Chicken Sh*% Everywhere

Just as I completed wiping out our new, clean garage fridge post defrosted chicken wing goo spill (gag!), I'm inside washing my hands trying not to be OCD.  In strolls precious angel Elsa holding her hand out to me.

If you look closely at her pointer finger you'll see a nice treat...

Chicken poop!!!

"I wanted to eat it."  she says matter of factly.  "It wasn't yucky."  She finishes with her trademark Elsa little all knowing head shaking. 

Massive gag.

We washed hands.

We sanitized.

About her mouth, I'm at a loss.  I just hope that chicken poop isn't toxic and the fish tacos help to cleanse her little mouth. 

YUCK!!!

And yes, I'm still doing HcG.  Yesterday was almost torture.  I had to turn down fresh Hood Canal shrimp on the bbq, steamer clams, Wingdome sauced chicken wings, an amazing looking "Bacon Explosion" wrapped sausage, yummy brats, broccoli salad, homemade mac and cheese, and a cake that looked to die for- chocolate with a layer of caramel topped with a homemade marshmallow whipped icing courtesy of Robin Baldwin's grandma.  AHHHHH!!!

But I did it.:)

(Robin- I still want her recipe)

So far, 8+ lbs.  Enough progress to want to keep going.  I'll be the college weight me soon enough.  I'm excited to see what an older version of that body looks like...  I know it won't be the same but less discouraging than before the super crazy diet.

Clean House or Happy Kids

I read a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt in a recent Real Simple magazine, "the only advantage in not being too good a housekeeper is that your guests are so pleased to feel how very much better they are."

A lot of you out there should feel how very much better you are than me.

I look at the dust on the shelves and the fur gathered in bits under the tables and hiding in corners-enough to cover a small dog. 

I see the spots of milk that didn't get wiped up quickly enough to prevent them from seeping into the wood- leaving polka dots, evidence of the trail of a leaky sippy cup like the bread crumbs in Hansel and Gretel. 

That's a milk polka dot, if you look really closely you can see one of the small rodents worth of dog hair in the upper part of the picture.  It's a popular dog hair migration location.  Funny I should know those spots...?

Then I think of the kids playing catch with Mark.  Brushing Sarina's hair and fixing it in ponytails.  I see the kids having a dance party in the living room (sometimes I join in, sometimes Mark is invited to a "wedding dance" with his first little girl).  Reading Mother Goose to kids who still enjoy the rhymes.

There are trails of soap in the bathroom sinks, bits of toilet paper shredded by a two year old sitting on the potty waiting to be wiped, stacks of laundry that still haven't been put away even though they've been pillaged repeatedly for a new day's wardrobe.

And I know that my kids are happy.  They have a mama and daddy who love them more than anything in this world.

Dirty house, happy kids, dirty house, happy kids, dirty house, happy kids, dirty house, happy kids.

And all you people out there get to feel better than me because you vacuum, dust, scrub toilets and sinks on a regular basis.  Enjoy friends, I admit it.  I can't think of the last time I changed everyones sheets and have no idea the last time a vacuum was used upstairs. 

Oh well. 

Life is short and soon enough it will all be spic and span... 

I think...

This coming from a girl who used to fold and re-fold all her sweaters so they stacked perfectly just like in the Gap.  A girl who SWORE that everything would be spic and span at all times, whatever the cost.  A girl who could have never imagined living in a house as dusty and cluttered as mine is (let alone the chicken poop smeared on a naked little girl's belly- ack!).  But the dust is evidence of life and clutter is part of a full house.  Chicken poop, well- ewwww!!  I embrace it all the messiness of it.

As for HcG, I've lost 3 1/2 lbs so far.  Today I had an Americano in the morning, an orange before I made everyones lunch, a cup of chopped purple cabbage, 100 g chicken sauteed in water with oregano, chili powder, and garlic salt dressed with balsamic vinegar and Franks hot sauce and 1/2 a brown rice cake for lunch.  I sweet talked Mark into making me another Americano mid afternoon.  For dinner I had 100g Talapia (now I'm not sure if it's an ok fish...) baked with garlic salt and fresh ground pepper over 2 cups loosely packed butter lettuce and 1/2 cup blueberries dressed with... you guessed it balsamic vinegar and Franks.  Not bad.  I'm feeling ok.  But I need to buy more garlic salt.:)

My energy is good, today I planted two massive pots my mom gave me.  First filled them 2/3 of the way with bricks then with dirt I hauled around the house in a wheelbarrow.  I didn't feel super sleepy mid day like I usually do. 

So far, so good.

One day at a time.

HcG day 5

Well, not any real change yet.  I did eat a fair amount while spending the weekend with my awesome college roommate over the weekend.  She and her husband sweetly prepared some nice rich food for me.  Pasta puttanesca, blueberry pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs, yummy turkey sandwich on homemade wheat bread, chicken pot pie, and such moist sweet brownies- all a girl could hope for when giving up sugar for the next 44+ days (unless it was some Sweet Charley B's).

I'm now on day 2 of the 500 calories. 

Yesterday was travel day home from Eugene so it was a little tough.  I had a couple of cups of black coffee in the morning.  An orange and half a brown rice cake at 11.  100 grams of pre-cooked prawns (bought at the grocery store and nicely weighed for me) and Starbucks refresh tea at 1pm.  An apple and 1/2 brown rice cake at 4pm (before making dinner) and 2 cups loosely packed salad greens with balsamic vinegar and 100g prawns sauteed in water with garlic salt and fresh ground pepper for dinner.  At night a cup of nighty night tea.  I wasn't able to get in my 1cup of veggies at lunch on the drive so I skipped it.

Today has included a lovely Americano my husband kindly made me this morning.  An orange at 10:30am, 2 cups loosely packed salad greens with balsamic vinegar, and prawns sauteed in water with garlic salt and fresh ground pepper and 1/2 a brown rice cake.  Pre-dinner fruit will be 1/2 cup blueberries.  For dinner I'm thinking chicken breast with mexican seasonings, shredded cabbage, and a grassino.  I have a little heartburn- maybe because of the vinegar.

I'm not starving, just think about food a little too much- but that's how I always seem to be- planning meals for this herd takes a LOT of thought and prep.  Especially when packing 2 school lunches, trying to make sure dinner is on the table by 5:30pm each night, and sometimes (but not as often as I like) packing 24hrs worth of food for Mark. 

I wish I could get  a commission on the Epilator sales.  Thanks to Sweet Kelly's introduction- I've had two friends get their own.  The pain and price of beauty made sweeter by sharing with friends.:)

Tonight the rest of the family is having tacos.  I am looking forward to trying out America's Test Kitchen recipe for taco seasoning- I've heard rave reviews.  But for tonight it's the costco seasoning on ground beef, Jen Valdenegro's refried beans (reefers simmered with green chilies, milk and cheese), home fried tortilla shells, shredded lettuce and cheese, sour cream and hot sauce.  The family eats it pretty well so they'll be well fed.

Here's to quacky pounds and inches!

I'm a sucker, I know it.

I'll admit.  I'm a sucker. 

I fall for all kinds of things. 

In college there was some guy going around offering workshops to improve your memory.  I signed up (it cost as much as one month of my rent).  The school canceled the event before the guy could cash our checks. 

It's probably a good thing.  My memory is terrible, no workshop would fix that...

Probably one of my husband's favorites, he STILL brings it up, was the broom that vacuumed up what it swept.  Seriously, sounded great!  I was always sweeping our house and could never find a dustpan.  Seemed like the perfect solution to me.  I saw it on the Today Show, so it had to work... right?  Oh yeah, it was also endorsed by Good Housekeeping (whatever that means...  now I know that it doesn't mean much).

Nope.  It was terrible, and way too expensive for a broom.

Can you hear my more cynical husband teasing, "It's a broom, it's a vacuum, it's a broom, no it's a vacuum"...  Oh boy.  That was returned...

But I have high hopes for this one. 

I'm on day 1 of the hcG diet.  It sounds SUPER quacky (even the required reading book Pounds And Inches is WACKO!)  but I've heard about great results from numerous sources. 

So, I'm giving it a shot.

Hey, I've had 4 lovely little cherubs and nursed each one.  I feel like my metabolism is out of whack and this claims to reign it in.

I don't lead a sedentary life- I really don't know how that's possible with a big family- I eat moderately healthy and exercise at least 2-3 times a week- sometimes more.  Heck I just finished a 1/2 marathon!  I'm not a couch potato.  Yet, I don't lose any weight.  I've tried the Fiber Diet (suggested for me based on a quiz in Women's Health Magazine- told you I'm a sucker) that didn't work.  I tried P90X and it was awesome!  But the second I stopped, it all came back and won't leave. 

So, here's the deal.  I give myself a shot (yup- even give myself shots here) one time a day for 23 days of hcG.  Ready for this, hcG is a hormone found in pregnant women's urine.  You'd think I've had enough of that by now...

Days 1-3
I (yes, I know it sounds wacko) eat fatty food until I'm really full.  This is supposed to shock my body into using the hcG to fight the fat.  Whatever.  I'm not scientific so most of that goes over my head.  I hear it works, people!  They also say that I really do need to do this otherwise I'll have severe hunger the first week.  So, I NEED to stuff my face with my favorite foods to make me less hungry later.  Rules are rules.

Days 4-23 (up to 30)
I continue with the shots plus a pretty strict 500 calorie diet.  The hcG is supposed to suppress the hunger and this time period is supposed to detox all the junk in my system and reset everything (habits, metabolism, etc).

The Diet:
All the black coffee, unsweetened tea, water I want.
2 fruits (they're detailed which ones and how much)
2 veggies (also detailed)
2 starches (1/2 rice cracker, 1 Melba toast, 1 grassini) I may go with rice cracker since it's a chance to eliminate gluten
2 100g servings of lean protein
I can combine any of those in any way I want except only 1serving at a meal. 

For example one day is:
cup of tea/coffee for breakfast (no biggie for me, I don't usually eat breakfast), an orange for mid morning snack, lunch is 7 prawns and 2 cups of salad greens with balsamic vinegar, and a grassini.  Mid afternoon snack is an apple and 1/2 rice cake.  Dinner in 100g chicken (about 1 1/2 chicken breast tenders) with 1 cup shredded cabbage and taco seasonings.  Then cup of tea before bed.

If I'm at my target weight at the end of this then I stop the shots and continue the 500 calories for 3 more days.  If I want to continue I can go a week longer then stop the shots and continue the 500 calories for 3 more days from there.

This diet averages 1/2-1 lb a day.  I can do most anything for a 1/2 to a pound of weight loss a day.  Or so I think when I'm in the "gorging" phase.:)

Then for 3 weeks I eat whatever I want except sugar and starches.  Then...  I'm cured!   ???

So, I have a naturopath who is supervising this (did I mention I have 4 kiddos to consider?  I'm not going to COMPLETELY risk my health for beauty).  I saw her yesterday and she watched me give myself a B12 shot- just to practice.

And today I did my quick poke.  I'll admit, I don't want Sarina to know what I'm doing, so I'm trying to hide the pokes.  It feels a little like I'm a drug addict...

This morning I weighed out my lean protein and put them in individual baggies so I can quickly grab them to prepare my meals. 

And I had Sarina take my before pictures.  Yuck.  So, correction, she knows I'm doing a diet but I don't want her to see the needles.

For breakfast I had a costco Energy Bar with Omega 3 blah blah blah.  Mid morning I had 3 farm fresh eggs fried in butter on a toasted piece of Dave's Killer Bread with one mini Babybel cheese and some sweet hot mustard (made me feel a little sick). 
For lunch I'll have a gardenburger burrito.
For dinner I'm planning Taco Truck chicken burrito with avocado and cheese between Sarina's gymnastics lesson and Carl's baseball game.  I'll probably eat 2/3s of it (I usually try to eat just 1/2).
And I think I'll try tea tonight to start the habit when I'm not feeling super hungry.

Wish me luck and I'll let you know how it goes. 

Might be a few days before I post again. 

We'll see.

Mind Over Body...?

I've had a few people tell me they didn't know I was a runner. 

Before Sunday I would have said I wasn't. 

I wanted to be.  On some people it looks great, they zip along with their thin yet muscled legs, looking like they could go on forever.  Who wouldn't want to be that person?!

Here's my story...

January 3rd I did a crazy thing and said I'd run the Capital City Half Marathon.  Of course I'd be tempted to run it for Sweet Charley B.  I zipped off full of determination, googled Capital City Marathon and completed the registration right away. 

What I didn't know was that there was a Capital City Half Marathon in OHIO!  That happened to the one that, in my nervous haste, I signed up for.  I realized my mistake that night and was able to unregister for that one and register for the Olympia Capital City Half Marathon. 

Phew!

I will say that the Ohio one looked way more friendly (they sent me all kinds of friendly emails leading up to the big day) and way more flat.:/

Between January 3rd and May 15th I tried to enjoy running.  I did do a couple of runs outside- Sweet Kelly lead me on a nice trail run around our houses- my longest run in that time span.  Mark and I even went for a couple of runs together.  Of course his legs are a tiny bit longer than mine and he's in WAY better shape than I'll ever be, he has been known to be called an elite athlete... 

But most of my running was on a treadmill, at 24 hour fitness, while the kids were in the childcare center there.  I thought that I preferred the treadmill.  I could control my speed, incline, monitor my pace, etc.  But it was so hard for me. 

I didn't enjoy it. 

It felt like a chore. 

I could never go more than 5 miles and then it was playing games with myself.  I'll run at 8.0 for 2 minutes then walk at 3.5 for a minute then jog at 6.0.  All that mental energy trying to figure out how I was going to go the farthest the fastest took away from the experience.  Needless to say, my running was sporadic and left me so tired the rest of the day.

Along comes May 14th and I see the cool red shirt for the 1/2 marathon and I wanted to earn it.  I wanted to be able to wear it with pride.  I also wanted to be able to say that I did it.  And I did it for Charley B. So my gentle bully friends worked together and encouraged me to walk/run the half. 

The walk part of the offer made it feel do-able for me. 

So, I said I would.

The morning of the half marathon, I picked up two of my favorite people and headed down to Sylvester Park.  There we met up with other amazing friends. 

I felt like a complete schmuck for telling one friend I was only doing the 5 (a couple weeks prior) so, organized person that she is, she downgraded her registration to the 5.  Of course procrastinator that I am, I planned to do it the morning of the marathon, then changed my mind at 7pm the night before and decided to stick it out on the 1/2.  So, she re-registered for the half and Brooke, Arel and I pledged to walk/run the half. 

I still thought I'd walk more than run but also wanted to put in my best effort.

We started running a nice moderate pace.  I found I could talk and it didn't hurt.  So I was game to keep going.  Keep in mind the most I had EVER run in my LIFE was 6 miles before the day of the half marathon.

We brisk walked some of the hills but ended up running MOST of the half (Brooke thinks less than a mile was walked).  The company was wonderful.  The scenery was beautiful.  And I couldn't have asked for a better experience. 

Yes, it was pouring and I was drenched. 

But I did it for the most wonderful family in the world.  I did it for Sweet Charley B, and her mama, and her daddy, her big brother Sam and little sister Georgie Lou.  I think she filled my sails with the wind I needed.

It helped that the landscape was so lush, green, with spring flowers and flowering trees.  We went through some historic neighborhoods and I so enjoyed getting to see them at a pedestrian pace.  So much of my time travelling around is zipping as fast as I can go so I don't get to see the lily-of-the-valley in bloom, or the fields behind the houses. 

And through the course I got 2 hours and 51 minutes (we did have a long potty stop in that time...) to talk about whatever popped into my head with two women who have the most kind and generous hearts.  It was blissful.  Yes, I called running the half marathon blissful.  I really enjoyed the experience.


(I can't figure out how to get us all to show on the blog here-it's in my facebook if you want to see the picture)

Now, what will this mean for the future? 

I have no idea. 

I love the idea of running more than before. 

I'll have to see if I can do it outside from time to time to keep a little bit of stamina and try registering for another.  But it'll have to be with friends.  Friends who can deal with a slow but steady 13 minute mile pace.  Tortoise and the hare, baby.  I'm the tortoise, but I did it.  And I don't say it often, but I'm really proud of myself.

It's amazing what our bodies can do.  Mine has grown and nourished 4 beautiful babies.  I can even still carry all of them (not all at the same time- maybe 2 at a time if they cooperate and hold on...).  My body has done other wonderful things too, but now I can add complete 1/2 marathon to the list of wonders. 

Maybe I could be a runner, though I doubt anyone would watch me and think I look graceful doing it, or anyone watching me would want to be me out there huffing along...  Still, for that feeling of accomplishment, I just might do it again.

I am grateful I have the good fortune of health so that I could do it. 

That and a couple of wonderful gentle bullies to help me along.

A husband who encouraged me.

And two little boys who wanted to know if I "won the race" the second I pulled into the garage.

I am so lucky to get to live this wonderful life.

The Parenting Marathon

I'm not great at responding to comments.  I'm surprised, yet pleased that you like reading my blog.  I often feel like I wish I could be a fly on someone's wall just to see what goes on in their life and if it's really as easy as they make it look. 
Do they lose their cool from time to time? 
Do they leave dirty dishes in the sink and have laundry piled high? 
Do their toilets ever get that nasty brown ring in them before they get cleaned?
I guess this blog, in addition to documenting SOME of the insanity that occurs from time to time in our house for the kids to reflect back on one day, is also to invite you to be a fly on my wall...

Another little bit of advice I gleaned from the book Slow Burn (by Stu Mittleman) is that when you're training for a marathon (not that I ever see myself actually running more than 6 miles in a row, ever) is to think of it as running 1 mile 26 times, not running 26 miles.  Breaking it down into those smaller segments makes it feel more manageable.

I think that parenting must be the same.  It's so easy to get caught up in thinking, when the kids are in school... fill in the blank-
my house will be clean,
my laundry will be caught up,
I'll read a book during daylight hours,
I'll run leisurely errands,
I'll go for a nice walk in a pretty neighborhood and enjoy looking at everything around. 

But it's so scary to think of not having all those little mess-makers running around underfoot.  Planning every bit of time around their needs.

I have to consciously remind myself to stop and enjoy the impromptu hugs and kisses, the demands to be picked up and held, the persistent tugging to get my undivided attention (which can be pretty tough when there are 3 siblings to contend with and a fairly long "to-do" list).

My first 9 years of parenting have zipped by in the blink of an eye!  Now I'm learning how to not get my blood pressure up when my oldest is full of angst and practicing being dramatic, "Carrie (I'm making up friends' names here) and I are over.  We had a fight today.  We aren't friends anymore."  I try to remember what little girl relationships are like and direct her toward healthy perspectives (and relationships).  I also try not to overreact or try to fix everything.  I want her to feel comfortable sharing her troubles with me.  So far it's working, I think...

I know my days are limited of Carl calling his dad "Da Da."  (Like this morning when he called Mark at the fire station- on their station line at 6:30AM, asked for "Mark" and when Mark answered he said, "Hi DaDa.  Mama bought me batting gloves."  Granted it was the middle of a 48 hour shift and he was really wanting to tell his big news to his dad.  But 6:30am is awfully early.  Thankfully they were awake:)

It feels like I waited forever for him to talk (he only had a few words just before he turned 3), I'm not ready for him to stop saying things like a little boy.  I also dread the day he doesn't want to cuddle.  He loves to rest his ear against my chest and there's no sweeter feeling that snuggling someone who's so content in your arms.

Even though Charlie's an independent soul, he still needs our approval.  I hope he'll always seek it.  I have a feeling he's going to go on many many adventures in his lifetime.  I hope they're all fantastic and benefit him in all ways possible.  He's so curious, I know he's going to follow that curiosity.  But he also needs a lot of reassurance.  I love that.  I love that he explores but looks back (after a while) to know that he's doing the right thing.  And when he's not he's devastated and quick to apologize.

And Elsa.  I wonder who she'll grow into.  She's so influenced by her big brothers.  She's constantly in their dresser, pulling out their clothes to wear.  She has so many adorable outfits, but it's her brothers' clothes that appeal the most.  She spends the most time with them.  Yet, tonight she and Sarina were snuggled in Sarina's bed looking at each other, giggling.  It was the sweetest sister moment I think I've seen.  Elsa looks so much like Sarina did.  And she has such strong opinions, just like Sarina always has.  She's spunky and so much fun to watch.

While it often feels like I'm on a merry-go-round that's never going to stop and I regularly long for a clean, tidy house and a little reliability to my day, I know that I'm one lucky mama.  It's not easy meeting the needs of so many strong willed little people, but I wouldn't want to do anything else.  I worry that I'll feel lost when the dust settles and I'm not constantly being tugged on.  I wonder what it will be like to have a calm predictable day.  It's only taken me 9 years to learn how to let go enough to not have to put EVERY ITEM IN ITS PLACE at the end of the day.  Some nights I even don't unload the dishwasher before I go to bed (that's rare but it's happened a few times) some nights I even concede and don't do bathtime before bed so they can have a little more fun a little longer.  It's taken a long time to relax the little bit that I have.

Parenting kids must be like a marathon.  One mile at a time/one packed lunch at a time/one time-out at a time/one snuggle at a time.

And for the record: I'm looking forward to my fire stopping husband to come home for more than just 24 hours at a time.  It's been a long 2 weeks!  I miss him and the silliness he shares with the kids and the affection he gives me.  Our family is so much more fun when he's home.

I know that I'm one lucky girl.  I try not to take it for granted.

Back to showers at night?

I think that now I remember why I used to take all my showers at night.  There are many reasons why it makes sense: no little people stripping down to jump in uninvited, no need to quickly rush through all tasks in the shower to check on what's going on downstairs, and now no worries that a little 4 year old isn't locked out of the house.

Last night was the first night home solo with the kids since the door chimes went off in the middle of the night.  Nervous Nelly here made sure to carefully lock all doors going into the house and double check that all windows were locked.  What I didn't foresee is forgetting that if you go out into the garage and close the door behind you, you're locked out.

Which is exactly what happened to Charlie this morning.

While I was in the shower.

And the big kids were playing in the bonus room.

So no one heard him knocking, knocking, knocking. 

Then Mr. Smartypants realized he could open the garage door to free himself.  He then tried the doorbell.  Once.  Twice.  And three times.  To no avail.

Poor little guy then ran next door stocking-footed.  He tried the neighbor's back door.  Then their front door.

Finally he was saved. 

They opened the front door and called my house and talked to Sarina who assured them when he was inside.

Poor little boy.  When I held him as he sobbed I said, "You must have been so scared, buddy."  His response was, "I thought the mice were going to EAT meeeeee." 

It must be so hard to be only 4 years old, locked out of the house, while mama takes a nice long hot shower.

Maybe it is time to start showering the night before...

Now for food.  I tried to post pictures but they keep getting blocked.  I don't know how to fix this...:/

Here's a newly found recipe out of Mark's aunt's delightful family cookbook filled with recipes from Grandpa Charlie's family.  This one is from a family friend who cane to the US from Sweden when she was 12.  It was so easy and yummy.  Don't think there's any need to buy crescent rolls in a tube again.:)

Eva Strand Renn's Icebox Butterhorns
(Dinner Rolls)

1 pkg (1/4 ounce) dry active yeast
2 T warm water (110-115 degrees)
2 c warm milk (110-115 degrees)
1/2 c sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 t salt
6 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 butter melted
additional butter melted

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water.  Add milk, sugar, egg, salt, and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth.

Beat in butter and remaining flour (dough will be slightly sticky)

DO NOT KNEAD

Place in greased bowl, cover and refrigerate over night.

Punch down dough and divide in half.  On a floured surface, roll each half into a 12" circle.  Cut each circle into 12 pie shaped wedges.  Beginning at the wide end, roll up each wedge and place point down on a greased baking sheet.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.  Immediately brush tops with melted butter.

Yield: 2 dozen.

I made these for the morningtime so I brushed the 12" circles with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  They were yummy and easy.

Next up out of that cookbook: Grandma Elsa's Apple Tea Squares.  She may have made them for Bing Crosby when she was his cook in Hayden Lake.

Middle of the Night

Seriously.  I wonder if there will be a single day without drama.

On Tuesday night, while my husband was at work saving lives, I went to set the alarm system after putting the kids to bed.  Trick was, the alarm system wouldn't "arm."  So I set it to door chime instead.  Some nights I'd let it go and not do anything but I was Nervous Nelly for some reason so I set the chime and took both my cell phone and house phone to bed with me.  Truth be told, we're RIGHT off the freeway and there is a house close by that has known meth users living there so I feel justified being nervous from time to time.

Anyway.  I went to bed and was SOUND asleep when I hear an obnoxiously loud "... door open."  Trouble was- I was so asleep I didn't catch the first part.  It was a mixed blessing that Sarina also woke up with the loud squawk and told me it had said the back garage door. 

I texted (I have no idea why I sent a text instead of calling but I was running on adrenaline) Mark that the chimes went off.  He called and talked with me while I zipped down (in my nightgown and no glasses- smart) to lock the door between the house and garage.  He then told me he thought it was ok to call 911.

So I did and I was SO IMPRESSED with our AWESOME Thurston County Sheriff.  He was here in less than 5 minutes with back up shortly after.  Sweet man (wearing a bullet proof vest I noticed :/) walked the perimeter of the house and checked the garage.  If someone had tried to get in the garage they didn't enter - there were no footprints.  I'm hoping that it was just the wind and not a real live bad guy scared away by the alarm system squawking. 

Shortly after Mark arrived home and I felt MUCH safer even though it was tough to fall back asleep.  Phew. 

It was one more crazy (and scary) night.

I'm SO VERY glad my husband wears bunker gear at work and not a bullet proof vest.  Fires and a lot of other calls he goes on are scary enough but intentional violence is a completely different game.  Bless them for doing the jobs they do.

P.S. In the morning Elsa stood on the boys' bunk bed ladder and peed- hitting not one but 2 beds.  Yay!  Lucky for me it was my day to work so super hero hubby had the joy of washing and re-making the beds.  Love those "Primary Caregivers." ;)

Wild Kingdom Continues

And the fun doesn't stop. 

Mark took a little time to cut the boys hair on the front porch yesterday, classy I know but it's so darn cute!  He sets them up on the high chair and talks to them like he's a real barber and gives them candy when it's all over and saves us $35.  Nice.

So when he was cleaning up- using his blower instead of sweeping (the beauty of doing it on the porch) he heard a loud hissing.  Yes he heard it over the blower.  It was this little beauty...




Yes.  It's a bat.  And no, I can't re-orient the picture.  But it's actually a little bit cute, except that now I'm nervous about using the front door.  And what the heck do we do with this little guy?  For some reason he reminds me of the Count on Sesame Street.  I almost want to pet him but I saw his little teeth when he hissed so I won't.  Plus I'm not much of an animal person, except when it comes to puppies and baby chicks.

I hear a lot of whining so I'm going to try and gather the troops and inspire them to work together rather than battle. 

Wish me luck (with the bat and kids and all).

Adios (it is almost Cinco de Mayo).

Not enough hand sanitizer in the WORLD

I'll be honest.  I've been holding out on a new post thinking that it would be about my fabulous new laundry room with wonderful new LARGE capacity washer and dryer and all the beautiful new shelves my husband is building me so that our laundry room can be finished they way I had hoped it would be.

But this illustration is just such an amazingly disgusting example of life in the country for this girl who is not so country.

It's day 2 of my wonderful husband's 48 hour shift at the fire station.  My boys let the dog in and I noticed something was hanging out of her mouth.  I thought it was one of the gloves that my kids left outside yesterday which I have yet to pick up a day later.  Then sweet 4 year old Charlie comes walking up holding this, by the bone!!!!!!

Brace yourself...

Yes, it's a COW HOOF!!!  I have no idea why the cowboys left this little treasure behind when they came to get the cows, yesterday the poor heifers were mooing themselves crazy when they were being loaded up and moved, probably so they could become our next burgers.  This might make me a vegetarian.  To see that thing flopping in my little boy's hand- there's just not enough hand sanitizer in the world to make up for that.

And to think I shrieked loudly when I caught Elsa digging her hand in the "special lady's garbage box" in the public women's restroom....

What the heck do I do with this?!  Mark's at work, my awesome father-in-law is up in Tacoma.  I think I'm going to have to put on my big girl panties, put it in a garbage bag and drop it in our garbage can.  Eww!!  Part of me wants to take it over to the cowboy's truck and leave it on his windshield...  But I don't think that follows the Golden Rule.  Darn.

I'm breathing deeply now.  Trying to find a happy place to go to.

Life in the country is just so colorful, isn't it?

I do find it ironic that I just read a chapter titled, "Act As If Everything That Happens Is for the Good" (Slow Burn: Burn Fat Faster By Exercising Slower by Stu Mittleman).  Hmm...  I wonder what's "for the Good" in this experience.  I'll let you know if I think of it.

I've been meaning to disburse all the random items in the three big laundry baskets stacked in our bathroom.  Maybe tonight, to rid my mind of the vision of little Charlie and the COW HOOF(!!), it'll get done. 

Sorry about the picture but I HAD to share that grossness with you.

No recipes today, but I am going to make the Knock You Naked Brownies on Pioneer Woman's Blog tomorrow for the kids to take for Teacher Appreciation Week.  I appreciated the 24 hours notice that was emailed that they "would appreciate us to do something nice for our child's teacher."  One day I'll be on top of things like this and prepared for it when it comes.  For now, it's scramble and find something that appears to have an ounce of thought behind it.

And soon, pictures of the newly fabulous laundry room.