This exercise thing

So, it's been 8 days since I've been working out now. Every day! I didn't even skip over the weekend. And I had to get up earlier than normal on Sunday to have enough time to work out. Yikes! I'm on a role. And I'm proud of myself.

I realized after the first two days that I was going to need new workout clothes. What I have is fine, but I only have one sports bra. And I don't like to wear it twice in a row after it's all icky and sweaty. So, I made a deal with Matt. I had to keep exercising daily until today, then we would go buy some new exercise clothes for me. I did it. This is a good commitment to him and I. And he didn't even expect me to workout over the weekend. I knew I had to if I wanted to keep the momentum going.

So, here we are a week later. What changes am I noticing? Not too many. I have more energy. I feel strong enough to do the workouts now. I feel more fit. But I still have a long way to go. The point of this first step (of exercising every day) was for me to get more fit. That's an important step for me. And I needed to develop this daily habit.

What comes next? Next is the hard part for me. I need to focus on losing weight. I need to start eating better. I have started on this, but I'm not there. Here's what I am doing: drinking more water, eating good breakfasts, eating better lunches. Our dinners aren't too bad. What I really need to concentrate on is more fruits and vegetables during the course of the day, less snacking, and cutting out evening snacks (I get pretty carried away there). So, I have some more steps to take. And I know what they are.

Then I have a weight goal. This is just a starter goal for now, and I will keep working at it. This will in no way make me skinny, because I have twice this to lose. But it will give me a good start and make me healthier. My current goal is 40 lbs. My reward for reaching that? Matt has agreed to start trying for a baby. :D I'm very happy about that, so I need to keep on this track. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

New recipe - Take 2

In my attempt to try a new recipe each week, I'm doing well so far. I'm pretty adventurous abuot trying new recipes, so this isn't difficult for me. And luckily my husband is good at trying my experiments (and helping me make them sometimes). And my son isn't a picky eater, so he tries almost anything.

This week's recipe is one that I adore, and I'm sure I'll make it again and again. I've been eating the leftovers for days, and I haven't gotten tired of them yet. (I usually get tired of leftovers after eating it twice.) It is hot and yummy and great with a side of garlic bread and a small garden salad. It is also a casserole, so SaLy will appreciate that. It's a winner on a cold winter day. Withour further ado:

Mostaccioli Bake

8 ounces uncooked mostaccioli

1 egg

1 egg white

2 cups (16 ounces) 1% cottage cheese

1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2-1/2 cups meatless spaghetti sauce, divided

1. Cook pasta according to packaged directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the egg, egg white, cottage cheese, spinach, 2/3 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper; set aside. Drain pasta; stir in 2 cups spaghetti sauce.

2. Layer half of the pasta mixture in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Top with spinach mixture, remaining pasta mixture and remaining spaghetti sauce.

3. Cover and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Love is in the Air

Do you see that bottle? Inside of it is a little love poem from my sweet husband. I find a new one around the house somewhere every morning. He really is a sappy romantic at heart. I expect this will continue on until Valentine's Day. It's a pleasant little surprise trying to figure out where he put the bottle this morning. It's been in the refrigerator, on the bathroom sink, under the blanket draped on my chair, on my chair, and in front of the television. The other thing Matt has brewing is plans for Valentine's Day, but since it will be a week day he has something planned for next weekend. I have no idea what it is, but he's creative and sweet so I know it will be nice.

***
Please, pay no attention to the dust settled on the television. (I don't think you'd see it if it weren't for the little fingerprints smeared on it.) OK, I'm getting up and dusting the TV right now.

Upcoming birthday decisions

Help me! I don't know what to do for Zachariah's birthday. Well, I know what to do. We'll invite our families over for a little party. Zac will be the only kid here, so he'll get all the attention. He's used to that, because that's the way it is in our family. There aren't any other kids around, and none of the friends we actually hang out with have kids. Anyway, he doesn't know different, so that's the party we'll have for him.

Mostly I'm looking for ideas for a theme of sorts, especially for a cake. Last year I went with Winnie the Pooh. His nursery is decorated in Pooh, and he had many Pooh things as a baby. Now my baby is growing up. He'll be 2 in less than a month. I'd love to do something that he loves, but he likes many different things. Some are non-commercial, and he's started watching a few TV shows that he seems to like. So those are some ideas to start with, but nothing sticks out as a particular favorite.

Here are some things he likes: cars, trucks, trains, planes, tractors, animals, books, Pooh (still, but I'm steering away from that since we did it already), Elmo, Cookie Monster, Wonder Pets ("Eeem gurk" is how "team work" from the show comes out. Adorable, I'll have to get it on video sometime.), Dora, Diego (but not as much as Dora), Thomas (but he likes Percy the best), and that's all I can think of right now.

So, any helpful suggestions. If I can just decide on what to do, I'm sure it will be no problem making the cake (or perhaps cupcakes). I just can't make up my mind. HELP!

Brownie S'mores

Brownie S’mores

9 whole cinnamon graham crackers, halved crosswise *
¾ cup unsalted butter, cut up
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely shopped
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups semisweet or milk chocolate chips
35 regular-sized marshmallows

1. Heat over to 350˚F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange graham crackers over bottom of pan, overlapping slightly or breaking to fit, if necessary. (Depending on the shape of your pan, you may have part of a graham cracker left over.)
2. Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate in medium saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until blended. Stir in eggs until blended and smooth; stir in flour. (Batter will be smooth, thick and shiny.) Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon and gently spread over graham crackers.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until top is just set and toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached.
4. Heat broiler. Place marshmallows on their sides evenly over top of brownies. Broil 30 seconds to 2 minutes or until marshmallows are puffed and tops are golden brown. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 35 bars

*I used about 12 graham crackers for my bar pan. It did nicely in there.

Firm

It's February 5th? How can that be? This new year is going fast, but I have to say I'm kind of glad that January is over. It was a little depressing, but now it's gone.

Where have I been hiding? As you know I haven't blogged much this month. I'm not sure why I don't have the desire to write much. Then last week we found out about the death of an old family friend.

Helen was 82, but very healthy until about 2 weeks ago. She got sick and sick very quickly. They found she had uterine cancer and it was already stage 4 when she went in. The family knew she was probably going to die quickly. This woman was our neighbor next to the house where I grew up. My parents moved into the house when they were first married. They just moved out (only about 5 miles away though) about 2 1/2 years ago. So, we've known this couple for a long time. They live in Florida in the winter and in Ohio in the summer. Her family was able to go to Florida and spend her last days by her side. Sunday I went to the funeral visitation with my family and Zachariah. It was very nice. It's been a long time since I've seen that many people from the community where I grew up.

Matt's been pretty sick. He was feeling sick a week ago and rested a lot in the evenings. He stayed home from work on Friday and slept off and on all day. Saturday he went with me to run a few errands, and that wore him out. Sunday he went to church (while I was up with my parents), came home and slept all afternoon. He did come to out Super Bowl party (YEAH GIANTS!), but he was exhausted by the time we got home. Monday he tried to get up for work and felt worse, so he got a doctor's appointment. He has a sinus infection and now has medication to clear it up. He looked and sounded better this morning, and he went ahead into work. I'm sure he'll be worn out when he gets home tonight, but at least he's getting better. That has kept me busy just trying to get him things he needs so he can rest, and then I have to do everything else by myself. Exhausting, but I'm doing fine. I'm just thankful Zachariah and I are healthy.

I'm trying to lose weight. I've known (for a really long time, actually) that I need to get to work. Matt and I have talked about it a little, and he's willing to start trying for a baby if I can lose some weight first. That was actually my idea, but he was OK with it. He's very supportive when I am trying hard. Last week I started by drinking more water and eating less. I still need a lot of work on my diet, but I'm changing things bit by bit. I think that will be best for me for now. Then today I got out the exercise videos and did 20 minutes of The Firm. I wish I could have done more, but I thought I would die if I did. I plan to try to get farther each day. I'll push myself to do as much as I can. I think the biggest problem today was that it was a new workout for me. I did pretty well keeping up with the instructor at first, but then I started losing her. It was getting more complicated and I was wearing out fast anyway. The more I do it, the easier it will get for me to follow and the better shape I'll be in.

I have an idea to try a brand new recipe every week for a while and post about it on here with a photo. I like sharing recipes, and I love trying new things. This weekend I made S'more Brownies. They were really yummy. I think I'll start with that one. Plus SaLy requested casserole recipes, and we just got a casserole cookbook for Christmas with some yummy looking recipes in it. I have yet to try any, so now would be a good time.

I hope I feel like posting more often. And I do enjoy reading your blogs. I miss writing too. I will be working on that as well.

Droppings

Zachariah peed and pooped on the potty before naptime today! WOOT! WOOT! I know that no one but his daddy and I care about the details, but he did it. He told me he wanted to go to the potty. He sat down and did it. He started to resist about pooping on the potty, but I reassured him is was OK and kept him company. Then he just did it! I'm so proud of my little boy.

I think it's time for some big boy underwear. We need to get serious about this now.

My little funny boy

Here is a collection of some things my son has been doing lately that completely crack me up.

This is what he wanted to do after he coughed. He pointed to the bathroom then drug the trashcan out. Probably because we started following him around last night (after the drama the night before) when he started gagging/making weird possible throwing up noises. (He never did get sick, but I guess he thinks this is what he should do when he cough. Ha.)

Zachariah loves helping me with laundry. This time I left to use the bathroom and told him to go ahead and empty the dryer. When I came back he had pulled the lint trap out and emptied lint all over the floor...then pulled clothes out for me.

Looking through the grocery ad in the Sunday paper.

Potty time with Thomas the train book. This has been my bribe for him to stay sitting on the potty. It worked. On Monday he asked to go potty, and he peed on it! (Big milestone for us. He's gone on the potty before, but never like that. We made a huge deal of it. And we're hoping for more to come.) P.S. Pardon the unfinished bathroom remodel project.

This morning while eating breakfast, I found Zachariah putting his applesauce into his cereal. It's a new creation he likes to call Rice Krispies a la applesauce. He didn't eat anymore after that.

Do you see that block he's putting on the truck? The orange one? We've been practicing his colors (he does pretty well), and he calls orange "orange juice". It is so cute and makes me laugh every time.

This one might be hard to see, but he found a sandwich bag in the kitchen. He things it's to put as many toys as he can in it. Ha.

Last week he smashed his finger in the dog's cage. I held him for a while then put ice on it. He sat there by himself when I got up to answer the phone. When I got back he'd pulled the ice out of the dish towel and was holding it saying "brrr brrr icy icy".

This is a holiday bear (we names Snowflake) Zachariah got for Christmas from my grandmother. He's been taking him with is when I change his diaper. Then he insisted that it have a diaper too. I found a sample of a size 1 diaper I got in the mail after he was way too big to wear that size.

He loves this bear and treated it like a baby for a long time. He even wrapped it in a blanket and laid it in his toy cradle for nap time. Here he is kissing and hugging the bear.

Zachariah has decided he likes to help me cook and bake (when I let him). One day he was playing with his cool wooden pizza set, and he kept going back and forth to the kitchen. When I went in to investigate he had lined all the pizzas on the stove. A little later I found that he'd gotten the cupcake wrappers out (on his own) and put them on top of the pizzas. I'm not sure when culinary creation he's inventing, but it looks interesting.

I'm sure there are many more funny things this little guy does, but this is a highlight of the latest. At least he keeps me smiling.

The Icky Bug

Well, folks, I think the flu finally hit our house. If not that, them some other icky stomach bug. It looks to be short lived, and for that I'm thankful.

My child has been so healthy in his short 2 years of life. I can count the times he's been sick on one hand, including this time. But it looks like this time of year is bad for us. Last year he was getting over his very first time being sick, and with the chicken pox no less.

Yesterday morning Zachariah woke up early. Matt went in to check on him and quickly called for my help. He thought he'd thrown up, because there was something all over his face. He hadn't, it was just slobber. But Zachariah went back to sleep (as did I) for a few more hours. I got up and got my shower, and then a little later heard Zachariah crying loudly. I knew he wasn't feeling well, because he never wakes up like that. He was gagging a little, but that was all. He cuddled on my lap for a long time and didn't want to move. I finally got him up and dressed, but he did not want to eat anything. This is very unusual for my child who loves to eat all the time. He pretty much laid around until lunchtime. I asked again if he was hungry. Then he started looking in the kitchen for something to eat. He finally settled on a peanut butter & honey sandwich and applesauce. He ate most of the applesauce and half of the sandwich. Luckily he'd had a big cup of orange juice at this point too. He had a low-grade fever in the morning, but I knew it wasn't bad so we just had to wait and see. Just before lunch he threw up a tiny bit on my shirt. Easy clean-up, I just put the shirt in the washer and got a new one on.

After lunch he took a nap as usual. He slept for about 3 1/2 hours which is longer than normal for him. When he got up, I could tell that he had a fever. I took his temperature and it wasn't too high, but he did have a fever. I gave him a dose of Infant Motrin, and he laid on my lap for a long time. After about an hour he was up and running around almost like his normal self. He was happy when Matt got home from work and played with him for a while.

Just before Matt got home I started feeling icky. I didn't feel any better or worse all evening. I finally was hungry enough to eat something around 8:00. And by this morning I feel OK. Matt knew I was interested in eating, and he wasn't interested in leftovers for dinner. He ordered a pizza, and by then Zac seemed really interested in eating. He ate about 1/2 a piece of pizza, which is less than he normally would but we were glad he had an appetite. It seemed like he was all better.

Shortly after dinner he came and laid on my lap again. I joked with Matt that this looked like a kid who wasn't tired at all, because that's what Zachariah was telling me. He got down for a few minutes, then he came beside the chair where I was sitting and laid his head on me. I thought he felt hot, like the fever was coming back. Then he threw up on me and the blanket on me. Ugh. The poor little guy started to freak out because he made a "mess mess". I was trying to reassure him that it was fine, we'd clean it up. Matt, acting quite fast, was getting things to clean up the mess. And then Zachariah projectile vomited across the floor. It was on him, me, the blanket, my chair, and who knows where else. He was crying at this point. I think it scared him. It's the first time he's thrown up. Which means it was our first time dealing with it. I have to say, Matt was a pro. It didn't seem to phase him at all. I was trying to get it off me and off the kid first of all. So I put Zachariah straight into the bathtub, and Matt just went to work cleaning up. We made quite a team. Zachariah got ready for bed after that. His fever was down by the time he got sick and I bathed him. He was hungry before bed though, I'm sure he lost everything he'd eaten for supper. So he had a graham cracker and was tired and ready for bed.

Luckily he slept all night. And he woke up in a good mood and hungry this morning. It seems he's feeling better. Although he's yet to play with toys or run around. He's sitting on a chair watching a Thomas DVD he got for Christmas. He seems content and happy. I can tell he's not quite back to normal, but I think we're past the rough part. He doesn't normally watch much TV, but I'll let him sit and watch Thomas all day if it will make him feel better.

When I talked to Matt this morning, he said he's not feeling great. He has achy muscles and has a tension headache. We're hoping it's only from the shots he got yesterday (4 in preparation for his trip to Africa), and that he's not getting what Zachariah had.

Our Monday adventure

What is up with me not feeling like blogging? I don't get it. I've been reading other people's blogs and commenting as much as I can. But when it comes to typing out my own post, I just haven't been able to get up the ambition to do it. OK, enough of the contemplation. I have no answers, but I know some of you wanted to know what we ended up doing on Monday.

First of all it was wonderful to have Sunday evening to ourselves. Our small group from church had decided just to get together and watch the football games and eat supper. We always bring Zachariah with us to small group. He's the only kid, so we spend a lot of time keeping him in the room and out of things in our hosts' home. He does pretty good, but it is a bit distracting for us. (We have discussed getting a babysitter for those nights, but it would add up quickly in costs. We're trying to figure it out now, because it was so nice without him.) It was good to be able to relax and be ourselves (without having to be Mom and Dad) for one evening with these new friends of ours. Everyone had so much fun. I haven't laughed that hard in ages. There were stories being told about spouses farting habits, sleeping habits, etc. Then there was a whipped cream eating contest with a couple of the guys. We laughed and laughed and laughed. And of course, there was a football game going on, and it was a pretty good game. (Although I wouldn't have minded seeing Green Bay and Brett Favre going to the Super Bowl instead. I'll still root for the Giants, because I just want someone to beat the Patriots.) When we left one of the couples commented how hilarious Matt and I are. They said we have great laughs and a great sense of humor. That seemed funny to me that they were almost surprised by that. But, truly, Matt and I haven't completely "let loose" around them and really had time to relax and enjoy with them. It was funny to us, though, because that's who we are. We laugh a lot and have a good time lots of times. It was good for us to be able to have that much fun with these new friends. And it was also good for us to be able to take part in conversations and really listen and talk and not be distracted. I think we formed stronger friendships that night.

Monday morning we slept in a bit, then we went out for breakfast. It was nice to relax and eat my own food without sharing half of it with someone else. And I could drink my juice without being ask for "drink drink". Matt and I both enjoyed being able to carry on adult conversation without trying to entertain a toddler and keep him happy. We headed towards Dayton and went to the mall like I planned. As soon as we pulled in Matt saw they had a Dick's Sporting Goods and was excited. We walked around the mall at least 2 times. We didn't buy much, but it was fun looking at things. We did not find anything for me at Frederick's like I was hoping, but I did find a sexy babydoll nightie.

After all the shopping we went to a movie. We didn't see what I wanted, because it wasn't showing again for another hour. (I'd planned to see a movie first, but Matt was distracted by Dick's being at the mall.) But that's OK. We saw "Mad Money" and it was pretty funny. Not quite as good as I thought it might be, but I really like Katie Holmes and Queen Latifah in it. Then we went to dinner after that. There were a few places I had in mind (because I knew Matt really liked them), but I let him decide. We ended up finding more places that we liked, so we went to Fuddruckers. Like Matt said, even a hamburger joint is romantic without a kid. We went into Once Upon a Child which was right by where we were eating. And we found what we went into there for. We got a sturdy hiking backpack carrier for Zachariah. We're going to Gatlinburg for vacation, so we wanted something to use for hiking. We got this backpack used for only $30.00. It is in great condition and is only missing the canopy. Since we wanted it for an older child, that doesn't matter, because he'll wear a hat and sunscreen anyway. And it's really easy to put him in it, and it seems to distribute his weight really well when I tried it on.

We headed home after all that. We had to drive about 3 hours to get from there to my parents' house to get Zachariah. It was pretty late when we got home. But Matt said he loved every minute of the day. He had a great time spending time alone with me, and he especially loved that I planned (or loosely planned rather) the day so he could just enjoy it.

Zachariah did really well with my mom. When they got ready to leave our house on Sunday, he wanted to leave but he started crying when he realized I wasn't going too. So I helped put him in the car and then said bye and blew kisses. My mom said he asked about us when they got to her house and then when he woke up the next morning. She told him that we were on a date, and he was OK with that. He had a lot of fun at Grandma's house. His aunts and great-grandma came to spend time with him too. My mom told me all sorts of fun things they did together. She's excited to keep him overnight again sometime. Woo Hoo!

Whaaa?

I just read this article. Heath Ledger dies at 28. Wow! He's just a little older than me and seemed to have so much going for him with hit movies and a daughter. Sad.

Plans

So, I've decided that we're going to a mall in Beavercreek, near Dayton. I've never been there. (If you have, let me know what you think.) It looks like it has a lot of stuff there. I plan to take Matt out for a nice breakfast on Monday morning, then we'll head that way. They have a movie theater there. I didn't realize there were so many movie showing right now that I'd like to see. After thinking about it and seeing my options, I've decided we'll see "P.S. I Love You". Last time we were looking for a movie, Matt mentioned that he'd like to see a good romantic movie. (Yes, he's cool like that. He'll go for a good romance most of the time...sometimes more often than me.) So, I thought this would be a good movie to go for. Of course, if he sees something else better when we get there, I might change my mind. Then there are two of his favorite restaurants, that we don't have here, at that mall. I plan to let him choose between Max & Erma's and Red Robin for a late lunch/early supper. Then we can go shop at Frederick's (my main reason for choosing this location, plus then I found other things I'd like to do). We don't have one around here, and they carry lingerie in plus sizes. So, just go ahead and guess why Matt's been wanting to go there. There is a Target store not too far, so I'd like to hit that up too. We don't have one here, and I like to get to Target every chance I get (which isn't often enough). After we're done we'll have to head home (then another hour north) to pick up Zachariah.

I'm really looking forward to this. Matt is really looking forward to this. He's just exciting that I'm planning something and he knows nothing about it. I don't do this very often. He usually plans all our trips and getaways. I think I will keep it a secret from him. He'll probably want to drive, so I can just program it in the GPS and not let him see it. I'll set it so he can tell where to turn and that's it. :) I think he likes a little surprise, so this will be good.

My mom is coming tomorrow afternoon to pick up Zachariah. We're just planning to go to small group as always on Sunday nights. It will be much more relaxing and enjoyable not having to chase a toddler around the whole time, though. Then we can come home, watch Amazing Race, and not worry about putting a cranky baby to bed. I can't wait. It will be wonderful. I think it's just the thing we need.

Upcoming

Boy, I've been a bad blogger. I just don't feel like there's anything worth blogging about right now. And I've enjoyed reading all YOUR blogs. :)

I've been getting photos printed and catching up on my photo albums. I hadn't done this in a while, so it was fun seeing photos of Zachariah a year ago. So much has changed. I'm hoping to get some more printed and albums sorted soon.

Zachariah's 2nd birthday is coming up fast. What? When did he get old enough to be 2? I'm trying to decide what to get him for birthday gifts, what to do for a party, what to make for a cake, what theme we'll use. I'm looking for a non-commercialized theme. I'm thinking maybe tractors or farmyard. Possibly cars, trains, trucks all lumped together. Who knows. Any ideas? The cake I will make, so I have to think of some way to decorate it. Or I've thought about cupcakes too. Either one is fine. It will be family only (and adults only because we don't really run in circles with people with kids). I'm thinking I will order a few Little People sets online for his gift. Those are some of his favorite things. They have one that would go with the barn and tractor he has now.

Matt and I both have a 3-day weekend. YEAH! No plans for Saturday. It's going to be bitter cold too, so I'm OK with staying in (and keeping the kiddo in). Sunday we have our regular obligations at church, then home for lunch and a nap as always. THEN, my mom is coming to pick up Zachariah. She's keeping him overnight at her house. We'll have to go get him Monday afternoon/evening. BUT, that means we have the rest of Sunday and most of Monday to ourselves. We've never been home alone...just the two of us. And we've only left Zachariah overnight once...ever. I'm making the plans, and I'm not sure what to do. I'd really like to sleep in, because I never get to do that. But that means we can't travel too far on Monday. I was thinking about a nice meal out and a movie. I don't know what's showing, so there may not be anything we're interested in. Or I've thought about driving a little ways to a bigger town to go shopping at a mall. Matt's been after me to go to Frederick's, so we could and let him pick something out for me. Anyone have suggestions about what to do with our free day?

I hope that you all have a nice weekend. What are you doing?

Bargains

Wow, I stopped at Toys R Us the other day just to look around. I remembered that I got wrapping paper really cheap there last year about a week or so after Christmas. I'm glad I stopped. Not only did I find some awesome wrapping paper super cheap, but I also found some swim shorts for Zachariah for this summer super cheap. They must be clearing out last years stock in preparation for this years line. Anyway, here's how good the deals were. The wrapping papers were $1.80, $1.20, $1.20, and $1.80. I fell in love the the sock monkey one. Oh so cute. Then the swim shorts were $1.20, $0.60, $1.35, and $1.20. Wow! I was shocked. I don't usually like the character-type clothing, but it will do. And he probably doesn't need 4 pairs, but I spent less for 4 pair then I would have one pair regular price. My parents have a pond, so I think I'll be able to leave one or two of them at their house for this summer.

Like we were kids

Alphabet fun...it's not just for kids.


Zachariah got the fridge magnets for Christmas. My aunt made them for him. He's played with them a little bit, but mostly they've just been fun for Matt and I to leave each other messages.


Here are two of the messages left there.







Then last night this message was left:
** I WANT SEX


The response found there this morning:
** U GOT SEX


There is only 1 of each letter, so we have to get a little creative. I think this has endless entertainment value though.

Thank you & boredom

Thanks for all your advice from yesterday. We have not had any more climbing adventures since then. I did move the little cradle away from his bed in case that made it more tempting.

Tonight choir started again at my church. We've had a few weeks off after Christmas. We're doing something different this time. For the next 3 weeks we're becoming a worship choir and essentially leading worship along with the band. I think it will be neat. I had thought about taking a little time off and not participating in this. Then I remembered that this is, most weeks, my only night out alone. I like that I can get away for a few hours and do something fun for me.

This week has seemed sluggish and slow, and yet I have not been able to get much done. I think we've just been mostly lazy. Maybe it's just that post-holiday let-down. I was excited that my grandmother and sister might come to visit this week. It would help break up the ho-hums. But when I talked to my grandma yesterday, she decided to wait until next week. We've gotten a lot of rain the past few days and there has been some flooding in surrounding areas. She's afraid to run into closed roads on the way here. I can't blame her. I'll really need the company by the time she comes next week.

Now what do I do?

This is not what the post is about, but let me get it out of the way. Ohio State lost last night. They looked terrific in the 1st quarter. After that, I have no idea what was going on. It was sad. It wasn't a complete blow-out, but we could see they didn't stand a chance. That's life. I'll take it. It was fun to be ranked #1 for a while and get to the championship game. We'll get there again sometime. I'm OK with it.

OK, on to my real post now. Sorry about that brief interlude.

This morning Zachariah woke up right after I got done showering and dressing. I hear him calling for me, so I went in to get him. We (he does rather) play this game sometimes. When I come in I turn on the light and go over to where he's standing at the end of the crib. When he wants to play he says "bye bye", waves, and then runs to the other side of the crib. Most times when I say "OK, bye bye then" and start the leave the room he says "no no" and comes back towards me in his crib. He'll do that a few times, then finally stop and want out.

Today he played the game, but didn't come running back towards me each time. He'd say "bye bye" then stay at the back of his crib and watch me leave the room. So, I went into our room and got a basket of clothes, then peeked in at him. He still didn't want out, so I took the laundry to the washer. I peeked back at him again. He would say "no, bye bye" each time. After checking in about 3-4 times, I went back to laundry. Then I heard this ker-thump coming from somewhere in the house. It wasn't a loud ker-thump, just a soft one. But it was enough that I came running just in case. It was the dog, he was sleeping on the couch. I really wasn't too concerned...until I saw what had happened.

I walked into Zachariah's room and he was on the floor! Standing there grinning at me. The little turkey climbed out of his crib! This is the first time he's ever done this. There is a little cradle with stuffed animals beside his crib. He climbed, somehow, into that and then onto the floor. He was perfectly fine. It was like it took no effort at all.

Needless to say, when he's awake in his crib, from now on I will get him out right away. But how am I to know that he won't just get the idea to do it again without me even knowing he's awake. And I know he'll do it again eventually. I knew this day was coming, I just didn't think it would happen quite so soon.

So, now what do I do? Do I wait to see if he keeps practicing his crib climbing skills? Do I think about moving him into a toddler bed right away? I'm not sure he or I am ready for that. I know they make crib tents, but I don't really want to invest the money into that. I think he's close to being old enough for a real bed. I just wasn't prepared. Luckily for now his crib converts into a toddler bed. We'll use that for a while (because we don't need the crib for anyone else right now). Then I figure we'll get him a twin bed someday when we need the crib back.

I need your advice, fellow mothers. Do I wait this out and see what he does? Or should I start the new bed transition? Help!

Relaxing evening

I'm sitting here with my feet up, just relaxing. Zachariah is snug in his bed, freshly cleaned. Matt is in the chair next to me with his feet up and a drink in his hand. We're relaxed...for now.

Why this relaxation (and now excitement)? We're watching our Ohio State Buckeyes play the college football national championship game. We're more reluctant this year, because last year we went in the same championship game with high hopes and were disappointed. But this year our team earned their way into the top of the standings. Then we stood by for a few weeks and waited while we were slowly moved to the #1 team in the nation. We were shocked and amazed. And now we're hoping and praying for an awesome win.

(While I was writing this the game started. The Buckeyes scored a touchdown within the first 1 1/2 minutes of the game. A tell of the rest to come? I don't know, but it gives me even more hope.)

We're excited and will be proud of our team whether they win or lose tonight. GO BUCKEYES!

**Edited to add: We're playing the LSU Tigers. And we're still winning!**

Boring or good?

(That was strange. I first wrote the title as "pooring or goob". Ha. Guess I'm really not paying attention.)

I just haven't been able to think of anything thrilling to blog about lately. I think maybe that's a good thing. I suppose it means that things are going well here. I think it's easier to blog about problems or issues that are going on in my life.

Seriously, though, things have been going well. My Christmas decorations are still up. I've had every intention of taking them down the last few days since we've been home. But here they are. I'm tired of them. Today I spent my day getting more groceries and other nessecities for us. We were terribly low on everything. Then it was back home to get lunch and put the kid down for a nap. After that I decided I needed a bit of a nap too. At the time that seemed more important than taking down decorations. Tonight I played single mom, because Matt worked late. I put the kid to bed and felt like relaxing and doing something fun for me. I did get some laundry, but here I sit with nothing else done. Matt is home now, so I'd rather spend time with him. I guess maybe I'll try to get things down tomorrow. Boy, I'm really dragging this out. I'm not usually this bad about it.

Otherwise (ha), my life is quite boring and calm right now. Zachariah is being a good boy. He's loving all his new toys (that are still all in my living room, because I have no idea what to do with all these toys). We don't really have a lot going on in our lives right now. Things seemed to have slowed down for our schedules. It's a good thing, I think.

I really need to do a complete overhaul on my house. I need to clean and purge so many things. I think I would feel a lot better if I did all that. It would be nice to get it all done before March. We'll probably have a bunch of people over for Zachariah's birthday.

Last year at this time we found out that Zac had chicken pox. Boy, I guess I really should be happy that everything is going well. Try dealing with a 10 month old with chicken pox (we have no idea where he ever got them from...strange), not fun.

One last thing, my car is fixed. They did it a day early (not early enough for me to pick it up last night, but still nice). AND....AND...they did it for free. It was the exact same thing they fixed two months ago, so the labor and parts were all under warranty. YEAH! Thank goodness. I'm happy to have my car back. Hopefully I won't have to worry about it for a long time.

For good measure, here's a great photo of Zachariah before Christmas.

Pulling things together

We made it home safe and sound. It was really snowy and icy on our way home last night, so it took longer than usual. Thank goodness for a safe-driving husband.

I was happy to crawl into my own bed last night. Zachariah is happy to be playing with all his new toys. Does anyone else's house look like a toy store threw up in their living room? Mine sure does! And I have this silly Christmas tree taking up half of my living room and it's already January 2. Welcome home, for sure. My mom already had hers down. (But it's because we helped take all her stuff down while we were there.) Then I come home and have to do all this stuff at my house.....with no help. Not fair.

We did really enjoy our time with our family. This is the longest we've stayed their with Zachariah. After his horrible day-after-Christmas crash, he was great. When we got out of the car at home last night, Zachariah was already asking for Maw Barb and Papa. Then he was looking and calling for them in the house. We will miss having them around. It's great having 2 extra adults around to help out with the kid. I did a lot more relaxing than I normally get to. We also spend more time than normal with my sisters and their husbands.

My house is a bit of a disaster. Now I have to find a place for all these new things that we got. Matt and I got a lot of clothes from my family. That won't be hard. His parents got us a lot of little things for the kitchen and around the house. Matt was very nice last night and helped put most things away. We hit the after-Christmas clearance sales, so I have some new Christmas things for next year. Those things can all be packed away with decorations when I get up enough energy to get the tree taken down and otherwise de-Christmas my house.

To make my week even a little more exciting...my car is acting up. I need to get it to the dealership before Friday and get a loaner to drive in the meantime. I also need to get to the store for a few essentials that we're out of after not being home for over a week...like milk, bread, chicken nuggets and ice cream.

It's already after the New Year. I'm glad it's here. It feels like it's a fresh start. I don't typically make New Year's resolutions, but I have a few in mind this year. Is it too late to be declaring my resolutions? How about you do you make them?

I'm sure you've all missed me, and you'll be blessed by my regular blogging now. (OK, OK, maybe not, but at least that stroked my ego a bit just thinking it.) I'm off to try to pull myself and house together now. Happy New Year!

Blogging neglect

We've been here at my parents' house for 6 days now. We have 3 more to go. It's been good. We've been busy. We've seen old friends. Enjoyed Christmas. Visited family. Played and napped and stayed up late and slept in. I just have not taken the time to turn the computer on even though it's here.

Not to mention all the blogs that I'm not reading (or commenting on). They are still in my reader, and I will try to skim through them at some point. But I can't promise too many comments.

I will try to get online a few more times in the next couple of days, but for now I don't feel like writing much. Maybe I'll update you on all the fun things we did eventually. Also I have lots of great pictures, so I'm sure I can share a few from our Christmas festivities.

Goodbye for now, dear readers. Have a safe and Happy New Year.

Let's chat

Have a seat. Can I get you a warm cup of coffee? Tea? Hot cocoa? I just wanna chat.

First let's talk about my new mixer. I'm in love. We're running away together.

OK, maybe that's a bit over the top, but only a small bit. In the short few days that I've been the proud new owner of a KitchenAid Professional 600 Series Stand Mixer I had managed to use it 4 times! And I'm already thinking about all the other homemade treats I can make with it. I think about how wonderful it will be to whip up a made from scratch cake mix with icing. Mmm. (Actually I'm probably doing that tonight, because they want me to make dessert for our Christmas party luncheon tomorrow.) I think about making cookies for all my loved ones for Christmas (even though I've already made more cookies than I can count). I think this mixer will get plenty of use.

It may seem silly, since I had already told you Matt and I had talked about it, but I was totally surprised that Matt got me this mixer. We'd talked about it briefly, where I professed my love for this machine. I also pointed out all the wonderful things I could do with it. Plus who can pass up a deal like this (less than half price). But Matt kept looking at all the other things he could buy. He was considering getting me some jewelry (so I thought). And he talked about other things he could get for himself. Usually Matt can't keep a secret this well, so when he does it knocks my socks off. He put the mixer in the kitchen, so I would see it when I got home from tutoring. I couldn't figure out why things were moved around in the kitchen...until I turned on the light. I was thrilled and shocked! I did a little happy dance right there in the kitchen. Really, I did. I'm sure it was embarrassing.

I really could have used the mixer last week and earlier this week when I was having a horrible time making cookie dough. Matt knew it was on its way, but he refrained from telling me. He told the guys at work that I would be mad I had to make all that cookie batter with my hand mixer. Ha ha. I really wasn't upset. I was just happy to have it now.

Speaking of baking all those cookies I'm exhausted. I made so much stuff for Matt to sell at work. Today I took a break. I don't want to think about cookies. There are at least 10 dozen still in my kitchen waiting to be decorated. I will take those to family for Christmas. I'll probably leave some of the mail carrier, garbage man, and our neighbors. But that can wait another day or two. Now I need a break. I've been on my feet doing non-stop baking for 3 days. Whew.

Tomorrow we had a Christmas luncheon for the people who work at the center where I tutor. Then my sister is coming into town to do some shopping...actually all her Christmas shopping. She's been working 60 hour weeks for a month now. She finally gets a little break tomorrow, so she needs to get her shopping done. I told her it would be fun to go along. Matt has taken the day off, so he will be able to stay home with Zachariah. I'm sure he'll need a nap after the party.

At some point I should dust, vacuum around the baseboards, and all those other little things, Since our small group Christmas party was cancelled last weekend, we invited everyone over here this Saturday. So, I'll probably spend Friday night and Saturday morning cleaning up.

And sometime before Monday afternoon we need to exchange gifts with our little family. It's easier to do it before we leave for all the family festivities. We usually pick a morning a day or two before we leave and open our gifts then. Our only real options this year are Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon. I'm leaning towards Saturday morning. I like the idea of getting Zachariah up and going straight for the presents. Although, I don't know if he'll do that or not. (The kid likes to eat, and he usually wants breakfast right way). Well, we'll figure something out I'm sure.

I'm going to try to keep blogging a little bit through the holidays while we're gone, but I don't know how good I'll be. We will be staying with my parents (who have wireless Internet), so I will plan to take this laptop and check in once in a while. So we'll make do.

My Christmas Gift

Guess what was sitting in my kitchen when I got home last night.

I had no idea. Do you?

Santa must have come to our house early.



What do you think? Is it a keeper?

It is a really hard choice between using this new KitchenAid heavy-duty 6 qt. mixer and my puny little old hand mixer.



So, out with the old, in with the new.





**No actual hand mixers were harmed during this photo session. I guess I'll keep it just in case it would be handy for something.

Holiday recipes, Pt 1

Here is a recipe that I've made lots of. This is the easiest thing, because I turned them into Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies. Instead of needing to decorate these cookies, like I do all the rest, I just put chocolate kisses on top. The hardest part is unwrapping all the kisses. I've seen packaged, unwrapped kisses for baking, but I was not able to find them when I bought stuff for the cookies. I'll give you my altered recipe (the real one doesn't use kisses, but has crushed peanuts and melted chocolate on top instead).


Easy Peanut Butter Presses


1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup creamy peanut butter
Chocolate kisses (1 for each cookie; about 36)


1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine sugar and egg in bowl. Add peanut butter; mix until blended.
2. Fit cookie press with desired disk and fill with dough. Press dough onto baking pan, 1 inch apart.
3. Bake 12-14 minutes or until cookies are set and light brown. Remove from oven; cool 2 minutes on baking pan. Place unwrapped chocolate kiss on top. Remove to cooling rack; cool completely.


MD's hint: I put them on a plate and let them sit in the freezer for a few minutes for the chocolate to set. Otherwise it gets all melty on the cookie.






**********

This was my first attempt at this kind of fudge. It turned out well. It is very smooth and creamy, but it will melt in your hands quickly. It's best to keep it refrigerated until you need to use it.


Tiger Stripes


1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons chunky peanut butter, divided
2 white chocolate baking bars (2 ounces each)


1. Line 8x8-inch square pan with foil. Grease lightly.
2. Melt semisweet chocolate with 2 tablespoons peanut butter in small saucepan over low heat; stir well.
3. Pour half of chocolate mixture into prepared pan. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes to cool slightly.
4. Melt white baking bar with remaining 1 tablespoon peanut butter in small saucepan over low heat. Spoon half of white chocolate mixture over dark chocolate mixture. Drop remaining dark and white chocolate mixtures by spoonfuls over mixture in pan.
5. Using small metal spatula or knife, pull through the chocolates to create tiger stripes.
6. Freeze about 1 hour or until firm. remove from pan; peel off foil. Cut into 36 pieces. refrigerate until ready to serve.

**********

This yummy sweet bread is easy to decorate and use for a small hostess gift. I will also make the variation, but I haven't done it yet so I don't have pictures. But I'll put the variation at the bottom of the recipe.

Double Chocolate Swirl Bread

Bread
1/2 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup white chocolate morsels, chopped
2 packages (11 ounces each) refrigerated French bread dough
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels, grated, divided

Chocolate Drizzle
1/2 cup white or semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Additional sliced almonds or chocolate morsels (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375. For bread, lightly spray a mini-loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Coarsely shop almonds and white chocolate morsels; place in bowl.
2. Unroll on package of the bread dough on lightly floured surface; do not stretch. Lightly beat egg white and water in small bowl; brush dough with a portion of the egg white mixture. Grate half of the semi-sweet chocolate morsels evenly over dough. Sprinkle with half of the almond and white chocolate mixture; roll lightly with rolling pin, pressing mixture into dough.
3. Unroll remaining package of bread dough directly over first dough layer, matching edges and rolling lightly to seal. Brush dough lightly with a portion of the egg white mixture. Grate remaining chocolate morsels over dough. Sprinkle with remaining white chocolate and almond mixture; roll lightly with rolling pin.
4. Starting at narrow edge, roll dough up tightly; pinch edge to seal. Slice roll into four equal portions; place seam side down in pan. Make deep cut down the length of each loaf without cutting through ends. Brush loaves with remaining egg white mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pan. Cool completely.
5. For chocolate drizzle, place chocolate morsels and oil in small microwavable bowl, microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 30-40 seconds or until chocolate is melted and smooth. (Do not overheat.) Drizzle over loaves; sprinkle with additional almonds or chocolate morsels, if desired.

Variation: White Chocolate Cherry Swirl Bread: Substitute 1/2 cup chopped maraschino cherries for the grated semi-sweet chocolate morsels; proceed as recipe directs. Drizzle finished loaves as directed in Step 5; garnish with halved maraschino cherries and sliced almonds.

Ba ba baking

I feel like I've baked enough cookies (along with candy, fudge, etc.) to feed a small army. I have baked/cooked almost all day long today. And it's not over yet, folks.

Matt and I decided that we would sell some baked goods as a fundraiser towards his trip to Mali, West Africa. (I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I can't find a post to link to, hmm.) Anyway, we got some orders for cookies from people Matt works with. In addition to that I've made fudge, candy, and other things to sell too. I hope that this works out well for him. I know I've put a lot of time and energy into it. It's worth it to be a part of his trip.

And I promise when I have a chance (and the motivation) sometime I'll post recipes that I used for things. Yummy, yummy goodies.

Pee Pee on the Potty

Zac went pee-pee on the potty! Zac went pee-pee on the potty!

I'm doing a happy dance!

He's pooped once and only once...it was about a month ago.

Today, he sat on the toilet before bath time (which he usually asks to do) and he PEED! I was so excited. He missed the toilet, but that's only a minor detail. When he sat, he was facing the side a bit and he wasn't protected by the little shield. But he purposefully peed just a little bit. YEAH! We came out and told Daddy and had a little treat. Zachariah was pretty proud of himself.

I have been thinking we'll start more potty training after the first of the year. I wanted to wait until we're settled and done with all our Christmas travelling. But now I'm thinking maybe we need to start this week. And I can take the mini-potty with us.

For now I'll just enjoy the fact that he went in the potty! WOO HOO!

Snowy mess

It is just there here today. It's a big snowy mess. I'd say we have 4-6 inches of snow...plus it's blowing and drifting now. I have a feeling the schools will be closed part (if not all) of this week. I hear that it's going to stay cold and windy, so that makes it rough for them to keep the roads clean.

For today I'm happy just to stay home cozy and warm. Although I did miss not having church today. And our small group Christmas party was cancelled. And when they want to reschedule is when we'll be away. Bummer. Other than that it's OK that we're snowed in with no where else to be.

Yesterday while the snow was still coming down we took Zachariah out to play in it. It was his first time really playing in the snow. A few weeks ago when there was snow, I never got him out in it to just play. He was sick, then it got too cold. But I think it was more fun yesterday, because Matt was home and went out to play with us. He loved us pulling him in the sled. He wore us out dragging him across the yard, but it was worth it to see the smile on his face. Last year he was too little to play much in the snow, plus we didn't get much snow last winter. We took him out once in the baby sled, but Matt hit a snowdrift with it and Zachariah went face-first right into the snow. That was the end of that. Luckily he doesn't remember that trauma. ;) I'll see if I can post a video of the fun later. It was great.

Friday it wasn't snowing and Matt took a day off. We went to Columbus and had a fun day there. We had lunch at BD's Mongolian Barbecue, then shopped Tuttle Crossing Mall. Zachariah got to ride the holiday train there. Then he played at the little kids "playground". That was a new experience for us. I'll write about it sometime.

After the mall we went to the Columbus Zoo to see the WildLights. That was really nice. Zachariah loved it. He was excited to see the "lights, lights, lights" and of course some animals too. Then we finished that trip with a visit to Santa and the model train exhibit. I think those were the highlights of the whole time. He literally ran up to see Santa and sit on his lap (good thing no other kids were waiting right then). So we paid (a fortune) to get a 5x7 photo. It turned out pretty cute. Then the trains....oh, he loves trains. He sat there in awe at all the neat trains going by. It was a really nice display and they let the kids run a train for a little bit.

After we left the zoo there was a lot of crying. This poor boy had gone all day with no complaints and no naps. He had done really well up until that point. We stopped not far from the zoo for a quick supper, but we couldn't get him to stop crying. Finally we convinced him that he could eat, then we'd go home. He ate a little, and then fell asleep less than 2 miles down the road. And he slept until we got back into town. Even though we were all worn out, we had a great time. We don't get out and do as much as we used to since we've had Zachariah. But it is fun doing more this year than last. It's a little easier to pack up for a day away with him. And it's a little easier to drive farther away and not worry about a complete break-down.

My week in 5 paragraphs

The snow, the pretty beautiful snow, has all melted. It has been cold and rainy here ALL week! This is way worse than lots of snow. I'd much rather have snow. Rain, in and of itself, is bad, but when it's only 34 degrees and raining...ugh.

I have officially started my holiday baking. I have about 10-12 dozen cutout sugar cookies in the freezer now. All I need to do is decorate them before next Friday. I also made about 5-6 doze peanut butter kiss cookies. And today I plan to make pressed butter cookies. That will probably turn out at least 12 dozen of those. And I still have plans to make several different kinds of fudge and other candies. Whew! I predict a break-down about mid-week next week. Be prepared for complaints.

Luckily we have all our Christmas gifts bought and wrapped. Well, I still need to pick up a little something for our 3 brothers-in-law. That will be easy to get finished.

There's still the little matter of what to use Matt's gift card on now. I have told him that I'd love to have the stand mixer, but he's still looking at other things. It's not so much that or wait for the Wii now. He's thought about buying me jewelry for Christmas (mostly because he likes spoiling me), but I have told him I'd much rather have the mixer. We'll see if I can talk him into it. I was sure wishing I had it already when I started my holiday baking.

Tomorrow Matt took a personal day, because he still had an extra one to use up before the end of the year. We decided to go for lunch and shopping in Columbus. It's been 2 years since I've done that, and I miss it. We used to go several times a year and have a fun time. It will be nice to shop in stores we don't have around here.

Advice needed

I can't believe I'm asking you this, but I need another opinion. Matt and I like to think purchases to death before we buy, especially something big like this.

Matt got a gift certificate recently for a work-related thing. He was supposed to be getting a Wii instead of the gift certificate, but they ran out. So, he was thinking about using the gift certificate to buy one. The amount is enough for what the Wii retails for, but we cannot find one for that price. They're going for double if/when you can find one. We could still wait and try to get one for a lower price in a few months.

OR we could get a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer for me. Matt just found a great deal on the one I want. It retails for $499.99, but we can get it for about $210. I would only have the choice of "Meringue" or "Licorice", but I think I could live with that. In fact, if I had 30 colors to chose from I'd probably go with a black or white, because I couldn't chose one over all the other colors.

I have wanted a stand mixer for years. It would get a TON of use in my house, because I LOVE to bake. I'm not real sure that I have counter space or cupboard space for it, but I would find somewhere to put it in the kitchen. And the clincher is Matt is willing to buy it for me instead of getting the Wii.

The problem is I feel really guilty thinking that he'd use his gift certificate on something mainly for me. But he already has several gaming systems and a new one would mean spending more money to buy games for it. Plus it would be more time he'd spend in front of the TV or not spending with me.

Here's where I want your opinion. What do you say?
#1 It's his gift certificate, let him wait on the Wii he wanted in the first place.
#2 Buy the Mixer, you deserve it.
#3 Other advice.

Ugh...Monday

*I've been trying to upload this adorable video of Zachariah. He was playing with his Little People toys and "telling" me about the animals. It was cute, and I thought you might enjoy hearing him finally talking. Guess it wasn't meant to be...for now at least. I'll keep trying.

*Friday night was rough. Zachariah is normally a great sleeper at night. He has always been this way, and we know we're pretty lucky for that. Friday evening we were out late, so it was about 9:30PM before Zachariah got to bed. Plus he had woken up with a cold that morning, so I know he wasn't feeling great. I heard him fussing at about 2:30AM. I went in his room to see what the problem was. He seemed pretty wide awake. I noticed right away that he felt warm, so I got him up to take his temperature. He had a low-grade fever, and I gave him some infant motrin then tried putting him back to bed. I went back to bed and could not sleep. I tossed and turned and couldn't relax. About half an hour later Zachariah was crying again. I went and rocked him for a bit and tried putting him back to bed. This continued off and on for the next hour. Then Matt finally woke up and asked what the problem was. I told him Zachariah just won't sleep at this point. So he got up with him for a while. Umm, I think he tried for about 20 minutes to get Zachariah to sleep. Then he brought him into our bed! Ha! This child hasn't co-slept with us since he was a little baby. Once he started sleeping through the night, he slept in his crib in another room. He laid with us in our bed, wide awake, for about 1/2 hour. He finally started getting squirmy and was not going to lay there any more. (Matt is asleep again by now. Me, I've been laying there awake the whole time. Ugh.) So at 5:00AM I got up with Zac, came to the living room, laid on the couch, and let him play with toys. He wanted to eat breakfast, but I refused to let him. I told him it was too early for breakfast. He played quietly for a while. (Quietly, because I hid any toys he drug out that made noises.) He started getting pretty grumpy after an hour, so I told him it was time to go back to bed. I put him in bed, and he slept. I was afraid to go back to bed, because I figured he wouldn't sleep. So I ended up sleeping on the couch for 3 hours while he finally slept. What a night! Luckily he was pretty good the next day. After lunch he took a 4 hour nap. And I took a 3 hour nap while he was sleeping. Matt stayed up, so he could take care of Zachariah if he woke up before me. And he slept well Saturday night too. I was sure hoping that was a one-time thing.

*I didn't mention that I've been sick too. I have a stuffy/runny nose. And now Matt has a bad cough. He didn't sleep well last night (and kept me awake with all his coughing). But Zachariah's cold seems to be going away.

*This morning the kid woke up too early. He was wide awake, so we got up. I fed him lunch really early and put him down for a nap. He got up earlier, so he didn't notice that it was an early lunch. Now I'm hoping I can get a shower and pull myself together. I have to take my car in for an oil change, and I'm really looking forward to chasing my son around the car dealership for an hour with they do that. Woo Hoo, don't you wish you were me today? No, oh, I guess I understand that. It's a good thing I have pictures like this around the house to keep my sane (and a cutie running around being adorable ... most of the time).

Holiday Traditions - Pt. 1

Stockings



Do you do stockings? We didn't really do them when I was young. (Mom tells me we did for a short while, but I don't remember.) But I always thought it was neat that my cousins did it. They got "extra" little gifts in addition to the other things Santa sent them.



Now, in my parents' new house with fireplaces, they have stockings for all of us. And my mom fills them with candy, chap stick, and other small things for us. It's a fun thing to do.



Matt's family did not have a fireplace growing up either. But they did do stockings every year. In fact those we the only gifts that were hidden. (His mom didn't wrap gifts. They each had a pile of presents on the living room floor when they got up Christmas morning. We enjoyed the fun of sorting through all the presents under the tree and handing them to the person who's name was on them. We still do that. My sisters and I end up passing out all the gifts at Christmas. It's fun. I digress.)



Matt's family always had these awesome customized stockings. An old family friend had knitted these stockings when the kids were young. They met this lady on a group tour trip to Israel. Matt's mom was pregnant for him at the time, but they didn't know that yet. They've kept in touch with her over the years. At some point she knitted stockings for them (I guess she has made them for other families she knows too). I always loved seeing these green and while stockings with Santa on them. They hung them on the wall in order with dad, mom, then the three kids.



When Matt and I were about to spend our first Christmas as a married couple, Matt's mom took down his stocking and gave it to him to hang at our house. The problem was that I didn't have a stocking to match his...or even one at all. We hung onto Matt's stocking for several years. Then out of the blue one year, Matt's mom gave us a surprise. This sweet, old lady had made a stocking for me too. I was beyond thrilled and couldn't wait until Christmas to put both of our stockings up.



Last year I put both of our matching stockings up, then I bought Zachariah a "Baby's First Christmas" stocking. I hadn't heard whether or not this family friend was going to make one for him, and I didn't want to ask for one. This year I wasn't sure what I was going to do about a stocking for Zachariah. A few weeks before Thanksgiving while we were at Matt's parents' house, his mom told me she had something for us. I peeked inside the bag and squealed. Their friend had knitted a stocking for Zachariah with his whole long name on it. The color is a bit different on each one, because it's hard to get the same yarn after so many years. But I could care less about that. I love that we can continue this tradition that Matt's parents started. We don't have a fireplace to display our lovely stockings on, but they look just fine hanging on the wall (I like how they look on our one wood wall in the living room). I just hope that the family friend will be around long enough to make the rest of our kids stockings to keep our collection complete. If not, that will be OK, but it would be awesome.

**Matt's stocking actually says "Matthew" but I like that you can just see "Matt" on this side. It's what he goes by anyway. Zachariah's has his full name on it too.

***I understand that you will probably be able to figure out my name now. I'm OK with that. Just please only use my screen name. (And if you'd like to know if you're right about my name or just want to ask, please feel free to e-mail me. I especially don't mind discussing it with you if you're a long time reader/commenter and I read your blog. I don't want to talk about it in the comments or here. I will probably delete this photo after a few weeks/months. Thanks for understanding.)

Clean Bean & Snow

What child actually likes to clean their room? Uhh...well...mine I guess. I caught him picking up his blankies and putting them on his dresser (where they belong when he's not sleeping).

Usually when he wakes up in the morning he throws his little lovey blanket. Then we pick it up and put it in a dresser drawer. Most times as soon as I put him down he picks them up for me. This morning we were too distracted looking at all the snow outside to take care of them. So he went in later and put them away.

He comes by this honestly. I hated having a messy room growing up. Most times I had the cleanest room in the house. I'm not a crazy cleaning nut now but I do like things neat and tidy.

**Sorry for the lack of commas. My "comma" key is broken on the computer. It's driving me NUTS!

Things about the kid + an important question!

*Zachariah tried to trade his cereal in for a cookie this morning. Nice try, son, nice try.

*He has started trying to sing. This morning he sat in his glider rocker in his bedroom and was trying to sing a song. I realized that he was singing “Rock-a-bye Baby”, which I like to sing to him when we’re cuddling in that chair.

*I’m thinking that Zachariah has outgrown his highchair. See photographic evidence below. He has his feet resting on the footrest, which means his knees are pressed against the tray above. This kid is tall, really tall. (I ran into an old friend the other day, she said she doesn’t think her son was that tall until he was 5! Ha.) I don’t know what to do with him next. He’s not quite (pretty darn close though) tall enough to reach the table just sitting in a regular chair. I don’t know if the chairs we have will hold a booster-type seat. I feel like he may still need a buckle, so he doesn’t constantly get up and down while eating. Any advice? When did your kids stop using their highchair? Where did you put them next? Any fantastic products out there that I don’t know about yet? Help me.

Parades and OSU football

Oh, it's been a long day. But I feel like typing up a little blog post before I go to bed. Maybe I'm stuck on posting every day from NaBloPoMo or something. I don't know.

This morning I went carolling with the church choir. We get dressed up and go to all sorts of downtown Christmas festivities. There are lots of things going on such as visiting Santa and Mrs. Clause, cookie decorating, craft fairs, ornament making, free coat give-aways, and a parade to wrap the whole day up. We went from place to place singing and wishing people a Merry Christmas. It was fun, but it was VERY, very cold. Brrrr. Matt came out later in the morning with Zachariah. They followed us around a little, then watched the parade. We sang from a horse-drawn wagon in the parade. Here is something I love about this parade. In most holiday parades Santa comes last. He's the grand finale. Not in our parade. He leads the parade here, and Santa and his missus are pulled in a sleigh by a 4-wheeler driven by Brutus himself. It's really neat. Then at the end there are Joseph and Mary walking donkeys. I love it. The true reason for Christmas right there for all to see.

We rested this afternoon and went to run a few errands later. Then tonight Matt and I watched college football games. If you haven't noticed already, we are big Ohio State fans. Our Buckeyes are ranked #3 currently and their season ended 2 weeks ago. This meant that there was a possibility for us to move up in rankings if teams above us lost. Well, last week we went from #5 to #3. Tonight there were 2 big games on that could mean a spot for us in the National Championship game. If either of the top 2 teams lose, then we will pretty much be a shoe in. Both of those games were on at the same time tonight. #2 West Virginia lost to their big rival Pittsburgh. This was a shocking upset. We figured our only chance was for #1 Missouri to get beat by their big rival Oklahoma. But West Virgina lost giving us a chance at the big game. And right now I'm watching the end of the Missouri game and they are going to lose also! This will quite possibly make us #1. I think we definitely will play a championship game when they both lose. Wow! We didn't think we'd get THAT lucky. But we couldn't be more excited. Maybe this year we can win the National Championship.

Have a great weekend!