Scott Uncut and Nate in the Raw

Scott: You stinky poopy head! (he was laughing while saying this, not being mean… but still…)

Me: Scott, those are not the kind of words we use.

Scott: God told me I could say those words.

Me: Really? When did God tell you that?

Scott: Last Friday.

Me: Well, I think maybe you misunderstood what God was trying to say.

Today at Dillards, Nate was a maniac, dancing like he never danced before. The music was unusually loud and within 10 minutes of getting his groove on, he was surrounded by three women that worked there and they were all dancing too. It was hilarious. He is getting such a personality. I wish I had a Flip to capture it on, I am so deprived (sigh, and hint hint).

Redbox Rental Rage

Things I learned this week:

1. I think I am allergic to my toothpaste. Every time I brush, my tongue feels kind of numb and itchy, and yet, I have yet to go buy a new toothpaste.

2. The house across the street from us (well, horizontally across, caddy corner if you will) is for sale for $392,000!!! If you have ever been to my house, you know how insane that is. Insane in the membrane. This neighborhood is so weird. The house next door to us is basically at meth lab status and would probably sell for $100,000 (and that is only because someone would want the lot). And the house next door to meth lab is brand new and listed at $592,000. Then our house (we are renting) was bought a couple of years ago for around $130,000. It is all a little much.

*Edit: The sign is now out of her yard, so she must have realized when everyone who called laughed at her, that it was a little crazy.

3. I have decided to coin a term Redbox Rental Rage. I understand that the movies are only a dollar so you have to deal with some inconvenience. But people, come on. There is a huge line and the people at the box are going through movie by movie, discussing, reading reviews, discussing, starting a new search, discussing. All I have to do is return a rental, but still, I have to stand in line. It makes me get all itchy just thinking about it. Redbox Rental Rage.

4. Riverside has but up bat houses! Go Tulsa! Get your green on!

5. I am glad swim lessons are over.

6. How to make sushi! We made it and it was a success. We only made safe sushi, with crab and smoked salmon, nothing raw yet, that still makes me a little nervous. (Thanks Martha and Jeremy for the tutorial!)

What did you learn this week?

New June Resolutions

I love making New Year’s Resolutions. I love the fresh start and hopeful spirit it evokes. I set realistic goals and try try try to follow through. I have found, I can’t make more than two or three, if I have to many it is overwhelming and I end up dropping some of them after a month or two. Usually, it is really a habit forming experience (in a good way).

My top 3 favorite resolutions I have ever made are:

1. Remember all close friends and families birthdays and contact them ON TIME. (I am proud to say, I made this one several years ago and am still doing it!)

2. Have my house “drop-in” ready. (this not mean scrubbed clean, but just that if someone came over last minute, I would be okay with it. This was the year Scott was about 5 months old and I was tired of living in newborn chaos.)

3. Not to say anything negative about my body for a year. (This was one was amazing, everytime something negative was on the tip of my tongue, I had to stop myself and change it in my head. It is very true that what you speak has an impact on what you feel.)

This year, I can’t even remember what mine were, sad, but true. I know one of them was to invite a family over for dinner once a month, at which I have already failed miserably. I am totally going to blame the move and having a newborn and, let’s see, nursing, and oh, I don’t know, maybe sleep depravation, but I refuse to say I personally have been the reason, I am sure it is someone or something elses fault.  I am sure of it. Anyways, since I don’t know who or what derailed me and erased my brain, I have decided to make some new resolutions.

I am going to repeat one of my alltimes and add a little twist.

1. Not to say anything negative about my body. The first time I made this one, it was after I had Scott. I think I need to retrain myself again since having Nate. The twist is, to try and replace each negative thought with a positive. Don’t worry, I am not going to get all hippy dippy and say “Love your stretch marks, they are hugs from your baby.” Gag. Nobody loves their stretch marks, and if they say they do, they are lying. I just mean, my body is not perfect and it is never ever going to be. No ones is. The choices are either change it or accept it. I have to the power to exude strength and confidence while hanging out in the baby pool or I have the power to let paranoia make me completely self conscience.

2. I am renewing my vow of inviting a family over once a month. Life has calmed down enough, really there is no excuse not to.

3. Read Nate 3 books a day. (I realize the fact that this has to be a goal is pathetic. I realize it and I accept it. Moving on….)

And that is it. I think I can handle it. Another “goal” that I really wanted to write, is volunteering. By the time 2010 is wrung in I want our family to have found a place to volunteer together once a month, but that is one Mike and I have to work on together. Ahhh. I feel cleansed and renewed already and it isn’t even June yet.

Menu Plan Monday (except it is almost Tuesday)

Well, staycation is over (choking back tears). Mike and my mom insist that if we were constantly on staycation (like I proposed) I would get sick of it… I disagree. But, back to reality…. at least my reality is pretty great!

I love summer. I love everything about summer. I love the weather (even the heat), I love the clothes, I love the pool. Everything seems easier to me, especially meal planning. Maybe I am one of those people that needs an extreme amount of sunshine to function at full capacity.

Tuesday: Crunchy Tilapia* I haven’t ever made this before, but found it in Parents Magazine and decided to try it. Sounds good…

Wednesday: Bacon Egg Cheese Tomato Sandwiches

Thursday: Sushi (Mike is making…long story, but his is now obsessed with trying to make it, I say, more power to ya, I will be outside eating bonbons!)

Friday: Blackened Chicken Ceasar Salad

Saturday: Eating @ Pool

Sunday: Cori’s Spicy Shredded Beef Tacos (that’s right, I have my own recipe)

Do you have anything I might like planned for this week? Check out Organzing Junkie for more ideas!

*Crunchy Tilapia

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup parsley chopped

1 large egg lightly beaten

1 Tbsp milk

1 lb tilapia fillets halved length wise (whatever that means)

3/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp oil (I am going to use coconut)

Combine bread crumbs and pasley on a dinner plate.

Mix eggs and milk in a bowl.

Dip fillets in egg mix and then in bread crumbs. Sprinkle with salt.

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add fillets and cook until golden brown on side about 4 mins. Turn and cook another 4 mins. Serve with tartar sauce. (can keep warm in 200 degree oven)

Reinforcements

Things I learned this week:

1. There is a delicous organic beer. Ummm. And for a great price too!

2. Feeding your baby oatmeal AFTER they eat blueberries, takes most of the stain off of their fingers. Why? I have no idea, but it works! Poor Nate usually spends the day with blue fingers because he eats blueberries for breakfast.

3. Turning a show on your laptop and putting your laptop in the kitchen, makes kitchen chores much more entertaining. (I love hulu!)

4. Sometimes you (and by you, I mean I..) need to ask for help. I am thankful I have people to ask.

5. Never presume that someone else is watching the baby (or any kid for that matter!). I just assumed Nate was in Scott’s room with Mike and Scott. I was in the kitchen and about 5 minutes or so later I went to Scott’s room to tell them to start getting ready to go. No Nate…. Nate was in his room, with his door closed, splashing in a huge puddle of water. He had dumped out his entire humidifier and was having a ball!

6. Saying goodbye to Richard was harder than I thought it would be. He is one of Scott’s most favorite people.

What did you learn this week?

Swim Lessons or Spy School

Scott had a full on rage out as we were leaving swim lessons today.

Dear Miller Swim School,

Why do you have a huge gumball machine? Why do you sell freshly baked Otis Spunkmeyer Cookies? Why Why WHY?

Don’t you know what a pain that is for the parents? Don’t you get sick of watching kids day after day throw a fit for a gumball? Or do you secretly use it as a advanced swimmer recruiting tool, do you have secret cameras set up to find the kid with enough self control to walk right past the gumballs with out even a glance toward the colorful cavity inducers… the kid who turns to his mom and says, “Those look good, but will it help me with my strokes? I think not.” And then you suck these children into your underground lifeguard training camps and use them to put all other swim schools out of business? I need answers.

Thank you,
Cori

Like I was saying, a rage out. After I shoved patiently buckled the rager in his car seat and started driving, the screaming started… “You pee-pee head mommy!” “You’re a stinky baby!” And all the other lovely things that 3 1/2 year olds come up with. I started calmly taking things away. “Now, you don’t get to watch a show after rest time.” “Now, you don’t get to have a book on tape at rest time.” Etc, etc. Then he started screaming, “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE!” Over and over. And I started crying. Not because he told me he didn’t love me (please, he’s three). But because I love him so much that my heart hurts.

The way I feel about my children is the only unconditional love I have ever known. There is nothing they could ever do that would cause my love to waver. I am sure, I will not always be proud of their decisions, I will not always support their decisions, but I will always love them.  My kids could break my heart in a million and one pieces and I would still love them higher than the heavens and deeper than the seas.

I am lucky to have had parents who feel the same way about me. My heart breaks for the kids out there that do not know this kind of love. Whose parents don’t fight for them. The kids know it. They’re smart.

Everyone needs to love and be loved completely. Everyone also needs to have a dog at some point in their life.

Glazed Over

So I have been watching a lot of TV lately. Like, a lot. Usually we watch The Office, 30 Rock, occasionally we throw in a How I Met Your Mother, and I love Bones (will Booth and Brennan ever declare their love for each other?). So, some TV, but not tons. In the last week, Hulu has become my close friend. So far, I have watched the Bones finale, then my mom said Castle was pretty good, so I watched 5 episodes, then Richard told me he started huluing Lie to Me, so I watched 5 episodes of that, this is on top of 3 episodes of Chuck (I still have one to go). I can’t stop. I have seen the same commercial for Intel fifty hundred million times. It doesn’t even make me smile anymore. But still, I press on.

I think I am bored. Not bored like I-don’t-have-anything-to-do bored, but like I-have-tons-of-stuff-to-do-don’t-want-to-do-it bored. The kind of blah where I feel myself slouching and think to myself, “I need to seriously work on my posture…oh well, I will start tomorrow.” Laundry-bleh. Cooking-ugh. Budget-don’t get me started. I don’t even feel like making my green smoothies (this is serious people). I think if I had a job that actually had vacation days, I would totally cash some in.

The weird part is, I totally don’t feel guilty. It has been great. My house is kinda gross, our laundry is done enough, I don’t plan on cooking this week (check out my menu plan monday- HA!). Mike keeps trying to pawn off these annoying little chores on me and I have started saying, “Um, no, can’t, don’t have time.” I am taking a time out. (I will continue to green smoothie, I do feel guilty about that.) I am enjoying cookie dough. Hanging with the kids. And that is about it.

I am sure in the next week or so, I will snap out of it, but until then, I am making sure my laptop is charged.

(As I re read this, I think it sounds like I am depressed, I promise I am not. We all know who depression hurts.)

(Also, if anyone has any show suggestions for me…bring it on.)

Menu Plan Monday

This is going to be an easy week, at least in the dinner making sense. Mike is won’t be home for dinner a couple of evening (which means I fix the kids something easy and I eat something random) and then Friday-Monday we are having a staycation. Which means we will be eating out!!! Aaahhhhh, pool opens, Mike will be off work, eating out and we might even attempt a date night, this will be a fun weekend!

Monday: Chicken Fried Rice

Tuesday: Mike won’t be home for dinner

Wednesday: Mike won’t be home for dinner

Thursday: Mike won’t be home for dinner

Friday: Staycation Begins! Eat out.

Saturday: Dinner at a friends, I am bringing dessert and a side dish

Sunday: Staycation, Eat out!

Since this Menu Plan Monday will be helpful to no one, I suggest you and your family have a staycation weekend too!

Edit: Mike said that this post sounds like I am “bragging”. I don’t get why, but if anyone else is weird like Mike and thinks I am bragging, I assure you, I am not. It is a Menu Plan for petes sake.

Scott Uncut

A conversation that took place while I was staightening my hair

Scott: Can you do that on my hair?

Me: No

Scott: Why?

Me: Well, it gets really hot and makes your hair hot.

Scott: That’s okay. I like to have hot hair.

Me: Well, it’s not really for kids. It isn’t healthy for your hair.

Scott: Why do you do it to your hair if it isn’t healthy?

Me: Vanity, Scott…Vanity.

Scott: What did Jesus teach you about that?

I never really figured out what he meant, but it was so funny.

He’s My Chocolate Pie

Things I learned this week:

1. There is a sign in someone’s yard advertising the company that is painting their house. I have ran past said sign 4 times a week since we moved here two months ago and each time I run by I think, “That is so weird that they named their company Bottom Dweller Painting…What does that mean???” On Monday, I realized that the sign actually says, “Bottom DOLLAR”. No, I don’t wear glasses, I have no excuse for the confusion.

*Side Note: I would not recommend Bottom Dollar Painting, since, like I said, the house has been in the processes of being painted for the last 9 or so weeks.

2. Boys are stinky. We went to Scott’s first dentist appointment on Tuesday. As they called our name, Nate pooped. So the nurse had to wait for us as I changed his diaper, there was only the normal trash can in the bathroom to put it in, so the entire bathroom stank. Then, the nurse takes us in this little office to get all our info and I start smelling something. I lean down and whisper, “Scott, did you toot.” He whispers, “Yes, and it stinks.” And stink it did…in the teeny tiny office.

3. You are supposed to put whipped cream on a pie, just before you serve it. If you do it the night before, it will have semi soaked into the pie by morning and be a weird brownish color and then no one will eat it at your brunch and you won’t blame them, because it did look kind of gross, but then when you get home, you will eat it for lunch and discover….Looks can be deceiving.

4. I do not have the self control to make cookie dough.

5. Self defense moves are awesome.

6. There are bread machine packs. You pour these packs into the bread machine and get fresh bread. I HAD NO IDEA! My mom knew, and assumed I knew. Never assume I know anything.

7. Mike’s favorite pie is chocolate. For the last eight years I thought it was pumpkin.

What did you learn this week?