Name::Abq MomFrom::Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Tuesday, August 30, 2005
"looking up at the stars... moo..."
“…I’m not making a joke, you know me I take everything so seriously…”
It seems like such a long time ago. Back at Ricks, living with my roommates. All we cared about was boys, and school. It was so carefree, but yet we were so stressed out! One of my best friends/roommates introduced me to the Indigo Girls. They have become my most favorite group to listen to. Its what ties me back to my old friends. After we left school she and I would write emails to each other including little snippits of lyrics from Indigo Girls songs, and when we’d write back we’d include the rest of the phrase. It was a little game we played. If I’m having a down day all I need to do is listen to them and everything seems to be better. One of my most favorite songs is “Back Together Again”. I think because it puts into words and music my creed. “…and I’m never gonna lose you as a friend…” So I want to dedicate this entry to all my friends wherever you might be. That you know that no matter where you go, no matter how far I’m always going to consider you my friend!
Indigo Girls - Back Together Again Lyrics
leaving ain't fair you know
parting ain't just
people got to move on
people got to do what they must
and we're back together again
and i'm never gonna lose you as a friend
growing up free
growing up wild
if you want to know the secret behind the smile
you got to ask a tuesday's child
and we're back together again
and i'm never gonna lose you as a friend
well i guess that highway got a hold of me
thinking crazy thoughts like it was going to set me free
this ain't my place you know
this ain't my home
and i'm not going to feel right
til you get us back behind the microphones
and we're back together again
and i'm never gonna lose you as a friend
no i'm never gonna lose you as a friend
no i'm never gonna lose you as a friend
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/30/2005 12:18:00 PM :: 0 Comments: 
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Harry Potter
Okay, so I think some of my friends (me included) have dove into the Harry Potter world a little too deeply! I have one friend that uses the word "Muggle"(anyone non-magical) to describe anyone non-musical. I have another friend that has declared that her son is a member of the Weasley family. (Red Head!). Well I guess I can say that my son could belong to the Malfoy family. (white blonde hair!)
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/30/2005 08:41:00 AM :: 11 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Monday, August 29, 2005
Music Hater?
I think I’m going to cry! Where did I go wrong? My husband and I are both music lovers. We were music MAJORS for crying out loud?!?! So how is it that my son hates music?
He is always telling me “Mommy, stop singing!” when were in the car and I’m singing along to the radio. Or when we’re walking in the mornings and I break out into song.
Plus, I have become the parent of the child that refuses, I mean completely and totally REFUSES to participate in singing time in Nursery! How did I let this happen? Didn’t I play Mozart and Beethoven to my belly when I was pregnant with him? Didn’t I play classical music, and lullaby’s when he was a baby? Hasn’t he listened to his daddy play violin every day since the day he was conceived? Haven’t I song him songs? I’ve tried teaching him the primary songs they sing in Nursery. He just tells me “Mommy, no singing!” Runs away and takes away whatever toy his little sister had her eye on! What do I do? Resign to the fact that my son will never love music? That because he’s been surrounded by it since before he was born that he is going to hate it completely? There has got to be a way to get him to come around. I see other kids and they’re singing all the time. At the grocery store, in the car, etc. No, not my son, he’s making super loud, top of his lungs, car and airplane noises. I hear stories from other mothers, of how cute it is to hear their child sing a movie soundtrack or songs from their favorite cartoon. I don’t know what to do? So I’m pleading, as a musician, as a wife of a musician, as a mother that hoped her children would love music, how do I get my son to love music and want to participate in singing time?
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/29/2005 08:07:00 PM :: 4 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Saturday, August 27, 2005
A Happy Ending?
A Happy Ending?
Is that too much to ask? We sat down and watched a movie tonight. One that we had heard rave reviews about. It had won awards! We both had an interest in seeing it. All in all it was a great flick. But come on, what’s with movies never having happy endings anymore? We get to the middle of the movie and think. “NO, that can’t be! It can’t end that way! There’s going to be a happy ending. There has to be!”
Well the movie ended. It was really quite sad. I cried. I was mad! I wanted the bad guy to get their just deserts! And I wanted the good guy to be the one to give it to ‘em! That’s just the way its supposed to be! Isn’t it?
But alas, life isn’t fair. We don’t always get happy endings. The bad guy doesn’t get caught. And we just have to accept it. Do we want a happy ending in movies because we believe that’s the way it should be in life? For me, I’m always going to hold out that the good guy will win, that the bad guy will get what he deserves.
Oh, just in case you are wondering what movie we watched tonight.
It was Million Dollar Baby.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/27/2005 10:57:00 PM :: 1 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Writer's Block
I have Writer’s Block…
I like to take things literally. Maybe that’s from reading too many Xanth books by Piers Anthony. He has a thing for Puns.
My writer’s block isn’t necessarily the inability to come up with something to write. While walking in the mornings I am bubbling over with ideas. But something (or someone) PHYSICALLY blocking me!
Every time I come up with a topic to write about, that’s the time that its least likely I’ll make it to the computer to actually put my thoughts into words. There’s always something blocking me. I need to do the dishes. My daughter needs a diaper change. My son is chasing Jack (the dog) around the house. My husband just came home and its time to start making dinner. Then its bath and bedtime. WHEW! Now I can finally sit down to the computer and write down my thoughts. Ya, right! my daughter isn’t quite asleep yet and cries for me every 20 minutes, my son keeps getting out of bed… Okay, NOW I can write. Everyone’s asleep!
Its too late, my thoughts are all scattered and I should go to bed too. I guess I can try again tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow I can get around my writer’s blockers.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/27/2005 07:49:00 PM :: 0 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Music Lit
Awhile back we had a poll on our yahoo!group that asked the question:
“Music Majors: If Music Lit had not been mandatory would you still have taken the class?”
If gave a few options for choices including:
“Yes, I wouldn't have missed it for anything.”
“Yes, But I would have dropped it.” “
No, are you kidding?” “
No, but I'm glad I did.”
After this poll closed I had planned on writing a post about the answers that "S" and I had voted for and the reason behind it.
For a few of you this might be old news, I’ve either told you the story already or you were there with us when it happened, but for a lot of you it’s new.
Before I begin though let me tell you what our votes where.
I voted: “Yes, I wouldn’t have missed it for anything”
He voted: “No, but I’m glad I did.”
He had changed his vote from what he had chosen originally. He first had voted for: “No, are you kidding?”
And that is where our story begins. Sophomore year at Ricks for us. I took Music Lit fall semester. I started the class with the best of intentions, that is, to pass the class! I was always sick, or I looked sick, or would fall asleep in classes, or would be so tired I couldn’t even function after lunch. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. I studied really hard, and had always had a passion for history, and what could have been better than combining history with music! I loved going to the lectures and listening to Dr. Call. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t recognize the music, and would forget everything when it came time for the tests. Friends and even teachers (Dr. Taylor, Dr. Brague and Mr. Nielsen) were starting to show concern for me. I didn’t seem like myself and the fact that I was always sick and looked pale and tired was worrying them. I resigned to the fact that I would be failing Music Lit that semester and when it came time to register for Winter Semester classes I signed up for Music Lit again. I still tried really hard to pull out a good grade, and took good notes and tried to do well on the tests, but it just didn’t seem to work for me. The semester ended and I think I remember that I got a D in the class. I fell in love with the subject, and even though I had failed, I looked into whether W.S.U. (Washington State University) had a Music History degree!
During the Christmas break I again got very sick; so sick in fact that when it came time to drive back to school I couldn’t do it. My dad ended up driving me back to school while I slept the whole 9 hr drive back to Ricks. When I got back to school and the first day of classes began I had no voice, coughing so bad I could hardly breath, and I had a sty in my eye. All my classes were a disaster! I was determined to do well in Music Lit this time around! I saw "S" sitting in the back of the classroom; we had had a couple of classes’ together fall semester and I knew he had a keen grasp and understanding of EVERYTHING musical. It just seemed so easy for him, so instead of sitting down in the front of the class like I had done the fall semester, with some of my other friends, I decided to sit in the back near him. As I couldn’t talk because I had lost my voice, I passed him a note in class asking if he would like to be study partners for Music Lit. He agreed. I wanted to immediately set up a study group for that weekend but he said he was going skiing instead. Well the weekend came and I wasn’t getting better. In fact I was sicker. Even my roommates were getting concerned. I finally broke down and went to the Medical Center on campus to find out what I had and why I was always so sick. I found out that immediately I had laryngitis, and bronchitis and I needed eye drops for the sty in my eye. I told the doctor that I was always sick the semester before and always felt tired and looked pale. He decided that maybe I needed some blood work. When the results came back it showed that I had been anemic. The reason I had no energy, was always so tired, and was constantly getting sick. My immune system was down so I was susceptible to everything. After receiving some medication to improve my iron count, eye drops for the sty and instructions to stop wearing eye makeup for awhile and eat more leafy greens, I started to feel better.
We did become study partners for the class, and good friends as well, (we never dated during that semester, though, I did like him the whole time). I took the notes, he just knew all the music stuff! The rest is “history” I guess you could say... He pulled an A from the class just like all the other classes he had ever taken, and I got an A- or B+, I can’t remember which exactly. I know I held an A the whole semester but that I didn’t do as well on the Final Exam as I had hoped.
When he voted “No, are you kidding?” in the poll, I had to remind him that because of taking that class we eventually got together. He decided that maybe he needed to change his vote. But he wants it on the record that the reason he changed his vote to “No, but I’m glad I did” is because he ended up marrying me because of it. He said it had nothing to do with the actual class…
My vote had a dual purpose. You could say I loved the class so much I failed it the first time so I could take it again… I always intended to go to W.S.U. and study Music History. But that obviously wasn’t in the cards for me. Instead I married the guy that helped me to love Music Lit even more by helping me pass the class…
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/25/2005 10:44:00 PM :: 0 Comments: ---------------------------------------
The First Time to BLOG
I've decided to start a blog. It seems like the "cool" thing to do. Even though I've always prided myself in not following the norm, I'm doing it in my own hip way! I've always tried to work against the norm, but since becoming a mommy, I seem to have conformed a little. Who knows, maybe that makes me more weird now then I was before...
There are previous posts made on here. But those were all done on a different website, but I wanted to keep a record of them all in one place. This is my first ACTUAL blog post.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/25/2005 07:17:00 PM :: 3 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Monday, August 22, 2005
Backyard Safari
(originally posted on fishbowlinsider yahoo!group 8/22/05)
In the past week or so we have seen a wide range of different animals either in our backyard or while on our morning walks. My son has had the chance to see roadrunners, monster-sized ants (seriously they could be from a horror movie), a butterfly the size of a bird, a toad, a praying mantis, a jackrabbit, lizards, a hawk, hummingbirds, blue jays, ground squirrals, and prairie dogs.
Its been a very eventful week for my daughter as well. Last wednesday she turned 13 months. The saturday before she started taking her first steps, and the day after turning 13 months she FINALLY cut her first tooth!
Today marks my 8 week check-in for starting my weight-loss/exercise program. In the first 4 weeks I lost 7 pounds. I am sad to say that the past 4 weeks have not been as successful. Because of different things that have come up this month, this month has not gone well. I am at the same weight I was at my 4 week mark. Good thing is, I know I gained a couple of pounds back during the past 4 weeks, so at least I'm starting the 3rd month where I started the 2nd month. So I have a long way to go to make my half way goal of 15 pounds after 3 months. But on the brighter side I have gained a nice tan from walking and playing tennis. I am no longer the pale, sickly white that I was at the beginning of the summer. :-)
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/22/2005 09:34:00 PM :: 0 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Thursday, August 18, 2005
A.M. Radio Talk Show Host
I have this thing about me. Maybe you can call it an illness I don't know. But I hate losing touch with someone. A few years after leaving Ricks I wanted to get back in touch with all my music major friends. I started a newsletter! That was back in 2002, and it only lasted a few issues. In February of this year I reinstated my newsletter. Along with it I started a yahoo!group where we could share in each others daily lives. Its called the Fish Bowl Insider. All of the previous posts made on my blog were originally posted on the fishbowl insider over the past few months.
This is one of them: (posted 8/18/05)
I told my husband about the Pizza Poll I just put on here. He just compared me to a local talk radio host and how he comes up with new topics for that days shows. Some of them are really off the wall, and its pretty funny to listen to. Especially Friday afternoons during the 5 o'clock hour which is ALWAYS the "Hour of Rage". People call in with their rage (something that really irks them) and whoever has the best one at the end of the hour wins a gift certificate to a restaurant or something. If I HAVE to listen to Talk Radio, I don't mind listening to this guy. Maybe thats where I get my inspiration for coming up with different topics to talk about on here... Just like Jim Villanucci some topics are a big hit and gets lots of callers and some are a complete bomb and go unnoticed. but hey... "its a work in progress..." (thats from Monsters, Inc. I've obviously watched that with my son WAY TOO MANY TIMES!)
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/18/2005 10:26:00 PM :: 1 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Monday, August 15, 2005
Monsoon Season
(originally posted on fishbowlinsider 8/15/05)
The North American monsoon occurs from mid July into September and affects Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and California . It pushes as far west as the Peninsular Ranges and Transverse Ranges of southern California but rarely reaches the coastal strip (a wall of desert thunderstorms only a half-hour's drive away is a common summer sight from the sunny skies along the coast). The North American monsoon is associated with an area of high pressure, called the subtropical ridge that moves northward during the monsoon season. At the surface, the monsoon is associated with a weak high that forms over the four corners region and a thermal low that forms over the Colorado River valley. The Bermuda high also plays some role in the monsoon. The placement of the high and low pressure areas causes the wind to shift from westerly to southerly. Moisture is drawn northward from the Gulf of California into northern Mexico and the Southwest United States. Rainfall during the monsoon occurs as thunderstorms over the southern Rocky Mountains and adjacent areas. This season of almost daily thunderstorms is often called the Southwest, Mexican or Arizona monsoon. It is also sometimes called the Desert Monsoon as a large part of the affected area is desert. As much as 70% of rainfall in the region occurs during the summer monsoon season. Many desert plants are adapted to take advantage of this wet season in the usually-dry area. Because of the danger of being caught in the open when these storms suddenly appear, many golf courses in Arizona have thunderstorm warning systems.(and New Mexico, theres a golf course near us and we can hear the siren after the first site of lightning)
Since I first moved to Phoenix almost 6 years ago I have loved the Monsoon Season. It is so refreshing from the HOT summer days. Here in New Mexico they don't typically start till mid July. And this summer has had an even later start. It gets really humid during this time of year and you can see the thunderclouds building and rolling in from the South East. For the past few weeks, we've had the clouds and the humidity but not much of the rain. And for the past week, it has looked and felt like Portland, Oregon (which is one of my most favorite places). We just haven't gotten the rain. We've had much cooler temperatures as well, in fact today the predicted high is only supposed to be 78 degrees! Well Saturday night that all changed. We saw the clouds roll in, and just hoped and prayed that we would actually get some rain here in town. (it has been flooding in other parts of the state). It looked really promising, and then all of a sudden it didn't. But we were fooled. The wind started to blow from the west, then it started to sprinkle lightly around 6pm. It started to rain a little harder and then the thunder and lightning started. We heard one clap so loud that it hurt our ears and shook the house. It was the loudest thunder boom I had ever heard. And it must have ripped a hole in the clouds as well because then it started to dump down on top of us. Our satellite stopped working because of the rain, the kids were already in bed so we just went outside and stood by the front door and watched the rain fall, the gutters fill, and the rivers running down the street. For almost an hour it rained like the heavens had opened up.And for that almost hour's time the thunder rolled constantly. You couldn't hear one thunder clap end and another begin. It was just constant rumbling. The satellite came back on so we went inside to finish watching the movie we started. All of a sudden the lights and t.v. flickered, we looked at each other and thought "that was weird"and then a few seconds later there was another huge thunderclap that shook the house and hurt our ears. After that one I was so glad the kids were sleeping, and was really surprised that neither of them had woken up. A few minutes later the rain started to let up, and you could see that the sun was breaking through the clouds as it was setting because it cast this odd yellow light on everything. I'm not the only one that enjoys the cooler, wetter weather the monsoon season provides. On my morning walks I have noticed that the plants that bloom in the spring usually go dormant during the extreme heat part of the summer, but are all starting to rebloom now that the days and nights are cooler. The desert really is an amazing place...
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/15/2005 10:18:00 PM :: 0 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Well Check-ups
(originally posted on fishbowlinsider yahoo!group 8/13/05)
I love taking my kids to their doctor for their well check-ups. My daughter just had her 12 month check-up on thursday. Which is what made me remember that I like them. I think what I like about it is seeing how much they've grown, comparing with the nurse that they're meeting all their milestones, and see how they measure up on the percentile chart. If they've slowed down or sped up in their growth. On Thursday "Sy" weighed 21 pounds 2 oz and measured 31 inches long. On the chart that meant she was 50th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. She's slowed down a bit. At her 9 month check-up she was 75th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height.
My son never had a problem at the doctors office, he loved the doctor and hardly ever cried when he got shots, My daughter on the other hand is much different. She cries the whole time the doctor looks her over and cries even more when she gets her shots. It makes me feel so sad for her. But on the other side, I get the best hugs from her afterwards...
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/13/2005 10:16:00 PM :: 0 Comments: ---------------------------------------
20 Ways Parenthood is Just Like College
I got this out of the August 2005 American Baby Magazine
1. You feel like you're constantly being tested.
2. Someone's always smarter than you are (or at least they think they are).
3. Your roommates are slobs, and they steal your food.
4. There's nothing in your bank account.
5. All-nighters.
6. You get kicked out of the library for leaving behind crumbs and creating a ruckus.
7. Keg Parties and parties at Chuck E. Cheese produce the same kind of Hangover. (I didn't go to a school where there were keg parties, but we still had parties where we were feeling pretty wiped out the next day!)
8. You never seem to be able to get the place to yourself.
9. Naps.
10. You hate your roommates' music and they hate yours.
11. You can neither identify nor locate the source of that funky smell coming from your roommate's closet.
12. Five in the morning is really, really early - or really, really late - depending on whether you've been to bed yet.
13. People talk to you while you're in the shower.
14. You're too exhausted to retain what you're reading.
15. Oh, now you can identify that smell. You fogot to take the half-eaten sandwich out of the backpack yesterday.
16. You're wearing your college sweatshirt again - its the cleanest thing you could find.
17. Someone always leaves a party crying.
18. Hey! How about pizza? AGAIN!
19. You think you're the only one who feels clueless.
20. It goes so fast.
While looking through my new copy that arrived in the mail I happened along this little fun read. It amused me and made me laugh!
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/13/2005 09:09:00 PM :: 0 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Not a Morning Person...friendly stranger...a towhead...
(originally posted on fishbowlinsider yahoo!group 8/9/05)
My kids BOTH woke up at 6am this morning. Most mornings my son wakes up at 6am like clockwork, but my daughter won't wake up till 7:30-9am. For as long as I can remember I have NEVER been a morning person. In High School I had early morning seminary. 6am every day. Nobody in my family would talk to me until I had a glass of orange juice. At College I had early morning Pep Band, that was at 7am, wasn't it? The beginning of every year my mom would warn my roommates not to talk to me till I had a glass of orange juice and if they really felt the need to talk to me in the morning to hand me a glass of O.J. or be warned of the repercussions. My mom also felt the need to warn my husband of this little tactic when we got married. ...I don't like mornings... My job in Phoenix allowed me to sleep in. My office hours were 9am-6pm. A wonderful schedule, I never had to drive in rush hour traffic! But here in lies the problem, nobody ever warned me that I would have kids that would wake up at 6am every day. That no matter how late they go to bed they will still wake up at 6am. I have to try very hard to bite my tongue while preparing breakfast...Today we started on our morning walk at 7am. And in hopes to keep them from getting bored, went a different direction. We went south and then followed the bike trail around the golf course. About 5 minutes after getting started I passed an older gentleman. Really nice old guy, said "Good Day to Ya" or something like that. I smiled said "Good morning" and continued on down the road. About an hour later, 15 minutes or so from my house, I was about to pass this same older gentleman. I said "Good Morning" again, but this time he stopped, removed his headphones and said to me "I hope you're not doing housework all day too". I stopped walking also, smiled and said "Ya, I do." We chatted for a few minutes, about our typical walking distances, and how far we think we walked this morning. I think he was impressed with the amount of distance I had covered since the last time I passed him especially pushing my two little ones in the stroller. I hope I run into him again some morning... Nice old grandpa...I was thinking about something I had read in one of Proud Mum's blogs one day. Asking the question "Am I not a good mother, do I look blind?" Or something like that... :-) She was amazed at the number of people that would stop her on the street and point out to her like she didn't already know, "Your son has brilliantly RED hair!" And I'm sure she's thinking sarcastically "oh no, I must have misplaced my baby with someone elses"... This brought me to thinking about all the amazing silly observations people make for me as well. Anywhere I go people stop me and say something about my son's bright white blonde hair. And of course his blue (almost gray) eyes. They then look at my daughter and say "wow what blue eyes she has too". I smile, nod, and say Thank you. And then mutter under my breath as I walk away "Geez haven't you ever seen a towhead or blue eyes before?" My favorite comment that I receive from perfect strangers is "Is he yours? Where did he get that hair? You aren't blonde, or are you?!?" So then I have to go into an explanation of how my son is a perfect carbon copy of my husband when he was young. They say "oh I see" and walk away but you can see the thoughts going through their heads that they don't quite want to believe me. We have noticed when we're at the mall other parents with a towheaded child will swerve in order to seek us out. When this started happening it occurred to us, "Oh ya, we live in New Mexico, a towhead ISN'T that common here", which is why all these parents of little blonde haired children seek each other out. We feel we have this common bond that we must share. We will have a giggle now when people stop us to comment on our son's hair and eyes.When we are in Utah visiting we point out all the towheads to each other. Then remember there ARE probably more here. It like when I was ar Ricks, I would get so excited when I would see a Washington License Plate, because they weren't that common. And when I'd go home for the summer it took me awhile to remember that I was in Washington again and therefore would see LOTS of Washington license plates...Our son is like a Rhode Island License Plate in California. Not very often will you see one...
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/09/2005 10:01:00 PM :: 0 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Monday, August 08, 2005
Dora The Explorer
(originally posted on fishbowlinsider yahoo!group 8/8/05)
I have learned something from Dora the Explorer. I actually read it in a parenting magazine that someone else learned from Dora the Explorer but I have applied it to my own toddler and it works amazing! If you have watched the cartoon you know that Dora always follows a map. On it are distinct points she needs to reach before getting to her goal. Well, I have applied this to my errand-running with my kids. In the magazine article it suggests drawing a map, no matter how crude, showing your different stops. We don't usually do the map, mostly because I don't think of it till we're in the car, but I tell my son the list of places we're going on that outing. I ask him to look for the places, and tell me when we've got there. After we have left that store, gas station, post office, etc we say "Check!" I sing the little song that the snail, frog, and grasshopper play. Then I ask him "where do we go next?" Just like Dora! After we have finished running all the errands we'll go do something he has been looking forward to. Whether it's going to the park, or McDonalds to play, or just going home and having some fruit snacks or cookies while we watch a cartoon. I tell him before we leave the house what the end destination is, so he can look forward to that end goal. Well today I applied Dora to our walks. At one point on the trail there is a little bridge that goes over an arroyo (those huge canals you only see in the southwest, sometimes they'll have a story on the national news, and they'll show them running full). For weeks "W" has referred to this bridge as the "Troll Bridge". He asks if the "Grumpy Old Troll" is going to let us cross the bridge. I know he got this from Dora the Explorer, so I have just stretched that concept to include our whole walk. I now let him choose which direction we go when we reach a fork in the biking path, and I ask him "Where do we go next?" We have created little landmarks to look for when we're walking. First it's the "streetlight", then the "troll bridge", followed by "up the hill, down the hill", and then the "rocks" (there's this cool mural made of different colored rocks on a wall along the biking trail), the "troll bridge" again, the "streetlight" again, and then home. He points them out when he sees them coming and after we've passed, he says "Check". He lists all our landmarks we've passed and says "Check" after each one. We sing the little song too. And when we've returned home, he has a snack while I do pilates. It has really worked to keep his attention away from his little sister, which he usually likes to pester. thank you dora...
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/08/2005 09:59:00 PM :: 0 Comments: ---------------------------------------
2 week hiatus
(originally posted on fishbowlinsider yahoo!group 8/8/05)
Today I resumed my 4 mile daily walks after a two week hiatus. I discovered that my shoes were not the right size for my feet when I found I had blisters UNDER my toenails! Very painful! I had to pop the blisters and then wait for the swelling to go down which took a week which was also very painful, I couldn't even walk across the house! Then I caught my son's cold, it was just a cough really, but it sure knocked me out, which lasted another week. Boy am I glad to be walking again. I got new shoes, and off I went. I really found that I enjoy exercising (Who'd a thunk?). I have more energy throughout the day, I feel better, I'm happier, and I have more patience with my kids! Not such a short fuse! (That in itself is a definite bonus). And I also have tons of fresh ideas for posts. I get my ideas for posts while I'm walking. I don't know if I have lost any weight in these past two weeks, I highly doubt it if not gained a little. I didn't do anything for two weeks, and I didn't exactly follow my diet plan either. We'll just call these past weeks a lost cause! But I am ready to start afresh and anew today, and when I reach my half-way mark of loosing 15 pounds I plan on rewarding myself. For Christmas I received as a gift from my sisters-in-law. A 1 hour massage, and I haven't used it yet(I know you're thinking, why not? I just kept forgetting I had it). When I reach my half-way mark I WILL MAKE that appointment for my massage and give myself a well-deserved treat!
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/08/2005 09:55:00 PM :: 0 Comments: ---------------------------------------
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Frantic Life of a Young Mom
How To Bake a CakePreheat Oven. Grease pan. Crack nuts... Get out bowl, spoons, and ingredients. Remove 18 blocks and 7 toy cars from kitchen table. Measure out 2 C flour onto piece of waxed paper. Get Sifter out of cabinet. Remove Johnny's(insert your own toddlers name) hands from flour. Wash flour off him.Measure out 1 C flour to replace that which is now on the floor. Put flour, 2 1/2 tsp baking power, and 1/2 tsp salt in sifter. Get dustpan and brush off pieces of bowl which Johnny has accidentally knocked off the table. Get another bowl. Sift ingredients. With spoon, work 1/4 C shortening against sides of bowl.Answer doorbell. Return to kitchen. Remove Johnny's hands from bowl. Wash shortening off him. Get an egg from fridge. Answer telephone. Return to kitchen. Mop up floor. Change Johnny's shoes which are eggy. Get another egg from fridge. Beat. Remove toy car from bowl. Add flour mixture alternately with egg, 3/4 C milk, and 1 tsp vanilla.Answer knock at back door. Remove Johnny's hand from bowl. Take up greased pan, find it has 1/4 inch layer of salt in bottom. Look for Johnny who has now disappeared. Get another pan and grease it. Answer telephone. Return to kitchen and find Johnny...of all people...face and hand in the bowl. Head for Johnny, who flees, knocking bowl off table. Wash kitchen floor. Wash kitchen walls. Wash dishes. Call up Baker.Lie Down.(written by Jody Paul)I received this from my mom. I remember it being displayed proudly in her recipe book. She stumbled across it and thought that it was time for it to be displayed in my cookbook as well. Thanks, Mom.
Posted by ABQ Mom :: 8/02/2005 09:51:00 PM :: 0 Comments: ---------------------------------------