Works For Me Wednesday -- Ice Cream Cake!

Now I know that it is absolutely FREEZING in most part of the country, but in case you are craving a great, easy and cheap ice cream treat here it is for ya!

Get a box of ice cream sandwiches. Line the bottom of the cake pan with the sandwiches and then apply hot fudge syrup and caramel on the sandwiches, then top that with cool whip and then apply some more fudge and caramel on the top of the cool whip, just enough to "decorate" it. Freeze this over night and it is a fabulous treat!

It has been a hit for me. It takes 5 minutes to prepare and is a cheap treat! Now this is not healthy and I know many of us are attempting to loose some weight this year, but the kiddos will love it!

Enjoy! And stay warm!

For more "Works for Me Wednesday" tips visit Shannon!

Wordless Wednesday -- Tissue anyone?

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I'm a Walking Infomercial

I have been known to sound like a commercial and sometimes even an infomercial. I take great pride in such accusations! If I like something I am going to tell the entire world. In the past I was a walking commercial for Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. They really do work folks, I promise! or Beaudreaux's Buttpaste for diaper rashes...it's worth every penny!!

This past week my husband told me I was an infomercial for coupons. Yes I LOVE coupons. I have not mastered the skill of saving lots and lots of $$, but 50 cents here and there makes me a happy woman! Any time I can get my hands on a good coupon I am all for it!

So here's to coupons and infomercials!! Happy Monday!

This is NEWS?

I never really understand how some stories become important news. I never thought I'd see the day that a celebrity nearly loosing a ring down a drain would be news! Well today was the day. Check it out here and for those of you who watched "Regis and Kelly" I am envious, you were a part of some breaking news! I'll be sure to call CNN the next time I call a plumber to fish out the crud shoved in the toilet by the kid!

Ouch!

Hoss had a little "accident" last night. I was trying to get him to sleep so I had him in the bed with me (it was already past 10p.m. and I was frustrated). He was rolling around the entire bed, sliding down between the foot board and the mattress having a good time. I thought he was finally settling down when I heard the loudest smack ever. I looked and he had wacked his forehead on the foot board. He has a decent knot on the right side of his forehead that emerged within 30 seconds of the smack. It has a nice bruise too. I immediately pulled out the baby medical book and it said if he did not loose consciousness and was alert he should be fine. I woke him up a couple times during the night to be sure he was okay and his eyes dilate okay so I am assuming he is fine. It's his first significant injury. Poor kid! I am tempted to take a picture to document this momentous occassion, but this is probably just the first of many injuries this curious boy will recieve! Oh wait, I just remembered he fell down the steps at Thanksgiving. Well, he didn't get hurt that time. Just scared me to death! Oh my nerves are shot!

Wordless Wednesday -- Thumbs Up!

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Works For Me Wednesday -- Money Savers

I am sure we all have different ways to pinch a penny. I have "discovered" a website through Parents magazine that helps give us all ideas and links to ways to save. The website has several forums related to coupons, freebies, sweepstakes, etc. I have been able to get coupons from several different companies such as Gerber, Banquet and General Mills just for purchasing their items. Go check out Vicky's Deals and get some great ideas and tips for money saving and possibly money making skills.

For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas visit Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer!

The table

When I married my husband 2+ years ago I knew that he would be moving his "things" in to our (previously my) 2 bedroom apartment, but what I did not know what how attached he was to his "things," or at least this one in particular:

Yes it is just a coffee table and I did not previously own one so it was good to have such a piece of furniture in our living room. I was glad he brought it along, but I did not realize that it would be a requirement for our living room for the rest of my life. We have moved the coffee table around the living room after our son began to walk because it became a dangerous item when he was falling. It has many different homes within our's. We used the coffee table to "block" the Christmas tree from toddler hands, which was very effective! We placed it in front of the entertainment center to keep toddler hands from opening each compartment and emtpying out all the videos, cds, etc. We placed it in front of the fire place this time to keep toddler feet from climbing in. We placed it in the corner of the room, just because there was no where else. All of these uses were acceptable, perfect uses for such a piece of furniture until one day a few weeks ago.

When the Christmas tree came down and we had other ways to prevent the toddler hands or feet from entering the danger zones I moved the coffee table to the dining area, against the wall, behind the high chair. Now we live in a small 2 bedroom apartment so this is very visable from the living room and is literally 3 feet from the couch. I thought it was a perfect home, out of the way from a child's falling head yet with easy access for those important times when a coffee table is necessary (you know the times, when the kitchen table is covered with "stuff" and you need to eat somewhere else). Well, that did not meet the husband's approval.

I guess now is an opportune time to give you all the history of this coffee table. The table was purchased by my in-laws with one of their first living room pieces in the mid-70's. As you may be able to see the table has had better times. My husband spent many a day as a boy carving in the table with his scout's knife. He used it as a tent structure, a fort, and a place to lay under to watch tv. The table has nearly always been present in my husband's life. Several years in the family's den and then in his bedroom when new furniture was purchased. I think it may have even gone to college with him. But I just did not realize that it was such a significant piece of furniture.

So fast forward several years and I move the table out of the "living room" (which is not separated from the dining or kitchen areas by any doors) and it becomes a small crisis. I did not put it in the dumpster (though the thought has crossed my mind) or in the fire place (novel idea), but simply placed it out of the living room. I was blamed for not having respect for his belongings (I thought when we were married they became "our" belongings -- this was not a good argument). Despite the disagreement, the safety of our son and the lack of any other place for the table have left the table in the dining area behind the high chair waiting for it's next purpose!

Ignorance is Bliss?

I am a firm believer that God is a comedian! Lately he has shown me this more and more.

I am a person who always has great ideaology on how things should go. I have said numerous times sentences which started like this, "When I have children I will do..."

Ha! Ha! Ha! I shake my head at my total ignorance.

Statement #1 -- "When I have children I will not let them sleep in the bed with me." -- Hysterical! I did well with this when I was on maternity leave from work, but the first time Hoss Cat got sick with a cold when I was back at work I freaked out. What if he has trouble breathing during the night? I won't know. So I instantly put him in our bed and that was the beginning of the end. Now he is 15 months old and is still sleeping with us and I have never had a good night sleep since that cold at 3 months. And don't even think about trying the crib...scream fest begins! I did "intervene" when he was 9 months old and started letting him cry in his crib. After a week of gradually letting him do so he was sleeping alone again (a miracle!). I don't remember what it was that broke that trend. I am guessing one night he would not go to sleep so I put him in bed with us so we could sleep and then he knew how to break us! How the manipulation begins at such a young age I will never understand!


Statement #2 -- "When I have children they will not watch any TV until they are 2!" -- Again I laugh hysterically at this statement! It is great ideaology, but the practicality...I remember the moment Hoss Cat "discovered" the television. It was Christmas 2005, he was 2 months. I put him in front of the Christmas tree to take his pictures dressed as Santa (he was so cute!). He had never been so close to the TV and apparently his vision had not developed to the point that he could see it from his area of the room...far away from the TV. His eyes would not leave the TV at all until I turned it off, then he would look at it waiting for the colors to come back. Well, I think that may have been the beginning of the end! I guess he comes by it naturally. There are few moments in our house in which a television is not on somewhere. It doesn't matter what is on the TV he will watch it...at least for a couple minutes before boredom sets in. Last night he watched an entire round of Jeopardy. Maybe he will be a genius after all...which leads me to...

Statement #3 -- "When I have children I will raise them to be geniuses." My idea was to teach my kids everything they could possibly know before they turned 2...colors, #s, ABC's, names of everyone in the family, animals and sounds, and on and on. I guess I still do have time to work on this and succeed, but since Hoss Cat calls a duck "momma" I have a lot of work to do in these next 9 months.

Statement #4 -- "When I have children I will spend every waking moment with them." -- Again great idea, but really not possible. I am a working mother, not by choice, but by necessity. I think I recognized that I would be a working mother when I made that statement, but what I did not realize is just how much work a full time job and being a full time mom meant (is there such a thing as a part-time mom?). As soon as the clock hits 5 I pick up my son and go home where I feed, bathe, entertain and play with the loving child (and in return he calls a duck "momma"!). And when the feeding and bathing and entertaining are done, can't a mother just sit back and work a Suduko puzzle? Yes she can, but then the red headed baby pulls every toy out of his toy box and onto the floor. I tend to let Hoss Cat entertain himself for a while in the evenings so I can also unwind...but how I feel so guilty. I think of statement #2 and then I try to begin to educate Hoss Cat admist the toy disaster...no wonder he calls a duck "momma."

The moral of the story is that I have been humbled to become a mother. I think of all these statements and want to go back in time and beg for forgiveness from those people I "judged" for co-sleeping or letting their kids watch tv. In these short 15 months of Parenting I learned that at times it's all about survival! Please don't judge me! :-)

Wordless Wednesday

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Clumsy Smurf

As a child and into my adult years I have been what can be classified as a "klutz." I not only would fall, but I would injure myself doing typical activities of an 8 year old such as spraining my knee because I sat crossed legged (or the more politically incorrect "indian style") for 3 hours at the school talent show. That sprain consisted of wearing a knee brace which took over the majority of my leg and having to sit in a special seat in class because I could not bend my leg to sit at the desk. Despite the knee sprain, I experienced no further injuries except a few scrapes or bruises until my college years when I fell down stairs and sprained my ankle, but I have never broke a bone (unless the undiagnosed "jammed" pinky finger I received in 7th grade playing basketball really was broken as I insisted and not just jammed). To many who witnessed several of my falls, this is short of miraculous. I am still known for being a klutz, so much so that when my sister was recently pregnant with my neice she called my mom and said "I pulled a Jessica," meaning, yes, she had fallen. Now I also fell when I was pregnant, but only twice, for a clumsy person, that is a great accomplishment, at least to me it was and no damage was done, despite meeting my annual insurance deductible prior to the scheduled c-section (wait, maybe that was a blessing!).

My klutziness has lead to many jokes. I was a very easy-going kid and I would usually just laugh along with everyone else or even start the joke myself. The most popular of the jokes was made by my cousins and family by calling me "Clumsy Smurf." I grew up in the age of the little blue people; however, if you did not, as you can imagine Clumsy Smurf was just that...clumsy. However, in recent years and in retrospect my dad has decided that I may not have really been a klutz, but because everyone called me "Clumsy Smurf" I just took on that persona. I tend to disagree...I do believe I am a bit clumsy. I have gotten more "graceful" (Ha!) throughout the years, but I don't think my tendency to fall down was the result of a mental block lead to being made fun of. There are several reasons which may lead to my grace-less-ness.

1. I have always carried around a little more baggage than others and this can lead to being a bit off balance.
2. I don't look before I step, I never have (and I believe I may be passing this along to my son, but I think he may just believe he can walk on top of anything (a stuffed animal, the wooden puzzle pieces, every book he owns) which typically leads to a fall).
3. I am constantly in a hurry...for some reason I live life in fast forward (unless I am at home on the couch, then I live life in couch potato mode)
4. I am left handed.

Yes I said I am clumsy because I am left handed. Now don't get me wrong I am PROUD to be left handed. I have always loved having a quirk. I even wrote a 20 page paper on "Lefthandedness" when I was in high school and went as far to have a party on August 13th, "International Lefthander's Day" in which all my friends had to do everything left handed. I even had everyone sign in with their left hand. However, in all my research for the 20 page paper several sources cited that left handed people often were more clumsy. The sources tended to state that this was the result of people "switching" hands for certain tasks causing their brain waves to confuse. I have had to adapt to the right handed world plenty in my years. I had to learn to use scissors right handed (but not that successfully), use a computer mouse right handed and I don't even complain that can openers and pencil sharpeners are made for right handed people.

My conclusion, I am just a klutz, there is nothing "mental" with me (hold the laughter please) AND Clumsy Smurf must have been left handed.

Lesson for the Day!

Today's Lesson...Don't give a 15 month old an entire bag of goldfish and if you do be prepared for this...

Church, Guns, Drugs, Police

A memory was transplanted to the front of my brain today that I thought would be of great interest to the rest of the blog world!

A few months ago my husband, son and I were going to church on a lovely Sunday morning. As we neared the small country church we attend we noticed a woman standing on the side of the road crying with a police office speaking to her. As we pulled into the parking lot at the church we noticed everyone was running into the church building...odd, they must really want to get to Sunday School. I thought, geez, I know we are a little late, but I don't think running is necessary. Then I realized that people were waving for us to hurry into the building. I realized they were telling us to get inside...why you may ask? Apparently there had been a domestic dispute at the trailer park across the street from the church and the crying woman was a victim of that dispute. The accussed disputer was apparently waving a gun from the front porch of his trailer at police officers. So I yell to the husband (mine, not the disputer) to grab the baby from the back seat while I high tail it into the church building. I had to plow over the 25 people standing in the door of the church trying to see what is going on across the street. It was too bad we were late for church or else I would have been one of the 25 people standing in the door (remember my best quality...nosiness!).

A while later it was determined by the nosy folk that the disputer was so upset and waving the gun at police because he had a trailer full of drugs. By the way....Sunday School attendance has been through the roof...all the folk are coming to see what may be happening early on Sunday morning!

Accomplishments

Well today I was able to FINALLY take down all the Christmas Decor. I was starting to consider having Christmas year round...heck, why not...it's a great time of year. But now my house is back to normal. The Christmas decor is back in the small storage closet not to be opened again until Christmas 07, which is probably good because I'm not sure I could shove it all back in again safely! Not only was I able to organize the Christmas Decor, I was able to consolidate and gain a storage tote so I could clean out Hoss Cat's closet and get box up too small summer clothes. I feel like I accomplished great feats today. Now I just need to find room for all the yard sale items I sorted out today. It's a revolving door...

1st Haircut

Last night Hoss Cat had his first haircut. Isn't this picture just adorable of him trying to swat the barber's hands away? Remarkably he did wonderfully (once the barber gave him a sucker to distract him). We went to the barber shop my husband had his first haircut (not to mention every haircut there after...he's quite a creature of habit). There is just something sentimental and warm in my heart to know that 30 years ago my husband sat in the same barber shop and had his first curls cut. I just love tradition, even if we are the first to start it and possibly the last to honor it. I don't anticipate Hoss will bring his son to the same barber shop, but wouldn't it be a great family tradition if he did? However, the odds are telling me that when Hoss Cat has a son to take to the barber shop, it is likely this lovely business would be long gone. In hopes that it is not, we will ensure there is plenty of business from our family!


( Oh and by the way... I conquered the exclamation points -- really I think I misunderstood the error message -- AND aren't you proud I figured out how to post a picture on my first day of blogging?)

Welcome Fans

Hello to everyone who may eventually stumble upon my blog one day. Thank you for taking the time to read my rantings. I hope to entertain. I have been inspired by reading several other blogs in the past several months and thought I may share the antics of my day to day life. I enjoy reading about other people's daily lives, why not share about mine? My husband says that is because I am nosy. Maybe so, I'm not ashamed of it. So this is for all the other nosy folks out there in the bloggy world.

I want to take a moment to explain the title of my Blog, "Don't Give Him Crackers." I was married in December 2004 and soon after my marriage my husband discovered that I talk in my sleep. I can carry on complete conversations, sit up in the bed and open my eyes and then have no knowledge of the conversation the next morning. Amazing I know. It freaks my husband out...it's great. ;-) Well, one night I made the statement, "Don't Give Him Crackers." Why did I say such a thing? Who knows...but it has made for a good story over the last couple years and I am sure it will continue to do so. So when I was trying to decide on a great creative name for my blog I turned to the loving husband for inspiration. He said why not "Don't Give Him Crackers." I thought it was fabulous...creative, original, and just enough to make people scratch their heads and say, "What?" So there it is...the truth behind the blog title.

I have a tendency to analyze everything very thoroughly (I think it's my best quality...ha). So I have had 2 years to analyze this middle of the night proclamation and I think my dream had a premonition. A few weeks after my statement I discovered I was pregnant with my son. Maybe I was making a statement that I will one day make in the conscious world...why I would not want the little man to have crackers I do not know, but don't all dreams and deep sleep proclamations have meanings?

Well, I hope all my fans out there enjoyed this 1st bloggy post. Thanks for visiting and caring enough to read to this point. Please be patient with me, I am still learning.

(P.S. Why the heck does blogger not allow exclamation points? This is really going to put a damper in my blogging *exclamation point*)