Stupid

I woke up about 15 minutes late this morning. Thus, only leaving myself 15 minutes to get Tyler and Cameron up and out the door to make it to breakfast on time. I thought I was going to have a terrible time. Fortunately, they were actually "good" and got ready quickly. In fact, I would say today was the fastest they have gotten ready so far this school year. They weren't very happy about it though and when Cameron isn't happy, he likes to run his mouth. Our conversation while he was getting dressed went like something like this:

Cameron: Getting up early is so stupid.

Me: Well, the earlier you start school, the earlier you get out in the afternoon.

Cameron: I don't care. School is stupid and I'm tired and I was really comfortable in my bed.

Me: I'm sorry, but you still have to go to school.

Cameron: School is stupid. I don't want to go.

Me: Too bad. You have to go.

Cameron: Whoever invented school is stupid. School is the stupidest idea ever. Who invented school anyway?

Me: Uhhh...I don't know. Probably the ancient Greeks.

Cameron: Well, I want to hit them for inventing something as stupid as school.

Me: You can't. They're all dead.

Cameron: Well that's stupid and I still think school is stupid. Why can't you just home school us? School school is stupid. Home school would so much better. Then we would never have to get up early or go to some stupid school.

Me: No freaking way.

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I wonder if the jerks who create worms, viruses, or Trojans ever catch one of those things themselves. I certainly hope so. They deserve it. They also deserve to have bamboo splinters shoved under their fingernails while they are forced to watch someone smash their computers with a sledgehammer. That seems a little harsh you say? I think not. ☺ We were dealing with a nasty problem this weekend. We have tools in place that catch the viruses and deal with them, but it's always such a disruptive pain in the butt. I'm really glad Ryan is capable of fixing problems when they arise. There are plenty of people in this world who can't fix it themselves and the fact that hackers prey upon them really makes my blood boil.

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What's on the menu today: Tacos. Pretty self explanatory. My kids really like hard shell tacos. I like to heat them in the oven at 325 for about 7 minutes. It makes them more crunchy and tasty.

Isn't he lovely

Wouldn't it be nice, if after seeing how upset you were over your busted iPod, your husband went out the very next day and bought you one of these little lovelies?

Another hypothetical situation

Written on 9/2/09

Again, speaking hypothetically:

Don't you hate it when you go use the bathroom and come out to find your 2 year old sucking on the adapter end of your iPod. Even though you keep it in a zippered pouch and keep that inside your purse and keep your purse up high.

So, you snatch it out of his slobbery hands and begin desperately trying to dry it off. After it's dry, you try using it and it won't do anything. It won't turn off. It's stuck on. The toggle won't work and shuffle around and you start to get really freaked out because you really love your iPod and you haven't even had it for a year. You don't want to have to buy a new one.

Feeling helpless, you do what you dread. You decide to call your husband, even though you know what he'll say to you. You call, shriek that the 2 year old was using your iPod as a pacifier and you can't get it to do anything. He says, "well if you wouldn't keep it where he could reach it, this wouldn't have happened." (That's exactly what you thought he would say.) You say, "You creep! (That's what I would say if something like this ever happened to me.) It was in a zippered pouch and that was inside my purse and my purse was up high where he couldn't reach it. I don't know how he got to it." However, after you say this, an image flashes in your mind. An image of your purse sitting on your bed. You turn around and sure enough, it's sitting on your bed and that's why the 2 year old was able to get to it. You didn't remember to put it back up the last time you got into it. You don't tell your husband this fact. You stick to your original story.

Your husband says to let it dry out for a while and then try resetting it. You let it dry for a couple of hours and hallelujah! You're able to do a reset and it works again. Well, after a fashion. It now decides to freeze up every once in a while. Like when you're in the middle of a run on your treadmill and you try to change songs and turn up the volume. So, you have to stop the treadmill, reset the iPod and begin the workout all over again.

Remember, I say all this hypothetically. It would really suck if something like this were to ever happen.

*Update: 9/4/09 Wouldn't it suck if the reason your iPod was intermittently acting crazy was because it was slowly dying. Slowly dying because it took a few days for the slobber that got in there to oxidize the circuits and short them out. Thereby, turning the iPod to toast. Yeah, that would suck. It would suck so much that you just might pout and cry about it for an hour because you're so mad at yourself for leaving your purse with your iPod in it that you've had for less than a year within the reach of your 2 year old.

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What's on the menu today: Chili and scones. As per Tyler's request. I try to not have similar things, like potato chowder and chili (you know,they're both kind of soup), within the same week. Since he asked for this, I'm going to make it. I'm going to buy frozen rolls from the Naborhood Bakery to make the scones.

Friday tunes Sep. 4th edition

1. Fall to Pieces - Velvet Revolver
2. Heaven is a Place on Earth - Belinda Carlisle
3. I've Had the Time of My Life - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes / Dirty Dancing Soundtrack
4. Wake Me Up Before You Go-go - Wham
5. Swept Away - Yanni
6. Stand by Your Man - Tammy Wynette
7. One Week - Barenaked Ladies
8. Leaving Netherfield - Pride & Prejudice (2005) Soundtrack
9. Crazy for You - Madonna
10. Fields of Gold - Sting

If you want to play along with motherboard, feel free.

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Yesterday, in the car, Avery asked me if I would help her decide who she should marry. I told her, "no. I don't want to do that." She said, "why not?" I said, "you're only 5. I don't even want to think about you getting married yet." I glanced in the rearview mirror just in time to see her roll her eyes and shake her head in disgust.

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What's on the menu today: Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

We're not slobs

Yesterday morning, Ryan thought he might have heard a mouse in our spare bedroom. Currently, the room houses toys and our sofa sleeper. We had a few mice a couple of years ago, but haven't seen one since that time. The only way to find out if there was one in there was to clean it. I asked Avery if she would like to help me. She wanted to know why we needed to clean. I told her we needed to check for a mouse. She said, "do mice not like clean rooms? Is that the best way to get rid of them?" I said, "ummm...something like that. Come on and help me clean it." She said, "great. I guess that means we're going to have to clean the whole house now so we can get rid of any other mice that might be in here."

For the record, we are not slobs. We do not have such a messy, cluttery house that every single room in it needs to be thoroughly cleaned. Also, for the record, there were only like 10 toys on the floor of the room we did clean and the sofa sleeper was pulled out. That's it. Oh yeah, and I found no evidence of a mouse. Ryan must have been hallucinating.

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What's on the menu today: Potato Chowder

Peekaboo

Last night I walked into the laundry room, bent down to open the washer, when suddenly....Peyton pushed open the door of the dryer (he was sitting inside it) and said "MOM!" Scared the holy crap out of me. What a little turd. I'm going to be traumatized for the rest of my life.

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What's on the menu today: Apricot Chicken. I can't wait for dinner tonight.

To date

My thoughts on my menu planning adventure thus far.

I'm loving the freedom it has given me. It's so nice to know exactly what I'll be making for dinner. No wondering and shuffling through cupboards or cookbooks to figure out something at the last minute. On the other side of that, and this is going to sound ridiculous, I do sort of miss the spontaneity. Not necessarily the mad dash and rush part of it. Maybe what I'm trying to say is that I miss some of the adventure of it. I guess I need to find another way to live dangerously.

It's also lovely to have the kids now only ask me 50, instead of 100 times a night, what we're having for dinner. All they have to do is go look at the menu posted on the refrigerator.

Since I love it so much, I can't see myself giving up this planning thing anytime soon. It's really been a lifesaver to my sanity.

I mentioned a while back that I found a book called I Dare You To Eat It . I haven't read it cover to cover yet. I've pretty much just skipped around in it. Basically, it's about building up and then using your food storage. The thing that jumped out at me was how to plan your menus. I can't remember the length of time she advises you plan for. Let's just say that you plan out a month's worth of menus. What the author recommends is that when you go shopping, purchase 3 months worth of the item. In other words, enough to make the dish 3 times. Of course, this doesn't mean that you buy three months worth of the fresh fruits or vegetables that may be in a recipe. They obviously wouldn't keep. This is talking about pantry items that would be used in the recipe. Let's use this recipe as an example:

Burrito Casserole

10 flour tortillas

1 can refried beans

2 c cheddar cheese, shredded

1 4-oz. can green chilies

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1/2 c milk

1 16-oz. can enchilada sauce

1 c olives

Fill tortillas with beans and cheese. At times, I have also filled them with seasoned ground beef, or canned chicken. Fold in sides and roll up into burritos. Place the burritos in a 9x13 baking dish that has been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray. Combine the remaining ingredients, reserving 1/2 c of the cheese, and pour it over the burritos. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.

Instead of buying 1 can of anything listed there, buy 3 and you have enough to make it for three months. I don't shop for an entire month's worth of groceries at one time. Although, I suppose if you planned right with budgeting, etc. that would mean you only have to grocery shop (for ingredients) once every 3 months. You would obviously have to go more often for fresh items and other staples. I shop for 1-2 weeks at a time. Even if I have 2 recipes that use something like Cream of Chicken soup, I buy enough to make each recipe for 3 months. Instead of buying 3 cans, I buy 6. You will be amazed at how quickly your pantry and storage will build up.

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What's on the menu today: Chili Relleno Casserole. This one is super easy.