The girl was mean as a snake to me this morning. Actually, I wouldn't even put that type of meanness on a snake. Something must be going on between her and her boyfriend, or friends, or both.

The Bat Phone is ringing relentlessly, but Batman is still in bed with a fever of 102, so, sorry folks, he can't save the world today. He woke up with a new symptom, a headache, in his temples. I shudder to think of what he has picked up, where he picked it up, and if the rest of us will get it. (I have an MNO this Thursday night that I am really looking forward to. We are shopping at a Goodwill in Charlotte, then going out for dinner.)
Last night in bed, I read aloud to him from the book, Hector and The Search For Happiness. Five chapters aloud. The chills would not let him sleep, and he needed to hear a voice...so I read aloud to him as the bed vibrated with his shaking.

Yesterday, Josiah and I read The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. He had a lot of questions and really soaked it all in. We also read If You Lived At The Time of Martin Luther King Jr. "Freedom Rides" were of particular interest to him. Most of his questions were very difficult for me to answer, because they surrounded the WHY did people do such mean things to other people. Sigh. Sam came and sat with us a couple of times. He was not as shocked, because he already has his MLK facts down pat. It was fairly new to Josiah. Josiah was especially interested in seeing a picture of the man that killed MLK. I think because, in his little mind, he is trying to decide what a "bad person" is supposed to look like?

Then the boys and I watched a documentary on Netflix about underwater volcanoes/deep sea hydrothermal vents. Oh my! We were absolutely fascinated! We learned so much. The Tube Worms are A-MA-ZING:

"Some of the most impressive of the creatures that live here are the giant tube-worms. In shallower waters these worms are common, growing to about the size of your hand. But down in the deep ocean these creatures thrive in this really hostile environment, growing to amazing lengths of up to eight feet long. These tube-worms grow in large clusters around the vents and live inside hard, shell-like protective tubes that attach to the rocks. They live in a symbiotic relationship with a type of bacteria that may hold clues as to how life on earth began billions of years ago. These worms lack mouths, anuses, intestines and stomachs. Scientists were at a loss to explain how these tube-worms were getting nutrients to survive and grow. It turns out their insides are lined with bacteria that oxidize the H2S, turning it into usable nutrients for the worms. The bacteria, in turn, benefit from the relationship because the worms deliver blood-containing hemoglobin, which helps the bacteria to break down the sulfides.

Up until the discovery of these incredible bacteria (able to withstand the hottest temperatures of any other living thing on earth), scientists didn't believe it was possible for anything to survive in the extreme environment around deep ocean vents (extreme pressure, high temperature, no sunlight). The discovery of the deep-sea thermal vents and the communities of life they support has completely changed the way we define life, perhaps going a long way to explain how life on earth first began." ~http://www.extremescience.com/zoom/index.php/life-in-the-deep-ocean/42-deep-sea-hydrothermal-vents

 WOW! WOW! WOW! Just freaking awesome. This world is so big and so deep and so far beyond the itty, bitty little paradigms we hide inside of.

I am fighting the PMS Monster this week. Three weeks out of the month I am unstoppable. But one week before my period, I lose all motivation for any and everything. I become fatigued and irritable. I have a hard time with "people", as my tolerate button becomes disabled. Things have improved since I started feeding my body the right things, but I have to be careful, because the Monster is very sneaky. I start out craving bad foods. I lose the "taste" and slip out of the habits of putting good things into my body throughout the day. This happens very quickly. Then I begin to CRAVE bad things. I cave in and satisfy the craving. All of a sudden,  without the steady stream of nutrients, and suddenly smacked with "bad stuff", I am crushed by the Monster, and I am down. Overwhelmed by everything. Barely dragging myself through every minute. Snapping at the kids. I'm on to you though, Monster. I am learning to watch my back. Last night I realized that I had been had. So I marinated in the tub with Epsom Salts, Apple Cider Vinegar, and Coconut Oil, while I sipped a Mason jar full of Nettles Tea.

Josiah is rocking in his bilibo on top of the coffee table watching Short Circuit, and Sam is asking me to help him work on his journal. (He came up with the idea and created it himself)

Off to live in the moment with my family. I will start by serving the sick husband a tasty shot of Master Tonic.

I took the girl to school this morning. The horrid, public high school. Making the best of it, but wishing she were my little unschool girl. Sigh. Her choice. I listened to MLK on the way home and cried for all of humanity. What a beautiful soul. I have two MLK books to read with the boys today. We will probably Google videos as well. I love this:  

"This hour in history needs a dedicated circle of transformed nonconformists. Dangerous passions of pride, hatred and selfishness are enthroned in our lives; truth lies prostrate on the rugged hills of nameless Calvaries. The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority." ~MLK, 1963

So true..... for more than just issues of racism.

As ugly as this is, I have to express this. I have been in the presence of people in my life who have referred to MLK Day as "Nigger Day." It brings tears of happiness to my eyes that I removed myself from these people. 


Husband is home sick today. He tossed and turned and talked in his sleep all night. It was actually kind of scary. He probably picked up something from the germ-infested airplane. Plus, he smokes, so he taxes his detox system. Boys and I will have to fight hard today with Vitamin C, Probiotics, Green Smoothie, Magnesium, ACV, water, etc. That's what we do, and we usually win.  We don't rush to the doctor and give him $20 so that he will prescribe us immune suppressing antibiotics... and usually send us home with something we don't have already as well. Husband will be treated with Master Tonic. There is a place for conventional medicine, however, there is a time to stop being lazy and helpless and dependent upon it. Stop abusing conventional medicine and take care of yourselves, people.

I will step down from my soapbox now.

Yesterday I went out into the world alone. I really hate stores. I was thinking, "I don't really like people much at all." But that's not true, I love a lot of people. Just in different settings. I think that maybe the whole consumer setting may be what I actually detest. I also can't stand  loading and unloading. Load items into the cart. Unload items onto the conveyor.  Load bagged items back into cart. Unload bagged items from cart, load into car. Unload items from car, load items into home and organize. Jesus God. Insanity. I love the UPS man. I did, however, get two very inexpensive bird feeders that I am excited about. AND a HUGE-ASS commercial grade mixing bowl. Holla.
I know I can't completely avoid going out into stores, so for future reference, can anyone tell me how to say, "Move the fuck out of my way, please", in Spanish? Thanks.

Yesterday was a Chocolate Day. I made gluten-free brownies with brunchfast, except I added extra, extra chocolate chips. Sam & Josiah licked the hand mixer attachments, the big spoon, and the big mixing bowl clean for me. I am very near to menstruation. Irritable. Fatigued. Craving chocolate like a mad woman. 
I love to tilt my head back and pour chocolate syrup into my mouth straight from the bottle!

The boys made a "Museum" upstairs yesterday, and took Mike and I on a tour of it. It is so interesting seeing how they see a museum. Very cute, very creative play. They also played with their electrical boards ALL DAY yesterday, and are playing with them now today. Those things are really cool. Nana got Sam one for his 9th birthday, and I already had one here that I got at a consignment shop, so both boys have one of their own. Thanks Nana!

I have to say I wasn't so sure about the tee pee. It just didn't look right. Mike "rigged" it and made it work though, so we will keep it. He knew he would have to try his best after I sent him this text Saturday while he was at band practice, "You need to get home and figure out what we did wrong with this effing tee pee before I hurl it out the gd front door!" The boys slept in it last night. Very fun stuff. Thanks again husband!

I finished a toboggan last night. I really love this one. We don't need toboggans. We are not going to sell them. I don't care if I end up with 1000 toboggans and scarves all over the house. I love to meditate when I make them. The looms force me to "be still."


Project Shut Down is fantastical.

TGIS

So blessed this Sunday morning. I don't need a Sunday dress for the Ego Show. I am not rushing my kiddos out of bed and into the car to take them to be locked up in a room with people we don't "know", to be "taught." I am not sitting uncomfortable in a pew realizing that I was so rushed, I forgot to eat....struggling to suppress an angry roar from my neglected stomach that will echo throughout the auditorium. Wishing the pastor would wrap-it-up, all I can think of is what I am having for lunch, and how fast I can get to it.

We are beautiful souls at home today, still in our PJ's (PJ's for the boys start out as actual PJ's after bath the night before, and turn into underwear only by morn).

Mike is helping the boys on their Snap Circuits Junior Electronic projects. I am leaving the house shortly, for the first time in a week. It will be the first time I have been in street clothes in a week. I have been wearing PJ's this week like it's my job. I am going out alone, a Mom's-Day-Out of sorts. Husband is sitting for me. What a treat to make myself pretty, go some places I never get to go, and take my time.

Project Shut Down is going very well. I taught Sam Middle C on the piano yesterday, and held the loom while Josiah pulled the loops over on a red toboggan I am making. We had three friends over to play.

Cass, Tee Pee, and Kim's Hand

I had a blast watching the teen girls attempt to assemble the boys' Tee Pee.

We made cool Lego creations. 

I took a picture of a squirrel!

The more I simplify my life, the more I LIVE it minute by minute, the more beautiful it becomes.

Shut Down

They're here. The internet people. 



I started my Shut Down experiment yesterday. You see, I don't sit online all day, but my computer stays booted with my internet pages open all day. I usually keep several tabs open: weather, blogger, google calendar, yahoo inbox, and Facebook. The Facebook tab is usually on my screen when I walk away to do other things, so every time I pass by, I see notifications. I will usually stop and check them, responding when applicable. Then I'm off. It takes only a minute. BUT. If I am doing this minute fifty times a day, then Good Lord, I have wasted an hour on Facebook. This doesn't count surfing the web, reading blogs, blogging, uploading pics, editing pics, posting pics, reading emails & responding, internet shopping, etc. "Jesus God!" ~ Win Berry


I do a lot all day, and not on the internet. But somehow I feel that the internet is still distracting me from my Life. Sneaky, Sneaky. And only if the computer is booted and online. It's like something is speaking to me, luring me in, no matter where I am in the house. It seems easier to resist when I am away and have no access, so I am fairly certain that for me, having the computer booted and online in my house while I am there, attempting to lead a beautiful and peaceful life, is a Psychic Vampire, draining on my "energy", keeping a lot of potential of "wonderful" out of my grasp. 

After coffee time yesterday, I checked my Calendar, blogged a little, Facebooked, and Shut Down. The boys and I cuddled on the couch by the fire. I knitted, and we all watched a couple of episodes of Jim Henson's The Storyteller (which, by the way, was just wonderful!) on Netflix. I did laundry. I did my normal cleaning and cooking and making snacks. I checked the yard for birds periodically. I talked to the cats and the dogs.

I checked out the freezer to get an idea for dinner, and came up with two pounds of grass fed ground beef. Meatloaf! I booted computer, googled recipes for home made meatloaf, chose one, printed it out, and Shut Down. Good job.

Sam watched Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood with me while Josiah sat by the fire and played his DS. I had forgotten how awesome that movie was, plus it strikes a chord with me personally. I "dropped my basket" a while back as well. In a different way, but it was certainly profound. Sam was very amused when the Mom left and got a hotel room. I left and got an apartment, and took the kiddos with me.

I made home-made Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip, and we dug in.

Dad came home from work, then left again for band practice. The boys and I watched Poltergeist on Netflix. I forgot how awesome it was. It scared the shit out of the boys. We had a lot of fun for about an hour after that with me walking around the house doing various chores with the boys glued to my side and rear. Every once in a while I would scream and run away from them, them screaming and running after me, nearly ending up my ass because they couldn't get close enough to Mom, fast enough. I believe that the Universe was sending me an affirmation of my Shut Down theory. Interestingly enough, the little "They're Here" girl looks JUST LIKE ME when I was five. I immediately made the connection between the Poltergeist in the television and the Poltergeist in my computer screen. Sucking me in. It will eventually take me completely, then suck my entire "Home" down into the ground.
Or it could have simply been an affirmation that I was cute enough to be in a movie at the age of five, but somehow this little bitch got in on it instead.

(As soon as Mike got home, the boys immediately  requested confirmation from him that our house was NOT built on a graveyard....)

I never booted my computer back up, all evening. It was nice.

I have to say that this is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I can't WAIT to Shut Down today.

If Poltergeist persists despite the Shut Down, I will not hesitate to push laptop out front door.

Off Da Chain Chicken

~Ingredients~

4 Organic or All-Natural Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 (of the large) Balls of Fresh Mozzarella, sliced (Do not use the mini balls! That's all I had and I had to fight to keep them inside of the chicken fold!)   
8 Large Fresh, Organic Spinach Leaves (Again...do not use baby spinach!)
1 Clove of Fresh, Organic Garlic
4 to 5 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Rosemary
3/4 Cup Earth Fare Breadcrumbs
3/4 Cup Grated Fresh Parmesan
1 Organic Lemon

Serves Four, but we made it serve five.

Wrap the chicken breasts in clear plastic and beat the shit out of them with a meat tenderizer. Beat them flat as pancakes (Not really, but you get the point). Put the chicken in a bowl and cover with white vinegar. Set a timer for 30 minutes and let them soak in the vinegar.

Mince a clove of garlic. Mix it in with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add a dash of salt and pepper, stir. Set aside.

Three mixing bowls, which will form your breading assembly line: Bowl One: About a half cup of flour, Bowl Two: One egg, beaten, Bowl Three: 3/4 cup breadcrumbs mixed with 3/4 cup grated parmesan, add salt, pepper, and rosemary to taste. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

(At this point, you should still have time to go fold a load of laundry or knit a round on your loom before the timer for soaking the chicken goes off.)

Put 2 to 3 tbsp olive oil in a large pan and place on low heat.

Remove chicken from vinegar, rinse well, and pat dry. Rub each breast all over with the olive oil, minced garlic, salt & pepper mixture. Place in a baking dish and place a layer of spinach and mozzarella on top. Fold the breasts in half. 

Turn your pan up to medium heat.

Bread chicken. Flour first, then egg, then bread crumb mix. Place in pan and brown them.

Remove browned breasts from pan and place in baking dish. Squeeze lemon over breasts.

Bake in oven at preheated 300 until juices run clear. I can't put a baking time here, because it will vary depending on your oven, how long you browned the breasts in the pan, and how well you beat the breasts down when you tenderized them.

These were a hit with Husband, Boy 9, Boy 6, and Guest Boy 7 <<<, who announced, "Dat chicken wuz off da chain!"

I didn't take pics. That  really sucks.

Groovy Purple Smoovy

I got lazy last night and fed myself and the boys Domino's pizza. It was oh-so-good, but OH-SO-BAD for us!

I felt the need for recovery today. Plus, Husband bought me the Kitchen Ninja for Christmas, so it's time I learned how to use it. Smoothie time!

Groovy Purple Smoovy (NOT a "diet" drink...it is HIGH in GOOD fats!):

Organic Fresh Baby Spinach (couple of handfuls?)
Bag of Frozen Organic Mixed Berries
2 tbsp ground Flax Seed with  dried berries
A little bit of Nettles tea
4 tbsp. Organic Peanut Butter
1 banana

***Organic Chocolate Syrup to taste as our sweetener.

I rarely use exact measurements. I blend, then open and dip my finger in for taste (watch the blades!), adding a little more of this and that until it is sufficiently YUMMO.

My boys and I guzzled these down, and here's what we got (in no particular order) ((Please Google to define if you are not too lazy...I did my share of doing homework for others with the stupid men in my engineering classes in college)).......

VITAMIN E*

VITAMIN C

ZINC

SELENIUM

POTASSIUM

PROTEIN

LIGNANS

NATURAL FOLATE **

fructo-oligosaccharide

alpha linolenic acid

zinc***, iron*, magnesium**, copper*, nickel, manganese**, calcium**, sulfur, silicon, molybdenum, chromium, and cobalt. 


iron, carotenoids, antioxidants, vitamin K, coenzyme Q10, B vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, polyphenols, betaine plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids.

Fiber/mucilage

And I probably left some health benefits out, but you get the point.

This took me all of five minutes to make. 

We are not gonna need a multi-vitamin today.

By the way, I LOVE the Kitchen Ninja. Thanks honey!

~Samuel Matthew Turns Nine~

Sam ~ One year old!

Oh wow. My boy turns nine today! He has already called me this morning. He and his Dad were on their way to Walmart to get some type of scooter, and he is so excited. "Guess what , Mom? It's snowing here. It's snowing on my birthday!" My heart melts when I hear his little voice over the phone.

Since Sam is going to celebrate on his actual birthday today with his Dad, we went Tuesday of this week and he picked out a Nintendo DSi and a game. I already had three other games put away for him, however, it was over 24 hours before he actually played a game on it, because the camera and the voice recorder are such fun.

Sam is such a special little soul. I love this little boy with all of my heart.

My "Bug"

Sam nursed until he was three. He never tasted formula, nor did he ever drink from a bottle.

Sam LOVES his brother and sisters!

Sam is always concerned for everyone. He can't stand the thought of someone hurting, physically or emotionally. He is always trying to make things better for his brother and sister when they are upset. He can't stand conflict and turmoil. He reprimands me when I am ugly to my husband..."that was just mean, Mom. Why are you being mean to Mike?" He can't even stand it when the dogs fight. I always warn him to just stay back when the get into it, but he never does, he always attempts to stop the fight. He is always aware of anyone being "left out."  We were having breakfast one morning, then leaving to go to a home school event. Mike was at work, but comes home for lunch. "Where is Mike's sausage biscuit, Mom?" He made certain that Mike would have a sausage biscuit as we did when he came home for lunch.

I love that Sam doesn't play the game of "I'm better than you" or the humiliation and ridicule game.... the games that come so naturally to traditionally schooled children. I stand back and listen to how he handles these situations with other children, then talk to him about it later. You know, those mean little kiddos that call names and make fun, just for the hell of it? I am so grateful and so certain that my Sam will never be one of those. We just have to work on how to handle this appropriately, without fighting ugly with ugly. I am just now getting there myself, because, yes, even adults are that way...so Sam and I are learning together.

Sam's enthusiasm for life is relentless. To Sam, "anything worth doing is worth overdoing." I am probably the only person in this world who understands him completely. He is just like me. He attaches himself to an idea so intently and becomes so focused, maybe an idea that holds no value to others, but holds the utmost value to him. You may speak to him or ask him to do something or stop doing something, and you may have to repeat it five times before he hears you. When someone says, "He doesn't listen!" or  tells him, "You don't listen!", I feel like punching them. Adults can be so stupid. The same people that ask me a question, then direct their attention away from me or interrupt me as I am speaking are usually the very ones that expect children to be perfect.

He frequently gets on peoples nerves with his endless amount of questions and his passion for communicating. I say rock on Sam. People need better communication skills, so give them all the practice you want to. I do stress good manners to him, and it is so sweet to hear him say, "Excuse me, ma'am?" or "May I (request) please?"  I get so many compliments on what good manners he has.

Mike once named Sam as our family "Ambassador of Good Will"... Sam never meets a stranger. He is the perfect home schooler. He is secure, and doesn't sweat making friends. We are a part of many different groups. I would say we meet an average of two new "friends" a week, and Sam just rocks right on with it. I get so many compliments on what a sweetheart he is.

 Sam is the perfect unschooler. He never becomes stagnant in what he wants to learn and pursue. I can barely keep up with him most of the time. Unschooling is NOT for the lazy parent, and unschooling Sam puts you in overdrive for sure!
 

Sam loves to be a helper. I love the time when he noticed the elderly lady behind us in line at the library holding her books because there was no space to sit them on the counter. He said, "Excuse me ma'am, could I help you hold your books?" She was so surprised and genuinely impressed with him. That's my boy. He is always scoping out an opportunity to hold a door open for someone. There are so many times he has helped someone when we are out and about, that I couldn't possibly think of the details of them all to share right now. Can you believe, though, that a few people actually were irritated with it? Some people are just assholes, Sam. Just keep doing your thing anyway.

Sam is my accident man. He drank gasoline at two. He took Granny's heart meds at two. He crushed a finger at one. He clipped the tip of his finger off with nail clippers when he was one. He jumped into the pool when he was one. He is always bopped and bruised, because his body never stops moving. My heart has been in my stomach many, many times with Sam. I have been frozen with fear over and over. He was wandered and disappeared, over and over. (Shut up Jen!;) He climbs to the tops of trees, he climbs to the top of boulders on hikes and stands on the very edge, he walks in creeks, he hops from rock to rock in the river, he goes as fast as he can on wheels, he goes as far out into the ocean as he can until I go crazy and make him come back. My heart is racing as I type this. I do hover over him, some people thinks it's too much, and Sam gets irritated with it. But with Sam, you just never know what wild idea may cross his mind, not recognizing the danger of it. Sigh. I keep Sam alive, day by day. That's what I do.


Sam is NOT the compliant little sheep that people want children to be, as I have not encouraged that... in any of my children. I promote being kind, loving, and respectful, but question people, question everything.  Sometimes he is so impulsive, and his body moves faster than his thinker does, and he makes a mistake, breaks something, runs into someone, etc. I do know, though, with all of my heart, that he will never, ever hurt anyone intentionally...physically or emotionally. So when I see someone hurt him emotionally or physically, I become more furious than I have ever become over anything. I have never felt a hatred so intense as I do for people who are ugly to him or impatient with him. I despise when I hear someone preach patience to him, or any other child for that matter. I can't name an adult alive that genuinely practices patience in all matters. So practice what you preach, or shut the fuck up. Don't mess with my kindhearted, caring, sensitive Sam.

Sam is my funny man. He loves to laugh. He loves comedy. He loves jokes. He loves to hear others laugh.

Sam confided in me with his first crush earlier last year, at the age of eight. I must say, he has fantastic taste! It lives on, and it is a pleasure to watch him around "her", knowing our little secret. 

Sam in my belly.

I am so excited to experience the age of nine with my Sam. There is no way to describe how thankful I am for NINE beautiful years so far with this wonderful little being.

My Perfect Christmas

Close to one of the last happy, happy Christmases, Granny, Me, Aunt Lu in our new coats. Little did we know life would change forever in about two years.

My Dad. Strong. But not strong enough to beat cancer.

Christmas was a big time in my childhood, until my Dad passed away with cancer when I was eight years old. Granny even stopped putting a tree up. It really irritates me when I hear people question God about Why???? their 50 year old parent was taken by cancer. Really? Well, that is 20 more years than my Dad got, and 20 more years than I got. My children have NEVER met their Grandpa. I was NEVER still Daddy's little girl when I hit my teen years. Many may find this insensitive. It may be, but it's how I feel. I am aware of it, and it is what it is.

I had no problem at all that my boys' visitation with their Dad fell on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He was thrilled to have them, and they were thrilled to be with him. I need to say this: I was actually relieved. I was excited. I embraced the time I had to regroup, and to appreciate them more because of their absence. ("Absence makes the heart grow fonder"...Especially with the Girl 16...everyone with a "Cassidy" needs a baby daddy for them to have visitation with! Or three!;) **This is where I will take a moment to deliver a big "Fuck You" to all of the "Puritans" who judge me because I have two baby's daddies! Seriously, and from the bottom of my heart. If I had my way, I would make it three :) :) :) **



I have been tearing down the walls that confine my spirit for several years now, and expectations that others impose upon me as well as self-imposed expectations have come crumbling down...exhale! I can breathe!  I have stepped into an awareness in my life in which I am able to make special moments every day, many times a day, and out of the simple pleasures in life taken for granted by many in our rush-rush lives. I am blessed with the leisure of being minimally controlled by the calendar . I will never wait on a certain day, such as a holiday, birthday, or anniversary, to make a moment. Those dates may never come for some of us. I am on my schedule, and will only be on yours if I commit to it. I spent years EXPECTING my Christmases to be just as they were before my Dad passed away, and because they never were, I was disappointed for years! Self-imposed perpetual disappointment. 

I did a "progressive Christmas" with the kiddos that stretched out over days, weeks, and it was sooo nice, opening one gift and playing with it all day, or for several more days, before opening another. We read Christmas books, played games with our Elf on the Shelf, hit several Christmas parties, baked Christmas yummies, decorated gingerbread houses, made Christmas crafts, attended special Christmas events, enjoyed Christmas lights, sipped hot cocoa at the Christmas parade, listened to Christmas music, sang carols, celebrated Winter Solstice, ate all of the chocolates out of the Advent Calendar, and much more....

My Christmas was just the way it was meant to be and perfect, yet there was no opening gifts, no rushing from here to there, no traditional Christmas dinner, and my children were not with me. The husband and myself had reservations at Buca Di Beppo for 2pm, so we could sleep in and not be rushed, and because I have been craving Spicy Chicken Rigatoni since November 5th-ish. We were still fifteen minutes late for our reservations. We shared a bottle of wine and lots of laughs. We always share lots of laughs. He thinks I'm funny, and I think he's funny, even though many other people don't think either one of us is funny.

~ Gentle Birth. Celeste Noelle with Sexiest Momma Alive ~

While getting my hourly injection of Facebook via cell in Buca, I discovered that my new friend gave birth to a beautiful baby girl Christmas morning, and to make it even more special, it was a home birth. It really irritates me when people gasp in horror at the mention of  the word "home birth." I am in awe of the power and the beauty of a home birth.


A gentle birth...a breastfeeding, baby-wearing, cloth-diapering Momma.... is by far the sexiest Momma.

Friend welcomes me into her home on the day her baby is born (provided I come bearing gifts of chocolate), and I find myself cuddling and sniffing a 12 hour old babe on Christmas Day!  A fresh, new life, in my arms, on Christmas Day. Here is a link to her full home birth story, but I am not sure if non-friends on FB can access it...The longer version of Celeste Noelle’s Christmas Homebirth

It was snowing as I drove home.

An entire month of soaking up Christmas with my lovies. Holding new life in my arms, and a blanket of white covering the earth, both on Christmas Day. How perfect was that?

2011 New Years Resolutions (Work-In-Progress)

I have very few regrets from 2010. In fact, I aspire for 2011 to be much like 2010, yet even better. I do, however, have some bullet point items I wish to work into my 2011....

1. Try to watch television. Find a series to get sucked into. So that I will know what the heck my friends are talking about half the time. It appears that I should try to make it Lost. The Wise Turtle recently found all of the episodes on Netflix, and became so addicted that he never went to bed one night watching it. THEN he came home from work early the next day to sleep, but stayed up a while more watching MORE of it...THEN went to sleep, got back up and ate dinner, and started watching it AGAIN, this time getting Boy 8 stuck on it. NOW Boy 8 is sharing with Boy 6.....1-3-11: Holy Shit! Now it's Veggie Tales, and I haven't even seen one episode of Lost yet! I will never be able to keep up with this.

2. Light my candles every day. I don't think I have lit a candle in my house more than five times this past year. It makes all of the difference. I have beautiful mosaic holders and colorful hanging lanterns. If we are having dinner at home, the tea-light candles shall be lit at dusk, and twinkle beautiful colors for us until they burn out. I will have to make tea-lights a stock item on the grocery list now.

3. We are going to start using cloth napkins at every meal. Napkins are not breaking our budget, and I am concerned about the environment, but we use recycled napkins anyway. Cloth napkins make a meal a little more special, and they are easier for the kiddos to hold in their laps because of the weight. Every time I go to my MIL's, she uses cloth napkins, and it feels very special....1-3-11: Have not purchased enough sets of cloth napkins yet, so we were back to the paper ones last night...Josiah, "Please can I have one of the BIG napkins Mom?" = cloth napkins are a go for sure per Josiah.

4. We are going to read EVERY book we own this year. Somehow, we purchase books, then borrow other books from the library and read those because they are due back in two weeks. We squeeze in a book we own here and there, but the ratio of buy to read is like 20:5.

5. Practice, Practice, PRACTICE the piano. Like it's my job. My fingers aren't getting any younger.

6. I am going to keep my jewelry box tidy. I love jewelry. But I have not loved my jewelry enough to put things back in their place when returning it to the jewelry cabinet, hence, things get piled up, hence, things get tangled and are not findable upon demand. I am a sloppy keeper of the jewelry cabinet, and this needs to change.

7. I'm going to sharpen up when it comes to Girl 16. I am a few steps ahead on some things, but she is a clever, conniving little creature and stills dupes me on many things before I recognize and thwart her self-destructive plans. I'm ON IT in 2011, baby girl, COUNT ON IT.

8. Allow nothing but bodies on the couches. If you are caught with any object besides yourself on the couch, you will forevermore sit on the floor. This decided after cleaning the deep, dark, crevices of our couches and turning up:

Coins, Legos, Chewable Vitamins we didn't want to chew so we stuffed them down in the couch when Mom wasn't looking but said we took them, Legos, Seashells, Sharks Tooth, Rhinestones, SD Memory Card, Rubber Bands, Legos, Batteries, Trash, Stickers, Popcorn, Candy, Legos, Army Men Body Parts, Army Man Guns, Legos, Toothpick, Q-tip, Dirt, Dust, Legos, one Kibble, one Bit, one pebble of Meow Mix, and two or three Guinea Pig Nuggets (the ones that go IN, not the ones that come OUT...)

9.  I vow to no longer ride my husband's ass about him quitting smoking. I will speak directly to God and the Universe on the matter and trust that it will happen just as well without my stabs at him. Exception: When it imposes on the health of the children or myself.

10. Go out of my way to spend more time with the Mother and the Sister (but not too much...it's all about balance). We have all been meanies to one another, who cares,  it's all water under the bridge. I hurt inside wishing for just one more day with my Granny, but she got on my nerves too..... death has a way of erasing the bad and multiplying the good in a person. I have a chance now to prevent regrets. Funny thing, Mom called New Year's Day and said she wants just us, Cass, and my Sister to go out sometime. This is Universe speaking. Do. It. 

11. The pictures are going on the walls. Every last damn one of them. I have carried, like, 8 storage boxes full of pictures and frames around with me from house to house to apartment to house, for YEARS, and I can count on one hand how many pictures actually got hung on a wall in each residence. It has been ongoing craziness I tell you, and it stops in 2011.

12. I am going to make an effort to clean house less often. It's generally a waste of time. I'm 39, and I don't have a lot of time left to waste. 

It is almost January 3rd, so I should probably post this blog entry already, you know, for accountability. A friend can come into my house, say, in November 2011, and reprimand me..."And just why are there no pictures on your walls Robin???" I will be adding to this list though. My best ideas always come straggling in after the deadline. 

13. Crash weight loss is never in the plan. I stay really active with the kiddos hiking and such, and I eat really well, but do not diet. I confirmed how much I have gained since our break from TKD, and it's a whole two pounds. And even though when I asked Husband how much he thought I had gained, he replied, "fifteen pounds", I ain't mad. I feel sexy. I love my little gut, although I will probably never rock the bikini ever again, and I am so okay with that. (*Note: I have found that rocking the bikini at a spray park right after TKD is quite the ego-booster...Turns out, I ain't the sexiest on a grand scale, but I ain't the most repulsive either! Ahhh...that was a good day in 2010...;) It helps that the husband has grown quite the gut in our two years of love. He turns me on even more now than he did before! (I suspect that this is because, the bigger he gets, the skinnier I feel, but that is irrelevant, yes?) If he doesn't say anything about mine, I won't say anything about his. Husband ~ "We are not fat, we are festively plump." I do intend to pick TKD back up as soon as I find a local place that is as good as our Sangrock, because I need to keep my kicks polished in case I am forced to show someone what's up. (I promote peace and love, but my peace and love bar only goes so high on the chart...must be the West G in me.)  

14. 1-4-11: Two toboggans and one scarf have been hooked to three of my looms since 2006, because I was insecure about finishing them off correctly. The scarf I haven't touched since I finished the knitting on it sitting in court for one (of my two) assault charges (That's right. It took me about 34 years, but I finally lost my shit...TWICE in one year...2006 was groundbreaking. At this point I would like to give a shout out to David Phillips, Gtown Attorney at Law...can we say expunged? Holla. ;). Breaking News: All three have been removed from the looms and successfully finished off. I'm back to being addicted, and I intend to start more on the looms, but in 2011, I want to knit the REAL way. Not using the looms. My friends were on the looms five years ago, and since I have reconciled, they have far surpassed me, moving on to REAL knitting. I want to knit hoodie sweaters! Blankets! Etc! 

15. I'm going to pick a team and become an avid sports fan. Bwahahaha! Just kidding!