Paint and candles

So, our whole living room house is brown, wood colored or, erhm.... more shades of brown. Don't get me wrong, I LIKE brown. (and tan, wood colored, cocoa...)
But I need some color in my life! I want to paint the living room. Someday I'd also like to paint the kitchen and dining room but for now I'll settle for the living room. We don't even have furniture in the dining room for goodness sakes!

So - opinions!

The pictures aren't really clear, but I think you get the point. I picked up these paint sample colors. I like the first one, Chutney, but I think it's more, uh, brown. The second one, Roasted Pepper, is nice too, but maybe TOO red. The living room is huge, so that's a lot of red. I also like the last one, Brazilian Flame, but it's a bit too... purple. Opinions on these?




Then I was washing dishes and looking at the yummy smelling candles I bought (mulled cider and pumpkin spice) and thought they were the perfect colors! I'd like the redder one for the living room, and the butternutty looking one for the dining room (someday). It's so hard to tell from the pictures, but try to picture it without the flash and shiny look.



OR - do you think any shade of red is just too much?

Fluffy Pumpkin Cookies

I made this recipe up as I went, so I'm approximating but I think I got pretty close.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups whole wheat or white flour (I used half and half)
~ 2 cups pumpkin pie filling
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger NUTMEG! Sorry.
1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup)

Mix it up, scoop onto greased cookie sheets and bake for about 10 minutes at 350. They are fluffy, not especially pretty, but YUMMY!

Optional: Top with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles.

De-clutter

My Meetup group is having a toy swap next Saturday! Take a look at the toys I've rounded up for this event:

That's 5 boxes of toys. I am NOT intending to swap evenly, but rather just get RID of my toys. I'll probably get one "new" toy for each boy and that's all. The leftovers from the swap will go to charity.

I'd like to say that those 5 boxes represent 1/3 or even a 1/2 of my kids toys, but that is sadly not true. Those were only the toys they never played with or had duplicates of. They still have FAR too many toys. I look forward to getting rid of the "baby toys" when we're out of that stage. I can't stand clutter!

The trip

The story of our ~2,700 mile trip with 3 little men.



Day 1:
We had trouble with our trailer that I won't bore you with. We finally took off at around 1PM. We drove about 4 hours and met up with a friend who lives in southern Washington state. We spent the night there in a nice hotel and played at the neighboring park in the morning before we hit the road again. Nothing too exciting.
Miles traveled: ~250


Day 2:
We drove from Kenniwick, WA to Tremonton, Utah. We went through parts of Oregon and Idaho as well. The only stops we made that day were to feed the baby, get gas and eat lunch at a local park. Bor-ring. The scenery was so blah that I didn't even get my camera out. (A big deal for me!)
The kids were really good too.
Miles driven: ~575


Day 3:
Tremonton, Utah to Grand Junction, Colorado. We stopped at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City, UT and ate lunch and let the kids play. (and D)


Utah wasn't as pretty as I expected, but it did have it's own special beauty. The rock formations were especially interesting. The kids were well behaved again and the trip was shaping up to be much more pleasant than the last 3 months.
Miles traveled: ~375


Day 4:
Grand Junction, CO to Denver, CO. The only stops on the way were to feed the baby and eat lunch at a rest area. I found this part of the trip (from Grand Junction to Denver) to be the prettiest.

They had had some snow the week before, but all our travel days were blessed by beautiful weather and warmer temperatures.

We arrived in Denver around 3PM and decided to go to the aquarium and spend the night in town, so we could go to the zoo the next day. We knew from looking at maps that there wouldn't be a whole lot to see and do from Denver to Kansas City. The aquarium was great and the kids really enjoyed it. I have an amusing video of d insisting he wants to get in the water. We were looking at a tank full of large great whites...


Miles traveled: ~260


Day 5:
The next morning we hit the Denver Zoo at opening time. It's a very good zoo and the exhibits were fantastic. This male kangaroo was so close I swore he was going to jump right over the (not nearly tall enough) wall.

Other highlights from the zoo were a VERY angry, VERY large, male gorilla and some snow leopard cubs. (Why are all babies so darn cute?!)
After we left the zoo we gassed up, got lunch and headed East. We spent that night in Salina, KS.
Miles traveled: ~450


Day 6: Salina, KS to here, there and everywhere, MO. We decided not to stop anymore in Kansas and I also didn't take any more pictures. It was rather, er... flat.
We did, however, stop in southwestern-ish Missouri and see one of my aunts, then we went on and visited with my brother and his soon-to-be wife, and then we finally headed to my parent's motel in Bighairycow, MO. After that, we were able to just chill. D took the bigger boys swimming and we spent the night there.
Miles traveled: ~375


Day 7:
Bighairycow to my parent's house in Purplelakers, MO. We really didn't do much of anything but let the grandparent's enjoy their grandkids and enjoy NOT driving anywhere. The kids were ecstatic to be somewhere they could run around and the babies both took long naps. Bliss.
Miles traveled: ~50


Day 8:
Birthday dinner for my dad's 49th birthday. We stayed the whole day and night at my parent's house again. My mom invited her parent's and my brother and his soon-to-be wife over for dinner. We also saw another aunt and uncle for a little while. It was a good time. I was really glad we could be there for his birthday this year. My grandma brought peanut butter, butterscotch, chocolate covered rice crispy treats. They were so. good.
I should have gotten the recipe, but maybe it's better that I didn't.
Miles traveled: 0 (Hallelujah!)


Day 9:
Purplelaker, MO to Mytown, AL. We should have taken off bright and early that day, but we couldn't seem to get it together. We finally pulled out of the driveway around 9:45 AM and hit the road. We had to get home sometime on Friday so we knew there could be no fun stops that day. Of course, the kids seemed to sense that we were getting close to home and chose to act poorly. (Naturally.) The baby was extremely fussy, and O was extremely scream-y. d was whiny but not too bad. He's really the easiest in the car. Turn on a movie and he's in la la land.
I spent a lot of time crawling back and forth over the seat, which I know is illegal and unsafe, but I had to make the screaming stop or I would have hurled myself out the window. Surely taking my seat belt off for a few minutes is safer than that.
We finally arrived home, after a very tense and draining and LOUD day, at around 8PM.
Miles traveled: ~550

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, now we're home. It wasn't that bad and we survived.
Will I do it again?
Certainly not.
In fact, I want to cry thinking of our almost 1,000 mile road trip next month. I'll put that out of my head for now though. The mess around here is making it hard enough to think as it is.

However, I'm so happy to be home I almost fell to the ground and kissed my kitchen floor. I have definitely been enjoying the larger space again and appreciating what we have.
The kids are extremely thrilled to be home and it's like a HUGE Christmas morning. They've been playing with all their toys and enjoying the house all over again.

Excuse me, the mess calls...

Oh Hai!

We're back! We're home! We survived another cross country trip with 3 small children!

I haven't been ignoring you, but the number of blogs in my reader has me slightly overwhelmed. I got through a lot, but haven't had time to comment and finally just skimmed the rest. Sorry for that.

I'll be around more now. I'll start on my travel story soon, though, thanks to my Kindle, I did not keep a journal this time on the road. I just jotted down a few key things.

So, now I have to go attend to the house. It looks like all the closets threw up.

Outtie

We're disabling our computer later today and packing it up. We'll be back home in about 10 days from tomorrow. See you in about 3,000 miles.

In the meantime, enjoy the little gem of a video below. No matter your party - it's amusing. ha!

Campaignin'

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Memory Lane

Ah, a trip down memory lane. I was just reading some of my archives. (Bored much?)

I haven't gone back very far, just to C's birth. I have been feeling more and more certain that 3 would be it for us. My mind hasn't been in the best place lately. I just started to feel D.U.N.

Then I read the archives. I saw my big, beautiful pregnant belly. Time has already dulled the back pain and heartburn and sheer desperation of those last days. Ah, Mother Nature is one smart cookie. Sleep deprivation makes it very hard to remember a thing.

Then I read C's birth story and I cried. Those feelings!!
Labor and delivery is not something to be feared. It's the best part of the pregnancy journey. Sure there is pain, but the reward is so worth it. I wish I could describe the feeling of accomplishment when you push out that little screamer. The joy and love and burst of oh-my-gawd-ness that you feel when you see their little face for the first time. The wonder when you look at those little feet and pointy elbows and see exactly what has been poking you for months on end.

Can I really never experience this again?

Then I read the postpartum post, the first of many. I remembered those feelings ALL too well. Unfortunately, some of them are still around. I wondered if I could really survive that again. Then again, I know I could.

My growing certainty at our family of 5 is now weakening. Can I really stop here? Will I ever be able to stop? We've already decided that 4 is our limit, but what if I feel the same way after #4 is born? Can I give up the dream for a daughter? I must, whether we decide on another baby or not. I refuse to go into it with expectations and experience disappointment if we have another lovely boy. I must be OK with either if we decide to proceed.

Now, let's not get excited. We still may settle on 3 kids as our perfect number. Even if we decide to go for #4 someday, it won't be soon. But, I'm not ready to decide just yet. Not when my baby just popped his first tooth and sits on his own already. When I snuggle my round, soft, newest little man I just can't commit to no more. Not yet.

Twitter MeMe

Mommy Daisy tagged me for a Twitter meme. The idea of this meme is to post 6 things that you might not know about me. Here we go!

1 - I'm scared of baseboard heaters. We have them in this apartment. It was 35 this morning when we woke up and instead of turning on the heaters I baked a cake.

2 - I'm annoyed that politics have taken an even uglier turn than usual. I'm so sick of it. I'm so cynical now. (Maybe you knew that)

3 - Baby C popped his first tooth. I cried a little.

4 - I haven't exercised in several days.

5 - I've almost bought red heels 3 times now. I keep putting them back (or taking them out of my virtual cart) because I'm still not convinced I could pull them off.

6 - I saw the trailer for the Twilight movie and now I'm more obsessed than ever. I'm going to re-read all 4 books asap.

Tag. YOU'RE it.

random and updates

Update on my whole wheat brownies. I made them again last night and doubled everything, except the agave nectar. I put 3/4 of a cup instead of doubling that. Might have needed a *smidge* more.
Also, I added about 1 1/2 cups of dark chocolate chips.
YUM!
Now they are perfect. Enjoy.

___________

Remember that hat I bought last week? It's here. How cute is this? Squeeeeeeeeee!




___________

8 more days and we can get the heck out of here! On the upside, the sun is actually out today.

___________

I will watch the debate tonight, but I am not really looking forward to it. October has always been one of my favorite months, but this year I am wishing it away.

___________

We got the instructions for moving out of corporate housing and it specifically said NOT to CLEAN ANYTHING. Wha?!

Wait.


YAY!

___________

Notice that head hurting new avatar over there? It's a brite blue dot. I'm a bright blue dot in a red state, so I thought it was fitting. Also, I was tired of my old avatar.

___________

Because I'm bored Saturday

* I just found out that I have separated abdominal muscles from pregnancy. I'm doing some exercises to help correct it.

* 11 more days until we can go home.

* I love my Kindle, but it could cost me a small fortune in books. I've found free sites for "the classics" but I kinda like new books too.

* D is working all weekend. He didn't get home till 9 PM last night. I was hoping to go downtown to the fish market and get some more fresh flowers before we leave. That probably won't happen.

* I haven't started packing, but I have reserved a Uh*ul trailer and planned some possible stops along the way home.

* I *almost* don't want to stop and see ANYTHING because I really, really just want to go home.

* The baby wiggles, squirms, eats and cries from around 4 AM till we finally get up around 5:30-6:30 AM. Then, he's cheerful and full of smiles. THEN he takes a LONG nap at about 7:30 or 8:00. Sleeps for hours. I am feeling bitter about this.

* Politics is making me CRAZY. I can feel my blood boiling at times. Come ON November. Let's get this over with.

* I've felt invisible a lot lately.

Whole Wheat Brownies

I love brownies but, in the interest of being healthier, I haven't made them in awhile. I finally found a recipe that uses all whole wheat flour and is healthy-ish!
They taste fab too!

4 TBSP cocoa powder
4 TBSP unsalted butter
1/2 cup agave nectar (or 3/4 c brown rice syrup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt

Pre-heat to 300 degrees. Grease an 8x8 pan. (Don't use a bigger pan, like I had to, they'll be too thin.)

Melt butter over medium heat and add cocoa. Mix well. Let cool.
Once cooled, add agave nectar or syrup and vanilla.
Mix 2 eggs into mixture, until well mixed.
Add flour and when it's almost mixed completely, add salt.
Don't over mix.

Bake for 20 minutes.

They turned out very good, but I'd do 2 things differently.
1 - Sprinkle dark chocolate chips on top before baking or mix into batter.
2 - Double the batch. hehe

Enjoy!

Free Babylegs!

Clementine NW is giving away free, organic babylegs with every purchase*! They have fabulous stuff over there. Go check it out.

But before you do, look at this stinkin' cute hat I got for the baby:





I really wanted this too, but had no use for it. Bummer. Ah, to have a girl...

Paci clip

* Just put the baby legs you want in the special instructions box upon check out. No minimum purchase. Ends December 15th.