a new family physician! I just have to check her out. He did give me tylenol with codeine for the headaches, and promised it would only make me feel "mellow". So we head to the pharmacy, wait another 45 minutes, get my 'scripts and head home. I immediately feed Alice, and take my medicine. I then call work (it is now 5:15 and was due at work @ 3) and tell them I "could" come in, but prefer not to as it would be 7-7:30 before I get there, and I would be there for maybe two hours. So I didn't go in (I had a note excusing me anyway). Good thing too... that "mellow" feeling I was supposed to experience knocked me out for over two hours. In fact, Sean scared me when he came home early from work and told me it was almost 8:30. Oops...better start dinner. See this post for what we had for dinner. I also made homemade macaroni and cheese and it goes STELLAR with the cabbage rolls!

It took me 18 minutes to change a diaper and wrestle Alice in to her clothes today. She kept rolling over and crawling away. And when I was wrapping her diaper up, she took off. I told her to come back, but she started going full throttle ahead. I had to chase her down! I now know to add 20 minutes on to our getting ready routine!

And then today, on my way in to work, I get a call from the District (or Regional) Manager of Panera. He apologized profusely. He was on his way to the store in question, and assured me he would provide some more training for the manager, along with investigating who/why/etc. the band-aid incident happened. He also said he will be mailing me coupons to use at any of their stores. He was pretty appalled at what happened, and agreed with me about the potential "healthcare violations" and said this kind of thing had only happened once before (and that was at a different place) in his years in the food industry. So I'll let you know what happens. I really hope the manager doesn't get fired. I don't want that. I just don't think that non-edible items in your food is acceptable. So hopefully, nobody loses a job over this whole band-aid thing.


Oh, and go me for learning how to insert links!!!

I hope this post finds everyone in blog land in good spirits and health.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls!

Alright, I apologize in advance. I did not take pictures of how to make these step-by-step, let alone any pictures at all.

I found the recipe at AllRecipes (I LOVE THIS SITE! I get most of my recipes here-though I alter most of the recipes I get). The link is here. To make this a little easier, I will post their ingredients/instructions, and then make notes at the end of what I did different.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup water
1/3 cup uncooked white rice
8 cabbage leaves
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Bring a large, wide saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add cabbage leaves and cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until softened; drain.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, 1 cup cooked rice, onion, egg, salt and pepper, along with 2 tablespoons of tomato soup. Mix thoroughly.
Divide the beef mixture evenly among the cabbage leaves. Roll and secure them with toothpicks or string.
In a large skillet over medium heat, place the cabbage rolls and pour the remaining tomato soup over the top. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring and basting with the liquid often.



Now here is what I did:

First, I did not cook the rice first. I used Instant Brown Rice (healthier than white, and cooks quicker), and I'm not sure how much I used. I'd start with a cup and add more or less depending on how much soup or can tomatoes you use. If I had to guess, I would say I used 1 1/2-2 cups of uncooked rice. I cooked the ground beef first, along with a whole (medium) onion. Drain that, and add the rice, egg. I also added a can of diced tomatoes with garlic and onion to this mix. I did not add salt, but I did lightly pepper the mixture. I used a large can of condensed tomato soup (I think it is about 26 oz). I added about a third of the can to the mixture.
Tips on the cabbage leaves... cut the core out as best as you can. I wish I had taken a picture of this part because you aren't really coring it, but making a little "teepee" around the core. This makes it WAY easier to get a cabbage leaf off without tearing. (I learned this from experience) Boil for 3-4 minutes, drain, and add some mixture to the middle of leaf. Roll up and secure with a toothpick. Place in pan, and top with remaining soup. I cooked them for about 40 minutes (on high until it started to boil, then low for the remaining time...make sure to baste often). I also put about half of them in the slow cooker- on Low for 4 hours or High for 2- make sure you check them, as not all slow cookers are the same. I will say I DO NOT recommend putting these in the oven. I tried that, and while they tasted fine, they were a little "harder" than in the pan or slow cooker.

This was definitely a hit in my household. Alice loved it... though I think the cabbage gave her some bad tummy aches!

Monday, May 10, 2010

When I Said I Wanted Everything On It, I Didn't Actually Mean Everything...

*alternate title: Things That Make You Go Ewww!

WARNING: If you have a weak stomach, read at your own risk. Also, if you are offended by curse words, read at your own risk.












Today I went to Panera Bread for lunch. I knew I shouldn't have gone there, as I had brought a frozen lunch today, but I really wanted a chicken salad sandwich. Well if that wasn't enough of a reason, when I get to the drive-up it isn't working. It only took me about 4 minutes to realize that. So I pull around, and see other people are ordering at the window. So I wait for my turn. I pull up and order an Iced Green Tea (seriously, the best ever!) and a chicken salad sandwich. The lady asked if I wanted everything on it. I said yes. So I pay, get my food, and head back to the bank.

I sit down at my desk, and start writing a blog post. After I published it, I hopped over to another blog to catch up, and start eating my sandwich. Now, I don't know if you have ever been to a Panera Bread before, but I absolutely love the place... or well I did. Everything is good there. And they have the best pickle spears, but you only get them if you order a whole sandwich (I did). So I unwrap the sandwich, and remember about the pickle, so I fish it out and eat it. Actually, I wolfed it down. Then I grabbed half of my sandwich. As I go to grab my other half of the sandwich, I see a band-aid. Yes, a band-aid. One that was out of it's wrapper and stuck to the inside of my sandwich wrap. It had been touching the half of the sandwich that I just ate. Now I think really quickly if I had been wearing a band-aid....... nope. OH GOD! I quickly lost it, and started cussing, "There's a fucking band-aid in my sandwich." My co-worker turned around and muttered something, and then my supervisor and manager come over. "There's a used fucking band-aid in my sandwich." So my manager suggested going back there... and that is exactly what I did. I grabbed my keys, purse, and contaminated sandwich and head back to Panera. I'm not sure exactly why I went back. I guess to actually show them the proof. So I get there and go inside to talk to the manager. Here is the conversation we had:

Me: Yes, I went through the drive-thru a bit ago, and I was eating my sandwich, and this is what I found (shows sandwich and band-aid)
Manager: Oh. (long pause) That is gross.
Some other Employee at Counter: Is there anything on it?
Me: (to employee):HUH? (to manager) Uhh, yeah.
Manager: Would you like me to make you another sandwich?
Me: Umm, I'm not really hungry anymore. That made me lose my appetite.
Manager: Oh, okay. Well, uhh, I can give you your money back.
Me: Umm, (insert longer pause) okay.
Manager: (hands back money) Yeah, that is gross.

So I walk out with the money for the sandwich. I realize at no point did I get an apology. I also did not even get reimbursed for my whole meal. So I drive back to the bank, a little peeved that I didn't get an apology and the best the manager could do was give me seven dollars and some cents back.

And as I have sat her, I am wondering why they employee wasn't wearing gloves. Aren't you required by law to wear gloves when preparing food? Do I have to worry about contracting some kind of disease from whomevers band-aid it was? Why didn't that manager apologize to me? She must have been new... I would have given a full refund to whomever, and then given them a gift card to ensure that they come back.

I used to be a regular at Panera... now I'm not sure I will go back. I'm currently trying to contact corporate, to inform them of this situation, and to let them know if I contract anything, I will be getting an attorney. So if I come down with Hepatitis C, D, E, F, or G in the weeks to come, you Internet Peoples are my witnesses (along with my co-workers, whom I dropped the F-bomb in front of twice).

I'll let you know if Panera Bread has anything further to say to me. You'd think that in the days of Facebook, Twitter, and blogs (and all other social sites) that companies would be trying to absolutely please their customers. I know I wouldn't want an unhappy customer bashing my company online.

So I guess I really knew better than to go there. And the next time someone asks you if you want Everything on it, perhaps you should make them specify exactly what they are going to put on it!

Happy Belated Mother's Day...

...to all the beautiful Mothers* out there! I hope that your husbands, fathers, daughters, sons, mothers, grandparents, and all other loved ones made your day lovely!

I would have posted this yesterday, but I was extremely busy. I know a lot of you moms out there realize that a mother's work is never done. I slept in a bit (Thanks Alice!!!) and woke up to Sean making me breakfast (nothing fancy; just an omelet and coffee). He also got me a box of chocolates. I could complain about this, but I'm really just surprised that he got me anything. And while I can think of a million other things that I would like more, I'm just really flattered that he got me something! I love you, Sean!

Back to my day... I proceeded to do umpteen-million loads of laundry. Okay, it was more like 12, but still. I completely spring-cleaned the bathroom (EVERYTHING-including blinds, curtains, shower liner/curtain, walls, etc.). We could eat on any surface in our bathroom, if we wanted. Not that I would allow that, but just sayin'.

I started spring cleaning in the living room. Mostly, I only got the area rug cleaned (been wanting to do this for a LONG time) and put up Alice's swing (again, been meaning to do this for a few months). Then I organized Alice's toys and the bookshelf with all the movies/books. Of course, they are no longer in the order I put them in, as Alice has a fascination with pulling everything off the bookshelf.

Then Alice and I went outside, where I planted a ton of bulbs and seeds in my newly tilled "flower bed" (it is all around the barn). And then the biggest project... clean out my car. WOAH! I have been meaning to do this for months... perhaps over a year. I vacuumed, cleaned the windowns, cleaned the carpet/upholstery/ceiling, and it looks sooooo good.

My father came over mid car cleaning, and I proceeded to clean his windows and vacuum out his car. Then he grilled steaks for us (I made scalloped potatoes, broccoli, and carrots)... and we ate a very good dinner. He brought over lemon meringue pie for dessert. YUCK! I HATE meringue. I don't know what it is about it, but I can't stand it. I didn't say anything to him. I just ate it (or tried to-I gave most of the meringue to Alice... I *think* she liked it). Actually, I do know what it is about meringue that I don't like... the texture. It is like tapioca in my mouth (another thing I DO NOT like).

So I didn't have a relaxing day, but I got a lot of stuff done that I wanted and had been meaning to do for awhile. Today, I am incredibly sore. But my car is clean!

How was your Mother's Day? Or if you aren't a mother*, what did you do for the mothers in your life?


*And by mothers, I mean any woman who has had a child, become pregnant (regardless of the outcome-we just ended Infertility Awareness week), or any woman who mothers/babies/takes care of you.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Inquisitive Minds Want to Know

...or maybe not, but since this is my blog, I can do what I like!

My name is Sarah (duh!). I am 29 and I live in central Indiana. I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend. I am funny (at least Alice thinks so-don't tell her otherwise, if you disagree), blunt, laid-back, and a go with the punches kind of girl... though sometimes I throw punches too. I'm actually a lot more than that, but I'm limited on time people!

Sean is my husband. We have been together for over 4 years. I'm not really sure how long we have been "together". We dated for awhile back when I was 24, and broke up after a couple of weeks. I thought about him from time to time, but I moved on and dated other guys. Fast forward two years, and I ran back in to him (at the same place I met him at, none-the-less) and we started hanging out again. I didn't know we were dating. I sincerely thought we were just hanging out and being friends... as I'm stubborn and I refused to "re-date" someone. To make a long story short, I realized we were dating, and we fell in love. We got "married". We eloped. I have never wanted a wedding, and the thought of a bunch of people looking at me sends me in to a panic attack. And who wants to be drunk/doped up on their wedding day? So we eloped.

Alice is my daughter. She is currently 8 1/2 months old. She is the greatest thing ever! Well maybe Sean *wink* If you haven't already noticed, I write about her a lot. She does take up most of my "free" time, but soon will take up all of my time when I become a SAHM at the end of summer (more on that later).

More about me... I love to cook. I also love to bake, but I prefer to cook. Mostly because if I baked every day, then I'd be the size of a barn. Though to be honest, I'm getting close! I will go on a diet after I wean Alice... until then, I will consume as many Peanut Butter M&M's and Reese Peanut Butter Cups as I please (please feel free to send me pounds! wait...don't!). I also love to garden. I love to read. I don't get much time for that, but I have ambitious plans to read a few books this summer. I enjoy cross-stitching (again, little time for it).

I have really ambitious plans to learn to sew and make headbands. I would like to eventually be able to sell them on Etsy or something. I am interested in going "more green" and have started making some of my own cleaning products. I may start cloth-diapering in a couple of months... actually I have pretty much decided to cloth diaper, so there is no maybe. Just a when.

Well, that is me in a nut-shell, more or less. There is always more, but I have less time. As always, if you ever have a question for me, feel free to ask. There isn't much I won't answer!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Things Don't Get Better Than This

I have been trying to get Alice to say "Mama" for quite some time. As the way things are progressing, I imagine it will still be quite some time before she utters anything that sounds close to that. This afternoon, while we were heading to the sitters, Alice and I had this "conversation":

*Not actually verbatim

Alice: "Daaaaa"
Me: "Maaaa"
A: "Dadadadada"
M: "Mamamamama"
A: pause... "Dada"
M: "Mama"
A: "Daddy" (or so it sounded like Daddy)
M: "Mommy"
A: chuckle "Dadda"
M: laugh "Mamma"

And so on and on it went, for almost the remainder of our ride. Sometimes I would start it back up, and other times she would. Things just don't get better than this!

Spring Cleaning

My blog, anyway!

Though, to be quite honest, I have a list of spring cleaning that needs to be done at home. I haven't crossed anything off the list yet... I keep waiting for enough time to actually complete a whole room. Which won't happen, so I may as well suck it up and start from the ceilings and work my way down, room-by-room, and task by task. I figure my house will be entirely "spring" cleaned by November!

Back to the whole blog thing... As you may have noticed (or not) I changed the title of my blog. I feel this is probably a better fitting title (Lindsay, thoughts?). I do reserve the right to change my mind again down the road (or tomorrow).

My next post, I will delve in to who I am exactly. And maybe if you are lucky, I may post a picture. I swear I have a face... the problem is, I am usually taking pictures of a cute little baby, and not myself. Not that you are missing out on much. I hardly ever "fix myself up" anymore. Who has time for that?

"Oooooooooooooooh!"

Can anyone guess what makes a baby make that sound? (Lindsay and FB friends cannot guess!)





















Alice learned to flush the toilet! I was braiding my hair, and I heard the toilet flush behind me (the lid was closed) followed by the longest "Oooooooooh!" ever...and a few more flushes!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

First Steps (caught on a viable video!)

Okay, so these aren't technically her first steps, but this is the first (actually like 5th) video of her walking. I should note that this is the first video that I was actually able to upload from my cell phone, and that the others I had on a different video setting and could not upload. I have been trying to get this "proof" for two weeks now! I apologize for the blurry video...stupid phone! I had to "bribe" her with my keys when I picked her up from the sitter's last night...and I think she would have kept walking all the way to me, except she tripped on Marty (her mouse).

So without further ado...