What are little boys made of?

When we were little, and nursery rhymes were being taught, we learned two things:

Little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice. And,
Little boys are made of snakes and snails and puppy dog tails.

My question is:

Which part of that makes them stink all the time?!

Gone are the days when my sweet, soft-skinned little boy smelled like lavender Johnson's & Johnson's body wash, bubble gum bubble-bath,  and the amazing scent that is Johnson's & Johnson's baby lotion. (Seriously...what do they put in that?!) He no longer has that sweet, breath-taking aroma of a soft, swaddled, baby bundle of joy.

Nope...not any more.

I swear, these days, no matter what, my son just...stinks. Constantly. And he is only four. What am I supposed to do about that?

And, I don't just mean stinks as in sweaty-little-boys-that-play-outside-all-day stink. (They haven't been able to play outside past 9am in three and a half months, thanks to this ridiculous, hottest-summer-in-history weather.) That smell makes sense, and has it's own nostalgia that comes with it. It's a smell that he'll never have again (before it turns into straight-up, teenaged body odor), much like those tantalizing baby smells.

But, no, it's also something far worse than that (at least, to me.) And, weirder as well. It's not his head, his pits, or anything like that. It's his hands and his feet. And they smell like...

macaroni and cheese. *gag*

But, more like...two-day-old, still-in-the-pot-on-the-stove macaroni and cheese. Shells and cheese, to be more specific. With that ooey, gooey, creamy sack of cheese that it comes with. *gag*

I've known for a while that he has this problem at the end of the day when he's played hard. Or, if we actually are doing something outside and he gets all sweaty and nasty. But today, was different. Today--tonight, rather--I noticed that his hands smelled like that right out of the shower!

What is that about?!

I was clipping his nails after his shower tonight, and it was just so gross. And he was fresh out of the shower, too...bare butt on the towel on the counter-top and all. He had no reason to be all sweaty. But, there it was. That nasty Velveeta smell on his sticky, stinky little fingers and toes.

I tease him about his macaroni-toes, too; in a loving, motherly kind of way. But, he's always putting those nasty little things on me. And that smell lingers. *gag*

Don't get me wrong, I love the little stinker. (haha) I can deal with the sticky fingers, random sticky spots on his face or in his hair, the dirt, the grime, the grease...etc. But there is something about the macaroni-hands and -toes that really get to me. *gag*

It's just...gross.

(And...I can't eat macaroni and cheese anymore. *gag*)

I sure hope that this is something he grows out of... =)

Prayers Needed...and Water

    Photo credit: www.deannaroy.com

Central Texas needs nation-wide prayers right now. This is a photo taken from Loop 360, showing the Bastrop fires behind the Austin skyline. As of tonight, more than 25,000 acres have been burned, and 476 homes, and it shows no signs of stopping.And that's just THAT fire. There are MANY more in the area:

 

photo credit: www.wunderground.com via www.deannaroy.com

We need rain. We need rain bad.

From our ynn.com News Network:

In Austin, so far this year:...we've had 80 days of 100+ (all-time record)
...we've had 23 days at 105+ (all-time record)
...we've had 27 consecutive 100+ days (all-time record)
...it's the hottest summer ever with an average of 89.5 degrees
...our hottest August was also the hottest month on record

 It doesn't say how many days without rain...but I can't even remember the last day we had rain. We have been in a severe drought for at LEAST the past three months...

Schools all across the Central Texas area have been shut down through at LEAST tomorrow, because they are housing evacuees who have had to leave their homes.

My husband has two--of ten--people on his shift who lost their homes in the fire last night at Steiner Ranch, off of FM620.

Dear Lord, please be with us right now in our time of need. Please keep our firefighters and first responders safe, please be with those who have lost everything, and with those who are still in the path of destruction. And, please Lord, let it RAIN!

Amen.

All the comforts of home...but, not really...

{{I have so much to put out, and not enough hours in the day to finish a post. *le sigh* I have about four unfinished drafts here on my blogger account, and nearly double that in notes on my iPhone. So much to say, so little time to say it in. =) }}

I miss my laptop. Those were the days...sitting on the couch, half watching t.v., half working on homework and half posting a blog. {{wait, was that three halves? something's not quite right there...hehe}} Sitting at the desktop isn't nearly as relaxing and takes away from some of the therapeutic qualities of blogging. I can't get comfortable, my legs are falling asleep (as is my rear), my back aches, my shoulders get tense...

Who wants to voluntarily put themselves through that? Sheesh...

You can tell it is used mostly by a college student:
stickies on the monitor, homework on my "extra" desk...

It doesn't help that we don't have a computer desk. Our "quantity (of dollars) over quality" piece of crap furniture from Wal-Mart finally became a bigger hassle than it was worth and we had to chuck it. (Well, we started to chuck it, and then somehow it wound up in the ginormous, useless area of extra space in my bedroom, and now it collects papers, trash, bills and dust. Fantabulous.) Of course, we've had it for nearly seven years, but it was press-board and aluminum...it was bound to give way sooner or later.

And, we have yet to formally replace it. We aren't sure where we would put a computer desk at the moment and when we buy a new one, we want it to be a nice, permanent one. So, for the time being, Our computer is set up on a cheap affordable, wooden tray table behind the couch, and we use a hard, wooden dining room chair with it.

What's even better is, that when I do have to actually do homework at the computer at home, I have to pull up another cheap affordable, wooden tray table to set next to it so that I have a place for books, papers, and writing. Ah, the life of a college student.

Until next time,
peace, love, and comfort!

♥ S.

They grow up so fast...

Apparently, I have one of those self-service preschoolers who thinks he's big enough to take on the world by himself. Or at least, he's ready to tackle breakfast.

Last night, P worked overtime for the department on his day off. He was out from 8pm to 4am this morning. So, he'll be in bed until 11:30am when he has to get up to go with us to Puppy School for Arley.

This morning, I had to leave the house at 6:30am. My Mother-in-law had to be at the airport for an 8:30am flight so that she can get back to San Francisco for work.

On a typical weekend, Z wakes up around 7:30am. (Not that I can rouse him easily that early on the weekdays, when I actually want him up that early!) I was, of course, hoping that he would sleep a little later than that today for two reasons: (1) he went to bed late (for him) last night -- around 9:45pm, and (2) the two reasons listed above -- I was gone, and P was down for the count.

I didn't want to wake him and take him, because he won't get a nap before our 12:30pm Puppy School, and he has a hard enough time most days when he does get plenty of sleep...

But, as we all know, you can hope in one hand and...well, you know.

So, I get home (after a quick run by Whataburger for some taquitos for breakfast) to see just how independent my nearly-four-year-old has truly become.

I came in the front door to find him standing at the coffee table with a box of cereal, bag out.

The culprit, with his bounty.

Now, you may be wondering, "Why such a fuss about a box of cereal?" Well, we keep our cereal on top of the refrigerator.

So I ask him, "Did Daddy help you get that down?" (Granted, I know that P is still in bed...I know because though the door is open to our bedroom, it is dark and I hear snoring...)

"No, I did."

"How did you do that?" I don't really want to know the answer, though!


"I got a chair, from the table...a big chair." That's what I was afraid of!

So, I go into the kitchen, and sure enough...

The scene of the crime.

There is the chair, and two of three boxes of cereal are pulled down. Holy. Hell.

He then informs me that he had to have a chair because his "little feet and little legs" are too small to get up on the counter by themselves. The chair helped make him "bigger, like Daddy" and he was able to reach both "special" cereals. (That's the ones with the sugar in them, haha.)

He had already poured himself a small bowl of the Cinnamon Crunch and was now, I suppose, going to add some Frosted Flakes to the mix. He even had a small glass of water. (At least he didn't get into the fridge to try to get juice or milk!!)

Of course, the bowl and the glass are in the cabinets, on the OTHER side of the kitchen, so he had a multi-step plan all worked out! I didn't know he knew where we kept everything, let alone had the presence of mind to do it all for himself!

Enjoying the fruits of his labor.

So, I let the little man eat his hard-earned breakfast. (The juice is from Whataburger...I think he earned it! hehe)

I asked him why he didn't have Daddy help him, and his answer was so sweet beyond his years: he said he went into the bedroom and Daddy was "sleeping so hard and so good" that he didn't want to wake him up. So, he just decided that he was "a big boy now...big enough to do it" for himself. He was so proud!

{{But, have no fear, we did have the talk about climbing on the counter and the chairs as well as getting glass down from the cabinets alone. He got kind of sad, which broke my heart, because I think he thought he was in trouble. I let him know how impressed I was that he was so big now, but that I was afraid of something happening...like if he fell...and he got hurt. I'm hoping that, despite the fact that he now knows he can get it by himself, he knows that he really shouldn't again.}}

I guess I'm going to have to bungee the chairs to the table when I go to bed at night, just to be safe...

Or maybe, just leave breakfast out for him...maybe that would be easier! =)

'Til next time,
Peace, love, and independence!

♥ S.

So much to say...

...so little time to say it in.

I have SO many half-started blogs from the past several months. It's so sad. As soon as I get going, I think of something else I could should be doing instead, and save a "draft." Now, I have so many "drafts" calling my name. I can't wait until the next three weeks are up, the semester is over, and I can catch up! lol

I suppose there will be a surge of back-dated posts. =)

C'est la vie.

'Til next time,
Peace, love, and happy thoughts!
♥ S.

Sleepless in Austin

I'm sitting here, thinking of all the ideas I have had for blogs in the past month or so that I meant to write down so that I could get started on. Some were just daily things going on that were noteworthy and others were thoughts I had that I felt like sharing. Of course, I never write them down when I think of them, so I never remember to get on here. And I won't try to blog from my phone anymore, because good things don't happen when I try to use my Google phone for a Google blog post. Hmmm...

But, I can't say that I've just been sitting around postponing blogging, either; I can't say I haven't been extremely busy. School stuff is really picking up, now, and life doesn't seem to slow down around me either. I have so many things to do, and so many things to catch up on...I guess that's what Spring Break is for. =) hehe

Right now, though, I am sitting here, exhausted from today's activities (I'll get to that in a moment) but unable to calm my mind enough to go to bed.

I got a phone call from my dad's wife yesterday. (I don't use "step-mom"...it just doesn't sound as nice...makes me think of Snow White or Cinderella. lol) My dad went to the emergency room yesterday afternoon with chest/heart pains. Initial tests were okay, and they were hoping it was just a panic attack. They kept him overnight for observation and to run more tests today.

Well, this evening, I got another call: he has blockage at the front of his heart and they are going to do surgery tomorrow morning to insert a catheter and a stint. I know that this type of thing is as routine these days as a tonsillectomy or having your wisdom teeth taken out, but I can't help but worry. That's my Daddy. And that's his heart. I don't want anything to happen to him!

So, if anyone reading this is the praying type, I wouldn't turn down a few prayers said tonight or tomorrow for my dad. 

I wish that I could be there, but he's half-way across the country. But I'll definitely be thinking of him all night and all day and anxiously awaiting the news that it all went as 'routine' as it is supposed to be. Considering my sleeplessness tonight and tomorrow's events, I preemptively sent out emails to professors letting them know that I won't be in class tomorrow. I can't imagine that I'd be able to concentrate at all in class...let alone the hour and a half drive down to the campus (and back).

***************

In other news (as in school news...the only other news I ever have, lol):

School is off and running for the semester. I'm interning this semester, which is fun. I'm with a 3rd grade class, and they're awesome. The teacher is really sweet and easy going, which makes it easy for me to just assimilate into the class each day that I'm there. The kids are hilarious...I forgot how funny they get when they are pretty sure that they know everything. They speak so matter-of-factly about everything and they are constantly cracking me up! So far, no problems...they seem to really like me. We'll see if they still feel that way once I have to make them do a lesson and work, and they realize that I'm actually a (duh-duh-duuuuuuh!) TEACHER! =)

Twice a week this semester, I am also driving an hour and a half south to the Main Campus for two math classes. Those are some exhausting days! The drive alone takes some zap out of you. And, on the first day of classes, I wasn't sure where to park, so I picked (naturally) the commuter lot on the furthest end of campus from either of my buildings. (No, I wasn't aware of that at the time...I had no idea where I was going!) I was also pretty positive that, no matter which direction I was walking, I was constantly going uphill and up stairs. I don't remember going down at all on that first day! lol

It's better now, though. =) I've managed to find my way around a little better, though I'm not very adventurous. I have my favorite watering hole, my favorite computer lab (they have Macs! Yay!) and I know how to get to the bookstore and the library. That's what's most important, right? =)

And I don't park at the far end of campus anymore. I never was quite able to figure out the bus schedules, but I found a better parking lot (down hill from the campus! yay!) that is closer to my buildings, and all the walking is giving me a decent workout! Who needs a treadmill when you go to college in the Hill Country?! I've got all the inclines I need! =)


***************

On that note, I guess I can sign off here for the night. I should blog on a nightly basis...it makes my eyes sleepy. =)

My next post will incorporate some photos from the Z man's recent trip to Lake Tahoe to go skiing with the G'ma...friends and family can check it out in more detail at the Family Blog, though! =)

However, I will leave you with the newest member to the household:

This is Arley. (Any guesses on where his name comes from?) He's a five-month old Pit-mix (we think with Dalmatian, but have no confirmation yet) that we rescued earlier in the month. (The day after Z left for vacation, actually...replaced a kiddo with a puppers, hehe!)


He has a story all his own, but that, and the way we wound up with him, is a full blog for another day. For the time being, just enjoy the cuteness! =)

Peace, love, and puppers!
♥ S.

Thinking of the future...

I've been doing a lot of thinking, lately. Unfortunately, it hasn't been the extremely productive kind of thinking. Generally, my 'a lot of thinking' revolves around worrying about things which are completely out of my control. Luckily, this time my 'a lot of thinking' isn't ulcer-inducing. But, like I said, it's not exactly productive either...

I've been giving a lot of thought in the past few months about all the things that I want to finally be able to accomplish after this next year and I am no longer trying to balance a job, a family, and school. After graduation in December, I am going to finally know what it feels like to have some real free time. Of course, there is going to be that whole looking for a job thing. And, I'll still have the whole working while I can thing. And obviously the whole family thing...

But, once I finally have that teaching job that I've been chasing for so long now, I've been formulating what I am going to try to do with those 15 weeks annual paid 'vacation' time. =) See, not really productive. But, I guess it's nice to have some positive thoughts going on in this head of mine once and a while.

So, I've been keeping a kind of running mental list that I thought I may as well put down in writing. It will continue to be a running list, I'm sure, as I come up with and across new and exciting things to occupy my 'free time' with, since it's been about 10 years since I really had any true free time. Usually, if I'm doing something in my 'free time,' it's actually just wasted or borrowed time from when I should be doing something else. (Like, right now, I should be sleeping...or at least folding the mountain of laundry on the couch or doing the dishes from last night's dinner...)

Here are some of the things I have come up with so far:

1. Finish Z's baby book
(I started during my ninth month of pregnancy and had the intentions of spending the week I took early for maternity leave to work on it and get it all set up for just plugging pictures in to. Of course, he decided that if Mommy wasn't working anymore, he may as well make his debut now, and I went into labor with him my first day off. I tried to keep up with it after he was born, but I underestimated the amounts of 'free time' I would be able to find. His book, as it stands, goes from my pregnancy pictures to the nursery pictures to the story of his birth...and that's where it ends.)

2. Start P's and my wedding album
(Yeah, that's right. As of September 2011 we will have been married for 8 years, and I haven't even so much as purchased the album or papers or anything. I have all the photos in prints...I think. And there are actually still some disposable cameras, possibly, that need to be developed from the reception that were finished off on the honeymoon.)

3. Paint the living room
(P and I picked out the colors we want to paint about a year and a half ago, when we redecorated the living room. We just never 'got to it' though. So, if I have a three-day weekend, a week-long break, or whatever...I still have the samples and I could just knock it out.)

4. Be more crafty
(I know that this one is kind of generic, but I always come across all these ideas that I merely wish that I had the time to take up. When buying fabric for a project for school, I came across lots of sewing projects that I think would be neat to give a shot {{I used to be pretty handy with a sewing machine in school!}}. And, I follow a few cute, crafty blogs here that always have such great ideas and I'm always wanting to give a try. One of my most recent favorites are these necklaces and rings that I stumbled upon. And this blogger always has some cutsie little things that she does for her husband that I would like to be able to whip up and try with my own hubby. Not to mention that I've been trying to get into stamping and card making. I just want to have time to be more crafty and let my creative outlet just go once and a while.)

5. Be a better "point-and-shoot" photographer
(Again, a little vague, I suppose. But what I'd really like to do is take one of those non-traditional classes that are offered at both the community college and even the major university in town that teach people how to get the most out of their simple 'point-and-shoot' cameras. I tinker, and I've learned a lot on how to use some of the functions to the best of my ability, but I'd really like to learn how to use lighting, manual settings, white balance, and all that jazz...)

6. Take cake decorating classes
(**I remembered this one later this morning, and decided to add it in rather than start a new post**
I have always wanted to be able to decorate cakes! I used to have a dream of retiring and owning my own bakery, doing wedding cakes and big, expensive, fondant cakes for swanky occasions. =) I love to bake...more than just cake from a box and cookies from a tube! lol I have about 8 friends on Facebook that 'do' cakes, and they post pictures of them all the time. It really only fuels my desires. Perhaps I'll even take a baking class that can help me learn to be more creative in my cake baking! Perhaps, one day, my dream can be realized and I can have my own little place to sell my wares...or even get a TV show like 'Ace of Cakes' or 'Cake Boss'?? hehe Who said dreams have to be small?!)

Well...that's all my sleep-deprived brain can remember for the time being. At least now I have a written list that I can continue to add to, and then come back to when I actually have this 'free time.' =)

Til next time!
Peace, love, and wishful thinking!

♥ S.