Show and Tell -- Cinnamon Rolls

When I was a little girl, my grandmother made us cinnamon rolls whenever we'd visit my grandparents or they'd visit us. She'd get up early in the morning to get the dough started, and work on them periodically throughout the day until they were ready around dinner time. It just always seemed that those cinnamon rolls would be piping hot just as soon as dinner was over. We loved those cinnamon rolls.

Approximately 20 or so years ago, my grandparents began to age and their trips to CA began to become fewer and farther between. Our trips to thier house dwindled to about once a year. The lack of regular visits made the cinnamon rolls even more coveted. My grandmother asked if I'd like for her to teach me how to make them myself...

and the rest is yummy herstory.

This week was my late grandfather's birthday. He passed while I was on bed rest last year. I figured that I would make some cinnamon rolls to help me remember some of the happier times with my family. I think it helped.

Anyway, for tonight's show and tell, the cinnamon roll.

the dough (just to affirm that I do make them from scratch)...

rolling the dough out...

cinnamon and sugar time...

rolling it up (my favorite part by the way)

slicing them extra thick...

on the pan (don't worry, they'll rise to meet each other)...

fresh from the oven (yes, I already ate one)...

up close and personal...

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few pounds to put on tonight! :-)

Real People Food

Well, Thanksgiving (and the days of left overs) was a pretty interesting time for my boys. They got to try a lot of different things. Some were successful. Some were not. We finally got the boys to eat mashed potatoes. Of course we had to mix them up with baby food pears, but still, they ate them. Tonight, the boys ate pureed turkey (mixed with formula because I couldn't think of anything else to do). Not a huge success, but it went down and stayed there, so I'm calling it good. Here's our list of yays and nays for real people food:

• mashed potatoes - yay
• pureed turkey - yay (scared the shit of the boys when I turned the processor on--they cried for-ever on that one)
• pumpkin pie - yay
• squash - nay (interesting because they like baby food)
• fruit salad (kind of like ambrosia salad) - nay with puke (what is wrong with you guys? that stuff is good)
• sweet potato - nay (interesting because they like baby food)
• stuffing - nay with puke (at least I can understand that)
• mushed mixed fruit - yay
• yogurt - depends, sometimes yay and other times nay
• apple pie filling - OMG YAY (my picky boys became little birds with mouths wide open)
• eggs - can take them or leave them

Thankfully, they didn't have any funny reactions to anything and everything seems to be regular. The four day rule has now gone out the window.

I have some cottage cheese, pears, and bananas to try at some point in the not too distant future. I am going to leave the pear and bananas a lot chunkier than the baby food makes them. That ought to be fun.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that the puking will be few and far between.

Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

Okay. It just occurred to me that this was a totally useless post. Sorry.

Here's Our Dirties--I Mean Ditties...

This was us over the summer. We had a grand time in Beijing...

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This was us last night. I suppose you could call this a little dirty, most certainly it's obscene...

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Yay!!!

I did it! I did it! I am now an Iron Commenter. When the boys heard of my accomplishment, they did this for me...

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How nice is that? Tomorrow I'll post a little ditty that Is.aac and I put together to celebrate. (Thanks to Topcat for the idea.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

There is so much to be thankful for...far too much for us to ever accurately express with mere words. But thankful we are--so very, very thankful. Here's two of the reasons for a majority of all this thankfulness...

(No fancy outfit today. Instead, Is.aac and I decided to go old school and got all crafty. Meet my little Indians...er, um Native Americans...--they are 1/64 Indian you know.)

Ja.son wanted to hold Sh.awn's hand. Sh.awn wasn't all that interested in this plan, but he was overpowered...I see loads of this type of thing in our future!

Look at all them teeth!

Sh.awn did not like his head dress. Thank goodness he doesn't have to wear a helmet!

We hope your Thanksgiving was as fun as ours. May this next year bring even more to be thankful for than this for us all!

All Over the Place Yet Again...the Story of My Life

I get that there is a holiday tomorrow, and that it will be..like Thanksgiving and all, but the thing that really sets my nerve endings on fire has nothing to do with the holiday. The thing I'm most anxiously awaiting is a four day weekend. I. Can't. Wait. To. Stay. Home. That. Long!!!

On turkey day, we'll be heading over to my mom's house for dinner. She always goes all out with cooking, so that will be nice. I was in charge of the desserts. I had every intention of making one of my famous pumpkin pies but have settled for the Ba.ker's Sq.uare variety instead. Hey. Don't knock me. I will, however, make cinnamon rolls tonight, so at least I'll be contributing something made by my own two little hands.

Did I tell you it is a four day weekend? It is, it is, it is, it is!!

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Jeez, the kids at school were in rare form. It was a long day. Add to that the return trip to home I had to make to get Sh.awn's glasses before school (I was late before I had to come home) and the return trip I had to make to my mom's for Ja.son's helmet once I got home, and the day got even longer. Lastly, the physical therapist came to give the boys a work out, during which Sh.awn screamed almost the entire time and Ja.son played Mr. Limp. Fun times at my house.

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I am half way through the ICLW list. I still have a couple of comments to return (if yours is one, I'm sorry). I am trying to put everything I've got into becoming an Iron Commenter. Dude. I just went to get the link and read that I have until midnight EST! Crap. That shaves 3 hours off of my time! Must get busy then.

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I got the boys' early start evaluation today. I am having trouble getting myself to look at it. Bleh. I could be pleasantly surprised. I suspect I won't be. Sigh. My boys are being lazy as of late. That doesn't help I'm sure. Double sigh.

I have decided evaluations are evil.

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Went to the grocery store today and got the boys a bunch of real people food. I have to figure out a way to get them off of the baby food stage 3's. That stuff is majorly expensive. Multiplied by two, and I am about to be ate out of house and home. But, every time I try "real" food, everyone gets all upset and things go down hill from there. It isn't pretty.

Anyone have ideas to help this along?

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Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate the day! Mwah! :-)

More Random Things

Part 1

Part 2...

1. Right now, I am having a secret love affair with Reece's Peanut Butter Cups. Well, I suppose the discarded cup liners all over the house has outed my relationship. These tasty morsels of pure heaven call to me...beckon me to feast upon their unholy goodness...and mock my attempts to walk away. I have finished off a full bag of minis and all of the regular sized ones we have in the pantry. (don't ask why we have so many) How long did it take me? a day and a half. Sigh.
2. My favorite piece of clothing is a pair of jeans. I would wear them every day if I could. Top them with a big, comfy sweatshirt, and I am set.
3. I have absolutely no idea how to wear make-up. Yeah, sure, I get the basics of mascara and a little eye shadow, but I am afraid of anything with color--it's neutrals all the way. Foundation and lipstick, however, totally elude my abilities.
4. I am starting to think that maybe teaching isn't my lifetime passion/profession. I've been doing it for 12 years, now, and have never really thought that before now. It makes me wonder if I am going through some sort of mid-life crisis (early).
5. I need to finish remodeling my kitchen. Last August, the last thing I did to it was tile the back splash. All of the remodeling stopped when I went on bed rest. I haven't had the energy or desire to finish the job.
6. Speaking of remodeling, I am actually quite handy around the house. I have: changed and installed new electrical outlets; installed overhead light fixtures in all of the bedrooms and living room; installed kitchen cabinets; moved the gas line from one side of the kitchen to the other; installed windows; installed a oven hood, dishwasher, and sink; helped my mom re roof my parents' house (while my dad watched on the ground); drywalled, stuccoed, and painted walls; tore up carpeting and re tiled the dining room and kitchen (yes there was carpeting in the kitchen!); put linoleum throughout the rest of the house; and put up molding/chair railing in several rooms. Now, my dad was really good about directing me, so it wasn't like I just went for it by myself, but I did physically do it all. Don't get me started on what my dad made me do to cars. (and Is.aac always seems to disappear when stuff needs done around the house)
7. Hm. After reading all the stuff I've had to do to this house, it must of looked like crap when we first moved in! (it sort of did--but we could afford it, and in CA, that says something)
8. I love reading. Love it. Rarely get to do it nowadays.
9. I do not have a green thumb. I have the thumb of death. I have even killed cacti by not watering it enough. How does someone kill cacti?!!!? Leave it to me to find out. In my dirt garden, I have a sign that says, "Grow Dammit!" Nothing does.
10. My spelling absolutely sucks. Thank goodness for Spell Check. I have seen so many misspellings throughout my years of teaching that now I don't know what is correct anymore. Sigh.
11. I am allergic to most perfumes. It is so bad, I can't even walk down the laundry aisle at the grocery store.
12. I am a huge procrastinator. Huge. I always put things off to the last minute. I find if I do things early, I kill myself making changes to it until the last minute anyway. At least when I procrastinate, I don't have to think about it for so long. (someone once told me that this is a coping mechanism for a gifted mind. not sure if that is true, but I'm going with it)
13. I love artichokes. We're having them for Thanksgiving. What? This isn't part of the original celebration? They're not in season? Doesn't matter. I'm having them anyway. Mmmm...
14. I am not a big fan of sauces. When I was younger, there used to be a commercial on Saturday mornings that was all about not drowning your food. I guess I took that to heart!
15. My 20 year old niece just told us she is pregnant and due in March. The only way I've come up with to describe my feelings about this is...annoyed. I am totally annoyed about her being pregnant. Why does everyone else get pregnant so easily? (bitter much?)
16. I can pinch and pick things up with my toes. (shrugs) It's a gift. What can I say?
17. My favorite color is black, but I tell people that it's green. That is because everyone always gives me grief if I say black. Supposedly black isn't a color. Whatever.

That's all I can think of for tonight. Two days till Turkey Day! Yea!

Random Facts About Yours Truly

I love this time of the month. It is time for ICLW! The blogs and posting always make me run the gamut of emotions, and I always walk away with a few more titles added to my favorites list. (note to self: update blog list on sidebar)


In honor of ICLW, here are some random things about me...

1. I married my high school sweetheart. We met when we were juniors and dated for 13 years before getting married. We've been married for 6 years.
2. One Christmas, after he gave me a small box just the right size for a ring, we broke up. He had really given me a pager. Yes. A pager. I cried for a week. He didn't understand why I was so upset. (we were 24)
3. We broke up one other time, eight months before we got married. I wanted to get married, he didn't. We went to counseling for three months, got engaged, and got married five months later. I am so glad we did. I do love him. (even though he has been driving me up the wall lately)
4. I have twin boys who are just over a year old. They were 12 weeks premature and were in the NICU for 14 and 15.5 weeks before coming home. I was pregnant two other times before I had them.
5. After my C-section, we found out that my tubes were wonky. They were fused to my intestines and surrounded by scar tissue. Wouldn't that have been nice to know about $30,000 ago?
6. We are now trying for pregnancy #4.
7. I would love a little girl because the testosterone level in my house is overwhelming.
8. Who am I kidding? Actually, I would love twin girls. (I know. I haven't learned my lesson the first time.)
9. I have two cats (my fur babies). They act a lot like spoiled children. In fact, I don't think one of them has any idea she is actually a cat. Not sure what she thinks she is, but I don't think it's a cat.
10. I am picky and eat only one food at a time. It drives my husband crazy, but I will eat all of something on my plate before I move to the next item. I have done it ever since I was a little girl. Every now and then I catch my husband doing it, too, now. HEE HEE...
11. I am happy with the same thing for lunch every day. (a ding dong, two hot pockets, a yogurt, and 1/2 a Pepsi -- in that order)
12. I absolutely hate to cook. I like to bake, but that is about it. Thank goodness my husband enjoys cooking. I am not sure I would ever eat otherwise.
13. My baking specialty is cinnamon rolls. I make killer cinnamon rolls.
14. I am a HUGE I Love Lucy fan. My husband will turn it to the show and let me see the screen for a couple of seconds. He'll quiz me on which show it was, and I am usually right.
15. I am very interested in meteorology. In fact, if I wasn't a teacher I would love to be a weather person. It might even be something I pursue after I retire. Who knows? People turn to me when they want to know what the weather will be at any given time. I am usually right.
16. I am what one could call a "Slot Slut." I like to gamble, especially on nickel slots. I once won $1000 on a nickel slot when I hit a jackpot. (and no, I am not compulsive about it)
17. I haven't been gambling since before I went on bed rest last year. Now that my dad is gone, I don't really have a desire to go.
18. I still haven't dealt with my dad's death.
19. Being in the car can now freak me out a little. Sometimes a lot. I must say I feel much safer in my Pilot.
20. One day, I want to get my pilot's license. I have always been fascinated with flying a plane on my own.
21. I am one of the few Californians who doesn't like the beach. I live less than five minutes away, and I can count how often I have been there over the last ten years on one hand! (It's too cold!)
22. I am a jacket hoarder. Some people buy lots of shoes or accessories. Me? I buy jackets. Funny thing is that I rarely wear them once I get them home. I tend to stick to a few favorites and leave the others in my closet.
23. I always wear a jacket. I have been known to wear a jacket on the Vegas strip in the middle of summer. In my defense, the hotels are very cold with all that air conditioning. I just didn't feel like taking my jacket off and putting it back on over and over again while we walked around.
24. I am very afraid of spiders. My brothers used to torture me with them when I was a kid. My brain understands that they can't hurt me and that I am bigger than they are. I still can't be anywhere near one without freaking, although I am getting a little better in this area. Brothers are so fun sometimes.
25. I would love to go to Times Square to watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve. Now, it would be okay if I was in a hotel room close enough to see it, too. Seeing how this happens in the middle of winter, I am a pretty cold person by nature, and this would mean I would have to travel across the country, I don't know when or even if I would ever do this. I still think it would be nice, though.

Okay. I think that is enough for today. (I got this idea from here, who I found through ICLW.) Welcome to everyone from ICLW!

More Complaining About Germs

Not even my mom was safe from the these germs from Hell. Not sure where they came from, but there are a suspicious number of students missing from my class this week. I try to be very careful about hand sanitizer and hand washing, and even lectured every single one of my classes about preventing illness and told them to "don't cough/sneeze/spread your germs my way you people or imma gonna get real upset at you," but I guess I wasn't careful enough.

I was paranoid last night and researched RSV symptoms just in case. The good news is that we haven't had fevers. From what I can find, RSV is associated with fevers first. (and if I am totally way off base, please do NOT tell me because that will just freak the shit out of me and make me even more psycho about all of this) No wheezing is happening, just a lot of snot and headaches. It amazes me that two babies can produce that much snot. Adding Sh.awn's snot to all of this isn't helping, either. Yes. That was a stab at my baby for a husband who is TOTALLY rubbing me the wrong way. Dude, quit breathing so loud. We are all sick. Put on your big boy pants and shut up already. Anyway, they aren't getting any worse, and just might be getting the tiniest bit better each day, but that is really hard to judge because, like I said, there is an abundance of snot everywhere.

Sigh.

Out damn germs, out!

And then there were four...sickies. Sh.awn came down with whatever this is today. Fun times.

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A big congrats to Karen and Jan from Role Playing with Kids on their big television debut, Five Under Five. It. Was. Fabulous. Can I use you for my turn in the brushed by greatness game now? (you know, when you say which famous people you know) :-)

Sick

We're all sick here. Well, that is actually not true. All of us are sick except Sh.awn. Sh.awn is not sick, and he is full of screaming energy. Literally. Fun times when your head is about ready to split into two.

Ja.son and I slept most of yesterday. Is.aac stayed up with Sh.awn.

Tonight, Sh.awn is at my mom's and the sickies are trying to sleep this bug out. Ia.aac and Ja.son are trying to sleep right now. I am heading that way when I get off of here.

Bleh. Sniff. Sniff. I hate being sick.

To Believe or Not to Believe

Don't think I am a nut or anything, but...

HI Sta.cie.....I don't think it will be too much longer.....I'm getting a time frame of Jan/Feb for conception or BFP. So you could conceive next month and find out in Jan! I'm also being shown this baby being a GIRL!

Let me know when you get your BFP!

...I got this prediction from a psychic the other day. (I won it on another blog--that has to say something, right?)

I would so love to believe. Wouldn't it be nice? Seeing how I am not planning on returning to the RE until after this time period, well March 1st to be exact, it would mean I would do it all on my own. Imagine that. It defies my own theory that pregnancy through sex is a myth.

Ah...that would be wonderful. Maybe I'll believe for a little while. What have I got to lose?

Don't answer that question.

---edited to add---

And this pregnancy will go much better. No bed rest. No PPROM. No premature birth. No NICU. No hydro and shunts.

But we'll be just as lucky at how wonderful the baby will be, because I am lucky now.

That sounds good to me.

Twin girls would be nice, too, in case anyone up there is listening-er, um, reading.

Perfect Moment Monday

Once again, Mel inspired me to try something new. Click here (where it all began at Weebles Wobblog) for a list of others.

Today, we went to the local zoo. I had never been there before, so it was new to all of us. The boys were their usual rock star selves and were totally awesome. They only cried when a few macaws were rude enough to squawk loudly at them, but even that was short lived! (both the crying and the squawking)

This was my favorite part of the day--here watching the giraffes. I think giraffes will always be my symbol for my little men.

More pictures are on the other blog if you are interested. Just please remember to comment over on this one to help me keep my anonymity with people in real life...

Glasses

Once again, I have underestimated my boys. You would think that I would have learned to not do that by now, but no, I am much too slow for that.

Today we went for the boys' glasses. I expected screaming. Crying. Fit throwing. Tantrums. Basically, I looked forward to this like it was a certain death. To be fair to myself, neither boy was up to trying on the glasses before we ordered them, and there was plenty screaming and hand flapping/grabbing/slapping then.

They remembered us at the eye center. And it wasn't because we are so darn cute (although they are). In fact, they didn't even have us sit down.

But the boys poured on the charm. They smiled. They talked to people. They looked sweetly at the women working at the eye center.

They not only let the women place the glasses on their cherubic little faces and adjust the glasses six or seven times, but they also didn't even make an attempt to touch the glasses until we were on the way home! (yea. they save the fun stuff all for me)

Would it be wrong if I say that I was shocked at how well they behaved?

Because I totally was.

Totally.

To the point of me actually checking to ensure that the babies I had with me were really my own.

Thankfully, they were.

So, without further ado, here are the new and improved Sh.awn and Ja.son...

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Pretty damn cute, if I do say so myself.

The new dilemma is what to do about Ja.son's helmet. Both the glasses and the helmet can't be worn at the same time right now because the helmet has a TIGHT fit. Trust me, I tried a number of times (and shockingly without the same patience from Ja.son that the eye clinic women received). The orthodotics office will be closed until Monday. He can't go beyond 48 hours without wearing the helmet to ensure its fit. So that means I have a few options:

1. Wear glasses during day, helmet at night and during naps.
2. Make an adjustment to the helmet myself so he can wear both over the weekend. Possibly screw up the $3000+ helmet.
3. Hm. I can't think of a third option.

One thing is for sure, after looking through the glasses myself, these kids need their glasses.

I am not a horrible mother for choosing option 1 until Monday, am I?

OMG. Sh.awn just put weight on all fours for about ten seconds at a time! This is HUGE, people. HUGE!!! Of course, I royally pissed him off by making him do it over and over again so I could take a picture (which I never really got because I have yet to master the shaking of a toy while keeping the camera steady thing), and I almost choked him once (I said almost) because I was holding him off the floor by the back of his shirt, but he did it about ten times overall.

Granted, his right arm was not completely straightened out and his hand was in a fist, but still! This is HUGE!!!

I can't wait until therapy tomorrow so I can tell the OT what he did!

Halloween 2008!

We're giraffes!

Waiting for daddy to come home from work. (I have my hands full, don't I?)

Ja.son is hamming it up like usual.

His money shot...

The view of the whole suit...

Now, Sh.awn?

He didn't have as much fun posing for pictures.

Until we took that nasty hood off, that is.

(Thank you, mommy. I hated that thing!)

Daddy and Sh.awn.

Mommy and Ja.son.

The whole family. Sh.awn was still not having fun.

But then he got to have a sucker from his treat bag.

and everything was all better!

Yep. He is definitely my kid!

We hope your Halloween was as much fun as ours!

Quick Update

Well, although overcast, it wasn't raining when the party started today. Of course, it had already rained cats and dogs from about 5:30am to about a half an hour before the party was to start. Every picnic area at the park was flooded, with the exception of a table by a tree that had a generous number of birds in it--and with my luck, they'd just shit on me all day, so that was nixed. Got to love the park. Got to love the weather even more.

So, the party was at our house. Thankfully, I had managed to clean the house and garage enough so there would be room for the forty people we expected. Ten people decided they would melt in the rain and didn't come. They didn't call, of course; they just didn't show (the bastards).

The boys were in rare form, totally overwhelmed by all the people and whiny. The cake they so loved on Monday was the LAST thing they wanted in front of them, so even though I told everyone how much they love it, no one really believed me. (I whipped out my laptop for proof and to keep my credibility.) My sink is full of dishes. The trash is overflowing. My freshly mopped floors are now covered in mud.

I didn't really take many pictures, though, because I spent the day running around being hostess. (Yuck. I don't like being hostess--it's way too much work!) Most of the pictures would have included a crying or sleeping child, so I suppose that was okay.

It occurred to me, as I looked at the 27 adults, 1 teenager, and 2 kindergartners at the party, that the boys need to start networking. Aren't birthday parties supposed to be for kids? I am thinking I need to make the boys little business cards to hand out at some area child hang-out. You know, something like "Hi! I am Ja.son (or Sh.awn), and I am an awesome friend." Maybe hand them out at the local gym.bor.ee or something. I am only half kidding!

But...

All in all, it was a good day! :-)

So, now that the boys are finally asleep I am finally off to bed to get some much needed rest and hopefully get rid of the circles under my eyes. Ahh....I can't wait...

edited to add:

Is.aac did redeem himself slightly this morning. It's a good thing, too, because I was definitely a woman on the edge. Seriously.

I also forgot to mention that my mother-in-law showed up. (for those of you keeping track, this may be the sixth time she has ever seen the boys, even though she lives about two miles away. it totally bugged me that she wanted to hold the boys and play with them, too! am I bitter, much?) This was interesting not only because she works two full time jobs and never has any time off, she is also a Jeho.vah's Witness. And she brought a freakin' gift! I swear. I don't think I am ever going to understand his family.