Crib Update...

Hmmmmm.... yeah.... not going as anticipated.  Super sleepy tired.  Now I know why sleeping with her on the couch has been the easy way out and has kept everyone else asleep all night.  She is relentless in waking up every few hours and now she knows she's going back to the crib... sooooooo... she just lays with you, her eyes slowly blinking up at you to make sure you're still there, and doesn't go back to sleep.  I know, what I've known all along, that we will have to just let her cry.  And cry she will... and let me tell you her cries are loud and very screech-like.  She is my toughest one yet.  Hubby wound up sleeping on the floor by her crib when he couldn't get her back in w/o crying.  ha ha... and so, we march forward with getting her on track... wish us luck in the new year:)

Barbies...

Barbies, I think, are like one of those toys that will be timeless.  They will always be in our future and I wonder what little girls did before Barbie and Ken and that little sister (what was her name Skipper or something), and the house/camper/corvette/etc.  I haven't played with them in a LONG time but today I had the pleasure of spending time with my 2 girls.  And we played Barbies.  Yup...now, we all played with them differently.  Um, the 3 year old just kept tearing things apart and chewing on everything...the 8 year old took them in the other room, gave them baths, let them 'swim' and dried them off with my dish towels, and I kept trying to find clothes for them and try to put everything back on where it belongs.

Kyra has several 'naked' ones in her collection.  What is it with little girls and naked Barbies and dolls??  I do remember that my dolls never had clothes on and I used to draw on them with markers to try and make them look pretty.  What was I thinking way back when??  Do we all take off dolls clothing or am I just a freak with a scary freak-a-like daughter??  I can't even begin to figure out where all the clothes are... perhaps Franny ate them??  She seemed to enjoy gnawing on the camper today...

However you play with your Barbie's, I hope you have fun.  And if you don't take the time out the play with them, I'm sorry.  You should every now and again...I forgot what I was missing:)

Christmas and Cribs..

Whew...Christmas is over.  And I can't believe the winter break for the kids is almost over too...time sure does fly by.  We had a really great Christmas this year.  My mom (and her hubby too) drove up to celebrate with us and we sure do love when she comes to visit:)  Brother and his family also came over to celebrate.  And, hubby's mom... good food, beverage and company.

I was also able to get all of my 'paid' baking done and delivered with ease this time around... looking back, it felt like very little stress this time around.  I was able to buckle down and get a lot of it done during the day.  Of course, Franny was crying at my feet and Max kept wanting to help and taste, but it just got done.

AND... my holiday cards were sent out BEFORE Christmas this year... that NEVER happens.  AND... I sent out my niece/nephew presents BEFORE Christmas.. that, too, NEVER happens.

So, with all this great timing, why not throw Franny in the crib??  Yes...we did it.  Tuesday night, after all the holiday celebrating was finished and the family was gone, we threw her in there.  OK, so I didn't just toss her in and hope she slept... but that would have been ideal, right??  Nah, I (yes...am still nursing...one thing at time here folks) nursed her to sleep and gently placed her in the crib.  She slept in there 'til about 1AM.  Now, at this point, hubby is supposed to be the one to get up and get her back to sleep.  Guess what??  Yeah, he got up and went to get her...but she cried, pointed to the door and he obeyed taking her right to me.  Nice one, right??  We discussed this and he insisted he was ok with getting up with her b/c he wasn't working this week.  Guess his mind clearly doesn't function at 1AM.  Took me over an hour to get her back into the crib.  Yes, we are taking the bad route of putting her in sleeping, I know.  When she woke up at 4AM, he kicked me to go get her.  Yup, his brain power definitely diminished.  Yelled at him the next day... And so, last night (day 2 in the crib), she went in again around 10 and woke up about the same time (1ish).  This time, hubby learned from his first mistake of bringing her to me and was able to get her back in the crib on his own.  So, at the 4AM wake, I was ok with getting her.  She proceeded to sleep 'til 10am after falling asleep again.  You would think she was an infant or something, right??  I'm hoping she will start to sleep through the 1AM wake up... that would be really cool!!  ha ha

My body hurts from sleeping in my own bed too... so used to sleeping on the couch..lol

Hope you are all having a great Holiday Week!!

Too much...again..

I know, I do too much crap, right??  Holidays are the toughest b/c I get most of my 'baking' orders.  And it's tough to get those done, even though it's really not alot, and do everything else I do.  But, I do it.  Why??  I don't know.  I love to bake and make people smile and enjoy something that I created and put together.  But, it's just so much work and so hard to get it done and try and take care of my own stuff.  My family gets whatever I make from the orders...you know, I double something I have to make or if I have something extra, that's what they get.  I didn't even make my spritz cookies this year...and I always make those.  Oh well.  Thank goodness hubby is OFF tomorrow and hopefully he will do as I say..ha ha.  Have 3 pies to make in the morning (have already made 4 cheesecakes) and a batch of rice pudding.  Perhaps I can throw in some chocolate chip or m&m cookies for my own kids??  Oh, and I have both babies tomorrow...and all of my kiddies will be around.  Should make for an interesting day.

Still have to clean the 'apartment' attached to our house for my mother and her hubby, shop for Christmas Eve and Christmas food, make Christmas Eve food, prep Christmas food, clean my own house, wrap ALL presents... doesn't sound like a long list but we all know that a lot of time goes into all of it.

With that said, I think I'm going to veg out and hopefully pass out.  Franny girl has a cold and is all stuffed up...thus making it difficult for her to sleep...yeah..gotta get that crib and her room cleaned out.  While I'm at it, going to clean out Kyra's room and take away everything except 7 outfits.  I'm tired of seeing her clothes, books, shoes, dolls, blankets, etc. all over the floor and under her bed.  I've showed her how to clean her room, how to fold her clothes, how the room should be but she doesn't get it.  Either that or I haven't been 'mean' enough about it.  gotta get tough.  I get the sense that she feels entitled to anything.  If she wants something, she feels as though she should get it.  Doesn't matter who's it is, she just believes that they will give it to her.  It's like she doesn't even think about the other person or about anyone but herself.  Must work on this... any suggestions??

OK...later!!

Photo gig... and lots of baking:)

Because I don't have enough to do around here, I thought I'd throw in a last minute photo gig and some holiday orders for baking.  Go on, laugh.  As Max says, Laugh Mommy, Laugh...and when you don't laugh he gets mad.  OK, now stop laughing.

Thursday night I went to a holiday party for a small company and took pictures for them.  The night was great and I got some really great shots.  The people at the party all seemed to be having a great time.  Though, I did not get a chance to eat while I was there...boo!!  Most of the time, the ones who hire you make sure you get a plate and stuff.  This was a buffet and you have to wait until everyone else goes (obviously) but by that time they are on to something else and you have to get back in there and keep shooting.  So, scarfed a cheeseburger from Wendy's on the way home and had the worst heartburn all the way home.  Got the pics edited over the weekend and shipped them to her yesterday.  Yes, she received them.  Yes, she has a problem.  Seems all the people look fat.  Yes, she says they all look fat in the pictures and is there anything that can be done??  Laugh away I tell you.  I'm thinking it must be her monitor, right??  It's gotta be...So, the next problem is how do I call her and tell her what to do??  I have no clue.  Perhaps tell her to try another computer, right??

Holiday baking- got some orders so I've got to organize all that.  In knowing that I have baking to do in which people will be buying the stuff, I decide to make something completely different.  Yup...something I don't even need.  But, alas, we had some very mushy bananas that needed to be used.  Found a recipe for Banana Oatmeal Choc Chip Muffins... YUM.  Recipe made TONS!!  Want some??

Today, Franny Girl has not yet taken a nap and seems to be on mega destruction overdrive in this house.  I'm tired.  My arms are getting a work out from taking her off the table several times.  Now, she starts to climb up from the chair and if Max says something to me and I look at her, she creeps back into the chair and gives me the look of 'What??  I'm not doing anything Ma'

OK...got lots more things to do...you know, like eat and stuff!!

Later.

Quick Post... Kinda back:)

Wow...what a couple of weeks it's been over here.  Nutcracker is over!!  Thought that would give us more time...but we still have after school crap almost every day and I still have Baby C every day.  Sooooooooo, it really didn't free up much time.  But, I did have this past saturday to catch up on some cleaning..whooo hoooo!!

The laptop I've been using is DEAD... Franny knocked it over and there is a wonderful screen of Black.  Boo. And our 'home' computer is not the fastest piece of machinery around.  I feel a little out of the loop this week.. and I can't make any of my words in that stupid Words with Friends b/c it freezes this computer.. Hopefully hubby will bring home another one to use...please:)

Oh, and Francesca is getting to be more and more daring... so, we waited until this past weekend to put up our tree and it is currently gated so she can't get to it.  The house is starting to look and feel like Christmas and it's a little bit cleaner.  Can't wait 'til next week when hubby is home and perhaps we can get some stuff accomplished???  Ha ha ha... yeah, b/c we won't have all 4 kids home wanting to do stuff, right??

Some pics of my beautiful, feisty Franny Wrecker:

Chocolate Bark Recipe...

1 pound of chocolate (I used semi-sweet b/c that's what I had)
1 cup crushed candy canes (I used the red/white peppermint)
1 cup mini marshmallows

-Lay aluminum foil into a large pan (shiny side up).. I used a 13x9 but you could go bigger for thinner bark
-Melt 3/4 of the chocolate in the microwave (or you can use double boiler method)
          heat at 50% for 2 minutes... stir ... continue heating at 50% for 1 minute at a time stirring in between
-Once chocolate is melted, add remaining chips and continue to stir until shiny and smooth
-Pour melted chocolate onto prepared pan
-Sprinkle crushed candy canes and marshmallows all over chocolate
-Allow to cool and harden (you can put in fridge to speed up this process)
-Break into pieces and enjoy!!


The original recipe I found used white chocolate.  Because I didn't have enough white chocolate, I went with the semi-sweet chips I had.  In the end, I did melt the little bit of white chocolate I had and drizzled it all over the chocolate after the candy canes and marshmallows.

You can totally change it up and add/take away things.  I'm thinking I might try the white chocolate with the green/white candy canes next.  Add nuts if you like them.  Use Andes Mint Candies... or, I just found a bag of Ghiradelli white/red peppermint chocolate pieces.  The great thing about this recipe is that it's super easy and super changeable!!

Enjoy:)

I am NOT a Chew Toy!!!

Seriously... I don't think I'm enjoying this whole 'nursing' mommy thing anymore!!  She is ridiculous and thinks that my boobs are her personalized chew toys these days.  She is ridiculously attached to my boobs.  I've never had a kid so completely attached to these things.  She has no inclination of weening what-so-ever and I'm almost at that point where I just need to sever the ties.  I think it would be so much easier if she actually drank real milk, you know??  She spits it out at me or she smiles with a mouthful of milk in her mouth and just lets is drool out of her mouth onto her chin and clothes.  And then she knows the cup that holds the milk and throws it at me or on the floor.

Ok- enough about that.  Things that have happened since we last talked:
Friday: Christmas tree lighting in town...Kyra and her 2nd grade class sang holiday songs.  She was cute!!  Same night I went to a holiday party that went much later than I wanted it to... was supposed to bake something that night for a party the next day but, since I got home at 12:30 that night, it didn't really happen.  Wound up making some 'chocolate bark' that turned out really good (I'll write recipe below... if I forget, I apologize, my brain has stopped functioning).  Oh, and my phone broke...yup, it went tumbling to the ground for the umpteenth time and the screen cracked right down the middle.  Useless touch screen phone that I can't touch the screen..boo!!

Saturday: early morning...Breakfast with Santa at the school.  I took pictures the entire morning of all the parents and kids who came to enjoy Santa, breakfast and some crafts.  Then off to an annual party with lots of good food and friends!!  Rehearsal for DJ followed by rehearsal for me.  Kyra wound up on the couch with one of her fevers so I kept DJ with me during my rehearsal.  Missed my library holiday party but partook in some lovely Chinese take-out!!  Got home around 8:30 to find an overly tired Franny Girl who didn't want to go to sleep gracefully.. cranky, tired babies suck!!

Sunday: get kids to CCD (sorry, we missed church again.. Hubby went hunting and I just won't take all 4 of them to church).  Run home, call phone co. to try and transfer my # to a different phone and get the 3 of us dressed and ready to go back to CCD to pick up the big kids.  Off to Kyra's rehearsal and some sort of fast food lunch (this fast food stuff is becoming too much of a habit right now).  I go to work and hubby takes over picking Kyra up at rehearsal and getting the grocery shopping done for the week.  Home, make dinner, Kyra still feverish, DJ showered, Franny fell asleep at 6:30 (made for an interesting night trying to get her re-settled)

Monday: get kiddies up and out the door, Baby J came at 9 and Baby C came at 10.  Lots of crying in my house this morning... I find that when one cries, they all cry.  Or, it is eerily quiet in my house.  Taking care of kids is tiring.  But when you add more kids/babies to the mix, it can be utterly exhausting some days.  When babies leave, my big kids' schedules take over.  Had to pick them up at school and get Kyra to rehearsal at the theater.  Took other 3 to Walmart and Michael's and grabbed some, yes, more fast food crap.  Raced back to the theater to get Kyra and go home.  Got here around 6:45...homework done, cook dinner for hubby and myself (steak and potatoes, my favorite and one the kids don't eat).

What's coming up... ha ha... do you even want to know??  I have to make cookies tomorrow so the girlscout troop can decorate them on Wednesday and hand them out when they sing on Thursday.  I also have to make some cake pops I foolishly volunteered to donate for a raffle.    Sometimes, lately, my brain really doesn't think properly.  I also have to oxyclean Kyra's angle dress and try to fluff up DJ's bunny tail.  Gotta get my costume crap together too... Big Blue Bertha (my dress) is coming out of the closet tomorrow...  Oh, and we have a doc appt for Franny wed. morning to check her ears... Baby C is still coming all week ... who says laundry needs to get done this week??

OK- have I bored you enough??  If I don't post regularly these days, I'm hoping you'll understand why.  Most nights I completely pass out while thinking about writing..lol

Have a great night:)