One Foot Stuck to the Floor

Potty Training Blues

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:22:00 +0000

Darling Girl is three and a half. Well technically, she'll be three and a half at the end of February. Close enough.

DG isn't potty trained. This doesn't bother me for the most part, but she needs to be potty trained to get in to any of the preschools we're looking at.

I know DG's ready. I read those articles on "is your child ready to potty train" and she does EVERY SINGLE ONE on the lists. Seriously. All except for actually going on the toilet.

DG loves to follow me to the bathroom. She tells me all about how babies wear diapers because they can't use the big potty, but big girls/boys and "growned ups" use the toilet and wear underwear.

DG regularly announces that she's going to go and then does it (in her diaper, obviously). When DG announces that, I sometimes ask her if she wants to do it on the potty. Sometimes she says yes and then does it, but usually she says no and just goes in her diaper.

She can stay dry for a decent bit of time and has fairly regular times for bowel movements. I also know DG can hold it because the few times I've talked her into going on the toilet, she can make it all the way into the bathroom, turn the light on, get her toilet seat on the toilet, pull her pants down, climb up, and then go.

Obviously she can dress/undress herself. She loves the idea of underwear. She tells me that she wants to wear them, but the actual using of the potty doesn't last more than once or twice.

DG does occasionally use the potty both of her own will and when asked. She always uses it right before bath time. Nine times out of ten when I ask her if she wants to use it, she says no. I never push it. If she asks, we help get on it and she goes, if not, no big deal. We always cheer when she asks to go on the toilet and then actually does it.

DG is the type of person who doesn't do something until she's sure she can do it. She didn't pull herself up to standing or take tentative steps much before she walked. One day she just up and walked. My mom has suggested that she won't use the potty until she's sure she can do it without having an accident. That makes sense, but I don't know if we can wait that long.

The pediatrician suggested a chart in the bathroom that DG sticks stickers on when she goes and then she gets a treat/toy/something when the chart is full. I don't know if that would be enough of a motivator for her.

Why isn't she potty trained? What am I missing to get her over the edge? Is it because I'm not pushing at all? I hate to push her the wrong direction and have her clam up and never do it, but this is ridiculous. I know everyone says, "They'll do it when they're ready." When will she be ready? Do I continue to go with that philosophy or try to do something else?

I real and truly believe that DG could be potty trained if she wanted to be. Why doesn't she want to be? Is there something I can do to help her want to be?

Help me, blogosphere! You're my only hope! I need this child to go to preschool!

Six Years

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:13:00 +0000

Today is six years.

I remember every year. It's hard to forget given the giant scar running down the center of my abdomen. This year I particularly remember because it's six years to the day. They're even playing the Super Bowl today just like they did six years ago.

Six years ago I was looking forward to watching "Grey's Anatomy" after the Super Bowl. It was the one with the bomb in the patient. The one with Kyle Chandler. I don't watch that show anymore. I haven't since Izzie started seeing dead people. But I will never forget that episode.

Six years later, I'm looking forward to a regular Sunday with my three and a half year old. Six years later, I'm looking forward to Mr. B bringing us breakfast of cinnamon rolls and Starbucks.

Six years later, I'm happy to be able to remember.

Strike Against PIPA/SOPA

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I know I'm not "big" or "important," but it takes all of us together to stop this.

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SOPA/PIPA Strike

On Jan 24th, Congress will vote to pass internet censorship in the Senate, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed. We need to kill the bill - PIPA in the Senate and SOPA in the House - to protect our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity. We need internet companies to follow Reddit's lead and stand up for the web, as we internet users are doing every day.

Thorns, Roses, and Rosebuds: Saying Goodbye to 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 03:27:00 +0000

I'm linking up with Jana at Jana's Thinking Place for a nice take on the usual year end post.

The idea is that you pick one thorn (bad thing) and two roses (good thing) for 2011 then three rosebuds (looking forward to it thing) for 2012.

2011 was a really difficult year in the Blue Moon Girl household. So coming up with roses will be difficult. I'm really looking forward to 2012 and hoping that it's a MUCH better year for us!

Thorn 2011 -
1. The death of two of our pets in one month. Losing them was very difficult especially as close together as they were. The death of our cat wasn't unexpected as he was in kidney failure, but it was still hard. The death of our dog was VERY unexpected and very hard coming so soon after the cat's loss.

Roses 2011 -
1. Our trip to Boise. I wasn't looking forward to this, but it turned out to be a fabulous trip. It was Darling Girl's first plane ride. She did amazing with the whole trip! It was also our first trip as a family! We had so much fun!

2. Mr. B's promotion. It started out being very stressful for him and not a great fit, but turned into one of the best things he has ever done. They ended up splitting the job he was promoted to into two positions and Mr. B took one. It's awesome for him! He likes his coworkers, he's loving the position, and it meant a little more money for us!

Rosebuds 2012 -
1. TTC. Yep. That's right. We're going to try for Darling Girl or Boy #2. I'm very hopeful that this is going to be a rosebud and not a thorn in 2012!

2. Creating a playroom for DG. We need somewhere besides the living room to keep her nine million toys. We've sort of already started by picking out paint color and cleaning out the extra bedroom, but the coming weeks will be painting, moving toys in, and decorating!

3. Getting organized. That's my big goal for 2012. I'm going to try and get some organization in my life. In all aspects. I want to be more organized with our finances and budget, our house, our lives. I've already started this project too and it's coming along great so far! Now to keep it all up!!

Want to join? Head on over to Jana's to get the details!

The Gorgeous Robot Princess Herself! #Boo

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 03:44:00 +0000

If you're looking for how we made a robot princess happen go look here!

This is just a bunch of photos of Darling Girl wearing possibly the coolest Halloween costume EVER (if I do say so myself!)! :o)

Blowing kisses to her adoring fans

From the back

From the side

Silly Girl!

Linking up here -

Robot Princess!

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 03:34:00 +0000

Finally here is the promised Robot Princess post!

Back at the beginning of September, we asked Darling Girl what she wanted to be for Halloween and she answered without hesitation, "A woe-bot pwin-cess."

A what? A robot princess? What in the world?

So I set about figuring out what that might look like. I Googled photos of robot and princess costumes (because there aren't any robot princesses) to get ideas. I also asked DG what she thought that would look like. She decided that it would be a robot that had a princess skirt, a crown, lots of jewels, lots of gadgets, and sparkle shoes that were square because robots have square shoes.

M'kay. Here we go.

I found an old box and spray painted in silver...

Then I cut up two rectangle tissue boxes to form shoes. I covered those with paper and painted them metallic purple. DG decorated them with springs, jewels, and other bits. In the end, she had LOTS of trouble wearing these so they didn't get worn except around the house. They were fun to make though!

I cut the box flaps off the top of the box and created straps instead of cutting arm holes in the box. DG and I both agreed that would be more comfortable. I made the straps out of cloth, duct tape, staples, and some of the leftover purple foam stuff from the crown (for padding for her).

I punched holes through the box for the Christmas lights. I used two of the flaps I cut off to cover the light wires. I glued a sandwich bag on the flaps to put the battery pack in. I folded up the bottom three flaps I didn't cut off and taped those with duct tape to strengthen the box a little and keep it from collapsing.

You can see the bit of Velcro on the back inside of the box where I put an air pack thing to pad her a little bit and make the box more comfortable.

I did a large running stitch through a piece of pink tulle folded in half with a piece of white sparkly tulle inside the pink. Then I taped the string up inside the box with box tape and duct tape.

I made the crown out of purple foam, a long spring, and duct tape. DG decorated it with jewel stickers and we glued springs on it.

Finally there was the best part! Decorating! DG helped pick out pipe cleaners, poof balls, and jewel stickers from the craft store. I found springs, nuts, bolts, screws, washers, knobs, handles, and the like in my dad's garage. I saved a bunch of different sized lids to make knobs and painted them with nail polish (regular paint didn't work well at all!). DG told me where to put stuff and I stuck them on with hot glue. Then when the main stuff was done, she decorated with stickers.

DG decided to what to wear underneath everything. In the end, she wore a pair of leggings, a pink shirt, and her purple striped sweater. It was comfortable.

Then finally after a couple weeks of a lot of duct tape, a lot of hot glue, a lot of stickers, and a lot of fun for DG and I, she got to do the best part...

WEAR IT FOR TRICK OR TREATING!!!

Pinterest Challenge Week #5

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:27:00 +0000

It's been rough couple of weeks in the Blue Moon Girl household so I haven't linked up to Julie's 52 Weeks of Pinterest Challenge for a bit.I'm back this week to share one of our new favorite meals! I discovered it when someone else pinned it awhile back and I'm SO glad I did! It's awesome!

Easy, tasty, and did I mention easy?

This recipe is for Johnny Marzetti with Cheesy Noodles from Once a Month Mom.

I have an unusual toddler who ADORES bell peppers, but this recipe is popular with even the non-bell pepper eating set (me).

We have modified it slightly to use a large can of chopped tomatoes and a little more soy sauce mix. That's only because we like it better that way. It's complete yum both ways.

I made it once without the beef bullion cube because I forgot to put it in and it's even good that way!

I grew bell peppers this year in my garden and have made this with home-grown bell peppers. Also good.

I have also frozen it like it says you can in the recipe and it warms up so well!

It's just good. Easy. Good. A winning combination! :)

P.S. I have some photos to post, but I'm having all kinds of trouble with our network so I'm afraid to post them because I might lose the whole post. So I'll be back later (if I can) to post photos!

I'm a Recruit!

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 07:00:00 +0000

I'm hanging out over at one of my very favorite places today, Sluiter Nation! Please go read!

**********
P.S. - After you're done reading my post over at Katie's place, please stop and give her some love on her post about her very beloved 17 1/2 year old cat, Louis. He's going to have to be euthanized soon. She needs all the love we can send her. After having been through this way too recently, I know she's going to need lots of love from us.

**********

P.P.S - Do you hate stroke? Do you wanna have a good time and raise money for a good cause? Then stop at the coolest Twitter party in town tonight, Wednesday, September 28 at 9:00pm est. Check out Lori's blog post here for all the details!

♥ Two ♥

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:42:00 +0000

April 1997 - August 2011

May 2001 - September 2011

You were family.

Our family.

You were our babies before Darling Girl was born.

You were our furry babies after Darling Girl was born.

You saw marriage, house moves, another cat, another dog, sicknesses, surgeries, pregnancy, and a baby (who became a toddler and then a preschooler). Amongst many thousands of other little things that came and went everyday.

Through it all you gave us unconditional love. Never wavering. Not once. Not even when you might have been number two because of a marriage or baby or a surgery or a sickness or something else.

To lose both of you in a month has been simply heartbreaking.

You were the kind of animals that we're only lucky enough to have as part of our family once in a lifetime.

We love and miss both of you so, so much. More than I can type here through my tears.

♥

52 Weeks of Pinterest: Week 2: Chalk Paint

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:57:00 +0000

I'm back with my second Pinterest Challenge linkup.

This time around, I'm posting about the chalk paint that Darling Girl and I made. I found this particular recipe over at Skip to My Lou, but I've seen it several places.

This was SUPER easy to make. Equal parts corn starch and water with food coloring.

The blog post I found it at suggested putting it into an old muffin tin pan. I didn't have an extra one I could use so I just put it into some of DG's paint cups.

Paint Cups

We quickly discovered that those cheap foam brushes work MUCH better than bristle paint brushes.

Admiring Her Work

Hard at work

What? I can play too!

The best part about all of this? It rinses off with water. Nothing to it. Easy-peasy! It rinses off of clothes easily too (although DG wore her paint clothes anyway just in case!).

We've made this several times this summer and really had a good time! This was definitely one of the better activities I've come across on Pinterest!

52 Weeks of Pinterest: Week 1: Lemon Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 01:54:00 +0000

I had grand plans to do my first 52 Weeks of Pinterest post about the play mat I made for Darling Girl for our trip to Boise. The problem is that I haven't actually taken any photos of the finished project. So yeah. I'll do that one next time.

**********

I made Crock Pot Lemon Chicken a few days ago for dinner. I re-pinned it from someone. The original recipe is from The Queen Bee's Hive. The awesome part about this meal is that it could be made either on the stove top or in the crock pot. I chose crock pot because I LOVE to put things in my crock pot and then let them cook!

This recipe is SOOOOOOOOO easy. Nothing to it. Sprinkle your chicken breasts with some Italian seasoning, put them in the crock pot, pour some lemon juice over and go.

I took a couple of photos of it, but I am clearly the world's worst food photographer. Fair warning. It looks kinda weird in my photos, but tasted AWESOME. I shredded it after it was done cooking, put it back in the juices then stirred it all together. We had it over rice with corn (because corn is pretty much the only vegetable my husband eats).

Yes. I do LOVE crock pot bags.


Up Close. This is actually an ok photo.

I love Pinterest for pinning recipes and projects. It helps me remember where I found the recipe and hopefully helps me to remember to make it!

Enjoy!

Looks Around to See if Anyone is Still Here...

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 01:33:00 +0000

Dusts things off...

Sweeps off the cobwebs...

*Coughing*

Hey. So yeah.

Remember me?

The blogger here once upon a time?

I took a break.

A long one. Clearly.

I spent time with family. With friends. With Twitter.

I'm not the best of bloggers in the best of times. And then I took a really, really, really, really long break. Well. I posted occasionally, but only to wish my beautiful girl a happy birthday, to share a guest post, nothing exciting (well except for Darling Girl's birthday).

I'm never going to be a once a day blogger, but I'm going to try to blog a little more frequently. Like say, once a week or so.

I'm also back now because I'm joining up with Dutch Being Me and her "52 Weeks of Pinterest" project. I'm ~~mildly~~ completely obsessed with Pinterest so this is a good way for me to actually do some of the things I pin and share them with everyone (or the two people who still read here).

So my next post is going to be about one of my Pinterest projects. Feel free to make your way over to Dutch Being Me and join in on the fun! :)

Three

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Birth Morning! I feel HUGE!

Birth Day!

One Year! Enjoying that Ravioli!

Two Years! Love the pig tails!!

Three Years! My Diva girl!

Hosting Pursey!

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 22:46:00 +0000

A few months back, the lovely Lori of In Pursuit of it All mentioned that she still had a couple of weekends open to host the one and only Pursey Galore. I promptly jumped on the opportunity because, really? Who could pass up the chance to hang out with the World's Tackiest Purse? The best part of hanging out with The Pursey is that it's all for a GREAT cause! Pursey is to benefit the American Stroke Association in finding ways to help people who have had strokes and to fund research to prevent strokes in the future.

This weekend is my weekend with The Pursey!! We spent several months debating and deciding on what to do with Pursey while she was visiting with us. It snuck up on me and arrived before I realized it! We haven't quite decided what we're doing yet so she will be doing several small things with us this weekend.

First up today was a "Girls Day" with Darling Girl, my sister, and my mom. We took DG to see her very first movie at a movie theater. We watched "Winnie the Pooh" (highly recommended!) and then went to lunch. I didn't get tons of photos (strangely, the theater folks frown on it when you take photos in a theater! Who knew? ;o)), but we got a few of DG and I outside the theater in front of the poster.

I'm not sure what's in store for Pursey for the rest of this weekend. Stay tuned for further adventures and photos!

Do you want to donate to the American Stroke Association? (Yes, you do! Thanks!) Check it out here -

I'm Hanging Out at Not Super... Just Mom's Today!

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Sun, 22 May 2011 22:37:00 +0000

I'm honored to be guest posting today as part of Not Super... Just Mom's Second Annual Mental Health Rally. My post is "Break on Through to the Other Side."

Go! Check it out!

While you're there, check out the other great posts that people have written. They're amazing!

2nd Annual Mental Health Month Rally with Not Super…Just Mom (MHMRWNSJM)

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Wed, 18 May 2011 18:29:00 +0000

I have the great pleasure of being over at the Second Annual Mental Health Month Rally with Not Super... Just Mom (MHMRWNSJM) this week. Not today though (I think it's actually Sunday that is my day). However, I want to put this brief bit up today so that people will go over there and read the fantastic posts by fantastic people and learn a little more about mental health and the faces behind it. So get your behind over there and read!!

Thanks!

Shredded Beef Chimichangas

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Tue, 17 May 2011 01:21:00 +0000

This recipe is sort of a combination of a recipe that I came across here and some random bits that I saw on the internets. I adapted the original a bit because I'm not an onion fan and I wanted to use my crock pot. If you want to cook the meat in your oven, you should totally add the beef broth that is called for in the original recipe because it cooks off unlike in the crock pot.

Shredded Beef Chimichangas

Beef -
1 1/2 pound Round or chuck roast (chuck roast isn't as lean, but I cut the fat off)
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp dried oregano

1 can Ro*Tel Diced tomatoes and green chilies
Minced fresh garlic
Dried minced onion
A little water
7 oz can of whole or diced green chilies

Combine the seasonings in a small bowl and rub onto the meat. Make sure you get down into all the crevices.

In the crock pot, pour a can of Rotel, a bit of minced garlic, a bit of dried onion, and a little water (if you need it). Set the roast into the crock pot and cover the top of the roast with green chilies (original recipe calls for whole green chilies, but I couldn't find them so I used diced. They worked).

Cook all day, around 8-9 hours on low or until the roast basically falls apart. Take out of crock pot and shred it with a couple forks. Put it back in the crock pot and stir together.

Building Chimichangas -
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay one flour tortilla on a plate. Add a layer of cheese, then a spoonful of shredded beef mixture (try to drain off any excess liquid). Fold the ends in and roll up. Place on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. Once you have them all rolled, spray the tops of each chimichanga with cooking spray. Bake in the oven for about 7-10 minutes then flip. Bake on the other side for another 7-10 minutes.

This is pretty much exactly what is done in the original recipe and I HIGHLY recommend this method! It is SO good done this way! The chimichangas are crispy on the outside without being all greasy like they are when they're fried.

Top the chimis with whatever makes you happy, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, green onions, lettuce, olives, or con queso. Whatever you normally like.

I also think that this meat would make outstanding burritos, tacos, whatever! The meat also freezes nicely. I made a three pound roast and froze half the meat for another day.

Enjoy!

Prayers for Baby Diedrich (updated 5/17/11)

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:13:00 +0000

I've written about Baby Diedrich before. He was born at 24 weeks (yes, you read that right) on March 6, 2010. This beautiful little boy has fought so hard his whole life and overcome so much. He has been in PICU for awhile now waiting for a liver and bowel transplant. Tonight, that transplant has arrived.

Check here for more about Baby Diedrich.

Please, please, please say a prayer, send a good thought, whatever you believe in for this baby, his surgeons, and the family of the person who donated the organs.

Edited on 4/29/11 at 11:00am Mountain -
I saw a posting from about 5:45 am (Mountain) saying that the organs were in and the surgeons were checking bloodflow and making sure there were no leaks.

Another update from @fentonslee about an hour ago says that the surgery is still going well!

I'll update again when I hear something more.

New Edit at 2:45 pm Mountain time -
Heard from @fentonslee that surgeons replaced Baby Diedrich's stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas, and small bowel. They also removed half of his large bowel. He's resting comfortably now. His bilirubin levels have dropped dramatically! Yay Baby Diedrich!!

**********

Last edit on May 17, 2011 -
Diedrich has moved to the general hospital floor. His organs are doing well with no signs of rejection. His grafts are holding tight with no leaks! He's working on getting feeds into his new intestines, then his stomach, then by mouth.

If you want to hear more about Baby Diedrich, please go here (Facebook page for Diedrich).

I won't be updating this after this, but I thought everyone would like to hear that he's doing great! Keep up the good thoughts and prayers for him!

Taking a Break

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 22:58:00 +0000

I love Twitter. I love the internet. I love participating in various things like the Red Dress Club. I love blogging. I love reading other people's blogs. I love commenting on other blogs.

But I have lost my balance somewhere. I can't seem to manage everything. Lately I find that I'm spending all of my time trying to keep up with blogs, twitter, and with the internet.

It shouldn't be that way.

So I'm trying to figure out some balance. How to keep up with the blogging/twitter friends I enjoy, but also have a "real life" life. Until I can figure all of that out, I'm taking an internet break.

There is nothing wrong. No one is sick (well, we all have some allergies). Honestly, everything is okay. I just need to spend some time without internet to reassess my priorities.

I'll be back. Soon. Until then, I will still be checking email occasionally. I might pop in on Twitter or Facebook too.

Project Purse and Boots

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:49:00 +0000

You have probably noticed how over there on the left (you might have to scroll down a teense) is a button that says, "I Support Project Purse and Boots."

You're probably asking yourself, "What is this?"

Let me tell you all about it.

Project Purse and Boots is to support the American Stroke Association. For one year, this awesomely sequined, awesomely tacky purse is travelling around, going to parties, and raising money. Sadly, the lovely Pursey's schedule is all full (I get her this summer in July. Yes, I might be gloating a little. Also, a little excited.), but that doesn't mean you can't donate!

Tonight (April 6th), from 4pm Pacific time (so 5pm Mountain, 6 pm Central, 7pm Eastern) is a Purse and Boots tweet-a-thon. I had planned on participating, but my poor toddler is sick and a trip to the pediatrician is in order. I would really, really appreciate it if people got the word out and donated a little in my absence.

You can donate here.

You can participate in the tweet-a-thon by using the hashtag #PPNB in your tweets tonight. Let's get Pursey trending and spread the word! May I recommend using TweetDeck or TweetChat to follow the hashtag!

If you can't participate in tonight's tweet-a-thon, then you can still help get the word out. Go to the Purse and Boots website and grab a badge. Go to the website and read how you can help. Most importantly, go donate.

Please donate. Please help spread the word.You'll be saving lives. Really.

Thanks.

Taps on the Microphone...

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 02:01:00 +0000

Um hi...

Remember me?

Yep. Me. The girl who blogged here.

Once upon a time.

I have about half a dozen posts started. I tossed some ideas around in my head for Red Dress Club the last couple of weeks. But nothing came out.

So yeah.

Then I had this last week off for spring break. I had Big Plans! Stuff! I was going to get done!

Then I had issues with the car that made it so it took me three days to accomplish emissions and license plates when it should have taken half a day. In the midst of all of it, I had a car mechanic start a conversation about repairs that needed to be done by saying, "Do you think you can understand this or should I call your husband?" That's all a story for another day though.

Then today was going to be Big Plans Day where I got some stuff done and blogged. I figured I should get something accomplished on the last day of spring break. It got up to 75 degrees today. So Darling Girl and I went to the park.

That's more important than blogging any day.

In the meantime, I did manage to do some spring cleaning on my blog. Check out my pages up there on top. I added some stuff, rearranged some other stuff, and generally prettied it up. I also fixed up some stuff on the sidebars. I went and got myself an RSS feed on Feedburner. I also went and got myself a Facebook page (go like me, pleeeeeeease!).

So I haven't totally fallen off the planet. Honest. Hopefully things will get better next week. It depends on the weather...

Blogging Detours

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 17:12:00 +0000

I settled down on the couch for a few minutes of blogging. I knew that Darling Girl would be awake soon, but I had to take advantage of this and at least start to get a few ideas organized and down so that I could finish it up during her nap later.

I looked at the couple of things I had jotted down.

Sister Hazel song, "Change Your Mind," welcome barbecue, out of place, alone, going home on weekends, Diet Pepsi explosions, roommate, unpacking/repacking.

Suddenly a little person appeared beside me, "Mama! MAMA! I up! Mama! We weady, set, go? Mama? Go to wunch?" I carefully closed the computer...

I reopened the computer, Darling Girl was finally napping. We had a great morning going over to my work to have lunch and a potluck. She was absolutely exhausted afterward, her little eyes kept crossing and drifting closed all the way home. I sang and coaxed her to stay awake so that she didn't take a ten minute nap.

A diesel engine rumbled to life. The new next door neighbors were moving in. Their driveway is right next to Darling Girl's bedroom. "Oh please, please don't let it wake up Darling Girl", I prayed silently.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP

Fantastic. The truck was backing up. I continued my little prayer, hoping they would quiet down so I could get some blogging and house cleaning accomplished.

Suddenly a little person appeared beside me, "Mama! MAMA? Dat NOISY! What dat? It shhhhh-tinky! Go see it? We weady, set, go? Mama?" I carefully closed the computer...

Saturday morning. One last chance to get this post done. Mr. B offered to entertain Darling Girl for awhile. I sat quietly, trying to recall my notes, looking back at what I wrote the day before.

The phone ringing rattled my thoughts, breaking them into a million pieces. Mr. B answered it. He poked his head in, "It's your mom. She wants to know if you want to look at shoes for Darling Girl today or tomorrow."

Suddenly a little person appeared beside me, "Mama! MAMA! Shoooooooooooz! Fo me?! We weady, set, go! Get shooooooooooooooz fo me!! Mama?" I carefully closed the computer...

**********

This week's prompt was to write a piece about taking a detour.

This was not what I planned to write about, but I kept getting "detoured" by a toddler! It's kind of a silly, random post! I always appreciate constructive criticism, though I'm not sure this post is that great! :o)

Thanks for reading!

Top Ten Tuesday (on a Thursday) - Favorite Movies!

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:21:00 +0000

This week's Top Ten Tuesday (on Thursday) is your top ten movies. As if I could narrow this down to ten! That was so hard! There are many more on my favorite movie list! I picked the ones that are always my favorites, but a few drop off and others get added from time to time!

So here you go! My top ten movies in no particular order (except for #1 which is ALWAYS my #1!)!

1. Lady and the Tramp - Yep. That's right. The Disney cartoon Lady and the Tramp is my all time favorite movie. I love this movie so much. I've seen it about eighty zillion times. I love the scene where they're eating spaghetti, the one in the pound, where Tramp saves them from the rat, and when Trusty goes to find the carriage with Tramp in it. This movie was the reason I didn't like Siamese cats!

2. Princess Bride - "Let me es-plain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up." This movie is The Awesome. The End.

3. Ferris Bueller's Day Off - A total classic. I love this movie! The best part is that it's John Hughes. Awesome. "The question isn't 'what are we going to do,' the question is 'what aren't we going to do?'"

4. Love Actually - If you haven't seen this movie you are missing out. This movie is absolutely adorable. I love all the characters and the way they interact, but yet don't. It's amazing. Plus, Colin Firth. Who needs anything else?

5. Sleepless in Seattle - Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan. Classic love story. I love the part where the girls talk about "An Affair to Remember" and start to cry and then the guys start crying over "The Dirty Dozen."

6. Back to the Future trilogy -Do I even have to say anything about the awesomeness of these three movies? I think not. They're just fun. I love these movies!

7. Shawshank Redemption - Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Enough said. I love this movie so much. I could watch it over and over. But I would fast forward through that really sad part about Brooks. That breaks my heart every time.

8. Ever After - A different take on the Cinderella story. I love Drew Barrymore as the lead character in this. And Anjelica Huston as the wicked step-mother is perfect. A sweet love story. One of my favorites!

9. Toy Story 3 - I didn't expect to like this movie. When I first watched it, I wasn't sure about it. The longer I've been away from it, the more I like it. It's such a sweet story about growing up and moving on. And the ending? Makes me cry.

10. Up - This isn't a kid's movie even though it's a cartoon. It's such a sweet story. I love it. I could watch it over and over again and cry every time.

Please Like Me!

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 22:06:00 +0000

I finally got around to setting up a Facebook page for this blog!

Come like me! Pretty please with sugar on top!

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/One-Foot-Stuck-to-the-Floor/199352776756650?sk=wall

Veggie Meatball Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Blue Moon Girl) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:43:00 +0000

Mmmmm!

I made this for the first time a few weeks ago. We loved it so much that we've made it again! It's a VERY popular meal with the toddler. We simply cut her meatballs up into smaller pieces.

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Veggie Meatball Soup

3 cups beef broth
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 can (14 1/2 oz) stewed tomatoes
15 frozen, fully cooked meatballs, thawed
3 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup spiral pasta, cooked and drained

In a slow cooker, combine the first tsix ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Just before serving, stir in pasta and heat through. Discard bay leaves.

Serves 6.

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Notes -

Two cans of beef broth is just a shade more than three cups. I just pour in two cans. It's easier and then I don't waste that little extra broth.

Two cups of frozen mixed vegetables is basically one 16 oz package.

I like chopped tomatoes better than stewed, so I use those instead.

I don't like bay leaves so I skip them and it tastes fine. I add a little garlic instead.

This is an easy recipe to double. It's also easy to eyeball all of it after you've made it once or twice and add and subtract things to your own taste.

I would imagine that a little while on the stove would work if you don't have a slow cooker (but I love my slow cooker so I'll never know!).

We like to keep the pasta separate from the soup so that it doesn't get yucky. Then we just scoop out a little pasta and pour the soup over the top.