Entries from December 2006 ↓

It’s Progress, At Least

Set a timer for 15 minutes.
Hang limbs, string lights, break up wrestling matches.
Rinse, repeat.

I have to buy more lights, I’ve scrounged all the salvageable strings.

Finally, if anyone could send some warm thoughts and prayers to my friend Ivy and her grandmother, they’d be appreciated. It’s so hard when things like this happen and harder still when it’s the holidays.

I need


I need a swift kick in the rear. I do not want to finish putting together this tree. I need someone to keep my company, it’s so boring. I started with good intentions on Sunday evening, we put on carols, had eggnog, and even let the kids play around.

Then reality set in.

I put the lights away so carefully last year, inspecting to make sure each strand lit properly, wound them carefully so they wouldn’t form an impenetrable mass of tangle. I unpacked the box to find a full two thirds of the strands quit working in storage.

Can someone explain this to me?

Does anyone want to run to Big Lots for more lights?

How do you keep a toddler from thinking the strings of light are candy?

My three year old thinks the decorations are light sabers.

My heart just isn’t in this, right now.

Children’s Toys


My son is lost in a world of firefighters, trains, cars and if you listen closely, squirrels. He’s been parking and arranging his toys for about an hour and I love that he can become so involved in his play.

I thought I’d share this article, I think it raises some excellent points.

Truce Teachers Toy Guide

Parenting Truth #437

It is much easier to get rid of your children’s toys when the kids are being obnoxious.

I hope y’all are talkative today

For those who don’t know, I’ve been entertaining myself doing the roundup over at Postscripts Lowcountry Blogs. My kids are sick, again, so it’s another day stuck in the house. I just want to go the gym, but I’m not one of those parents. Now, if those parents weren’t those parents, I probably wouldn’t be stuck at home.

So, local bloggers, please be chatty today; it’s this or daytime TV and I don’t have cable or decent reception.

Why 3 year olds are fun.

A) They can finally walk beside you in the grocery store without touching EVERYTHING.

B) You can amuse everyone around you by opening a dozen brown eggs and hearing “Oooooh chocolate eggs!”

Stolen Food Meme

Thanks Mike!

Favorite food to crunch
: Kettle corn.

Favorite comfort food: Colcannon.

Food that makes the best noise: I don’t know, the sound of anything being deglazed is probably enough to get me excited.

Favorite picnic lunch: Almost anything packed by someone else, but cold fried chicken has a special place in my heart.

Favorite food scene in a movie: The entire movie Chocolat

Favorite food lyrics: I’m really not sure.

Least favorite food lyrics: Hot Potato–The Wiggles, it’s eternally stuck in my head

Best food smell memory: Sauteeing celery and onions on Thanksgiving morning.

Favorite summer snack: Blueberries.

Food that reminds me of the ocean: Oysters

Favorite winter snack: Hot chocolate and buttered toast.

Most likely Favorite thing to eat for lunch: PB&J, BBQ chips and an icy Dr. Pepper.

Least likely to eat for lunch: Anything sporting a big dollop of mayo.

Makes me gag: Mayo and lutefisk.

Food tradition I don’t like: Lutefisk with my inlaws

Saturday night food: That’s the night to use the grill.

Favorite wild foods: Salmon.

Favorite medicinal food: Cinnamon, it helps moderate blood sugar.

Food that reflects my heritage: Tuna Noodle Casserole.

Food most like me:

Favorite raw food smell: Cilantro.

I cannot believe I just fed this to my kids

I completely forgot that Tim was going to be working very late this evening. I looked at the clock and realized I had forgotten to start dinner.

Viva le croissant weiner with cheese and a side of corn.

They are happy, thrilled even.

I think I’m going to puke.

Random FYI

Clothes dry much faster when you actually turn the dryer on.

While Doing the Roundup

I have a weird habit of replacing words in children’s songs as I go about my day. I read somewhere that it’s actually good for kids to hear recognizable songs in that manner, something about encouraging wordplay.

Well, it works.

I hear a song drifting out from the bathroom as my 3yo does his business:

A pain in the butt!
A pain in the butt!
Hi ho a derry-o
A pain in the butt!

I had to share.