The Mother of Geese

Today was a good day. Grandma Kitty, Uncle Jetit, Grandpa and Grandma Shirley in town. New matchy matchy clothes. Great Food. Great Company. Primary Program. Baby Blessing. Good Day.

Today Sr. Crankypants is 2 months old. I feel like I need to maybe look into changing his nickname because he, happily, has not been living up to it. Although we are still trying to figure out what makes him tick I have learned a few things. He likes: La leche Sleeping on his side NOT in a baby burrito Nightly 8:30 bathtime, especially if he can pee straight in the air in a giant arc Snuggling on the big love sac in the basement getting more chins Smiling at me during a feed so I have wet shirts He tolerates: Me trimming his nails The swing in the basement Getting carried around by Abbie Formula Costume changes to coordinate with what everyone else is wearing Me kissing his cheeks so much they are a bit red and dry He Dislikes: The Baby Bijorn Being held inward Me getting rid of the boogs. Getting knocked on his side in the vibrating chair by older sister trying to reinact WOAH movements Playing tea party with Amelia when he's sleeping Tummy time or Watch me spit up on the blanket ...

I see your "Pageant Hair" Rachel, and I raise you this little poof ball...

When Abbie and I do her homework together I try to get Amelia involved in it as well by giving her paper, crayons, scissors etc...so she feels like she has an important task to complete like her big sister. Her phrase "Dat geed mom?" used to only apply to foodstuffs but now anytime she wants any reassurance or a confidence builder she poses the question/statement. I always reply with "yep, that's good!". She found her stickers given to us by sweet cousin Hadley Girl and Sage-O and wanted to make sure that Max was involved in the fun too. "Dat geed beebee?" Is it me or is he getting fat enough to go a few more hours at night without a meal? Oh, and I forgot to post what's for dinner this week and I keep forgetting what to take out of the freezer or prep in the morning: Monday: Italian Pot Roast, Green beans Tuesday: Coconut Shrimp, Sticky Rice Wednesday: Chicken Noodle Soup, Rolls Thursday: Tuna Pasta casserole Friday: FFY

Since I have 100 kids to take care of (ok 3 maybe 4 if you count Bradfo) sleep is such a precious commodity that I get a little stingy and punchy if even 10 seconds is robbed from me. Last night my head hit the pillow at 10:00 since Max decided to shhhhhhh. He woke me up at 12:30 to be fed. I put him back at 1:00 and as usual willed that child to shhhhhhh until at least 4:00. At 3:00 I woke up. Not because Max woke up. The, (pardon the harsh phrasing but remember I get a little punchy and snippy and snappy) f-ing smoke alarm in my bedroom started chirping. No biggie I thought, I can handle a few chirps. Then the chirping kept going and going at 70 second intervals. Big booty mama drug her big booty out of bed and went downstairs looking for a battery solution, which sadly was not to be found. (AA's check, watch battery check, D's check, 23 lightbulbs check check) No 9-volt. I woke Brad up with big angry tears in my eyes and he reached up and disconnected the stupid thing and ha...

Self portrait of the first born This morning I was trying to motivate Abbie to stop what she was doing and focus on her homework that needed to be done. (She needed to finish writing the letter P over and over but instead wanted to draw pictures of things that start with P popcorn, pink, papa, paintbrush, paintbox, purple, etc...) Mom: Abbie, put your crayons down, pick up your pencil and write your letters. Abbie: Shut your mouth, mom. Mom: er.... what did you say?! It should be noted here that: 1. Brad and I do not ever say shut your mouth. Pipe down? Yes. Quiet? You betcha. That's enough? yep. SHHHHHHH? That one too. 2. Brad and I haven't been listening to 70s funk as of late to warrant a James Brown or Foxy "Shut yo mouth HUmPH" 3. I did not respond with "Oh no you did-int!!!" and my finger waving all over. But I was tempted. My eyebrows were raised so high they hit the ceiling. I walked over to her and got down at her level, (flicked her in the nose), ...

Bionic Woman (NBC)-Note to NBC. Jennifer Garner was in Alias. That show ruled until it was too Rambaldi-ish. Stop trying to recreate the wheel with a sort of knock off version Sydney Bristow secret government project super girl deal. Not going to watch. Cane (CBS)-Sorry Jimmy, but I prefer my shows featuring famous latinos to be entertaining and funny a la Betty. Pass. And just because many on the show are hot does not mean I would like to see you do it. What is this HBO? So here goes: Its much more depressing to see how much TV I plan on consumming written out on paper isn't it? I'm not reading any more books to make room. Note: Green means live or main floor tv, blue means downloaded basement screen(takes a while, good quality) , red means DVR basement screen (can watch it right after it records) Mondays: Chuck, Heroes Tuesdays: Biggest Loser/Beauty and the Geek , House, Reaper Wednesdays: Pushing Daisies, Life, Americas Next Top Model Thursdays: Ugly Betty , My Name, 30 ...

Does it make me dorky or addicted to TV to know that I have made an excel spreadsheet to get all my TV organized? I mean a gal has to know what shows will be watched live, downloaded or red-dotted. With that in mind have I got a great show to share with you!!! Pushing Daisies (ABC)-Wow. Could be a new favorite. I love everything about this show from the narrator (Jim Dale of Harry Potter fame) to Kristin Cheno...blah...Can't wait to watch it and see what happens. Don't miss a minute..Its brilliant. Giggled a lot. Monday: Leftover Pot Roast, Baked Potatoes Tuesday: Tomato soup, Ham Sandwiches Wednesday: Steak Chili, Cheddar biscuits Thursday: Spaghetti Squash with salmon and alfredo sauce Friday: Huevos Rancheros. I'm using up the last of the tomatoes. Boo. Not like Halloween boo, but boo like hate to have to buy market tomatoes.

Step 1: Live in a community where the fruit inhibitor spray didn't take leaving a billion apples that will rot unless you grab them. Consider picking and selling the apples at a stand on State Street to pay the community water bill. (Suck it Kent Wells at PG) Step 2: Forget the ladder and enlist the help of Abbie's dream boy to climb the tree. Step 3: Give Amelia a job so she will stop taking a bite of each apple giving her the runs in the future for sure. Step 4: Wash the apples. Stop. change diapers for 2 kids, put one down for a nap, nurse the other. Step 5: Peel the apples. Stop. Throw in a load of towells, change of clothes, kitchen rugs to recover from the previous apple baths. Step 6: Send 5-year-old to the basement to get empty bottles (point out there are at least 85 because we opted not to do peaches this year.) Go to the couch and take a quick 20 minute nap because she gets so distracted and takes forever to complete the task. Step 7: Make the syrup for the appl...

Thanks to the wily ways of Bradfo I have been doing a little sneaking peeking at some of the new fall shows premiering in a few weeks. Here's what I have found so far. Reaper (CW) Tuesdays-hands down the most clever and dark show out there. Loved it. Happy, silly, fun fun fun. Have nearly forgiven the CW for canceling Veronica Mars because of this show. Absolutely will watch it. Chuck (NBC)Mondays before Heroes-makes you want to go buy an iphone. Pretty sure the main actress was cast because of her looks and NOT her ability to earn an emmy. Chuck is adorable. Will give it a whirl. Glad to see McG out there using his talent. Life-detective gets life back. Thought subject matter would irritate me-innocent man and such but it turned out ok. LOVED Damian Lewis in Forsyth Saga and it was nice to have him not be the creepy guy who loved the unattainable. I don't love the idea that a detective who clearly has some issues is out there already. The head to the side thing annoyed a bit. ...

I got this email from sista in law Rachel and usually read them politely and then hit delete. (No offense.)In all my blogging life I have never been tagged so I am cheating a bit and now I am tagging myself. Terrible Twos. Two Names You Go By: 1. Da Doo 2. MOM,MOM,MOM!!!!! (you have to do it really loud like Amelia Two Things you are wearing right now. 1. Stinkin' brown Target Gauchos (can't seem to let them go) 2. A watch (with the trendy indiglo function. nothin' says nursing nights like this watch. Two Things You Want in a Relationship: 1. Laughter 2. Fun/good food Two of Your Favorite Things to do: 1. Cook 2. Tie between take nap/take bubble baths Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment: 1. Sleep 2. Sugar Two pets you had/have: 1. Tyrone the black bunny 2. that's it. Two things you did last night: 1. Blogged 2. laundry Two People that live in your house (home): 1. Big Booty Mama 2. Senor Crankypants (el mayor tambien) Two people you talked to last: 1. Abbie 2. ...

Amelia to Senor Crankypants: I will hold you and you will like it dang it. Now smile for the picture, punk.

Counterproductive-adj. "Tending to hinder rather than serve one's purpose" Sometimes Big Booty Mama isn't home from her workout when the 2 oldest wake up for the morning. Although Bradfo is still home, they are a bit "unattended" except for the PBS kids a.m. offerings. Today I thought I would surprise the girls with a treat since I knew they would be awake to thank them for being so good while I'm not there. Nothin' says "I love to take care of my body and keep it healthy" like Donuts. At least they eat the donuts sideways so we can all pretend its corn on the cob. Diabetic coma setting in in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Found this loverly little article and in light of big booty mama that has been bouncin along the trail, thought I would share it with my sistas. (Not so much you Heidi, but definately Anne) I would like to ask the pervert/scientists if they really needed to conduct a study to find out that if you bounce, they bounce..?

Yep, we grow em big around these parts. I thought I would use Sr. Crankypants for the scale. Wash and cut pieces into individual serving sizes and remove seeds. Place each piece on a baking sheet with skin side down. Bake at 375 degrees about twenty-five minutes or until fork-tender. Melt one-fourth cup butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add one-fourth tablespoon honey, one tablespoon grated orange rind and salt to taste. Pour over squash pieces and bake ten minutes or more to glaze.

Just for the record, I post the menus for the week to keep myself organized and so I will know what I need to pull out of the freezer in the morning/etc. I hope it doesn't seem like a neener, neener, neener, deal because mostly, I'm sure the family would rather eat spaghetti and meatballs every night. Monday: Potato Crusted Fish Tuesday: Glazed Banana Squash Wednesday: Roasted pork loin Thursday: Stuffed Potatoes Friday: Girls night out with Abbie/Amelia

Lately, when Abbie is left doodling or creating something she has an obsession with a certain nursery rhyme. She will draw the picture, color it, sometimes cut something from another piece of paper to glue on it, and this morning she has added stickers to it. She hums happily a song and I went over to compliment her on her work. I immediately recognized the story, but am unsure where she might have received her inspiration for her work.... There once was an old lady who lived in a shoe, she had so many children she didn't know what to do.

They say that white noise helps to block out all other noise-- making for a restful night sleep. Unless I can score one of those room noise canceling devices that are handy for my brother in San Diego on Sundays-I give you---the compromise. Don't feel bad that he's like a puppy under the desk while Brad works. So cute. Oh, and Abbie came home from school today telling me she can touch the baby because she had already killed the Germans with the lotion. (I think we're all a little excited for Ken Burns War Documentary coming soon)

Thank you Grandma T. for our looks, tempers, cooking ability, and flair for the dramatic

Part of the fun of having Brad work from home is the sometimes daily visits from UPS, FEDEX, or DHL. I prefer the little envelope type packages, so I frowned a bit when 7 boxes from dell weighing from 5 to 65 lbs arrived nearly blocking my doorway. Amelia discovered a great thing to do with the extra empty boxes laying around. Also, Dell has a fabulous warranty program. Anything that doesn't work or is faulty is pretty much covered. One time, Brad had a fan in the server that was too loud so he was able to switch it out. I have been considering lately sending our latest dell model back because its too loud. Way too loud. Shipping is kind of tricky though. Plus I do like all the other features and the upgrades so I guess I can live with the noise.

Monday: Foil Dinners in the canyon Tuesday: Steak Fajitas, grilled corn Wednesday: Chicken and Couscous salad Thursday: Ham, Pea, Butterfly Pasta Friday: Swiss Quiche/Fruit salad Saturday: Italian Meatballs over rice

Today is the first day of the great get that body back the way it was before I was married and had 5 pregnancies and so on and so forth. I have another blog called "Big booty mama" where I am keeping track and journaling all the progress for the next year. While I am most likely going to keep it private thought I would share the sneak preview of what went on this morning. or Day 1. 6:30 am. Want to wake up to do cardio. Go back to sleep remembering its only 20 minutes and promise to get up soon since I just pumped at 5:30 (and 1:30 and 11:00 but whose keeping track?) 7:15 am. Brad brings baby to me to feed. Finish feeding baby and want to "make up" with him for being so crabby with him yesterday and decide sleeping and cuddling is the best way to reestablish that bond. 8:10 am. Really wake up and get out of bed. Look for socks. can't find them. look for sports bra. figure I won't be able to fit in it with la leche and such or find it anyway and really need t...