And Strut!

Nothing is better than hearing people say you’re doing a great job raising your child. I think every parent goes through the doubts and questions “Am I doing a good job here?” I mean, we don’t have yearly reviews or anything like a job outside the home does. So we just hope and cross our fingers that our little munchkins make it through to adulthood, unscathed and with a good head on their shoulders. Anything after 18… well good luck kid!

Every Wednesday Houston and I go listen to our friend Paul perform at a local coffee shop. Its usually a small gathering and a lot of fun. Normally this is my time to get out of the house and have non-baby time for a couple hours but there has been a time or two that we have taken Madison with us and as usual she is super well behaved. She loves being out and about, and of course loves the attention she gets from everyone.

The past month or so there has been another couple that brings their daughter and for the most part the little one is rather behaved. Tonight… was not one of those nights.

*Steps on soap box*

Now, I have no problems with the little ones being at performances, I believe music is an amazing learning tool and plan on encouraging Madison to listen to different types of music and play if she so desires.  What I have a problem with is parents who allow their children to scream/fuss/cry while someone is performing.  I have a problem with anyone doing any type of disruption during a performance, period.

Now, this couple has a little one, I’m assuming around Madisons age, maybe a month older, that all evening screamed and cried. What did momma do? Continued to play Candy Crush on her phone? What did dad do? No clue, but taking care of little one was not on his list of things to do either.Paid performance or not, people are there to listen to the performer(s), not your kid wailing next to them. Please be courteous and either attend to your child’s needs or take them outside to let them calm down and then return.  As a performer once in my life, it’s appreciated to not have to out voice your child.  And as someone sitting in the audience, I am there to enjoy my time and I don’t want to have to struggle to hear over the fuss.

Yes, I play on my phone but Madison is my first priority. I know where she is the whole time and what she is doing. I play with her, cuddle her, talk to her, and attend to her needs. I know when her squeals are happy or if she is upset about something and I take care of it.  My phone is not a priority. If my phone is out while Madison is awake it’s to take pictures of her or to move her attention away from something else. One thing you’ll never hear me say is “I’m playing a game, she can wait”.

After this family left, we got appreciation for not being parents that let Madison just fuss and for being considerate of others. Also heard acknowledgment of my constant work on her eating and sleeping schedule.

Hopefully the family will be more considerate next time, not only for Wednesday nights but for all performances in their future.

*Steps off soap box*

In other news… Madison stood up on her own today!  Of course we tried to get her to do it again and she wouldn’t. Pepper and Koda better get ready cause they will be running around here soon, I have a feeling!

See Ya Later, Alligator

Nine years ago today, my world came to a screeching halt. I lost my grandpa who was battling cancer for only a few short months.  I had watched in those few months, someone I always considered the strongest man in the world deteriorate and become so incredibly weak that he could no longer feed himself. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t cry once I got home from visiting him at my moms house. I was my chipper self while around him, and fought back tears when I would catch him just watching whatever I was doing, making memories that he could hold onto forever.

My Grandpa was the only father figure in my life. He would take me fishing and we would sit at the lake for hours, just sitting and waiting for the fish to bite. We didn’t have to talk, we could just simply be and it was enjoyable. When I was having a rough time, I’d take off and stay with my grandparents for a week. All of my stresses would melt away and I would be able to sit in this comfortable silence and figure out my world.
To this day, I will hear or see something that will remind me of him, and a twinge of sadness will flow over me but then I live in that moment and remember how wonderful it was and smile. I can still hear him singing. Oh how I loved hearing him sing.  Whenever we parted for any period of time he would say “See ya later, Alligator” and I would reply “After ‘while, Crocodile”.

Celtic symbol for family

The years after his passing, I would normally start retreating from life without thinking about it around the week of the 25th. I would stay home on the day and often have crying fits.  This year was different.  I still cried, mostly while typing this, but this year I went out shopping with my mom for birthday stuff, had lunch with my cousin Beth and we finally got our tattoos we’ve been talking about for years.  I was where I needed to be, no not the tattoo shop, although that is always a fun place to be. But I was with my family and we were having fun.  That is what my Grandpa would want us to be doing, not sitting at home, still morning him.

The pain of him not being here is still there, especially when I think that Madison never had a chance to meet such an amazing man.  But I believe he’s watching and laughing at her waving backwards and cheering her on as she tries pulling herself up.  I plan on talking about him as much as I can so that she knows about her Great-Grandpa on my side.

So, until the time we can see each other again, “After ‘while, Crocodile”

Das Vermissen von Ihnen

I thought that I would miss you so, and never find my way.
And then I heard the angel say “he’s with you every day.”
“The sun, the moon, the wind, the stars, will forever be around,
reminding you of the love you shared, and the peace he’s finally found.” -Unknown

Keeping Up

Sorry I have been lacking on the blog-front. I’ve been working on plans for Madison’s birthday party. Again, I know I’m planning WAY early but I don’t want to feel rushed and not have a ton of moolah going out right at once. I’m not going to give away any information as to our plans as of right now. The reason to this is because I’m rather irritated with others who pull the “my kid is better than yours” crap. Ready for a rant?  Here we go…

Having children is not a competition, why do parents think that it’s ok to do this?  I feel like it’s more like the parents are insecure about how they are raising their children. Maybe the whole keeping up with the Jones’ thing?  I don’t know.  “My baby is (enter whatever here), is yours?” My response if Madison hasn’t reached that “milestone” yet, “Nope, she is too busy being way too awesome!”

My child is not a sport. She is a little human that I am raising to become an amazing person.  I’m encouraging all of her milestones but allowing her to figure out how to do them all on her own. Which if you ask me, is better for her in the long run.  She’s 8-months old, almost 9-months and she is already showing signs towards walking. She loves to stand up and can hold on to things on her own. I’m not doing the whole “my daughter is better than your kid” but instead I’m being a proud momma. I’m proud of how far along she is and how quick she picks things up.  She may not be crawling like other babies but she still rolls and scoots, just like I did at her age, giving us a merry chase around the living room. Poor dogs don’t know where to go some days.

Please note that I love to hear about your son/daughters accomplishments, its fun hearing how excited a parent is when their little one hits that milestone. I love to hear how proud they are, but it kills me when it becomes a competition.  Two different things.

So, because of some party-poopers details are on lock down, but I’m excited for it and can’t wait to see her on that day. Even though I’ll probably be a hot mess that my baby girl will be a year old.

Coconut-Pecan Frosting

The first time I made this frosting was for Houston’s birthday on a German chocolate cake. Luckily, this recipe makes quite a bit of frosting because I was eating it out of the bowl. I’ve used this recipe on three different types of chocolate cake and it was perfect on all three.

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 pkg. (7 oz.) BAKER’S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut (2-2/3 cups)
1-1/2 cups chopped PLANTERS Pecans

Make It:
Beat egg yolks, milk and vanilla in large saucepan with whisk until well blended. Add sugar and butter; cook on medium heat 12 min. or until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Add coconut and nuts; mix well. Cool to desired spreading consistency.

**Note**
Makes enough to frost top and sides of 3 (8- or 9-inch) cake layers, tops of 2 (13×9-inch) cakes or 36 cupcakes.

Birthday Parties

I realize I have a few months to go still but I have already started planning Madison’s first birthday. I’ve planned many birthday parties in the past, but never for a kid. Adult parties are easy, you invite people and supply booze and some snacks. Presto instant party and everyone’s happy and the birthday person is wasted, its a success!

Madison didn’t have a very good first Christmas because of the time of year we decided to move back to Arizona, so funds were limited and so was energy. The fact that we even did our Christmas Eve traditions, Christmas breakfast AND Christmas dinner was amazing. So since then I decided that I would try my hardest for her to have the best first birthday ever. I have already got crap from people saying “It’s her first birthday, she won’t remember.” That’s not the point, the point is I will remember and there will be pictures. I would feel horrible if we didn’t go all out for her first birthday. A celebration that not only is she a year old but also that I successfully kept a little human alive for a year with probably only minor bumps and bruises along the way.

So anyway, here I am planning a birthday party for my one year old who won’t even remember and yet I am planning an extravaganza! I have planned what type of cake, decorations, and even all the way down to party favors. A guess what? I have no place to have it! Our apartment is too small, so that’s already out. The apartment complex doesn’t have a clubhouse that they allow parties in. Beginning of summer, it’s still too flippin’ hot to do anything outside. So now I’m looking at rec centers, hotels, anything but avoid Peter Piper Pizza and Chucky Cheese type places. Houston said he would help but unfortunately I am a control freak and want to know we have a place now, not wait until the 11th-hour on getting someplace set.  Sorry Houston!

I have found a few places that are great deals, that I don’t have to worry about food or this or that, but again… limited budget, sooo….

I plan on making quite a few of the decorations myself, something that can still be used in her bedroom after the party. Being so creative, this won’t be an issue and I’ll probably enjoy doing it all. Lets just hope I don’t get overwhelmed with it all, hence another reason I wanted to start early. I can do everything bit by bit.

So see, there is a rhyme or reason to my madness…

Butternut Squash Bread

So after we moved to Wyoming, I decided to sign up for Bountiful Basket, if you’ve never heard of it, it’s a food co-op that distributes fresh and organic produce once a week.  You sign up and every Monday afternoon you login to pick your basket, and if you want any of the others options offered for that week.  Price starts at $15 and goes up if you have other options.  I paid $40 for a laundry basket full of fruits and veggies, along with five loafs of homemade bread.  In our basket we had two Butternut Squash… Squashes?  I didn’t know what to do with it because I didn’t know what it tasted like.  EXPERIMENT TIME!!  *Evil laughter*  I figured, I rather try something and end up tossing it cause it tasted terrible and learn from this, than have it go bad in my fridge, make a mess and have to throw it away.

I cut it open and the first thing that popped in my head was that it smelled, had the same color, and seeds as a pumpkin.  *Light bulb goes off* I’ll make bread or attempt to make bread with it.

So after I cut it in half and scrapped out the seeds, I placed the cut-side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet. Baked in a preheated 375°F oven until soft, so about 50 minutes. Once it cooled I scraped all the gooey-ness (technical term) into my food processor and made baby food… er… puree.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 cup squash puree
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white

Make it:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
2. Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, allspice and cloves in a medium bowl until combined.
3. Beat squash puree, sugar, honey and oil in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in egg and egg white. Turn off the mixer, add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until combined. Scrape into the prepared loaf pan.
   

   

4. Bake the bread until lightly brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool for 30 minutes more. Serve warm.

When I was a kid

So I am taking another one from Ashley Lately’s blog, she loves Dr. Pepper and I love Diet Dr. Pepper so I feel like we are connected.  Today’s line of questions are about me as a youngin’.

 

1. Did you ever sleep walk?
Yup, I did. I mostly would walk into the living room and turn the lights off and on, complaining that the lights weren’t working. My mom would tell me she would fix it later and send me back to bed. Last time I remember being told I was sleep walking was high school. Other than that, I occasionally still talk in my sleep and its all nonsense.

 

2. Did you ever try to run away or sneak out of your house?
Nah, when I lived in Wyoming it would have been pointless to run away, my mom would have found me in like 10 minutes.  In Arizona, its too flippin’ hot to be walking around outside. And I am too clumsy to sneak out of the house, my mom would have heard me falling off the roof or something.

3. Did you have any imaginary friends?
I don’t think I did, I had an active imagination when it came to creating things but not to the point of having imaginary friends.

 

4. Did you ever go toilet papering?

Sort of… when I was in high school we toilet papered the youth pastors car for his birthday. Yep, rebel rebel!

 

5. Did you ever sneak tv shows you weren’t allowed to watch?
I may have watched Hellraiser or something similar when I was far too young. My mom didn’t need to get after me for watching them. I scared the you-know-what out of myself, like a genius. For a long time after, I couldn’t sleep in the bedroom by myself when I stayed with my grandparents.  I would stay away until I was just so exhausted I couldn’t help but fall asleep.

 

So there is a little sneak peak into my childhood, go check out Ashley’s blog and check out this weeks questions.

Also, feel free to send me questions or suggest a topic you’d like me to talk about!  I’m running out so I may be desperate soon! 

Moving forward

So I’m blog hopping again and normally Ashley Lately hosts Sunday Social, but I’m a few days late. I still thought it was a great blog. So head over there and link up or get started on this week’s questions.

1. One year ago I was doing…

A year ago I was still in Wyoming and somewhere around 5 months pregnant.  And still having morning sickness, which continued throughout the rest of my pregnancy, oh lucky me. I wasn’t yet feeling like a bloated whale and thanks to freak Wyoming weather and random snow we had, I wasn’t complaining of being hot. Although I’m sure Houston was freezing with me leaving the windows open.

2. Five years ago I was doing…

Five years ago, uh… was 2008. I was in a completely different relationship, I didn’t even know Houston yet. I wasn’t even really aware of twitter quite yet. I was working at University of Phoenix and busy going on trips, hiking, and basically exploring Arizona.

3. 10 years ago I was doing…

Geez, whats with making me think today? Ok so 10 years ago it was 2003, so I had been out of high school for a year and I was working at Chase, a few months before heading to Washington Mutual. I hated my job with a passion, just cause I hated sales and dealing with rude people who couldn’t figure out how to budget correctly and not go over their credit limit.

4. One year from now I’ll be doing…

Hopefully, I’ll FINALLY have my bachelors degree done with ASU and either teaching elementary school or a councilor in an elementary school. I’ll be a few months from turning 30 and more then likely freaking out about that.  Oy!

5. Five years from now I’ll be doing…

I plan on starting my Master’s degree after or soon after I’m done with my bachelors degree. I hope I’m still teaching, as for what school district, I don’t have a specific one right now. Depending on my future with Houston, I would actually hope we will be married by then and we may be in South Carolina.  Seeing that I never want to go through the whole pregnancy and labor thing, I’d like to hopefully adopt a little brother or sister for Madison.

6. 10 years from now I’ll be doing…

I’m pretty sure my 10 years will look a lot like my five years minus the school part.  If I’m not done with school in 10 years, unless I decided to change my profession, I’m done. I’ll be close to 40 and want to just enjoy my family. Taking trips and watching my kids grow up.

Now go, tell me about your past and your plans for the future!

If Wishes Were Horses

The past few days have been… uh… crazy? I guess… I had to deal with the always fun MVD and getting my tags renewed. That was on Tuesday and well the plate is still sitting in the back seat of my car and my Wyoming plates, the expired ones, are still attached to my car. You would have thought I would have rushed to get those off. MEH!

Doctors appointments and family emergencies.  Its been a long week!

I’ve actually changed my topic of this blog a few times, I had a lot of difficulty either picking what to write about or how to write about the topic in general. So here goes…
Today’s topic is what is the one thing I wish I was great at? Ok, so I only get to pick one. I wish I was better at playing the piano. Yes, I play the piano now, I started taking lessons when I was around 10 years old. I had a piano teacher tell me that if I kept up the practice that I could go to Juilliard. I wasn’t as dilligant at practicing as I should have been, in fact I avoided it if I hated the song. If I loved the song, I played the crap out of it until my mom threatened to throw my sheet music out the window.
Moving to Arizona, I was able to get with another piano teacher who was so focused on how I positioned my hands that she lost focus on the music. I didn’t want to play anymore, I played fine the way my hands were positioned and it worked for me. I got burned out of week after week of “act like you’re holding a ball” when I was just wanting to play music. So I quit.  My piano sits and collects dust. My books, sitting in a box, remain unopened. Occasionally, I will blow the dust off and play a tune or two but most the time it is another place for junk mail to collect or place to put picture frames on. 

I don’t know where I would be had I kept practicing or found another teacher not so focused something silly. Would I be in New York at Juilliard? Or playing Carnegie Hall? One thing I know for a fact is that I will introduce the piano to Madison and like anything else, if she wants to learn to play I’ll be 100% supportive of it.

I can already tell she’s going to be musical, she comes by it naturally, and she loves anything that plays music. My favorite memory while being pregnant was Houston flipping through his iPod with headphones attached to my stomach just to see how to would react to different types of music. I don’t remember what she didn’t like but she seemed to like Theory of a Deadman, totally my kid.