The Great Peruvian Adventure 2009

I was super excited about my trip to Peru next week (I'm in a friend's wedding) until my husband told me about this.

"If you are the slightest bit pudgy, you may want to reconsider that trip to Peru. Peruvian police have captured several members of a remote jungle gang that kills people for their fat. The fat is then reportedly sold on the black market for use in cosmetics."

First thought: Seriously?! Second thought: Cosmetics?! So now I have even more cause to regret those 10 lbs I put on last month...but thankfully I have a plan in case the baddies get me. Run. Away. Fast.

Lest you doubt my skills, let me just tell you that I raced my friend Lindsey in the rain the day before Deedo was born. And I won. Not a pretty sight, but still. I beat her in a foot race when I was very, very pregnant. (You will never live that down, Slowpoke.)

In other news, I am actually really excited about my trip. I even packed already, though my flight doesn't leave until 6am on Wednesday. Which means I have to arrive at the airport at 4 am. I have no idea what to expect from the trip other than that I will be with good friends. But most of all, I am excited to celebrate with my friend at her wedding!

Needless to say, I will be away from the blog for a week or so. I'll be sure to take pictures though, so check back next week for more from the Great Peruvian Adventure 2009.

An Evening by the Fountains

All about Sharks

On Friday, Chet took Sharks to school with him. Since we are hoping to homeschool when the time comes, this is probably as close as we'll get to a first-day-of-school pic. I thought it was hysterical how alike my two lads of the same name look.

On Saturday, Sharks kept asking to sing Amazing Grace, and I was able to catch it on video. I told him to sing loudly; that would be why he is practically SHOUTING the words. I am going to pretend that it was simply enthusiasm. And yes, he is a bit (ha) off key - make a joyful noise, right?

This morning, during our quiet time, we read the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan in the desert, and how he was tempted by the same liar who tempted Adam and Eve in the garden. (We have been using the Jesus Storybook Bible.) Sharks said, "Oh, mommy, I know Adam and Eve, they ate the apple and it was very sad." Very, very sad indeed.

A few minutes later, we were reviewing what we had read, and I asked him to tell me who Jesus was. He told me that Jesus was God's promise. I am glad and amazed that such a little guy is grasping these gospel truths, at least on some level.

It reminded me of a song that was on some tape we listened to when I was little, called "Teach me while my heart is tender." That pretty much sums up this short time of toddlerhood. We have been given these tender hearts to teach and train, and I am again amazed at the blessing and responsibility we have as parents.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte

No matter what I make, somehow I always have leftover pumpkin. Clearly there's some kind of capitalistic scheme going on here and the pumpkin people are in cahoots with the recipe people so that we are forced to buy more pumpkin than any recipe ever calls for.

Throwing the extra pumpkin away is simply not an option in our household (remember that my husband will eat things like this rather than throw them away.)

So when my sister-in-law passed on this recipe, I was thrilled. And it tastes a gazillion times better than the coffeemate version.


Pumpkin Spice Latte
(two servings)

1 cup half-and-half
3 tablespoons canned pumpkin
1/2 cup strong brewed hot coffee
3 tablespoons sugar
pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg to taste

1. Combine half-and-half and canned pumpkin in a saucepan, place over medium heat and stir constantly. Heat until boiling but not burnt.

2. Remove the mixture and pour into a blender. Whip in high speed for 20 seconds.

3. Pour the mixture in a large cup, add coffee, stir in sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Enjoy!

I use whole milk & just dump the sugar & pumpkin pie spice in the milk before I add my coffee. Last time I made it I actually didn't even blend it and it still tasted great (but in the future I plan on blending - it got progressively more pumpkin-ish as I got closer to the bottom of my mug.)

And I thought baby wigs were silly.

I was at a global foods store today with a friend when I stumbled upon this.

Yes. You read that right. Baby cologne. Oh, the heights of ridiculousness.

Come on. Babies smell good all by themselves.

My name is Deedo, and I am a collector

Our little Deedo loves to move things around. From kitchen to living room, bathroom to bedroom, he manages to find little objects that interest him that he collects in drawers all over our house.

It started with the trashcan. I am happy to say that he finally progressed from throwing everything away (matchbox cars, crayons, his blankiewithahead) to collecting his stuff in drawers.

Upstairs, he uses one of my desk drawers. Downstairs, a drawer that normally holds baby lotion and wipes has been commandeered by the Deeds for more junk. I mean more treasures. But his favorite place is the coffee table drawer.

See?

(That would be four cans of play-doh, a baseball, an uninflated balloon, a measuring spoon, a pair of socks, a little fireman, and two fridge magnets.)

Now that I think about it, it is a perfect collection for a 15-month old. So many of the joys of toddlerhood collected in one place.

For Nate & Ashley

(Enjoy with a side of Mootzarella.)

How I will make millions

The boys have had runny noses this week. Nothing major, except for the booger sleeves that have become Sharks' latest fashion statement.

You know how it is: nose runs, sleeve wipes. Kleenex? Not even on the radar.

And multiple shirt changes all day long are not very enjoyable. For either of us.

I started scheming ways to teach Sharks the importance of wiping his nose elsewhere. Like on a tissue or hanky. But that seemed impossible, because there are moments when I don't even realize he's been sleeve-wiping all morning until it is much too late.

Enter my amazing invention #1 - like babylegs, but with the express purpose of protecting sleeves. Wipe away, little buddy, your sleeves will stay snot-free all day long! Mommy can simply change out your Sleeve Savers.

Then I realized that Sleeve Savers are not the answer because they do not address the real problem. The real problem being the nose-on-sleeve wiping.

Enter amazing invention #2 - same idea, except that the Sleeve Saver would be made of the scratchy side of velcro. Put it this way. The sleeve would lose its status as #1 BEST and EASIEST (not to mention GROSSEST) place to Wipe Nose. I bet it would only take one wipe for the little dudes to come running for a kleenex.

Chet said it is certain to become a big seller, right up there with baby wigs.

P.S. I just googled "Sleeve Saver" because it was such a good idea I figured someone had already beat me to it, and this is what I found. WOW. I have no words.

Reality

Sharks just pointed at my belly button and said, "That the baby's nose, Mama?"

Sheesh.

(At least he gets the concept of a baby being in my belly...I think.)

Well, aren't you a hoot

Sharks has been cracking us up recently. Here are some of our favorites:

"Ooh, there's white and yellow [cheese]. How awesome is that!"

"Pops, praying is fun. Actually, it's heee-lar-ious."

"Let's name the new baby God. Or Avi [what he calls my dad]. Or Bob."

Why Oh Y

We joined the YMCA in June. I used it pretty much every day for about two weeks, maybe three. Then I got pregnant and going every day dwindled down to every other day, which turned into twice a week, which became never.

Until I stepped on the scale yesterday and realized that I had indeed done it again. Ten pounds in 3 weeks. Believe me when I say that I am not averse to pregnancy weigh gain. Not in the slightest. There is something I love about getting bigger and bigger, odd though it might be. My sister and I even came up with some wonderful phrases to describe each trimester of pregnancy - pleasantly plump, large and in charge, and finally rotund and no fun. I just think this time, healthy weight gain would be better. So far, I have been all about the sweets.

So to ease my conscience (and to make use of our year-long Y membership) I went to work out yesterday. Nothing ambitious, mind you. Just 2 miles in 30 minutes on the eliptical. (Let's be honest, even Sharks could do that.) But it was great.

In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I took the kids back to the Y in the afternoon to go swimming. They loved it. I wasn't sure how it would go, seeing as the last time we went swimming, Chet was with me. But loading them up with flotation devices worked. For the first time ever, Sharks tried to swim without his arms flung around my neck.

By the end of our swimming time, he didn't want me to touch him at all. Victory!