Snack vs. Treat

So, Reid is participating in soccer this spring. I keep meaning to post pictures, but haven't had time to sort through the 200 or so I took at the first game.


Anyway, one of the team parents is responsible for bringing a snack each week. The first week, the coach brought the snack, which were gigantic chocolate chip cookies. These were so big that the boys split Reid's and neither of them really was very hungry for lunch when we got home because of it. Okay, that was not my idea of a snack, but we'll survive one weekend of that. So, this last weekend I was asked to bring a drink and another mom would bring the snack. I went out and bought 100% apple juice boxes for all the kids. The other mom gets there and informs me that she put drinks in with the snack (fine, whatever, though I would appreciate clearer requests from the coach). She was nice enough to bring enough snacks for the siblings to have one, too. This is what was in the boys snack bag:


1. Hi-C "juice" box -- 10% juice and 2nd ingredient (behind water) is high fructose corn syrup, so not really any better than soda

2. Bag of chips -- Reid got Lays and Ross got Fritos

3. Bag of cookies -- Reid got chocolate chip with M&Ms and Ross got graham crackers (the least offensive item in the two bags)

4. Blow Pop

5. Several other random pieces of candy per bag


Okay, so am I the only person who would NOT let their kids eat that much junk in one sitting? I mean, I might let the kids have one of those items PER DAY (if even). I find the entire thing ridiculous! These are SNACKS for a group of 3 and 4 year olds! I really don't think my views on food are that extreme -- we have sweets and treats in our house, too. But, those are only ever given after a solid meal has been eaten -- you know, a meal including fruits and/or veggies, whole grains and lean proteins. No wonder there is an obesity epidemic among the children in this country!

And, on a side note, the inclusion of a sucker with gum in the middle is totally irritating. Yes, thank you, we get the stickiness in two forms for the price of one piece of candy. And really, making each bag unique just creates issues -- "but he got a red one, I want a red one, too, I don't want blue" (slap a whiny preschool voice on there while you're at it).

I'm sure everyone will be thrilled the week I bring raisins, granola bars and bottles of water.

Do you knit/crochet?

If so, you HAVE to check out www.ravelry.com. Yes, you'll need to wait a few days for an "invite", but it is worth it!

It is the coolest knitting/crochet site EVER! Lots and lots of cool projects (plenty of which are free) and a ton of info.

I'm already half way through a dress for Lucy and just ordered yarn for a sweater for myself (don't think I've ever knit anything for myself!!!).

And just because she is cute...

...a shot of Lucy from earlier this week sporting one of her new spring outfits!

Thoughts on cleaning.

So, as I have mentioned before, I'm working on "spring" cleaning my house. I have decided I need to rename it deep cleaning, as there is no way the whole house will get done anytime before July.

Last week I did the boys room and this week I'm working on Lucy's. I have learned two things in the course of doing these rooms:

1. My kids are DISGUSTING. (Actually, it would probably would be more accurate to just say that kids are disgusting.)

2. Never put kids beds directly against a wall.

Reid & Ross's beds are up against the wall -- not because I want them there, but simply because the room is not big enough to accommodate the furniture any other way. The walls bordering the beds were beyond gross. The scuff marks from toys (some accidental and some caused by the fact that they use the walls as a race track for their match box cards) were the least of my concerns. The yucky brown haze, chunks of nose glue and other unidentifiable, but dried, liquids were disturbing. The good news is that the walls looked almost new (if you can ignore the few chunks of wallboard that are actually missing) after a thorough washing. I suppose I should probably scrub them down more than once a year.

The crib was also beyond gross. I dust it weekly and wipe it down whenever I notice chunks. Well, I've obviously been missing something. When I took the bed apart to move the mattress down a few slots, I noticed dried, crusty spit up on the inside of the panels. And there was what looked like a lot of dried spit (not spit-up, though) on the top of the rails, which means that has to be left over from Ross, since Lucy can't pull herself up yet. So, now I need to add another task to my weekly list -- wash, don't dust, the crib. And I thought myself to be a good housekeeper...

And here is where you can all laugh at me. Let me preface what I'm about to tell you with this: I miss working. Don't get me wrong, I like being home and wouldn't have it any other way right now, but I do miss my professional life outside the home. While my degree is in accounting, I did a lot of database work at every one of my jobs.

So, when I got ready to start spring cleaning, I decided that I needed a way to keep track of what tasks needed done and when they had been completed. I don't want to forget to do anything and also want to know when a task is due to be completed. So, what does Michelle do? She starts a database. No, not just a spreadsheet, but an Access database with lots of complicated tables linked together to give a cleaning history, a way of tracking when items were due, a list of specific tasks to complete....you get the picture, right?

Okay, okay...I AM A DORK! I know it. After spending about an hour on this project, I realized that I was completely off my rocker. So, I scrapped it for a much simpler spreadsheet. And then I laughed at myself. Now it is your turn.

Can't sleep...

...and I'm so darn tired.

Really, nights are the worst thing about this deployment. I'm tired of being alone. And, yes, I know that sounds odd considering there are three little people in the house with me right now.

I guess I didn't workout long enough today...

Mmmm...cookies!

Ross helped me make cookies this morning -- the best stinkin' chocolate chip cookies ever. I got the recipe from a church cookbook that my Aunt Kay gave me a few years ago. I make them huge -- the entire batch only made 12 cookies -- and they look like something you'd get at a pretentious bakery.

Today I threw in some ground up toasted hazelnuts that have been in the freezer since Christmas. Mmmmmm....those are some YUMMY cookies.

I was going to skip working out today, but...

Lucy loves solids!

So, I tried starting Lucy on solids about a month ago. At the time, she wasn't very interested, though she was thoroughly pleased to get to play with the spoon (see photo below). So I waited a week or so and tried again and she was still not interested. But then after we got back from Ohio I tried again, and this time she LOVED them.



So far Lucy has had bananas and applesauce. She's been a bit finicky about the bottle, so I figured she wouldn't be too interested in the solids yet. Nope, the girl can polish off an entire banana in a sitting and still be mad that there isn't more. Today we're trying something new -- sweet potatoes. And I have pears ripening on the counter for later this week.

Starting with Reid, I've made my own baby food. It is soooo easy and the baby food actually tastes like REAL FOOD. I use a hand crank food mill for the most part, though I did give my new food mill attachment for my stand mixer a run in when I did the first batch of apples. Little tip for anyone interested in this: freeze the baby food in ice cube trays, pop out the frozen cubes and then store in Ziploc bags in freezer. It makes it easy to get out just the right amount later.

Arrrrrrgggghhhhh!

It has been one of those days. And before I start the tale of what happened today, I'd like to start by telling you of an observation I had a few weeks ago.

I was cutting something in the kitchen with my (rather large) chef's knife, when I sliced my finger open. Now, I was holding the knife in a completely unsafe manner when I slipped, so it was entirely my fault. Of course, I head off to our linen closet to dig out a band aid. As I'm digging through the box, I note that I need to add band aids to the grocery list. And, as I do so, I start to think about the fact that the last box of band aids has lasted us a really long time. And, really, that is surprising considering how rambunctious my two boys are. So, I sit their marveling at how fortunate we've been with the boys and how thankful I was that we've not had to make any trips to the emergency room.

Now, everyone knows what happens when you have a thought like that, right? I mean EVERY TIME I notice how lovely and long my nails are, one will break within 24 hours. Seriously -- some observations serve only as an invitation to disaster.

Now on to this morning...

The boys and Lucy were in the living room playing this morning while I was in the bathroom getting ready. I was just about to walk into the living room when Ross screamed loudly. Reid came tearing into the hall, like someone trying to escape the scene of a crime. So, I chew Reid out for not keeping his hands to himself and then send him to time out. I come around the corner to see Ross standing in the middle of the living room with blood spurting from his face. He, apparently, fell head first into the corner of our coffee table. And according to both Reid & Ross, Reid was completely uninvolved in this happening (bad mommy, of course, has already punished Reid). So, I frantically rushed around getting the kids dressed so that we could go to the emergency room. Lucy went along, but Reid got to hang with Grandma for the morning (and got a day off from speech thanks to the incident). Both Ross & Lucy were surprisingly mellow while at the hospital and fortunately Grandpa was able to pop over and lend a hand. Ross ended up getting 3 stitches (which I am thankful to say I didn't have to witness going in).

Now, I know in the big scheme of things that no major damage was done. Nonetheless, my nerves are quite shot at this point. I just can't handle seeing my kids bleed.


Additionally, yesterday marked 4 months of deployment for Jeremy. This feels like a very cruel milestone -- yes 4 months down that we don't have to do again, but the thought of doing this again two more times is sickening. I know we'll survive this, but I sure as heck am not enjoying the ride!

And some pics of the boys!

Ross is such a hoot right now! He says the funniest things and his articulation is just endearing.

How do you like the haircut in the next two photos? I made my first attempt at cutting his hair myself this weekend. It didn't go so well (lots of tears on both of our parts), but the cut isn't too bad -- at least not any worse (and in some instances much better) than some of the cuts I've paid for. Luckily I only need to cut his hair myself two times before I recoup the cost of the trimmers. Next time I should probably do Reid, though, as he is much more cooperative for haircuts in the first place.

Reid had a total fascination with my mom's crochet project this week. He wanted some yarn for himself, so I pulled out some scrap pieces for him to play with and he and Grandma ended up spending quite a few hours sitting and crocheting together. He made a "toy" (which looked a bit like a pot holder) for Lucy and wants to make something for Hannah now. He is just too funny and too cute!

Some photos of Lucy!

I realized today that I haven't posted updated pictures of the kids in a while. I'll have to put the boys in a separate post, because I haven't figured out how to load more than 5 pictures to one post yet. I'm sure I can do it, but I'm too lazy to find a way around the built in picture loader.

This one was taken two weeks ago. Since then she has learned to sit without the help of the boppy.

And these were taken yesterday, but I'm going to call them her 6 month photos.

Something new to worry about.

I took Lucy in for her 6 month check-up today. She weighed in at a whopping 13 lbs 3 oz, which means she hasn't really gained anything since her 4 month check-up. That places her in roughly the 10th percentile for weight. She started out somewhere between 80 or 90, I believe. So, the fact that she is small is not a concern -- it is the fact that she is not gaining and is dropping the charts is of concern. Of course, about the 1st question (after ascertaining that Lucy is eating whenever she wants) the doctor asked was "have YOU lost any weight lately". Um, yeah, so I guess that may be a problem. She advised that I up my calorie intake, which is not something I really want to do, especially since I am eating to satisfy my hunger.

Lucy is on target, if not ahead, developmentally -- she rolls, grasps, pushes up, coos and all that other good baby stuff. She just isn't very big.

Sigh...why is it that there is ALWAYS something to worry about when you have kids?

So, if you're the praying sort, say one for us -- that we find a way to help Lucy put on a bit of weight and some peace of mind for mommy.

I'm tired.

Really really tired. I seem to have developed a case of insomnia. I haven't been able to get to sleep before midnight for the last 4 nights. Of course, my children awake bright and early (and often in the night), so I'm exhausted. I have no clue what the deal is, though I suspect my long "to do" list is the problem. I have a problem settling down when I have too much to do. So, I knocked taxes off the list today. Hopefully that will help...if not, I better take advantage of the fact that my parents are around (and will be for a few more days) to get more items off the list.

Greetings from Ohio!

Lucy and I made the trip from North Carolina to Ohio on Friday, again. The trip went very well this time. In fact, I don't even have any rude or stupid people to report on. Surprisingly, I even let a complete stranger hold Lucy. When a full bird colonel offers to help you, you take the help! ;-) For you non-military folks, that is a pretty high ranking person -- the top rank Jeremy would ever be able to get to if he went career military. Really, I feel a lot different about letting someone with their name and rank on their chest hold Lucy, seeing that most kid-nappers wouldn't probably want to walk around with their identification on their chest.

I was surprised to get off the plane in Columbus to temperatures in the low 70's. Though, by the time we got to Napoleon it was a bit overcast. Yesterday was a bit cooler, very overcast with a few drizzles mixed in, but on a whole not bad weather for Ohio in March. I'm just glad there isn't any snow! I must say, this is a good reminder of why Jeremy & I love North Carolina -- grey overcast days are just not very common there!

Hannah had a basketball tournament at Fairview this weekend. Her team played very well, winning all their games. She had one game on Friday and four yesterday, which made for a very long 24 hours (those bleachers ARE NOT comfortable). I couldn't fit my camera in my luggage, so I had to use my mom & dad's camera. I've gotten so used to my DSLR, though, that I found myself majorly frustrated with their camera. So, I didn't get very good pictures. I'll have to see, when I get home, if any of them are decent enough to post.

My parents are driving back with Lucy & I on Tuesday and then they are staying for a week or so to visit. I'm not looking forward to that drive at all, but I'm sure we'll all survive!

A New Do for Me!

Yesterday I treated myself to a haircut -- something I don't do nearly as often as I should. It's been about 4 months since I had a cut and I was looking pretty ragged. Lucy has recently developed a fascination with my hair, which means she has been pulling large hand fulls out several times a day. This meant I went for something much shorter.

So, what do you think? I like it, though it isn't exactly what I was looking for. I was nervous going in, since I haven't had bangs (that I can remember) in at least 10 years. So far, I'm liking them. We'll see how I feel about them in a few weeks, though.

And a confession for you: I ate 3/4 of a sleeve of Thin Mints while I was typing this. Do you know how many calories are in 1 cookie?!?!

A Lucy Funny

I thought that attitude was something that came along closer to the teen years. Lucy is getting an early start.

A few days ago, Saturday I believe, I was walking around the house with Lucy on my back trying to get things done. She wasn't particularly happy about this and was complaining about it, but it was the best (and safest) place for her to be while I cleaned. Betty came down while this was going on. Lucy immediately began cooing and smiling at her. So, we took her off my back so that Betty could hold her while I finished up. Lucy no more than hit Grandma's hip, than she turned around, looked at me, stuck her tongue out and blew a great big raspberry at me. She seemed to be saying, "At least Grandma knows what I want."

It makes me wonder just what we have in store in about 13 years.