To Say That I Was Sufficiently Warned...

I was trying to think of what to make for dinner tonight, and I admit I was being awfully slothful about it. Chris was taking a snooze on the couch, and the kids, who really should have been starving, were happily playing together in their room. I felt no pressure.

A little while later, I managed to get the kids to emerge from their room and I began probing them for some easy dinner ideas since, clearly, nobody seemed to really care WHAT I made. I asked the kids if they would like corndogs. The only problem with corndogs, or so I thought, was that Ashley will only eat the breading part. And on a day like today, if all she wants to eat is corndog breading, well, so be it.

Zachary piped up, "I want to eat a frozen corndog!"

Well, I have heard this a number of times before, and I have always been opposed to the idea. I'd kind of think that CPS might rightfully be called if I knowingly fed my kids frozen meals without preheating them first. I would never do such a thing, because I do *try* to be a good mother...even on my lazy days (like today.)

I speak only for myself when I say that I was doing what any lazy mother ought to be doing and was checking out Facebook instead of making dinner for my family at 7pm. So, it was no surprise when I heard my kids scrounging around in the kitchen for something to eat. I wasn't going to be on the computer for much longer, and kids in the kitchen (at least at MY house) always warrants an inspection and a quick one. That was going to put a hasty end to checking out my friends' status updates.

Just a few minutes earlier, the kids had been asking for Pillsbury Toaster Strudels for dinner...or in Ashley's own words, "Toaster Noodles." I had rejected that proposal, so when I heard the opening of refrigerator/freezer doors in the other room, I figured they might just be helping themselves to those anyway...or maybe they were after the tub of Cool Whip in the fridge. I knew it wasn't the parmesan cheese they were getting into, because I recently placed that on the list of "Foods That Are No Longer Welcome In My House" after the fourth container (in about 6 months' time) was emptied onto the table and eaten fingerful by fingerful. I wouldn't have been surprised if they were munching on chocolate chip cookies. After all, there was a tray of those sitting out unattended on top of the stove. But no...

What should I find when I emerged from my momentary Facebook stupor but Ashley with a corndog in each hand, frozen ones of course, with polk-a-dot-sized pieces of breading missing from each of them. In the kitchen, Zachary sat at the table with 3 frozen corndogs in front of him--two of them already half-eaten and the third one mostly unscathed. After initially being grossed-out, I wrestled the corndogs away and popped them all into the microwave and, voila!, "It's what's for dinner."

So today wasn't a stellar day for me in the balanced meal department. In my own defense, however, this is definitely not typical, so please don't call CPS. (After giving it some thought, I really wasn't very lazy today, either, because I got a lot of cleaning done.) You win some, and you lose some. But just where my kids get their crazy appetites, I think I will never know!

Ring in the New Year!

Happy New Year to you all! I haven't really been setting goals, have you? I like to think (or, perhaps, pretend) that I set mini-goals throughout the year so the New Year doesn't prompt me to get serious about goal-setting. If you have set goals, good for you! I would love to hear about them.

As for me, instead of listing my goals for the New Year, I have decided to compile a different sort of list:

12 Months of Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2009:

January: I am soooo enjoying having Chris off school for winter break! He doesn't have to return to classes until the day after Martin Luther King Day, so I'm lovin' that!

February: Hmmmm... OK, here's one: Chris will, of course, be BACK in school (that brings other untold blessings, like getting more of my own computer time back...ha ha) BUT he will only have Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday classes. How nice is that?! I intend to enjoy his easier schedule along with him.

March: This will be the month of finding out fun stuff, I think. If not, then the fun stuff will have already been found out and I'll be celebrating the knowing. Also, Spring Break! Maybe we'll make some fun plans for that.

April: There's always something to look forward to in April...nice spring weather, and Easter falls on the 12th. Also, I look forward to listening to prophets and apostles speak in the Church's semiannual General Conference at the beginning of the month.

May: Ashley turns 3, and I am so excited about that! Aside from celebrating her birthday (which I always enjoy), it means that she can start taking gymnastics and swimming lessons just like Zachary has gotten to do for the past year or so. She will no longer have to be the spectator. AND HOW COULD I POSSIBLY FORGET ABOUT GRADUATION?????? I keep forgetting that Chris will not be in school forever. He'll finish his finals around the 15th and officially graduate on the 23rd!

June: Zachary turns 5! June will mark the beginning of summer and that's always fun. Grandma will finish working so we can hang out more with her. Swimming lessons will probably start in June and, for the first time, both of my kids will get to take them.

July: Summer fun continues and the month culminates in some very important and exciting events. Chris takes the Bar Exam from July 28-30, which means that (presuming all goes well) our *new addition* will be born sometime the week before. We could just end with that, but I guess we'll probably celebrate my birthday, which falls on the 31st. With Chris having finished the Bar by then, we'll all have reason to party.

August: Chris can take this entire month off, but we haven't set any firm plans yet. Having a new baby at home, this will be especially nice if he can be around. Also, if we haven't done so already, we will probably be replacing my car with something bigger and more accommodating...or else I'll have no choice but to be sit at home and just take it easy until that happens. Call me crazy, but that sort of sounds nice to me, actually.

September: Chris will have started his new job by now! We are so thankful he was able to get the job he had been hoping for and that it's with a great place here in Austin. I hope that he will enjoy it (after all, that's the biggest reason he went back to school in the first place) and that we'll be able to count on it providing us with steady and stable employment and, oh yeah, something better than student benefits!

October: Fall finally kicks in, I guess, and that means cooler weather. Once again, General Conference takes place at the beginning of the month. Chris' birthday is on the 18th, and preparations for the holiday season can begin. Hopefully by then, I'll be getting more sleep at night!

November: Our anniversary falls on the 9th and Chris won't be getting ready for finals! Instead, he will find out this month that he (cross your fingers!) passed the Bar. And for that, among other things, we will be giving much thanks.

December: "Christmas time is here...Happiness and cheer..." I love enjoying the Christmas season with my family and friends. It's a busy month that gets stressful at times, but it is ultimately a season of peace, joy and unity as we celebrate the birth of Christ and give gifts to Him and to each other. Sharing this season with a new baby in our home will be one of the greatest gifts of all.

I hope that you, too, will enjoy many blessings throughout 2009. Happy New Year!

Dear Friends and Family...

I had no idea that you were still reading my blog while I have been off on some deserted (imaginary) island neglecting it! For the first time in months (or since the last time I posted...however long ago that was), I have come to visit the blog of my youth. I have aged slightly since the last time I visited, so this is bringing back some fond memories.

I also discovered that some of you have posted comments that I was not aware of. Seems like I used to have comments sent automatically to my email inbox, but for some reason, that has not been happening. So, if you felt snubbed by my lack of acknowledgement, I do apologize and assure you that it was nothing personal.

Finally, I have a bit of sad news to share. Our second computer (the one with all of our pictures stored therein) had to be disassembled and removed to make space for our old bed in the computer room. Why would we want a bed in the computer room, you ask? So that Chris can simply lie down to sleep once he has finished his gaming raids at all hours of the night. ;) Just kidding. The real reason is that we finally did get all of our new bedroom furniture, including a nice new king-sized bed (so we never have to sleep within arm's reach of each other again--Woohoo! just kidding) but we did not want to part with our old bed, either. Someday we hope to have a guest bedroom and will need a bed for our guests to sleep on. So, the moral of the story is that I am currently unable to post any pictures on this blog unless they come from our main computer. I might be able to expend a little effort to figure out how I can start dumping the pictures from my memory card onto that computer, but seeing as Chris is enjoying a well-deserved break from school right now, I might have to wait on that.

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and New Year's holidays. We did, indeed, enjoy ours and are doing well. We love getting to have Chris/Daddy/whoever that man is ;) at home for 3 weeks, so we are taking advantage of our time together (relatively-speaking since he does need a rest.) I have more thoughts to share with you but will wait until another time, since it's 2:12 a.m. and, darn it, I have to get up before noon tomorrow. ;)

Thank you all for your love and friendship and for continuing to look at my blog even though I've been lame in not posting. I'm still glad that there are people like you who stop by to read it. I hope to write more in 2009--because this is going to be a very exciting year with much to blog about!

Happy New Year, y'all!