A Little Ditty

Things I learned while snowed in:

1. After 36 hours of not leaving the house we get a little crazed out (by we, I mean myself and the kids, where was Mike you ask? OH, he is at Extreme Makeover hanging out with Ty and Gang …. See #3 for my pay back)

We start having converstations like this:

Scott: (for the 20th time) MOOOOOOOOOM! (Nate screaming in the background)

Me: Yes my darling cherished blessings from above. (I really did say that, I was trying not to frizz, Nate had just knocked my coffee all over me, forcing me to change out of my pjs before 1pm)

Scott: Nate bit me.

Me: Nate! No bite! Tell Scott sorry.

Nate: (doing the pitiful face, hugs Scott)

Scott: Nate is slobbering on me.

Me: That is how he shows love, just go with it.

Scott: Ummm, okay

Me: (look over to see Nate laying on top of Scott licking his face)

Scott: (totally grossed out) Ummm,  I guess he loves me a lot.

(Scott later retaliated by kicking Nate in the mouth.)

2. We I also start making up songs to the tune of Jack and Diane. I won’t bore you with the details… What? What is that? You want to hear the song? Well, unfortunately, I don’t have a new iphone with video because, apparently,  there is a price tag on memories. What? OH, it is okay if I just type it out….. Okay! Fine, you don’t have to twist my arm….

Here’s a little ditty about Scott and Naaaate

Two young boys who get to choose their faaate

Get extra bonding since we are snowed in

Glad you have a built in friend

Let it Rock

Let it Roll

We won’t let a snow day, steal our soul

Hold onto preschool as long as you can

Don’t grow up and work for the man

That’s all I got so far…. (and, just so you know, it is much better in person and with dance moves)

3. I love endless.com. Love it. Free OVERNIGHT shipping. Free return shipping. And that is why my dining room table looks like this….

AND I have another pair on the way. Can you guess which two I am actually keeping? (did I mention FREE return shipping?!)

I will give you a hint….. (this is how I entertained my self while snowed in today, Dress up! *Note Mr. Stripes in the background)

4. 4 year olds do not feel cold when snow is involved. Ever.

5. Nate has started clapping and cheering when something good happens. He was “helping” me with dinner and started cheering and I thought “Ahh, how sweet.” Then I realized why he was cheering….

The roast looks rather gross in the picture, but I assure you, it was delicious!

6. Roasted and Salted Pistachios are addicting and wonderful all rolled into one little shell. (I took a picture of the shells after I was finished chowing and now, looking back, the amount I consumed is rather embarrassing)

7. Nate has also started attacking peoples faces. Which is much less cute and endearing. So far, he has made me, Scott and himself bleed and terrified numerous other children. I have been doing “time out”, he doesn’t care so much. I will say, “Soft hands” and he will pat gently and then I say, “NO grabbing!” and he will shake his head no and grab his own face. SOoooo he gets it, he just doesn’t care. Which is kind of how I feel about cookie dough. I know I will regret shoving 10 cookies worth in my mouth, but in the moment… I just don’t care.

What did you learn this week?

It’s all in the name

Not to get all The Secret on you but, I do believe most things in life can be spoken into existence. If you believe you can become it, you can and you will. If you believe you are _____ then you will become _______. The good and the bad.

That is why I am totally stealing this idea from my friend Jennah. She has three adorable boys and made these for them. She said that she and her husband read the boys their name posters every evening and now her two older boys have them memorized (I think the ages are 5 and 3?). I just loved the idea and of course had to copy it so my boys will know they are just special as the Gassid boys ;).

She also put each boys “verse” on their pages, but I haven’t gotten that far. But I am going to snazz them up a little by letting the kids decorate them.

It warms my heart to think that in my babies subconscious, every time he sees his name, one of these traits will pop into his head. It is also a sneaky way to talk about character and what each of these words means every evening.

Thanks Jennah!

*Just in case the picture isn’t as clear to you… here is what it says….

Strong

Courageous

Optimistic

Trustworthy

Thoughtful

Noble

Ardent

Truthful

Empathetic

PS I just learned that you can change text color on a blog.

Menu Plan Monday

Alright! Who is ready for the last week of January? I never want to wish away life BUT every week that passes is one week closer to warmth! 4 months to the pool and counting. I love Oklahoma. Never a dull weather moment, last week was in the 60s this week in the 30s!

Okay, I’m gonna do it. I am MAKING ribs this week! My hunt for the perfect ribs continues. So far, I have tried, Billy Rays, Elmers, Big Daddy’s, and Albert G’s. So far, Elmers is in the lead. Still on my list is Legends (Owasso) and maybe Famous Daves. And of course, Home of Cori.

Mike and I are going to have an adult night out this weekend (thanks Mom and Dad) and Extreme Makeover (way to go Simmon’s Homes, this is their 3rd Extreme build!) starts here on Thursday. I will be taking the kids there a couple of times to visit Mike so it will be a fun week!

I hope this week holds some excitement for you. It just feels like a week that needs some excitement.

Monday: Grocery shopping and dining at WF

Tuesday: Fish, Veggies and Rice

Wednesday: French Toast, Bacon, and Fruit Salad

Thursday: Ummm, it is supposed to be snowing today! Chicken Corn Chili and Sweet Potato Cornbread (I froze 1/2 of mine last time I made it)

Friday: Ribs, Chicken (it grosses Mike out to eat meat off a bone… PANSY!) and Man vs Wild Night

Saturday: Out to Dinner and a Birthday Party (I love this year! So many friends turning 30!)

Sunday: Leftovers/Or hanging out at Extreme and out to eat

Lonely Toothbrush

Last night as I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed, I set my toothbrush in the holder all by itself and thought…. “I am so thankful that my toothbrush isn’t always alone.” I am so thankful to have a partner in this world. Not just a warm body that happens to live in the same house but a real partner. Someone to listen calmly as I debate the merits of a 7:30 vs 7:00 bedtime for the tenth time. Someone who loves me enough that when our baby is 3 weeks old and I am crying because I want to quit breastfeeding so badly, he can look at me and say, “This is your choice and I know you will make the best decision. I know it is a sacrifice but I will do whatever I can to make it easier.” and really mean it.

I am thankful that when Mike is out of town, Scott counts down the days until he gets back. I am thankful that I am not enough for the kids.

I am grateful for a husband who would do whatever he had to do to keep our family safe and healthy. I am also thankful for a husband that if he chose to, could travel every week and make more money, but gives himself limits because we are more important to him.

I am lucky that I have a husband that gives me my time alone and even though I know he doesn’t completely understand everything that goes into our day, he pretends like he does. I am lucky I have a husband I know would never purposefully do anything to hurt me or our kids.

As I have gotten older and my peer group has become moms, I have come to realize that not everyone has what I have. I grew up in a home where my dad went to work everyday and also did the ironing. It was an equal partnership and while I knew not everyone had that, it was distant. It wasn’t a friend.

I know I take Mike for granted. I know I can be neurotic and bossy and obsessive and definitely moody and fickle and selfish and my running clothes stink and he still loves me.

To all the good husbands out there (especially mine) thank you for sticking with us worn out sleep deprived moms and our snot covered clothes. I know I don’t say it enough… but thank you for all you do. I would be lost without you.

Not Menu Plan Monday

I am not menu planning this week. I don’t want to, Mike is going to be very busy, excuse, excuse, excuse. BUT I will list a couple of recipes I love! Just for fun….

Healthy Muffins (but oh so delicious)- Substitute whole wheat flour for 1/2 the flour amount, use applesauce in place of the oil and throw in some frozen blueberries or raspberries. Yummmmmm. (serve heated with lots of butter melted in, you know, since you didn’t use the oil ;))

Hello Dollies– not healthy at all, but always a hit if you are in charge of dessert or if you are like our family (at least the kids and me) and can eat a whole batch on our own

Sweet Potato Burritos– Weird sounding, but wonderful! Scott has issues with potato texture so we haven’t eaten these in a long time, but they are a delicious vegetarian option. Tip- use canned refried beans instead of mashing the kidney beans like in the recipe (why would you not?!)

Golden Crescent Rolls– This is a really great substitute for those canned crescent rolls that are filled with hydrogenated oils and artificial everything. It really isn’t to hard and is worth any the trouble. The recipe makes quite a few so when I make it, I just freeze the leftovers and have homemade rolls for a while!

These are a couple that I really want to try but just haven’t yet:

Gooey Cinnamon Rolls– Feel free to try this recipe out, I would love to taste test for you! The reason I haven’t tried this is pure laziness.

Flax and Sunflower Seed Bread– Don’t you just feel healthier reading the recipe?!

Chili Casserole– For some reason this sounds really good to me, but I think everyone else in my family would be grossed out. Maybe I will force it upon them someday!

That’s all I got this week! What are you having and/or any family favorites?

Here is a picture of Scott, ya know, because I feel bad about the last post:

IT’S CHICKEN!

These are the reasons I am going insane today (and yes, I am completely ignoring my children to write this… they deserve it):

The day started off promising. We slept in a little, everyone was in a good mood.

First, this is what our play room looks like less than 24 hours after Mike (and Scott) completely cleaned it.

No, your eyes don’t deceive you. EVERY bin is dumped out.

Second, we were running late to the aquarium to meet friends, but I texted and let them know, no big deal. The aquarium went fine, then we decided to go to lunch with friends. Things went down hill fast. Nate decided it would be fun to scream for the first twenty minutes. No, not whine, SCREAM. Have you heard Nate scream? It is loud. I was that mom that people with out kids want to kill and that people with kids felt sorry for. I even busted out the fruit snacks… nothing. Ironically, during his fit, he threw his head back and slammed it on the table and that calmed him down. (note to self, next time Nate is throwing  a fit, slam his head on a table.) He calmed down enough to save up some energy to scream the entire way home.

Next, this is a real converstation I had with Scott. I am not exaggerating:

I was getting ready to add the fajitas marinade to the meat.

S: What are we having for dinner?

Me: Faijitas.

S: Is that seafood (pointing at the chicken)?

Me: No, it is chicken.

S: Is that seafood (pointing at the beef)?

Me: No, it is steak, from a cow.

S: But is that seafood (pointing at the chicken again)?

Me: NO. It is chicken. There is no seafood up here. Only chicken and beef. We are not having seafood for dinner.

S: When are we going to eat seafood?

Me: Maybe this weekend.

S: But I really like seafood (whining).

Me: Okay. Then this should be a good weekend for you.

S: I like chicken and beef too.

Me: Good.

S: But I just really like seafood.

Me: Okay.

S: Are we having seafood for dinner?

Me: I will kill you. No Scott. We are having FAJITAS! CHICKEN AND BEEF FAJITAS!

S: But I really wanted seafood for dinner……

This was one of 500 million conversations that Scott and I had today that went pretty much the same. Different subjects. Same idea.

Then this is Nate after nap:

And BEFORE he dumped out his entire humidifier on the wall and floor. Where was I you ask? Trying to talk to a potential babysitter on the phone who now thinks I am insane and my kids are hellions.

Then Mike called to say he was stuck in a meeting and wouldn’t be home until 7.

It was one thing after another. BUT while uploading pictures I found these gems Scott took while I wasn’t looking that immediately made me laugh….

"Oh look, Scott is taking my picture! He is so funny!"

"I am over it! I SAID, Get the camera out of my face!"

I guess my kids are okay.

*I am aware that banging your child’s head on a table is a form of child abuse. I was joking. Don’t report me.

*No, Nate is not my favorite child but Scott refuses to let me take his picture. Case in point:

Aaaahhhh, thanks for listening. I feel better now.

Sharing is Caring

Mike and I have different views on sharing. Especially when it comes to food. I am not a sharer. My feeling is, if you want some popcorn…..get up and get yourself some popcorn, if you wanted a dessert…. you should have ordered one. When I say, “Mike, do you want chips and salsa” and you say, “No”. Then I get myself the exact amount of chips and salsa that I want, so, NO, you can’t have a bite!

Mike recently has been saying, “Sharing is Caring!” to Scott when he wants something of Scotts. So now, Scott is constantly saying to me, “Mooom, Sharing. Is. Caring!!!”

When it comes to toys and “stuff”, I handle each situation differently. I don’t think it is right that one child might be playing with something then another child wants it so you take it away from the first child and say, “You need to share.” That just doesn’t seem fair. Maybe child #2 needs to learn to wait. I don’t make my kids share with each other. I don’t let them take things away from each other either, but I try to teach them that you can have a turn with X when child is finished playing with it. Until then, find something else to do! I know some parents do taking turns by limiting the time each child is allowed to play with a toy and switching off. Between Scott and Nate, I don’t really have to do that yet, they get distracted while waiting. So I don’t really know about that….

I will say, if we have guests over, I try to match the toys ie if Scott has a sword and friend wants it, we get another sword for friend and vice versa. If we don’t have two of an item (or a good sub), I do enforce the time rule and explain it as… “They are our guest, when they leave you get X to yourself, so while they are here, we need to share…..”

I am just wondering…. Am I doing the right thing? What do you do at your house?

We have this little book about sharing and it cracks me up because they never actually share in it… It is like:

You can’t have my snack, BUT I will get you some of your own.

You can’t play with my friend, BUT maybe we can all play dress up together.

You can’t ride on my bike, BUT I can take you for a ride.

I kind of like their philosophy. Mike doesn’t. He thinks the poor kid should hand over his new bike.

Menu Plan Monday

Okay, so the Beef Stroganoff was a hit (once I convinced Scott it looked gross BUT tasted good, it really does look quite gross though). Also the Corn Chowder was quite good. On breakfast for dinner night, I decided to be daring and made a quiche. I realized I had a frozen pie crust and then I just mixed some eggs, cheese, sausage and milk together and baked it. Eh, it was okay, BUT not bad and usually I don’t make anything with out a recipe so I will consider it a success.

This week, it just kind of a normal week. Nothing too exciting going on! Although, I am going to have to figure out a different grocery shopping plan. I have done it on Mondays for a long time, it just feels good to start the week off with fresh food around the house BUT my new yoga class is on Mondays at 10:30, not enough time to go in between dropping Scott off and class and not enough time from after class to picking Scott up. My choices are going to be either to go on Sunday (that would be I would have to do my menu plan on Sat, boring) or on Tuesday (fine, but then I will have to plan ahead from the following Monday). Do you see what a conundrum this is? Ahhh, the woes of a Stay at Home Mom. Maybe I can try to go Monday after naps? That seems a little tight between naps and dinner. Don’t worry friends, I will survive this and I will press on. It will take strength and courage, but I will stand victorious.

Monday: Fish Tacos (I have fish in the freezer that I am thawing, I forgot this week about my yoga conflict issue) I am going to attempt to make yummy fish tacos from ingredients I have on hand. Blacken the fish, serve on tortilla with lettuce, salsa, cheese, and yogurt… will this be good or bad? I have no idea, but I am going out for coffee later and will get a second dinner if need be ;).

Tuesday: Buffalo Burgers with Salad

Wednesday: Chicken and Noodles*

Thursday: Fajita Night (it sounds more fun if you put “night” after it), chicken and steak with veggies and guac….yummmm

Friday: Out for dinner

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Homemade pizza (you can use this recipe or if you a whole foods near you, you can ask at the deli counter and they will package some of their dough for you) night with veggies

*Chicken and Noodles ala Pam Bandy

This is my moms recipe that I finally attempted to make for the first time over the holidays. It is so good and so easy. The fun part is you choose the ratios!

Celery and carrots chopped up to your taste, egg noodles, chicken and chicken broth made from the base you buy. I use the Better than Boullian Organic Chicken Base. Fill pot with water add in your base (add a little more than the instructions say) bring to a boil, add in your veggies and noodles. After the noodles are finished cooking, I taste the broth, I like it a little saltier so I usually add some more base in, and the flavor should be stronger than regular chicken noodle soup. This is not soupy like chicken and noodle soup, but more stew like so make sure you don’t use to much water in the beginning (you can always add more). Then throw in the chicken, let it simmer a while and voila! I also use a rotisserie chicken, one less step and Scott LOVES to peel the meat off the bones. I am not kidding, it keeps him busy for an hour. My mom boils a whole chicken though… so whatever you prefer!

PS While writing this, I said, “Any dinner requests this week family?” Scott screamed, “I wanna go to the Panda place!” He has been really into Chinese food lately. The he said, “I actually I want some pchicken…. that is spanish for chicken.”

Magic Peas

This week was weird. Really weird. School was out because it was COLD. What the what?! The days seemed to creep by but the week flew by. The week in review/Things I learned this week/Basically a hodge podge:

-One vasectomy (everything went well, but I do have a funny story in a second)

-Three stickers on the Bribe Chart and the first reward was obtained!

Making his "reward" (chocolate pretzels) note the tongue of concentration

-Two trips to Target, One really cute lamp shade purchased (it is freezing out, there is nothing else to do besides hang out at Target!)

-Skipped two runs, I can’t handle the treadmill and I can’t handle negative degree weather (however… if you have tips for running in the freezing, let me know… my cut off is 10 degrees). What’s a girl to do?

-Discovered Man vs Wild and the WHOLE family loves it. Scott is now obsessed with knowing what kind of animal he is eating.

The Lyon Men watching Man vs Wild

-One school eliminated from my list of potential canidates

-I have a hair magazine I got before I chopped my hair and I as I was thumbing through it I realized all the people whose hair I like are from Australia

-We have an ant issue! Who has an ant problem in negative degree weather?? Isn’t that one of the benefits of cold… all the creepies die? I know you are thinking, “Man, her kitchen must be really disgusting in order to have ants right now….” I assure you, it is not! I can’t even figure out where they are coming from… Surely it isn’t from the open jar of sugar I keep on the counter at all times…. (just kidding!)

-Okay, so here is one of the hilarious stories that have come from the vasectomy. I think this one gives a little glimpse into our family dynamic:

This morning, when the boys woke up we put them in bed with us and we were all just snuggling and hanging out. Nate was crawling all over us, Scott was tooting under the covers, you know, the usual. All of the sudden, Nate crawled over Mike and jerked his head back and slammed Mike right in the, ahem, vasectomy region. This is the conversation that followed:

SLAM

Mike: (screaming) CORI!!!!

Me: What?! It isn’t my fault?!?!

Nate: (lies there frozen until I grab him)

Mike: (writhing in pain)

Me: (rolling my eyes in annoyance)

Scott: I know what to do! (runs to the kitchen)

Scott: Here Dad! I got your Magic Peas!

Nate: (still sitting on my lap)

Mike: Oh my gosh. It hurts so bad! It feels like………………………………………………………….(5 minutes later)……………..

Me: Are you going to be okay?

Scott: Nate, you hit dad in his surgery!

Nate: (staring at everyone smiling)

Mike: You just don’t understand, I just need to lay here.

Me: Sigh, come on kids….

It was one of those, not funny but kinda funny moments. Okay, Mike didn’t think it was funny at all.

-Nate has started fake laughing and sounds exactly like Cher

-We had play group at our house and it was a hit (there were a couple of sword smacking incidents, but all in all….)

-Scott has been taking lots of pictures with my camera (several of his shots have been of my booty, which are promptly deleted) here are my top two favorites:

And that folks, was pretty much our week! OH, and the ribs at Elmers are awesome!

So it Begins….

I am trying something new… Actually putting a picture on my blog! I know, I know the bounds of my creativity are endless. Some of you have already seen this on my face book page for those of you who have not…. enter…

The Bribe Chart:

Bribery at its Finest

I have listened to your advice, and made the first reward after three stickers (one week). For those of you that need help interpreting my mad art skills:

1,2,3 (stickers)= Cooking a special treat. This was actually Scott’s idea. My original drawing was depicting staying up late (get it, a smiley face in bed?!) but he didn’t like that idea.

4,5,6= Getting to watch a long movie and eat ice cream after school. That’s right child psychologists, I am bribing my child with TV AND FOOD! (I also potty trained with candy…. COME AND GET ME!)

7,8,9= A new game for the Wii. Mike promised this one with out checking with me. I am cheap and like cheap bribes, he is 4! (honestly, Mike wants a new game and using Scott as his pawn ;))

I explained the system to Scott as this… It is okay to be sad about school. We all have to do things we don’t want to do sometimes. BUT everyday you go to school with a positive attitude and with out complaining, you get a sticker on your chart! And, ahem, as you will notice… one sticker on already!

My goal was, I don’t want him to feel like he can’t be sad or express how he is feeling, but I do want to cut some of the drama.

Thanks everyone for all your help and advice through this school adventure!