It’s 7:07 AM by the computer clock. I’ve had my coffee and my breakfast, some nice quiet time with Kris who happened to get up a bit earlier than normal today, and neither boy is fully awake yet. I’m even getting to write my daily post way before I would have even given any consideration as to what to write for the day on a normal basis.

Eventually, I’ll go wake up Hayden with a glass of juice in hand, attempting to start the day slowly and without any pressure. Then we’ll get him dressed, get Gabe up, let Hayden decide what Gabe will wear for at least 20 minutes (as Gabe tends to spit up at least 15 times a day, drenching whatever he is in). Hayden’s breakfast will include some fresh mango left over from the adult breakfast this morning, and probably a bagel with a honey nut cream cheese that was enjoyed by Kris and myself this morning as well. Gabe’s breakfast will consist of Ent-Draught, as it always does.

Then, it will be time to take Hayden to preschool, and Gabe and I will make our way to the gym. I have been very good about going most days. (I missed Monday, as Hayden was home with Pink Eye.) I think I’m starting to get addicted to it. What will happen in 4 weeks when I return to work, I have no idea. Perhaps I’ll try to make myself get up very early and go at 5 AM to be home to get ready for the work day. Perhaps I’ll try to make myself go during my lunch break. Perhaps I’ll attempt evening visits to the gym again. No matter what, I have to be in the mind set that exercising is something I can’t live without by the time this change needs to happen.

After the gym, Gabe and I have two things to accomplish today. I need to take my car to the mechanic to see what all needs to be done on it (so that I can take it in on a Saturday to get the work completed while Kris is home with us). We also need to drive to Hamilton to pick up our copies of Gabe’s birth certificate (and possibly a second copy of Hayden’s, too).

Dinner tonight will be an easy meal of Empanadas made with left overs from last night’s post roast and a spinach salad.

Through the Looking Glass is almost complete, as is Red Prophet. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have the third in the Alvin Miller series yet, so I’ll have to find something else to bide my time until I get my hands on it… and Christmas is so soon and yet so far. I can’t justify buying books right now. Maybe I can get Kris to contact the two prime shoppers for me and make sure Prentice Alvin isn’t already purchased…

7:29 AM, November 30, 2007 and I’ve completed NaBloPoMo. A good start to my day.

I grew up with cooking that was based on what groceries we could afford that week and what could be cooked after a full day of work. Mom grew up with cooking based on what a teacher could afford that would feed a family of four and what could be cooked efficiently. That included a lot of velveeta sandwiches, what mom lovingly refers to as shit-on-a-shingle (tuna on toast), and pressure cooked roasts.

I’ve never been a big fan of large cuts of beef, probably because of my upbringing. But being that we are living on one salary (have been for 2 months, have one more to go), it was time to try it.

Instead of using my pressure cooker, I went for my slow cooker. I have high hopes for this recipe for pot roast, if for nothing else than the left-over recipe that goes with it.

It was incredibly easy to throw together this morning, and having dinner prepared made me feel much better about what the day might hold for me. Coming home from errands of 2 month portraits and warehouse club shopping, the house smelled pretty good. Good signs, yes?

The dinner was good for a pot roast. I thought the meat was well flavored and moist. The root vegetables were excellent (though we didn’t use the celery root, I think I will next time). Kris said that some of it tasted like “stew meat” - not a compliment from him, but after a few more bites he said it was growing on him.

All in all, I think it’s a keeper. Hopefully tomorrow’s meal of Empanadas will be good, too.

I’m accident-prone, so I tend to keep track of my injury related streaks and over the past few weeks I’ve started a new streak.

In my last 3 volleyball games I’ve received some sort of head injury.

2 weeks ago I took an elbow on top of the head. How do you take an elbow on top of your head playing volleyball? Well, either you play with people 4 feet taller than you, or you knock the ball straight up and then duck.

See, if you knock the ball straight above you it’s better to kneel down so someone can get to the ball instead of moving and possibly knocking over the person who’s coming to make the play. Well, I blocked a hit, and made a second play at the ball but it went straight up, so I hit the floor and then someone hit me.

1 week ago I got hit on the nose with the ball.

Trivia note: This was the loudest I’ve ever yelled an obscenity. Also, it’s possible for a volleyball to remove skin, though only a little.

This wouldn’t have been quite as bad had I seen it coming or if it had been hit by one of the other mortals in our C league, but instead it was a hard way the hell out of bounds ball hit one court over by the A league guys who leave pock marks on the back walls.

This week I took a good solid elbow to the nose from Coach as we both went up to block.

Trivia note: You can get a deep cut on your nose is someone hits you hard enough or has unusually sharp elbows…Coach.

Long story short, after 90 minutes of bleeding in the minor emergency center I was diagnosed with an unbroken nose and received some liquid stitches on a band aid. (think band aid with lots of glue on it that has to stay on for a week).

Trivia note: I’ve still managed to maintain my 3+ year streak of not going to the emergency room for personal injuries. However, there’s probably an Bonds-style asterisk next to that one in the books on account of the fact that I’ve come to know the location of two minor emergency centers by our house as well as their hours.

I think I’m going to have to expand my goals of avoiding the emergency room to include minor emergency centers.

I wonder if they make protective Spiderman face-masks.

Ever have one of those days when you know, deep down, that you’ve accomplished a fair amount, but the to do list still seems daunting? Where every thing you look at is something that is left uncompleted or reminds you of yet another task? When even when you allow yourself to take five minutes of rest, the guilt is over-powering that you are lying down?

I know that this most likely stems from the poor sleep of last night, and that a fresh day will seem that much brighter. However, it’s hard to find peace from under a pile of post-it notes that are meant to remind you of things that need to be done.

Knowing that I would be incredibly upset with myself had I blown off the blogging this close to the end of November doesn’t help the general attitude right now either. I can’t help but think of this post as yet another damn thing I have to do. So, I’ve written it, and now I can go curl up with a feeding child and a book. Of course, part of me will think of the book as something I have to finish…

Gabe and I went to his ear appointment this afternoon, and we came home with, well, nothing. (Okay, so we came home with a trunk full of groceries after a run through the store, but nothing in the way of information on his hearing.)

The doctor was friendly, and he complimented my son’s cuteness, as all good pediatricians will do. He talked me through Gabe’s short history, looked in his ears and then said they’d check him again in 4 months. Yes, he’s failed a test numerous times in one ear, but he’s startling to loud sounds, cooing and calming to soothing sounds. So he isn’t deaf in both ears. But it’s likely that he has clear fluid back there right now, drowning out the reception of sound. If Gabe gets frequent ear infections, that’s a bad sign and possibly then action will be taken.

I can’t do anything to help other than love him and play with him. There is no need to repeat any of the tests, as he’ll most likely fail those, too. At the six month mark, they’ll do a booth test with him to see where he is at that point.

I don’t even want to think about the testing billings, and the specialist co-insurance payment this visit is going to cost us for so little in the way of forward momentum.

I freely admit that my boys have a massive library. Depending on the cut-off of the “childrens’” definition, I am sure they have close to 200 books. If we count the books that have been ordered this holiday season that haven’t yet been delivered, well, we’re even closer. I also know that I will never be able to bring myself to stop buying them books. If we are in a store and there is a book they want, (if the money is available, or will be by the time the credit card bill comes in) and I know we don’t have a copy already, I doubt I will ever be able to say no. I just hope to instill in them the love of bargain books that I have. It is much easier to say yes to a $3 book than a $20 book.

I also know that in the coming years, I will be active in deciding which books should round out their library. There are many classics out there, and more are being turned into classics every year. But it is important to me that they taste things other than classics, too. There are plenty of books I have read and loved that would send other people running. Finding a book like that brings immense pleasure to me. (I have a feeling that is why I am so addicted to the clearance shelf of Half Price Books.)

There are books that are in the back of my mind that are definite needs, as is evidenced by the wish lists for Hayden and Gabe. But I am afraid that the books that make it to this wish list are only the books that are in my favor at a given time. These are also only the books that I trust enough to have someone pay full price for. Perhaps a starting point for me will be the Dangerous Book for Boys list of books that every boy should read. There are many books listed that I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of, let alone read myself. But based on the ones I do know, this would be a good beginning.

Also, with my recent discovery of some inscriptions, I am going to be trying very hard to remember to make notations in the books that are purchased for special occasions or have special memories attached. The first for this tradition will be the gift Hayden received from the Santa at the mall this weekend. We didn’t even get a picture taken (it was posted that a visit with Santa was free, and that was all Hayden wanted at the time) and then Santa handed over a book. Hardcover and everything. *shock* Caillou: New shoes isn’t likely to be a classic, but Hayden loves it.

Today we started a search for a new bed for Hayden so that Gabe could have the crib instead of a playpen. We tried a kid-specific furniture store, a couple of baby stores, and then decided to try some normal furniture places.

In the end, we concluded that furniture is expensive, so we’re going with a twin bed frame from Value City. It wasn’t Hayden’s favorite, but not only were his favorites expensive (even at Value City), they were almost all bunk beds, and too large for his room.

To make up for the bed being less than desired, we went to Target to get some big boy linens. Diego was a winner, handsdown. Then we suggested we get a backup set, and he was okay with it being a more classic style of green and blue stripes.

He was excellent during the search, and seems excited about getting a new look to his room. I’ll be ordering the frame and mattress tomorrow. Hopefully they’ll be able to be delivered soon. If the mattress can get here sooner, that’s even better. He really wants to use his Diego sheet set.

Damn you, Orson Scott Card. I have picked up yet another of your books, fallenly madly in love with it, only to learn that the series isn’t quite complete (granted, according to Wiki).

The Alvin Maker series starts with Seventh Son, the story of Alvin Maker, Jr. He is the seventh son of a seventh son in a world where this holds great powers. For those who are interested in alternative histories, beliefs and folktales, this is one for you as well.

While this first book is more an introduction to characters and has little plot in and of itself, I still found myself completely wrapped up in it. Perhaps that is the writer in me, wanting to learn how characters are created and developed. I did not want to put this book down, as I wanted to know everything there was to know about little Alvin, Taleswapper, and the other secondary characters in the family and the community. And I did learn a lot, but not enough.

While there are certainly aspects of this tale for which I can foresee outcomes, I still am desperate to find out what I can’t even begin to predict. There is one question in my mind that I have little clue how Card will handle as Alvin grows into a man. I know that Little Peggy will play a role in future books, but to what extent?

I’m very happy that I happened to pick up the next in the series at the same recent visit to Half Price. Next on my reading agenda will be Red Prophet. Then I need to go find the other published books in this series.

While my library is already a bit top heavy with Card, it will only get worse in the future. Everything I read by this man, I love. And there is a lot I haven’t read. Kris, I need more bookshelves.

I could summarize this morning in words, but it’s much easier to just post this picture:

Another example on how Hayden is cooler than I; he can pull off a robe.

Those are legos on his hands, btw. Legos are, much to my delight, one of our most played with toys at the moment. Generally we each build “robots” who then proceed to “pew” each other.

I’m very impressed by Hayden’s color coordination and symmetry while building with Legos. Whenever his creation falls, or is “pewed”, apart he’s always able to put it back together nearly flawlessly no matter how complex the original design.

Frequently he does it in ways that confuse me so much that I’m convinced he’s making something new until he puts the last pieces and it’s obvious that my robot is about to suffer his vengeance.

I’m sure this is a parenting moment not entirely unique to us, but I’m still fascinated.

Childhood memories can make or break the holiday season. This year, they helped a holiday that was fast approaching a breaking point.

Growing up, my Grommy made special rolls for each holiday spread. It wasn’t until I asked for the recipe that I had any idea what they really were. They were just one of my favorite parts of the get togethers. (I loved me some food. Weight issues started young for me.) When she gave me the recipe, it was a photocopy of a cookbook that I assume was a conglomeration of some group of women’s recipes. Her name was at the bottom, so I can assume that it is her recipe, or at least hers because of some tweaking.

I have tried to make these rolls every year since I got the recipe. This year, the mashed potato rolls turned out better than ever. I think the trick is to do what Grommy must have done. She was raising 3 children on her own, and so these must have been refridgerator rolls; the dough put together when she could find time. I let mine rise overnight, and they were excellent. I didn’t have the energy to put these into the crescent shapes that I was accustomed to, and my pinch purse shaping didn’t really hold through the baking process, but I still deemed them a success.

Another staple of our holiday spreads was Waldorf Salad. I made this for the first time on my own, using a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens (which I can almost guarantee was in Grommy’s cookbook library). This was exactly what I remembered, even though I made some minor adjustments given my family’s tastes (dried cranberries for raisins, less celery).

Today has been a blessing given the leftovers. Lunch was roast beef sandwiches made with potato rolls and Waldorf Salad. I was able to take a nap with Gabe, and I cooked dinner, yes, but it was a breeze compared to yesterday. We had pumpkin soup for dinner… yum. Peach cobbler for dessert with some soy milk finished off the meal well.

I have many leftovers in my life from the family traditions I grew up with. The trick is to turn the holidays into your own, keeping the excellent, adjusting the good and being able to let go of the bad, much like a good cook will turn leftovers into a feast of its own. We kept the potato rolls and peach cobbler, adjusted the Waldorf Salad and completely nixed Green Bean Casserole