Hoar Frost

Twice in a two weeks I have awoken to a beautiful hoar frost.

Viruses will take over the world

For many years I have proclaimed the following statement (as dismal as it sounds)--that "VIRUSES WILL TAKE OVER THE WORLD." I am dead serious. Some day, civilization will be wiped out by viruses....unless of course we keep treating Mother Earth so horribly that she finally starts thinking of revenge strategies. Viruses are truly fascinating. You have got your bird flu, HIV, herpes, entero (cruise ship diet plan), ebola and many many more......they are in the news all the time. I bet you didn't know, but the US government has a contingency plan in place if a very virulent and deadly strain of influenza comes into the US. They have created a list of all the top people that would get the vaccine first...because understandably, the first few vials of vaccine are going to be much coveted. It's not like you want a bunch of WWF wrestlers getting it before a CDC worker. Get my drift? I say this as Tatorbug lays in bed with the 24 hr stomach flu.

Let's talk about Santa. It may be weird...but Kendall is 21 months and she still doesn't know who Santa is. I guess we failed to introduce her. There are tons of presents under the tree already (thank you grandparents) but she really could care less. So my question is--when do you tell them about Santa? They really don't cover this topic in the baby-how to books. Maybe next year.

What is it going to take?

It is has been a busy few weeks. I always think about things I want to write about and then in a flash they go to that black hole of where all good ideas go.

As we all clearly know, the election is just a mere 11 months away. Now, I personally have not decided on who I would vote for or who I am putting my weight behind. For the first time in a very long time, we have a woman running for President. I am VERY aware of the disdain for her--because everytime I mention her name--I hear a lot of flack. Sort of like when you mention Martha Stewart. I have not decided yet if I will be voting for her, but I can tell you this--I am really sick of all the negative crap people are saying about Hilary. Everytime someone tells me how much they hate her---I respond with "Why do you hate her so much?" and never once have I gotten a good answer. I at least give Hilary some credit for having the balls to be put in that arena with a bunch of arrogant men. I really do think a lot of the negativity comes from the fact that people fear change. They fear a woman President, they fear a minority President. Granted she does come across a little robotic or cold, but imagine if she was a lot warmer or more of a pushover--people would rip into for that too. I am all for voting for something different--goodness knows it couldn't hurt at this point in the game.

Not that you want to hear anymore political rants, but Huckabee is a total loser. Here is why.

As the year comes to an end--I would like to show you my list of favorite things. I have millions of them, but these are some of the recent ones I have come up with.

1)Electric Blankets (it is a given in Minnesota)

2)Baby Smell

3)Live concerts (nothing like seeing a sweaty lead singer 10 rows up)

4)Good friends, eating great food, drinking yummy drinks and having awesome conversations.

5)Uncle Billy's Christmas Letter (I will find a way to scan it in and post it)--he gives Colbert a run for his money.

6)Snowflakes that land on your windshield that are shaped like how you imagine snowflakes should look.

7)Karma--I believe in it so much--and it is interesting to see how it plays out sometimes.

8)Cinnamon rolls (not from the can)

Check out the new Fiats--I dig the groovy colors. What age group do you think they are marketing these too?

Things that make you want to vomit (or at least things that make ME want to vomit)

I mean come on---does this really look like a stroller?

For a mere $899, you too can own this "stroller." At that freakin price it better give massages and make double vanilla mocha cappuchinos.

Hold your horses, because I am not done yet. It has been a long week and sometimes you just need an outlet to vent.

US Women's Bridge Team Banned from future contests for their form of protest--check it out.

OH, the irony. Gore and the other Nobel Prize winners to visit the White House. So here's the situation. Gore is going to visit the White House. Yes, that would be the same White House that he would have been living in had he not gotten screwed over(we don't have time for me to list all the ways that election was messed up.) He is going to the White House because of his work on behalf of global warming (a good thing). But what I find so funny about this whole thing is that Bush invited him and the others to celebrate them receiving the awards. So let me get this straight, Bush wants to celebrate Gore winning an award for his activism on the Global Warming front and yet, W is the WORST environmental president on record. Sort of a slap on the back.....like saying "Thanks old buddy for cleaning up my messes." Sadly, the average IQ in that room will drop when W shows up. Can you just picture it now, Bush trying to talk about knock-out mice and carbon foot printing--and actually trying to sound intelligent? Now that would be a Youtube video I would like to see.

(Maybe this will be my Christmas card this year?) Thanks modmom.

Busy Busy Busy

I haven't found the time I would like to have, to blog. But life is good. A few observations:


1) You have a 50% chance that your child will have good taste in music---when, the dad is still stuck in the 80s as far as his musical tastes go and the mom is stuck in the here-and-now, modern, hip musical era. Sadly, my dear daugher got her father's musical taste genes. Who would have thought that ZZ Top would be so entertaining for a little girl? Well at least she got the sugar-tooth gene and the "love of shoes" gene from me.


2)Wednesday November 14th is my dear husband's birthday---but it is also the PREMIERE night of PROJECT RUNWAY. Yippee!! I love the show. Deep down inside I have a smidgen of a dream to someday sew fabulous clothes. In the meantime, I will stick to sewing baby-wear and shopping the discount racks. Oh yeah--back to his birthday--it should be an exciting night filled with us changing diapers, listening to Baby Beluga and being grateful for having two healthy kiddos.


3)Am I the only one who has had it with these lead recalls from China? Seriously, our kids are getting sock monkeys for christmas. There is just too much crap being imported into this country that is unsafe. What the hell are Aquadots? Who knows, but they have the "date rape" drug in them. I heard the other day that only 2% of the seafood that comes into the US is inspected. FANTASTIC..... Maybe we could divert some of that money going to Iraq to making our country more safe. I know, it's a crazy idea.

4)What do you think of arranged marriages? Well, Miss Kendall Quinn met a studly little guy yesterday named Logan Quinn---maybe we should book a reception hall today.

Have a great week! See you at the cocktail party.....

How bad is it.....

that I love nap time. Not me taking naps, but when my kids take naps. (Side note: No one ever tells you that--but when you are pregnant with your first child, you get the opportunity to take lots of naps. So if any of you are pregnant--remember this--because the next time you ever get to take a nap will be when you are 60+) Don't get me wrong--I love my kids--especially now that Mason is a giggling banshee---but I do love that moment when they are both asleep and I can finally sit down and take a break.

I emailed many of you an Oprah piece featurning CMU professor Dr. Randy Pausch--if you have an hour and forty minutes to kill---check out his real lecture he gave to the students and staff at CMU. Just to give you a little background, CMU--Carnegie Mellon is one of the best kept secrets in the universe. This school is a big computer science school....so much so--the rumor is that Google and Microsoft and the like--have set up offices there in Pittsburgh to be close to all the incredible research going on. Another note: the joke in Pittsburgh is that some people call it Shitsburgh---but I really liked the town. Check it out sometime.....

And if trees weren't already beautiful and amazing, now they can clean up the environment.

And as if life already wasn't soo great--now I have found the cupcake blog. Check out this beauty of a cupcake--the Coffee and Doughnut Cupcake.

I am not just obsessed with cupcakes--why limit yourself to just one pastry--I am all about any candy, cake, carb available on the market. Check out these handsewn doughnuts from sewdorky.

I just wanted to say Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday to Auntie K....I hope you have a great one.

How cool is this pumpkin???

You can pick your bloggers, but your bloggers can't pick you

Your Wild Self

Kids, check me out--here is my wild self. You can make your own "wild self here: http://www.buildyourwildself.com/

Check out these fun websites and I added some new videos over there on the side

Check out Nonchalant Mom--she has a blog and some great kids clothes/goodies
http://www.nonchalantmom.com/Things_to_Wear/Baby.html

Now for something really amazing.....who knew there were so many ways to tie your laces.....(thanks goodyblog)

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781402752018&itm=1

And for more pictures of ways to lace your shoes--there is a whole website devoted to it: http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/lacingphotos.php

And lastly--for the kid that has everything (not joking)--check out the website: http://www.peeandpoo.com/eng/flasheng.asp (the oneies are kinda cute)

Why do guys need to spit so much?

This just perplexes me. Do men make more saliva then women? It just seems that you see guys spitting a lot more then you do women. With the 35W bridge down I drive through downtown now and it just seems that at every bus stop, some dude is spitting. Then you start thinking about sports, baseball players are always spitting. It really is a sad day when you see one of your heroes or inspirations--burn up in flames or in this case--turn into a rascist. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-liwats1019,0,1054521.story?coll=ny_home_rail_headlines

Buy this for every little girl you know

I Think I'm In Love

It is so cliche', but I love shopping online, shopping outside, inside, in my sleep.....but I really do hate the malls. Having two kids makes it even harder--so I tend to stick to the online marketplaces....besides the selection is better and you don't have deal with the long lines or the annoyed sales people. This is by far one of the best websites I have found in a VERY VERY long time. http://www.etsy.com/ Everything on the website is homemade and unique. I really love the baby/kids items and the jewelry. You can even sell your own goods here. Check it out. Another great baubles website is: http://www.elsewares.com And now for your do gooder moment of the day: Do you ever get sick of getting catalogs in the mail? I do. You order one thing from Lands End or Victoria's Secret and you are stuck with a lifetime supply of catalogs to wallpaper your house with. Did you know that 8,000,000 tons of trees are killed very year to make catalogs? (That is what Victoria's evil secret she didn't want you to know.) Well now-you can go to catalogchoice.org and have your name removed from various catalog lists. Save the trees.

That's GROSS

I am totally okay with blood and surgeries and vomit and poop and snakes--but I just can't stand bugs. On my list of most hated vermin--there is 1)Cockroaches (jen you know why) 2)Lice (never had it-but I did a short stint as a Nursing Asst. and had to treat a woman with resistant lice) 3)Bed Bugs--the idea just freaks me out--and since I do have to travel a bit for work--I am even more paranoid. 4)Large spiders--medium size spiders are okay--but the large tarantulas or wolf spiders are not okay. 5)Leeches (that's a given) Anyways, I was reading my beloved Vanity Fair magazine from last month and there was a little quip in there about how Ralph Lauren's design studios were infested with bed bugs. Check it out: http://www.nypost.com/gossip/pagesix/whats_eating_ralph_lauren__pagesix_.htm Doesn't Ralph Lauren make a lot of bedding? I can just see one of those maps they have on the news where they show the spread of a virus...but instead they show the spread of bed bugs. EWWWWW.........

What's up with that?

Somehow this morning I was laying in bed and the wierdest memory from Junior High popped in my head. For some reason it was really cool and trendy to go and buy Mr. Zog's Sex Wax (the wax you put on surf boards) from the local skateboard shop and kids would chew on it. Now this seems strange--but at the time it seemed TOTALLY normal. Why chew wax of all things? Why not, say, GUM? Kids do the wierdest things.

Now, I have also recently discovered a new trend that maybe you all already know about--that has totally missed my radar--but that I find truly fascinating and ODD!! The Pimp Glass. On Ebay right now there are over 100 listed. I am not exactly sure what they are used for--I am assuming the consumption of some sort of libation. And since people are willing to spend anywhere from $20 to $100 for their "Pimp Glass"--I am assuming they must be drinking something pretty tasty. Someone please explain this trend to me. One more thought--can only pimps drink out of the pimp glass or does one become a pimp by drinking out of the pimp glass? Or are there poser-pimps that buy pimp glasses just to look cool, in hopes that people will think they are a pimp?

http://tinyurl.com/2r8o8c

A couple of updates: I am sad to say that Cormac McCarty did not win the Nobel Prize in Literature--maybe next year (Someone named Doris Lessing won--I will have to check her out). I made the macaroni with cauliflower and it was okay, not great--Kendall ate it...but then she had diarrhea the next day--I hope that wasn't my fault.

Hiding Veggies and the Nobel Prizes

We tried to raise a child that wouldn't be picky, and we did a pretty good job. Kendall will even eat carnitas at our favorite Mexican food restaurant. But sadly, her disdain for veggies has grown to epic proportions. I somehow thought by hiding green peas in her mac & cheese that she wouldn't see them. So to my excitement I read about the new Jessica Seinfield book (Jerry's wife) and then I saw her on Oprah. "Deceptively Delicious"--where she performs the task of hiding veggies in her kids food. She makes a bunch of purees and bakes/fries/mashes them into other foods. She is pure genius. None of the kids know they are in there. I am getting this cookbook and starting this right away. I think I will try the cauliflower puree and mac & cheese and see if it works.





Now for some geekiness. I don't know about you, but the Nobel prizes are like the Oscars for me. I get excited every year to hear who has won. When I was in college I took two courses titled--the Nobel Prize Winners and the Nobel Prizes of Literature. Some of the best classes I took at the good ole U of A. This year is a bright shining star. I just have to commend the Nobel committee for their pick for the Nobel Prize in Medicine--the team of Capecchi/Smithies/Evans and their discovery of the "knockout mouse". All you have to know is that this has seriously changed the face of genetic/molecular biology research. By knocking out a gene, you can see what sort of traits/functions, etc. disappear...thus determining what a particular gene does. This is very important for figuring out what roles certain genes play in certain illnesses. Every disease out there can be researched with this technique. Salute! Congrats Capecchi/Smithies/Evans. The literature prize is announced on Thursday and the Peace Prize on Friday. Rumor has it that Al Gore is up for Peace Prize and Cormac McCarthy is up for the Literature price. Check in for updates.

Those parenting magazines are on to something

Hi, so this is my first attempt at a blog. I guess I wanted to wax on about random things and my poor husband shouldn't always have to listen to it all.

I had a few moments to spare so I sat down with the six months of parenting magazines I have yet to read. (Side note: when you have two young children, you don't really have a lot of time to read parenting magazines that give you ideas on how to spend time with your kids--but I guess that doesn't hold true since I have found time to start a blog.)

But I wanted to alert you all to some of the hippest new products on the market for kids and adults alike.

Bacon and Egg Bandaids
http://www.perpetualkid.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1457

They actually cover bigger wounds too. You will be the coolest injured person on the planet with these bad boys. Christmas is just around the corner for your injury-prone friends.

And for you fellow bakers--I have recently started pursuing my interest in cupcaking (the sport of making, baking, decorating and eating cupcakes). Check out this amazing cupcake-cake pan from Wilton:

thanks goodyblog

And lastly from the file of "Things that can be found in the kitchen that aren't conventional toys but kids love"--the ever famous BEER HUGGIE. Kendall has found they are easy to stack and has been carrying around her bucket of beer huggies all day. Please don't call CPS.

And lastly, for your inner-crafting crack addiction---the scary pumpkin.

Kids dig it.