Decadent, Delicious, Divine July 30, 2010

Ladies all around the world, I hope you have saved your appetite! Today is the day to indulge your culinary fantasies! Today is National Cheesecake Day!

Cheesecake, in my opinion, is the most decadent and delicious of desserts!  The many variations along with it’s rich creamy texture fits any occasion, from happy to sad, get- togethers to break-ups. I like it best at night, after the kids have gone to bed, while I’m sitting on the couch in my pajamas. There’s nothing sweeter in life! Pardon the pun.             

Anyone who knows me, knows that I would rather eat dessert than anything else. If I could get away with it, it would be my only food group. Today, I plan to fully indulge myself in all forms and variations of the thick, creamy dessert. New York Style, Philadelphia Style, Turtle, Chocolate, drizzled with fruit, oh… the list goes on and on!  I have not yet mastered the art of cheesecake baking, I’m left with no choice except to visit the local Cheesecake Factory and purchase half of their cheesecake stock for the day.

I foresee an argument tomorrow with my hips. I know they will punish me. They will despise every delectable bite. Oh well, I’ll deal with tomorrows worries tomorrow.

Today, I give everyone permission to channel your inner fat kid and celebrate the absolute best dessert in our society!

I Didn’t Realize She Came With a Safari July 28, 2010

When I was pregnant with Veronica, one of the veterinarians I work for told me over and over “Do NOT let her sleep with you. Once you let your kid in your bed, you will never get them out.” I mostly followed his advice. Veronica has always had her own bed to sleep in. She slept with us occasionally but for the most part, we never really had trouble getting her to sleep in her own bed.

Last night, while watching a late night rerun of True Blood, I heard Veronica calling for me.

When I had made it to her room she said, “I’m scared Mommy.”

“You’re scared, Baby?”

“Yes. I’m really hot too.”

Pulling at my heartstrings.

I had never dealt with this before.

“You probably need to come sleep in my bed, don’t you, darling?”

“Yes!”

Sucker!

I told her, “Come on. We’ll go night night together.”

“Wait! My animals are scared too! I need to bring them!”

Sigh. Okay.

I went back to my room and crawled back underneath the covers and waited for Veronica before I turned out the light. What I saw next was not what I expected! She came walking in the room, arms full of her baby stuffed animals. She threw them up on the bed and climbed up to tuck them in.

“Now we’re not scared anymore!”

She was so proud of herself. She lined them up and gave them each a good night kiss. When she was done she looked back and forth and said, “Hey! There’s no spot for me!”

After some rearranging, she found a place to sleep. Since Matt wasn’t home from work yet, he missed out. He may have to sleep on the couch!

In the end, I ended up sharing my bed with Veronica, an elephant, two puppy dogs, an otter, a seal, and an alligator. I think Matt even found a place on the community bed as well!

It’s My Party and I’ll Cry if I Want To!

Everyone loves a good party. Birthday parties are particularly fun, especially for the birthday boy or girl. This was not the case with Hudson’s first birthday party. He screamed and cried and would not let me out of his sight, ever.  I don’t know why…. Screaming children running around the pool, taking their wet butts in the house on our cream colored carpet, and scattering HIS toys all over the place. Well, maybe I would cry to.

Only one thing could dry up the tears…baseball cupcakes! These special babies were made by Mommy herself! From the “cake” part of cupcake to the icing to the delicate decorating job, everything was made from scratch, mixed by the hands of love. I’m quite proud of myself! Hudson’s tears turned into squeals of happiness. Soon, thanks to all of the sugar, he was running with the “big” kids. I think I even caught him voluntarily sharing a hot dog or two with Veronica.

While nothing is greater than making my baby boy smile on his birthday, my mother-in-law did something that was the icing on my cupcake.

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of swimsuits, cupcakes, and hot dogs, she started saying, “Attention everyone! I need to say something!”

I thought, “This should be good.”

When she finally had everyone gathered around, she told the story of Matt’s first birthday party.

“When we had my son’s first birthday party, he screamed and cried the WHOLE time. He would NOT let me put him down for anything! I held him and held him. All of a sudden I felt something warm run down my leg. Matto had diarrhea and had expelled himself on me!”

Matt, who was standing behind her, rolled his eyes and said, “Thanks Mom.”

Everyone groaned and moaned. I, however, laughed and laughed. On the inside, that is. I wouldn’t humiliate my poor husband even more by laughing at the horrible story just told about him.

Soon enough, all of our guests were headed out the door! Thank God that was over. Surprisingly, everyone picked up after themselves and we were left with only a minor mess to clean up. Praise the man (or woman) who invented dishwashers! The kitchen was clean in record time (thank you Matt) and the kids and I were cuddled up on the couch, sleep quickly overcoming us.

This Summer… So Far July 24, 2010

Readers, this has been quite a busy summer so far. How is a mother of two children under the age of three supposed to keep up?  Somehow, I have managed some of it.  Unfortunately my blogging has been one of the innocent vicitims of this over-whelm’dness (if that is a word, it certainly represents how I feel). Pots of coffee throughout the day helps.  Here is the time between Memorial Day and end of July in a nutshell:

The summer started out with a trip back to Tahlequah. What a joy packing for Veronica, Hudson, AND myself that was! Any parent who packs every item, no matter how trivial it might be — their children own, knows what a chore packing for a weekend getaway is.

I decided to make the three hour drive right after dinner time, hoping the children would sleep the whole way. Umm….no, that is not what happened. Veronica and Hudson both decided that was the time to scream and cry and beg for potty stops the whole way. (Dear Experienced Parents, Please send tips for traveling with toddlers! My nerves no longer desire to handle ordeals that again!)

The next big event over the summer was Hudson’s first birthday! Hudson screamed and cried the whole entire time. (He later explained those were tears of happiness and what a joy it was to invite 20 strangers over to our house to swim and get in his face for two hours.)

Then, my Mac computer decided to malfunction. Since nothing in my household does anything mediocre, the Mac majorly malfunctioned. Thankfully, the nerds at The Genius Bar in the Apple Store were able to restore it to a brand new condition. (They had to totally reprogram the hard drive so I lost EVERYTHING that was on it before. Dammit.)

Mac Malfunction 2010 was followed by Matt and Amanda Marriage Celebration. All I can say is, never again will I overindulge in alcoholic beverages again. Ha! How many time have we all said that to ourselves?  Some fun memories did come out of the whole ordeal! My house also survived the night with only strange flip flops scattered around the pool and overlooked martini glasses left in front of the fireplace. I add that last part with much gratefulness. Much much gratefulness.

My father in law, Todd came to visit from San Diego. Why the hell anyone would choose to leave the 75 degree weather for 100 degree Oklahoma summer weather is beyond me, but, Todd did seem to enjoy himself the week he was here -and we enjoyed him too!

That was Van Every Summer 2010 summarized in five minutes or less. These are the things memories are made of.  But the damage is done.  I am worn out, have a messy house to clean, two toddlers to put to bed, and I wish for nothing but a hot relaxing shower….and it’s still July!  100 degrees every freakin’ day!

The summer has not ended folks…many adventures to come!