Chinese Food and Christmas

We attemped China. Actually it was fun. Mainly because the girls got to eat at their favorite China Buffet. I did make tea eggs which I thought were cool and tasted fine as a garnish to friend rice. We spared Bill the tofu. Natalie and I also made egg rolls. That was fun. We froze the rest of the batch to give to my single brother.
Christmas today- I actually couldn't sleep I kept thinking the dog was going to get out of Miranda's room and eat her way thru the stockings. The girls woke us up at 7:08am to let us know that Santa put Wii remotes in their stockings. We told them they couldn't get up until 7:00 Brilliant it worked. Natalie said she got up and checked Miranda's clock and it said 5:15.
Christmas is hard with out all of our family. I miss my Mom. Even at 38. I think because I don't get to see her enough for both of us. But we got a early present Yep the presents before Christmas which was a lot of fun to open. We are so gratefuly for Mom and Rene always being sooo generous. I appreciate that my girls get so much love and attention. ok no more writing because I am starting to cry. Oh Santa got me the movie "UP" which makes me bawl like a baby.

Outback Steakhouse

Nothing like a fight for your anniversary around the dinner table. Why is it when one person has certain expectations and another person lets them down with out even knowing it - it leads to a heated discussion in front of the children AHHHHHHHHHHHH sassa, frassa.
So there you have it. It is kind of like Christmas for adults. The fun is the month leading up to it. But sometimes Christmas day can be a let down if you don't have the right/realistic expectations.  I feel the same way about trying to cook a fabulous dinner. There is a lot of prep work, then timing everything to be hot on the table at the correct time. Three things can happen- One you are stuffed already from sampling everything- oops. Two it tastes like crap- ie parsnip mash!!!   or Three no one else likes it quite as much as you do and they want to go to Taco Bell.

By the way Outback was ok. I thought my food was a bit dry. Natalie's garlic mashed potatoes looked like Bob from Monsters vs Aliens and tasted like Fish mash. But today is a new day. Thank God! The sun is up. Jesus rose from the grave and I have a new Espreso Machine from William Sonoma. Not bad for 15 years. Let's mark this and see what happens on the 16th year. Round 16 ding

15 Years of Wedded Bliss

I think I am in shock. I never would have imagined being married let alone being married for 15 years. I am very happy to be married to my best friend and the love of my life. Of course, to go along with the theme of Australia we will be celebrating at Outback Steakhouse tonight

Kangaroo Soup

No we didn't eat Kangaroo. It is illegal. But the girls felt it was ok for Aborigines to eat it out where they live. I seem to agree with them. So basically it was beef stew. I went to Jungle Jim's and picked out some pasties which are the equivalent of fast food. Then I saw the prices $5.99 so I put them all back but one beef one that was only $3.99. I also bought the smallest jar of Vegemite. Not sure about that. So our dessert last night was Tim Tams a cookie - This cookie rocked it was $5.99 which gave Bill a small coronary but he was resesitated after just one bite. They were awesome. I highly recommend these cookies. Australia is off to a good start.

Well this week has kicked off the International Cooking sensation here in Ohio. My children have decided they don't want to eat anything exotic. I am tired of hamburgers, taco Tuesdays etc etc. So I decided we will mix it up each week. So this week we had Tikka Masala and some Chicken Biriani is in the oven. Indian food is my absolute favorite. I could eat it every day no problem. Not spicy though as in hot. We have naan to go with our meal.
Next week is Australia! G-day

Why am I so tired?

I think the rain and weather has something to do with the tiredness and constant yawning. I realized this is so much like a journal. But I don't really enjoy writing in a journal. This seems like such an easier format.
Ok so the Housekeeping for the day. I like to go to Flylady.net for great ideas. They do a great job of trying to keep you on track. Of course keeping focused can be hard. Instead of staying on one thing to completion I tend to get pulled all over the place. Help I have Housekeeping AD/HD. It probably has to do with the entire I love making my house a home. I tend to not like that statement. More like I live in a house, my family makes it the home. Not the housekeeper. They don't mind the clutter. It is amazing how a leaf in the middle of the carpet looks like a white chalk dead body marker while the rest of the family sees NOTHING.

What a man invented? Part 2

Have you ever sat in a bathroom in an airport where the toilet paper is exactly at knee level. Yes, possibly if the stall is so small your knee is smashed up against the paper. You to have experienced a man made invention. Woman of course would have thought about the proper placement of the toilet paper dispenser. It probably would have been placed well above the knee area. I am guessing a man also invented the one sheet at a time dispenser. The inhumanity!!!

What a man invented?

Maybe a man didn't but I think he did. Invented my linoleum with little tiny divots in the darn stuff. I am sure it was hip and fashionable twenty years ago. But NO woman in her right mind would come up with this idea. Do you know what gets the dirt out? A toothbrush, it worked well but took forever. I was never able to complete the entire floor. So I thought bigger toothbrush. I bought a mop with a big scrub brush attached. Guess what it worked but not as well as the toothbrush. Oh I know complain and whine. Thanks I do. I just use my Swiffer and pretend that my linoleum is supposed to have dark spots mixed in. Like Marbling.

A New Chapter

Hello Bloggers- I was inspired to start blogging yesterday when I went to see Julie & Julia. I love being home with my kids but also didn't feel like I signed up for that whole House cleaning portion of Staying home. I know some of you SAHM may be shocked but it is true. Scrubbing, dusting and the like were not on my initial horizons when I thought of for better or worse. Now that my kids are well into grade school I thought I would get better at keeping neat and tidy. Of course that is not the case and I actually struggle with wanting to clean. I would rather get a cup of coffee with a friend and chat for an hour.
Just like in the movie this is starting to sound like this is all about me but of course it is! I just wanted an outlet that gets this off my chest and can help CLEAN out my soul.
I read this great book one time called "Professionalizing Motherhood" it was great and reminded us that our goal is long term not short term. But I still have to live day to day in the short term and sometime doing the mundane day after day can be MIND NUMBING!
Well anyway thanks for listening.
TOMORROW- Bathroom Redo Phase One