In the Wee Small Hours

I am not sure what is up with Boots, but I have got to figure it out and soon!

I am not a big advocate for family beds. I personally feel that children need to have their own space, as do parents. I also feel that they need to have a schedule and part of that schedule is going to bed before I do, in most cases. I am also pretty adamant that they are comfortable being alone. I think that a false sence of security that is sometimes fostered with constantly having someone within inches is not allowing the kids to get into a habit of falling asleep naturally when they are tired, and needing someone there to feel comfortable enough to sleep is a recipe for a problem later in life. These are only my views that I carry with my two children. If you feel differently, good for you for having an opinion and sticking to it. It's just not the right choice for MY family.

With all of that being said, normally Boots is a great sleeper, not to mention a rather snazzy PJ dresser!

For the most part, he starts getting ready for bed at 7:30 and by the time we brush his teeth, uses the bathroom and gets a drink and says goodnight to every thing in the house, it's eight before we even head in to read a story! And usually, you tell him goodnight. I give him a kiss and a hug and a little bit of love (which is just a bunch of kisses on his cheeks) and turn out the light and shut the door, and he magically reappears at 6:30 or 7.


Not the case as of late, not even close. He is up every few hours, so we alternately get up tuck him back in, as the night wears on, he gets crankier and crankier and starts to cry and say he doesn't want to be alone. And that is it for me,I can't handle the idea of him feeling left all alone, that is why I spend the majority of the night in his rocking chair next to his bed, holding his hand. If we can't convince him to go back to his own bed and it is in the wee small hours of the morning that he makes his short little way to our room, and crawls into bed with us. Too cute at times to say no.

I remember when Little P was 3 and we came out every morning for close to a year with her asleep on the couch. Nothing we did stopped it. And when the time was right for her, she slept all night in her room for the most part ever since.

Do I wait it out, do I try to reason more with a tired 3 year old ( who by the way has a will as strong as iron, no one is ever pushing this child to do something he does not want to do). Do I buy a more comfortable rocker and settle in? I am open to suggestions folks!

Plastic for the Oven

This morning I made some muffins in my silicone muffin liners. The ones I got from Aunt K for my birthday. They were amazing! Plain and simple. I have never worked with silicone before. I have seen them before and always wondered about the results. And then there was a little fear about putting plastic in the oven... So fears aside, perfect muffins in front of me... I'm sold!

Okay, so I need to get a little more even on the amount of batter I put into each one. Anyhow, I got two different sets of 6. One set was much stiffer and seemingly thicker than the other, however that did not effect the end product of the muffin at all.

These are a very basic nugmeg muffin that get the tops brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. They are light and fluffy and a best when slathered with homemade strawberry jam!


To go along with these, we had fruit and yogurt, scrabbled eggs and those salt potatoes from last night made the best homefries!

We do LOVE us some breakfast...

So, do any of you have any idea what this is?
For those of you not schooled in the architecture of a three year old it is a plane, one that he and his sister can sit on the cushions on either side and fly to far away destinations. Specifically to that leaning building where they make all of the pizza... I love kids!

Naps and Magic

It's been a quiet day, Little P had a magic show this morning that she attended and loved. Boots and I ran errands from the time we dropped her off until we picked her up. I noticed that after lunch he got very quiet. I think the heat was a bit much for him, what do you think?

On another note, a while ago I decided that I needed a large work area of my own. After some encouraging words from Mr. Fantastic I did purchase a large desk and new chair.

When I was setting up my sewing/ craft area I remembered some old mason jars with glass lids that I had found years and years ago. I also remembered that one of them was missing a lid. When I put them across the very top shelf of the desk and filled them with matching bits , I knew there was a reason that I had saved them. I love how glass sparkles in the sun, and there is just something about the old mason jars that I can't resist!

And as for the lone one with no lid... where else was I going to put all of my paintbrushes?

Here are a few random things that I just love...

A painted bobble turtle, a gift from my mom, at some point in my college career. (Knowing her it was tucked in with new socks and freshly baked cookies!)

A small glass rabbit, a childhood gift from my only Aunt.
I randomly change the face on my pincushion, kind of keeps it interesting.

I got this for my birthday from Jill and Dan among a ton of other stuff! I have wanted one for a while now and was thrilled to get one. It fits my rule! It serves two purposes, it cuts fantastic straight lines, and it looks really stinkin' cute! What??? That IS a purpose!

I do have to find a better solution for my ribbon, this works for now, but I would like to find something else...

Cookbooks and Pancakes

So I have been trying to find some time to bake, it's something that I LOVE to do and it has just been too damn hot! So when it was a little cooler yesterday I made these...



They are pound cake chocolate carmel bars..... Yummmmmm



And for the last of the locally grown and picked blueberries I thought Blueberry Pancakes sounded great. Apparently I am a horrible mother and I have never made them for my children before...




Here are they very happily blueberry smeared children fast at work devouring their breakfast!



This is one of my most prized possessions, when I turned 21, my mother made this cookbook for me. It has every recipe that I could ever need.



All are from family members or friends, handed down through the years, there are notes in the margins and a HUGE list of substitutions that I use way too often. There are recipes that require things the size of a walnut and recipes that actually use the word smidgen. I love this cookbook, I use this cookbook every day, and I am starting to share the recipes with the people I love and trust the most. That is the way it is suppose to be.

It's my physical and I'll cry if I want to...

So today Little P had to have her physical for 2nd grade, and a small shot. This news she was not happy about! But she took it like a champ and was much happier after a consolation prize of a trip to the library seemed to ease the pain.

Our library has a fantastic kids wing. It has a huge wall that is shared with the main part of the library that is a giant fish tank. Boots and Little P love this super cool feature....


When I am browsing they settle in to the comfy chairs and read their books, I love this...


They spent a good portion of this morning playing with the puppies and each other, so I ran to get the camera and snapped a few shots.


In the spring the kids got a super cool package from the grandparents, the butterflies as you might remember, and a dinosaur excavation kit of a triceratops. We have dug for months now, on and off, and finally after much dust we have a completed skeleton!


And on a ending note... Huge CONGRATS to our california born nephew Little Man, who at 9 months old, started walking today ! Way to go baby boy! You can visit him and his sisters at his momma's blog Coffee and Strawberry Milk.

T-shirts Galore

Okay, so this last week, we were walking through Barnes and Noble, and I saw a clerk standing at the center help desk. On a whim I asked if they had a book that I had been searching for. I am normally the order it from Amazon get a better deal kind of girl, but some times, I run low on patience and it seems like I have been wanting this book for a while now. So she declared that Yes, they do have it, it was just a matter of finding it. So she took off to scour the store for me and I looked around at the books on the tables, while talking to Mr. Fantastic about said book. She returned, and with a questioning look handed me this book....



I turned to Mr. Fantastic and gave a uncharacteristic girlie like squeal, this is the book for me! I turned it over and unhappily declared that I could get it for a lot less, with shipping included, so I'd better wait. Mr. Fantastic in his typical fashion, said " Oh no, you have waited for too long to get this, and you never want to buy any thing for yourself and Blah, blah, blah, sweet things to say, blah, blah, blah. In the end, I walked out with visions of new tee's in my head and the guide to get them in my hand. Thank goodness, Mr. Fantastic gets me!

Here are two that I have made so far. BTW I have had this Animal T-shirt for ever and I love it, but it never fit right! Now it will! And I was very pleasently surprised to find more than just t-shirts as I read, which for any one who knows me, is my work attire. I became a stay at home mom only after the birth of Boots. So before that it was business or business casual. So I was more than happy to retire that and take on the t-shirts and shorts or jeans depending on the weather!



There were bags, and skirts and for the extreme budget minded bride to be, a wedding dress.... To each their own I guess, but on that thought, how comfortable were you on your wedding day? Sound appealing now?

Fun in the Sun

Hi there! Long time no blog! With the family in town we have been really, really busy! So here are some pics of the kids enjoying the pool. I am certain that there is no happier child than Boots to find out he can get him self up on the floaty raft...

The kids are really digging the dogs. Magoo doesn't have one, so she is loving the little ones. And as you can see Boots and Little P are loving the time with their little cousins!

Today was the family reunion, at some park in Penfield. It couldn't have possibly been any hotter. We ran around with sunblock and water for the kids and our selves non- stop. And that doesn not just mean our kids. In this family that means ANY kid that runs by looking a little too red and breathing a little to hard. We had a great time, heat and all. I will have to down load pics later. I like a dingbat, forgot my camera, so when others down load, I will post!

The entire fam is here!

They are all here, after rolling in late, late, late last night.

They already took their pilgrimage trip to Wegmans, and for dinner we had Famous Dave's!


The food is fantastic and we ordered enough food to feed 12 people and it was ready for pick up in 10 to 15 minutes...

Gotta love good Bar-B-Q!

I finally finished the window seat cushion in the kitchen. I have recovered it a few times with custom fit removable washable covers. Each one was a learning experience, I will just leave it at that. I LOVE this fabric. That is mildly surprising considering that I am not a real flowery kind of girl.


This is actually a table cloth that I bought at Target on clearance for a whopping 6 bucks. I brought it home and took it apart and Viola! A custom cushion cover with some style. I will be finished with the little pillows for it by tomorrow. Talk about last minute... The in-laws get here in 24 hours!

We are all resting up so we can party, party, party for the next week and a half, especially Boots, I came up from the laundry room to this...

Not to mention that I hope all of this insane rain goes away and we have clear skys to go out side and play in! There is a creek next to the house, the leaf lines in the creek are where it normally is.... it looks like race lanes for the ducks.... that could be fun!


Last but not least, what is missing from this picture.....

There will be a top tomorrow..... I NEED more hours in the day, or another me, oh to dream!

No I did not drop off the face of the earth....

I have too much to do to even think about that, I suppose I could view it as a type of vacation.....

So how have you all been? I have been preparing for my in-laws to come in, so that means a lot of extra stuff. You know the stuff you kind of ignore until company is coming to stay. The fact that the linen closet isn't perfect and color coordinated. The little tiny dings in the wall that need touch up paint.
Dusting the top shelf of the closets. Those type of things. Completely irrational, I realize that. But need to be done none the less. So here is what we have been up to.

We went to a fourth of July celebration



And got rained out!



We bought and put up a pool. We are enjoying the sun while it lasts here in Rochester!



More soon!

I have lost it......


Today, after running some errands, Mr. Fantastic, the kids and I stopped by the grocery store on our way home. Upon leaving the store, Mr. Fantastic sees a wild grocery cart headed right for a shiney new Exterra. So he runs to stop it from hitting the car. He went to put the cart in the cart holder thingy and the owner of said vehicle came walking up with her cart and snarles rather rudely, "Did that hit my car?", "Did it?". Mr. Fantastic just said no and continued to walk with us. After a few feet he turned to me and said," That was rude, I guess she didn't realize that I was stopping the cart. Oh well. " At this point we are now at our car and I am loading the groceries in the back.

I finished with the groceries and started to take our cart back. As I am walking to the cart holder I find myself passing the first one, and the second one, and approaching the third one( the one RIGHT next to her car) with speed. At this point I am sooooo pissed off.

So I put my cart away and as she is about ready to hop into her UN-blemished car, I grab her attention with. "Excuse me, I want a word with you."

Before I recount the conversation let me clarify a few things. This lady was old enough to be my mother, and I am 30. So in my opinion definitely old enough to know better, but not so old that she has lost her mind and can't remember her manners and she did manage to spot the tattoos from 20 feet away mind you. Secondly my husband has a lot of tattoos. 20 +, and today he happened to be wearing a Denise Rodman jersey, old khaki cargo shorts, and he has a mohawk. It's small, he has to keep the rest of his hair reasonable by his company standards, and when he is on his own time, he likes to rock the hawk. On to the conversation.

Me- Excuse me, I want a word with you.

BL (Bitchy Lady)- Yes

Me- That man that just saved your precious car from being dinged, that was not his cart. He just happened to see it going toward your car and though he would do the right thing and stopped it.

BL- Well, all I saw was your son with tattoos and I figured

Me (cutting her off)- First off, he is my husband, not my son, and all you saw was his tattoos, and his mohawk, and what you didn't see was him doing something nice for you.

BL- Well I just saw

Me- Yes, we already established what you saw, and what you failed to see. He is a good guy, showing his children about doing nice things for people. Being thoughtful, something you seem to have not gotten the hang of yet.

BL- (well, nothing she had stopped talking at this point)

Me - So you have a nice guy to thank, and perhaps next time try not to judge a book by it's cover. Oh yeah, and a Thank You would have been a nice touch.

I then turned around and walked back to my car. Mr. Fantastic is sitting in the drivers seat, grinning at me, "Your nuts," he tells me, " I appreciate the fact that you've got my back, but it's okay." I then recounted the entire thing to him because he didn't hear any of it. He just grinned and shook his head, I do love my man, and I will not be having some old bitchy lady who has preconceived notions of good and bad, thinking that she was right and feel comfortable in mind that being naive is okay. Well not today sister.

And to top this trip off, we get in the car and Little P declares that we need a doobie, I almost lost it, I was laughing so hard I had to compose myself before asking "WHAT?" She was combining dinner and a movie and it came out doobie, so we all went home and had a doobie. And it was great.

50 cents and a little bit of Luck

Who knew that is all it takes to be happy?

My Best Friend for the last 25 years,( yes, I know how lucky I am... ) and I went searching for garage sales this morning. Mostly it just provides us with time to catch up, drive around, get lost and laugh our asses off. And usually, we don't find much. But we have so little time together these days who cares about the actual finds.

However today was very different. She was looking for a table , and at the first stop, she found it. I however have had my eyes open for some fun dress up stuff. I have a 7 year old girl, dress up is the way to go. And I found the mother load, on top of several dance outfits complete with green sequins, and some costume jewelry that was way to fabulous to say no to, I found these....


For a quarter a piece... The capes, not the children.



These children love these capes, they had way toooo much fun running all around the living room, chasing each other all over the kitchen, hiding and scaring each other with their evil vampire laughs.

A little bit of luck and 50 cents, so that is the price of happiness... Who knew?