It's Business, it's Business Time

It's not quite yet Noon and I have four dozen gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate chip cookies completed (good job, self, for not eating too much cookie dough - good job!) and a gluten-free pecan pie baked and cooling.

Supposedly (and that's a HUGE supposedly) bourbon is gluten-free, where as whiskey is not (they add mash back in after the distilling process). This shouldn't matter much, I'm not much of a pecan pie fan anyway - but just in case, I used straight bourbon.


Aaron's been a punk through this whole getting-ready-for-Thanksgiving-dinner experience. He keeps trying to steal the food... the other day I had to give him a 20 minute explanation of why he couldn't eat this sausage because it's for the dressing. Then this morning I caught him trying to sneak sweet potatoes in his lunch even though yesterday I plainly told him I didn't think I had enough sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner.

If he wasn't so damn good at cleaning the kitchen I would have gotten my frying pan down right then and there.

And now, I'm off to go make a pumpkin pie, orange cranberry bread, hard boil 15 eggs, assemble the dressing, make the veggie dip and assemble the sweet potato casserole.

And then I'm gonna sit in the corner and suck my thumb. Holy hell.

Propped Me Up on the table Like a Mannequin

"Mommy? Can you draw a picture of me? Please?"

"Why don't you do that yourself Dar?"

"Please? Please?"

"Okay."

"Here you go. Now, draw my face.... don't forget my hair! And my ears... good job Mommy! Now, don't forget my neck and my body... and my arms... and my legs... and don't forget my penis, Mommy! MY PENIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART!"

Kick 'Em Right in the Face

I keep waiting to sigh a big breathe of relief, but it's just not coming.

My dad's doing okay, he's still in the hospital. Supposedly he's being released today and will have his surgery in two weeks or so.

He has 100% blockage in one of his arteries. Holy fuck. And they are just leaving it there for weeks. Double holy fuck.

Apparently when you have a heart attack, it takes seven to ten days for all the damage to occur, then it takes about another 15 days for the heart to have repaired all it can. The doctors have discovered it's better to wait for this process to complete itself before going in and having the quadruple-bypass surgery. Which totally makes sense scientifically.

Emotionally, though, I want to go around and pop doctors on the head and yell FIX MY FUCKING DAD ALREADY, JESUS CHRIST.

And I Thought That I Was Strong

All in 24 hours.

I made a baby blanket

Eleven days of Darwin being sick, took him to the doctor: raging ear infection

Aaron in Canada

My dad went to the doctor, then admitted in the hospital: needs a stint or open heart surgery scheduling quadruple-bypass surgery

Researching how to do a will and power of attorney

Change is dizzying

And it Never Feels Out of Place

Two kids, home sick all day.

Multiple times a day:

"Go lie down."

"Go lie down."

"Go lie down!"

"Go. Lie. Down."

"Go lie down."

Argh.

"Go lie down, NOW."


Did you know The Magic School Bus is a tv show as well? I did not know that. Idiot me, I thought it was a series of books.

(Edward! You're weak for leaving!)

So The Magic School Bus progressed into a science show about dinosaurs. Which led into a show above a talking dinosaur with human friends and WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? Are those writers from Kansas? Suspend reality my ass.

And then, AND THEN, there's a commercial advertising buying an Arabian horse. Because, when you're in the market to buy a horse, make sure it's Arabian. Seriously? Who the fuck would be in the market of buying a horse would also be watching television in the middle of the day? Someone needs to fire a media buyer.

I think the boys' sickie germs are affecting my brain.

You Wanted Arts and Crafts, How's This for Arts and Crafts? (That's Right!)

This weekend I escaped (es-cop-ee) (sorry, bad Finding Nemo joke) from the boys and got to go to a big scrap night with a new friend.

(A new friend I'm kinda-sorta stalking. Shhhh. Don't tell.)

I completed two pages and spent the majority of my time making this...


... a December book to fill as the month goes on. Completely inspired by Ali's but many, many levels of less awesomeness (could a person be more perfect?).

So it's ready to go. I have a pile of embellishments to use and it's my personal goal to have one completed album this year and no, I don't care what size it is as long as it's DONE. And my second goal is for to hold more pictures than just Lego Advent Calendar pictures. But that's a lofty goal right there.

Weighed Down with Words too Over-Dramatic

Target failed me today.

Failed!

Failed!

Failed!

They were completely sold out of New Moon.

Fail!

Fail!

Fail!

So I had to suffer until I got to a bookstore. Where I also purchased Toni Morrison's new book to balance out my reading karma.

Ahem.

I'll get to it as soon as I'm done with New Moon.

Maybe.

Maybe after I get down with the whole series.

Yeah, that sound better.

Speaking of the whole series, ahem, did you know that Stephanie Meyer published on the interweb her 12 chapters of Midnight Sun after it was "leaked." So, like, you can go read that right now.

Not that that's what I'm doing or anything.

Feels Like I'm Swimmin' Upstream

Darwin got sick last week. Which meant I have been dealing with icky bodily fluids for days.

Really icky bodily fluids.


Here's to hoping some fresh air did him good.

Also, I read Twilight in less than two days. Not quite sure how that happened, but now I have to get myself to the bookstore. I now totally understand why teenage boys feel like they can't keep up with Edward. It's because they can't.

This Precious Time, When Time is New

Last night I cried like a big baby, with fat tears rolling down my face and splashing on my shirt. I am so proud.

And this autumn has been supremely awesome...


I love the view out my kitchen window.

And just to prove life doesn't only involve politics and participating in blog events, look what Griffin did yesterday...


I suppose this time I should be proud he remembered his "t" and didn't put in a "b" -- right?

I'm a mean, mean mommy for making him play outside in the nice weather. Someone call Social Services, that crazy lady is keeping Griffin from his Legos.

I'm Blue (Da Ba Dee Da Ba Die)

I gave in to Aaron's whining on Saturday. We early-voted. It only took an hour and half.

(Apparently, I have super-low standards after attending the caucus.)


Do you have your sticker? You should. Everyone should be wearing a sticker today. It's like a four-year-old's version of a wet dream come to life.

Yeah. Okay. That was kinda inappropriate.

As for my kitchen?


Coffee cake muffins. Mmmm, these are good. I just replaced the flour with the same amount of gluten-free flour and added 2 teaspoons of xantham gum to the batter.

Now, go vote.

So I Try Living in the Moment, 'Till the Moment it Just Froze

My head is spinning... Halloween is over and the winter holidays are quickly approaching (despite it being sunny and 77 degrees outside); I was offered (and accepted) a promotion at work last week; Aaron arrived home safely in time for the weekend, but maybe leaving again soon. My bedroom (hell, my entire house) is an ungodly mess; I feel lucky to have a path to the bed.

So I'm gonna be in denial and play along with Toni this week. Kitchen Poetry. Doesn't that sound lovely?

We do the vast majority of our living in the kitchen -- right now, I'm click-click-clicking away on the laptop at the kitchen table. Waiting for the butter to be ready for muffins. (Mmmm, muffins.)


I'm getting more and more old-school in the kitchen as time wears on. Not only do we no longer have a microwave in the house, I despise prepackaged lettuce (carrots and spinach are okay - but lettuce? blech) and salad spinners (too damn bulky for my itty bitty kitchen).

So you'll often find a big bowl of greens soaking, then I lay them out on a towel, bunch it up and spin in around outside (centrifugal force at it's best -- it waters my rosebushes too). Then a quick dry-off inside, packaged in a bag with a few damp paper towels and I have salad until we eat it up.