Hyppychick

Do you have a household notebook?

2012-01-13T13:55:00.001-05:00

I first learned about household notebooks from Flylady and her Control Journal.

Basically, this is a notebook that holds all the important household information that keeps your family running. Stuff you probably keep in your head. Stuff that would be helpful if you weren’t around – and I’m not just talking if you were to pass away suddenly. It could also be a fun, temporary absence like a vacation or girl’s night out.

When I was suddenly hospitalized last year because of my stomach issues, I must have gotten a dozen texts from John asking questions that could have been quickly answered if he’d had a family resource book to turn to. Similarly, I went to a retreat and got a frantic call from John that one of the sinks had begun to leak in spectacular fashion and what was the number of our plumber? A household notebook would have helped in this case too.

Does your family know which Chinese food restaurants deliver? Do they have the number for the power company if the power goes out?

So that’s the biggest reasons to make this kind of resource but more importantly, you get the information OUT OF YOUR HEAD. I know that the human brain has an amazing capacity to learn and remember but I find sometimes that I just don’t have the memory that I pretend that I used to. Truth is, that we all have trouble with bandwidth. Truth is that there are so many things happening in a day that we cannot possibly remember everything or, for that matter, be responsible to remember it all.

Over the next few days, I’m working on putting together my own household notebook and I will share with you how I do it and what I include.

Does your family have a household notebook?

Pinterest is the new crack

2012-01-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

Seriously.

I was introduced to Pinterest by my awesome sister in law. Little did she know the true horror of what she unleashed. Now, when I have insomnia, I am on Pinterest.

Additionally, Pinterest has the strange affect of making you think you are way more crafty than you actually are. A Lego storage rack made of PVC and scrap wood? I can do that. A darling little apron just perfect for my next dinner party? I can whip that up during nap time.

For visual people like me, though, it’s perfect because I no longer have to dig through my bookmarks trying to find the picture of the room that had the interesting wall thing that I must show John as he’s walking out the door to work.

I can’t get John to look at it though. I think he still blames me for getting him on Facebook.

What to feed a 10 month old?

2012-01-06T10:40:00.000-05:00

Griffin and I are in a special time right now.

At his last well-child appointment, the pediatrician said that I needed to start cutting back on his bottles and get more solid food into him.

YAY! Formula costs roughly the same as a side of beef and cutting down helps our budget. However, this causes another issue. He is STARVING.

WHAT DO I FEED THE BOY!?!?!

He’s a baby, feed him baby food, you say. With some kids, this might work. With my kid, no, not so much.

Oh, he liked the baby food until I started giving him table food. Loved baby green beans and then I fed him real green beans and he would have nothing to do with the baby green beans. I mean, what would you rather have: tasty green beans or snot-like green bean goo?

So meal time is fun. What he liked yesterday, gets thrown across the room today. He likes green beans, carrots, potatoes, peas, most any vegetable. He likes meats. He loves fruit.

Pasta is hit or miss. Spaghetti is meant to be thrown apparently. Mac and cheese is sometimes good and sometimes throwable. The noodles from double noodle soup is also hit or miss – meaning sometimes he hits you and sometimes he misses.

I have to steer clear of anything too acidic like tomatoes and citrus fruit – his system is still too sensitive. I also steer clear of the major allergy prone foods like garlic, onion, strawberries, chocolate and nuts – at least until his second birthday.

So here’s my query: what do I feed my boy? He’s 10 months old and I feel bad about just feeding him chicken nuggets, green beans, cubed cheese and diced apples.

2012

2012-01-04T13:56:00.001-05:00

Hello and welcome to 2012. I know I’m a couple days late. Really, I do.

Truth is that I’ve been taking some long needed breaks from writing of just about any kind. I haven’t really been tweeting and I’ve even cut back on my Facebook silliness.

I have also been thinking seriously about my writing. I’ve never really considered myself a writer but over the last few months I’ve come to realize that I really am. Metaphorically speaking, I’m still trying that skin on and seeing where I need to take up the hems. Speaking practically, I’m still getting used to the idea.

So one of the things I want to do in 2012 is to take time EVERY SINGLE DAY to write. Something. Anything. Y’all are more likely to see some of my more inane writing once this starts as I am keeping a running list on my phone of everything that pops into my head that might make for a good post.

Last year, my resolution was to survive pregnancy and having a newborn. Well, I am happy to say that I did that!

This year, I want to work on my writing. What are you working on?

Christmas Wishes

2011-12-23T11:18:00.000-05:00

This Christmas is a little tight. Santa’s bringing the kids store-bought presents but we’re giving everyone else goody bags with homemade yummies and stuff.

I made my Grandmother’s Fruit Cake. I know what you’re thinking: “Fruit cake? Does it work as a door stop?” And in most cases, you’d be right. But this is Ice Box Fruit Cake.

Sorry, you won’t be getting that recipe. My grandmother gave it to me and made me promise not to share. I think my cousins have the recipe too, so go ask them.

The kids saw the really good Santa this year. This particular Santa is so popular that he is by appointment only AND you have to pay a $15 sitting fee. $10 is applied to your photo order.

Phoebe, of course, clammed right up. Griffin lost his ever-lovin’ mind.

As seems to be usual now, Christmas is kind of a bummer. I’m working really hard to be happy. But this is the time of year that I miss my parents the most. I also find myself missing a lot of other folks too.

When I was a kid, Christmas was a huge 2 day deal. Christmas Eve, we’d get together with my mom’s brother and his family and open a few presents and my parents would make steak sandwiches. Christmas day would start at our house with Santa and then either we’d host or my aunt would host the big meal and we’d have tons of food and the booze would be free-flowing. There was almost always a fight or argument.

I get sad because almost all those people are gone now and the rest have scattered. John says that we need to build our own traditions and he is right.

So I am going to spend the next year deciding how I can keep Christmas in my heart. Santa and I had a conversation about some fun stuff and I think Phoebe will love her Christmas morning.

Meanwhile, I hope you have a magical Christmas.

Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup

2011-12-14T10:17:00.001-05:00

This is seriously good soup. So good that every time I make it, I am amazed that I can make something this good. It tastes at least as good as any restaurant’s Tortilla soup (I’m looking at you Barrel of the Cracker).

This was born of curiosity and the beginnings of another recipe. It started as a recipe on A Year of Slow Cooking and I was curious about how such a simple recipe could taste so good. But John said, “I think this would be better as soup”. So I added some chicken broth. And then I decided it didn’t have quite the right flavor, so I added the chili powder and garlic salt. Those three ingredients add a richness and depth that is wonderful!

Ingredients

2-3 Chicken Breasts
2 Jars Salsa
2 Cans Black Beans (rinsed, drained)
16 oz Frozen Corn
32 oz chicken broth
1 tbsp Garlic powder
1 tbsp Chili powder
Sour Cream (optional)
Tortilla Chips (optional)
Shredded cheese (optional)

Instructions

Spray crock pot with nonstick spray.
Trim fat off the chicken breast.
Place chicken breast at the bottom of the crock pot.
Pour salsa, black beans, and corn on top of the chicken breast.
Sprinkle with garlic powder and chili powder.
Pour chicken broth over all of it.
Cover and cook on high for 6-8 hours.
Take chicken out of the bottom of the crock pot and shred with a fork.
Mix chicken back into the beans/corn/salsa/ mixture.
Serve with sour cream and tortilla chips and cheese.

I served this the first time by crumbling chips into the bottom of the bowl, pouring soup over, then topping with sour cream and cheese. Now I let everyone put their own bowls together. I personally like to sprinkle the broken chips in a`little at a time so they stay crispy as I eat. John doesn’t use the sour cream or cheese.

I also have to note that I cook this in a 5.5 quart slow cooker and it is “lippin’ full” so you might want to use a larger pot. Additionally, I always use 3 chicken breasts because we eat this two nights. It makes a LOT of soup.

And no, Phoebe doesn’t like this. She loves the chips and salsa I put out though.

I get sick almost every Halloween

2011-11-10T13:23:00.001-05:00

A few days ago, I decided that I was starting to react to the autumnal pollen. So I did what every reasonable person who is allergic to damn near everything did: I decided that was a good time to sweep the back porch covered in said polleny wonder.

Now I do have to admit that I was having some of MOMS Club friends over for a scrapbook session and the kids would be playing during this. I knew that letting the kids run on the porch would be something they could do to run off some energy. We were having nice weather and the kids loved the porch.

Next morning, which happened to be Wednesday, my voice sounded like I’d smoked about 4 packs of cigarettes before 10 am but I still felt ok. Just a little tired.

By the next day, Thursday, however, I decided that I had seriously screwed up. My nose was completely blocked and my throat was irritated and again with the raspy voice…

I needed to feel better fast. Friday was going ot be action packed. I had a purse party in the morning and John’s work was hosting their annual Halloween party for the kids.

Every year, this place has a seriously awesome party for the employee’s kids and this year, the employees were decorating all of the meeting rooms. After hearing about the plans that John’s group had, I really wanted to see it.

I ended up missing the morning party much to my chagrin but at least my finances were happy. I would have spent too much money as I LOVE purses. But I needed to make an appearance at John’s party with the kids in costume.

I had never dressed up before but always got Phoebe dressed up but then John didn’t usually dress up either. This year, he was dressing up and I didn’t want to be left out.

Things I learned:

It is a challenge to get two kids dressed in costume – especially if you are alone when attempting this.
It is an even bigger challenge if you plan to costume yourself as well as two young children.
Fake blood takes a bloody long time to dry and will get all over EVERYTHING
My kids are more freaked out about the wig cap that goes on under the wig than the wig itself.
It is difficult to get a 3 year old in a ball gown clipped into a car seat. The skirt is very fluffy and really gets in the way.
People pay no attention to people driving down the road. They also pay no attention to a lady driving an SUV, covered in blood and seemingly being attacked by birds while driving down the street.
The few people who do pay attention will take a picture of you on their phone – while they drive down the road.

So we had a great time at the party and then we stopped at Varsity which has the best burger anywhere and the most fabulous chocolate milk in the world.

When we got home, I immediately went to bed but didn’t stay there. I had developed a horrible cough and the only way I could sleep was sitting up. Thank goodness for our recliner. I slept there for a couple of nights before finally breaking down and going to the doc.

Sinus infection, ear infection and bronchitis. YAY! I am an overachiever.

I’m beginning to feel better but the kids have gotten a little bit of it too. They have a little bit of a cough and are a little stuffy but it seems to be getting better.

That’s how we’re doing, how about you?

Happy Birthday Daddy

2011-10-19T12:59:00.001-04:00

My dad would have been 71 today. This picture is from 1976. My dad is the middle with the lady on his lap. The lady is my great grandmother. The other man is my uncle Jim.

He would have loved my kids. The man seriously loved babies.

The most vivid dream I've ever had came about two weeks after he passed away. I honestly don’t know if it was a dream or if I was meeting him at the Great Starbucks in the sky.

He and I were meeting in a beautiful room with a tall ceiling and a wall completely covered in greenery. One wall was all windows and it looked out over a beautiful lake.

He sat across from me with a cup of coffee in a simple mug. I remember crying in the dream.

He asked me why I was crying. I said that it was because he was gone and I couldn’t talk to him.

He told me that I could talk to him whenever I liked, I just might not get a direct answer.

“Besides,” he said, “you wouldn’t want me back the way I was. I was so sick. Think of me like you remember me when you were just a little fart.”

So today, I’m trying to think of my daddy the way he asked in that dream. I am trying to remember him calling me “little fart” or telling me that we were having “a bait of boiled buttholes” for dinner.

I’m trying to not remember the harsh words spoken between us or the almost violent arguments we would get into. I’m trying not to remember the ache of not being able to argue with him about religion or politics.

I know that when I tell him I love him today that he will hear me.

How to make caramel apples

2011-10-04T13:12:00.001-04:00

Purchase caramel apple kit.
Line cookie sheet with wax paper. Ready plastic wrap to wrap your delicious creations.
Follow directions on package to melt caramel.
Push sticks into apples. Nearly lose eye when one stick breaks and splinters fly through air.
Pick up apple on a stick. Apple slips off stick. Put apple back on stick. Repeat. Swear with great creativity. Figure out how to angle apple so it won’t fall off stick.
Dip into sauce that is now hotter than molten lava.
Swear obscenely when stick comes out of apple leaving apple bobbing in viscous goo. Go find the mother effin’ tongs.
Realize you’ve destroyed tongs because you found preschooler using them to mess with "things" in toilet. Find the salad spoons instead.
Use salad spoons to dig apples out of caramel sauce that is now hotter than the sun. Sauce drips off of salad spoons and onto your pants leaving a blister the size of your hand. Swear loudly enough that the neighbors think there’s some sort of domestic situation at your house and call police.
Repeat process with remaining apples and/or say to “hell with it” and go buy caramel apples at grocery store.
Enjoy!

Stupid Easy BBQ

2011-10-03T11:56:00.001-04:00

Today on our meal plan is BBQ sandwiches.

I recently discovered the delights of pork loin. I say that I don’t particularly like pork but the truth is that I like pork loin, pork chops and bacon. I’m not adverse to the occasional ham either.

I don’t like pork roast though. In my experience, it’s been a greasy mess and seems heavy. I’m not sure I’ve ever even had pork loin until recently but my in-laws had it the last time we visited and it was delightful. That got me looking for my own recipes.

I don’t remember where I came across this one but it’s mot too original.

Put the pork loin in the slow cooker.
Cover with bbq sauce.
Put on lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Shred about 30 minutes before serving.

I serve on hamburger buns. We also use leftovers for topping baked potatoes, pizzas, in salads, whatever.

This method creates tender, delicious pork and is as the title says: stupid easy.

October’s Meal planning

2011-10-02T15:48:00.001-04:00

I was inspired to share this with all of you this month. I was reading one of my favorite once a month cooking websites and she shared her own meal plan. Now granted I’m not cooking tons of this at once but I am doing a little bulk cooking.

My October Meal Plan

Chicken Tacos
Breakfast for dinner
BBQ Sandwiches
Leftover BBQ
Homemade Pizza
Grilled Chicken Burritos
Baked Potatoes with the fixin’s
OUT
OUT with Family
Delivery Pizza
Beef Stew Bowls
Cornish Pasties
Big Salad
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Quesadillas
Homemade Pizza
Hamburgers
Hot dogs
Turkey and veggies
Turkey Turkey Club Sandwiches
OUT
Burgers
Turkey Enchiladas
Kielbasa
Cranberry Chicken
BBQ Sandwiches
Leftover BBQ
Veggie Beef Soup
Leftover Soup
Coca Cola Chicken
Turkey Enchiladas

This is a plan. It doesn’t mean it’s written in stone. The only things that are absolutely sure things are the items for the first 7 days as I just went grocery shopping and the turkey related items.

I bought the turkey about 6 months ago and he’s been hanging out in my deep freeze. I think its about time to get him out and cook him up.

What this plan does for me though is help me when I’m trying to figure out what we should have. This way, I can create my grocery list in advance and then check the sales and act accordingly.

Do you plan this far ahead with your meal planning?

My Philosophy of Life

2011-09-20T14:25:00.001-04:00

I have philosophies or sayings that I generally try to live my life by.

The first comes from a legendary movie.

Go that way. Really fast. If something gets in your way, turn.

The second is incredibly simple.

Don’t be an asshole.

I hear you. “But Amanda, I’m not an asshole".

You might be. Do you:

Not pay attention to your surroundings or could care less that you’re in sync with others?
Live your life in a tremendous hurry despite other people’s needs and wants?
Routinely back into people either on foot or on wheels (car)?
Completely disregard the needs of others?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you are an Asshole.

I don’t mean that you have to live your life serving others or constantly allowing others and their needs to be more important than your own. What I mean is that you are a considerate human being – that you consider the needs and wants of those around you and how you can accomplish your wants and needs without trampling others.

Standing in line at the grocery store with a full buggy and there’s a person behind you with 4 items? Let them in front of you. It won’t take but a moment for them to complete their transaction and it will give you a bit more time to unload your buggy.

You are in a quiet restaurant when suddenly your young child decides to melt down? Do you:

Yell at your child to quit it?
Finish eating your meal and carrying on your conversation?
Do you walk the child out the door while requesting a doggy bag for the remainder your dinner?

If you answered with anything other than the last option or some variation of it, you are an asshole.

Other people do not want to listen to your squalling child. Eating out is expensive and after you factor in a babysitter, you’ve spent a small fortune. This is precisely why many restaurants are in the news lately because they’ve adopted a “no children” policy. Do they hate kids? Probably not. They are customer friendly.

Practicing basic consideration would make this world a better place to live in. If we all thought for one instant before we took any action as to how we affect those around us, we would all be a lot happier.

Broken Wings and Stranger Things

2011-09-09T13:17:00.002-04:00

10 days ago, I found myself in the worst place a parent can imagine: the emergency room with an injured child.

It started earlier that evening. I was cooking dinner, John was holding the baby and Phoebe was The Pink Tornado. This is a term coined by one of John’s friends regarding her own preschool age child but it fits Phoebe so well that I’ve stolen it.

Like most three year olds, Phoebe is in perpetual motion. She’s running here, scampering there, dancing around and jumping up and down. She’s also moody and can be crying one moment and laughing the next. She trips over her own feet and more often than not says “I’m ok!” before I can even ask.

She also has the ~~annoying~~ interesting habit of running off to hide when she’s upset or hurt. Which is what she did after she flipped over a wheeled office chair I keep in the kitchen. She hit the floor quite hard but I was mostly concerned with her noggin. Not feeling any kind of knot on her head, I decided to let her finish processing the incident and let her hide behind a chair in the living room.

After about 10 minutes, she’s still crying and it’s not quite like anything I’ve heard from her before. There was an urgency to it. John finally got her out from behind the chair and I gave her what I thought was a pretty thorough inspection. I checked her arms, her head, her back.. I saw no redness, no swelling, no bruising.

She stopped crying but there was definitely something wrong. I thought maybe she’d bruised something that just hadn’t shown up yet. I gave her some Tylenol and then she wanted up in my lap. That’s when I figured out something was wrong with her arm. I had looked at her arm; had bent the elbow, but didn’t see anything wrong and she didn’t react to me bending the elbow. As I picked her up, I put my hands under her arms to lift her up and that’s when she screamed and I now understood what the crying meant. She was in real pain and there was something going on beyond preschooler drama. There was definitely something wrong but I wasn’t sure whether it was her arm, her shoulder or maybe even a broken rib.

I made the decision right there to take her to the emergency room. Atlanta is blessed to have a great children’s hospital system that consists of three hospitals, numerous urgent care center, etc. I took Phoebe to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding.

This hospital is near Grady Hospital in downtown Atlanta. The location isn’t too great, but the parking lot is secure and brightly lit at 10:30 at night. They validated my parking and we were in and out in just under two hours.

The nurse we worked with immediately saw the swelling on her chest. I hadn’t seen it, wasn’t looking for it. But it was there and turning red. An x-ray showed that Phoebe had a broken collar bone.

Next day, an orthopedic explained to me that the collar bone, or clavicle, is the most broken bone in the human body and is very thin in children. But she also told me that children are amazing healers. Within a month, the bone will reconnect and within about 8-10 weeks, the healing will be mostly complete. Additionally, in children this young, within about a year, the bone will actually remodel itself to return to it’s normal shape and it will be almost impossible to tell that it was ever broken.

So my daughter is part Time Lord.

Meanwhile, I’ve got to keep her from reinjuring it. Remember she is the Pink Tornado. So no jumping, no playgrounds, no climbing, no nothing that will keep it from mending properly. Her grandparents overnighted a cool wooden “paper” doll set that she loves and is helping to keep her entertained.

The hospital put her in a weird brace that held her shoulders back. The orthopedic first put her in a standard arm sling with a waist strap to keep the arm immobile. After our second visit, another practitioner suggested a shoulder immobilizing brace that is actually working a lot better.

Going down this path…

2011-08-29T12:54:00.001-04:00

I spoke a few weeks ago about changes that are being made here at the Hacienda.. well I'm not ready to share all of the changes but I am ready to tell you about one major decision we've made.

We are going to home school our children.

Yep, we're some of those people.

It was not a decision made quickly or easily. It has been fraught with much agonizing and discussion around the house. We've mentioned our thinking about doing it - before we'd made the decision - to several friends, complete strangers and some of our family. Namely John's parents - one of which is an educator with a PhD.

After a lot of prayers, hours of talking, and millions of hours spent in research, we've decided that it is the right decision for us.

We realize that this is not something that everyone can do. However, I am confident that we can do it. We also realize that it's a polarizing subject filled with politics, religion, stereotypes of all kinds and legal ramifications.

I will go into more detail at another time on why we're doing this. But I will tell you one reason we're doing it: we're not happy with the choices we've been offered in terms of educational institutions both public and private.

So now that the cat's out of the bag, I can write with more ease about what is going on with our life.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Tales of a Wannabe Domestic Goddess

2011-08-22T09:23:00.000-04:00

Long before I had children and even before I was married, I said that the only thing domestic about me was that I lived in a house. I hate housework and don't understand those souls who seem to derive so much pleasure from scrubbing toilets and washing baseboards. So it surprised everyone including me and my husband when I became a stay at home mom. Visions of June Cleaver, Carol Brady and Ma Ingalls filled my head - could I vacuum wearing pearls?

No, I'm closer to Morticia Adams than to any of them. And this realization made me understand that I am seriously uneducated in the methods of home economics.

I'm not saying that I didn't know how to clean. Everyone can take a rag and a bottle of cleaner and clean like crazy, but I was completely unprepared for the daily routines and just general busy-ness needed to maintain a home.

My mother worked at least part-time for a lot of my childhood so I don't remember her as housewife. And as I’ve mentioned before, she also hated cleaning and housework with her involved the whole family pitching in to get the house in order before holidays or before company came over. I am a champion of crisis cleaning and can stuff more junk into closets and under beds than you can possibly imagine.

After I married, both John and I worked full time outside the home. We'd tackle the housework in the same way that my mom did: long marathons just before company or when the kitchen was threatened with closure by the local sanitation department. I tell the absolute truth when I admit to drinking milk out of a vase because we didn't have any clean glasses.

Once I became a full time mommy, I had to learn to do all those things. I'm still learning. My house is mostly clean and on it's way to being completely decluttered. I have cleaning routines and I rarely crisis clean. I still have a long way to go but feel like it's not overwhelming.

But for the record, we still call it "excavating" the kitchen.

school age nightmare

2011-08-15T09:40:00.000-04:00

I was a bright kid.

In the first grade, I read on a 4th to early 5th grade level. Instead of being challenged to read more and learn more, my teacher decided that I was a problem and separated me from other children.

In the second grade, I had a teacher who was more understanding of my reading prowess. However, when I refused to count to 100 - I got bored with the task at around 50 - she decided that I was bad at math and needed to be put into remedial math which only bored me more than counting to 100 did.

My third grade teacher also saw me as a problem. I was 4 grades ahead of the other kids in the class in reading. She decided to send me to another class for half of each day for "enrichment" while maintaining that I had to complete all the work from her class too. I was 8. I got home from school, took a 30 minute break to tell my mother about my stressed out day and then got to work on 2-1/2 hours of homework. After 2 months, I was mentally exhausted and told my mother that I "just wanted to be stupid like everyone else".

In fourth grade, I started getting bullied. I had a great teacher that year but she seemed to have a blind eye for the boys in the class. We were assigned seats in lunch and I was put next to a guy who delighted in telling me how he was going to rape and torture me every day. I was in a reading class with two other students which was great because I got the challenge that I needed but it also meant that other students in the class called me teachers pet and teased me constantly.

Fifth grade was a comedy of horrors. During this year, I was held down by two boys who each felt me up. I also had two girls hold me down while a third girl hit me repeatedly. None of these kids got in trouble for their actions. Instead, I was told to be more careful.

My parents did not believe in designer clothing for young girls and this was when designer jeans were really first in fashion. I so wanted that stupid swan on my butt. So during fifth grade, all my differences were pointed out repeatedly by girls who made fun of my hair and lack of designer jeans.

So as you can see, much of what I learned in elementary school was not about the wonder of this planet or about humans at their best, but about teachers who had no idea how to deal with me, or who wanted to dumb me down to the level of the other students. I learned that being stupid was preferable to intelligence. I learned that I wasn't allowed to say no even when I was being violated.

Letting Go

2011-08-09T15:45:00.000-04:00

I have a really hard time letting go of things.

I come from a long line of ~~hoarders~~ pack rats. Years ago, after my great grandmother passed away, we found an entire dresser full of newspaper clippings. Some of them were obituaries for people she knew; some were recipes, some were just stories she found interesting or funny.

When my grandmother passed away in 1998, we circumvented most of the cleanout process because Mom moved into her home and just lived with the stuff. But that house was packed. When Mom passed away in 2004, I hired a company to help me clean it out. I kept a good many things of sentimental value and sold a few things to local antique dealers and donated a lot to charity. Then they used a roll-off to take away the junk. FOUR ROLLOFFS.

FOUR GIANT BINS OF JUNK from a small two bedroom, one bath house.

I do not want to leave my children a legacy of junk and so John and I go into purge mode every now and again.

But I find that junk accumulates in other parts of our lives as well. For example, I love Coca-Cola. I mean really love Coca-Cola. But I've found, if I drink Coca-Cola every single day for all of my beverage needs that I do not feel well. At one time I completely cut out all sodas. But that didn't feel right either. So I treat soda as the treat it's meant to be and limit myself to no more than one a day or less.

Other things stop working in your life too like goals you had, plans that didn't quite work out, etc. After a lot of thoughts, prayers, and in consultation with my husband, I have decided to let go of my direct sales business. This has been the most difficult decision. I wanted to join this company for five years before I did. So giving up barely two years in seems like a failure, but I'm just not making any money and it's very hard to stay motivated when there's no reward.

Officially I'm still with the company but only until I miss my sales quotas for the quarter which ends September 30. So if you know any one who wants to purchase any Stampin up! between now and September 30, let me know.

Conversations with my husband

2011-07-10T19:37:00.000-04:00

Him: What time is Phoebe’s dentist appointment?
Me: 9
Him: AM or PM?
Me: What do you think?
This stuff just writes itself, folks.

What’s happening…

2011-06-30T09:19:00.001-04:00

My stomach has mostly been behaving itself even though I got up this morning with it hurting.

My internist put me on Glucophage. I hate Glucophage as can be remembered here. Even though my blood sugar has been behaving on the random sticks I’ve done since Griffin was born, Dr S thinks that there’s definitely something metabolic going on with me. DUH!!

Griffin is growing like a weed. He is also sleeping like champ. At night. Not so much during the day.

We’re going to buckle down this weekend (fourth of July) and potty-train Phoebe. She and I have been working on it for what seems like months. But what we need is a day where someone can concentrate on her without having to drop everything to pickup little brother every 4 minutes.

I’m working on a couple of things and thinking about letting some other things go. Not ready to talk about it further here but suffice it to say the kids and John are fine. My marriage is great. We’re really evaluating our life and are thinking of making some major changes.

My kid is so talented

2011-06-27T21:13:00.000-04:00

Lies my mother told me.. part 1 of a million

2011-06-15T12:25:00.001-04:00

There is not a screw in my belly button that keeps my butt from falling off.

There is no way that potatoes can grow between my toes.

A rat named Herbie does not live in my hair causing snarls.

Speaking into my ear does not echo.

A swallowed apple seed will not sprout into a full grown tree. Doesn’t work with watermelon seeds either.

Tummy trouble - the Revenge

2011-05-19T23:54:00.003-04:00

I write this from the hospital.

Monday, I had a colonoscopy to follow up on the diverticulitis that I had back on April Fool's Day. But our story really starts on Sunday.

Sunday afternoon, I drank something I've decided to call "drano" for it's abilities to completely clean your digestive tract out. You drink this stuff and then it gets everything out. To be more explicit, you basically poop yourself silly.

It wasn't as bad as I imagined. I mean yeah you live on the potty for two hours or so. But there's no cramping, just the URGE.

Next day, Monday, I go for the scope. My doctors have their own endoscopy center and it was really nice. Overall, the procedure wasn't bad. They put you to sleep and the only discomfort is getting an IV put in.

I've discussed my bad veins before and they haven't gotten any better since the last time I needed one. It took them six sticks to get the IV in and it was the anesthesiologist who was successful.

I woke up from the scope feeling quite refreshed and STARVING!

Next day, Tuesday, I got up, fed the baby, cleaned the kitchen and then had a bowl of Cheerios with Phoebe.
Two hours later I was in pain. As fast as the pain started, it would stop. Then I'd get a reprieve of anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes. I can't tell you why I didn't call the doctor right away. I only know that I decided to eat very lightly that day. Dinner was chicken noodle soup and even that became torture as the day turned to night.

I finally called the doctor at 10:30 that evening when I was experiencing fever and chills. The doctor advised me to take tylenol for the fever and call the office next day.

After a terrible night of pain, I was advised to go to the emergency room. I was admitted to the hospital Wednesday and now, Thursday evening I'm still here.

They say that I've developed colitis most likely from the prep before the scope.

I hope I can go home tomorrow.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Wellstar Douglas Hospital

Change is gonna come…

2011-05-10T17:06:00.001-04:00

…to this blog.

In 2 weeks, this blog will be transitioning to a domain called Hyppychick.com. I’m still working out the kinks but the folks who are reading Nervous Breakdowns are Highly Underrated should see no changes except a change of name and look to the blog itself.

For the folks who are reading Hyppychick, which this post is being crossposted to, I would like to invite you to go to my new creative and business website at Inkin’ Empire.

Why am I changing? Simply wanted to realign my branding with who I am.

You see, HyppyChick is WHO I am and that includes things that I wouldn’t talk about on a website dedicated completely to my creative and business outlets. On Nervous Breakdowns, I’ve been able to discuss everything in my life and the world. I separated these two things years ago and want to continue to do that. But I didn’t feel that the Hyppychick name was doing my business any good and I certainly felt that I couldn’t let go of my nickname. So I decided the best thing would be to move things and recreate the creative website.

I hope that my readers will continue to follow me here.

Why we need to stop blaming people for losing their homes

2011-05-06T11:06:00.000-04:00

When I bought my home in 2003, I was taken to task for my home choice.

Why?

Because I had researched what I could afford. I researched the areas I wanted to live in. I also chose to take a loan only for the purchase price, not the value of the property (which was significantly higher). Additionally, I opted for a fixed rate loan.

I did a ton of research and knew exactly what I could afford and what I was willing to deal with.

For my trouble, I was called a fool by both my mortgage broker and my real estate agent.

They knew that I qualified for far more. They knew that my payment would be HALF of what my mortgage payment would be if I took the adjustable rate loan. They said I was throwing away money that the banks WANTED TO GIVE ME.

Most folks didn't do the research I did. Most folks took their mortgage brokers’ and real estate agent's advice and took what they qualified for.

So if you're calling all those people who are losing their home irresponsible, greedy and self indulgent you need to think about the real problem. I think the real problem was that the foxes were in charge of the hen house and the hens trusted the foxes.

Perfectionism or the Death of Creativity

2011-04-27T13:55:00.000-04:00

I’ve been working on my son’s birth announcements for about 12 weeks now. First, there was coming up with the perfect design. I wanted something that would be cute but would also be really fun. No standard blue booties for my kid.

So I researched. And researched. Until I found a completely cute idea. And detailed. And very intricate.

Oh, and I have to make 40 of them.

Strangely, I thought I’d have more time when I was in the hospital. I remembered having a good bit of downtime when my daughter Phoebe was born and thought that would be when I’d work on them.

But I didn’t count on being INCREDIBLY tired and having a baby that wanted to stay up all night. So with the exception of just a couple of hours, I slept when the baby slept.

But now I’ve been home with my darling boy for eight weeks now and I still don’t have them done. Part of it just the sheer lack of time that I have.

Having a newborn and a preschooler at the same time has been a completely different experience than the first go around. For one thing, the older child is AWAKE during the day and during baby’s morning nap times. At the other end of the spectrum is my son’s interesting evening schedule.

IT’s gotten better, but he’s still up until 11 or so every night and then up at about 3 or 4 AM for a couple of hours. Then Phoebe gets up somewhere between 7 and 8 in the morning. So while I’m getting between 4 and 5 hours of sleep, being awake from 3AM until 11PM is pretty tiring.

Oh I sometimes get a nap before Phoebe gets up and sometimes I can time everyone’s afternoon naps so that I can get one but it’s not leaving a lot of time for anything else.

So when I do have a few minutes I can dedicate to something crafty, I need something that I can get done quickly and can also drop in an instant if little man decides he doesn’t want to sleep.

Here's where the problem is. As a perfectionist, I want to work on my craft and tweek and massage it and make it look just gorgeous. This does not lend itself to being speedy.

So I procrastinate and wonder if I have enough time to work on a project. I estimate how long it will take me to get my materials together. I second guess the design I have in my head and I surf my favorite websites looking at ideas and examples. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and pretty soon, my son is waking up ready for a feeding or Phoebe is awake from her nap and wants a snack and I’ve lost the opportunity to get anything done.

Flylady says:

Perfectionism is when we decide that we can't do something because we won't have the time to do it "perfectly".

She is right. I can’t do what I want because I’m afraid I won’t do it perfectly or I don’t have enough time. I should just grab a couple of pieces and work on them and be done.

So that’s my challenge. What about you? Does perfectionism keep you from doing what you want?