Still Grateful (M&M's have rights too!)

Did I fail to mention in my last blog how grateful I am for m&m's? I definitely am. It may have sounded like I was cuttin on m&m's (when's the last time you used "cuttin"?) but I wasn't. I love m&m's so all of you m&m activists please don't send me e-mails telling me how wonderful they are. I'm already converted. I just don't love the consequences that come from my love of m&m's.
Just so we're all clear on this....

M&M's Anyone?

My friend Kristi Brausch blogged how she hasn't had any "crap food" cravings for a few weeks and it made me think about the weird signals my brain seems to send when I'm pregnant vs. when I'm nursing.

Ok, now for those who have seen me pregnant, you know that due to some weird gene I hardly gain any weight but still have healthy sized babies, yadda yadda yadda I diet and only eat celery cuz it's sooooo good for a growing fetus.

Seriously though, when I'm pregnant I think my mind goes into this nurturing mode of "eat all the right foods, help the little developing brain, bones, etc..." I mean I eat all my veggies, I make sure to get the right amount of iron rich foods, calicum, protein etc....Then the baby comes out, and once that colicky period is past my rebellion emerges.

I usually lose all my pregnancy weight the first month of having a baby, then I gain almost as much as I did when I was pregnant while I'm nursing. I eat everything in sight! Correction, I eat everything that is crap for my body in sight! Hungry in the morning? How about some chocolate cake! "No kids you may not have fruit snacks in your lunch they're full of sugar!" (quietly stuffing choc. chips in my mouth when they're not looking) Then I quit nursing somewhere around the 1st birthday and find a nice balance of 1/2 healthy/ 1/2 crap. I mean somebody just drive over here and take these M&M's from me already!!

P.S. The twizzlers are in the cookbook cupboard and the Oreos are in the back of the pantry (a special treat for the kids of course). Grab those while your at it.

A hunting he will go

So he's going. And the best word I can use to describe his mood as he left tonight for his Dad's is "Giddy". For the first time in our 10 1/2 years of marriage Jason is going hunting. He grew up hunting with his dad, raised eating everything from Venison to Rabbit to Squirrel to Roadkill (short pause to insert Jay's defense: It only got hit in the head!). Yes he is a born and raised redneck and I knew this day would come. There's always been great excuses...not enough money, time, etc...and then he got into this "compound bow obsession" with his Dad. He went out and bought himself a deer tag for his birthday behind my back and sentences like "What do you think about me going hunting this year?" Turned to sentences like "Deer season starts the end of August." "When I go hunting in August with Dad I'll only be gone for a Saturday." I've never discouraged him from going.....I've just never encouraged him :)

Payton is not quite old enough and was very upset that he couldn't go. (Tears and everything). He doesn't quite understand that he'll scare all the deer in a 20 mile radius with every "When do we eat?". Before Jay left he told me that he told Payton to say a prayer for him in the morning. I said, "That you'll be safe or that you'll kill a deer?" Slight pause...."Both". Oh geeze.

Quick Survey: Should you pray to kill? I mean even Nephi just asked for location.....

Mr. Fixit and the A/C

So Jay is kind of a Mr. Fixit. He's pretty good with things that involve wiring, car repair, computer repair, installing things, taking apart garbage disposals that someone clogged (twice) with potato peelings. (I mean what's a garbage disposal for anyway!) He even sews buttons back on my shirts! However, he has some sort of jinx going on with A/C units. His car's A/C has been having problems for a year now and he has taken it apart several times, ordered various parts, thinks he has it fixed and...it's still not working. Mr. Fixit can't fix it.

I came home from enrichment on Wednesday night to a really hot and stuffy house.

Me: It's hotter in here than it is outside!
Him: I was thinkin it was gettin kind of hot (hasn't looked up from psp game)
Me: How come the A/C isn't on?
Him: It's not? (Still no eye contact)

No, no it wasn't. The A/C bandit had struck again. For the first time in our marriage...Mr. Fixit called a repair man :)

Talk about something to be grateful for. Apparently air conditioning gives me energy and makes me think loving thoughts about my kids.
Heat and no A/C=the opposite. Go figure.....

Les Miserables

Ok, how fun is the music circus?? We've decided we want season tickets. We were a little skeptical when they said that there was no bad seat in the house but it was totally true! (With the exception of the big headed lady in front of me...I mean I ALWAYS get that seat!) The theatre is not very big and you could see the actors and their facial expressions so well! They also come running in and out through the exit rows on the aisles (don't try to get up for a bathroom break before intermission like this one little old lady did, we thought security was going to take her out.....if Eponine didn't first that is). The singers were all amazingly good and I'm still smiling about it. I've seen Les Mis 3 times and this one was my favorite by far.

Word of advice: If you plan on eating downtown on Les mis and "Earth, Wind and Fire" night, make sure you plan to arrive at least 2 hours before the play starts. Even if you have reservations. Apparently people come early and then just SIT in the restaurant until the play starts causing all sorts of problems with getting your table on time. We were there for our reservation at 6:30 and didn't sit down until 7:20. Our food got there around 7:40 Can you say indigestion? I've never eaten that much PF Changs in 5 minutes flat. We ran/limped (long story why) 3 blocks to the theatre just as they were starting to close the doors.

Once we caught our breath we enjoyed 3 hours of being totally mesmerized. Jay you are so welcome for the wonderful birthday gift!

Stuffed

Ok, so I've had sourdough pancakes, waffles, rolls, and today decided I was going to camp out at home and delve into the sourdough bread round. I must admit I was a bit skeptical. I've been studying the sourdough breadmaking process for a few weeks now and have been putting it off because it sounds like such a pain! I've made lots of bread from scratch but nothing requires this much babying. I feed the starter on my counter overnight, the rising for sourdough is double what it is for "bought yeast" bread, I egg washed the bread, I cornmealed the pan, I put a cup of water in the bottom of the oven, I sprayed the ovenwalls and floor with a fine mist of water while it baked (every 2 minutes for the first 10).....And all the while I'm thinking....is this worth it? See for yourself :) Picture #2 was taken 1-hour later.

My Hubby

Right now he's sick and driving me crazy (I mean don't I have enough kids?) but he really is amazing. When he's home, he matches me 100% in child care duties. I'm sure he'd rather be sitting (laying) on the couch, watching tv, getting snacks brought to him while he ignores the kids fighting in the next room. A lot of men call this their "wind down time" after work. What a buncha baloney.

Jay always gives me a break when I need it and is more than sympathetic to my "job". He truly respects the roll of a mother and is often heard to say "What do you need me to do?" It makes for one very happy momma.
Think I'll go lay on the couch with some bon-bons :)