Silent Sunday

Happiness 101

So my LEOW pal Natalie from over at Martin Enterprises decided to award me with the Happiness 101 Award. Not sure if thats because I am just bursting with so much happiness or maybe because she just hopes that I take some time to reflect and share the things that I'm happy about. Think I did this not that long ago but my list is always changing as I'm sure most of yours are too. Here goes:

1-Little Munchkin has been sleeping really well. Thank heavens! What a difference sleep makes. FOR EVERYBODY!!!

2-This Sunday Cop Dad and I will be going on a long overdue date night. Not sure how it will go but we will give it a shot. It's been about 7 months since the last one.

3-Started drinking coffee again. Last time it bothered Little Munchkin too much so I waited til now because the books and LC's said age can make them less sensitive. Feeling human again, I get so much done and mommy is so much happier with her coffee.

4-Going to start making recycled button necklaces. I am asking people for old buttons. I saw these cool necklaces at The Morton Arboretum Store and thought, 'I can do that!' Now just trying to get my materials together to start making them. Then I was going to try to sell them on Etsy maybe give a % to a police charity? Dunno, just brainstorming for now. Maybe I can sit in the garage after kids go to bed, make necklaces and listen to some music and reconnect with my inner artist? Just thinking about it is making me happy :)

5-Will be hitting the gym starting tomorrow. It's been forever. I used to go daily and it made such a difference mentally and physically. Had to stop with pg, then it's like been impossible to go and get shower and do all my other duties. Now, we are going to try again. Amen!

6-Want to go back to church. Haven't been there forever either. Before it was like everything/everybody was fighting my want and need to go. It's just plain necessary for us. Makes us happy!

7-Getting projects done!!! I Got flexible drain pipe laid in front by new driveway by myself. Then replaced tub spout cause the old one was leaking tons of water down the drain when you flipped the shower switch on. Hot water ran out really fast and water pressure was low. All good now! Also just trimmed hedges in front too. They were ridiculously huge. Done!

8-June is raise month! Can I get an Amen?!?! We are so tight. Which is fine but gets harder when you have more expenses. This is a big increase in the steps, no mansions or trips to Rome just ease of paying for life expenses. More peace of mind. Hallelujah!

9-Got a new sprinkler and 2 boxes of popsicles. Filled up the kiddie pool and can now sit under the umbrella with Little Munchkin on the blanket (she can sit up now!!!) and watch Little Buddy. Bring on summer!

10-Tango is cured! Finally! Long story short. Tango had bad smell, major hair loss constantly, always scooting butt around (Ewwwww!) Thank God we don't have carpet! Big scabby, bloody sores around mouth and reocurring bouts of diarrhea and vomiting. F-O-R Y-E-A-R-S!!! Our vet just kept telling us that some dogs were like that. But he wasn't like that the first few years we had him. AND he said that he may want to surgically remove part of his lips so it didn't keep getting infected?!?!

Switched vets. Found two problems in less than 30 minutes. Two major infections!!! Our old vet never swabbed him for anything! He has been on meds for the last month. Got rid of plastic bowls. Changed food. He is better than he's been in years :) Poor doggy, bad old vet, bad owners, good new vet, happy us! All problems are gone!!!

11-Sweet baby moments, funny toddler conversations, brotherly/sisterly love, playing in the yard, walks, exploring nature, opening windows, cooking on the grill, zoo, forest preserve excursions, eating anything on the deck, dancing in the kitchen with Little Buddy and making baby laugh, talking things out calmly with Cop Dad, watching the garden grow, watching birds & bugs & critters with Little Buddy, talking to another mom and realizing I am not a weirdo but totally normal, I could go on. Doesn't take much, I'm easily thrilled!

12-Almost forgot, bedtime is getting easier. Little Munchkin sits in her Bumbo and watches me get big brother ready for bed. No more crying and screaming. Ugh, so glad that she's grown out of that.

Thanks Natalie! Feel free to take this and run with it. Award yourself or someone that would appreciate it.

Dear Loser Letter: My First Loser Letter: Dear Vintage Car Driver

I read these Dear Loser Letters over at A Sense Of Humor Is Essential and they are always hysterical and creatively written. Martha likes to make a negative thing funny so she writes Loser Letters to people that piss her off in life and then posts them. I think it's brilliantly therapeutic. I never have enough time and quiet to write a few at a time like she does but I did think of one that I thought was pretty good. Maybe you can relate? Here goes:

Dear Vintage Car Driver,

I understand your love for owning a vintage car. It really looks like you put some work and money into fixing up your retro auto. I also understand that you like attention on the road so you drive around your vintage car so that the whole world can see a car of yesterday that looks like it just came off the assembly line. I also understand that this was quite possibly the car that you wanted way back when you were in high school and never had back then. It's very impressive. I can also appreciate many things vintage (cars, houses, furniture, etc.) because they are from a time gone by and life gets very boring with everyone having the same new things these days. You have definitely made my day more interesting by driving your vintage car on the same road as me. Thank you.

What I do have a problem with is not the car itself, or the job you did to make it beautiful and rumble down the street, (but you could take the revving down a few notches pal). What I do have a problem with is that you seem to have forgotten to update the exhaust system. Now that I got near you without the recirculate button pressed on my heat/ac, my car has filled up with unfiltered car exhaust! You know that it's 2010? Maybe in the 70's (or whatever year your car is originally from) there were no laws about air pollution and perhaps it was not mandatory in all 50 states to have an appropriate exhaust system on your car. That was then, this is now. That is why most people like new cars, they are cleaner and run cleaner than cars like yours from "The Good Ole' Days." Now my baby and my 3 year old and I have to breathe in your leaded gas fumes as well as your unfiltered car exhaust. This is very unhealthy for anyone to breathe, not to mention the other hundreds or thousands of cars and drivers that you will pass as you drive this car.

Basically we are in a no win situation here. I have to go the same direction as you . . . . . for a real reason. Like I have to get groceries or take a child to the doctor, etc. I'm not just out cruising like you. So my car is filled up with stinky polluted air but I pressed the recirculate button so no more exhaust will come into my vehicle or our lungs. But I tried to open my window and then what did I get, more stinky polluted air. So we are trapped in here with all the windows rolled up with no choice but to breathe your car's pollution. So I (as well as numerous other drivers) have become prisoners of your vintage car, as well as your selfishness. I can stop looking at it or even change lanes but there is still the toxic exhaust that's already in my car and in our lungs, PLUS I get to hear your stupid engine revving at every stop light. ALSO, perhaps that song that you have cranked loud enough so you can hear it over your engine revving was your favorite so long ago when you were in high school? It wasn't mine though, and I'm sure I can speak for all the other drivers who are also closing their windows and rolling their eyes too. No amount of cranking Elmo will help at this point so we don't have to hear "More Than A Feeling." Which WAS actually a song I used to like.

I believe that you must want to torture everyone. As I tried to speed up a little at the last light to get a little bit ahead of you to get ahead of the fumes and the tunes and the revving, you thought I wanted to race you and so you sped up too. Maybe this is a fun daily activity for you but not for me. I just want to get away from your car. I am both lightheaded and have a headache. Thank you Lord, my street. Finally. Good bye Mr. Vintage Car Driver.

Signed,
A Way-Too-Considerate Mommy

The Wee Garden

I have wanted to put a little garden in for a few years now. Seems as though I was always working on the plants and weeds and rocks and filling low areas rather than doing a garden. Earlier this spring I told Little Buddy that we could plant a few cucumber plants this year, maybe we could even have a little garden. So when Cop Dad asked me what I wanted to do for Mother's Day, I told him I wanted to work in the yard as a little family project and make a garden. We started with nothing more than 2 old railroad ties. I thought we could recycle them and cut them both in half. Then dig out the sod from the area that all four halves of the railroad ties would make. Then we could fill with some good dirt and raise the level a little higher than our actual yard (which gets standing water in many spots). Well the sawing of the railroad ties was a real chore. Then we created a square and measured out the spot to remove the grass. Then we took all that perfectly good sod/grass and laid it out in a very low spot in our yard to fill it in. Then we were off to Menards. We picked up beans, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries, LOTS of top soil, some really good garden soil to mix with the top soil, and chicken wire. They were out of cucumber so I just picked that up today at Home Depot this morning. I bought plants. They were cheap. One year I will start from seed but with a baby and toddler, this year would have to be plants which are sooooo much easier.

It went pretty well, though Cop Dad had a hard time ripping out perfectly good grass in our little yard. He was also very hesitant about laying the sod strips/chunks in the low area where we always have water and no grass grows. I did my best to convince him that the sod would do fine and anything would be better than the small pond that we get in that spot regularly. Where the dog likes to dig and jump around . . . . . when it's muddy . . . . . of course.

Our garden is so tiny but the work involved, wow! Little Buddy was so excited. Cop Dad was being a bit of a grump, until I sent him these texts when I was waiting in the car with the kids. "Quit whining!" "Make the most of the day!" "We love you!"

That was all it took. He snapped out of it. He said, "Man, why am I so crabby?" I said, "I have no idea but it's kind of a buzz kill, can you cheer up so we can all have a good day together as a family?" After all it was Mother's Day and his mood and attitude affects each of us, no matter how much I let it roll off.

So, we got everything done and Cop Dad was acting very proud of our garden. Yeah! Little Buddy was really excited too. He just wanted to walk in the dirt and dump things in the garden. Oh no! So we had to lay some ground rules. Think he gets it now. He wanted to see the garden last night after it was dark out and was getting ready for bed. Too cute!

I know the garden is small but this is good for now. We'll see how it goes. We can always expand later. I also got breakfast from Panera and a nice card and iTunes gift card too.

Bake Of The Day: Old Fashioned Brownies

This recipe used to be on the back of the Diamond Walnuts a very long time ago. They don't even have the recipe on their website. Too bad! It sure is a keeper. My mom and I have the recipe copied down from back in the 80's/90's. I have improved it by covering the top with chopped walnuts AND chocolate chips. My mother just does the walnuts and does not like the chips on top. I think it adds a different texture (I'm totally a texture person) and even more chocolate flavor to an already extraordinary brownie. What kind of brownies do you make? Are you even a brownie person? Or is there some other goodie that you bake often. I almost never buy cookies or candy etc. But we always have ingredients in the house to make something. That is how it was when I grew up and I do the same thing. This way, you have to work for it AND you know what goes into it AND you don't waste the calories on some sub-par bakery item from the grocery store. BTW, this recipe uses real EVERYTHING: butter, eggs, flour, baking chocolate, etc. Cop Dad never objects and Little Buddy calls them "Bownies." Tee! Hee!

Old-Fashioned Brownies (Diamond Walnuts)
3-1 oz squares unsweetened Bakers Chocolate
1 stick salted butter
(melt these 2 ingredients together and set aside)
(I usually throw them in a pyrex measuring cup and microwave for 5+ minutes on 30 percent power)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
(mix these 5 together)
(then add the melted chocolate and butter)

Pour in a greased 9x9 pan. Top with 1/4 cup chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. Bake for 40 minutes in a 325 degree oven. Check middle with toothpick.

Drive By Blogging

Just some useless tidbits from what's going on in my world. **Warning: May need some toothpicks for your eyes :)

· We FINALLY got our new driveway this week. I have taken before and after pics which I will post soon. I just love before and after pics of almost any type. I just stink at remembering to take them. Never imagined that asphalt could make a family this happy :)

· Little Buddy got his new custom made bed from "the grandmas" (grandma B does woodworking for a hobby). It is awesome. Though I am still a bit worried about the vapors from all the stain and polyurethane that we are all breathing in. Really beautiful bed but really strong smelling. Hope this passes soon!

· Trying to start solids with Little Munchkin but I don't think she's ready yet. She keeps pushing it out her mouth. I sure know she wants it though as she is like a hungry baby bird with her mouth open wide for the spoon but out it comes. She must be getting some though as her diapers have certainly changed. Sorry, TMI.

· Not too happy that my least favorite aunt has been showing up these days. I mean, already? At only 4 months PP too. Boo!

· Been having plenty of playdates with friends. Hooray! Feels wonderful to be able to just open the back door and let the kids run wild in the sunshine and fresh air and explore the back yard. Now if I could just get them to stop trampling on my nicer plants. Ooh, and also loving the mom chat :)

· Little Buddy is in the 98th percentile for height AND weight! Wow! Not sure how he got that big? Cop Dad swears it's cause he got over 2 years of breastmilk. I tend to think it's because of all the GMO's and hormones in meat, etc. Oh, and both of us are by no means thin and lanky people (though I wish). He resembles the kindergarteners that walk past our house on their way to and from school in the middle of the day.

· Stressing about potty training. When will he want to to do this? He can do the pee but has no interest cause there are way too many other things going on. Then I am so busy with baby that it's very hard to keep making him sit down every 30 minutes and try. Ugh! I wish I could be a better mom in the potty training area.

· Little Munchkin is now becoming more flexible with being able to go a little longer between naps and being able to not scream and be frantic in a store, car, etc. She's a very easy baby, I cannot complain. I am very excited for her to crawl and sit up and eat solids on a more regular basis. Then we will be a little more free to go to a restaurant or go on a date, etc.

· Dying to work in the yard! The "grandmas" have agreed to come over one of these days and play with the kids while I work in the yard and then I can nurse Little Munchkin and put her down for naps as needed. Cannot wait!

*"grandmas": We have a pair of grandmas (Cop Dad's mom and partner). I think I touched on this wayyyyyyy back when I first started my blog. Two, "together," wink and all. Yes indeedy. Just in case you were wondering. Not my ideal, but it is what it is. They love us and the kids and would do anything to be involved and help out. So . . .

I Had A Mind Once . . . . .