Horses, ice cream, cotton candy and horses

Every year the Children's Home Society puts on an Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social complete with carriage rides, a bounce house and clowns. Most years, we forget about the event until we're driving by and see everyone cleaning up. Not this year! (Thanks, Michael.)

Kellan enjoyed a delicious cup of chocolate ice cream with sprinkles and tried cotton candy for the first time! He didn't really like it though. Which is a-okay by me. I'd really prefer that he not like spun sugar.

Another big first: Kellan's first pony ride! He rode like a pro. Check out the video!

Our Hawaiian Getaway!

Look at us! Don't we look tan and refreshed? Betcha didn't know we recently snuck away for a Hawaiian getaway! Probably because we didn't have to go very far. Just about 10 minutes from our house, actually. Michael's tan comes from soccer coaching. Mine comes from the bottle.

This photo of us was taken at the lovely Ono Hawaiian Cafe. It's a great place with great food, and a relaxed vibe that instantly makes me feel like I'm on vacation. My former place of employment treated us to this meal, thanks to the generous gift card they gave me during my last week on the job. And I was more than happy to enjoy the gift. In fact, we all did. 

I tell you what. I am really enjoying having dinner with my two favorite guys every night, instead of shoveling down food at my computer keyboard in the newsroom. 

Kellan's first bowl of cereal

Sometimes I think I take this healthy eating thing a little too far. 

For example, last week I decided Kellan was ready for his first bowl of cereal. His spooning skills have come a long way, so I looked over the cereal stash for something reasonably healthy. I pulled out Uncle Sam. Now, I bought this because of the "toasted whole wheat and flaxseed" description on the box, which sounded pretty healthy. What the box does not say, however, is that you might as well just eat the box itself. It probably tastes better than the cereal.

But I figured if it's the kid's first bowl of cereal, he doesn't know the difference. Am I horrible, or what? This kid has no idea there's a whole world of Captain Crunch and Froot Loops out there. And I'm happy to keep it that way. 

Sure enough, he gleefully gobbled it down. At least I chopped up some strawberries to sweeten up the cardboard crunch. I'm not a totally horrible mom. I hope.

The long road of friendship

She's the friend who's seen me at my best, and my worst. The friend who remembers each of my teenage boyfriends and crushes, and I hers. The friend who hates the idea of touching other people's feet as much as I do, yet thinks nothing of taking a needle and tweezers to the sole of my foot to remove a highly irritating deck splinter. The friend who lives hundreds of miles away from me now, with a husband and kids of her own.

What a treat it is to be able to see her -- to delight in the way our lives have changed, and remember the many years we spent trying to find our way in the world. Not to mention the mistakes we made along the way. 

During our weekend visit, we took one outing together without her newborn and two-year-old. Just like the many years we spent tooling around in her Subaru sedan as teenagers, I sat in the passenger seat, she in the driver's seat. Back then, I was the navigator (she had a terrible sense of direction) pointing her to the appropriate left or right turn and sometimes warning her to watch for a stop sign or red light. Now, I may sit in the passenger seat from time to time, but she's in the driver's seat.  She knows her own way around her own life, and doesn't need my help. That's the way it should be. 

We meandered around the grocery store, throwing things in the cart not just for ourselves, but for her family -- all the while scheming ways to get her toddler to eat more green vegetables. I still remember the days we would shop for just a pint of ice cream. Or once we were (finally!) 21 years old, a case of beer. 

Our journey together from teenage years to early adulthood seems a distant but not completely foggy memory, especially when I'm sitting in the passenger seat of her car. And even though the people and circumstances of our lives have changed, what a comfort it is to know that we possess one of those rare friendships which easily withstands the many miles and years. During those few-and-far-between occasions that we are able to spend time together, it's not hard to remember the days when the two of us had nothing but a car, a long road, and time on our side. 

And maybe a pint of ice cream, just in case.

AnchorMommy is here!

My new website has been monopolizing all my free time, but it's FINALLY up and running! Here's a look at the home page.

The address is www.anchormommy.com -- take a peek, and tell your mom friends to do the same!

Preparing for a new start

Boy, have I been a hit-or-miss blogger lately. 

I have a good reason, I swear. I'm preoccupied by the fact that soon our household will transition from two incomes to one.

Well, I'm not being truly honest. I will have a little pet project once I am no longer gainfully employed, and just about every spare minute I have lately that's not occupied by cleaning, cooking or laundry has been devoted to getting that little project off the ground. 

I can't wait to unveil what I'm working on. But the final product is probably about a week away from completion -- if all goes according to plan. 

As soon as it's ready, I'll post the big announcement here! Until then, wish me luck. I have seven more workdays before my career as I know it will come to an end. Knowing me, I'll be a blubbering mess on my last day. 

But good things are just around the corner.

All right, seriously now...

Okay, I know it's a weekend and we're all busy trying to have fun and enjoy time with our loved ones. But I'm serious about this Pay It Forward thing. Now I'm gonna have to get a little pushy.

Who doesn't want something fun and thoughtful from little old me? I know it involves a promise to pay it forward in return, but that's easy enough to do, right? I swear I will make it worth your while. 

So once more...

The Rules:

1. I agree to send a lovely little something (or somethings) in the mail to the first three blog owners who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this Pay It Forward project on their blog, pick three people to send something to, and so on.
   
2. You have to promise you will post about this on your blog and link to mine.
   
3. Make sure to include your email address in the comment (if I don't have it already) so I can email you to request your shipping address.
   
4. If you don't have a blog...I don't want you to be excluded. Just make sure you leave your email address in the comments, and we'll agree to skip over the blog posting part. But you still have to pay it forward to three others!
   

Come on now! Don't let me be a slacker on this project and not see it through --help me keep my promise!

This is between me and Coffee

Dear Coffee,

You know I love you. I really do. But I think it's time you and I spend a little less time together.

I just think I'm becoming too dependent on you. Even when I try not to think about the two of us together, my thoughts inevitably drift back to you. And your scent. And what it feels like to hold you.

Okay, there I go again. See what I mean? You obviously don't need me in the same way. Can you honestly say you can't start your day without me? No. Our relationship is clearly out of balance.

I just need some space.

Don't get mad if you see me hanging out with Excedrin in the meantime. Yeah, I can admit it's a rebound relationship. But I'll have to do something to take the edge off of how much I'm going to miss you. Every... single... morning.

Love,
Me

Pay It Forward Time

A while back I signed up to be a part of a Pay It Forward project my friend Danielle suggested on her blog. This is the lovely package she sent me:

Well, I've been worried/wondering how the heck I would pay it forward, but then I realized something. I won't know how or what to give/do until I know who's on board with me. So here's where you come in.

The Rules:

1. I agree to send a lovely little something (or somethings) in the mail to the first three blog owners who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this Pay It Forward project on their blog, pick three people to send something to, and so on.
2. You have to promise you will post about this on your blog and link to mine.
3. Make sure to include your email address in the comment (if I don't have it already) so I can email you to request your shipping address.
4. If you don't have a blog...I don't want you to be excluded. Just make sure you leave your email address in the comments, and we'll agree to skip over the blog posting part. But you still have to pay it forward to three others!

That's it! So who's in?

I've been tagged!

Megan hit me with a photo tag, so here I am folks, in all my Monday morning glory:


Hair poofed up with a clippy so it will dry with volume, and I am leaning inside our computer armoire checking my email and whatnot while Kellan colors at the kitchen table behind me. I know you can't see him, but I promise, he's there... drawing pictures for his Grandmas and Grandpas.

Anyway, I'm supposed to tag some people for this exercise now: Heather, Kimberly and Jesma. (Sorry Jezz -- you're probably not up for the task with the new baby and all, but I can't think of anyone else who reads this blog that might actually do this, other than Meg, and she already tagged me.)

Here are the rules:

1. Take a picture of yourself right now. No primping or preparing.
2. Load the picture onto your blog.
3. Tag three others to play.

Remember, no primping! We'll be able to tell if you do!!!

Counting down the days

I adore spring. 

The air is fresh, the blossoms are radiant and everything seems lit up from the inside with LIFE.

The tough thing about spring is, it can be fickle. Warm and wonderful one day, windy and wicked the next. It is Mother Nature's rollercoaster ride.

In many ways, this spring's ups and downs seem to be mirroring my own life. I'm more than ready for change. But just as I start to take baby steps toward that change, I feel as if I get bogged down in mud.

I know I don't have much longer to wait. But my well of patience is drying up!

Laundry lament

Laundry.

It is always around. Only the girth of the laundry pile differs from day to day.

There are piles in the closets. In the bathrooms. In the laundry room. On the bedroom floors. On the sofa.

There are dirty piles, and there are clean piles. And the "clean" laundry piles are quickly outnumbering the dirty. Someone should do something about that.

Oh. I guess that someone is me.

At this point, I feel like it will take the better part of a day to wrangle those piles in and out of the machines, and back into closets and drawers. Who has that kind of time? I don't, apparently. That must be why it's reached critical status.

If laundry could laugh, all those evil piles would be snickering at me right now. I just know it.

Navigating the stormy seas

Okay. So I know to any parent, this is no big revelation. But wow -- having a two year old is a bit like being being adrift on the ocean in a tiny lifeboat with no paddle.

At least that's the metaphor that comes to mind at the moment. I think there's probably a dozen more I could come up with off the top of my head.

It's the irrationality that blows my mind. Lately, the fits include shrieks of: "NO! I don't want milk!!!" Followed immediately by: "My millllllk! I want my MILLLLKK!" That kind of stuff. On repeat.

Not only that -- sometimes there is absolutely no way whatsoever to talk him down. Today I muddled through two fits that lasted at least a half an hour each. Plus one mini-fit (probably about 10 minutes' worth) because he didn't want to leave the bank. Well, more specifically, he didn't want to leave the four toy trucks they have in the bank lobby.

Today, time outs did not work. He was actually in one big long one (three time outs back-to-back) because he would not sit up and stop crying long enough for us to have our "talk" about the unacceptable behavior. It was like reasoning with a tree. A shrieking, howling, 1,000-decibel, rolling on the floor, tree. I got so tired of the never-ending discipline session that I finally just lectured about the prior unacceptable behavior as he rolled on the floor. I told him I was leaving the room to go do something fun and that he could come play when he was done crying. After a few minutes, he came out. Still crying, but at probably a third the decibel level of before.

And tonight's fit? Just thinking about that one makes me exhausted all over again. But in a nutshell, we went from watching him run and play all over the backyard to battling over a much-needed sweatshirt to ward off the evening chill. That evolved into a scream session throughout the normally pleasant bedtime routine. Not pretty.

That said, I think the highs are equally as intense as the lows. I mean, aside from the rough moments, we had a great day together. We played at the park, had some lovely conversations (which prompted some sweet compliments on his communication skills from a passing shopper at the grocery store) and made a killer house out of Mega Bloks. 

Even if the waters get choppy from time to time, we're still having a wonderful journey.

But if anyone happens to see an oar float by, toss it to me, would you?

The joy of chocolate

We had a wonderful Easter. Kellan had an especially wonderful Easter.

He experienced M&M's for the first time.

Once he realized what was inside his Easter eggs, there was no stopping him. He popped those suckers non-stop! In the photo above, Michael is trying to coax him into giving up his handful -- no luck.

What can I say. He takes after his mom. 

A simple antidote to Mommy Mania

I had a particularly crazy day last week, which was especially nuts during the hour just prior to my departure for work.

I managed to get meals/snacks packed, and make myself somewhat presentable, just before whisking Kellan out of the house and into his carseat. As we pulled away from the house, my mind was spinning with worry over a problem I knew was waiting for me at the office, mixed with nagging anxiety that somehow I'd forgotten to do/take something. 

Then two simple words cut through the frenzied chatter in my head:

"Mommy! Pretty!"

Nothin' like an unsolicited compliment from a two-year-old to take the edge off a case of Mommy Mania.

What I was doing two years ago today

April 10, 2007 -- Kellan's very first real bath.

If you can call sitting in a shallow, sorta warm, plastic tub of water a bath.

His belly button stump took WAY too long to fall off. About a month. (The pediatrician griped at us about it, but I still don't think it was really our fault.) Hence, the extended delay between his birth and first bath experience. 

And for those of you that don't know, the First Law of Bathing Newborns is, don't immerse their belly buttons until they're somewhat human-looking. I think the Second Law of Bathing Newborns is, cover up your boy's you-know-what if you'd rather not get a shower during the bath process. Cause it'll happen.

Just look at that face. Priceless.

By the way, there are no fancy iPhoto filters involved here -- we ran the shower to super-steam the bathroom so Kellan wouldn't get cold. Were we first time parents, or what?

Now for some fun. 

Ever see that 'guess the caption' segment on AC: 360? Make one up for this picture and leave it in the comments section. Just for fun.

A rainbow in my dishwasher

Every time I open my dishwasher, I am greeted with a rainbow of color.

Real estate on the top rack is extremely hard to come by, because it is usually packed to the gills with Take n' Toss containers, cups and lids.

And don't even get me started on the mass plastic confusion in my cupboard. The cupboard which used to have plenty of room for our glasses, plates and bowls. These days, plastic rules the day in there.

Do I like the convenience of these containers? Yes.

Do I miss my dishwasher and cupboard space? Yes. Oh yes.

In fact, I seem to remember a time when we would go one or two entire days between dishwasher cycles. I don't know. It's kinda hazy, but I seem to remember that happening quite often. 

And I'm pretty sure there were very few plastic rainbows involved. 

Waffling on the issue

Many of you know how much we Rayguns love a good pancake.

Well, there's a new breakfast food around here to love. I brought out the waffle iron this weekend, and it was a wild success. 

As I plugged it in, I was very doubtful about my waffling prowess. The last time I attempted them, the batter basically just glued itself to the waffle iron and did not result in anything remotely edible. (I think it was too thin.) And boy howdy -- getting glued-on batter off a waffle iron is no easy task. I was so disheartened, I put the appliance away and it hasn't seen the light of day for two whole years.

This weekend, I summoned my courage and made some whole wheat oatmeal pancakes. The batter did not turn to glue! We could actually eat the results! Success!

But I'm a little sad for my friend the pancake. I think my trusty pancake recipes will be put on the back burner for a while, and my griddle may get a little dusty.

But it's time the waffle iron and I get re-acquainted.

Yummy (and easy) homemade granola!

I love granola.

I DON'T love how durn expensive it is.

But you know what? Oats are cheap. Especially when you buy them in bulk. Add in a few pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sliced almonds and currants -- and you've got all you need to make cheap (and less sugary) granola at home.

It's great as straight up cereal, and Kellan and I especially love to sprinkle it on our yogurt.

Now, the best thing about the way I made mine, is that I employed the use of my handy dandy slow cooker. I'm convinced it's the way to go for making granola at home, because the oats and whatnot are much less like to scorch. You still have to stir it a lot, but the risk of scorching is much lower. Plus, stirring a big pot of oats is a lot easier than stirring the oats on a cookie sheet.

Once again, I cannot take credit for this recipe. I'm a follower of the CrockPot Guru (that's my name for her) Stephanie O'Dea and this is her recipe.

You're wearing THAT?

Oh, the things two year olds do. We're just venturing into the world of silly made-up stories and the costumes that come with them. It's something Kellan is genetically prone to, considering how much his daddy loved costumery as a little boy. Well, lets face it -- his daddy is still partial to a good costume, especially of the rock star variety.

Tonight while I was at work, Michael decided it was time for another search for his Mysterious Missing Bike Helmet. The MMBH has been MIA for weeks now, and it's really getting on Michael's nerves -- and mine -- because it apparently has magical abilities. It has simply disappeared.

While he was rooting around through various nooks and crannies in the garage, Kellan was quietly rooting around in Michael's bag of soccer gear, pulling out all of the pennies -- one, by one, by one. (Remember pennies? They're those little jerseys players often use to delineate who's who in a scrimmage.)

And what do you do with a brightly colored, silky (and probably kinda stinky) soccer accessory? Well, if you're a two-year-old, you put them on. Of course.

Although Kellan couldn't count how many he was wearing, (his counting goes something like, "One... two... seven... nine...") but Michael tallied up 18. Enough to outfit a whole team.