Gesundheit!

I am the self-proclaimed Sneezing Queen. I've suffered from seasonal allergies my entire life. Mine wouldn't be so bad if I weren't also allergic to book dust and cat dander, which in turn, makes nasal congestion a year round enjoyment for me. But I prefer daily suffering to ridding my life of the culprits and as a result, I'm a damn good sneezer. And thanks to genetics, Grant is not too far behind me on the Master Sneezer scale. On a sub-four foot body, a huge sneeze can have quite the reverberating effect. I know I giggle shamelessly each and every time he succumbs to a particularly large sneeze that sends his whole body into an almost possessed-like convulsion.

I love everything about sneezes. From the awesome sound of the word (who doesn't love words that contain 'z's?) to the measured, level height of all the letters. I love how every person has their own way of sneezing and how for a long time my son called a sneeze an, "achoo" and my nephew called them "bless you's".

Almost everything associated with the act of sneezing makes me giggle. So you can imagine how I rolled with laughter the other night when G called out of the bedroom: "Mom? I was reading my book and I accidentally sneezed. There's sneeze water all over my book and it won't come off. Is that okay?"

Yeah, *giggle*, you're sneeze water is just fine with me.

Confessions of a 4.5 yr old

"Mom? Umm, I didn't mean to. I was playing and um. Well. You can see when you get out of the shower. Umm. It was an accident. I had my blue crayon and um. I didn't mean to. And the blue crayon got stuck. And i didn't mean to. Actually it was my brown crayon. And I accidentally put it in the door lock thingy. And it broke. But you can just see it after your shower. Yeah. Sorry."

Mike: Hey bud, you wanna go to the library on Sunday?
G: Just you and me?
Mike: Yeah. Sound fun?
G: Um, let me check my schedule.
Mike: Wow. Unexpected.

G: Mama, if you don't get me some root beard right this second-
Me: Ex-cuse ME!?
G: If you don't---ummm---err--- I love you?
Me: That's better.
G: That's all I was gonna say. For real.

"Well, that's not fair! And I'm telling your daddy next time we go there to visit!" I wonder if Gumpa will give me a time out...

Grant picked out Mike's card all by himself. It read: "You're like a father to me". So, of course, I picked up one that read: "Honey, there's something I've been meaning to tell you..."

Mike: G, getting packing!
G: I AM! I don't know HOW many times I have to EXPLAIN this to myself!!

G's so obsessed with his lego star wars wii game that i have completely given up on telling him it's 'BOUNTY hunter', not 'bunny hunter'.

G: Twelve, firteen, fourteen, twenty nine, firty two, forty five! Oh my gosh, there's, like, forty five and a half!
Chaeli (age 4): Wow! That's so much!!
G: I know! That's like...a Hundred!!!
Chaeli: Yeah, a hundred! That's so much!

G: I have to tell you a joke. Why was the duck crossing the road?
Me: I don't know, why?
G: (looking at me like I'm an idiot, complete with hands up and snotty voice) I already telled you with the last joke, TO. GET. TO. THE. OTHER. SIDE. Stop asking and start 'membering!

Grant: Chaeli, could you please just stay here? Otherwise I'm going to call the police. You choose.

Just registered my baby for 4K. (He asked if they were going to put him in a bag. Had to explain it was different than the CASH register at the grocery store.)

G: I'm hungry.
Mike: Well, we're going to the store so you can get a snack there.
G: Can we go to a lunchrant?
Me: A what?
G: A lunchrant.
Mike: I'm sorry bud, we really don't know what you're asking.
G: (disgusted) A LUNCHRANT. You know, where you go get food and eat it there!!
Us: Ohhhhhh, a restaurant!??
G: Yes! Can we go there for lunch?

Heat Wave vs. Microwave

We are well into week two of no microwave and after the first few days of accidentally heading towards it to reheat something, we have, in 100% honesty, not missed it. Not one bit. Everything tastes so much better when heated in the oven. We haven't had to give up any of our favorites. G's favorite nuggets and burgers taste even better in the oven. Whether its the nice crispiness the oven baking creates on the food, the anticipation (and growing hunger pains) that waiting thirty minutes vs two and a half minutes creates or the slow, ever growing smell of deliciousness we've all decided that it's worth it. Even my usually "I'm-starving-right-now-and-I-can't-even-handle-it!" four year old is willing to wait 40 minutes for his beloved enchiladas.

Having no microwave has also made me more creative with whole foods. Last week we feasted for several days on fajitas after a trip to the farmer's market left us with yummy peppers and onions. I found an all but abandoned bag of dried black beans in the cupboard. I cooked those up and mixed in some of the garden fresh onions and the delicious factor was so great that with the exception of a pinch of salt, no other spices were needed.

In the spirit of this no microwave business, I'm taking any and all suggestions of your fav vegetarian recipes, so feel free to email me! (And thank you so much to KE and TL for your fabulous suggestions.) Oh and if anyone has suggestions on how to reheat pasta, please let me know. All I know is not in a pan. Not. In. A pan. Just trust me on that one.

And now for this Heat Wave business. Wow. Just when you think being stuck in the house in the middle of an icy winter with a preschooler is the worst thing possible, along comes a blistering heat wave. From inside the a/c'd house it LOOKS like it'd be a great day to play outside, but even a trip to the pool has to be short and quick (not to mention, not at all refreshing--bath water, anyone? Ugh.). So we've been trying to get creative about the indoor activities that our small house can accommodate. Lots and lots of Candyland games, many obstacle courses created from the couch cushions. I am now an expert on finding pictures of all poisonous creatures on the internet, thank you to the Wii games that help burn off 4 yr old energy levels, and books. Lots of books. We reached a book milestone yesterday that has my heart singing. Grant is now old enough to sit still for chapter books. We read our first chapter book, and he was so excited to be reading (okay, listening to) a big kid book. He's equally excited about the fact that he now has a use for a bookmark. :) So is Mommy.

It's About Time

This article just made my day. Seriously, it's about time. It never ceases to appall me (and yes, I feel THAT strongly about it) that restaurants think so little of kids' palates. It's always the same fare at each place: cheeseburger, grilled cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese (and it's usually boxed mac and cheese at that. Really? Can't even boil some noodles and add real cheese, people?). Oh sure, they throw in sides of fruit and steamed veggies in with the french fries and chocolate milk, soda, or heavily sweetened fruit juice. But why can't the MAIN part of the meal be healthier? Mike and I are very fortunate that we actually have a child who opts for the fruit or broccoli side dish (and no, we don't have to prompt him, beg him or bribe). And frankly, the portions are usually triple the size they need to be for a child anyway. Mike and I usually end up sharing our meals with G because even he gets sick of grilled cheese. I'm not saying there needs to be kid sized versions of the adult menus, though a modified version of such a thing would be nice. But would it really be that much more expensive for restaurants to expand their kids' menus a little? Maybe include a few more non-cheesy vegetarian options?

Hot time, summer in the (tiny) city

Well. Guess I'm getting an F in Blogging 101 these days. I don't really even have an excuse. Well, I could probably make up a ton or turn some of the itty bitty ones into exaggerated claims of busyness, but I'd only be lying. My summer started out busy but lately I've just been lazy.

At the end of May I quit my job at Barnes & Noble after 7 years of pure awesomeness. Okay, it wasn't ALL awesome, it's retail after all, but it was pretty darn close. It was just time to move on. Grant was finishing up school and we were faced with the prospect of having to either find a day care center--after last year's experience, no thank you--or hiring a nanny but our beloved sitter from last year had the audacity to try to further her career prospects by accepting an internship. I know, right? I was finding myself putting in more and more hours for my sister and getting increasingly burned out with the bookstore, the commute to Madison, not having enough hours in the day to get things done etc etc. So, the logical option was to quit.

Admittedly, I spent the first month post B&N pretty depressed, finding it much harder to leave my bookseller identity behind than I thought it would be. In the midst of that, I turned 36 which has oddly enough, proven to be a number I'm not that happy with. More on that in another blog.

Anyway, there seems to be only rambling going on with this post and that just goes to show how out of practice I am. I am loving my new truck, (picture it in silver, please, with tinted windows) mostly because I almost never have to drive it thereby almost never having to fill it with gas. And the times that I do have to drive it, the extra space has been much appreciated (camping, heading up north with dog and kid in tow). I am finally adjusting to being a stay at home mommy, which has actually been going smoothly thanks in large part to my sister graciously employing me to use my brain several hours a week and in part to my couldn't-function-without-her-neighbor, JK , who keeps me company so I don't go insane and in part to the Edgerton Pool which is only half a block away and only $35 for a season pass. Fantastic way to kill two hours a day and wear a kid out.

Oh, and our microwave died (well, just the heating element. You know, only the reason you have a microwave in the first place) and so in interest of eating healthier, we've decided to not replace and/or fix it. We're on day three and I'll admit I've tripped up a few times and tried to use it (we really need to get it off the kitchen counter already!) to melt cheese or reheat leftovers. But for the most part it has not been a problem. It's going to be interesting to see how we shop the next time. Will we automatically reach for prepackaged meals or will we remember we are now forced to construct our own?

Basically that's my summer so far. Grant and I have been getting along much better since I'm not constantly stressed, I feel a little more like I can breathe, I'm still contributing to the financial status of our household, (just from home and w/o the constant temptation of magazines, new releases and lattes begging for me to purchase them) and in addition, finding myself having more time to cook, read, and relax.

And...ummm...blog more? I'll try.