It's Rugga Rugga

When we were kids we would constantly bug my sweet-toothed dad for a bite of whatever yummy treat he was snacking on. Usually it was ice cream or grape popcicles, but once in awhile it was something REALLY yummy, like my mom's homemade candy, See's Candy, Christmas fudge, or some other wonderful delicacy.
Only a parent, who constantly has kids that come running the instant they hear the crinkling of a treat wrapper and then climb up all over you asking "whatchugot?", and demanding that you practice what you preach and "share", can truly understand why some things are just too good for children.

There are a few things to be considered.
1.) I don't mind sharing most things, but every now and then, I am gifted a wonderful bit of yummyness that my kids' hyperactive taste buds just won't appreciate. Like pumpkin cheesecake. Turtle cheesecake. Cherry cheesecake. Any cheesecake. Yeah, they'll take a bite and enjoy, but will they really appreciate it they way cheesecake should be appreciated? Most kids place GOOD treats in the same category as kid treats. Would they be equally happy to eat a Tootsie Roll as one of Annie Grover's Ooey Gooeys? Much too good for children.

2.) Another determining factor...how much do I need this treat for my sanity? Is this a therapeutic chocolate fix, or just leftover Halloween candy?

3.) How much of the desired treat is there? This is a big one for me. Were there two brownies on the plate or 12? Sometimes I just don't have a square to spare. That's when the kids get chocolate graham crackers and run happily back to play.

As children get older, they might not be able to fully appreciate the goodness that you are eating, but with time, they will understand the magnitude of how important it is to you. The fact that another does not WANT to share the item in question makes it much much more desirable to a child.

My dad found that the solution to this problem was to make the treat sound less desireable when we approached his plate with interest.

"Hmmm...Whatchugotthere?" we would ask

"Oh, you wouldn't like this. It's Rugga-Rugga." he would reply, placing an emphasis of total disgust on the word "rugga-rugga"
.
"Rugga-Rugga? Ew! Gross!" and off we went, while my dad sat and finished his bowl of blackberry cobbler topped with french vanilla ice cream in peace. Rugga-Rugga indeed.

He might have learned this art from his own parents....who were experts at deciding who got orange marmalade ice cream, and who got trail mix for dessert.

By the time we discovered that Rugga-Rugga=really really good stuff, we were old enough to appreciate that it indeed was good stuff, and were therefore graced with a bite, or two, or three.

I made the realization when I was asked to pass the treats over, and was told that it was just "Rugga-Rugga", but I could clearly READ the words ALMOND ROCCA on the can.

Then one year, we discovered this holiday snack mix, that we had no name for. It's sweet, it's nutty, it's chewy, it's crunchy, it's coconuty, it's full of butter and sugar,

...it's Rugga-Rugga.

"Haul Out The Holly..."

Remember these little gingerbread buddies?

I never posted a picture of the advent calendar:

There is a poem attached that says:

Here is our special family treat,
It's one, I think, you'll find
Will last and last and last and last
Right up 'till Christmas time.

A cookie you can snip from it
Each and every day.
And this is how we show we care
In a most delicious way!

cute right?
Not as cute as the little containers I made to give them away in!

Made with empty baby formula containers, wrapping paper, and love
...and a little bit of sticky little kid grime if Quincy touched it. She has a permanent case of what Luke from Gilmore Girls would call "jam hands".

I also filled them with rugga-rugga
What is rugga-rugga?
shame on you.
tomorrow's post.

"I Said I Wasn't Gonna Lose My Head, But Then POP! Goes My Heart..."

My doctor put me on "pelvic rest" today.

pelvic rest. seriously. It's a real thing.

What the ?

They didn't laugh like I did, when I thought she was telling a joke.

The nurse then rattled off a list of a million activities I am not to participate in until my 20 week appointment the first week of January.

She mentioned no more exercise a few times.

I laughed (again) at the thought of me doing anything that could be considered exercise lately. My muscles are so underused that I can't even keep from peeing my pants when I throw up. Does that sound like hard core muscle control to you? At least I know I have plenty of support from Aaron. He clearly feels that we are in this together... Together, we polished off an entire bag of chocolate covered peanut butter cookies, and fought over who had to get up off their butt to answer the phone and find the remote while we watched the Biggest Loser finale in our "fat pants" the other night. That's true love right there.

No exercise going on in this house, Doc. Rest assured.

But the rest of the list... no lifting, running, stretching, standing for long periods of time, wrestling with kids, wrestling with Aaron, working, swimming, carrying children, laughing, smiling, breathing...

Basically no doing anything but staying off my feet and "taking it easy", and just being grateful I'm not stuck on bed rest.

Question:
After hearing the list of no-no's...how is "pelvic rest" any different than bed rest?

Question:
How is this possible for anyone with two young children?

One more reason my 20 week appointment can not come soon enough! I am grateful our post Christmas plans did not get canceled. Staying at Grandma's is like visiting a bed and breakfast, but with really awesome toys.

"They Just Wanna,They Just Wanna-aa-a...Oh! Girls Just Wanna Have Fu-un!"

I just couldn't resist posting the rest of the pictures...

"Now remember, No nagging, bragging, sweating, fretting,
slipping, tripping,
Slurping, burping, twittering or frittering allowed.
Stay Present, stay pleasant, stay proud."

"To be a princess
Is to always look your best"


"To be a princess
Is to never get to rest"

"Sit for a portrait, never squirm
Sleep on a mattress extra firm
Speak and be clever
Never at a loss for words"

"Pinky out and Lift the chin and
Slowly turn the head from side to side"

"Breathing gently
Stepping lightly
Smile brightly
Nod politely..."

"Never show a thing you feel inside..."

"And, She has beautiful eyes
Your spirits rise
When she walks in the room..."

"She's like a rose that's forever in bloom"

You Are An Obsession, You're My Obsession..."

Thanks to sarah for the lovely award. Here are my obsessions:

1.) Having fun:
I think about my childhood and I remember having a LOT of fun, and laughing a lot. My parents liked to make everything fun for us, and taught us to seek out the humor in life. I remember a whipped cream fight with those reddi whip cans that broke out in the kitchen, when Amy's can exploded accidentally and sprayed my mom a little. So my mom sprayed back, and pretty soon we all were covered in whipped cream, and Amy's friend was holding my mom down as we sprayed whipped cream into the space between her eyelids and her glasses.

My dad was king inventor of games, and many of them ended with a hole in the wall somewhere, or something (or someone) being broken. We had numerous sock wars when folding laundry. We placed bets on who could move a playgound ball from the corner of the game room to the sticks and weeds in the living room, using the least amount of kicks. Everything was a game. We cheat. We play hard. We certainly don't play fair. If you are losing you are fair game for insults. There is always a chance for the loser to retaliate.

My mom once took a hose right into the house and totally soaked my dad, who had escaped inside to avoid a water fight in the yard. We were always allowed and encouraged to help cook, build, craft, paint, or be involved in whatever the current project was. We all played sports, sang in choirs, belonged to the local theater companies, and my parents made sure we were all involved in our siblings events and supported each other. Even with the large age gaps between us, I still consider my brothers and sisters to be some of my very best friends.

I am so glad to have memories like this, and I want my kids to remember that I did more than make them clean up toys and go to bed at 7:30. I obsess over whether or not I am providing them with the right balance of responsibility and fun...but mostly just that I am a fun mom.

2.) Lists:
I have to do lists, to call lists, to buy lists, to clean lists, to fix lists, to go lists...etc.
I make them constantly, and I use them constantly.
I love crossing things off a list, and I love throwing away a complete list.

3.) Food:
Is this your first time on my blog? No? No real need to elaborate then, but to humor Sarah who gave me this tag... I love food. I don't eat what I don't like, and I eat a LOT of what I do like. I am really really really looking forward to a Cafe Rio fajita grilled steak burrito with black beans, lime rice, and smothered in cheese and green sauce. yeah baby. I'll be having that more than once. If we can find the time and a car to use, which I doubt we will, but if we can...we will also trek over to Brookside (hi Breanne, yes if we come we will of course, pop over to your place after) for the best grilled ham and cheese on the planet, seasoned crinkle fries and a cherry flavored sprite.

My current food loves (meaning this week) are:
-anything I don't have to cook. I do love serving my family, but it is a real treat to have someone wait on me.
-tacos (thank you Jeru for helping me love them again)
-really really good salad (like the one at Gusanos with the mozzerella and really good buttermilk ranch)
-Oranges! I can't buy a good orange if it isn't between thanksgiving and new years, so I don't. Really. I do not purchase them outside of those 5-6 weeks, because they are always bad. Right now we are stocking up on oranges and cuties like they are going outta style...which, for us, they will in 3 weeks. LOVE them. I'm also loving orange juice right now. Tropicana some pulp homestlye premixed. Love it.
-all things pasta. Dear Pasta, where have you been all my life? How did I forget about you? Homemade lasagne? Loaded Baked Spaghetti? Can't get enough. Tomorrow I'll be experimenting and trying out a thai peanut angel hair pasta that I had once at Carrie's and have been craving all week. I'll let you know how it comes out....or if it comes up.
-Kasey's frogeye salad
-gingersnaps...the soft kind, covered in cinnamon and sugar. I've now got a great recipe, but others have been making them and dropping them by for the holidays, and so far I haven't had to make them myself yet. I think I ate 6 of them today.
-avocados
i'm getting hungry, therefore this list could go on and on. I start talking about food and can't stop myself.

4.) My hair:
it's awful right now. awful. Not curly, not totally straight. bad length. Something should be done. I haven't had a cut in....I don't know, like 5 monthsmaybe longer. It's time. I am considering a good chop chop, but I can't because I need to be able to pull it into a ponytail when I'm throwing up all the good food I wasted in obsession #3. That part seems to be getting better though. I'm not losing weight this pregnancy, AND I have had days in the past few weeks where I don't throw up at all. So far, I feel very blessed that this pregnancy has been so fantastic. I have my 20 week ultrasound right after new years, so let's hope this baby cooperates and shows us a little somethin'-somethin'.

5.) Menu:
I like having a menu for the week. I am very particular (see also cheap, tight) about my grocery budget, and without a menu, that doesn't fly. I've been fairly lazy about cooking regular decent meals since I've been sick, but now that I'm feeling a little better, we are getting life back on track. I like new recipes that aren't weird, and try to have one new thing every week or two...even if it's just a variation of something we usually make. Gotta have a menu. Even if I plan on serving frozen pizza (digiorno cheese stuffed crust is the best in that dept. btw) it still goes on the menu.

6.) Goals:
I set the goal, and can sometimes become obsessed until it's complete. I like to track progress in a journal. I try to have 3 or 4, but usually focus on one or two until they are complete, before I really put much effort into the others. Most of my goals are private, and therefore I do not share them on the blog. You already get to hear most of my embarrassing moments here...I think that makes us close enough.

7.) Smells:
I smell everything. Not always by choice. I just have an incredibly sensitive sense of smell. Don't sit by me if you are wearing musky perfume, a lot of leather, Aussie hairspray, if you have bad breath, a poopy diaper, burned popcorn, broken the belt on your vacuume, just ran 5 miles (or climbed a flight of stairs...whatever makes you schwetty...don't sit by me if you have B.O.) if you use moth balls for anything anywhere in your home, if you are a smoker, or if you sharted recently and haven't excused yourself to go take care of it (ok, if you have a habit of sharting...just don't sit by me ever).
I can tell pretty much as soon as I walk into a house if there are cats there...especially the naughty kind that spray your stuff. Anyone can smell that, but to me the smell is so strong I often can't stay in the house. Gross. My OB thinks my strong sense of smell has a lot to do with the Hyperemesis Gravidarium symptoms that I eperienced with the last two pregnancies. If that's true, then why didn't it last as long this time? My nose certainly didn't break. My friend, Connie laughs because I see her every wednesday night, and I can often guess where she went out to dinner by smelling her sweater. If it was Maria's, I can smell it when I walk in the room. Mmmm Maria's...

I haven't been able to focus real well on this post since the food obsession part. I keep thinking about the dinner I should be preparing instead of blogging. Aaron will be home in 15 minutes and I have eggs to nest, juice to pour, and a polska kielbasa to sautee.

"...Can't You Hear That Thunder? You'd Better Run, You'd Better Take Cover..."

remember Thunder?

A little update... the other day I was again on my way to Carrie's, and noticed that our dear canine friend is now harnessed and chained to the tree in the front yard.

Not only were several neighbors sick of having their children terrified to go outside, fearing they might be attacked by the neighborhood beast, but apparently the local sanitation workers were also tired of picking up Thunder's little trail of destruction every week. Thunder had a habit of making the rounds on trash day, knocking down everyone's cans, shredding the Hefty bags and dragging the contents out in into the street. Someone finally got fed up and called animal control.

Enjoy your leash, Thunder. I'm sorry your owner (guy on phone) is not aware of proper animal maintenance and control. I'm not sorry that you have been sentenced to the confines of your own yard. Perhaps you will think about the scratch you left in the paint on my van, the next time you have to poop 6 feet away from your water dish.

A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes...

2 Cinderellas
3 Sleeping Beauties
2 Snow Whites
1 Princess and the Pea
1 Princess Fairy
9 little girls waiting for cake and juice boxes...

I haven't figured out how to dump photos from my new camera onto the laptop, but here are a few pics that Kasey took.

Meg: Make a Wish, Cinderella!
Reese: I wish to eat one of those glass slipper cookies after my cake is done.

My first (and probably last) homemade birthday cake. Strawberry cake, with Strawberry cream cheese filling an pink strawberry frosting. That is a glass slipper on the top. We just took the princess toys out of the dishwasher today and Reese asked me why we couldn't have just like them all clean. gross.

Thank goodness for Abby. Q wanted to be held all weekend long. She seems to be fine now, but by Saturday, I thought my arms were going to fall off or my ears were going to break from hearing her cry for anyone to "carry me up, pweeeeeease?". When I put the Snow White dress on her, she gushed, "ooooh pretty princess" and looked at herself in the mirror smiling, until she saw that Reese was wearing Cinderella, and Q quickly changed her mind and pouted, "I don't like this dress, Mommy! I want Thinnnernennnaah...(more unrecognizable whining)" Unfortunately, her Cinderella dress is still covered in chocolate something (at least I hope it is chocolate) from Halloween, so Snow White had to deal with it. Abby came just in time to the rescue. I can't wait until she is old enough to babysit. My girls adore her, and she is a great mothers helper.

Aren't these cute? Reese handed each of her guests a blue, purple, or pink glass slipper sugar cookie (made from scratch and iced by hand at 2am the night before, by her wicked stepmother/evil queen/yours truly) tied with a princess ribbon and a pink note attached that read, Thank you for coming to my party! Love, Reese. She also gave out scented glitter lip gloss and Disney princess fruity snacks for party favors.

Reese was so excited that her friends were there to dance and play and celebrate with her. She was so cute when opening her gifts, and loved every single one of them. We made her wait until friends went home before she could play with her new toys, and I think she started to get a little antsy toward the end of the party. Once she had access to her loot, we didn't see or hear from her the rest of the afternoon.

I have more pictures, with the rest of the little princesses in it that are pretty dang cute. I'll add them later. I can't believe she is four! It just doesn't feel like it has been that long since I was spending hours a day swaddling, rocking, feeding, singing, snuggling, wiping, and reading to my teeny tiny little newborn baby girl. One tiny little baby to get all the love and attention that a mommy had to give. This lucky girl had her parents to herself for two whole years before baby sister came along. I say she was lucky, but I think we were the lucky ones. Reese, you are wonderful firstborn, and a great helper, friend, and big sister to Quin. I am grateful everyday that you were our guinea pig, and I am even more grateful that we haven't screwed you up beyond anything a little therapy can fix later. I am so happy to be your mommy. You've given me the ability to feel more emotions than I knew I had in me, and have stretched my ability to give and care and love more than I knew I was bargaining for when I signed up for this job. I wouldn't trade it for ANYthing. I am the lucky one. You are a blessing of great worth.