One of those "UGH!" moments...

On Sunday we took Reagan to a train exhibit at a local science museum. As Josh was getting ready to pay I noticed a sign that said "Two and under-Free"...so I said,
"Wait, she's two! So she's free to get in." The woman looked at me and said "THAT is two???"

Um, yeah. First of all, my child is not a THAT. Second, what earthly reason would I have to lie? And third, I can't help the fact that my child is extremely tall like her dad!! And granted, yes her third birthday is in a little over two weeks, but she is, in fact, still...TWO. ARGH!

GO WAR EAGLE!!!!!

Today is the annual football game that ESPN has rated the most intense rivalry in college sports---the game between the Auburn Tigers and the Alabama Roll Tide. Obviously, I'm all Tiger fan! GO Tigers GO!!!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! God Bless!!!!

Fueling their minds...

Have I mentioned that my daughter is a budding paleontologist-MD? Yep. She's only two mind you...going on three of course. She's wants to know everything. HOW it works. WHY it works. She loves trains, fire engines, books, but most of all, most of all she loves playing doctor and learning about dinosaurs.

Reagan doesn't JUST play babies. Her babies have to get checkups almost every day...and that usually entails shots too. She's curious about the way we're put together and how our bodies work and about germs and how and why they affect us the way they do. I don't know if it's because she's had the unfortunate experience of being sick quite a bit of her childhood..and part of me thinks that has a teeny tiny bit to do with it...but mostly I think she's just naturally curious and fascinated by such a vast concept as medicine.

And then her dinosaurs. She can name them, tell you their body parts, the names of some of their bones (bet you didn't know that a piece of the tail in a dinosaur is called a 'chevron', did you--neither did I, until Reagan and I learned together.) She can spend hours pouring over dinosaur facts and studying how their bones are put together--all in a book mind you. I've even resorted to checking out upper level non-fiction books to keep her passion fueled.

And all this to say, I don't know if all children possess this unquenchable thirst for knowledge about such a vast variety of subjects and such an uncanny ability to absorb it all. Sometimes I think I'm pushing her to learn to fast and too much. Sometimes I think I'm holding her back and not letting her learn enough. Other times I think I should just let nature take it's course and let the chips fall where they may.

Some of you may be reading this shaking your head and saying 'oh yeah there is another one of those psycho moms who thinks she has a gifted child on her hands.' No, I'm not saying my child is gifted or that she's not gifted. I just know that she has an incredible thirst for knowledge and a great mind to absorb it.

So, for Christmas, I'm thinking we're doing a mix....a few play toys, some new trains, a cuddly baby dino, and a few new things I know she'll enjoy--a bug kit (she's already asked for this), a volcano making kit, and a book on the human body structure (thank you Montessori!).

To be honest, I'm nearly giddy with excitement. I remember vividly the first microscope and chemistry set I ever got for Christmas....I loved all things science and how lucky am I that Reagan seems to have inherited that? I can only hope she follows through and actually does something incredible with that passion, and doesn't just let it wither away. And I hope I can remember that I can't live out my dreams through her, that she has to choose her own way...and if that means becoming a writer or a soccer star instead of a scientist...well, at least I can always say I encouraged her in whatever she was passionate about.

I haven't been in much of a mood to post in the past few days. As I mentioned before, I feel so way behind on things and on top of that I just feel icky at the moment. For those of you that live in the north, you know what I mean--every day lately has been dim, depressing and gray as we transition from the beautiful vibrancy of fall to the dreary drudge of winter.

Every day Reagan wakes up, looks outside, turns to me and says "Mommy, I miss the blue sky." How pathetic is that? I know we're very blessed to live in an area that gets to enjoy four seasons instead of the ONE season I grew up with--SUMMER! But some days I just want that blue sky back too.

Today has been another equally dreary day. But luckily it's not raining and tonight is the big Christmas parade for our town (here's to hoping Josh holds himself back from lecturing everyone within ear shot about how Thanksgiving is the ultimate holiday and how it's grossly overlooked.)

The very first Christmas parade Reagan ever went to, she received a beautiful white Teddy Bear (although he's quite bedraggled looking now) that she promptly named Baby. I'm assuming Baby will make the trip with us tonight to enjoy the festive, if small, Christmas parade that we look forward to all year long. It's nothing like the Christmas parades of my youth. I remember those being crowded and noisy and not very Christmas-y and thinking how even though I knew tons of people and grew up in that town, I could still be surrounded by strangers.

Not true in our current hometown. In a city of barely 11,000, everyone knows everyone and if you don't know someone, then you surely know someone who knows that person and are thereby friends-in-law. I love that feeling...that feeling of community. Of knowing that when my daughter reaches a certain age, that will be HER Brownie troop, of being able to say "oh there goes Mr. so and so who owns the hardware store on the corner of 9th", or even "hey look, isn't that the fireman we bought our house from?"

So tonight, even though all around us the cloud cover will swirl and the dampness will seep into our bones until we're nearly frozen with cold, our hearts will be warm, watching our little community parade it's festive spirit for all it's worth, with homemade banners, floats and children's smiles that no sun and bright sky can compete with.

Merry Beginning of the Season, Everyone!

ACK!

Christmas is literally right around the corner. At this point every year I've already planned decorations, presents, meals, etc, etc, etc. NOT THIS YEAR. I just suddenly realized I have a ton of things that need to be done. I had planned to have everything finished by December 1st and just sit back, relax and enjoy the season.

EEEk..so here I sit on the computer...procrastinating. I really should be cleaning, cooking for Thanksgiving and running around in a panic. So why do I feel so unmotivated?

Ugh...what have I done?

Last week we adopted a puppy. An adorable puppy. Named Jazz. He was supposed to be Reagan's third birthday present, but little did we realize how much he would disrupt our lives. Let me say: I've never owned a puppy. I've owned tons of dogs, kittens and cats, but never a TRUE PUPPY...as in JUST WEANED.

Not only does he want to be held constantly, but he cries constantly and he has peed and pooed on my floor (ARGH!!!!!!!!!)..., dug himself out of the backyard several times and chewed several things (yes, normal puppy antics) and Reagan and I are always on the go, so he has spent much of his time locked in a room by himself.

He and Reagan are so cute together...when they're both sleeping. Otherwise she pretty much ignores him or is yelling at him to stop scratching on her, chewing on her or destroying her toys. But she loves him. Whole heartedly, as though an almost three year old could love any other way.

BUT....with many tears we've decided to let someone else adopt him. He's a great puppy...just not for us at this season in our lives. We want to get pregnant again soon (as in the next few months) and because my last pregnancy was so horrific, I'm not sure that a puppy is an added stress we can handle. Josh is sure Reagan will recover...I'm not sure *I'll* recover from her tears tomorrow when she realizes Jazz is gone.

Mommy and Reagan will be spending the day doing as many fun things as possible in order to distract her. And luckily, we have many other birthday presents coming up to distract her even further. Sigh......does one ever recover from the feeling that you are completely ruining your child's life every time you do something stupid???

I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life...

Tonight Reagan and Daddy were playing and suddenly Reagan stood up and started circling around him with her finger pressed to her lips and saying "Hmm...what am I going to do? What am I going to do?" (Josh plays a similiar game with her where he reaches down and tickles her tummy).....

....Unfortunately Reagan is not quite as tall as Daddy is and when she stopped suddenly to grab HIS tummy, she grabbed him...well, in his Daddy parts as he would say....and instead of tickling (since she doesn't do that very well at all!) she ended up pinching him..yes, right there!!

As Josh doubled over in pain, I doubled over in laughter. Poor Reagan...she was laughing too, although not for the same reasons I'm sure!!

Remember our new van?

Remember how excited I was? Right. Well, yesterday I ran one side of it into the side of the garage..now the garage needs some repair and so does the vehicle. ARGH. This is eerily reminiscent of the time I drove an Odyssey into a post at a gas station...unfortunately THAT Odyssey happened to be one I had just sold and did NOT belong to me....is history just doomed to repeat itself with me???

Get a Free Sample of Dunkin Donuts Coffee!

I've heard nothing but good things about this coffee, but I have yet to try it! So I signed up for a free sample and you can too! Just click the banner above and fill out the information and your sample is on it's way! I ask you--is there anything better to wake up to than the smell of fresh brewed coffee? Ok, besides little one kisses!

And if you're Twilight/Edward Obsessed....

Check out THIS blog. In the words of the blog author:

HOLY. MOTHER. *and I think *I* just spontaneous ovulated* (Read the blog, you'll get it!)

Sorry, Josh. Don't even go there. You'll never be able to live your disgust for my obsession down.

Liberals Beginning to Turn Against "Dr. Utopia"?

Liberals and Conservatives need to check out this incredible blog entry written by two liberal gay guys from Chicago.

http://hillbuzz.org/2009/11/10/thank-you-former-president-george-w-bush-and-former-first-lady-laura-bush/

Looks like the liberals are waking up and realizing Obama is a huge danger to our country and does not deserve to be president.

By the way, let me add my thanks to former President Bush and First Lady Laura for taking the time to meet with the families of the Ft. Hood mass shooting. They went in without cameras, without media and quietly did what was required of a president...only this time it wasn't their duty..it was Obama's....and he failed. AGAIN. Remember the military funerals Obama was seen attending just a couple of weeks ago...he wouldn't even attend those without asking for permission to allow the media to film it so it could be blasted all over the world about what a compassionate president he was. So in mourning for our lost military. So in mourning, he asked family members of the deceased to allow the media to photograph the event? Yes. Such compassion. (Insert heavy sarcasm here.)

Thank you President Bush for continuing to do what is right and stand up for America, when our current president can't and won't.

Thank You

Thank you so much to our Veterans who have fought for our freedom. Every day I thank God for you and the noble cause you continue to fight for. God bless you and your families.

Where's Reagan??

This was from a couple of weekends ago at Reagan's grandparents house!

Reagan is doing great!

Just an update and to say thank you for all the prayers! Reagan is doing WONDERFUL! She only has two more doses of Tamiflu and her oral steroid left to go. After that, she has five more days left to go on her antibiotic. (She has very proactive doctors, and due to her background, and they gave her the antibiotic to prevent a secondary bacterial infection). Her breathing treatments are keeping her cough under control now that she's on the oral steroid.

She is running around playing having a great time and tomorrow we'll see the doctor and hopefully get clearance to let her back around other people!

In the meantime, keep Josh in your thoughts. He did go to work today, but yesterday he spent most of his time asleep and under the influence of a fever. I'm well-just a nice head cold and cough--but what can you expect when you're thrown up on, coughed on and used as a human tissue (hey, what else are moms for!?)

By the way, here are some tips for avoiding the flu, especially if you have children:

1. Constantly wash hands--a great hand sanitizer is the Germ-X foaming hand sanitizer without alcohol, although it still rids your hands of 99.9% of the germs when used properly.

2. Lysol has been shown to kill the flu virus. Make sure if you use Lysol you leave it on surfaces for at least ten minutes so it has time to effectively kill the virus.

3. Have your child change clothes upon arriving home from school or daycare. Remember, they've spent all day with other germy kids!

4. Sneeze in your sleeve if you don't have tissues available..NOT your hands!

5. Good old fashioned soap and water is best for removing germs--remember to wash vigorously for at least 20 seconds (sing the happy birthday song) under running water. Part of the reason for this is that the action of rubbing your hands together helps get rid of the germs.

6. Eat healthy foods to help boost your immune system: fruits, vegetables, whole grains.

7. Keep a tissue box full of tissues taped to an empty tissue box...this way you always have some place to throw your used tissues.

8. Finally, make sure your child gets plenty of rest and fluids..taking care of yourself is the best way to avoid getting sick.

Check out this deal!

This is perfect for scoring lots of games for your toddler, stacking up some birthday gifts, or even for donating to Toys for Tots!

Buy 7 of these games at Toys R Us for 3.99 each (NOTE: You must buy SEVEN different games and make sure you purchase the regular, traditional edition of the games, not the character games (except for memory) otherwise you won't get the $3.99 price.)

$3.99 games are:

Candy Land
Chutes and Ladders
Memory (any character)
Spiderman Chutes and Ladders (I THINK)
Hi Ho Cherry-o
Don't Break The Ice
Ants In My Pants
Cooties

This should add up to $27.93 plus tax. You'll get a $10 TRU gift card at checkout for spending $25 on Hasbro games. THEN,

Print out this rebate slip:

http://www.hasbro.com/familygamenight/en_US/discover/upload/RevisedHasbroGameNightRebateForm.pdf

You get $2.00 back per game listed above, for a total of $14.0. So you're paying roughly .56 cents PER GAME.

Two Great Soup Recipes

This week I've been in a soup making mood and out of the three I've tried, one has been good, one has been EXCELLENT and one was just downright YUCK! So, I decided I would share the two good ones with you! Both of these are from Cheap.Fast.Good! by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross. (My adaptations are noted)

Hearty Homemade Beef and Vegetable Soup
1 lb ground beef
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped
1 clove garlic (or bottled or ground)
1 can 15 oz red kidney beans (or use dry homemade kidney beans)
2 cans fat free chicken broth (or approximately 4 cups of homemade chicken stock)
1 14.5 oz can of chopped tomatoes, flavored with onion and herbs (I used no-salt added diced tomatoes and added my own seasonings)
6 oz tomato paste
1 cup frozen corn (I added more)
1 cup frozen green peas (again, I added more)
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning (I like to use a little more)
(I added salt and pepper, otherwise it was bland...just enough to taste...and it really flavors the soup!)

Heat oil in soup pot and add onion to it. Let it simmer a few minutes, then add ground beef and allow it to brown (approximately 7-8 minutes). Add garlic, drained beans, broth, tomatoes in juice and paste. (The recipe also says to add 2 cups of water at this point, but I didn't). Raise heat to high and stir.

Add corn, peas and seasoning. Cover and continue to cook until soup boils. Serve.
(6 servings!) I served this with foccacia bread. SO GOOD!

Super Saver Tortilla Soup

This is rated as a Super-Cheap recipe by the authors. Personally, I thought the way it was made in the cookbook left the soup a little runny and without much to it. By adding a few simple ingredients, this soup turned out DELICIOUS! My family really enjoyed it.

2/3 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut up into bite size pieces
2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion (I like onion so I used a larger one)
1/2 tsp ground cumin (I didn't use this-and the recipe says it's optional)
1/2 tsp chili powder (I DID use this--but the recipe says it's optional)
3 cups beef broth (I used homemade, but if you're using canned get low-sodium)
1 cup chicken broth (again, I use homemade, but if you're using canned get low-sodium)
1 cup bottled salsa (Ok, this is WAY too little for this recipe, I recommend doubling the amount, which is what I did)
tortilla chips, for serving
sour cream, for serving
shredded cheese, for serving
I added one can of kidney beans drained (I ran out of homemade, but if you're using homemade, add at least one cup...more if you're family likes kidney beans)
I added half a bag of frozen corn

Pour oil in soup pot and add onions, letting them simmer for a few minutes. Add chicken and stir until chicken is cooked through. Add cumin and/or chili powder. Add both broths, salsa, corn and beans. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Serve with sour cream and cheese on top and sprinkle with tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Complete Brag Post

I may have the smartest two year old (almost three year old) on the planet! Seriously, what two year old can recite tons of dinosaur names (correctly, no less!) and several facts about each of them? Reagan can! And today, she was so cute...we were playing with her dinosaurs and she said "Mommy, we are omnivores." Yes, we are!

I'm just amazed at all the things she knows already!

Keep Reagan in Your Prayers

Reagan was just diagnosed with H1N1. She's very sick and just feels pretty awful in general. Please keep her in your prayers.

Free Sure Deodorant (Possible Money Maker) at CVS!

This week, Sure Deodorant is on sale at CVS for 2/$5.00. Purchase two and use two coupons (both from the 10-18-09 SS; one for $1.00 off any Sure Anti-Perspirant and Deodorant, 2.0 oz+ and the other for $1.50 off Sure for Men Anti-Perspirant and Deodorant). Make sure to buy one of the Sure for Men with a sticky label that says "Try Me for Free!"

Use this mail in rebate form and you'll receive a check for up to $2.99! At the very least you should receive your purchase price back which will make 2 Deoderant/Anti-Perspirants free!

2/$5.00
-1.00
-1.50
=2.50
Rebate Check for $2.50-$2.99!
Score!

Major Toy Purge!

A few weeks ago I just finished a MAJOR toy purge in our house. I can't believe how much stuff we've managed to collect for Reagan in her three short years. And I can't believe how hard it is for ME to part with some of the things. Really....I was teary eyed over most of her stuffed animals--"oh, but this is the bunny I got her for Easter" or "but this was the first stuffed animal grandpa bought her" or "oh that was the first toy she ever held!"

I'm looking forward to getting her some new items to play with for Christmas (note: I need new items!!!!!!!! Playing with the same little people set gets boring for me too!) but I really do miss some of her sweet baby toys!

The coke's on us.....

Reagan and I were driving past a local hardware store that is in our neighborhood and Reagan happened to mention that that's where we go to get drinks sometimes. I nodded (because we do run up there to grab a diet coke from time to time) and she proceeded to rattle along with some story that I was only half listening to (in my defense I was a little amazed at the fall colors!) I tuned back in to hear her saying "And little kids can't drink coke because cokes are only for dolts." LOL! The kid's really gotta work on not dropping those syllables!