Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  As I folded laundry on this last day of 2011, I began to think about what I would like to accomplish in 2012.  I'm not much of a resolution maker.  I usually make ones that are easy to keep.  Last year, at 9 months pregnant on New Year's, I resolved to give birth by the end of the month.  Thor joined our family on January 20th.  Then there's my husband who makes one resolution and sticks firm to it through the year.  The year I met him he'd given up eating cookies, another year it was doughnuts, and then soda and candy. 

So, as I matched socks and folded towels, I thought about things that I'd like to change.  The first was that I'd like to say "No" less.  As a mother of a 2-year-old and an almost-one-year-old, there are days where I feel like all I say is "no."  "No, Sig, you cannot sit on your brother."  "No, Thor, take that out of your mouth."  "No, you're going to take a nap.  No more television.  No more candy.  No, no, NO!"  Now, I know these nos are to keep my boys safe, healthy, and to help them grow up into fully functioning members of society.  But, I've also found myself saying, "No, Sig, mommy's busy right now trying to clean the kitchen.  Go color by yourself."  Or "No, Thor, mommy can't pick you up right now" (seriously, the kid weighs almost as much as his big brother!  My back needs a break every once in a while!)  Anyway, I've resolved to prioritize my boys over dirty dishes, laundry, and especially my iPad.  I love my iPad, but I spend way to much time frittering away time online when I should be playing with my boys.  Here's to 2012, the year I'm going to say YES!

 Another resolution is to get Sig potty trained.  I've got everything I need to get it done.  I've read books.  I've got travel seat adapters.  I've got underpants, training pants, stickers, candy, and a toddler who can go potty in the toilet.  Now, we just need to pick a time and consistently work on it.  I'm expecting a battle of wills.  I don't know where my child learned to be so stubborn.  I know he didn't get such traits from me or his father!  But, we'll get it done.  We shall overcome!

I hope everyone has a healthy and happy New Year!  Just a few more hours to refresh myself on the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne.

When mommy takes a nap

4:30 Mike is home from work. I'm exhausted and have a headache. Mike says he'll watch the boys so I can go rest.

4:35 I realize that Mike was going to call the insurance company when he got home to get coverage for our new car. The paperwork is in the diaper bag. I'm so tired. It can wait until tomorrow.

4:40 I get up and give the paperwork to Mike as I've spent the last five minutes imagining our new car meeting an early demise and can't rest until I know it has its own insurance.

4:45 I watch the boys while Mike talks with the agent.

5:00 Back to bed.

5:15 Mike and the boys are at the foot of the bed. Mike wants to know where the teething medicine is for Thor. I tell him check the basket on the changing table, but it might not be in the basket because I threw it at the basket when I last used it and it may have fallen behind the changing table (1. I was sitting on the floor with a screaming baby and didn't want to stand up to put it away responsibly. 2. Sometimes, it is just nice to throw things).

5:20 After going through the contents of the basket on the changing table, Mike locates the medicine behind the changing table.

5:25 Everyone is back in my room. I'm not sure why. Sig is combing my hair with a baby brush that was discovered while searching for the Baby Orajel. Mike's listening to Weird Al songs on iTunes. Thor's whimpering.

5:30 I'm nursing Thor in bed. Sig is running around. Weird Al is still coming in 30 second increments from the computer. Mike's phone alarm goes off.

5:35 Let's see if this Weird Al album is cheaper on Amazon. It is! But, we have an iTunes gift card so really it's free! We can't afford to not get it.

5:40 Thor is asleep. He hasn't napped all afternoon because of the teething. Sig is running around. Weird Al is still playing on the computer.

5:45 Mike's phone alarm goes off again. He can't get it to turn off. He blames the beta iOS he has running on his phone. He decides to let it go until it turns itself off. Sig is running around the room. Weird Al sings in the background. Thor sleeps on.

5:47 In my nicest voice, "WILL YOU PLEASE TAKE YOUR PHONE, YOUR MUSIC, AND YOUR CHILD AND LEAVE THIS ROOM." Mike leaves in a huff. Thor sleeps on.

5:50 I can hear Weird Al coming from the speakers in the kitchen. Mike didn't shut the bedroom door when he left. I don't want to wake up Thor so I don't move and leave the door open.

5:51 Zzzzzzzzz . . .

The Stinky Pew

We went to church yesterday.  Thor was being an angel in the service.  Smiling at the people around us.  Playing with his toys.  I'd set him between Mike and I shortly after the sermon began.  He was quietly chewing on a soft toy.  All of a sudden, I felt Mike jerk and I turned to find Thor vomiting all over himself and the pew.  I whisk a receiving blanket out of the diaper bag because that is all that I have with us to sop up the copious amounts of curdled breast milk that are issuing from my child.  I grab Thor and make a hasty retreat out of the sanctuary.  As soon as we get to the back of the sanctuary, I can tell he's going to vomit some more.  I made a motherly sacrifice and let him vomit down my shirt. 

Thor has a history of vomiting.  It is something he does well.  Early on I was having an issue of oversupply and forceful let down and he'd throw up once a day at least 5 times a week.   But that only lasted a few weeks.  The only thing I can think of that caused the puke storm was that he'd gagged himself with his toy and once Thor gets to vomiting, there is nothing you can do to stop it.  Anyway, I wasn't about to step a toe back into that sanctuary.  Not only was I covered with vomit, I was also horribly embarrassed that my child had done such a thing in church.  It seemed like an unholy amount of vomit, but I'm hoping that my mortification may have exaggerated the amount that Thor threw up.  I texted Mike that we needed to go and we had an abbreviated day at church.  Maybe I'll sit in another section for awhile where I'm not known as the mother of the kid who brings new meaning to the word "pew."  Of course, Thor is getting dedicated this coming Sunday.  Hopefully, he'll keep his stomach contents to himself and the visions that I have of someone shouting "That's the pukey baby" during the dedication service will not come to fruition.  

What?  I'd never embarrass my mommy!

Happy Summer!

I'm currently being outsmarted by my video camera and my computer.  For some reason my computer won't recognize that I've plugged the camera into the USB and then I told another program to run a process that will take 15 minutes and I don't see a cancel button anywhere.  So, here I sit, waiting for everything to finish so I can reboot -- the great panacea of computer repair.  And pretty much the extent of my technical expertise.  If that doesn't work, I have a very useful husband.

Today was the first day of summer and probably the nicest day we had all year.  The boys and I spent most of the morning playing outside.  I got lots of great video of them playing together, which was why I plugged the uncooperative video camera into the computer, which my husband just fixed.  Apparently, I have to hit some button on the video camera and now things are importing.  However, it looks like we haven't exported video off the camera since before Halloween 2010 so we have two hours worth of exporting to accomplish.  I'll have to share the videos at a later date.  But, I'll give you some pretty pictures of flowers instead.

My garden is coming along nicely.  I noticed tonight that I had several tomatoes (one was even the size of a golf ball) on one of my plants.  I only planted tomatoes and pumpkins/squash this year.  It's what I use and can fit in my space and they usually grow well. 

The upper flower bed I usually just let run riot.  I do need to get in there with the weed whacker and trim the path between the tiers.  Our garage door has been broken the past couple weeks and we've been unable to get the door open and hauling the weed eater through the house doesn't appeal to me.  The new garage door goes in tomorrow and we're having a party at our house on Saturday, so the weeds are going soon.

I don't want to jinx myself but we started sleep training with Thor last night and it is going better than expected.  Hopefully, it will continue along swimmingly.  I am still moving him into the bassinet in our room when we go to bed, but that's more for my sake than for his.  I'm not ready for my baby to sleep in his own room yet!  Yesterday was his 5-month birthday.  He's also rolling now from his back to stomach, so he can roll across the room if the mood struck him.  Soon he'll be crawling.  Where did my baby go? 

Sig is constantly thwarting any attempt we do to child-proof our house.  Last week, he removed the handle cover from the front door, undid the dead bolt and opened the front door.   I caught him on the front step.  I ordered a new lock for the front door which should be Sig-proof.  Mike installed it tonight.  Now we get to see what he figures out next.  It is a greater challenge to outsmart a toddler than I thought it would be.

Portland and the worst car ride EVER!

Yesterday, we went to Portland for the afternoon.  I had gotten up and went and got my hair cut and colored and when I got back home we loaded up the car and headed out.  Sig, for whatever reason, had woken up at 4 a.m. in the morning and Thor had uncharacteristically wanted to nurse at 1 a.m., so my sleep had been very disturbed.  But on the way down south they both slept beautifully in the car.

 

We arrived at Dumps, Portland's premier dumpling restaurant, owned and operated by my awesome brother at around 2 p.m.  Mike's friend Marshall met us there and we chowed down on dumplings.  While eating lunch, I could feel the inkling of a headache starting.  I hoped that eating and drinking would take care of it since I didn't have any pain reliever with me.  I normally carry a travel bottle of pills with me, but since Sig loves to go through the diaper bag and "child-proof" doesn't mean a thing to Sig, I'd taken my bottle out.

 Sig and Uncle Ryan

 Thor and Marshall

After lunch, we headed downtown so Mike could go to the Apple store to buy a new laptop.  We parked near Nordstrom so I went inside to use the ladies lounge to change and nurse Thor.  Sig and Mike went on to the Apple store.  After I was done with Thor, we went shoe shopping.  I always find the exact pair of shoes I've been searching for at Portland's downtown Nordstrom.  I got my favorite pair of boots there -- my Cole Haan black boots that I got in the "salon" (i.e. expensive) shoe section.  They have been worth every penny and gift card I applied to their purchase.  I've been searching for a brown slide sandal that is casual, yet refined.  All I've been able to find are clunky, heavy, cave-person type foot wear or sandals with jewels stuck all over them.  But, once again, downtown Nordstrom came to my rescue.  I swear that heavenly light and music came down from above as I picked up the sandal.  It was my size and perfect in every way.  I left Nordstrom happy, but with an even stronger headache.

After killing some time in Pioneer Courthouse Square we headed back to the eastside for dinner with Mike's extended family to celebrate his cousins' graduations from college and high school.  This would also be the first time Mike's grandparents would get to meet Thor.  During this ten minute car ride, Sig had a diaper blow out.  I did pack several extra sets of clothes for the boys, so we stripped Sig in the parking lot and got him and the car seat cleaned up as well as we could with only baby wipes.  Also, I realized that I'm now having a full blown migraine.  I'm nauseous, my pain is coming in waves, and all I really want to do is lay down.  I nibbled on the sandwich I ordered, but I'm so sick that I can barely choke down anything.  It's finally time to leave.  We loaded up the car and then the fun began.

   Us with the graduates

 Thor meeting his great-grandpa for the first time.

 Thor and great-grandma

 Thor with Aunt Liz and graduate Brittany

First, it's 7 p.m.  You'd think that rush would be over, but we had to sit in extremely slow moving traffic all they way to the Oregon border.  Thor decided that he did not want to be in his car seat and screams and cries.  Not wanting to be shouted out by his younger brother, Sig joined in the cacophony with ear splitting shrieks.  Thor's cries, though painful, aren't bothering me as much as Sig's shrieking.  We stop at the first rest stop since the restaurant had no place to nurse Thor except the unisex bathroom.  I'm physically drained, I still have a splitting headache, nausea, and the whole migrainey works.  Mike got me a bottle of water while I nursed Thor in an attempt to calm him down and get him to go to sleep.  We loaded everyone back up and got back on the freeway.

Thor's cries are now worse.  Sig shrieks even more.  All the toys I've brought end up out of reach somewhere on the backseat floor.  What does it matter, they weren't working anyway.  I'm trying to pinpoint the causes of my migraine.  I've come up with broken sleep patterns, travel, warmer than normal day, and that I'm probably dehydrated.  We decided to stop at the Castle Rock exit to try to calm down Thor.  As we neared the exit, I rub my eyes and a contact falls out.  The other contact was filthy so I decided to take it out too.  I don't have any contact solution with me.  Now I'm sick and blind.  We pulled into a parking lot and Mike changes Thor's sweaty clothes.  Thor stopped crying as soon as he is out of his car seat.  I called my mom in Chehalis.  We're thirty minutes away.  I let her know that I'm sick and we'll be there soon.

We load up again.  Again Thor begins screaming as soon as we're underway.  I've given Sig my iPhone and that keeps him entertained enough to stop shrieking.  About ten minutes from home, I begin to laugh.  Mike looks at me liked I'd lost my mind.  Maybe I had, but then he began to laugh too.  We were are car full of shrieking, crying, and laughing people.  We get to Chehalis and I ran into the house.  My mom had a glass of water and ibuprofen waiting for me.  I'm immediately sick.  I laid down on the sofa with an ice pack on my head and a blanket over the rest of me.  I started feeling better.  I take the ibuprofen because I'm pretty sure it will stay down now.  The kids are happy to be out of the car.  My mom reconstituted my shriveled up contact lenses.

A while later, Mike asked when I'll feel like going the next thirty miles to our house.   Never crossed my mind.  Getting back in the car is way down on my list of things I want to do.  We decided that Thor and I will stay the night in Chehalis and Mike will come back in the morning and get us.  I climbed upstairs with Thor to see what my old room has to offer me.   I found that I left enough behind that I could easily move back in.  I discovered that the only thing I didn't have was a hair brush.  I put Thor in the bassinet and I crawl into bed.  I watched Mike and Sig's progress home on my iPhone.  I couldn't fall asleep until I knew they were home safe.

Even though I woke up a couple times in the night with Katy Perry songs stuck in my head, I could tell the headache was letting up.  I felt pretty darn good when I got up in the morning.  Moral of this story is that I will now always make sure to repack my travel pain relievers and a bottle of contact solution when I have plans to leave the house for more than four hours.  And maybe some ear plugs too.

Adventures in Cake Baking

Tomorrow's my mother's birthday. I decided to get her cake made today. Sig had plowed through his "pea-boo" and jelly sandwich and I thought he might like to help me get the cake mixed up before his nap. I put Thor in the Johnny-jump-up and we got baking.

My mom requested coconut but I couldn't find a recipe to suit my fancy. I finally selected a Martha Stewart recipe, but it called for 6 inch or 8 inch cake pans. Unlike Martha, I don't have infinite space or wealth to have a wide variety of cake pans. So, out of the cabinets came my 9 inch cake pans.

I set up the step stool so Sig could see the countertop and started sifting together the dry ingredients. Now, about Thor. Thor only poops every two or three days and when he does, it's a doozy. Today was one of his pooping days. He'd already pooped this morning, but as I was mixing up the ingredients I heard a low, loud rumble coming from the Johnny-jump-up. I quickly finished the dry ingredients and went to get the butter creaming before I changed Thor. While I was cutting the butter, I heard a splash and "uh oh." I turned and found that Sig had taken a bottle of bubble solution and spilled it all over the floor. Again a loud rumbling echoed from the Johnny-jump-up.

I grabbed Sig and hauled him back to his room because I needed my little chaos maker out of the way. I came back to the kitchen and sopped up the bubble solution. I then got Thor changed. Only a little poo had escaped the diaper confines. Fortunately, he'd been wearing a goldenrod colored onesie so I don't think a stain will show. I brought Sig back to the kitchen and gave him a bowl with some "ingredients" for him to mix up. By the time I finished with the cake batter Sig had scattered sugar all over the floor and Charlie was busy licking it up.

My cakes turned out very nice. Now to get them frosted.

O is for organization!

I have come to the conclusion that my house is completely inefficient due to a surplus of stuff.  That it has been this way for quite some time.  And it is the major source of stress in my life (aka filling my heart with rage every time I open a closet and things fall out on me).  I've spent the last few months complaining to my husband, complaining to myself (because, really, I'm not sure how often my husband listens to me), trying to figure to get this house in order, and how we ended up with so much superfluous stuff (really, five vegetable peelers, why do we have five vegetable peelers!?).  Last week I downloaded a guide to get your house organized in 30 days in only 5 minutes a day.  Even though I haven't actually used the guide (I definitely need more than five minutes a day), it did give the necessary kick in the pants to get up and get organizing.

I've decided to tackle the house in a West to East orientation.  That way I get some of the hard stuff done first (kitchen) but also start with the easy stuff (living/dining room) and save the master bedroom for last (the worst room in the house, this is where junk goes to die).  Yesterday I completed the first half of the house -- kitchen, living, dining, family, and entry way.  Yay for me!  Unfortunately, the house is actually looking a little worse because I have the dining room table piled with stuff to get rid of at a garage sale.  At least before everything was hiding in the closets/cupboards. However, if you were to open my closets or cupboards, the neatness would blow your socks off!  Which I would then have you pick up and put back on because we wouldn't want to clutter up my nice clean house. :)

Organizing is a challenge with Sig in the house.  Mr. Busybody wants to help.  "No, mommy does not need you to stand on the step ladder with her.  She already fell off once and she doesn't need you to help her break her neck.  She's more than klutzy enough to accomplish that on her own."  I did enlist my dad to come up one morning and play with Sig while I cleaned out the entry way closet, which is when I fell off the step ladder and, thankfully, came out of the situation unscathed.   I was just glad I had another adult in the house at the time.  I've since restricted myself to only using the step ladder when Mike is home because it's always good planning to have someone available to take you to the emergency room.

The rest of the house (except the master bedroom) shouldn't take me too long.  Mike went through the garage and set out some boxes I need to go through.  The nursery is well organized and I need to get out the next size clothes for Thor anyways.  Man, I can't believe he's moving into size 9 months already!  He'll be 4 months on Friday and is a little moose!  Sig's room is also pretty good since we cleaned it out this winter to move him into it.   My goal is to have the house clean by middle of next week.  I also told my mom that I'd come down and go through the rest of my belongings at their house.  I'm not sure why I offered to do that.  Maybe I have a brain fever that was induced by too much cleaning.  I guess since I've got the cleaning bug, I might as well make the best of it.

And a 6.7 from the Russian judge

There are good days.  And then there are days.  I don't want to say the days are bad.  I'm trying to be positive.  We have had some good times today: waking up to smiling faces, sitting on the sofa reading Dr. Suess, Sig going potty on his potty.  But those moments seemed to be buried under what seems like non-stop crying.  Standing in the family room holding a screaming infant while my toddler sobbed against my leg I was pretty near the point of selling both my children to the gypsies.  Then, for whatever reason, the thought popped in my head that the kids were competing against each other in some sort of Olympics of tears and I was a judge.  Sig got points for being most pathetic and style (he does have two years worth of practice).  Thor got points for volume and pitch.  It was declared a tie.

Thor has been crying more, as of late.  I don't know if it just part of him getting over his ear infection, if the medicine he's taking is upsetting his stomach, or if it just a phase he's going through.  I sure wish I could figure out what was causing his tears so I could figure out if they could be avoided.  Both kids are still suffering from colds, though Sig's snot does seem to be abating.  Thor sounds congested at times, though it is usually after one of his scream-fests.  Everyone is still sleeping well, eating well, and except for the crying, seem to be their normal, chipper selves.

iPhone snapshots

We've made it to Thursday!  Tomorrow is Mike's day off, so we have Daddy home for three full days!  Yay!  The sun shone for the past two days, though we're back to rain and clouds today.  Thor has his first ear infection, so he's been a little extra cranky with that for the past couple days, but he also had his first fit of giggles last night.  He's always been very vocal and has squealed with delight since he started smiling.  But last night was the first time I could really say that he laughed.  Big, hearty, baby belly laughs!  Sig enjoyed the nicer weather and played outside in his sandbox whenever we'd let him.  He also loved blowing bubbles and playing doggie games with Charlie.  He and Charlie have several games they play, but most include Charlie knocking Sig down and Sig laughing hysterically.

It seems that the camera I use to take most of the photos of my kids is my iPhone.  What can I say, it is usually handy and I don't really worry about Sig destroying it unlike the fancy Nikon Mike got me for my birthday.  I plug my phone into the computer about twice a month and today happened to be one of those times.  I got tickled looking at the pictures that were downloaded off my phone, so I've decided to share them with you. 

 Tummy time

 Charlie in the sun

 Easter (Grandma had a special outfit for Thor)

 Sig on an egg hunt

 Self portrait by Sig

 Enjoying our lovely spring weather

 Playing with his sand table

Monday, Monday

Mondays are the worst! I think we get used to having Daddy around all weekend and we all have to adjust when it's just me. Everyone is fussy, I didn't sleep well, we're all getting over our colds, and it's raining! Whine! Whine! Whine!

It took Sig forever to go down for his nap. Thor won't let me put him down so he's sleeping against my chest. I'm typing this with one finger on my iPad. I'm at that lovely postpartum stage where all your hair falls out. My clothes don't want to fit right and I hate this nursing bra. In fact, I hate all my nursing bras! And it's still raining! Whine! Whine! Whine!

I did get the laundry done. Maybe if I wish really hard the clothes will fold themselves. The dishwasher has been emptied. The blue circles someone drew on the walls add a nice splash of color. We are having sourdough pancakes for dinner. There's one less terrorist in the world. So, I guess I should stop with the whining.

But it is still raining.

If I were king, dilly-dilly

All right, my obsession with the royal wedding has to stop.  I don't even know where it came from.  I was wishy-washy on Thursday as to whether or not I'd watch it at all.  I mean, I have babies.  I have responsibilities.  I value the few hours of sleep I get at night and do I really want to waste them watching complete strangers getting married?  Plus, I was getting sick, not really the best time to be up all night.  But come Thursday at 11 p.m., I'm making myself a nice little bed on the sofa, Thor's pack'n'play pulled close to the couch, and my iPhone alarm set to go off at 1 a.m.  I figured, what the hey, I'll be one of those insane people who watch it, but I'll keep my cool.  I'll watch it with irony.  Yeah, irony and sarcasm.  I even set my iPhone alarm to play church bells.

One a.m. arrives.  I groggily turn the t.v. on.  My throat hurts.  I sit there for an hour watching the Today show and their boring coverage of the guests arriving at the wedding.  Shoot.  I should have slept until 2.  What the heck am I doing up at all?  I'm sick.  Why am I watching this stupid wedding?  Thor sounds a little congested but is snoozing peacefully in his crib.  Should I just go back to sleep?  Oh wait, there's David Beckham.  Really, what am I doing up watching this wedding?  It's not ironic that I'm up watching this circus, it's just stupid.

Two a.m.  Here come the princes.  Ok, now it is suddenly getting a little more interesting.  I feel my irony slipping.  And some of the hats are just down right gorgeous.  The important people are arriving.  They keep showing David Beckham, too.  And really, I think that would be my policy too.  When things get boring, broadcast Beckham.  Royals are arriving.  Here's the Queen looking very proper and sweet in her yellow outfit.  Very English granny.  Trying to be sarcastic about the Queen.  Can't come up with anything.  Then the lady of the hour: Kate.  Irony and sarcasm slip into oblivion.  Look at the pretty bride!  She's a princess now!  Squeal!!!     

Three a.m.  Watched half the ceremony.  Made it through the vows and a couple songs.  Discovered what my wedding was missing: little boys in livery.  How cute!  Decided that I'd watched the important stuff and I could catch whatever I missed on the internet.  Grab my baby and head to bed. 

Later on Friday I did watch the processional and balcony scene.  Sig came in while I was watching Wills and Kate on the balcony.  He waved back at them, which I thought was cute.  I'm sure my husband was rolling his eyes.  I've also caught myself reading articles on the internet about the hats, honeymoon, and other particulars.  I really do need to stop.  But maybe just one People magazine, with lots of pictures.  Just one, I swear!

Party, Party, Party!

This past Saturday we had Sig's second birthday party.  He didn't actually turn two until the 27th, but since his birthday was falling so stinking close to Easter, I had the brilliant idea of hosting an Easter egg hunt for his party.  And to add another layer to the party extravaganza, I also prepared a brunch for everyone to partake in.  So, at 10 a.m. Saturday morning, I had seven children aged 4 and under and their parents descend upon my house to feast their way through Easter goodies. 

We had Egg, Sausage, Red Pepper, and Fontina strata, Italian Easter Bread (with homemade candied orange peel because, yes, I am that crazy), fresh fruit, homemade pop tarts (basically pie crust filled with strawberry jam), homemade granola, yogurt, juice and coffee.   My parents got Sig a sand table for his birthday which was the hit of the party.  The weather was so nice that we ate carrot cake cupcakes outside after the egg hunt.  Each kiddo got to go home with a felt bunny Easter basket filled with a coloring book, crayons, and bubbles (thank you Target $1 bins).  All in all, it was a fun morning even though I was exhausted until Monday.

Sunday was Easter and my birthday.  The first and only time this will probably happen in my lifetime.  My dad looked up when Easter would again fall on the 24th, and he said it wouldn't happen again until 2095 when I would be 116 years old.  Longevity does run in my family, but I doubt I'll see 116.  We skedadled down to my parents' house after church for dinner with my family and in-laws.  I was still on overload from the day before and wasn't feeling all that social.  Thank goodness for having to nurse babies!  Best excuse to leave any social gathering and hide out in a bedroom.  I did have a zen experience while preparing the frosting for my birthday cake (look at the pretty swirling egg whites get all glossy and stiff, listen to the whir of the beaters, happy sugar, happy Kristin) and was in a much better mood when opening my presents.  I got two cookbooks, "The Country Cooking of France" and "Charcuterie" which is less of a cookbook and more of a manual on how to prepare meats for storage (confit, sausage, hams, etc.)  I can't wait to get cooking!

First Post

I know, I know.  The title is so inventive.  But, that what it is.  It's my first post.  I'm not exactly sure what I'll be using this blog for.  I've never blogged before.  I had a professor in college who made us turn in a one-page free write at the beginning of every class for he believed that to become a better writer you had to write.  It could be about anything and was not graded but I think we got participation points for them.  I'm not even sure if he read them or not.  I think it was a way for him to make sure you were coming to class, but with less than ten students in the class, it was always apparent who was there and who wasn't.  I always enjoyed those writings.  I remember being specifically pleased with one that I wrote about being smug about my mittens.  So, Professor Bartenen, this blog's for you.

Now on to the nuts and bolts.  I do plan on writing a lot about my kids.  I have two little boys: one almost two and one two months.  I feel like I should try to attempt to give them some level of privacy since they are at the age where they cannot defend themselves from what I might write about them, and even though I am sure this blog will only be read by friends and family, I'll be using their Viking names.  After all, I'm calling myself the Viking momma, I better be raising little Vikings.  Therefore, the two-year-old will be called Sig and the baby will be called Thor.  I also plan on writing about my other interests.  So, you may get anything from what I fixed for dinner last night (I got my hair cut last night so I had black beans in tortillas with lettuce and salsa when I got home), movie and book reviews (current movies I've enjoyed "The Young Victoria" and "The Road Home" - a love story set in  rural 1950's China), and the current state of my home and yard improvements (someday soon I plan on getting the bathroom repainted, just need to go get the paint!).

I'm not sure how often I'll be able to blog.  At the moment, Thor is sleeping in his bassinet and Sig is napping in his room.  I'm using "napping" in the loosest sense of the word.  He's in his room, the lights are off, but I can hear him playing with his toys.  Eventually he may fall asleep among the legos.  I am getting a rare moment of peace that is lasting more than five minutes and I'm not fall-off-my-chair exhausted and can string coherent thoughts together.  At least I hope they're coherent.  Anyway, my goal is to post at least once a week.  I always get inspired when I have no time to write, and then when I get a moment, the inspiration is gone.  I'm hoping that since I've actually started writing that I'll be able to find the time to continue and it won't be so daunting the next time I sit down to write again.

Well, that's what I plan on doing with this blog.  It's been nice to sit down and group my thoughts together.