Leap day

Today doesn’t exist. It’s true. It’s leap day! Just an extra day thrown in there to keep everything on track due to the less than perfect calendar that some king somewhere made up one day. If we didn’t have it the year would slowly rotate it’s seasons so that one day spring would be in October and Christmas would be in the summer, and then it would slowly right itself again.

I had a calendar when I was in second or third grade that for February had a list of whole bunch of things that a kid could do on leap day. It was a free day to do whatever you wanted. That would be very nice. It should be a holiday! You shouldn’t have responsibilities on leap day. It should just be a free day to do whatever you want. I mean, it doesn’t even exist for goodness sake!

So on that note, I will be spending the day taking Connor to the doctor and then probably to Target to fill a prescription or two. Fun! He had a fever yesterday and the day before, then last night he was up 10 times. So we made the midnight decision that he was going to the doctor today. That is always when I decide that, when I will do anything for sleep. That is the only time when the $20 co-pay seems totally worth it.

Leave me a comment and let me know how you spent your leap day.

Junior Achievement

So I’ve decided to volunteer. I seriously have had volunteering in the back of my mind for about 8 years now. It’s hard to find a place that is interesting and doesn’t seem like work. First off, you would think that if you even just whispered your name to a non-profit they would be all over you. But it’s not that way. It’s like getting a job. You have to submit your stuff, then follow up, blah blah. Then you have to work the hours they say to work. It’s a pain. If I wanted to do all that I would just go get a job. Ya know?

But a few years ago I heard of Junior Achievement. They have a program that goes into schools and teaches the kids about finance and business. It’s really cool. I went to their training program yesterday and I’m so impressed. They give you all the materials you need along with a lesson plan. They set you up with a teacher and then you contact the teacher and set up a time to go in. The actual lesson is about 30 minutes and you go once a week for 5,6, or 8 weeks depending on the grade level. I got second grade. I will be talking to them about businesses and jobs in the community.

But what post would be complete without a little gossip? I can’t be all flowers and candy can I?

So the trainer person is talking to me about which school is close to where I live. Apparently she has never been east of the 101. But anyways, we decide on a school. I can’t even remember the name now, but a few minutes later she comes back and says it’s probably not a good school for me since it’s a very challenging school. And being my first class I might want to start with something easier. Ok, sounds good to me. But she goes on to say that this school is “economically challenged” and the kids have less parental supervision. Wow. I have no doubt that is true but don’t you think that those kids then need this program even more? Later in the class she was saying how the only way they can get volunteers into the “economically challenged” classrooms is to do corporate sponsors and have a big group of employees come down and give the whole program in one day. Which sounds fine and hopefully these kids are getting everything the kids in the “rich” schools are getting. It’s really sad. They are disadvantaged in every way. No wonder it’s so hard for them to break the cycle.

Oh what a downer… here’s a pick me up…

In my class there was this guy, “Mr. Slick”. When I first sat down I noticed he was reading a book by Jack Canfield, whom I love. He co-authored the “Chicken Soup for Soul” series and also wrote one of my favorite books called “The Aladdin Factor”. I wanted to talk to him about it and maybe suggest “The Aladdin Factor” to him but he was to busy being slick to be interested in a lowly housewife. We had to go around the room and say our name and a little something about ourselves. Well, Mr. Slick’s real name is Lance (how perfect) and he owns an advertising agency (also perfect). It’s too bad he thinks so highly of himself, cause he missed the chance to talk to a really cool chick!

Connor bear

Connor is being such a bear. He had a horrible night last night. He basically didn't fall asleep til almost 11. He never goes to bed quite right on days that I have school because I'm not here. Which is weird because Larry puts him down every night anyways, but he is so sensitive it bothers him that I'm not home. But then something else was bothering him too. I don't know if he is getting sick, or if his teeth are bothering him or what. But I guess Larry went in to his room to calm him down several times before I got home. When I got home I took over from there. I went in once and Connor asked...

"Where's Daddy?"
"Daddy's sleeping" which wasn't true but whatever. What am I supposed to say?
"oh" and he lays down and that was the last we heard of him. What a cutie. All was right with the world again at that point. Mommy is home and if Daddy is sleeping then Connor better be too.

So today he is Mr. Crabapple. He gets hot to the touch when he is tired and he is burning up and crying over every little thing so I put him down, even though it's only 9:30. I don't know what is going to happen for the rest of the day but I can't have him walking around bawling his eyes out. He cried for like 20 minutes because he didn't want to put his pants on but at the same time was mad because I wasn't trying to put his pants on. You see what I'm dealing with? I can't win. The last straw was a 10 minute temper tantrum because Elmo was over.

"Do you want me to put Elmo on?"
"No! Pooh!"
"Pooh is already on. Let's sit and watch Pooh."
"No! EEEELLLLMMMMOOOOO!"
"Do you want to watch Elmo?"
"NO!"

You get the idea.

Chicken Cacciatore Subs

I'm working on putting some ads on this blog. I've been reading around about how to make money from your blog and there are people who have actually quit their jobs from the money they make on their blog. It would be a dream come true if I could actually make a few bucks from telling stories about my day. How weird. But if you see an ad and you want to click on it, feel free! You will be putting gas in my tank.

Oh, and Connor's head bump is much smaller and he still knows all his letters. So nothing fell out.


So for my new recipe of the week I made Chicken Cacciatore Subs (sandwiches really). They were very spicy! I didn't really like them, but that didn't stop me from eating two of them! I probably won't make them again cause they were too spicy for me and Larry didn't like the peppers and onions. Not a glowing recommendation I know. But they were good... just not to us.

But as a silver lining I got to use the broiler. I never knew what that was before. I just turned it on and then had to figure out what got hot. hehe. I did figure it out.

Here they are....

2 tablespoons extra vigin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Grill seasoning blend, such as Montreal Seasoning by McCormick or salt and pepper, to taste
4 sub rolls split
2 cloves of garlic, cracked away from skins with the flat of a knife
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 large portobello mushrooms caps, sliced. (I skipped these)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup dry red wine, or chicken or beef broth
1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/3 pound deli-sliced provolone cheese

Heat a grill pan or large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Drizzle olive oil on chicken, making sure it's coated, and season with grill seasoning or salt and pepper. Grill or pan fry for 6 minutes on each side. Set aside.

Preheat the broiler. Place rolls on a cookie sheet and lightly toast them, remove, but leave the broiler on.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the garlic, red pepper flakes, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, and oregano. Saute veggies and season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, then add wine or broth. Scrape up tasty browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon or heat safe spatula. Add tomatoes and parsley. Slice chicken breasts on an angle and set into sauce. Pile chicken and veggies into sub rolls and cover with sliced provolone. Place sandwiches on a cookie sheet and melt cheese under hot broiler. Serve.

Chicken boob

See that nice dent in the wall? I hope you can, it's right on the corner of the window sill. See it? Connor made that, with his head! Poor baby. Freaked me right out, I'll tell ya that. We were playing in the living room and he goes running full speed into the family room and plops into the green chair right below the window and BANG! He has a big lump on his head. I called the doctor and they said that if he isn't throwing up or acting weird that they don't need to see him. Phew.

I can't believe I forgot to tell you this yesterday. I went grocery shopping and after unloaded the groceries on to the belt I look down and see that I have a big, perfectly round, dark spot right on my boob. And I mean right on it. The only thing I can think is that my boob touched the chicken when I was taking it out of the cart. You know how sometimes the chicken juice leaks out. UG. So I'm trying to move my shirt around so the stain is anywhere but where it is, which is totally useless. It really brought me back to my breastfeeding days. Even when the stain dried it was still totally noticeable. There really isn't a natural way to stand while trying to cover up your boobs. So yeah, that wasn't embarrassing at all.

Look at that car!

I got to see one of my favorite things today. I saw a car driving with a cup on the roof. I think that is hilarious! When I was working at Dunkin Donuts everyday I watched people put their coffee on the roof of their car and never once did I get to see someone drive away with it up there. I would always be so disappointed to see their arm appear from inside the car and grab it. Darn! So now it’s a special treat.

Connor is doing a weird sleep thing. I don’t know what is going on but he has either been going to bed super late, waking super early, or taking a really short nap. I never know what he is going to do. I really don’t like it. I am happiest when I know what’s coming.

Larry is watching Nascar today. Connor loves it now but that wasn’t always the case. I remember when he was a baby he would cry every time it was on. He hated the noise of the engines and then he would be so scared when they showed the angle with the cars coming right at you. He didn’t get that it was just on tv. He thought we were going to get run over, I guess. Poor little guy.

Debut

Maddy had a little show at school. A musical if you want to get technical. It was very cute. It was a play about someone hiking and they see bugs. First they see a spider and a class of kindergarteners wearing hats they made to look like spiders stands up and sings a song about spiders. Then ants, bees, and finally fireflies. Maddy was a firefly. Her hat is a strip of paper, think burger king crown here, with a long pipe cleaner attached to a black cardboard bug. The bug's butt is covered with gold glitter. It's pretty cute. They all looked adorable.

Larry came home early to sit with Connor (who was sleeping) so I could go. The whole thing took about 5 minutes but I'm glad I went. Maddy was happy to see me there. I got the whole thing on video so we can watch it for years to come.

Cookies from the heart.

Maddy had a half day today. I haven't seen her in a week so it was nice to be able to spend some alone time with her. Last Thursday she had art class after school, then I had school so I basically didn't see her. Then Friday she went to her dad's house and didn't come home til Monday night. Then yesterday I had school. So I really haven't seen her.
So for something fun to do we made Valentines day cookies. I know Valentines day has passed but I had bought some heart shaped cookie cutters and we never had a chance to use them. So this was the perfect opportunity. It was a total Donna Reed moment. Picture me wearing a perfect white apron over an evening gown. Pearls, high heels, and unlimited amounts of patience of course! No? Too much? Ok, how about a black apron that says "Natural Born Griller" with flames over a pair of cords and a tshirt. My hair in a wild bun and fuzzy slippers. And I'm hunched over the dough with cookie cutter trying to get a perfect heart while Maddy complains "Mommy, can I try one?" Better? Can you see it now?
Hey well, she did get to do some eventually. Once I remembered the reason we were making these cookies in the first place.

Turkey Burgers

Would it surprise you to know that I didn't win anything at Bingo? I didn't even come close. Is it possible to actually be bad at a game of luck?

Oh Connor was so cute Monday morning. Maddy usually unloads the dishwasher in the morning but she was at her dad's house so I was doing it. I had the dishwasher open and I wasn't really paying attention but I turn around and Connor has put a plate and a bowl on the counter, just like Maddy does. It was so cute! So I made a big deal about it and he says "I'm a helper!" Awwwww. He is a helper. He handed me the rest of the dishes and I put them away. When he got to the mixing bowl he was saying "cake! cake!". lol. What a smartie.


So I made the Thai Turkey Burgers. They were sneaky good. When I ate them I wasn't overly impressed. I mean, they were good but I wasn't falling out of my chair or anything. But I couldn't get them out of my mind and like an hour later I was wanting the leftovers.

Here they are...

Warm Pineapple Salsa
1 fresh ripe cored pineapple
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.
1/2 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped.
1/4 red onion, finely chopped.
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
10 to 15 fresh pasil leaves, cut into thin strips

Brugers
1 and 1/3 ground turkey breast
1 inch fresh gingerroot peeled and grated, or 2 pinches ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons curry powder
course salt to taste
2 scallions, finely chopped
4 cornmeal topped rolls, or 4 toasted sandwich-size English muffins
Bibb, Boston, or red leaf lettuce for topping

Drain pineapple and cut into pieces that will fit in food processor. Place in processor and process to a coarse, chunky texture. heat sesame oil and crushed red pepper flakes in a skillet over medium-high heat until oil smokes. Add bell pepper and oinions and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add pineapple and heat through. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and toss in basil. Let the salsa hang out in the warm pan while you cook burgers.

Heat a non stick skillet or griddle pan over medium-high heat. Combine turkey, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, curry powder, salt, and scallions. Form into 4 patties and cook on skillet. 4 minutes on each side. Serve on rolls with lots of warm pineapple salsa and lettuce.

Best Bulldog Ever!

Maddy has been taking art classes after school once a week. This is my favorite so far. I love it. Maybe it's only for a mother to love, I don't know. But I think it's awesome. It's a bulldog by the way. Maddy said she was walking in the hall with it and a teacher stopped her and took a picture of it. The bulldog is the school mascot so that would be cool if they use her picture somehow.

Connor has been being a butt lately. Lots of whining and fussing for no reason. He used to be so good, saying please, listening, cooperating. But lately, not so much. I think we started slacking with him. Taking his good behavior for granted. Letting him get away with more than he should. So for the past few days we have been really laying the smack down. Hopefully things improve here soon. Even as I type this he is hitting himself in the head because Larry won't keep a noisy toy on his lap while Connor plays with something else. I can see how that would be frustrating... not!

I'm going to play Bingo tonight with my two sister in laws (sisters in law?) and my mother in law. Wish me luck!

Oh, and my new recipe this week is Thai Turkey Burgers with warm pineapple salsa. Doesn't that sound yummy! We shall see.

Look ma!

Kids want your attention. At least my kids want my attention…. all the time. Because I don’t give them my attention all the time they have learned tricks to force my attention their way. Annoying tricks. Connor whines and Maddy hangs on me. I know I have taught them to perfect their tricks. They do ask nicely for my attention at first. But if I don’t comply then they do what works. Connor’s high pitched screech is the audio version of Maddy hanging from my arm, you can’t ignore it. You just can’t. It’s not humanly possible. And they know it.

Oh, but I’ve been so tired the last few days. I don’t know what the deal is. I have taken a nap with Connor for the past two days and I still can’t get caught up. And I hate napping with him. That is my quiet time. I need that time to have a complete thought. So when I use it to sleep I tend to be more irritable because I feel like I didn’t get a break.

Connor now knows all his letters. He is so cute, he points out letters as we drive. And he is soooo excited to see them. He's so funny.

Ohhhh... we are coming up on 300 hits! How exciting. :)

We went to the park the other day. The park is one of those things that seems like it would be way more fun than it really is. Have I written about this fact before? Maybe, cause it always tricks me. I think we are going to go to the park and just have a blast, but then we get there and 10 minutes later I'm ready to leave. Is it because the park was so fun as a kid that I still think it's going to be fun? Even though time and time again it proves that it's not. Perhaps.

But there was a guy who was pulling up when we were getting to the park. He pulled up on a Harley and then took a metal detector out of his bag and started metal detecting. I thought that was an odd combination of hobbies. I don't know if there are too many guys who are into both metal detecting and motorcycles.

Happy Valentine's Day

So class last night… we are doing group projects in physics. Boo. But it seems pretty easy so I’m not too worried.

Then when I walked super slow to Religions because I was trying to get there after Smoky McSmokerson who always sits next to me, so I could sit someplace else. The smell of her cigarettes has been giving me the worst headache. But I got a pounding headache anyways so maybe something else is going on there. I went and got a soda from the machine thinking that maybe it was a caffeine headache but all that did was keep me up til one in the morning.

Larry got me roses for Valentine’s Day. Ain’t they pretty? Grandma Ona is coming over tonight to watch the kids and we are going out to eat. Oregano’s. I can’t remember the last time I was there. It’s been a long time. I’m looking forward to it.

Connor slept with a pillow today for the first time. He really seemed to like it. He gave a little giggle of happiness when I laid him down. How cozy!

Sunk

Here is a little article about sunken costs. I thought it was pretty interesting. It talks about sunken costs being money you have already spent and can’t recover. And how you shouldn’t make decisions based on these lost costs. The classic example is buying a movie ticket and then getting sick and not wanting to go. The theory of the sunken costs is that you should not consider the price of the movie ticket in your decision-making. I have heard this idea before but I had forgotten all about it. I have actually been thinking about this recently but couldn’t pin point my thoughts. But this is exactly the idea I was trying to find, sunken costs.

I was thinking about it in reference to my diet. Like the other night I got a shake from Sonic. About half way though it I would have been fine to stop eating. But I finished cause I had paid for it. But the price of the shake was a sunk cost, it shouldn’t have been included in my decision on whether or not to finish the shake. I mean, the damage to my wallet had already been done, no need to continue to damage my diet too.

This idea can be applied to your life in so many ways, not just financially. It’s a really interesting concept and I think if I could apply it thoroughly it would really make a difference. I think it would make me calmer, more peaceful, even happier.

I shouldn't do that.

I got scolded today. We were at the post office and in the parking lot was a weird little car. Obviously someone's baby. I don't even know what it was but it was old and had been restored, very beautifully. Connor was intrigued so we went over to take a look at it. There was another guy over there looking at it too. I was trying to take a picture of it with my phone, which I did but I don't know how to show it to you. And the other guy says "you shouldn't do that." I say "what? Take a picture of it?" and he says "no, let him touch it" Oh my goodness, Connor was touching the headlight of someone else's car! How terrible. Not hitting it, not digging his fingers into it. Resting his hand on the headlight, not even on the paint. You know, if you are going to leave your car unattended in a public place then you are going to have to take a chill pill about someone putting their finger on it. Especially a two year old. Besides the fact that it wasn't even his car. But I didn't say anything back. We just left.

You like this pic? Mel took it while she was here. See the double rainbow. At the time I didn't even know it was a double, til I saw the picture. Pretty cool!

Learnin'

Who learns their letters before learning their colors? Connor does! He is so funny. He loves letters. For Christmas my brother in law got him a fridge letter toy, I think I already told you about it. Which he loves, and he learned a lot of the letters from that. And then for his birthday he got a Thomas lap top thing that teaches letters and he is doing so so so good with it. He loves it. If he sees it we have to play with it. But it says a letter and then he has to find it on the key board and he does really well with it. Today he got like 16 out of 19 right. But ask him what color something is and he will tell you it's pink.

Oh and here is something odd I saw at school. On one of my first days of school I was walking to class and coming towards me is this girl who is dressed in skin tight pants and a red shirt with a lot of cleavage hanging out, and all of this is teetering on top of red 5 inch heels. Seriously, she could hardly walk. I thought this was a very odd choice of outfits to wear to school. Anyways, right in front of me she goes into a classroom. The next week I was in the about the same spot on my way to class and in front of me is this girl who... well... was fat, ok I'm just going to say it, she was fat. She was wearing short short cut off jeans, her ass was almost hanging out, and snowboots. I don't remember what she was wearing for a top. I couldn't get my head around the short shorts with snow boots combo. Anyways, so I'm following her for a while and she goes into the same room the hooker girl went into the week before. I had to laugh. I'm dying to know what class that is.

I want to email you.

Do you see the new feature I added? You can now have my posts sent right to your email. How convenient! It seriously took me an hour and a half to add that. I'm not kidding. So hopefully someone finds it useful. Not that I don't love your hits.

I didn't have my test last night. I guess there was no power at school on Tuesday night. I wouldn't know cause I played hooky but that is what I heard. So because they didn't have class the test was canceled. Not postponed... canceled. Which I was actually kinda frustrated with cause I studied. But really, who cares. The professor now wants to scrap the whole syllabus and do the entire class in groups and hand in one group project at the end of the semester. I'm not a big fan of group projects and considering that the class is also a lab class that means that the whole class will be based on group projects. I don't know... I think at least part of it should be individual. Plus I like rules and structure, and I don't like change. The whole group project thing seems kinda open ended, and I don't think that a quarter of the way through the class we should be changing the whole structure. ya know? So we voted and he is going to tell us what is going on on Tuesday.

I went to Target today and seriously every single person in the store was a mom with kids. It was weird.

But it tastes so good!

I think I might be getting sick. I sure hope not. My head is killing and has been since last night. That is probably why I was so tired yesterday. I did get some good sleep though. But no going to bed early tonight. I HAVE to go to school. Have to, have to, have to.

Oh, so my baby is officially 2! I never mentioned that yesterday. Crazy. I can’t believe it. And I haven’t had pizza so far in Feb. Today is a struggle. I really want it. I knew this would be hard! Sigh. I’m broke, that is half my problem. Pizza is so cheap, I can feed us both lunch for $5. If I get a sandwich instead of pizza then it costs $9. So you see my problem.

*****************4 hours later****************************

Ok, well I didn’t go get pizza. I’m very proud of myself. When I was really craving it I had some leftovers out of my fridge. That did help curb my cravings since then I wasn’t starving. So yay me!

Well, I better get to my homework if I want to do well on my test tonight. I’m really putting it off by talking to ya’ll. So I’m off….

Well, I'm back. Mel and Lindsey left this morning. sniff sniff. I am so beat. I'm not exactly sure why. I got my normal amounts of sleep while they were here. But man am I tired. I also haven't cleaned house or done any school work in three or four days so I have plenty to do. But instead of catching up on sleep or chores I'm sitting here online. not smart I know.

But we had a fun... It was great to see them. I hope they had a good time! We really didn't do much. The first day it rained and I just kinda drove around and showed them things. I hope that wasn't boring. Then the second day we went and looked at model homes. They don't really have model homes back in Leominster, so I thought that would be memorable. I don't know... I was at a loss for things to do.

That's all I know...

Party time.... excellent.

Yay! I’ve been looking forward to this day for months. Mel and Lindsey are coming today! I’m leaving to go pick them up at the airport in like 3 hours. Wohoo! It is also Connor’s birthday/ superbowl party. So when I get back from the airport with them there will be about 10 people at the house. I made my usual mistake and made WAY to much food. I wanted to try a meatball recipe, in the crock pot. It’s just chili sauce and grape jelly in the crock pot with the meatballs. Cooked on low for 4-6 hours. Anyways, so I bought the meatballs at Costco without really thinking about it. So yeah, I have 6 lbs of meatballs. I have two crock pots and they are both full. Lol. That’s a heck of a lot of meatballs. Plus the regular food. And cake, and cupcakes, and ice cream. Yeah… I don’t know who I think I’m feeding here, bears?

You like Connor’s cake? I decorated it myself with my new cake decorating kit I got for Christmas. I know it doesn’t look professional or anything but I think it looks ok. You know, for my first try.

But anyways, my house is mostly clean. The food is ready to be cooked, the presents are wrapped, the cake is frosted. I’m ready!

Let the partying begin!