Happy *NotReallyMyBirthday* Birthday To Me! March 7, 2012

Happy Birthday To Me!! A few months early…Okay so it’s not my birthday, it’s the Birthday MeMe and I’ve been tagged by MommasTime…

On My Birthday

When is you birthday?  September 1

Pick three people who share your birthday and share what you know about them. 

• Edgar Rice Burroughs – DOB 9/1/1875 – Sci-Fi Author – think Tarzan, the Mars Saga (You know that new movie John Carter that’s about to release? It’s based on his woks), the list goes on and on…. I also know that without him writing his Tarzan series almost 100 years ago, my kids wouldn’t have this movie…and in turn I’d have a lot less sanity

• Dr. Phil – DOB 9/1/1950 – TV doctor…I’m using the term ‘doctor’ loosely

Dr. Phil VS Dr. Feel

• Scott Speedman – DOB 9/1/1975 – Remember that guy on Felicity?? Yup, this is him…turns out he’s done a lot of acting, but I remember him as Ben on Felicity

 

Is anyone listed as being born on the same day as you (ie the same year)? If so, what do you know about them?

It doesn’t appear so….

List three people who died on your birthday and tell us what you know about them.

• Marin Mersenne – DOD 9/1/1648 – He was famous mathematician, theologian, and philosopher, a music theorist, and had also been referred to as “the father of acoustics”… and in the early part of the 1600’s he was “the center of the world of mathematics and science”

• William Clark – DOD 9/1/1838 – He’s the Clark in Lewis & Clark. In addition to that he served as Governor of the Missouri Territory and then in 1822 (until his death in 1838) he served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs

• Louis XIV of France – DOD 9/1/1715 – What do you want to know about him….I’ll give the cliff notes version – Ruled France for over 72 years, longer than any other ruler in European History, moved into Palace of Versailles, which is where I learned of him…well where I learned more than he was just a French Ruler…I could keep going but if you’re interested just click here and check out his wiki

List three notable events that took place on your birthday.

• The first cycle of the Byzantine Calendar, believed to be the beginning of all time, took place September 1, 5509 BC to August 31, 5508 BC….I’d say the dawning of time is a pretty significant event…right ;P
• The Liberty Bell was delivered to Philadelphia on 9/1/1752

• Nazi Germany attacked/invaded Poland on 9/1/1939, brining WWII to Europe

Last Up – Tag five more people…Hmmm…who to harass today?? I’m still working on this part… but if you want to play too (Come on I can’t be the only one who LOVES link ups like these…) just yell and I’ll add your link! 🙂

Be sure to stop by and blogstalk  check out everyone who’s joining in!!

LovingMyMommyLife @ Operation Mommyhood

 

A Mom’s Food Pyramid March 6, 2012

Convo from the other day:

Friend: I have the house to myself for a few hours Saturday morning; I could get so much done

Me: (interrupting) or you could sleep in or watch TV and be lazy

Friend: That’s kind of what I was thinking

Me: And hey, since wine’s made of grapes that could totally count as a fruit for breakfast…plus it’s full of antioxidants and such

Friend: Double win – I was thinking a Mimosa…the oranges and all….

Me & Friend rambling at the same time:

What about OJ & Vodka…

That’s a fruit and a grain…

wait vodka’s made from potatoes not grains…

that’s a fruit and a veggie…

throw in a beer and you have a well-balanced meal….

Hubby shaking his head and laughing from the other room….

Friends’ response to his doubts that this combo constitutes a nutritious meal: Beer comes from barley –  that stuff has lots of health benefits, it’s very good for you

?????? I can’t believe anyone would doubt my logic about eating healthy ?????

My *updated* Food Pyramid - We all know if it's on the internet it MUST be true!!

But for you doubters out there — I say throw in a side of bacon (or bacon vodka….) for some protein, that HAS to make it a well-balanced meal right?

So there you have it…a lesson in kid free healthy eating…and a fresh new perspective on the tired old food pyramid….Yes I know I left out the dairy group, but if you must add it in just throw in a bowl of ice cream or if you need a double win go for the Whipped Cream Vodka…then you get a dairy and a veggie 😉

*ESO Error = Equipment Superior To Operator

Want some more of my lovely meal time logic?? These relating to kiddo eating 🙂

Cookie Dough For Dinner

Doritos For Breakfast

Don’t forget to check out all the great posts at this weeks

and link up yourself!! 🙂

10 Things I Stink At March 5, 2012

10 – Singing – I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket…though I’ve been know to belt it out when in the car all by myself…Oh that reminds me…I also like to hold the imaginary soap and sing ‘All By Myself’, doing my best ‘Half Baked’ shower scene impression from time to time…**Passes out earplugs to you all**

9 – Doing anything early – I’m a huge procrastinator! I work better under pressure….otherwise I just think ‘Why am I doing this now, I have weeks!’..Not to be confused with lateness…I meet my deadlines…just at the last possible moment at times

8 – Keeping a spotless house – You guys saw a few weeks back Everything I’d rather do, other than clean….It’s a long list…my house is no ‘Worlds Messiest House’, by any means, but it’s not nearly as spotless as my I’d like…maybe someday?!

7 – Volleyball – I’m going with logic from the movie Clueless for this one….I don’t participate in any activity where balls fly at my nose….just saying… [Ok…this may have more to do with #2 on my list than movie logic if we’re being honest here ;P ]

WILLLLSON!!!

6 – Whistling – My dad can whistle any tune you can come up with…and loud…Me?? I’ve been trying since I was a kid…I can barely squeak out a  noise…my poor hubby has to listen to me walk through house attempting to whistle all the time

5 – Drawing – I’m a doodler…I fill pages with random doodles…but ask me draw something real, something specific, and I stink…for lack of a better word…I know a lot of being able draw is technique, but these are techniques I never learned. As an adult it’s never been something I was interested in enough to continue trying to learn…I’m cool with my doodles….and one day I’d like to try my hand at pottery

One of my doodles

And you guys remember this guy..

4 – Rollerblading…I’d like to think I’m decent, but in reality I can barely go straight, I can’t stop, & I can’t turn…

3 – Watching a movie quietly – don’t worry I don’t do this in the theater…but if I know the hubby’s already seen the movie I ask 5 million questions about ‘Who is that?’ ‘What’s going on?’ etc…I don’t know why I can’t just wait and see

2 – Sticking with something I stink at – Yup, I said it, I’m a quitter… when it comes to adding new hobbies or playing new games…if I’m not good at something (ex- a phone game that shall remain nameless but involves flinging birds into pigs to kill them…) it must be dumb and therefore I quit…like how I spin that?…I’m not good at it, so it’s dumb ;p

1 – Avoiding Sweets – I can’t keep them in the house or I’ll eat the whole package it. It’s bad!! I managed to lose a lot of weight a few years back, but I had to only buy and keep junk food everyone else liked and I didn’t….Perfect example–A few weeks ago I bought a box of banana chips and ate the whole thing in an afternoon…Here’s the deal–First off banana chip are fried not dried fruits..who knew?! Besides that, it turns out the box I ate in one afternoon was 10 servings…I ate 90 grams of fat in one sitting?! That’s beyond ridiculous!! I have no self control when it comes to sweets and junk foods

Yes, they were all mine...Dessert at LaMadeleines...and no I couldn't manage to snap the before I quality controlled the chocolate...

So…What do you stink at?? Link up and let us know!

Boots & Blossoms March 4, 2012

Day 3 – Your Neighborhood

How about a bloom on my tree…it’s in my yard…and that’s in my neighborhood…rule bending again I know ;p

Hello Spring!!

Day 4 – Beside

Well I’m caught up again…until tomorrow…Have you joined in? It’s not too late!

Springing Into March …. While Dragging February Behind March 2, 2012

I’m not going lie…I was going to quit, I had fallen so far behind on the #FebPhotoADay Challenge…then I thought I’ll just skip the rest of February and jump into March…but what fun would that be?? So I give you a giant catch-up post….Winding down February and Springing Into March:

Where I Work –

My Shoes – Stupid Dog!!

Next up – Inside My Bathroom Cabinet – I love these nail polishes from Target…IMO they’re just as good as OPI but 1/2 the price 🙂

Green – The little mans racing all his animals down the green grass

Night – A book I saw at the store..My kids may need this

Something I Ate – Banana bread fresh from the oven

Money – How about my money bracelet

What I’m listening too – May you RIP Davy Jones – I love how he starts this song with “Don’t get excited man, it’s because I’m short, I know” 🙂 ….And something for all you parents out there – our kids would have no Big Time Rush if not for The Monkees…it’s a complete (mildly amusing) knock-off….It’s a fact

And now we Spring into Match

Up – A surfboard hanging up on our ceiling

Fruit – A fruittastic idea I found on
Pinterest

See you tomorrow…who are we kidding…I’ll see you sometime in the next few days to play catch-up again ;P

Crockpot Chicken and Veggies March 1, 2012

This is more of guideline than a recipe but here we go…My Easy Peasy Crockpot Chicken and Veggies

• 1 whole chicken or bone in chicken pieces – frozen or thawed
• Fresh veggies – I use potatoes, carrots, and celery…that way the leftovers can be stirred with some noodles the next night for chicken noodle soup…but wait I’m getting ahead of myself…
• Salt, pepper, whatever spices you like (Fresh rosemary, rubs for the meat, garlic powder, Cajun spices, a dash of liquid smoke…uses your imagination….)
• ¼ – ½ c liquid….I use water, but chicken broth, wine, anything works
• 1 crockpot

• Wash you veggies…you never know who scratched their butt, touched the carrots, and put them back on the shelf…and chop them in to chunks.

• Drop your veggies in the bottom of the crockpot, sprinkle with seasoning if you choose
• Pour your liquid in the crockpot
• Season your meat if you so choose and plop it on top of the veggies
• Put the lid on and cook

o Here’s the deal

 Frozen Chicken (whole or pieces) – Cook on high for 6 – 8 hours
 Thawed Chicken (whole or pieces) – Cook on high 4 hours or low for 6 – 8 hours
This isn’t like cooking in the oven, the longer you cook this the juicer it gets…all that happens it the meat will fall off the bone

This guy started frozen, was covered in a spice rub, and cooked on high for 6 hours….that’s why he stayed whole, cook him the whole 8 hours and he’ll fall off the bone

Ready for the best part of this beyond simple recipe?? You can change out the chicken for a roast or a pork loin, whatever’s in the fridge or freezer. Don’t have veggies? Throw the meat in the crock pot, rub with bbq sauce, and pour in 1/4 – 1/2 c water and cook for the times as listed above. If you do this you can shred the meat for pulled meat sandwiches or slice and serve….

You want more??

If you make the recipe above and have leftovers turn them into one of these MEALS . Just replace the turkey that the recipe calls for with whatever you’ve got leftover 🙂

You still want more?? You guys are killing me!?!
Go check out all the great recipes here  and don't forget to link up!

Mom Meltdowns February 29, 2012

I was at Target today, minding my own business, roaming the store and enjoying the first day the little man’s been back to school after being out sick for almost 2 weeks. Browsing the sales, riding down the aisles on the bar below the cart….just being a jackass…or rather partaking in my own jackassary….then it happened, it hasn’t happened in a while, and while I try to be worry free for the most part sometimes those things you push to the back of your head because the logical part of you knows you can’t stress over what you can’t control finds a way to creep out.

 

What happened you ask?? One of my biggest fear came true…a giant green monster came through the front doors of the store, ran down the aisles screaming and growling…yanking everything off the shelves…pushing everyone who was in his path out of the way…searching frantically for ½ priced orange juice…once he found the oj….destroying everything in his path…he made his way….still screaming and trashing everything in his way…to the checkout. He then handed the cashier his expired oj coupon, and when the cashier politely, and slightly terrified, tried to politely explain the stores coupon policy the angry monster bit her head off, said “There’s your coupon bitch” and walked off…oj and expired coupon in hand….

 

 

Wait—that didn’t happen—but I have your attention now don’t I?? And I made you laugh a little too…didn’t I?? So now on to my real semi-emotionally related-meltdown….I’m roaming the aisle, goofing off, admiring my own genius for the long johns I found on clearance for super cheap, and I saw an older lady with 2 teenage boys…they weren’t related, it wasn’t a family outing…it was 2 special needs boys…who if I had to guess lived in some sort of group home and were out running errands….The boys were happy, the lady seemed caring…as I was searching for the right type of sausage I overheard them discussing the items they needed and who they were shopping for. One of the boys was walking down the aisle with his hands over his ears. And as I continued to search for the red meat free Italian flavored sausage for my calzones tonight they vanished down another aisle and that was it….That’s where most people would continue to shop and go about their business not giving it much more thought…not me…that moment, when I saw the group of three walk down a aisle in the store, minding their own business, that’s when I almost lost it…right in the middle of the store.

 

I accept the fact that stressing over what you can’t control is pointless, I understand that it doesn’t get you anywhere and I still believe that 100%, BUT that doesn’t mean feelings don’t creep up occasionally.  I accept Autism and all it Is & Isn’t. I accept I can’t control the future. I accept the fact that I must live forever to care for my children, as many special needs parents do…..But I still cannot see a special needs adult without almost losing it. It breaks my heart, not for the person, but for my own family….yes I know that makes me sound like a selfish ass…but I want it all for my kids….and while there are great long term care options available out there I hate thought of any of it! My babies need to stay babies forever…or better yet…insurance companies could realize that 1:91 children will be 1:91 adults before we know it,  and start covering more intensive therapies….Even better that that I need to find the magic trigger that makes each of cuties tick in order to help them grow to be the best they can be….

 

So you’re waiting to hear what happens next right??? Did I cry my eyes out in the middle of the store like a nutcase? Did I say too hell with it and take out my frustrations on the green expired coupon using monster, kicking him straight in his monster rear? Nope, nothing that exciting. Actually, I sucked up my feelings, shoved them deep down where they, along with all the other worries you can’t control, belong, and I went about my shopping. Feeling a little bummed at thoughts of what the future holds, but more than anything feeling excited to see my cuties after school, hug them, and tell them they are PERFECT!!!

 
REMEMBER [When those darn emotions and worries, about whatever it is you may be stressing about, start sneaking in] :::::Van Wilder said it best:::::Worryings like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but doesn’t get you anywhere
 

High School Reunion..To Go or Not to Go? February 27, 2012

10 8 (Mildly Humorous) Reasons I’m likely to pass on my high school reunion:

• I haven’t gone anywhere, anyone who wanted to stay in touch could have easily, and I have stayed in touch with those I was closest to

• Facebook is basically a giant high school reunion every day

• I rarely get a sitter, I’d much rather spend a kid free evening out with the hubby or our friends

• I didn’t really like high school the first time around

• I saw pic of a previous years reunion…it was in a bar…doesn’t that say enough??

• It’s only been 10 years…I don’t miss anyone that much yet…ask me again in time for my 20 year reunion

• I might get beaten with a plastic coke bottle…Remember that school that made Letterman’s Top 10 List? That was my school…here’s a clip of the article for your entertainment value:

Thursday, February 21, 2002

Just after 11 a.m., a handful of students in the cafeteria began fighting. The school’s two on-site police officers tried to break up the fight using pepper spray. The melee escalated and backup officers were called in. By the time they arrived, 25 students were throwing bottles and fighting each other. Over 200 other students were nearby, most of them watching the commotion, and staying out of the way. Two police officers were wounded in trying to restore order. One was cut on his hand while the other sustained a cut to his head. Eleven students received minor injuries during the fight. Most of these injuries were minor scrapes and bruises and for breathing in the pepper spray. The backup officers were able to pull students out of the fight and arrest them. Their actions brought the whole fight to quick end. Six Bowie students and two adults were detained by the police for instigating, or sustaining, the fight. School officials said Bowie is not a troubled school, even though police records show that 14 fights have already taken place at the school since January 1. In comparison, Martin High School, the district’s largest, has had 17 fights already this calendar year. Source: Dallas Morning News – 13 Hurt, 8 Held in Fight at Arlington Bowie High

and here’s where I found the article online [I just copied and pasted it for you guys]

—I have to say the so-called ‘riot’ wasn’t nearly as entertaining or amusing as the news made it out to be

• I just don’t care that much

My Old High Shcool

I’m a MondayListicles Failure this week….I can’t come up with 10 reasons to or not to attend my High School Reunion…I guess I should get to thinking since it’s coming up this year

Can’t get enough? Want to know more about High School Me? Just click on the link…or click HERE to find out more 🙂

Vanishing Words!? February 24, 2012

Remember when your baby was first born, you’d watch him or her sleep? On nights they slept more than 2 hours you’d find yourself checking them in their crib to make sure they were still breathing…not in a morbid way, in a mom way….As they grow you learn to enjoy the silence, let sleeping babies sleep so to speak…right?

Then your kiddo gets sick for the first time, you’re up all night, even when they finally crash out. You’re checking fevers, checking breathing, etc.  I’m not alone so far…right? We’ve all done this….

Then came autism, and first words….when my son first started using words, I’d wake him every morning and ask him to talk to me. Make him repeat that one word he knew at the time. I just needed to make sure his words didn’t magically vanish while we slept. Why would words just disappear, with no rhyme or reason?…No logical reason, but nothing about autism at the time seemed logical to me.  I’m not a mom who knows her kids were born autistic and I’m not a mom who knows something else [whether environmentally related, vaccine related, whatever] caused the autism…Actually I believe autism is a combo of genetic and environmental triggers, and is at times misdiagnosed because it shares symptoms with other, possibly yet to be identified disorders. One day I think they’ll be able to break down what they today call ‘autism’ into 5, 10, 20 different conditions. There are too many variants in every case of autism for it all to be lumped into 1 category…but that’s neither here nor there..that’s actually just my ADD kicking in….getting back on track….

Hmm….where were we? Words!!! Once I realized the words wouldn’t magically vanish in my cuties sleep, next came the new speech/illness fear….Every time a cutie gets sick there’s the fear the sickness will take the words with it. Not in a weird mystic word sucking virus type of way, just in an I don’t really get it but it scares the beejeebus out of me kind of way.  I’m sure in time this fear too will pass and be replaced with some other odd parent fear, in the mean time I guess I’ll just drive the monsters crazy making them say words so I know they’re still there…

What are your irrational, semi crazy, odd, or just amusing mom fears?

As you know I’m a rule breaker bender, and this week’s topic was “Capture what it’s like to spend a day or a moment talking with your kiddo”….Instead I’m telling you what it’s like to worry that moment may never come again….In my rule bending defense, when you’re monsters are nonverbal sometimes you have to bend the rules to fit the topic…right? Either way, hope you enjoyed my ramblings, and I look forward to hearing your mom fears too…Come on now, I know I’m not alone!! 😉

Hating Handwriting When Drinking? No, It’s Just Another Catch Up Post… February 21, 2012

Drink

OJ & Rum in a Mason Jar…just screw the lid on for an instant shaker, uncap & enjoy…I’ll admit this may be a little red (aka redneck) but it’s less dishes for me lol

And since everyone loves to upcycle stuff these days, I give you Halloween votive holders I got on clearance for $0.10 a piece and upcycled them into shot glasses \_/*Cheers!*\_/

Something I Hate To Do
Laundry – It’s never ending!

Handwriting

A Fav Pic Of Me

How about a pic of me and the hubs being goofy…..