Thursday, February 26, 2009

What might be Our Dirt



Back in January, a lot popped up in Eric's email notifications, a half acre lot in an established neighborhood. Eric took a GIS look, and we were intrigued. This snowy picture is in the days after our foot of snow when we got to drive out and take a look.

Eric has dreamed of picking up a nice big wooded lot and building our own dream home. We wanted the boys to have a tree fort, shady woods for outdoor picnics, and room for a nice garden. I loved the idea of a big lot, but a. we couldn't afford it, and b. I've been leaning towards making sure the boys grow up in a neighborhood where they can visit friends, ride their bikes, and Trick-or-Treat and stuff too.



This lot backs right up to Lake Ridge, a huge new neighborhood, where there is much room for bike riding, or running, or what have you-ing. It's about 1 1/2 miles north of where we currently live. We didn't realize until we started house hunting that behind the Applebee's there are 5 neighborhoods all interlocked, so that theoretically, one can go from 900N all the way to 267 (and Applebee's or Dunkin' Donuts or the Bowling Alley) without hitting a main drag. Good for bike riding boys!
Now the neighborhood that this lot is in, has not technically been admitted into the Town of Brownsburg. So it doesn't get town utilities. This may make building a house difficult, because we'll need to either get Town utilities, through approval, council OK, and then actual construction, or go through the same process to get Wells and Septic, which are what "our neighbors" are on. In addition, we have to get well and septic, we have to have lots of testing performed by the county health department and whatnot. But there have been negotiations to get the neighborhood to become part of Brownsburg. But of course, just to get that costs lots more money...for the privilege. Personally, I'd rather be part of the town, gets my roads plowed, street lights, and I'm not a fan of well water.

This weekend, we put in an offer, they countered, and we counter-counter offered. Tuesday they accepted our counter-counter, and we now have 8 weeks to get our crap together and see if we can get approved for either town utilities or well/septic. And that may or may not require board of health testing times and council meeting scheduling and approval. I find I'm glad that Eric's been getting in on the political business around here because now we know who to contact, and they know us, and they're being honest and helpful.
If we are approved for utilities, and get approval for building our 4ish bedroom home, (which we have to plan) then we will be good to go. It's exciting, and yet fairly scary all at the same time.



I thought you might appreciate some of these pictures of what could be "our dirt".

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Good Deed Doing

So back in January, Eric found this great deal on a stroller for QT and Chris, and the price was right! After a couple weeks, it didn't come and Eric contacted them, and they hemmed and hawwed about delivery, trying to back out at one point saying first that they were out, then when Eric said the ad was still on the internet, but for a higher price they said, well, they had them available for the higher price. Eric, livid, wrote them an email saying, so who shall I report this too, the BBB or the ABC (some other organization whose letters I forget). Handily enough, they responded that they would honor the original offer. Hmm. Funny, so now they have them. There was another couple week delay and Eric sent off another email saying, so where is it? They said they were out. Then it showed up Surprise! on Valentine's Day. So then Eric gets an email Monday telling us to track the shipping number, meanwhile, the stroller we got last week has been unpacked and is sitting all pretty in my car.
I arrived home yesterday from preschool and whatnot to a fresh giant brand new stroller box on my front porch. I was super excited. Another $300 stroller, of course, that's not what WE paid for it. Let alone for 2 of them. But my mind started wandering as to what we could do with this little beasty. After some hemming and hawing of our own, we decided to do the honest thing and let the company know about it. Eric sent them an email. We haven't heard back from them. But let me tell you, it was a hard choice. We could have found a home for it, no probs, whether making money off the deal or not. But what really got me was the Guilt. Chris was bugging us to open this stroller. He thinks they're his. How could I keep it, how would I explain it to him? I'd probably make him do the right thing, if the shoes were reversed. Good Deed Doing is Tough. I just had to vent that.

Monday, February 23, 2009

My Husband Eric

This survey is supposed to test "How well you know your husband," which is pretty silly, considering that it's some very insignificant and arbitrary questions, but I'll give it a whirl. Hon, how'd I do on accuracy? :)

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
Battlestar Gallactica

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Bleu Cheese, or something vinaigrette, unless they have a something special spicy

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
Super sweet cake with tons of icing

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order?
Water without lemon

5. Where did he go to high school?
Ben Davis High School

6. What size shoe does he wear?
10 1/2 I think?

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Movies

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
Meat and cheese with cheese and meat

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
Great big hot sandwiches or if money were no object...Sushi

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Flax flakes

11. What would he never wear?
Speedo

12. What is his favorite sports team?
Bulldog Basketball

13. Who did he vote for?
McCain

14. Who is his best friend?
Me, right? I'm not sure he would name a best friend but probably Ben and Mike.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
Lose my temper

Friday, February 20, 2009

Friday Fill-Ins

Haven't done these in a while. Getting out of the groove.

1. Give me a boy who listens and obeys and I'll be in much better mood! I'd say I'd be Happy, HappIER but I'm sure there would be something else that would prevent me from Happiness.

2. Whenever you're ready, I'm ready.

3. I wish I wish, with all my heart, to fly with dragons, in a land apart. -Dragon Tales

4. A strawberry truffle was the last thing I ate that was utterly delicious.

5. To live in this world is temporary.

6. Other than this one, Kathy and Ryan's is the last blog I commented on. Though I hopped on Facebook a bit in between.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing if Chris will PooPoo on the Potty (or at least attempt it) again, he's been on a great streak, he's given it a go, every day out of the last 8, but 1 tomorrow my plans include The Preschool Fair in Danville (Go and sign up for St. Andrew's!) and Sunday, I want to take a nap, or go meet a friend for a long discussion and a festive beverage, sans children. A girl can dream right?

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Starbucks

Is it possible that Starbucks really does Make it all better?
I think so. I sampled a new beverage this morning, the Mixed Berry Chai Latte Tea Infusion.



Yum-O!

I can honestly say, that my back has felt better than it has in days, and THAT is saying something. So, perhaps next time the old spine is giving me fits of trouble, perhaps instead of paying out the ying-yang for chiropractor therapy or a doctor's appointment, perhaps I ought to just run on over to Starbucks for a little somesing....

Monday, February 16, 2009

My Boys



So, I have boys that Pamper Me.

We had a great Valentine's Day. It's so nice to celebrate this holiday of love with our loved ones. Chris and I stayed home all morning, and Did NOT watch TV, though we thought we would, instead we played and read...a lot. Daddy sent me flowers, and we all exchanged presents. Chris got new shoes Merrills to match Daddy and Mommy's (but Mommy can't wear hers right now, because her feet are too swelly for them with socks), and a puzzle (that he did with Daddy-see above photo), and lots of Valentine cards and candy from his school friends. That was so much fun to watch him go through those! He got Daddy a running shirt, and I got Eric a chain for his cross. But my boys got me jewelry: Chris got me new earrings, and Eric got me a blue topaz heart pendant, and a new small video camera that is supposed to be SO much easier to upload videos to the internet, oh boy more toys for Mommy to blog with... The Baby even got me a Blood Pressure Cuff! Then the Baby's new stroller arrived, even he got a present! Then we all went to East 96th Steakburgers for dinner. Yum-O!

This very evening, Daddy brought me home CHOCOLATES ...for no other reason than because he said, I didn't get you any on Saturday. Oh so sweet, and it is good.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Song of the Day

Trading My Sorrows



We sang it in church this morning and I just can't get it out of my head. It's a Good Day!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Chain Letter of Baking

2 weeks ago, my neighbor across the street scared the snot out of me. I was excorting Chris up the driveway after preschool when I hear, "Hey Neighbor, you like to bake?" What? I turn, and his police car is stopped at the end of the driveway, always a little heartstopping, and his police dog is barking at us. Surely I heard wrong. Yeah, no, he asked me if I bake. "Like desserts and stuff?" Odd questions. But yes I do. I prefer to bake than to cooking. I can't stand dealing with raw meat, so that limits my cooking options. But how did he know this?
Well, he proceeds to explain that he had been given "Amish Friendship Bread Starter" and was making a batch, and when they make it, it makes the best bread he's ever had, and yields 3 extra starters to pass on friends, and would I be interested? Would I?! Yah!
So, a few days later, I received my starter, with my sheet of cryptic instructions on fermenting it for 10 days before I actually got baking.

Amish Friendship Bread
DO NOT refrigerate -It is normal to raise, bubble and ferment. Burp as needed.
Day 1 DO NOTHING
Day 2 Mush the bag
Day 3 Mush the bag
Day 4 Mush the bag
Day 5 Mush the bag
Day 6 Add to bag: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk, then Mush bag
Day 7 Mush the bag
Day 8 Mush the bag
Day 9 Mush the bag
Day 10 Follow the instructions below:
1. Pour entire mixture from bag into a NON-METAL bowl.
2. Add 1½ cups flour, 1½ cups sugar and 1½ cups milk. Mix.
3. Measure 1 cup of batter into each of 4 – one gallon Ziploc bags. Label with the date.
Keep a starter for yourself and give the other three to friends, along with a copy of this recipe.
4. Preheat oven to 325° F.
5. To the remaining batter add: 3 eggs, 1 cup oil, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 cup sugar, ½ cup milk, ½ tsp. vanilla, 1½ tsp. baking powder, ½ tsp. baking soda, 2 cups flour, 1 large box vanilla instant pudding, ½ tsp. salt
6. Grease 2 loaf pans.
7. In a small bowl mix together ½ cup sugar and 1½ tsp cinnamon. Dust the greased pans with half of this mixture.
8. Pour the batter evenly into the two pans and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture on top.
9. Bake at least one hour. Cool the bread until it loosens evenly from the pan (10 min.). Serve warm or cold!

*If you keep a starter for yourself, you’ll be baking every 10 days. The bread is very good and makes great gifts. Only the Amish know how to create the starter, so if you give them all away, you will have to wait until someone gives you one back. (This is not exactly true, I googled and found recipes for starter on the internet.)
*You may use different kinds of puddings and/or extracts. Try adding raisins, nuts, fruit or chocolate chips. You can also make muffins (makes 3 dozen) or use 1 bundt pan.



So this was my first experiment with it, and DUDE, it is YUMMY! It's very moist, and tastes like coffee cake. Eric, though avoiding carbs, tested it 'for science' and with high praise declared, "This could be a breakfast, lunch, brunch, or even just a snack."
Imagine what I can do if I follow the recipe that leads to Sourdough bread, or with chocolate chips, and chocolate pudding, which I'm SO doing next time. So Exciting!

If you are interested in a starter, and giving it a go on your own, let me know. I have 1 more starter from the batch I made Sunday left, I'm on day 5. (I also learned from the internet that it is possible to freeze or refrigerate the starter, if you get tired of it. I'm not there yet.)

Ch 5. The Mommy Diaries

It's been a while, since I made a dent in this book that I've been reading for our MOPS group. I started trying to read the Bible everyday as well as getting caught up on my pregnancy and birth books. So much to read, so little time...
Anyway, the theme of this chapter is Perspective.

1. At what times do you feel you could especially use a dose of perspective in your mothering journey? When I get frustrated with Chris. This morning was a rough morning, he was constantly doing everything BUT what I was asking of him. I'd ask him to get his shoes, and he'd run to the other side of the house and grab a toy and start playing with it. I'm too tired to Chase. Every time I talked to him, he'd growly speak at me. I get so upset and frustrated, exhausted, it's hard to remember how hard I prayed for this, for the privilege of being a parent. His parent. I've prayed so hard for him. We worked so hard to get him to talk and now he grumps and growls at me. Sometimes, I lose the perspective of just being grateful to have him. Then again, sometimes God just plops those moments into my day, to remind me, Thank Goodness.

2. How do you get those doses? If I watch Chris sleep, or during the quiet time when he's at preschool. There have been the rare occasions when we're eating lunch together, the sun streaming brightly through the window, and we're just quietly eating, he'll reach over wordlessly to hold my hand, or just smile at me. Then I remember. Then I say a little prayer, and I'm grateful.

3. Are there practical ways you can schedule little "views from the summit" in your life to help you maintain a sense of purpose and power in the work you do as a mom? I guess, when he's in preschool. Or my MOPS group! It helps to get away for Mom's Night's Out too, because we all kvetch about our situations, and when hearing other mom's troubles, mine don't seem so bad, or I get suggestions on how better to cope.

4. When was the last time someone noticed the hard work you do and commented on it? I was emailing a friend, who is a developmental preschool teacher, and she complimented me, saying how lucky Chris was that I was such an advocate for him. Well, the next day I lost my temper and yelled into his teacher's answering machine for not letting me know there was such a thing as an Alternate schedule on delay days, and I'd been sitting with a boy who WANTED to go to school, and had been arguing with me about it for Days. I think I over-advocated.

5. Can you learn to trust that God--in all his compassion, wisdom, and power--sees a bigger picture than you do and will faithfully bring you to a place of purpose of which you never dreamed? Yup.
I trust the Lord. I know he has great plans for Christopher...he told me so in Jeremiah 29:11.
But it's those day to day moments when Chris exercises his strong will that get a little hard to deal with. I KNOW God doesn't give me more than I can handle. And we've handled it thus far. I guess, I am just expecting it to get easier. Any time now.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Star Wars

Thursday, February 5, 2009

So Rude

I just have to gripe one more time. I threw my Back out AGAIN. Wanna know how I did it? Putting toys away. I can't stop doing that? I tried stopping, and the toys just multiplied, like breeding in the living room. I tried convincing Chris to put them away, and he'd take 1 tiny dinosaur back, and come back out with the giant man-eating Little People Airport. I tried to let it go, but the mess just makes me Twitchy. So, I felt the tell-tale twinge and went to bed. Usually, that does the ticket. This time it did not. I was pulling myself up by the headboard to roll out of bed to pee in the middle of the night. I managed to pull it together for the morning's activities, but was having trouble standing all day long, then it just plain locked up again when I tried to pry myself off the couch after naps. I miss being able to take my happy muscle relaxers. A lot!
It's not pregnancy back trouble, oh no, that would be too easy. At least that would end come April, but the same old crap that used to plague me before Pregnancy and will likely plague again. I can handle the hips popping out when I stand, the general achiness, because of the loosening. I can handle not sleeping because I can't sleep on my belly. I can even handle the contractions when I over do it.

But this is just Rude. And for the birds.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Doubly Tagged

So, my sister in law tagged me yesterday with this Top 8 things listing. So here goes.

8 Things about me:
1. I love the Yarn Arts especially crochet.
2. I love to watch the snow fall, and the way it sticks to the trees, ahh lovely. Driving in it....I could do without.
3. I love peanut butter and marshmallow cream sandwiches. Toasted even better!
4. I'm afraid of heights, but only on see through staircases, ladders, and escalators, anything precarious. I love glass elevators, and airplanes. Weird eh?
5. I love sushi, and miss it because I can't have much while I'm preggers not that we can afford to be that crazy anyway
6. I'm going to be surrounded by boys, and I am a Girly Girl! I know nothing about boys.
7. Not only was I terrified of high school kids when I was in high school, but they still terrify me.
8. I love taking pictures. My Dad used to be a photojournalist, and he takes pictures like a maniac, guess I got it from him. Film got expensive, so I didn't do it much until we got our digital camera. It's SO much less expensive when I can just delete the bad ones now.

8 TV Shows I watch (this list is hard because I don't get to watch what I want very often):
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. NCIS
3. Battlestar Gallactica (the new series, we've been netflixing old seasons)
4. Ugly Betty (it's on before Grey's Anatomy, but somehow I get sucked in)
5. Private Practice (now on After Grey's Anatomy, and I get sucked in)
6. Extreme Makeover Home Edition (but I haven't actually watched in a few months)
7. Biggest Loser
8. All My Children (been my family's soap since I can remember, nowadays, I catch it very rarely, and yet I can catch up within a half an hour)

8 Restaurants I love:
1. Yen Ching
2. Rathskeller
3. Bob Evans (a recent terrible craving!)
4. Ginza (though that Hiroshima or whatever it's called in Avon ain't too shabby either)
5. Steak and Shake (Eric and I had our unofficial first date here-awww)
6. 96th Street Steakburgers (as close as you can get to In&Out burger in Indiana)
7. McDonald's
8. Monical's Pizza

8 Things that Happened Today:
1. Took Chris to and from Preschool
2. Drove in terrible snowstorm
3. Tried to have brunch at Denny's but crowds were terrible, so ended up at McD's with new friend Lauren (Parker and Shaylee)
4. Had pancakes followed by pickles for lunch (little pregnant?)
5. Stole a snack from Zefronk (from Playhouse Disney), supposed to be Banana "dogs": whole grain wheat hot dog bun, banana, with peanut butter and jelly. I had mine with natural peanut butter and sugar-free marshmallow cream instead of Jelly. Decadent, yet heathy!
6. Took a nap for an hour and some change
7. Read Cat in the Hat for the first time in Ages
8. Contractions! Had 2 in an hour, so am now resting...well, as restful as one can get online

8 Things I look forward to:
1. Meeting Baby Boy #2
2. Chris getting off the bus
3. Eric coming home from work
4. A clean house
5. Girly dates, usually where Starbucks is involved, or MNO
6. Vacations
7. A new house
8. Being pain-free (ok we're dreaming big now)

8 Things I wish for:
1. To be Pain Free
2. Christopher to eat like a champ and have no more weight problems (Amy put that first but I have to steal it!) And GROW!
3. Healthy Babies
4. Everybody to make it home safe and sound in crummy weather
5. A great job opportunity for Dad
6. No one to have to deal with Infertility
7. My friends in pain to be not in pain anymore
8. A Perfectly Healthy 2nd Baby Boy

8 Songs I listened to today:
1. Theme song for Monsters Inc.
2. The ABC Song-attempted by Chris
3. Revelation -Third Day
4. Free to be Me-Francesca Bettistelli
5. The kids singing along with the record player in preschool, I didn't recognize the song, but I loved peeking and watching them all Clapping.
6. Hope Now-Addison Road
7. There Will be a Day-Jeremy Camp
8. Spirit in the Sky-Normal Greenbaum


Then Today Amy tags me on a photo from my folders tag.


Choose the 6th photo, was all it said. However, my photos, I had to choose the 6th folder, then get to some photos. In this case, it is a photo from our flower garden.



It is purple Creeping Phlox. Which given today's crummy weather, seeing happy flowers made me smile. Hope it does for you too!

OK, your turn.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Mini-Me



What do you think? Who does the baby look like?



Mommy?



Daddy?



Big Brother?

Yeah, me too.