When to say no

So as an afterthought of my last post, I thought I would ask the peanut gallery about something that I have been struggling with for a while now. I have been in my calling in our ward for over a year now. It's been a rough year... family stuff, moving, babies. I've had one active committee member. We always have a great turnout and everyone is willing to bring food, but only a small handful of people who are willing to really pitch in. Which usually leaves me, Wil, and Lin to do the bulk of the work. I'm ready to call it quits, but this is where the dilemma comes in. When is it right to ask to be released? Is it ever right? Do I just pray my little heart out that a miracle will happen? Do I need to stop my whining and deal with it? Ideas, suggestions? I feel like I've hit a large brick wall and have no inspiration or desire left to get stuff done... and of course an activity looming at the end of October.

I think it's genetic

Have you ever been in that situation where you are happily busy? Not overwhelmed, but enough to keep you going without being stressed. Then all of a sudden you realize all the things you've said "yes" to, that they all fall within a very short period of time, AND what that will mean for your sanity. Well, that's me. My schedule for the next two weeks has now become overwhelming. Why? First, because I don't think the word "no" was ever part of my genetic coding. Second, because they are all things that, in and of themselves, I really WANT to do. Third, because I didn't pay enough attention to my calendar. Keep your fingers crossed for my sanity!

Note:

The new "project" will require space on a desk that is already overflowing, for papers that cannot be messed up by stinky little hands. HELP!

A New Job... Almost

I went down to Hospice today to talk to Lynn about a project she asked me to help out with. Apparently she was ready to offer me a part time, work from home position until she found out that I'm 12 weeks pregnant. I was really surprised. It was flattering to know that they were that happy with my work and that she wants me back badly enough to offer telecommuting. With Peanut on the way, I wouldn't have felt good about taking it. Having worked there I know what's involved. It was a great place to work, I just don't think I could commit to certain hours each week or a set schedule while life around us it still so hectic. What did come out of this meeting? I am now contracting with Hospice on an hourly basis, specifically working on upcoming grant applications. It will allow us to bring in some extra money over the next couple months. I don't have to have a set schedule, just meet grants deadlines. And I can work on it while the Little Man is sleeping. Maybe, just maybe, it will be enough to let me quit working once Peanut is born. We shall see!

What's in the Tub? The Brown Stuff!!

I just heard Wil yell from the bathroom, "I sure must love you" and had to go investigate the source of this comment. I walk in to see Little Man standing in the tub looking completely confused and Wil with a handful of poo looking completely disgusted. Apparently, Little Man had pooped in the tub, fished it out and innocently handed it to Wil. Wil, not knowing what he was being given, held his hand out for his very special present. I love my husband!

The rest of the story:
What we didn't know is that he was not done, and proceeded to poop more, which left several good finger sized pieces for me to fish out. So, I drained the tub while Lauren talked to Grandma and posted the 1^st part of this post. I then dumped water in the back of the tub to flush all the little pieces down the drain.

Next, I refilled the tub with bath water, flushed the remnants, washed up, and everything is okay.

Bobbing for Binkies

I noticed Little Man today with both hands full of toys and his face planted in the sofa. It seemed a little odd and I could not figure out what he was doing until he came up for air. He had a very proud smile on his face, around the binky that was now in his mouth. Apparently he was using his face to get the binky in just the right position to grab it with his mouth without having to let go of the toys. I'm not quite sure what he was thinking. It's not like there are other kids around to steal his toys and it would have been quicker to put one hand full of toys down and grab the binky. Either way, if he keeps this up, he's gonna be great at bobbing for apples.

Yummy Summer Salad

This is one of the salads Wil's Aunt made when we went up to PA last month. I made a small version for dinner last night and it was great... I did make a few adaptations to fit into our budget, so it was EASY, inexpensive, and didn't heat up the house.

Corn Salad

1 bag of frozen sweet corn, follow the microwave cooking directions and put in fridge to cool.

Add:
1/2 chopped tomato
1 cucumber (peeled and chopped)
1 chopped green onion
About 6 leaves of chopped FRESH basil
2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
Chill for a while in fridge to let flavors combine.

***Deb roasted her corn, still on the cob and then cut the kernels into a bowl. That was too much work for me. She also added peppers and red onion, you really can put in anything you have on hand. The fresh basil is HUGE in this recipe - the dry stuff will leave you disappointed. You can also use regular balsamic vinegar. It doesn't change the taste, but I didn't like the color it gave to the salad.

Thank you Easter Bunny, Bock, Bock

This weekend while the guys were working on the drywall in the apartment, Mom, Lin, Little Man and I made a quick trip to Prince Frederick. We stopped in the Hallmark store and to keep Little Man occupied, Lin was showing him stuffed animals. She picked up a very life like duck and asked, "what does the duck say?". To which Little Man quickly responded, "bock,be-gock" (or insert your best chicken noise here). Of course Lin and Mom got him 2 duck toys while we were out and now they do nothing but cluck. And it's the cutest darn cluck I have ever heard!

I wonder...

I'm sure most of you have read this post. It made me think about my 10 year reunion. First, that it already seems like a LONG time ago. And second, that it's odd to run into people in the grocery store that I went to high school with now that we live in back in the county. But most of all it made me think of Amy Belsito. We weren't friends in high school, but our groups of friends sometimes crossed... mostly at the lunch table. I personally don't have all that many memories of high school and Amy, but she did. At our reunion we ended up at the same table with some of our common friends. We were all catching up on where our lives had taken us and it was interesting to see that for Amy and I our lives had gone the exact opposite of where we had expected. I had the career and she was a stay at home mom. This is where Amy apologized to me... a long heartfelt, sincere apology. I didn't remember ever being offended by her (I still don't). Apparently she had mocked me at some point for not wanting a career and wanting to be a mom, now she was living the life I had imagined in high school and couldn't think of anything more important than raising her children. Her husband was even surprised by her confession and that she it had been on her mind for 10 years. At the time I was glad to have made a memorable impression on her, now I'm randomly curious to see her at the 20 year reunion and again see how things have changed.

Still dead...

Remember last month when the dryer died? Well, yesterday the new dryer finally arrived! I was so excited. Being without it hasn't been too bad. I do small loads and hang them on a big drying rack that we got at the Stuff-mart. Except for towels and underwear, they feel gross when they are crunchy. So we have been carting them off to random friends and family members homes, depending on what our weekend schedule is like. I was ready for today to be a HUGE laundry day.... that was until the landlord told us that the new dryer had only been delivered, not hooked up. Apparently, the venting for the old dryer is no longer up to specs and the delivery guy refused to do anything else until she has everything replaced. This is now going to take, "a few more weeks to resolve". I think we'll be lucky to have a working dryer before we move in the new apartment. Mom, this means we'll be doing towels and whites at your house for the next "few weeks".

Ba - Na

The only food words that Little Man has picked up are apple and "ba-na", which means banana. He just misses the middle syllable. So this morning for breakfast he asked for his usual ba-na and we picked a yogurt out of the fridge. This was the result...

Light at the end of the tunnel

Sheet rock is going up in our apartment this weekend and I went to pick paint colors last Friday. I think there may actually be a light at the end of this tunnel. It's only a tiny little glimmer, but it's a light nonetheless!!!!

A scrapping we will go...

Today is the day!!! Twice a year Mom treats both of her girls to a scrapbook day... 12 hours of girl time where we get to scrap until our hearts are content. It usually includes a trip to the scrapbook store to pick up miscellaneous things and a run for treats as well. Wil brings Little Man by for a "break" and so Grandma can see him. Plus we feel great about giving to a good cause, all of the proceeds from the Crop go to Calvert Hospice. Maybe I am I big geek, but I look forward to these days all year!

Brusha, brusha, brusha

Before having Little Man, I had only ever gotten ONE cavity and that wasn't until I hit my late 20's. I hate going to the dentist, so I was very happy with my strong, healthy teeth. Then I got pregnant and hit the point where having the toothbrush in my mouth for more than 30 seconds made me gag. We tried changing types of toothpaste and that helped for a little while, but I still had to be as quick as possible. What was the result? FIVE cavities after Little Man was born. Now I'm hitting the same point in this pregnancy. I have about 30 seconds to get my teeth clean and everything out of my mouth before the gagging starts. Plus, I always feel like I have horrible bad breath because I can't spend the time I feel I need to get the pearly whites clean. Ladies, any suggestions that might keep me from having 5 more cavities once Peanut arrives?

Free Food

Sunday one of the members of our ward was giving away zucchini from their garden. They were huge! Of course I grabbed one and Dad offered to grate it IF I would use it to make zucchini bread. Sunday evening we started the task, but got sidetracked when we didn't have enough sugar and the electricity went out. So I put the zucchini and wet ingredients that had already been mixed together in the fridge and during naptime Monday I finished the project. I used this recipe and was amazed how much bread you end up with when you double it (3 loaf pans, 18 muffins and 3 small cakes). Everybody loved it, even Susie (who doesn't like zucchini bread). I was wishing once it was all baked, that we had had more loaf pans though. Since the loaf pans had to bake longer to be done in the center, the tops got perfectly crunchy and the nuts tasted like candy. So if you are wondering what to do with all the zucchini in your garden, I highly recommend this one!

Your thoughts on the matter...

We need to start thinking about a scheduling Peanut's birthday. We don't have to decide until December, but it's already a popping up in conversation. One of the hottest topics right now is whether February 29, 2008 is a cruel birthday or would it be fun... what do you think?

Muggles?

Wil sent me this link and I think you guys will enjoy it too.

I am...

In Relief Society today we had to write "poems" about ourselves. We were given a piece of paper that said "I am..." at the top and we had 5 minutes to describe ourselves. Of course there were rules: You had to describe you now, not what you once were or what you hope to one day become. You couldn't use any words such as mother, sister, daughter, friend. You had to describe each of these using "I am" phrases, such as "I am in love with dairy, even though it doesn't love me". This is what I came up with:

I am lightheaded and nauseous, not only in the morning.
I am changing dirty diapers, playing toy trains and always looking forward to naptime.
I am a fuzzy purple blanket, new shoes and big scrapbooks.
I am a listening ear, a damp shoulder, a good hug and lots of cell phone minutes.


Of course, I've been thinking about it all day and have come up with a lot of things to add to the list. But I thought this was pretty good for 5 minutes on the back row.

Now I want to read yours. 5 minutes starts... NOW!

One "Halupkie" of a Weekend

We got home late Tuesday evening, and I'm finally starting to catch my breath and maybe feel hungry again. I don't think we ever stopped eating.

The fun started Saturday evening when we headed to Grandmother's house outside of Annapolis and realized that our air conditioning had decided it was done. It ended up being a really LONG ride. Once we got there things got much better! Grandad had gotten the inflatable pool ready and Adam was in heaven. Thank goodness Little Man is only 19 months old, because I forgot his swim diaper. He was a bit perplexed when he was allowed to run around the yard naked as a jay bird, but soon realized the freedom he was given and loved it. The breeze coming off the water was great and we had fun roasting hot dogs and smores over the fire pit. Wil headed off to the airport to pick up our rental car and came back with a Dodge Grand Caravan. Can I just tell you how wonderful it was? I know this will strike most of you as odd, but yes, I have been dreaming of a mini-van for months now. Compared to the hassle of baby gear and a manual transmission Toyota Corolla - it was unbelievable. There was endless space, working air conditioning, and Little Man loved that he could see out of the windows - those big trucks are a little boy's dream. But I digress...

Sunday morning we headed back to the airport to pick up Mimi & Papa. They were thrilled to see the Little Man and he was happy to see them too. We got back on the road and drove up to Aunt Deb's house in York, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. Little Man was completely enthralled with the vast array of animals at Aunt Deb's house... dogs, birds, fish, turtles, frogs, and a chameleon (which he got to see being fed. It was actually pretty cool). She had also cleaned out a bunch of her kids toddler books and toys and we reaped the rewards... a big yellow tonka truck and two boxes of kids books. We were really glad for the stow & go. A bunch of other family members ended up coming over and we had a great time visiting. Not to mention the spread Deb had prepared - to die for salads and just about every grilled meat you can think of, topped off with the most heavenly blueberry crisp. WOW! I'll pass along recipes as soon as I can. We left around 9 for Tremont/Pine Grove and hit a nasty thunderstorm. By the time we dropped everybody off and got settled at the hotel it was somewhere around 11, we were exhausted.

Monday morning it was slow going. After our late night and no naps on Sunday, we were still too pooped to get up and out quickly. We started out at Grandma Scheib's, where she decided to make "Halupkies" for dinner. I have no idea if I'm spelling it right, but it's a fancy word for stuffed cabbage. We drove down to Pine Grove, picked up Grandma Becker and went to the Red Lion for lunch. It's Papa's favorite restaurant and everything I've ever had there is so yummy. They even have birch beer on tap. YUM!!! Wil was especially pleased with his chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. Then we drove up into the mountains where the old strip mine used to be and Wil's great-grandma lived. A lot of his family still lives up there now. Little man got a much needed nap, we visited all kinds of cousins and we found both a nice chunk of coal and a big piece of coal shale for our fish tank. For me it's something cool to put in the tank, for Wil it's a piece of home away from home. By then it was almost dinner time and we made our way back to Grandma Scheib's house. The halupkies were cooking in the roaster and smelled so good, but weren't going to be done in time for dinner, so we started dinner number 2 - pork chops, mashed potatoes and 4 different veggies (everybody had a different favorite). After dinner Mimi and Wil took Adam in the pool and then we headed back to the hotel for an "early" night.

Tuesday morning we packed up, checked out of the hotel and met Uncle Danny, Mimi and Papa at the truck stop across the street for brunch. Little Man was happy as could be - eggs for breakfast and HUGE trucks all over the place. He even found a truck in the gift shop to bring home. We spent the next couple hours visiting with Grandma Scheib and letting Little Man get out his wiggles for the ride home. We were too stuffed from breakfast to have halupkies for lunch, so she packed up a big container and sent them home**. The drive home was quiet, Little Man was exhausted and slept the whole way. We got the van returned, visited with Grandmother and Grandad until it cooled off some and drove home in our little car.

Life up there seems to move slower and Grandma Scheib always makes us feel welcome. I only wish we could make it up there more often.

**the thought of cabbage for dinner last night, just about sent me running. So I can't give you a verdict on the halupkies, although Grandma Scheib has never made anything I didn't like. Wil took them for lunch today, so I wouldn't have to smell them.