Merry Christmas everyone

I am enjoying some quite time home with my family. Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year and I will be back in 2008 to hopefully entertain you more.

and then there were 8

R started the month of December with only 4 teeth. He now has 8. The top two made an appearance in concert the first week of December and the bottom two came in within two days of each other on the 14th and the 16th. Thank God the teething is done for a brief period of time.

However, anyone know how to stop the biting on EVERYTHING? He bites when he nurses, he bites the couch, he bites my toes, he bites my leg, he bites the coffee table... if it is within teething distance he bites.

Oh crap...

I have a new fear...

Anyone know if your child has to be RE-tested when you move if they already have a IEP? L has been picking up words left and right and I am now scared that he is going to lose services if/when we move....

Anyone know?????

Also, when do kids normally start talking? Making sounds? I swear L was saying Mama, Dada and Bella by the time he was 10 months old, but R isn't anywhere near that. Now I have the fear that he is going to have similar delays. Oh well, guess the second time around is easier, huh?

the Joys of Commuting

One of the more entertaining parts of my day usually comes first thing in the morning. I commute. However, my commute also involves interacting - face to face - with thousands of people. It might be the worst part of my day, but it also sometimes is the most humorous part of my day.

It starts with the great art of creative parking. I believe this is a northeast thing, but I am not quite sure. Creative parking is finding or making a parking spot out of anything you can think of. When I used to drive a 4 wheel drive car, my favorite parking space what the mound of snow plowed off to the side. I could get up the mound and down the mound without a problem and it is usually located quite close to the train station entrance. This morning, my parking space was at the end of the row and would more likely be called the ROAD then a parking space, but since I wasn't blocking any more traffic than the car I parked opposite of, it is just a form of creative parking.

Then comes to push and shove to get on the train. There is a protocol here too, but it is a weird protocol. All outside seats must be taken before you can ask for a middle seat. The person who is asleep or at least pretending to be asleep gets asked only when all ther other seats are taken and the seats that face each other shouldn't be fully filled unless the train is short a car or you know the people. There is lots of sighing to be done during this part, especially by the women that you ask to move bags. It is a MAJOR inconveince for them and I just love to do it especially when the woman is looking at you all surly.

Finally there is the cell phone ettiquette. My best advice -- just don't use your cell unless it is a dire emergency. And if you NEED to use it -- whisper. I rarely if ever pick up my phone when I am on the train. When I do, my conversations usually last under a minute. My family and most of my friends know better than to expect me to talk on the train. Those that do -- well they end up in a shoving match and getting removed from the train like the two 40 year old, professional men did this morning because ONE was talking too loudly on the phone for the other. This happened within a foot of me and it was rather amusing.

I will not at all miss my morning commute when I leave NY!

Bah humbug

I have come to the realization that I am Scrooge. I don’t like Christmas anymore. It used to be my favorite holiday, but now it is just a pain in the ass.

When I was in college, Christmas was a few days that I would be able to come home and relax. I always had a job and I did not like staying the freezing cold Northeast for terribly long so, I would come home for about a week and then go back to Florida. Since my last two years in college also involved dating a football player (a mistake I hope no one repeats), it also involved attending New Years Day Bowl Games -- pretty much the ONLY highlight to dating that asshole. That is how I remember Christmas and New Years. At least when I want to fondly remember it.

Now what does it involved -- baking cookies for L’s therapists, me stupidly volunteering to do the toppers for our “special presents” (family tradition thing), trying to entertain kids during not one but TWO snow storms, realizing less than a week before you are to have Christmas with your family that you have nothing wrapped, also realizing that you need to still send a crap load of stuff to IL for your in-laws.

It also involves 8 nights away from home -- 4 in PA and 4 in IL. I don’t wanna be in a car for 4 hours each way (plus holiday traffic) and I don’t wanna fly during the busiest time of year.

I officially don’t like Christmas anymore. Bah humbug.

fluffy... part two AND a recipe

As I said some was in the wash, so here is the remainder of the stash arrival as of yesterday. B is even in love, which is a surprise!

Now if only I could get a few hours of quite uninterrupted time I could finish the pair of longies that I am currently knitting. Unlikely thought..

And some food for thought...

Slow Cooker Fiesta Tamale Pie

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup beef broth

1 lb. extra-lean ground beef

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 (14 to 16 oz.) jar thick and chunky salsa

1 (16 oz.) can whole-kernel corn, drained

1/4 cup sliced ripe olives

2 oz. reduced-fat Cheddar cheese, shredded (1/2 cup)

In a large bowl, mix cornmeal and broth; let stand 5 min. Stir in beef, chili powder, cumin, salsa, corn and olives. Pour into a 3 1/2 qt. slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 5 to 7 h

Fluffy mail

I love days when the stars align and all your fluffy mail converges at your door on the same day...

Some is in the wash, but her is the vast majority....I also love that all but one of these was bought at a total steal!!!!