100/4 is not 30...... just sayin

So I have a brand new niece! She was born on Thursday to Bud's brother and his wife. They named her Isabella Grace, isn't that beautiful? She is only 5 lbs 2 oz and 18 inches, but my SIL is very tiny. She was about 10 days early, which is always nice. They had a lot of fertility issues and went through IVF so this has been a very long road.

It brings back memories of having Owen. Remember how different it is the first time? How you can just hang in hospital room, rather than being in labor and wondering how the older child is doing? When we had Maddie, Bud would leave the hospital room at 5:30 am so that he could go to mom's so she could leave for work. Then he would get Owen up and ready and take him to daycare when she opened at 7:00. Not quite as idyllic.

Speaking of idyllic, aren't pregnant hormones like being bathed in serenity all day long? On Thursday my glucose monitor stopped working, I have had it for 6 years (yes I replaced the batteries). So on Friday I called my doc so he could call in a new prescription for one. This morning I called to make sure he had called my pharmacy and he had. Then I asked about refilling my prescription for testing strips, I was told that insurance will only pay for one month at a time, which is a box, of 100 strips. Well standard practice is to test 4 or 5 times a day, which means I will run out 5 days before I can renew. The "helpful" technician informed me I can pay for some if I would like..... gee thanks. I pointed out it is mathematically impossible for 100 strips to be a month supply, but maybe math is not her strong suit. I understand it isn't her fault, but seriously she could have been a bit more helpful. Or at least understood the point I was making. If she had just said "yes, you are right you will run out. I suggest calling your dr and having him call in a more specific prescription for you" that would have been great. Rather than "yeah that's how it works I guess...hm". So clearly the best option is to cry about for 20 minutes, which I did.


But I have a new niece withe a head of dark curly hair.

Technical Difficulties

Yippeee we finally have our new laptop. On Tuesday it was only 40 minutes away, then they shipped it 10 hours away. I don't understand the shipping system, oh well. We finally got it on Saturday, the same day our other laptop developed a worm! So instead of Bud and I spending our time on Saturday working on separate lap tops, Bud spent his time battling the computer demons. He thinks he finally got it fixed. Keeping my fingers crossed. I have a bunch of lessons due by midnight tonight so I am sure I will be busy until late.

Mom took the kids overnight, so that is helpful. I got a decent night sleep, so that was good. Mom called a bit ago, Maddie was having one of her screaming fits. She rarely does that in front of other people, everyone thinks she is an angel. Usually she is, but she is stubborn, and feisty and when she is mad she goes into these rages. You can see she is trying to learn how to control herself, and you can see what a struggle it is. I feel so proud of her when she manages to pull herself together.


I have neglected recipes lately, also I have neglected cooking. I am sure cereal is a nutritious dinner for growing children. Another popular option has been "whatever you find in the fridge, that is not growing stuff". Yep low standard parenting, I am so proud. I hope this summer when we are both done with our classes we can get a system that works better.

Last weekend Owen and I made these brownies . They were so good, and Owen loves helping in the kitchen, instead of semi-sweet Owen made up a cup of random chips, milk chocolate, white chocolate and peanut butter. I am sure brownies are on the gestational diabetes diet, right?

Catching Up

Wow, I guess I disappeared for awhile. Things have been super busy around here, my dad was in town. We had a lot of fun. And Maddie didn't cry at all around him, she hugged him and even gave him kisses. Of course, now he is completely smitten with her. Owen read him a few books with his mad reading skillz. We also had to rearrange all the freezer space for the great meat gift.

Mom ended up picking the kids up from school for us 3 of the 5 days last week. Bud and I are the coaches for a quiz bowl team. We have had playoff matches the last few weeks. We are now in the championship. So that was Monday, Tuesday Bud has classes until 9:30 pm, Wednesday I had a doctor appointment. Then Thursday was an appointment with the high risk doctor and another ultrasound. The baby looks great and is right on track growth wise. Then on Friday we had a memorial to attend. Whew busy week.

Also my birthday was last week and Bud got me this cute t-shirt. I like to display my dorkiness as much as possible, plus with the belly the calculator really pops. He also got me a gift certificate for a prenatal massage. I am so excited. We don't really do the valentine's day thing. I don't like going out to eat when there are tons of other people eating, it just isn't that romantic. We both have had a ton of work to get done, so mom took all four of her grandkids for Saturday night. Bud and I spent the evening grading and doing homework for our various classes. I have two online classes going right now, and Bud has a few 20 page papers due this semester. I am a bit ashamed to say that one laptop does not cut it for two people who are on the computer all the time. So we ordered another, I feel like such a consumer. It will be delivered tomorrow or the next day! I am so excited. I haven't been keeping up with some online things that I would like. I can't really tell Bud to do his paper later, I need to comment on various blogs. Luckily he is sleeping right now, he was up until 2:ooam working on school stuff.

Well Maddie smells like she needs a new diaper, so off to the trenches I go.

Playground Conversations

The other day when I picked up Owen at school I noticed a variety of band aids all over his body. He told me about falling down, yada yada, the usual. Then sums up with "also my butt itches". Thanks for that.

So as I am signing him out one of the teachers fills me in more on the falling and injuries. Then tells me that his butt has been hurting all day. They sent him to wipe, and that made it worse and he has had trouble walking around. Awesome. So I am apologizing for my son's dirty butt, wondering is this normal? Do other people discuss their child's wiping habits with the teacher in Kindergarten? I had expected him to be more proficient at this point. Am I suppose to still be double checking his technique? I need a book on these things.

Why are there a million books about taking care of a newborn, who just eats, poops, and sleeps all day screams all night, but nothing about how to make a 5 year old stop the freaking whining and sighing all day, or when they should be able to wipe themselves. Also, should he be able to rinse his own hair now? Because he still freaks out if the water touches his face. Should we take him to a therapist, or just dump water on him and tell him to suck it up? I am leaning towards the latter by the way.

Today at dinner he told us about a girl at school who wants to marry him. He doesn't want to marry her, when I asked him why, he said, "she just isn't the right person". Which is a better answer than you get from some adults.

Cookies, yay cookies

This recipe is my all time favorite cookie. It just melts in your mouth, leaving a happy feeling on your tongue. It is from my favorite cook book The Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking. It was originally printed in 1947, my edition came out in 1959. It is a total hoot. There are all these creeds, the "meal planner's creed", the "cook's creed". It is comedy gold! My favorite? This section

"Butter is more than just a nutritious food with a delicious flavor; it may be highly decorative also, if shaped with imagination. All these attractive little butter pats, balls, curls and blossoms can be made by any enterprising housewife armed with a sharp knife, a pair of wooden paddles, a butter curler, and a mold or two. When directions are followed, they are easy the first time, easier the second and fun no matter how often you make them."

What is not to love? A) any cook book saying butter is nutritious is awesome B) making butter decorative? cool C) envisioning a life where you have time to make pretty butter? where were the children, in the basement??

You can feel the effects from the Depression with all the ways to use everything, bacon fat and stale bread. There are lessons on how to make attractive canapes, keep your fridge clean (I skipped that section apparently), pick good fruits and veggies at the store. It even has a sample weekly menu for each month. I have been looking through this again the last few months and am amazed at how many of our family recipes are adaptation of this cook book. My grandma has one, and she bought one (actually it's two books) when mom got married I think. My SIL found mine on amazon or ebay a few years ago. I remember using this book as a very young girl. My mom's book still opens automatically at this cookie recipe.

Almond Crescents

1/2 C almonds (chopped fine) (Walnuts work as well)

3/4 C + 2 Tblsp. Flour

1/8 t salt

1/2 C butter

1/3 C powdered sugar

1/2 t vanilla

1/4 t almond extract (if you don't have it use extra vanilla)

extra powdered sugar

Heat oven for 10 minutes before baking at 325 degrees. Cream butter until shiny, add sugar and cream well. Stir in flavorings, then almonds and flour and salt. Knead dough til smooth. Divide dough in two. Roll each into a rope of 15 inches. Cut ropes into 1-inch lengths, then roll each piece to 2-inch lengths, curving to a crescent shape. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, bake 15 minutes until a pale golden color. Remove at once to cake rack, then roll in powdered sugar while still warm. Makes 30.

When I make this, I just roll it into balls, because I am lazy like that. Also I never get 30 cookies, more like 2 dozen, so I triple or quadruple the recipe. You have time to make these for the big game today! yummmmm