A Little Persective

I had to call my Grandma Novie this afternoon and ask her, "how did you do this 8 times?" I just can't fathom it some days when I am trying to manage just one. She said she really didn't know! We got to laughing and then she told me how she had to go out and cut wood so that she could have a fire to cook food with when Grandad was away. She also didn't have any disposable diapers. That means she had to clean out all of those dirty cloth diapers and wash them, BY HAND like she did the rest of the clothes! Grandma made all of their meals and sewed all of their clothes too. So, really, what is my problem?! :) Good thing I can call my Grandma Novie and get perspective when I most need it!

Speaking of Grandma Novie, she is the one who told me to pray if I got the blues after Will was born. Here was my prayer today, "Dear God, thank you for orajel and baby tylenol".

A Mid Week Break

So yesterday was a little trying. My sweet little one is getting molars. It must be so painful. Diantha called in the late afternoon to see if I could go sing karaoke with a live band playing in the background. When I got the message I immediately called Michael to see if we could arrange something! He planned on running with my cousin. Hmmm...what to do? He decided to drive up to Salem with me and run out there while we left Will with his Grandma C. Many, MANY thanks to Grandma C.! What a peach for watching Will at a moment's notice and staying up past her bedtime! I could tell Will was having fun too because when I called I could hear him laughing in the background. Thanks again, Carolyn!

Most of you know by now that I really don't mind making a fool of myself most of the time. I get up and sing karaoke even though I don't have a lovely voice. You only live once, you might as well belt it out, right? I must tell you though, that singing with a live band behind you is a little nervewracking. I was nervous! I did get up there anyway and had a good time of it. Diantha, of course, sounded incredible with a band behind her. That woman was made to be up on a stage! It was a fun night and good to get out on the town for a few hours. Sorry to say that I don't have any pics to go along with this post. At least it's documented in the blog!

Subbing, etc...

So last Friday was my first substitute teaching job. I thought I might try to sub on Fridays since both of the grandmas have that day off. Will spent the day with my mom. I think they had fun together and mom even helped me out around the house. I'm not sure how she did it with a toddler running around, but I sure appreciated it! The school I subbed at had a great atmosphere. Everyone was so sweet and helpful. Just walking into the place gave you good vibes. Despite this great experience, I can't see myself doing this on any kind of a regular basis. I enjoy teaching, but just not as much as I love being Will's mama. I think there is a little part of me that thought I needed to become a substitute to validate myself and be a part of the paid working world. There was something about that that just didn't feel quite right on Friday. I know it's only one day of the week, but I guess it's just the principle of the matter. I made a choice to leave teaching and it was a very well thought out and deliberate one. At this point in my life I feel confident enough to be "just" a stay at home mom without the validation of a paycheck.

Update

I think Will was pretty proud of himself for being such a big boy and eating his corn on the cob just like the rest of us. It has been really busy around here for the past week or so. Feels like we have been doing a lot of running around. September is a busy month for us. Aside from my regular mom duties I have been busy with work for my local reading council, which has been fun. My friend, Katie, was also in town for a visit so I was able to go up to P-town last weekend and visit with her. Saturday was probably the craziest day of all. I woke up early to drive up to Portland, then drove to Salem to meet friends for book club, then proceeded to come home and go out with some more girlfriends. It was a wild and crazy night of fun--moms gone wild! We actually went out to celebrate my friend Sarah from my mom group. She is moving away, which really bums me out since we just met in the spring and she is such a fabulous person. We have already decided we need to take a trip out to NY to visit! What else? I went in for a substitution orientation last week as well so I could sub for a friend of mine. We'll see how it goes. I think it will be fun, but I have mixed feelings about leaving Will for the whole day. It's good for him to get some grandma time, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't use that precious time to get my hair cut or my eyebrows waxed! If any of you has seen me lately you know that I need to do both of these things! Sorry guys, this is kind of a weird and boring post, but I hadn't written in a while and wanted to let you know I was still among the living!

Skunked

Take 1 quart hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 c. baking soda, and 1 tsp. dish soap. Mix together and rub your skunk infested parts. I wouldn't say that you come out smelling like roses, as the picture might suggest, but at least the skunky smell begins to fade. How do I know this, you might ask, well my dear husband was running along some trails last night when he encountered one of these foul smelling creatures. He wasn't sure he had been hit, so he came home last night asking me to smell him. The stench filled the room. There really was no need to sniff whatsoever. Still he insisted that I smell him. Ugh! I told him he could not go to sleep in our bed until he did something about the stench. Sorry, but I've got to draw the line somewhere folks. Mike then proceeded to go on line where he found this lovely recipe, which he now has memorized. By the way, vinegar does not work. Mike tried that before he found this recipe and yes, he asked me to sniff him in between each washing. Gross! He wouldn't leave me alone until I did it. I hope for all your sakes that you never have to use this recipe.

Just Another Day In Paradise

Taking a snooze in the park

My son, the musical prodigy

Will and his ultramarathoning daddy

Just another day on the homefront, but I'm feeling so grateful for it. Glad to have my healthy, happy little boy with me running around like a crazy man! I really love him to pieces! There is something about the month of September here in Oregon that just puts me in a good mood. The weather is just right and it's so much fun to enjoy it with my son. I feel so blessed to be at home with him for another year to watch him grow, explore, and experience life. I have to send out a special thanks to my husband for making all of this possible. I love you, Mike! Okay, enough mushiness for now!

Here Comes the Bride...

These are pictures that I took of my beautiful friend, Kristina. Isn't she gorgeous? She will be married to her boyfriend Kyle in August. I kept driving by a bridal shop that had this dress in the window and it just caught my eye. I just had to have Kris try it on for me! She is going to make such a beautiful bride!

Wondering what to do with all of that zucchini???

My mother-in-law gave me this fabulous recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Cake. Hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing it with cyberspace!

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 3/4 c. sugar

Cream these ingredients together.

Beat these ingredients into the creamed mix: 2 eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla

Then combine 2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Combine the above ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the creamed mix alternately with 1/2 c. buttermilk.

Next stir in 2 cups shredded, peeled zucchini and 12 oz. package of chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan. I saved a handful of chocolate chips and sprinkled them on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes and voila!

Thanks to Carolyn for the awesome recipe. Now I can use up some of my zucchini and I don't even feel bad eating chocolate cake since it has all of that healthy zucchini in it :)

P.S. Make sure to check out the link to Juliette's website. She has another yummy zucchini recipe.