easy part, where?

Wait a minute....wasn't this supposed to be getting easier??

I've been popping out babies for a while now, and I swear everyone was telling me it was "going to get easier" as the kids got older. So why the hell do I find myself needing to go to bed by 10:00 again? And why am I desperately resisting a nap in those calm quiet hours when I have no kids in the house? I am chasing my tail to try to keep up with all their homework. I have so many papers I need to sign for different teachers for different reasons every single night; then my kids end up losing recess time because I can't keep things straight.

From my perspective, things aren't getting easier. I no longer have to change diapers, but I have to wipe down public toilet seats and send everyone through a bio-chamber in restaurants. I don't have to nurse anyone, but I have to find meals that at least 2 people like to eat that can be made in bulk in less than an hour and easily frozen afterwards for quick dinners and Tad's lunches. I don't have to physically dress my kids anymore, but they can't seem to get the clothes that extra 6-12 inches INTO the clothes basket. Nor can they turn them right-side out. At least when I was dressing them, their clothes were washed the right way out! No one is teething (except me - yay for wisdom teeth), but just try to pin Lars down and brush his teeth at night. Go on. I double dog dare you right off the bat. And why, exactly, is it so hard to hang up the jacket that is thrown on the floor UNDERNEATH the jacket hooks? No, it did not fall. It was thrown there!

I find myself longing for the days of footie pajamas (boy were those easy to wash) and rocking chairs. At least I got to sit down on a regular basis back then! Well, now that I think about it, by the time Mileidy was born I was nursing her while alternately fixing dinner, changing diapers and vaccuuming. So I wasn't sitting down then, either.

I guess I'll keep running. At least it gives me an excuse to not join a gym. I'd rather run circles around my family, than run on a machine in a room full of other sweaty people. *yawn* It's almost my bedtime, so I guess I'll go get ready for tomorrow. But first, I think I'll go have a night-cap. Can't do that while preggo and/or nursing!

drinking and driving

I am a careful driver. Anyone who has been in my car on a regular basis will know that already. I drive a minivan packed with kids, for chrissakes. So it stands to reason that I don't change lanes suddenly or drive erratically; dude, I don't even really speed. I mean, we all speed. I just only do it to keep from being run over by the cops.

So on a Saturday night, with my kids in the car, I was driving north on the 695/95 conglomeration. I saw a police car on the shoulder who had pulled someone over. The officer was in the process of getting out of his car, so I decided to change lanes. I often do that if I have the chance; it's actually the law in some states. I needed to change anyway because eventually, I had a left exit coming up. I checked in my mirrors, like I always do. I am not comfortable relying solely on mirrors, so I checked in my blind spot, over my left shoulder, as I always do. I saw exactly three cars, all far enough behind me that I could safely change lanes without surprising them. I turned on my left blinker, as I always do, glanced out my window to the left one more time, and changed lanes.

The next thing I knew, movement on the shoulder caught my eye. There was a car, even with me, driving on the shoulder and all three large black men inside were screaming what I imagine to be vile death threats, similar to rap song lyrics. I was totally caught off guard, but rather than slam on my brakes in the fast lane and let them get in front of me, I kept my pace (I had the cruise control on) and I thought they'd just drop back and get into the lane.

I have no idea where they came from. I figure they must have been one of the three cars behind me. But they must have been going so fast that from the time I put my blinker on to the time I actually changed lanes, they had caught up. And I damn near ran them off the road. They dropped back, went around me, and caught up again. At this point the interstate widened from two lanes to five and I was still in the far left "exit only" lane. They were still screaming at me and I tried to ignore them. It's kind of hard to apologize to someone when you're going 70 mph in the dark. And I really was sorry! I felt awful.

Then it hit me. Literally. They were throwing things out of their car and hitting me. Unbelieveable! I had a plan. If they decided to follow me and act out their revenge even further, I planned to drive directly to the police station and not go anywhere near my house. Luckily for me, they exited at the 95 north split. I did not really want to have to drive to the police station.

When I got home, I checked to see if there was any damage to my van. It was fine, but for one thing: it reeked of beer. They were driving drunk and had the audacity to be angry at me for safely and legally changing lanes. It's one of those things where, if I had it to do over again, I wish the cops had seen me run them off the road. I might have gotten a ticket, but they would have been arrested for drunk driving and the interstate would have been a little bit safer that night.

betty crocker day

Hearty Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1 (10 oz) can cream of chicken soup
2 C chicken broth (or 2 C water, 2 tsp. chicken bouillion)
2 C water (some reserved from green beans)
1-2 cans green beans
1 C sliced carrots
1Tbs minced onion (more or less to taste)
1Tbs minced garlic (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp thyme
1-1/2 pounds cubed chicken
1 (6oz) pkg long grain wild rice mix
1 can evaproated milk

1) Combine soup, broth, water, spice packet from rice mix, onion, garlic, thyme and pepper (to taste) in slow cooker.
2) Add carrots, green beans and chicken.
3) Cover and cook on high 4-5 hours, low 6-7 hours.
4) Taste and add more seasoning, if necessary. Add long grain rice mix and evap milk 1 hour before serving. (If you add them any earlier, the milk will break down and the rice will be really mushy.)
5) Stir in more water for a thinner soup, or add mashed potato flakes for a thicker stew.


Honey Oatmeal Bread

1 C warm water
1 Tbs oil
1/4 C honey
1 tsp salt
1/2 C oatmeal (quick or regular)
2-1/4 C bread flour
1 tsp active dry yeast

Combine in order given in the bread machine mixing pan. Select the Basic cycle and Light Crust. I've never made regular bread without a bread machine, so if you don't have one, my advice is go get one. (tee-heee!)


Peanut Butter Fingers

1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C (1 stick) butter
1 egg
1/3 C peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp HOT water
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C flour
1 C oatmeal

1) Cream butter and sugars. Add egg, peanut butter, and salt. Blend well.
2) Dissolve baking soda in the hot water. Add with vanilla to the mixing bowl. Add flour and oatmeal, mixing well.
3) Spread evenly into greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350* for 25 minutes. (For dark or glass pans, reduce temp to 325*.)

Topping

2-4 Tbl evaporated milk
1/2 C powdered sugar
1/4 C creamy peanut butter
1 C semisweet chocolate chips

1) Blend the first three ingredients until creamy and smooth.
2) Sprinkle chocolate chips onto HOT cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. When the chips have a shiny appearance, drizzle the peanut butter icing over the hot cake and melting chips.
3) Swirl the peanut butter icing and chips together with an offset spatula or butter knife. Cool completely in pan before cutting into "fingers".