Best Date Ever

I am almost ashamed to admit my best date ever was not with my husband. It was with my 4 year old son, Johnny.
Today started out as a lazy Sunday. Larch and I laid in bed watching PBS while the kids played on the floor. Then I got the phone call.
We had not seen my son's best friend, C, since his birthday before Thanksgiving. His mother called to initiate a playdate. Within 20 minutes my son and I were both dressed, my make up was on, and we were out the door. The boys played for an hour and a half before we finally went out to lunch. The plan from there was to meet at the skating rink for birthday party. It turns out the mother of the birthday boy moved the party and didn't tell his dad. I personally find this an overly bitchy thing to do. C and his mother ended up going home to take a nap, but Johnny and I stayed to skate for about 45 minutes.
Johnny had never skated before. So I got teach him how to skate. We made it all the way around the rink 1 time. After that, he wanted to go in the little kid area so he could practice. Finally got the confidence up to skate without holding my hand. He did absolutely amazing for a 4 year old. I am so proud of him
We played in the arcade for a while where he won 50 tickets. We came home with 2 spider rings and 2 miniature plastic jets.
Then he went with me to the grocery store where he decided we were going to have corn dogs for dinner. I had 1 dollar in cash in my pocket so we also bought a scratch ticket. She was so excited to watch me scratch it. We won 6 dollars so we cashed in and bought another 5 dollar card. When we got home and scratched that one we won 12 dollars.

I told Larch, I haven't had that much fun on a date since before we were married.

Bloody Babies

This is what transpired at the coffee stand window while waiting for my latte:
Johnny: Mom mumble mumble baby Emmett mumble out?
Me: What Johnny?
Johnny: Was there mumble mumble baby Emmett?
I turn off the engine.a
Me: What did you say?
Johnny: Ws there blood when baby Emmett came out?
Me: Um....Yes?

Pregnant pause.
Me: Why?
Johnny: Because in that 1 movie-
Me: Wait what movie? ( I cannot think of a single movie Johnny would have seen that had babies being born in it).
Johnny: you know, at the beginning of your sword games the baby has blood on it.
Me: Oh you mean assassins creed. Yes. Yes, there's blood when babies come out, but it's okay it's just a little bit.
I lied to my son. There is a lot of blood. But that's not my point. This question was out of nowhere and I wasn't really ready. At least he didn't ask how baby Emmett got into Aunt B's tummy. ( The correct answer when speaking to a 4 year old is because God put him there).

The Gruesome Death of Flabbius Corpus

Last weekend I hosted a joint birthday party for Larch and his brother. A murder mystery dinner party. A TOGA murder mystery.
You can buy kits to throw a murder mystery dinner party. Two years ago, we went to a party based in a redneck bar by the company BePuzzled. Last night was Roman Ruins by Decipher, Inc. How To Host A  Murder. We didn't like this format as well, but still had so much fun.
There were 8 characters. My brother in law, BAT, played the roman senator, Harangus Adnauseum. Larch played the Roman commander, Maximus Testosterous. My sister in law, BRT was Flotilla, the widow of a Roman merchant, now in charge of her late husband's fleet of ships. My sister-in-law, L, was Mercedes Corpus, the rich and extravagant widow of Flabbius Corpus, the murder victim and renowned poet. My 13 year old niece, played Rotunda Immaculetta, a Vestral Virgin. My brother in law, J, played Licentious Ceasar, son of Disgustus Ceaser.  My other brother in law, JZ, played Bogus Fortunotus, the fortune teller. And I, had the honor, of playing Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile. I can't give you more details in case you would like to try this very fun and exciting game.
I had tons of fun decorating my living room like a roman homel. I hung gold curtains from my ceiling  to create the feeling of a Roman veranda. We pulled out the futon to lay flat and spread a gold and red bedspread across it to create a lounging area. We served a Roman feast of hummus, crackers, cheese, bread, fruit, and roast chicken on the coffee table covered with a silver cloth.

Maximus Testorous

The costume and the creativity were amazing. My husband put together his gladiator costume from cardboard and an old hard hat. My niece wore my old prom dress.  JZ wore a gold turban and a velvety blue cape. And I put together this amazing Cleopatra for 6 dollars at goodwill, an old gold tablecloth, and some beads I had in my crafting drawer. I also needed to dye my hair to cover my gray, so I chose to dye my hair black. Now I look like a gothic crazy mama. Yes, I have  gray hair at 27; I'm crazy and have 2 kids.
All in all, we had a total blast I can't wait to do it again. Perhaps for my birthday we will try the game set in 1940s Chicago and we will all be gangsters.
I love my crazy family.


PS  Picture of my Cleopatra is coming, I promise. I just haven't received the email yet.

Snow Day

January 18 is the official snow day of the Thornton Family.  I married Larch Thanksgiving weekend in  2006. January 18, 2007 we moved into our new house as it snowed for 3 days. There was something like 12-18 inches on the ground.  January 18, 2008 we got 24 inches overnight.  in 2009 I think we only gotr between 6 and 8 inches, but it still snowed.  In 2010 I prayed for a miracle. Lily was due January 23 and I didn't want to go into labor in the middle of a blizzard.  We brought her home from the hospital in a light dusting of snow.  Last year, Mother Nature decided to play a joke on us as we have maybe 6 inches of snow all winter. But I'm almost certain at least some of that was on January 18.

Now it's January 17, 2012.  It started snowing yesterday at 8pm.  It hasn't stopped yet. It's almost 3:30 in the afternoon and we already have 5 inches of snow.  There is a winter storm warning in effect until Thursday, the 19th at 4pm.  The forecast calls for snow until Sunday.

I really kinda hate snow. I hate driving in it. I hate shoveling it (though it is good exercise). I hate how it's cold and wet and makes my floors cold and wet.  I also love snow. It's really pretty until my kids play in it. Then it's cool because my kids love playing in it. I don't like to play in the snow so much, but snowball fights with Johnny sure are fun. And the pictures I take are adorable. January 18 is the best day of the whole winter.

Brea

PS Happy Birthday to my husband, Larch, and to my Mom and Dad. They get snow for their birthday every year on the 18th of January.

PPS Yes they all share a birthday. My parents are 12 hours apart.  My husband is then 18 years younger than they are exactly.  Sure is easy to remember.

PPS Though she won't read this, Happy Birthday also to Nana.  She has a birthday on the 19th. I don't know how old she is. She always says "As old as my gums and a little bit older than my teeth."

5 inches as of 3:30

This is what I see out my bedroom window when I fall asleep. Except darker, and lit by the moon.

Onions + Curry + Eyeballs = I'm stupid.

When I told Larch I was trying a new recipe Wednesday night, he groaned and said "I hate these nights." After dinner I told him to kiss my Babootie.

I have to admit that I, also, was apprehensive about this particular dish. My recipe card says that Babootie came "from the island nation of Barbados." Scary stuff. So I Googled it. Turns our Babootie is actually Babotie or even Babotjie, and it originated in Africa, not Barbados. Now I was more intrigued and really did want to try this. I was thinking "North Idaho White Girl Cooks Food From Africa." (Ok really I just liked to say babootie). I read a little more. Wikipedia says that Babotie is "a dish of antiquity" dating back to the 17th century.  Now I HAD to make it.  This will be OLD time cooking.

Now the best part: this was the best tasting experiment to date.  My brother-in-law described it as "curried quiche with ground beef." And then told me to add mushrooms and olives. My husband did not call it "sex in my mouth" so it wasn't out of this world good, but he did eat 4 servings and told me to double the recipe next time. Translation: really good.

And so very easy.

Step ONE: Finely chop one large onion and cook in butter until lightly browned. Add 2 tsp curry powder, 1 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 (aka a dash) of cayenne pepper. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

Step TWO: Add one pound of ground beef and cook until meat is browned all the way through.  It smells good and looks like this:

My dad says it looks gross, maybe you need scratch and sniff pictures to make this one good. Oh well.

Step THREE: Soak two pieces of white bread in 1 1/2 cups milk (best done while browning the meat), then remove meat from heat and pour this milk/bread stuff in it. Then pour the whole thing into a buttered 8 inch baking dish.

Step FOUR: In a bowl, beat 2 eggs, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 cup of milk. Add 1/2 cup of raisins (the raisins are optional but really add a nice somethin' somethin' to the dish).  Pour over the top of the meat mixture.

Bake at 375* for 50-60 minutes or until lightly browned on the top.

Voila.

Super Yummy. This is going in my book under "meals for company." Definitely, I think, an impresser. I mean, it's from Africa, and I'm a North Idaho redneck housewife. Anyways, try this, it's awesome.

Brea

P.S. I came home from taking Johnny to preschool this morning and my house smelled like curry, that was kinda gross. Next time I will put two fresh wax cubes in my knock-off scentsy before I start cooking.

6 Birthdays, 7 days

When people say "I'm glad Christmas is here, the stress is ending," I smile.  The 30 days after Christmas are generally as busy as the 30 days leading up to it, if not more so.  The 26th of December is my mother-in-law's birthday. Then we have New Years Eve. This could be skipped, but I married into a partying, drinking family and we like an excuse to hang out and lower our inhibitions. Recently, we have added to the list Emmett's Birthday. This year it's awesome, next year not so much and this is why. January 8-Emmett's Birthday; January 16-Lily's Birthday; January 18-Larch, my mom and my dad share a birthday (that's actually kinda convienent); January 19- my Nana's birthday; January 22-Emmett's daddy's birthday. Yep that's right, 6 birthdays in 7 days.

This year January looked like this.  New Years eve with Larch and Johnny. The following weekend (this most recent one) we have a house full of people to celebrate the birth of baby Emmett. This coming Friday will be Lily's second birthday party. Saturday and Sunday we will help my MIL move into her new apartment. sometime between Monday and Thursday we will likely have dinner with my Nana and Gramps, sister, mom, and dad, to cover all the birthdays on my side of the family. This also is a good thing. I found out today Gramps' cancer is in remission and I will be able to see him and hug him and share my children with him for the first time since Halloween.  Saturday the 21st I am planning to throw a joint party for my hubby and his brother. After that I plan to sleep for a week.

I like to complain about how tiring this is, and with BPD it is very tiring. But really, I love it. Family is the most important thing in my life (or should be) and I love being around with, seeing them, and generally goofing off with them. Sometimes I wish every month could be like this and then I look at my house and realise i hate cleaning way to much to entertain every other weekend all year long.  No really. Ask anyone, I don't like to clean.

Brea

Baby Thornton

Mondays are supposed to be the day I try a new recipe from my big box o' recipes. This Monday, however, was so much more special for our family. Sunday night, at 5:45, my nephew, Emmett Robert Thornton, came into this world at 6lbs 3oz, 20 1/2 inches long. He is an incredibly cute baby. Being his aunt I'm sure I am somewhat biased. I also know that as a mother I cannot think he is cuter than my own were when they were born. His mother, Brittany, had a 14 hour labor and came through beautifully with the help of an epidural and a million family members. The waiting room was completely full and it was all for this one precious little baby

Larch had told me Thursday, that while he was ready for Emmett to get here, he knew it would just cause me to talk about wanting another baby that much more. He was right in some ways and wrong in others. I defiantly still want another baby. But, I also know I can get my baby fix down the road in Post Falls, at least for a little while. The events of this weekend did cause us to sit down and talk more seriously about the desire to add to our little family.

It turns out, Larch has "no real reasons" to say no to a baby; he is just ready to be done with the baby stage of our life. I do admit this is a real reason, but I guess he feels it's just a selfish reason that he can't make stand up against my obvious, passionate desire for one more. I can't come up with a better reason than I want one, I feel like our family isn't complete yet, and I want one.

After some very calm and unheated discussion, we have agreed, more or less, that we will have, or try to, one more. After that, I can't see myself having anymore. I'm even toying with the thought of tubal ligation after our next one. I have an inkling that really our more permanent form of birth control will be via vasectomy. Something tells me that it will cost less. And it's outpatient surgery.

I don't know yet if this means we are intentionally trying yet, or whether we've just agreed that maybe it's ok to have another. Either way, I am happy we are no long in contention over the topic. I love being a mother. I don't always think I've been the best mother to my children, but I hear that lots of mothers feel that way. I also know I have not been a healthy mother. That is changing. Therapy and a couple of prescriptions really seem to be helping. I told my mother-in-law tonight that, "I think I want to have another baby now, because I feel healthier than I've ever felt, even in the midst of second trimester glow." Hopefully, this healthy feeling will only increase as I continue to seek treatment and learn to handle emotional roller coaster that is Borderline Personality Disorder. I love feeling well.

I love that I feel worn out because I am a mother, not because I am constantly irritable, irrational, and irresponsible. I love that I feel tired because my kids wear me out, not because I am stressed and expending all my energy being disappointed, pessimistic and bitchy. I love that I feel like I can talk to my husband without exploding or feeling judged. And I love that my relationships with the important people in my life are improving.

I know that despite all this feeling of well-being and being ready for another baby, there are people in my life, whose opinions do occasionally matter, who think maybe we are not ready, or we should be done. I respect their concerns but I also know that when I married Larch, our lives because ours to conduct how we would, with occasionally input from others, but with the final decisions being our own. I hope we are making the right decision now. I've never felt so full of love as I do being surrounded by my family, immediate and extended.

Congratulations Joe and Brittany. Emmett is a beautiful baby and he will be a source of love and joy for all of us.

You done good.

Brea

'Maize-ing ;Bread

I have caught the breadbug. After making crusty bread to eat with spaghetti the other night, I fell in love with bread making. There are 256 bread and baked goods recipes in my big box o' recipes. There are 366 days this year. I now plan to make all 256 by December 31st.
Today the chosen recipe read: Southwestern Cheese-Corn Bread. Larch has renamed it Maize-ing bread. And it absolutely is ahmaaaazing! I was sort of expecting one of those bread Larch loves and I only find "meh." I ate 3 thick slices. This one is going in the keeper book.
Instructions: mix cornmeal, baking soda, and yeast. Heat oil, sugar, salt, and buttermilk. Combine wet and dry. Add flour, creamed corn, chilis, minced onion, and cheese. Knead. Rise. Shape. Rise. Bake. My house smelled good enough to eat. And the bread was super amazing delish.
Brea
P.S. To read the same blog with measurements and filled out directions check out my new blog where I will chronicle my bread making exploits. "The Breadbug." http://thebreadbug.blogspot.com/

Beans and Bread

2 recipes down 50 to go.  Neither recipe is super exciting but I tried them. Monday night I experimented with a green bean variation and today I made bread.

The green beans were ok. I used fresh green beans with lemon pepper and garlic. I didn't care for the them, but Larch said is I sauté some zucchini and add it in, it would be perfect.

My bread was three mini-loaves of crusty bread. I like making bread, but seriously, twenty minutes of kneading makes my arms sore. Larch did, however, eat a whole loaf on his own with his spaghetti.

Good eating! Next week I cook lamb for the first time in my life.

Someone burned my Christmas Tree

Every year, at least the last four, my family has met the new year by burning our Christmas tree and betting how far above the roof line the flames will go.  It provides a very good lesson as to why we SHOULD water our tree.  We don't because if we did it wouldn't burn very well on New Year's Eve.

This year, our flames were a good two feet above the roof line, and as I watched it burn I decided this year I would make resolutions that would not burn me out faster than the flames burned out once the pine needles were gone.  I also decided that if I shared my top five goals for the year, I would be more likely to keep them because I would have people to hold me accountable. So here we go.

2012 Goal #1:Stop Smoking. 

This is so cliche I almost thought it sounded stupid.  A good idea, but lame in it's boring commonness.  However, after smoking on and off for about 8 years, and having quit twice while pregnant, it's about time. It smells gross, makes me cough, and oh yeah, I only smoke about three cigarettes a week if we don't go anywhere.  This shouldn't be too hard as I don't smoke all that often, but I will admit to being easily stressed, and smoking socially.  My husband's whole family (almost) smokes, so the weekends we spend with them will be more challenging.  Bring on the Juicy Fruit and Big Red.

2012 Goal #2: Keep My House Clean.

I know I claim to be a real housewife, but honestly, I'm a real bad and lazy housewife.  Most married couples fight about money; Larch and I fight about my housekeeping.  So this year, in order to strengthen my marriage and convince my husband I can handle another baby, I would like my house to look lived in, but clean.  In other words, I am attempting to: keep up on the laundry, do the dishes after every meal, make sure the living room is clean when I go to bed, vacuum daily (such is life with preschoolers), and to stop piling crap on the dining room table.  Those who know me will tell you that this is like climbing Mt Everest for me. I am a slob, and cleaning is not something I have ever been good at. This goal scares me the most.

2012 Goal #3: Exercise More.

More means at least three days a week. On purpose.  Resolving to lose weight is asinine. I like to eat sweets, I cook with butter, and anti-psychotic medicines are really better at helping you to gain weight. Exercise, however, will tone what little muscle I have, probably cause weight loss, make labor easier if I can convince Larch to have another baby, and releases feel-good-happy-anti-mean-mommy endorphin's that help me to feel really good about myself.  Kinda like singing in the shower, only with a fat-shedding bonus.

2012 Goal#4: Try 52 New Recipes.

I know I have mentioned before my giant box of recipes I want to try before my kids go to college.  I also learned somewhere that breaking a big goal into small steps makes it doable. So, one new recipe a week. Every Monday.  This will mean that on Tuesday I will rave or rant about how it tasted, how easy it was, and if it was truly amazing and share worthy, I might even share it here.  Along with this goal, I plan to eat 5 out of 7 meals at the table and not in front of the TV.  My kids have way to much screen time already, cutting out 45 minutes to eat will be good for everyone.

2012 Goal #5: Read 12 New Books

That's a book a month. My mother wants to read 64 four books this year, I would love to also, but I have two small children and the daunting task of keeping my very small house with too much stuff clean. So, one book a month should be attainable.  Chances are this will really mean one book between now and April; one between April and June; 3 a month over the summer while we are camping, and I can sit by the water and burn; and one more between September and November. No reading ever gets done during the holidays. Now, I need to decide if I want to read "Girl Who Played with Fire" or "Game of Thrones" first.

Those are the five big ones.  I also plan to potty train Lily, convince my family to go one day a week with no Xbox, movies, or TV, and have $1000 in the savings account on December 31, 2012.

Now I better stop so that I have time to clean my house, cook a meal, go for a walk, ignore my husband's cigarettes, and read a few pages.