Krazy Kat

OK, some of you know we adopted a cat in April. Yes, me, the sworn cat-hater. OK, really I didn't HATE cats, as long as they were someone else's cat and they weren't trying to eat the wildlife around my birdfeeders. I just didn't want to be owned by a cat myself! But, after much prodding, whining, and cajoling from my beloved offspring, I gave in to their desire to be pet owners. Having been down the dog ownership road before(kennel fees when we went on vacation, dog hair everywhere, dog lying on the floor waiting to trip me in the middle of the night when I got up to tend to babies, falling OVER dog on floor with baby in arms, being awakened to let dog out to use Mother Nature one too many times!) I really had no desire to repeat that experience any time soon. Sooooooo I gave in and we are owned by our cat, Butterscotch. And I love him to bits. Some days he's almost like a dog, even ;-) Except he never begs to go outside. Well, almost never. At least not at Dark-thirty o'clock ;-)

Anyway, the whole reason for this long-windedness is to say that he's silly. I know cats are supposed to like bags to be in. Butterscotch mostly prefers boxes. And the tops of chairs, preferably if you're sitting in said chair so he can thump your head with his tail a time or two ;-) Last night ds5 and I were snuggled in my bed reading stories and I kept hearing the rustle of a plastic bag. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, until I finally discovered Butterscotch in the corner in a plastic garbage bag where I've been collecting outgrown clothing to be donated! When he discovered we'd spotted him, he just stopped and sat there so cute with his little face peaking out. The kids were in stitches over his antics. Guess next time we can't find him, there'll be yet another place to look ;-)

A mom's peaceful morning

Oy, a mom can't even get peace for her morning shower anymore. I was basking in the warmth and heard the potty in use. Got out, the door was wide open (this was at 6:20 am, mind you) and #2 intruder, the cat, was walking in. I closed the door to a fashionable crack that cat could still get out of (and heard the micro going so I knew who intruder #1 had been because he was now procuring warm coffee ;-) Meanwhile, #3 intruder walked in as I was drying off and used the potty as well. So when I left, #1 & #3 were going to snuggle on the couch and read. #2 had finished his morning soft kitty food and was probably going to find a perch from which to rule the world. I told all three to let #4 sleep until a fashionable hour, on pain of death, ROFL ;-) I'm told that the snugglers read and dozed on the couch, then went and dozed in bed, where they were joined by #4 for a giggle/tickle session in which they beat up #1, as usual. Poor #1, he always gets the brunt of it. He claims he enjoys it, tho ;-)

I'm tagging myself!

Is that legal? I don't know, and I don't care. I liked this tag on Elena Jane's blog so I'm stealing it for myself. If you read this, consider yourself tagged. Post me a coment so I can come to your blog and read yours!

1. Your rock star name: (first pet, current car) - Ami Uplander (huh, that'd draw the crowds!)
2. Your gangster name: (favorite ice cream, favorite cookie) - Mackinaw Island Fudge Oatmeal (whaaaaat? That's about like Bozo, rofl!)
3. Your fly guy/girl name: (first initial first name, first 3 letters last name) - smer
4. Your detective name: (favorite color, favorite animal) - red giraffe
5. Your soap opera name: (middle name, birth city) - Marie Midland
6. Your Star Wars name (first three letter last name, first 2 letter of first name) - MerSu
7. Superhero Name: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink and add "the") - The Pink Root Beer (??????????)
8.Nascar name (first names of your grandfathers) - Robert Harold, or Harold Robert, if you like that better ;-)
9. Stripper Name: (favorite perfume, favorite candy) - Vanilla Musketeer
10. Witness Protection Name: (mother's and father's middle name) Elizabeth Glenn

Plans awry

Did you ever have one of those days where everything you'd planned just doesn't happen? Or at least, it doesn't happen the way you'd envisioned it happening! I'm trying to learn to relax and let life happen. Really I am, I'm trying! So, here's how I envisioned my day today.

• Wake up around 2 pm (I worked last night)
• Shower and have a light snack
• Get together items needed for Adventurer Club Monday, so I don't forget anything!
• Do school with dd10 (and actually FINISH!)
• Make dinner and eat with my family before going to work

Sounds nice and easy, right? But no, I got up and nobody was even home! DH needed to get a prescription filled and even tho dd10 kept telling him they needed to get going, he procrastinated and put off going. They got home about the time I was getting out of the shower. And they were hungry because it was 2 pm and they hadn't had LUNCH yet. Bye bye nice easy "mom plans!" Here's how the day actually went!

• Woke up about 12:30 and couldn't sleep anymore, argh!
• Got up about 1:20 after tossing and turning for 50 minutes
• Informed by family that they need lunch
• Got together Adventurer items, so I don't forget anything!
• Decided to make a late lunch/early dinner, so we can at least eat together!
• Cook my famous mac 'n cheese casserole and make salads and we finally sit down to eat about 3 pm
• Phone rings while we are eating, with an invitation to meet a friend from church at the nearby beach if we're available
• Throwing caution to the wind, I decide to be spontaneous and accept the invitation
• 3:30 finds us on our bikes heading to the beach
• Weather was absolutely gorgeous. Water was brrrrrrrr chilly ;-) I laid on the beach while friend played with my children. She really needs grandchildren, LOL.
• Back home about 4:45
• School started at 5 and ended at 6:30, just in time for me to leave for work

There, now didn't that just fit in there nicely???? I told my dh that if things had gone according to MY plans, we'd have been right in the middle of school and I still would have had to fix dinner, so I probably would have turned down the beach invite. As it was, I knew we'd have time to fit everything in, so it all worked out perfectly.

Lesson learned--be flexible and have fun! Should I make that my new motto?

Yummy supper

I made a yummy supper last night. First of all, I had a nice big winter squash from my grandparents' garden, so I cooked that. Yummy, was that good, just mashed with a bit of butter and salt. It's one of my favorite "fall foods." Then I made this super easy layered eggplant & noodle bake. I'll try to reconstruct the recipe below ;-)

1 eggplant, peeled and sliced in 1/2" thick slices
4 oz uncooked noodles
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain.

Place eggplant slices on a baking sheet and broil 6-7 minutes; turn and broil the other sides 6-7 minutes, until browned and tender. After the eggplant broils, turn the oven heat back to 375 degrees.

Stir the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, garlic, basil, and salt and pepper together in a bowl.

Spray an 11 x 7" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Put 1/2 of the eggplant slices in a single layer in the pan. Top with 1/3 of the tomato sauce and cheeses. Cover with all of the cooked noodles. Top with 1/3 of the tomato sauce and cheeses. Place the remaining eggplant slices in single layer in the pan. Top with remaining tomato sauce and cheeses. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

All about 5 year olds

Well, not ALL about them, but I've got one so I'm getting to be quite the expert ;-) He's just so cute and smart and I love him to bits.

His latest career obsession is that he wants to be an archaeologist. I suspect this may be because he's discovered there are people who get paid to dig in the dirt ;-) LOL, j/k. I'm not sure where his interest came from, but I love it, because I love ancient history and hearing how they piece together the clues to learn about earlier civilizations. We currently have a large stack of library books on archaeology that we are reading our way through.

Evidence that he listens and thinks when I'm reading. Other than the constant interruptions to ask questions or comment on something I read, LOL. I am reading Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze to my dd10. We just started it yesterday. It mentioned that (100 years ago in China) rural children didn't receive any formal education because rural boys worked alongside their fathers, learning to farm, and why waste money on educating the girls so the girls didn't get education either. My dd, of course, protested that this wasn't fair. DS5 stopped my reading so sister could "get this straight" and proceeded to enlighten her that back then, the boys had to work with their "fodders"--"boring" as he put it. I asked if he didn't think it would be interesting working with his police officer father, and he replied that that would be, but being a country boy would not be ;-) Interesting dialogue aside, I thought it interesting that he caught the subtleties of the plot and was able to distinguish between the country and city child's life.

One other "new" thing in his life--he's singing in our little church choir! Grandma, the choir director, works with him almost every day, teaching him the songs we'll be singing. He made his debut last Sabbath and he was just so cute! He really knew the song, too. It was spritely little tune and he spit out all of those words. He even did well when we sang in parts. He can't hold his own yet one-on-one (he's only 5, after all!) but in the group, he even hung in there when we split into a 4-part canon. I was amazed!

Lest it seem I only brag about my ds5, let me mention dd10. She's a sweet, sensitive, caring child. At least the past couple of weeks she has been. I'm not sure why, but she's decided that I need to be appreciated and praised and I love it! She is sincere in her compliments, and thanks me for even the little things I do. Maybe I'm being buttered up for something, but I love it. She wrote me a little "I love you, Mom" note on the top of a math page, so I replied that I love her too on the next page where she'd see it when she went to do that page. She's been offering her help in little ways, without having to be asked (at least sometimes!) She's been pleasant to talk to. Her hand is still hurting a lot and she needs help with her writing still, but she's appreciative of the extra time I spend with her. Wherever the aliens got this child, I'm thankful they brought her to my home. They can leave her there for the next, oh, 100 years or so, and I won't complain a bit ;-)