Finally Fall

If you need us, you can find us outside, soaking up as much of this perfect season as possible.

Mad Man & Lately

Our son is a mad man. I am here typing this post with wet hair post the most eventful shower I have ever had the pleasure of taking. Jude has been way into carrying, stacking, putting away anything he can get his hands on. It's his passion at the moment. His mission. And he won't stop.

Today, while I was attempting to be a normal member of society and take a shower post workout, he was on a mission all his own. Elsa was taking her afternoon nap so I had a little window of time while I waited for Jude finally give up and sleep (yes, she sleeps more than him. Mad I tell ya). So this is typically my shower time. 

I closed the bathroom door, the closet door, the toilet door and dared to step in, giving him free reign of the bathroom. 

I learned the toilet room door has to be closed the hard way, when I went in to use it one night and turned the light on to a teddy bear staring back at me from inside the toilet. Yep, he stuffed the toilet full of stuffed animals. 

I called George and he disposed of Jude's victims but not before we both took a moment to just stare at the toilet and shake our heads. And all I could think of is how hard Jude must have worked and how many trips he had to make to accomplish fitting three medium sized stuffed animals in the toilet. This didn't happen under my watch, of course. The toilet lid was left open so all evidence points towards Dad. Hi, George!

So I usually have no problem taking a shower with Jude in the room. I know he is safe, I have my eyes on him at all times and it gives him a change to continue his mission and carry objects from our drawers to the tub, over and over. It  brings him much joy. 

Well, today, mid-shower I did a spot check on him and caught him lugging an entire box of curlers to the tub. I probably had soap in my eyes or something and by the time I rinsed and jumped out soaking wet, he had dumped the curlers in the tub, with a thud, turned the water on and gave them a nice drench, all with the proudest little smile on his face. 

I don't know what to do. Basically what I am trying to tell you is that my life is over. He now climbs onto the beds and jumps dangerously close to the edge, of course. He climbs onto the living room furniture and jumps. The chairs in our living room are currently with legs in the air to prevent him from climbing up and taking a major crash. But he sees the upside down chairs as a new climbing challenge to master. If I gave him the chance I know he could climb out of his crib. I'm exhausted but secretly loving watching this curious, wild, determined boy at work. 

I realize someday that this will all make sense. Like when he picks his profession in life or his hobby or whatever, we will all be like, "Oh, yeah! We knew you would do this because you used to love to put strange objects in toilets when you were a baby." 

I know I probably won't have the change to write again in a timely fashion (since my life is over) so here is a little bit of lately.

George took Ny went to the El-lesh-you game on Saturday. It was the highlight of her life. They tailgated before the game in an RV or as Nyah called it, a house that moves. They had great fun, she got to eat cotton candy but was tired by half time and was asleep before they arrived home.

And the next day, it was like she and George had some secret pact or something. Like their bond was stronger. They had experience stuff together that I just wasn't a part of. She needed an extra kiss before bed last next night, and she headed straight for George to get it.

Happy October to all.

Our Favorite Snack

I am not a food photographer or anything close but this snack is too good not to share, so I will give this a try.

Popcorn is absolutely our favorite family snack. Every member of our family loves it, including Jude, and we eat it. A lot.

Right here, right now, I am going to share my super secret family recipe for popcorn with you. And it will no longer be a secret after this post but this is one of the few things my mother taught me to cook. And her dad taught her. So there you have, a family recipe. 

There isn't much to this recipe, really, because popping corn isn't rocket science, but I wanted to share it with you because if you are still making the microwaveable bag stuff, well you just aren't living.

Ingredients:

• Popping corn
• Vegetable oil (Vegetable oil or any oil with a high smoke point is so important here. This oil is going to heat way up so use it, its science, yo.)

To start, coat bottom of big stock pot with vegetable oil -1/4 Cup, maybe? Depends on pot size. Sorry, no exact amounts here.

And now here comes the family secret part. Place one or two kernels of corn in the oil. Turn heat up to high and wait for those two little kernels to pop. There is no reason behind this step. Just do. Because my mom said so.

Once the two kernels have popped up, add enough kernels to already popped kernels and oil to, once again, cover the bottom of the pot. 

Then, put the lid on and listen to the pop and inhale the delicious smell. So good.

Once the popping slows down, turn the heat off. Leave on burner a few more second until popping is to a minimum and then pour into large bowl.

Now the fun part, the toppings. The possibilities are endless. We drizzle ours with a little extra virgin olive oil, add some salt and enjoy. Best served with good movie and hungry kids, or course.

I have to send a snack for Nyah's class later this month and you better believe I will be popping up a big batch of this for those little sweeties. Cheap, tasty, healthy, and easy.

Hope you give it a try.


Side note:
(Yes, I love popcorn so much that I have I have to include a side note.)

I once had the best popcorn bowl ever, given to me by my old college roommate/cousin/bff Jami, but we lost it in our move to LA and I am sick about it, still. 

We gave my bother and sis in law a wooden bowl for a wedding gift and they turned it into their popcorn bowl! Definitely one of my prouder moments in life.

Ok, I'm done. Have a great weekend.

Oh My Heart

His post kiss face, so proud of his efforts.

See me, heart melted, a I heap on the ground waiting for my turn, and I am done. Forced to resign to a day of play and hugs and cuddling and fun. Laundry siting in the laundry room waiting to be folded. The same pile that took me two days to get from washer to dryer to basket. Two days! A dishwasher waiting to be emptied, toys begging to be picked up and all I do is nothing. 

My motivation for domestic goddess status living in the dumps. My motivation to just be with the kids to go and do what the day brings winning on the days George has class, winning without a doubt. My pride coming from successfully transporting, dressing, cooking, feeding, bathing, all three without tears or tantrums or injuries. And I even exercised! 

And then the end of the day comes, kids to bed, and I could accomplish so much but I don't. I relax instead and read or indulge in reality T.V. 

By the time George returns home around 10:00pm and walks through the door he walked out of around 6:30am, the guilt starts set in and I am convinced that I totally suck. How could I have accomplished so little today when he just worked so hard? 

I took the sweetest nap, with Elsa, while he was stressing a midterm during the business of a work day, how could I? I feel like I am cheating on him with laziness and it feels horrible. I mean, he just had to move one of the kids books out of the way to sit by me on the couch. The horror.

But he is the absolute best ever and always brings me back. Reminds me that the kids are the priority and I must enjoy my time with them. Their happiness is all that matters. And then we dissect each others days, his filled with stories of challenges I can't comprehend, his brained zapped from working numbers and I share stories of the kids-what they said, advances they made. And then we give in and go to bed, asleep before we can say goodnight.

So here I sit. A new morning, a fresh cup of coffee, and more lofty goals in my mind. But Jude is headed my way and by the look in his eye I can tell he needs to be held. So we will probably head to the couch and snuggle. 

And then what? Who knows? But what I do know is that I will try to keep the guilt to a minimum, but then again, what kind of mother would I be without a little guilt. I try to rise above and not subject myself to it but unfortunately, I am not immune. 

Maybe I will fold that load of laundry and even put it away, just in time to start another. 

But for now, cheers, here's to you and what ever you work hard doing. Here's to a new day. 

First Pair of Shoes

It was time. These feet needed some shoes, because he is on the move and isn't looking back. 

Where will they take him? 

What will he do? 

Where will he go? Who will he become? 

The possibilities are endless.

The world is his.