Odd

I was sorting through my clothes closet last week, actually organizing everything into folded piles instead of a big heap (an endeavor that will last....oh... a week). As I was folding my pajamas, I noticed that 4 (out of 5) nightgowns that I have are the same color. Three of them were gifts. (And the fourth I bought because I had forgotten to pack pj's on vacation and it was on clearance.)
Is light turquoise a popular color for nightgowns or is this just a major coincidence?

My Look Good/Feel Good Campaign

After about a month of feeling fat and ugly, I finally decided to do something about it.
First I tried shopping for new clothes. I haven't bought any new clothes for quite a while, like since June. But this attempt at boosting my self-image failed miserably.... First it made me feel completely cheap for not wanting to spend $40 on a top. Then it made me feel dreadfully out of fashion, because even if I did spend the money, I'm not sure I'd know how to wear these cute sweaters that are popular this winter. Then it made me feel like a freak of nature, because once I decided to buck up and just spend the money, I couldn't find anything in my size. Well, at least not anything I'd be caught dead in. (And that's saying a lot!) (PS - why do they even make mini-dresses in size 17?)
Next I decided to try exercising. I do like exercising. Once I get to doing it regularly, I feel much more energized. So I found a Leslie Sansone walking video that I really liked - it's a 4 mile walk/jog, a 50 minute work out. I did it for 8 days in a row, and was feeling pretty good about it, so when we were out at my parents' house on Wednesday, I smugly stepped on the scale.
WHAT THE.....?!?!?!
I had gained 7 lbs from when I last weighed myself. ARGH!!!
But - a lovely side effect of exercising is these little things called endorphins. They make you feel good. So even though the scale hasn't shown that I've lost any weight (I'm blaming it on the "muscle weighs more than fat" theory), in my mind, I've lost a bit of flab around my "muffin" and my belly.
My next venture in self image is what I call my Look Good/Feel Good campaign: If I put a little effort into how I dress, even for every day around the house, I feel better about myself. So I went through my closet and took all of my regular t-shirts and put them in the back corner of the closet (you know, the kind you get free for volunteering/buying something/souveniers, and are usually two sizes too big). Same with my old jeans. They are designated for cleaning/painting/gardening only. I put my "good" jeans (and even a couple skirts) and my nicer fitted t-shirts right up front for every day. Because, honestly, I dress up so little that I have clothes I have had for at least 5 years that still look new because I never wear them. (I know I have a sweater that I still wear that I've had at least since the winter I was going to school in KC.... 8 years ago. But that's kind of normal for me - my theory is why get rid of them if they still fit??)
But with this Look Good/Feel Good thing, I'm not the only one that benefits. My husband likes it when I look nice. Not that he says anything when I'm lounging around in my holey pajama pants and stained t-shirts, but he does notice when I have something on that accentuates my figure. So I feel good on two levels: I feel like I look nice, and I feel warm and fuzzy because my hubby told me I look nice.
I'm still going to excercise. I would like to lose about 15 pounds before I get pregnant again. I'm not sure of the likelihood of that, because even though I've given it my darndest with diet and exercise, my weight hasn't budged (more than a 3 or 4 pounds in either direction) in 3 years. And it doesn't move even when I'm not dieting and exercising, so maybe this is my "natural" weight.
But I'm definitely not going so far as to putting on makeup every day. That is beyond trying to look nice, and gets into the "self-inflicted torture" range.

Nathan's One-Year Photos

I'm finally getting around to posting Nathan's one-year pics - almost 2 months later! I put all of them up on my other blog.
Some of them the color is messed up... I adjusted them so they looked better on my screen, but then once I uploaded them, the colors looked washed. You can view some of the originals, plus more of Lurenda's work on her page - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lurendawalter/sets/.

FINALLY

I didn't want to brag about this too soon, lest I curse myself. But I think it's safe to announce now:
Nathan is FINALLY sleeping through the night.
Not "sleeping through the night" as defined by the baby advice columns, which is "sleeping at least 7 hours in a stretch." (Why they call that "through the night" is beyond me.... That's only like 2/3 of the night.)
I don't know what happened - it was like a switch was flipped from one night to the next. He went from waking up crying (and screaming if you tried to let him cry it out) between 2 and 4 every single night (no matter what time we put him to bed), to sleeping through 'til 7:30, and waking up happy and jabbering. And he's been doing it for two weeks.
A couple times, he's woken up and cried a bit, but fell back asleep before I could even get myself out of bed. And two more mornings, he's woken at 5 AM, but one of us took a sippy of milk up to him and covered him back up and he went back to sleep.
I had forgotten how great a full night's sleep felt. The first several mornings, I'd hear him, open my eyes - and it was light! Oh the bliss!
In other Nathan News:
He's got two molars fully in. He's working on more teeth - we can tell from all the chewing and slobbering, but I can't tell if they're his top molars or his bottom canines. They all look like there's something right under the surface.
He hates vegetables. (Any other Mommies have some tips for getting him to eat them?) He will occasionally eat our homegrown sweet corn that we froze (probably just because it's so sweet). Otherwise, I have to sneak them in under some garlic mashed potatoes or in some fried rice. I've tried serving them to him first when he's hungriest, and it's hit or miss (usually miss).
He's got quite a vocabulary! I didn't realize until I was writing our Christmas letter, but he's got about 10 words now... Let's see: hot, light, Daddy, kitty, hi, bye, out, tractor, Herc ("Ush"), dog ("arf"), cow ("MOOOooo"), and down. Not that he says them all all the time, but he definitely knows what they mean. (He also knows what "STOP" means, and will look at you and try it about three times more after you say it to see what you'll do.) This morning, I said, "Let's go change your diaper," and he headed for the bathroom! He knows what "close the door" means, and will do it when you ask him to. And he will go get his shoes when you tell him to, if they're not put away. And - Paul's so proud of this - if his little cowboy boots are out, he will go get them rather than his tennis shoes.
(I realize these may not be big accomplishments for a 14-month-old, but they fascinate me!)
And another thing Paul thinks is hillarious: If Nathan can see my belly or my back under my shirt when we're playing around, he will push my shirt up and blow on my belly (like we all do to babies' cheeks and bellies). Except he hasn't quite figured out the blowing, so he will just put his open mouth there, which kind of tickles (partly because I'm anticipating him biting me). I don't know where he learned that from - Paul does it to me occasionally, but I think Nathan just learned it from us doing it to him. I tried to get him to do it to Paul, but he wouldn't. Maybe it's just Mommy's deliciously squishy belly. (He thinks hitting it and watching it jiggle is fascinating. Lovely.)
Well, enough bragging. The baby video is almost over, so I'd better get back to entertaining.

Survey Sez:

So.... What's the most favorite of all pies?

Leave me comments and let me know.
And those of you that don't leave comments here, leave me a comment on Facebook. ( I just learned yesterday of two more readers that I didn't know about.)
I'm trying to decide what type of pies to make this holiday season. I may send several to work with Paul at Christmas, but don't know what people like.







As for me.... My favorite would be apple pie. (Made from scratch, none of this canned pie filling.) Warm, with vanilla ice cream on top.
Oh my. Now I'm slobbering.

They Let Me Down. But Should I Really Be Surprised?

Paul and I have been watching the show Chuck on NBC since it started last year (which may have actually been this year, the way they do their seasons).
We have really enjoyed it. The premise is the main character - Chuck - unwittingly becomes the CIA's most valuable asset. An old college friend who works for the CIA, thinking he was going to be killed, sent Chuck the file with all the secrets - "the Intersect." Chuck views the file, and all the secrets become trapped in his head. The real Intersect is destroyed, so only place that these secrets reside are in Chuck's head until the CIA can build a new Intersect.
That sounds really confusing, but it's the base for the story involving this geeky Chuck who is part of the "Nerd Herd" at the local Buy More. Every episode he works with his two CIA protectors (one posing as his co-worker and the other as his girlfriend), trying to be smooth and savvy, but always messing things up, yet somehow always emerging victorious.
Several times before, they've had episodes where there was the opportunity to take things further than I like, with Chuck almost going to bed with his "girlfriend" (who he actually is in love with). But they always took the high road. But I guess they assume that since he's a nerd, it's expected that it's not going to be easy for him to "get some," so it's acceptable for him to not have sex.
But last night, his old college flame was back in the picture. And they slept together at the end of the episode. They glorified it with the orchestra music in the background, like we were supposed to be happy for him. But I was so disappointed. Because until this point, it had been a great show.... Very little, if any language, occasional social or special occasion drinking. He lives with his sister, who is living with her fiance, but they are not main characters - that part of their relationship wasn't glorified. Until last night.
I was just so happy for once that there was what I would consider a family-friendly show, where I wouldn't be ashamed to watch it with my children. Or my parents. Or my in-laws.
But really - what should we expect out of Hollywood. They are the ones pushing agendas. By making it appear to be "normal" for people in their shows to be sleeping around, using drugs, and having abortions, it de-sensitises our youth, and makes them feel as if it is normal, things they should be doing as well.
I hope that this was just a detour from the how they intend for the show to be. I hope they get rid of this new girl, because I really don't like her. (I have a soft spot for Sarah, the "cover" girlfriend.)
Then we can get back to the endearing, innocent Chuck.

Look What I Found

http://www.nesscityschools.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2008/09/12/48b5afadafea4?in_archive=1

Hee, hee, hee.
Love you, Sissy!

I Guarantee You Will Want to Puke Before You're Done Reading

This evening was the grossest experience I've ever had as a Mommy. By far. But not gross as in something I had to clean up.........
I was hurrying, trying to get supper ready before Paul got home tonight. The house was a disaster area - Brutus had found a mouse at like 5 this morning, so I'd pulled everything away from the walls so that he could get behind and under furniture to catch it; then I went back to bed. Shortly after I got up, since Brutus hadn't found it (he would have let me know by bringing it up on the bed - he'd done it before), I pulled the piano out and there was the mouse! Brutus immediately caught it and I picked him up and threw them BOTH outside.
Then Nathan and I left. I did my cleaning job in town, then headed out and spent the rest of the day at my parents' house painting my little sister's old room. It took longer than I anticipated, so I was later heading home than I had planned.
Anyways. We got back home, and like I said the house was a mess. But apparently it looked like a playground to Nathan, because he ran around playing tag with the dog, squealing happily. He'd found a styrofoam coffee cup and was carrying it around, chewing on the lid. Which was fine, as long as it kept him happy and out of my hair while I was cooking, because I also needed to get started on some friendship bread for Paul to take to work for his shift in the morning.
I don't know if Nathan had made a noise, or was being suspiciously quiet, but either way - I went in to check on him and noticed he had something in his mouth. The styrofoam cup was still in his hand, so I figured it was a chunk of that. I put my hand under his mouth, and he immediately spit the contents into my hand. But rather than the white styrofoam, it was something black. Baffled, I examined it closer. Was that..... fur?
Oh no.
I looked around behind the couch, and there was the rest.
The rest of the mouse.
And not only was it a dead mouse, it was a mouse that the cat had eaten, then he'd thrown it up.
And Nathan was chewing on it.

Male Readers Beware:

This is a commercial for OxiClean. (or in my case, the knockoff counterpart)
You don't want to read it.
So don't tell you I didn't warn you.
So since the male readers are no longer reading.....
Ladies: OxiClean. It's your friend.
My sister had told me I had to try it, so I bought some and followed the directions on the container, attempting to remove some dirt stains from some of Nathan's clothes. It did an okay job - I'm not going to say great, though. So it remained unused, forlorn and abandoned on the shelf above our washing machine.
Until this week.
My doctor told me not to expect a period until after I weaned Nathan. Well, 5 weeks to the day after the last time I nursed him, "The Visitor" shows up. And this visit is like none I've ever had before.
Let's just say that my precious underwear collection would have been severely depleted after the last couple days without this magic powder.
The recipe (don't follow the container directions): One scoop of OxiClean to about 1/4 of a mop bucket of hotHOT water. (Our water heater is set to the "Not Quite But Almost Boiling" setting.) Throw in your garments. Let soak overnight, or all day, or just in general however long you leave them in there in case you are like me and forget that you were intending to do laundry for three days running. Even though I've been stepping over the sorted piles in the bathroom, somehow that didn't remind me. Probably because I was either going to the bathroom to take care of certain things (ulgh), after which I needed to console myself with chocolate/salt/anything unhealthy, or else I was going in to change Nathan's diaper, which resulted in a screamfest, due to his diaper rash, after which I need to console him with chocolate/salt/anything unhealthy.
I seem to get distracted. Anyways.
After soaking, wash and dry your things as usual. There may be some very faint spots (which you only notice on close scrutiny, because you're writing a blog about it), but not enough that your husband will notice, gag, and request that you throw them away.
Speaking of my husband: he's a saint.
I've known this was coming for about two months.... I have been breaking out worse than I ever had in my entire life, and I have been a complete b[ee with an ]itch. For two months. And Paul hasn't said anything.
Although, when he heard me say from the bathroom, "IT'S ABOUT FREAKING TIME!" he didn't ask what it was about. But I'm pretty sure he said a prayer to heaven. "Thank You, Lord. Just one more week."

Buckle Up, America. It's Going to Be a Long 4 Years.

First off, I'd like to say: God is in control. He knew the outcome of this election even before time began. It's in his plan.
That being said.....
It's not going to be easy. Not only did voters elect Barack Obama to be our next President, but we also gave Democrats an even bigger majority in Congress. So now all of these insane policies on taxing, health care, and abortion will become law without even flinching.
The biggest thing that rankled me about this whole election was the obvious media bias the whole way. It was hero worship, rock star status for Barack Obama the whole way. He was black. It would be historical to elect a black President. Therefore we must vote for Obama, despite how weak and shallow his policies are. Beforehand, it was his policies for change. It wasn't that he was black, they said - because we can't make race an issue. (Even though when you say you don't support him, that supposedly makes you a racist.) But now that he's been elected, there's no mention of those policies, it's all about that he's black.
When I turned on the news this morning, there was nothing about Obama's plan for the economy, it was all about the "Legacy of Desegregation" in our country. And how hard it is for black people to be accepted, even still.
Okay?
I'll admit, there are still racists. I'm not one of them. But I do not think blacks are opressed. Our government does everything to make sure that they are not! I'm proud that a bi-racial man from a broken home could grow up, graduate from a prestigious college, and go on to be elected as the next President of the United States. Only in America! Why not make a big deal about that? Why not inspire kids all over with this story of hope? Nope. It's just about that he was black, and blacks are so opressed in our country.
But I digress. Back to the topic: our next President.
I don't know how many comments I've heard about "Glad I voted for the winner." You don't win anything if they win. It's not a game. It's not a bet. It's not a horse race. If their policies are bad, even if they win the election - you lose. It's your money they're spending with all these new ideas for taxing people that actually work, to pay for healthcare, food, childcare, cell phones, computers, and cars for people that don't feel like working. Because they should be able to enjoy all the priveledges as people that work their butts off.
Don't you agree?

Random Thoughts on Abortion

While I was whipping up some biscuits and gravy for Nathan and I's breakfast this morning, I had a thought strike me about abortion.
Partly, because I recently researched Obama's stance on abortion, and I am passionate about voting pro-life, even if it would mean voting for a Democrat. I can not, in good conscience, vote for someone who thinks it's okay to destroy the life of another human being.
A lot of people support abortion in the case of "necessity to protect the health of the mother" - a very obscure term. What kind of health? Because the research I've done shows that "dangerous pregnancies" (ecoptic) usually naturally terminate, often before the mother realizes she's pregnant. Are we talking about mental health, then? Social health? I think many of the cases they are talking about "health" is defined as "any time it would be easier for the mother to not have the baby just then."
If that's the case - where do we draw the line? "It's not convenient for me to have a baby right now." What if a mother of a four-year-old decided it wasn't convenient for her to be a mother any more? It's holding her back from her potential... She can't go to school because of this little one.... She can't get the job she wants.... No man will date me when I tell him I have a child.....
If it's okay to kill a baby before it's born, why not after it's born? Why not at any time that it's not convenient for this life to go on? If a baby isn't born perfect, it may have trouble in life.... Wouldn't it just be more humane to kill it right then to have it suffer?
I was sent a link on abortion. If you have any doubt about the fact that a baby is indeed a baby, even from the moment of conception, you need to watch this video. After it ends, there is an option to view another video. Watch it. That is where you'll be convinced of the truth.

www.abort73.com