Independence! My baby has just begun to crawl and turn over. He's 11 months. He's never really needed to before. I realized months ago that sometimes in the middle of the night, he wanted to turn over because he was uncomfortable. So I would turn him over after he woke up and he continued to sleep. With this new found independence, now when he wakes up, he starts crawling around or just turning over. Luckily, I have babyproofed the area. Last night, when he woke up, he made no noise. Apparently, he woke up, closed the door all the way and moved around a bit. I woke up at 3:46am to use the bathroom and found this cute image.

It's Survivor night! I love watching Survivor. Not so much because it's a fun reality show but because it always means I'm getting together with people I love. We used to go to a friend's house and cook/eat dinner and then watch it together. After I started having kids again, their nighttime schedule didn't mesh with our plans so we started staying home instead. Then, my brother and his son started coming over and we started the ritual over again. I think I'll make chili later...

I'm no Betty Crocker! I'm barely an average cook. I haven't really taken a lot of interest over the years to become really great at cooking. Now, baking is another story...as evident by my extra pounds and my love of 'licking the bowl.' I love to eat someone else's cooking. I like to sit and watch them cook too. I love that people can just add this or that to make food better, like an artist.

I've noticed lately that I look forward to going to a nearby grocery store because it has an area where someone actually cooks something (and hands out samples.) They do it in such a way that if you like it, they give you the recipe and everything you need for that dish is sitting right there as well (you don't have to backtrack and find ingredients.) I've now enjoyed at least three different dishes and would have never thought to make them had it not been me sampling them first. Today's dish was southwest chili which included chicken and black beans. It was yummy! Of course, I'm going to be trying it out probably tomorrow evening at home.

My preschooler has been coughing for about three weeks now. Not too bad, that is, until yesterday. All day long, he coughed and coughed! I finally got the right recipe together to get him better...because for this cough, medication, cool mist humidifier and triaminic vapor fan. After 12 hours, in his room all evening and night, I woke up to hearing nothing. I even laid with him for over an hour between 1 and 230am last night listening to him cough. It was so quiet that I actually walked in to make sure he was breathing. What a sigh of relief. It was nice to hear him not suffer anymore.

Meanwhile, the baby went from grumpy to sick. I ended up calling the nurse at our pediatrician to give his symptoms and ask about a rash that had been on his back a couple of weeks. It didn't seem to concern me, per se, but I figured that I ought to kill two birds with one stone by asking questions. They suggested I go ahead and come on in. It ended up being a type of excema and hopefully it'll go away after the dry winter. Poor thing also had an ear infection. I had no idea. No wonder he wasn't himself. He, who usually wakes up smiley and happy, had just a half smile this morning.

What's that, yep, it's my voice cracking as it feels like I'm getting a sore throat. Joy.

I helped my husband cut down our neighbor's branches off of her tree (they were huge pecan limbs hanging off) because they had been damaged since Hurricane Ike. My husband has about 4 chain saws (maybe more?) and my neighbor had just moved in about 6 months ago or more and lives there with her pre-teen daughter. We spent all morning there cutting limbs into small pieces to pick up and attaching lines to make sure they fell in the right spot (I helped on that part but did a lot of watching overall.) It was nice to help out someone who really needed it. She offered to pay but it was what neighbors do for each other. We did accept the dozen cupcakes she brought over yesterday though. Mmm...

You know that smell that brings you back to a specific memory! Well, Early this morning, while I was laying down nursing my baby, I smelled 'my dad' on my shirt. Dad died in 1994 and he was a hard worker. Even after a long day's work at his job, he often worked outside in the garden and had a certain 'smell.' It wasn't body odor, per se, but a smell/scent of hard work and fresh air. I had smelled it once before while I was at the zoo years ago. It was a warm day and while walking through a corridor, I smelled him. I stopped in my tracks and to try to catch it again. I walked back and forth and finally realized that it was me. I had sweated in such a way, combined with my shirt and detergent that it smelled just like him. And again, last night, I smelled it again. It was such a comforting smell because I loved my dad and it was a wonderful treat to be able to smell a smell that brought me back such vivid memories of him.

I'm just so sad today. Moreso than yesterday when we had to euthanize our sick dog. She had been battling tumors in her sinus cavity and subsequent infections surrounding the area. She was a trooper though. Without going through a lot of detail, I know it must have been uncomfortable for months. We would have gone on until it became too much for her but then she stopped eating. It seems odd to just call her a dog, she was a member of our family for 9 or 10 years. She had her routine in the mornings (something I really missed this morning) and was such a great companion. While I am not a dog person, I think sometime in the last decade, I became one..... My eyes water just writing this... I think I'll watch a dvd or do something so I don't have to think of her right now. I miss Fatty.

I went on a trip today and hit the jackpot! I found the cemetery where many of my dad's ancestors were buried. I found my grandfathers, great grandfather(and great grandmother's) grave along with great aunts and uncles. A few others are probably related but I'm not sure yet. I took pictures for further examination and just because I was so psyched that I actually found them!!! Gotta love the internet!!! I would still be in the dark about my father's whole branch of the family tree without all the resources from the web. I am really enjoying this researching stuff!

I snore!! I didn't know that I did (well, when I'm really tired and sleeping on my back, I do.) Apparently, I do more than that (and when I'm on my side) and even woke the baby up. Maybe that explains his frequent wakings in the middle of the night?!? So, I bought some breathe-right strips and tried them (last night was the second night) and we actually slept late - he only woke up about 3 times! Perhaps that was the problem all along, and it wasn't the baby after all! Ugh!! I've lost so many hours of sleep not knowing that I was the cause of his wakings?!? I am keeping my fingers crossed that his brain forgets to wake up at all hours of the night and goes with his tummy and sleeps deeper (and hopefully he'll transition to not waking at all!!) This is such a revelation!

Batman lives with me now! He wears his Batman costume all day long (and today, he even went with the baby and I to Target, my mother-in-law's doctor appointment and the grocery store.) He helped open doors, waved at his fans and enjoyed his popularity. Right now, he is wearing his pajamas (along with his Batman gloves and belt...only because I said he couldn't sleep in it all.) It's great to be 4!!

I got into a cleaning mood today! Ok, so it was because my baby found 'something' on the carpet and decided to chew on it. I have great carpet that hides everything so I didn't even see wherever it came from or how he got it. So, I began vacuuming the carpet, then took the hose and went around every little corner of each piece of furniture and baseboard. My mom used to always say, 'a job worth doing is worth doing well.' Today's chore would have made her proud. It definitely made myself proud!!! Now, on to another room tomorrow. I'm not ready for any kind of 'flylady' habit, but this is a tiny little start.

Sometimes I just get caught up in researching ancestry. My mother did a paper in college about her relatives (names and anecdotes)but no dates or places. She called the only relative left to have accurate information and wrote everything down and drew a family tree. That was 20 years ago.

Shortly thereafter, before my dad died, I asked him the same kind of questions. My dad has always been terrible about dates, times and names. He couldn't even remember his kids' birthdays. Not that he didn't care, but he just wasn't great at that kind of information. I got as much information as I could. Basically, I know his dad's name and a probable grandfather's name. That's it. Since he was born in 1911, the information isn't as readily available. That just may be a short branch.

Regarding my mom's family, I found a whole patch of relatives from St. Johns Newfoundland (and spots to find records there.) It's just so time-consuming. Just when I think I find something, it doesn't match up. Then I realize, my kitchen really needs cleaning and then I stop. While I really enjoy researching and imagining life then, I have to organize my time better. The best time is when everyone is asleep at night (I don't have to fight over computer time or stop to get someone a drink) but then, by that time, I'm tired and sometimes just want to do nothing.

But, it's something new and exciting...something that makes me happy this week.

I sometimes forget about doing things. I gave my preschooler a banana for a snack. He came back and let me know that he didn't know how to open it. I had just given him the banana without peeling it first. I showed him how to open it by using my fingernail to break it open so that it could be peeled. He quickly downed it and then later asked for another. I gave him another and again showed him how to open the peeling. He told me, "Wow, you're a good banana peeler!" You know, that was the best compliment I've had in a long time! He was so sincere too... :)

I like to read...it's just time consuming. I know it's supposed to be...but once I get started, I like to finish in a matter of a few days or I begin to forget important details. I used to go walking for exercise and listen to books on tape (when they were still audiotapes.) I loved doing that (and will eventually get back to that when I get some time each day with someone else watching my little one(s).) I started a book years ago and somehow never finished listening to it. I still wonder how it ended and will need to buy the book (or CD) to that I know how it ends. It reminds me of the commercial with the camera (with pictures inside just waiting to get printed.) After spending some of my Target giftcard on two more books last week, I need to get back into the habit of reading (or these books will also sit on the shelf with the other unread books.) I haven't taken the opportunity in years to just sit and read. Maybe when the kids are in school, gone all day, I'll then read...while I wish they were home again.

My Christmas present to myself was a Garmin GPS. I used to like to get lost when I was younger. I'd drive in a neighborhood and find my way out, and then into bigger cities and finding alternate routes. It used to be exciting and different! Now that I'm older, I don't enjoy getting lost. With the invention of mapquest, I am a printing queen! I will print directions just in case. What sealed my choice this season on a guiltless gift I can splurge on, was trying to get from point A to point B (and mapquest didn't help.) I read over those directions and couldn't find my way out of a subdivision to a wedding (and didn't want to be late.) I had to eventually follow someone to the location. On the way back to the subdivision, I followed a car (whose occupants lived far away) and their gps took them directly where they needed to be. What a lifesaver!!

I have been without an electric can opener for years (I don't use many cans and it didn't seem to be a priority.) Last week, I cooked three recipes that required at least two or three cans (of stuff) each. Well, I definitely found the time and made it a priority to buy one. I was glad it was under $10 and figured I should have gotten one a long time ago. Aaaww!

I love gadgets that make my life easier!!

Crack! Pop! It seems that I feel like the tin man sometimes (from the Wizard of Oz!) Maybe I need a little oil, lol! My knees, elbows and ankles pop when I get up from somewhere or move positions. I guess it's just part of getting older. I would rather my bones not pop while I'm sneaking out of a room (after putting my kid to sleep though.)

"Thanks for being a Mom." That's what was said to me at the end of a conversation I was dreading. An incident occurred this past weekend with my daughter and her friend. My daughter drives and her friend used that to her advantage. Her friend left and got into another guy's car while having my daughter wait for her to return. As it turned out, the girl took a long time and ignored her phone calls and texts, wanting to spend more time with her 'friend.' They were at a nearby dark park... My daughter ended up leaving her and the friend's parents came and got her. I became concerned when my daughter hadn't called to let me know they arrived at their destination so I called her. She was upset and said she was coming home. She said she didn't know what to do (when it was happening.) The girl's stuff was still in the car too. I told my daughter that she knows what she needs to do...(hoping her moral compass would let her know what to do.) I don't really think she wanted to know what to do...she just wanted her friend to be nice to her and do that anymore (without having to say 'no' to her.)

I wasn't sure what story was told to the friend's parents but I needed to let them know what really happened. I knew the friend's address and used that info to get their last name and then their phone number (I love the internet that way.) I explained what had happened (as I knew it from what my daughter had said.) Fortunately, her parents were already alerted by cues from the friend beforehand and were already thinking she was planning something. We exchanged lots of phone numbers and vowed to call each other in the event they spend the night with each other in the future. The friend will, of course, not allowed to hang out with her friends like my daughter for a while, and has already had her cellphone taken away.

Ahh..teenagers. This is what keeps me young, lol!

My 'lil Santa!

I had a very merry Christmas and ate way too much! I should finally get some sleep after staying up late for days leading up to the much anticipated holiday! Now, the clean-up begins....tomorrow.

Today is my favorite day of the year! It's Christmas Eve...I make wassail, play Christmas music, watch Christmas shows on tv, leave the Christmas lights on all day, read Christmas stories to the kids, finish up wrapping presents, and bake cookies...lots and lots of Christmas cookies!

I found a local radio station that plays Christmas songs all day every day. I think it has been doing that for several years but I had forgotten. I find myself turning it on each day now...and this afternoon, finally realized why. While driving around returning from an errand with my boys in the car, I found myself singing out loud and loving it! I think I love Christmas songs because I know most of the words! And what words I don't know, I make them up, lol! I tried explaining that drummer boy song to my preschooler today...and making the sound, pppprrrumpapumpum! It brings me back to the cartoon that came on at night when I was a kid...I looked forward to it and the other ones that came on every year at night (when there was no such thing as cable!)