Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Finally, Someone Who Understands Me....

Mrs. Bear!

from the photographer:
"Black bears typically have 2 cubs, rarely 1 or 3. In 2007, in northern New Hampshire, a black bear sow gave birth to 5 healthy young... After spending nearly 4 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 6 weeks, I had that once in a lifetime opportunity and photographed them in the shadows and dull lighting of the evening... The print is properly focused and well exposed with all 6 bears posing as if they were in a studio for a family portrait. "

Of course, Bo Hunkmeister, graphic designer extraordinaire, couldn't help but put his touch on the photo.


I can only imagine the comments Mrs. Bear gets:
"Are they all yours? By the same bear?"
"You forest-school them? Is that legal?"
"How do you keep up with all your cubs? I can bearly handle my two!"
yes, bad pun

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Seen Any Kisses?

It's been a whole week since I've started looking for the Hershey kisses that Bo Hunkmeister hid through the house. As of 6:28 this evening, I'm up to 71. Only four more to go!! I might need to hire some people to come help me look. Bo said I couldn't use our kids but he said nothing about hired guns.

Some of you ladies have told me, "Oh, I wish my husband would do something like that." You have to remember that your spouse probably has some other wonderful qualities that Bo doesn't have, and that you can celebrate that special quality in your man. What qualities Bo is lacking, I don't know, but I suppose there's got to be one. And no gagging out there over that last statement, you were warned in my earlier posts about my esteem for the Bo Hunkmeister.

Now some of you guys have told Bo, "Hey, you're making us look bad." All I can say is, "STEP OFF!" Don't diss my man! That's the hormones speaking, if you hadn't already guessed.

Anyway, I might have to put the kiss search on hold in light of Thanksgiving. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Cooking-Fest-O-Rama: brining the bird, dicing, chopping and sneaking bits of bacon when no one is looking.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday and remember - pace yourself!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Random Thoughts

1. In case you haven't been reading faithfully (what?!? you haven't?!? I'm hurt!), Bo Hunkmeister has hidden 75 Hershey's Kisses around our house. If I find them all, I get a dinner out. The up side is that as of today, I'm at 65. The down side of all this is that I'm finding lots of nasty, dusty spots in my house.

2. Princess Buttercup found this website in a magazine: FreeRice. It's a site that has vocabulary tests, geography tests, and other tests. The gig is for each question you get correct, rice will be donated to a family in need. They explain it all a lot better than I do at their FAQ page. Anyways, the kids are having lots of fun filling the rice bowl, and (this is music to a homeschooler's ears) they're doing schoolwork without even knowing it.

3. Blue Cross/Blue Shield is dropping two major hospitals from its network over a payment dispute. The two hospitals that happen to have the highest delivery rates in the state. You'd think that BC/BS wouldn't want a bunch of angry pregnant ladies on their front step. Didn't their mommas teach them not to mess with pregnant ladies?

4. Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, NJ, said in an interview after election day that he wants to celebrate America's "racial deliciousness." Deliciousness? Of my many positive qualities, I never thought of myself as edible.

Monday, November 17, 2008

What the Over Achieving Mom Does for Her Son's Birthday

I found this on Cake Wrecks



Go here to see how it's done.

Can I eat the cake scraps?

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Mr. Fabulosity Himself - Bo Hunkmeister!

I had a very good weekend. It started Saturday with Bo taking the kids to a movie while Baby took a nap. That meant two hours by myself in a quiet house. All those with small children out there know what I mean.

Then today we went to church, and some girlfriends and I went for a shopping/lunch trip straight after. Not only do I return four hours later to a house cleaner than I left it (including the infamous mess known as my dining room table), but I find a note on my kitchen cabinet:
My dear, hidden through out the house are 75 Hershey Kisses for you to find. Find 20 and get a Dunkin' Donuts latte, find 40 and get a foot rub, find 60 and Bo will cook dinner on the evening of your choice, find all 75 and Bo will take you out to dinner.

Suffice to say, within 5 minutes I had found 40 of them. Bo was impressed until I reminded him that asking a pregnant woman to sniff out chocolate was like asking a normal person to breath. Not only was he asking a pregnant lady to find chocolate, but there was the added incentive of being taken out to dinner. Chocolate? Dinner out? Say no more!

He did add the condition that I could not have the children help me find the kisses (darn! he knows me too well). So as of 7:30 pm, I only have 20 more chocolates to find. I'm putting out a prayer request for psychic abilities. Of course, part of this is entertainment for Bo as he watches his wife turn into a three year old, running through the house looking for chocolate.

Princess Buttercup, bless her heart, asked Bo, "Does she get to collect all the prizes or does she have to pick just one?"
To which Bo replied, "No, she can have all the prizes."

Remind me to slip Buttercup a five spot tomorrow. After my dinner out.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Public Service Announcement #324

I laughed so hard I wet myself. Some of you might have seen these before but I felt the need to share some laughs with the world
Weight Watchers recipe cards from the 70's

Parenting Advice?!?

Sandy left a comment on my last blog asking for parenting tips. After I stopped laughing and picked myself up off the floor, here's what I came up with so far:

1. Rejoice in the small things.
Anything from "Hey! He said a new word today" to "Well, at least he didn't puke on the carpet!" (usually the latter ones are the situations I most rejoice in)

2. Have a sense of humor
see above

3. Have lots of kids
If you have two kids and one becomes a miscreant, you have a 50% failure record as a parent. If you have six and one heads south, your failure record is only 17%.

4. Make those kiddies work!
A two year old can help throw stuff on the washing machine, pull stuff out of a grocery bag, etc. The sooner they get used to helping, the better.

5. Ask for help (did I say that?)
Forget about parenting books from people who only have one kid and a degree from Harvard. Ask your friends what worked/didn't work for them. Remember, there is nothing new under the sun; there have been other moms who's kids have run pant-less down the street in broad daylight (not that... mine...ever did...)

Well that's it for now. I'll post more after cocktail hour nap time, if I think of any.

Bo, any contributions?

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Some Funny Things

At least I think so.

1. I wrote a book review of Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile's "I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids: Reinventing Modern Motherhood" on Amazon. The same rambunctious one I wrote here expect for being a bit more condensed. Anyway, I looked up the review the other day and some one left a comment "Do you even have children?" Yeah, just a few....

2. W. Bear, my son was reading the list of character traits we have hanging up on our wall (because I'm that kind of homechooling mom) and says, "Well, I tried self control but I didn't like it."

3. I asked Princess Buttercup why she was fretting so much over her Christmas list in early November. She replies, "It's my pensive nature, Mom!"

4. I turned down a piece of chocolate after dinner and W. Bear says, "Oh no! Mom's lost her mind!" Tater says, "Oh no!!" W. Bear says, "Oh no! We're being dramatic!"

5. I'm giving a spelling test to Buttercup and I say, "The word is forty-eight, in ten years I'll be forty-eight." W. Bear says, "Mom, that makes you thirty-eight now."
Buttercup says, "No W., she's twenty-nine!"

P.S. Check out the award winning love cook create knit's free giveaway.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Ooo!! I Need a Dress for the Award Ceremony!


My blog friend, Lori (whom I actually met in real life) gave me this award. She's a homeschool mom like me with seven (gasp!) kids. Go check out her blog "Reflections and Ramblings of a Not-So-Super Woman" and give her some comment crack love.

Thanks Lori! You made my day!



Now for receiving the award, here are the conditions:

1. The award can be displayed on the recipient's blog.
2. Add a link to the person from who you received the award.
3. Nominate up to seven other blogs.
4. Add their links to your blog.
5. Send a message to each of those you awarded to tell them about the award.

I'm going to follow Lori's lead and only nominate one. That way I won't have to rack my pregnant brain to think of six more. I nominate "love cook create knit". She always has something interesting to say and I like her blogs on exploring a more environmentally friendly/frugal way of life. Rock on ladies!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Life in the 80's

The Daily Oy recently put up a post about memories of being at my house in the 80's. Read his blog first so the rest of this makes sense.

I have mostly fond memories of the 80's and my brother's friends. Well, I do cringe a little thinking about how I tried to interject myself into their activities (pesky little sister, anyone?).

My eldest brother, who I will call K, started a band with his friends. They practiced in our rec room and called themselves Armageddon. I didn't know what the word meant but it sounded pretty cool. I don't think they ever played a whole song through to the end. When I was in high school, I dated a guitarist who did the same thing. Many years were spent waiting for musical closure. This is why I'm so happy Bo Hunkmeister doesn't play guitar.

RM of the Daily Oy was a nice guy, but it was the drummer I had a crush on. My ten year old aspirations were to grow up and marry him. Having later dated a drummer in high school, I'm glad I didn't marry a drummer either. Plus the drummer came from a large family and well, large families are just weird (that was sarcasm). I did appreciate how K's friends didn't just blow me off as a mere nuisance. Or at least faked being accommodating of me.

I did not think you guys were absolute losers. My goodness, y'all were probably the first to eat sushi in your class. I thought that was exceedingly sophisticated of you. I remember you guys doing a teppan-yaki dinner at my house. No mere going for a slice of pizza for you dudes! Do you still count shrimp tails?

And for the record, we did have video games. We had an Apple 2e on which we could play Brick Out and Pong. I don't recall if we had Atari. If we did, my dad probably bought it second hand which means it didn't work well. And we had a Pachinko machine. I remember seeing my mom entranced in front of it one day, and then wondering if we were going to be able to eat dinner that night. I'm sure my kids feel the same way when they see me in front of the computer blogging.

The third wheel thing...well, even his own siblings felt like third wheels when K was up to his plans. It's not a reflection on you, RM, it's K's inability to be sensitive to others when focused on what he was after.(sorry, K, had to be said)

Perhaps the only scarring from that time was growing up liking Led Zeppelin. Most of my junior high friends were into Menudo and Duran Duran and looked at me like I was a counter culture weirdo for liking Led Zeppelin. I realize now, it was training for becoming the counter culture large family homeschooling weirdo I am today.

Off topic here - You asked in the comment section how I make my guy feel like he's the most important thing in the world. I try to remember he's a man, not another girlfriend. I try to follow some of his interests, even if I don't understand them. I don't treat him like he's another one of the kids. I try not to say anything derogatory about him in public (not that we don't have issues but there's a time and place for resolving those things and trash talking about him to the girlfriends ain't one of them). Basically, as cheeky, holier than thou, and preachy as it sounds, I try to treat him the way I would want to be treated.

So RM, angst not, my friend, it's all good.

Technology

My brother recently put me in touch with a friend of his from high school (the editor of the aforementioned Daily Oy). It's really kind of cool to instantly communicate with someone so far away. However, I'm befuddled by the myriad of ways to do so. Do I respond as a comment on his blog? Do I write on my blog? Do I post any of this on Facebook?
Maybe it's pregnancy brain, but I'm having a hard time getting my head around the whole Facebook idea. I still don't know what a poke is. My only guess is that it's another way to waste time (was that sarcastic? it's the head cold speaking). And keeping up with the comments flying around on my "wall". It's like when my kids all start speaking to me at once. Ack! Quiet!
My brother sent me a friend request. I'M YOUR SISTER! I'VE PUT UP WITH YOU FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE!! And in all honesty, he's put up with the little princess herself for at least 38 years. I'd say we're already friends of some sort, aren't we? Thanks to Facebook for making me come out of the closet and say that. As a friend once pointed out, "The more ways I have to communicate, the less I do so." (someone contact MXB and tell him to e-mail, call, Facebook, IM, ping, poke, whatever)
All right, enough ranting. Time to eat. Then find a sunny spot to take a nap in.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Ooo! A mention on someone's blog!

My eldest brother emailed me this blog today. I'm still trying to find out who amongst his high school friends it was. But I'm quite flattered.

Friday, October 24, 2008

I Think God....

...has a sense of humor
...thinks I have the strength of four women
...thinks I have nerves of steel

Why do I know this?

BECAUSE WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER BOY!!!


(Do all ultrasound techs take such great pride in getting the best shot of baby's dinky and pointing it out? Mine did.)


Y'all can start the prayer vigil for my sanity now.

I can already tell Gummi's going to be a handful. Here he is with his butt up in the air and his legs over his face. Cirque du Soleil, anyone?



~sigh~

Anyway, all is well with baby and I will leave you with this parting pic.


Gummi sayz, "Get me a Latte."
Obey the Gummi.


Wednesday, October 22, 2008

A New Reason to Love Mamala

There are many reasons I love my Mother in Law. For example:
  1. She likes sushi
  2. She doesn't fuss at me about how I raise the kids
  3. She's stylish
  4. She introduced me to Trader Joe's
  5. She reads my blog
  6. She produced my husband
  7. She's not a high maintenance house guest
  8. She's great with the kids without spoiling them rotten

I could go on but the reason that trumps all of the above is this recipe she sent me recently:

CHOCOLATE CAKE-IN-A-MUG
1 coffee mug
4 Tbsp. cake flour (plain, not self-rising)
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
pinch of salt
1 egg
3 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. oil
Small splash of vanilla
3 Tbsp. chocolate chips, optional

Add dry ingredients to mug, mix well with a fork.
Add egg, mix thoroughly.
Pour in milk and oil and vanilla, mix well.
Add chips, if using.
Put mug in microwave, and cook for three minutes on 1000 watts (may be slightly less depending on you microwave).
Cake will rise over top of mug--do not be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little; tip onto a plate if desired.
Eat!
(This can serve two if you want to feel slightly more virtuous.)


Oh yes, that's right, molten chocolate cake can be yours for five minutes of effort.
Now I ask you, how can you not love a woman who shares this bit of yumminess with you?!?

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

The Zen Master

A conversation between Bo Hunkmeister and myself this morning:
Bo: "You look nice in that outfit."
Me: "Thanks, it's from M.E. [names changed to protect the innocent]."
Bo: "I didn't know you guys are the same size."
Me: "We are for the most part, except the pants she gave me are [sheepish grin] too small."
Bo: "She has shorter legs, that's why."

Do you see what the Zen Master has done here? He doesn't confirm my hinting at my big butt, but comes up with another perfectly plausible reason why the pants don't fit. Bo, darling, what ever mojo you got that helps you do this, I'm gonna bottle and sell!

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Did You Hear Something?

We're at dinner tonight and Bo Hunkmeister decides to have a little fun with the kids. We had a packet of wasabe paste and he offered $1.00 to anyone who would take a taste. Princess Buttercup, the concrete sequential child, carefully assessed the parameters of the bet and declined. Princess Git Er Done on the other hand, being random, jumped right on the bet. She ingested the 16th of a teaspoon amount and immediately sputtered, "Ack! Suicide! I gotta learn to start listening to those little voices in my head that say, 'No, no, no, don't do it!!' "

This explains a lot about her....

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Who's That Handsome Devil?



This is the man who, in thirty years time, would have to put up with the Domestic Goddess before Bo Hunkmeister came along. No wonder he had such a big smile on my wedding day. Anyway, Happy Birthday Dad!




p.s. I would have put a picture of my mom here on her birthday but then she would have never taken me to Kohl's again. Yes, I am that shallow.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Sinking a Little Bit Lower

I was watching a show last night when I saw a commercial for Axe Dark Temptation Body spray. It's a new body spray for men that smells like... chocolate. According to the ad, it's supposed to make women absolutely wild about you. According to the website (which I visited in the spirit of good journalism), all us gals need is the right scent to be turned into sex crazed maniacs. I just have a few questions for the makers of this spray:
  1. Do you really think women are so shallow that all it takes to make us attracted to a guy is the whiff of chocolate? Did your momma not clue you in to what's important to a woman?
  2. Does this come with a free sample of "Have Some Character" body wash?
  3. Did "Does Not Fear Commitment" or "Respects You as A Woman" not work as a scent?
  4. Is this mistakenly giving the guy permission to continue to act like a neaderthal as long as he has a bottle of this handy?
  5. According to your website, this spray supposedly makes women between 18 (I hope) and 28 go crazy over you. Does it make women older than that laugh?
  6. What happens when the girl you're interested in decides that she's happier to just get her own bottle rather than hang out with you?
  7. When the scent fades, are we allowed to dope slap you for thinking so little of us?
  8. Can you make a scent for women that smells like "Call Me When You Can Behave Like a Real Man?"
  9. Am I being too snarky?

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Our Multi-Cultural Family

For those of you not in the know, I am half Japanese (or "Hapa" for the truly hip). What does this mean? This means kids who have the following thought patterns:

"What's for dinner?" they ask.
"Chicken, rice, and broccoli" I say.
"Do we have nori?" they ask (not even considering the cuisine)
"Sorry, no." I say.
"What?!? Can we go to the bodega and get some?" they ask
"No, I highly doubt the Dominican owned store has Japanese products." I say
"Why not?" they ask.

Sigh......