Taking A Break

I shall be taking a break from now until December 31, 2008. Life is hectic right now and so I'll need time to sort things out and relax. Until next year! :-)

Thanksgiving Frenzy

Well, today my family and I are planning our Thanksgiving meal and dishing out who would be making what. My sister Felicia is the main organizer in this. My Mom is in the organizing a little bit also. Some of the dishes will be prepared tonight like the marble pumpkin cheesecake with caramel that Felicia is making. Man her cheesecakes are wonderful!

November 26, 2008 Blog Prompt: What are you thankful for?
That would be God, my life and family.

Pears

Today my brother David wanted to feed Elijah and so he had rice cereal and pears. He ate that well which I am happy about. No allergies so far and I am grateful for that.

November 25, 2008 Blog Prompt: What is your favorite Thanksgiving dinner item?
See I don’t have one thing I like. My favorite Thanksgiving dishes are cornbread/sourdough bread pieces stuffing with LOTS of turkey gravy (with the turkey meat pieces), potato salad, dinner rolls (I just adore bread), collard greens and ham/turkey. There’s this fried cabbage blend that we have that I enjoy also. You fry regular cabbage, bacon, carrots and mix in oyster sauce. It’s yummy! Now for drinks, I enjoy the Martinelli’s sparkling ciders. There are 3 flavors I have tried: regular apple, apple and cranberry and the third is apple with grape. I believe I saw apple and mango flavored a few years back but I can’t find it now.

A New Week

Today I am just moving along handling business, nothing special.

November 24, 2008 Blog Prompt: Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions?
Yes but this year we are doing a few things differently. My sister is the chef in the family and she wants 2 turkeys and a ham. Normally we have 1 turkey and a ham. She’s making a maple and brown sugar turkey and a pomegranate glazed turkey. We shall see.

My Weekend

On Saturday I fed Elijah rice cereal and peaches by spoon. He took to it well. Next now being Sunday, he didn’t like it. I put it in a bottle and he ate it that way. Children can be so picky! I plan on feeding him pears next.

November 22-23, 2008 Blog Prompt: Enjoy the weekend!
I shall.

In My Life

Well, Veteran’s Day has passed and it had or has a significant meaning for many. Church services have been joyful to say the least. Elijah had his 6 months well baby check-up and he did well. He now weighs 15 pounds and 12.3 ounces. His height is 25 ½ inches tall and his head circumference is 16 ¾. He also is teething. His left bottom tooth is cutting. He is learning to crawl but he crawls backwards. I have started giving him baby cereal through the bottle and he has taken to that well. Now I am going to start feeding him by spoon and also feed him baby foods along with the cereal. Christopher and I went to Baby R Us and bought Elijah his first solid fruits and vegetables, as well as more cereal. I hope the foods agree with him. It’s time set him in his high school and also a walker is needed soon. With Michael, he is seeing a speech therapist and he's coming along nicely.

November 11, 2008 Blog Prompt: Today is Veterans Day. Please explain what this day means to you and if you have a layout, we would love to see it.
My father is a Vietnam vet. Luckily he didn’t go through the horrible post-war situations that many have gone through. On this day I pretty much think of my father. There's a patriotic layout I did. You can look at it through this link: http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=288401&cat=500&ppuser=98978 (copy and paste).

November 12, 2008 Blog Prompt: The thing that scares me the most is...
Not making into Heaven.

November 13, 2008 Blog Prompt: What is changing in your life right now?
My children.

November 14, 2008 Blog Prompt: What's your secret recipe?
I don’t have a secret recipe per se but there’s a dish I made up and my family enjoys it. There’s no name for it but what I put in it is hot links (you can use mild), black sliced olives, stewed canned Italian or Mexican style tomatoes and chili beans (similar to pinto beans). I serve it over rice and you can have any vegetables on the side along with garlic bread.

November 15-16, 2008 Blog Prompt: It’s the weekend!
Ahh just read the main post.

November 17, 2008 Blog Prompt: Anything goes…
Read the main post.

November 18, 2008 Blog Prompt: Right now you should be doing ______ instead of being on the computer.
Laundry, which includes washing, drying, folding, ironing and putting everything away in the drawers or on hangers.

November 19, 2008 Blog Prompt: Name five things in your refrigerator.
Nacho cheese sauce, breakfast sausage, iceberg lettuce, flour tortillas and ranch salad dressing.

November 20, 2008 Blog Prompt: If I could take tomorrow off of work, I'd...
As a stay-at-home mom, I would leave my children with my family and just go do things for me.

November 21, 2008 Blog Prompt: Can you survive without e-mail? How has it changed your life?
Yes I could. As far as in changing my life, my "letters" now reaches my recipients faster.

On This Monday

Today Michael had another medical appointment to check his ears.

November 10, 2008 Blog Prompt: Choose your favorite season. Name the season and explain why it is your favorite.
Actually I like all 4 seasons equally. I like the fall for Thanksgiving is near. I like winter because I just like cold weather. I like spring and summer for the same reason: the sunny weather.

Laid Back Day

My family had church service and it was nice. Today had shown that winter is very close. The weather was colder than usual but I am looking forward to it because Christopher had gotten some firewood and I would very much like to sit by the fireplace.

November 8-9, 2008 Blog Prompt: Another weekend…
Even more so.

Relaxation

I stayed home with my family and had a wonderful time.

November 8-9, 2008 Blog Prompt: Another weekend…
Pretty much.

Celebration

I went to Costco today with my mother and oldest son Michael. In the bakery, I saw cakes decorated with the American flag. I also heard snatches of conversations of parties being thrown today and over the weekend to celebrate Obama’s win. My, my people are really happy.

November 7, 2008 Blog Prompt: I do/do not like to take a bath because...
I rarely take baths. I am a shower woman. Now I would take a bath if I want to relax with the aromatherapy candles or if my husband I wishes to but give me the showers.

Aftermath

I have seen a lot of people pretty much letting the results of the presidential election sit in. I am amazed at the response of the world. It’s truly wonderful.

November 6, 2008 Blog Prompt: "Would you eat a bowl of live crickets for $40,000? Explain why or why not?"
No. Even though I need/want the money, I treasure my health more so.

History Made

Today Michael had his hearing test and he passed. There were some concerns because of his cleft but all is good and he won’t need any tubing in his ears. Also Elijah now officially can hold up his own bottle, that’s the 6 and 9 ounces bottles too. Well America has elected their next president and it is Barack Obama. Wow, our nation’s first African American president. I am going to sit back and watch the festivities of everyone and every country. It is a jubilee.

November 5, 2008 Blog Prompt: "When I watch television I like to watch..."
I used to watch TV but not much anymore but if I did, it would probably be the Discovery and/or History channels. Oh I like the Food Network as well. Then there are the drama shows… I would pretty much find something appropriate for my 2 years old as well.

Election Day 2008

People are at the polls voting for their candidates but the one election that is heavily on the majority minds is the presidential. Who will win? Obama or McCain? We shall see but until then I shall bid you all adieu.

November 4, 2008 Blog Prompt: "If I were a superhero, I would be..."
Wonder Woman. Hey I am a stay at home mom with 2 children, I need the super powers.

Exercising

Today I have started exercising. I did 25 crunches and in time I will continue onward to heavier methods. For now, I am taking it slow.

November 3, 2008 Blog Prompt: If you planned a field trip for you, your family or group where would you go, why, and what would you do?
Hmmm, can the fieldtrip be out of the country? If so, then Japan here we come! Now if the trip is just in the local area then I’d say we’ll take a fieldtrip to a major city nearby and take it all the sights. Later we’ll stop for lunch. I myself really like museums.

My Plans

I am thinking about exercising starting tomorrow morning. Nothing major, just running on the treadmill, hitting small weights and doing a few crunches/sit-ups. I might add bicycling.

November 1-2, 2008 Blog Prompt: Whatever tickles your fancy…
Just hanging about.

I'm Back

I have not been around lately due to my son Michael’s cleft palate surgery. He had the surgery on October 9th and now he has to relearn how to speak certain words/sounds. He has his speech therapist and whatnot but at home I and the rest of the family are to work with him on his speech. He's doing well, little boy just bounced right back. He did sound nasal in the beginning which the speech the therapist said he would. On October 21st, my mother, Michael and I saw Dr. Yokoo and she gave the go ahead for Michael’s speech therapist sessions. I spoke with Ms. Robin, Michael’s therapist. The first of his sessions starts on Tuesday, October 28th at 8:30 am. Michael is to see her every Tuesday morning until he’s 3. After that, he’ll be seeing a speech therapist through the school district. Also Michael’s cleft lip/nose surgery is scheduled for January 15th. Dr. Yokoo says Michael may need more surgeries in the future but I hope not. Elijah is now 5 months old and he has started picking up items he is curious about. It might be time to get him a teething toy. He had caught his first cold as well. Michael had the cold first and passed it on. Elijah is also “talking”. There are several milestones that Micahel and Elijah are going through right. I shall of them at a later time. Right now my sons are being themselves.

November 1-2, 2008 Blog Prompt: Well today is Saturday, November 1, 2008 and also the 2nd day of rain. Rain smells so good to me, always have. Everyone is at home relaxing, lounging around. I smell food cooking and it smells good so right I am going to check it out. Until next time.