Mmmmm.... smells good!

My wonderful brother and sister know me very well. For Christmas this year, they got me a Yankee Candle. But this isn't just ANY Yankee candle. It's a swirl of my two favorite scents! My favorite scents are the Macintosh Apple, and the Granny Smith Apple. And it's a SWIRL of the two! It's AMAZING!! I love it! I love it so much that I'm scared to burn it and let it go away! I had forgotten how much I loved this candle until my friend Amanda Sue starting lusting over mine the other day. I've looked online for the same candle, and can't find that exact mix. Argh. I'll keep looking... but there's NO WAY that I'm re-gifting this one! Keep dreaming!

Is this a First?

This is the question my MIL asked the hubby and I when we got home from our date last night. She is not quite known for her lead-ins and what not, but I just cringed, waiting to hear what my little man had done while we were gone.

"Has he ever pooped on the floor before?"

By the gasp that came out of my chest instead of the words she was expecting, I think she figured out that it had never happened to us before. When the initial shock finally wore off, I got up the nerve to ask how long she had let him run around without a diaper on. She told me that they had just gotten out of the bathtub and she was trying to find a diaper to put on him, (because my hubby used the last one and didn't replenish) when she smelled something. She looked at him, and he had walked over to the corner of his room and in front of him was a little smelly pile. She said that little man was almost afraid of what he had done, and couldn't believe what had happened. He didn't quite know how to act. She now says she wished she would have gotten her camera, but she was so worried about getting a diaper on him so that it didn't happen again that she didn't think about it. She said that his face was priceless.

This is one "first" that I'm not upset about missing. Oh well. Next online stop: Target for a potty chair. That way he has somewhere to squat instead of in the corner. :)


Updated:
Just hours after original posting, a NEW first was accomplished. Our first attempt at getting a piece of apple stuck up his nose. Luckily, it was right in front of me, and I could easily knock it out before he tried to suck it up higher in his nose. Crisis averted... for now. I doubt this is the last time he tries this one.

Funny for Now

I know that as Little Man grows up, things he used to do that were funny will not be so funny later. But, while I can, I will laugh at them now, and remind him of his goofiness later, if only to have something to hold over him when he has a girlfriend...

For instance:
- when he learned what the word "lick" meant, he licked all of our faces until we finally told him it wasn't funny anymore...

- when he has a dirty diaper, he will calmly walk up to you and tell you what he did, and then immediately run away and hide when you tell him to go to his room so we can change him.

- when he first learned that shooting a basketball could have so many more tricks to it, like spinning around before you shoot, or jumping up high and then shooting, or even more entertaining is when you combine the spin with a jump! He just couldn't stop laughing, and neither could we. But, I bet that when the clock is ticking down and we are one point down, it won't be so funny to be doing showboat tricks under the basket.

- he was sitting on my bed the other morning watching Blue's Clues while I got ready for work. I got dressed in the bathroom, and came out to get the shirt I wanted to wear over a little camisole I had on. I guess that the tan camisole blended in with my skin color, because my child did a double take from the TV and then started laughing, pointed at me and said, "Nekkid!" I tried to show him that it was a shirt, and all he would do was laugh at me and say,"Nekkid!" I gave up. I guess I can't wear that color around him anymore.

Fault gone Good

My whole life, I've been told that I talk too much. And when I do, I tell people too much personal information when they didn't need to know. But today, that one little fault may have paid off.
While I was getting my nails done, I was listening to these three ladies talk (very loudly) about their workout regimens and how they were interested in buying a treadmill, but they just didn't want to spend too much on one. Well, I just happened to have a treadmill at home that never gets any use, and I knew that my husband and I wanted to sell it. So, I spoke up, and asked if she wanted it to be a new one or if it mattered if it was used. She said she didn't care, and I am sending her pictures of it right now so that she can decide whether it's worth fifty bucks or not. I'm hoping she says yes, and then we can work on selling the rest of the things that have accumulated either in the house or in the shed outside.
Anyone need a corner computer desk?


Update (Monday): No word back yet from prospective buyer. Wonder if I should call and make sure she got the pictures. Or maybe this is just her nice way of saying, "No Thanks."

Close Call

I got a call today from my husband at school. This doesn't sound like anything interesting, I know. Except that he NEVER calls me at work, and he was supposed to be out at a SWAT day and unreachable himself.
You know how Texas needs rain, and how people are stupid and ignore STATE-WIDE burn bans? Well, about a mile and a half away from our house, a stupid old woman decided to burn her trash, and didn't keep it under control. Jonathan happened to hear about it from a fellow SWAT member and hitched a ride home, calling me to tell me that I wasn't to come home until he called me to tell me either where to go instead or when it was safe to come back. Then he said he was on his way home to pack some things. WHAT?!? Do you really think that he would get all the things that I would think of when given ten minutes to grab and go? And more importantly, what would I have put in the car given ten minutes to grab and go?

Luckily, I was in the middle of class and couldn't think about it. By the time I did have time to think about it, he had called and said that all was well, they had stopped the spread of the fire, and the stupid woman had been ticketed for her ignorance. Thank God. Crisis averted. But now I'm thinking. What should I have made sure we got out of the house?

Dating Again

No, not me! Who do you think I am?

Really, it's the brother-in-law. And it's really hitting me harder than I thought! About three years ago, BIL brought home a girl. She was GREAT! They hit it off, we hit it off, she fit in perfectly! She was at my baby showers, she was at our house after we brought the baby home, and she always brought him something every time she came! She was the perfect shoe-in for little man's aunt, on the hubby's side. They moved in together, she hinted around about getting married and having babies, and I was trying to get ready to share my "favorite daughter-in-law" crown. And then the unthinkable happened. They broke up, like in May or something. But, I just ignored that fact, because she still sent birthday cards, we still sent Christmas cards, and I refused to take down pictures of the two, like a little kid hoping that the divorced parents will somehow end up together again. I guess it's not going to happen, though.

This weekend, we got to meet BIL's NEW girl. We'll call her Mo. I was very nervous about meeting her, and I was also uncomfortable with the fact that he was bringing her here to stay at our house. When Girl #1 came, I had known her for a while, and I was okay with hanging out at my house in my pajamas in front of a person that I am comfortable with. This girl, Mo, I knew nothing about. I knew her age (younger than my sister), I knew her name (a.k.a. CoverGirl, from my FIL), and I knew that even though they hadn't been dating long, she told my BIL that she doesn't believe a man should have to cook or clean. WHAT?!? My husband is the main cook and cleaner of the house. That's because he's home the most. Am I supposed to work all week, and then come home and clean up after him and cook him meals because he's been home all day long and done nothing? (Oh, wait, that sounds like what I do anyway...)

Anyway, worrying aside, she seems nice. We were able to find things to talk about when the boys decided that they needed to get something out of the truck outside... since it took two of them and more than thirty minutes. She helped me clean my kitchen after Jonathan grilled us some steaks for dinner Saturday night. All in all, I would say that she's pretty nice.

But, I found myself comparing her to Girl #1, and almost calling her the wrong name once or twice. I hope I didn't do it and not notice, because then I would just feel bad. The hardest part though, is that now I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. I want Mo to feel welcome and feel like we're friendly, but then again, I don't want to really get to know her that well, or really get attached, because what happens when/if THEY break up!?! How many times do I have to go through this? I don't really like this! I have been married for five years, and stopped dating when I met my hubby! How come I have to do this again? Can't I just meet her at the wedding from now on, and then I don't have to worry about whether or not I will like her anymore, because by then I'll have no choice.

Before/After Baby

Before/After
Bathroom time = alone time
Bathroom time = undivided attention

Shave legs every day
Shave one leg at a time, once a week

Quickest get-ready time: 45 min.
Quickest get-ready time: 15 min.

Go to bed when I get tired after 11pm
Go to bed the minute I can, after putting little one to bed, picking up all the toys and things I could, and finally falling asleep the minute my head hits the pillow.

Sleep wearing whatever I wanted, or not
Sleep in something that won’t embarrass me in front of the little one.

Yell at the dogs from my bed at 2am
Go outside and freeze to tell the dogs to shut up

Ignore/don’t hear other people’s profanity
Vulgar words stick out like loud explosions in a conversation or movie

Curse when something upsets me
Breathe deeply and say “Oh Man!”

Come home from school and grade papers
Come home from school and play with little one

Can leave the house whenever I feel like it
Leave the house without skipping any naptimes or whenever he’s in a better mood.

Walk out of the house with one bag
Can’t leave the house without my purse, and his bag, filled with extra clothes, diapers, juice and snacks or other “just in case” items

When out to dinner, can enjoy meal at a leisurely pace.
When out to dinner, must pray that little one will eat SOMETHING that I put in front of him, and please stay patient enough not to make a scene, where we have to have our to-go boxes the minute the food arrives.

Have popcorn for dinner on a lonely night
Have something healthy for dinner with little one

Had free time
Free time?? What’s that?

Before baby?? When was that?
After baby, so much more in life!

Jobs You Couldn't Pay Me Enough to Do

In our little East Texas area, there is a low-budget news program on one of the local stations. Every so often they’ll do a segment called “Somebody’s Gotta Do It” about jobs that you might not have known existed, or a behind the scenes look at a job that everyone knows exists, but may not want to do. So, I put together a list of jobs that I know someone has to do, but I just don’t want to be that someone.

I don’t want to be:

- A policeman because my husband does it, and I would rather not see all the things in people that he sees. I want to believe there are still good people out there.
- A chicken farmer because even though I live around a bunch of chicken houses, I don’t ever want to be caught dead using the phrase “Smells like money” when discussing the rank odor in the air outside.
- A hairstylist because if you have seen my hair, then you would know that no one else needs to look this bad, and pay for it!
- A dentist because even though they make too much money, I don’t want to have to deal with people and their bad breath.
- A doctor of any kind because, again, they make money, but have you ever heard of a doctor that someone you knew didn’t have a bad opinion about?
- A cafeteria lady because no one really cooks that bad, do they?
- A life-long waitress because even though you always have cash on hand, there’s no where to go in that job, and you never want to get between a fat person and their food.
- A floral delivery person because I tried that this weekend (picking up the flowers that my grandfather sent us for our five-year wedding anniversary) and I don’t know how to keep a vase from falling over and spilling all of its contents while still keeping my eyes on the road and my hands on the wheel!

I know there are more things that I wouldn’t want to do for a living, like the obvious ones that no one wants to do but someone has to (septic tank cleaners, trash men, bus boys, dishwashers) but I didn’t want to list all of those.

Did I miss anything? What’s the one (or two) job(s) that you just couldn’t get paid enough to do?

She's Here!

I'm so excited! My sister sent her pictures of New York to the wrong Wal-mart on the Internet, and instead of asking me to pick them up, came all the way up here to pick them up herself! Then, she decided to come hang out and play with my child today, saving me some money on a babysitter! :) What a great sister!

She brought us some Christmas presents, and some stuff from New York, like this awesome purse that she haggled for and a pair of socks that say I "heart" NY! And they're even in our school colors! It's so cool!

Anyway, I know this isn't the most exciting post, and I'll work on a better one next, but I just had to share my excitement, and what better way to do that than by telling the whole world!

Cooking How - To

Recently, my husband went to the grocery store and bought a bunch of steaks for us to grill up for dinner. With the right meat, my husband grills up a mean steak! Anyway, he was preparing the meat, and I hear him start laughing. When I ask why, he reads to me the directions off the label on the meat. They were so funny I decided to share them with you.

----Cooking Steps-----
1. Heat charcoal 30 min.
Heat gas grill 10 min. with lid closed.

2. Grill 4 inches above Medium heat.
Hold palm just above grate. If heat causes you to pull away in 4 seconds, heat is ideal (375 degrees)

3. For ¾” steak, cook 6 – 8 min/sd.
for 1” cook 9 – 12 min/sd for MedRare – Med. Remove when 140 –150 deg. Slice thinly at an angle.

Here are my questions…

1. Who checks temperature of a grill with their bare hand and a watch with a second hand?

2. How many seconds should it take you to pull your hand away in order to know if the temp has gone down to 140-150?

3. Do you slice thinly at an angle when eating it? Because after it comes off the grill, that’s the only time it gets sliced around this house. Maybe that’s my problem with tough steaks, maybe I’m not slicing them at the right angle!

Hope this was as helpful to you as it was to us! :)