Have you chosen your Word of the Year?

So perusing around blogs I have noticed that a lot of bloggers are choosing a 'word of the year'...a word to meditate on when you're angry, to reflect on when you're happy. It didn't take me long to choose my favourite word...I use it daily :) . I say it when I'm sad, I say it when I'm happy. I especially use it when I'm really, really angry.

Can you guess what it is?

I'll give you a hint...it's four letters long and I can't say it in front of my kids. Did I ever tell you that I have a bad potty mouth and, although my husband loves me to pieces, it's a part of me that he never really got used to?

10 points to the first person that guesses. I've already used it in my head about 10 times, and it's only 930 am :D .

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve, everyone :)

Ba ha ha...found them!!!

Kinder Christmas concert, 2003. I think this was with our very first digital camera. Kylie is wearing the red sparkly dress. Hide from me at your Grade 6 concert, will ya???

Cookie decorating, 2003. Wow, you've come a long way!!

Getting Candyland at Gramma's house. We still have that game, although no one wants to play it anymore. I'm sure by next year, Sam will play it with me :) .

(sigh...stupid Photobucket is being retarded and won't resize the pics)

...and Christmas pics...

There were fewer gifts under the tree this year, because both big kids wanted DSi's...but they both understood the whole Christmas budget thing and they were happy with it.


And Sam's favourite gift? Well, it was a bag of Polly Pocket dolls that I got from the Sally Anne for 99c. Honest to God, she wanted nothing at all to do with anything else. Not even the candy in her stocking lol. I scrubbed the crap out of those dolls and wiped them with rubbing alcohol to remove any cootie residue. Best 99c I ever spent!!

Pre-Christmas Pics

Jake and 2 of his BFF's at the Chirstmas Concert. The rest of my pics are horrible...and no pics of Kylie. This is the first year that she wouldn't dress up (wore the same dirty t-shirt that she wore all day long to school and jeans) and she was in the back row for everything, ducking down in front of the kids in the row ahead of her. I swear, just to get her back, I'm gonna find all of the really cute kinder Christmas Concert pics and post them here. Yeah, that'll teach her.

Cookie decorating. Sam loved using the icing bags, but would not let me stick even one Smartie or chocolate chip on a cookie. She'd scream, "No, cookie broken!!! Get it off!!!" if I tried lol. Oh, oh! And you know what's really awesome? Every year I say I'm going to buy a little house cutter and I forget...so Scott made me one. He used an old apple shaped cutter, and bent it into a house shape using plyers (a la Filth Wizardry ). Awesome.

Sam's first craft :) . I love this junk. She pushed beads onto a pipe cleaner, and then I twisted it into a wreath shape. I love that she can do this stuff now. And she was so proud of herself :)

Ba ha ha...a kid I went to Kinder with did this: stuck her tongue to a pole in the school yard. I don't really remember what happened afterwards, but I do know that I learned not to ever do that myself! Anyway...we watched A Christmas Story on Christmas Eve and Jacob stayed up until 11...which is really odd because he usually can't stay up past 930. I guess he was a little excited :) .

Open Letter to the Hag who Cut Me Off Today

Dear Stupid;

Hey, remember that thing today? That thing where we were each driving down the road, with snow up to our wheel wells...and you cut me off without signalling, while you were yakking on your cell phone...and then you gave *me* the finger?

Nice. Merry Christmas to you.

Bitch.

Yours truly;

Kylie's Mom.

(sorry mom)

How to Make a Grilled Cheese Sammich

First...you spread margarine on the bread, making sure to jam the knife in the bread many, many times.


Then you put a slice of cheese on the bread and stick it with the knife again...


While Mama cooks your sammich, pick a plate from the cupboard. Mama's kitchen sucks.


Still waiting for that sammich to cook. Licking the plate in anticipation.


Waving the spatula around, while Mama demands that I give it back...


Yay! My sammich is done, and Mama gave me lots of ketchup-y goodness to dunk it in. I've been wearing my pajamas all day long and I won't let Mama change me. Good thing it's nap time soon...Mama looks like she has a headache :) .

A new and stupid way to celebrate each and every month in 2010!

2010 Monthly Observances

Please add this to your favourites, as it is very important!

Honestly, how else would you know that February 2010 is both "National Cherry Month" AND "National Condom Month" (tee hee).

March 2010 holds the honour of being both "National Umbrella Month" and holding "National Procrastination Week"...but I'm celebrating that one in July :D .

Awesome. Just awesome.

Fantastic.

Only Siberia Was Colder

Woohoo!!! Edmonton was the second coldest city in the world yesterday, registering at -58.4C with the windchill at the airport. In actuality, I think it was -37C when I went shopping at noon yesterday. Yeah, that's cold enough.

And for the first time in ten years...I can't start my van this morning. No, it wasn't plugged in...I've never plugged it in lol. Guess it's time to start!!!

So Sam and I are staying home to bake today. I have the thermostat set for 18C and I'm sure the furnace hasn't stopped once in the last few days. Welcome to winter, baby!!!

2 weeks, are you kidding me ?!?!?!?!?

I just relized that Christmas is 2 weeks away...and I'm no where near prepared. Argh.

I have a Ponyo ornament on the go for Kiki...I'm not sure it will get done :( . I hate doing it, I really do...it has to be on really, really teeny aida in order for it to fit in the ornament frame that I have...oh well. Forcing myself to do a bit every night, but it's hard when I'm not a night owl. Love to be in bed by 10 but that's not happening lately.

I took Kiki to the mall yesterday, for her to shop for her friends for Christmas. She had a very small budget to stick to and we *almost* didn't go over lol. Now she is indebted to me until the New Year. Bwa ha ha...

The kids at school are starting to discuss which junior highs they will go to. Kylie is deciding between 2: our neighbourhood school or a very large school downtown. We're working on a pros and cons list for both schools...and honestly, I can think of more cons to our neighbourhood school than pros. Lots of yahoos at that school...all of the behaviour kids will be going there. I've gotten to the point where I am so sick of the lying, stealing, fighting and name-calling. It's so hard to be sympathetic to these kids' situations when their lives cross over your own kids' lives. *Sigh*...but in the end it will completely be Kylie's decision and I will support her in that. Whatever she wants to do will be fine.

Well, Sam's in bed so I should go bake something. School bake sale is next week...I think I'm making meringues and some brownie cookies, both with crushed candy canes. I hope it's successful...our fund-raising this year has sucked, with next to no co-operation from the parents. I'm starting to get very frustrated with this PAC stuff...

Later, taters.

Aw...

LOL...poor Sam. Maybe next year Santa won't be so scary. In case you're wondering... Jacob chose to go to a birthday party instead of this Christmas party. We're still going to venture to the mall, sooner or later, to get a pic of all 3 kids with Santa. But I don't know if poor Sam can handle it lol.

Hey, wanna hear me bitch?

Sure you do. You came to blogger to hear lots of miserable, hateful things, right? LOL...it's your lucky day :) .

Kylie came home one day last week without her boots. Her expensive, fall suede boots that I think are pointless. OK, they look good, but it's not like they're warm and fall lasts about 2 weeks in Edmonton. Onwards.

Kylie had forgotten to change from her indoor shoes to her boots after school, as she was yakkin' with the girls and got sidetracked. Put her coat on and dawdled home. So I tell her, be sure to look for them as soon as you get to school. It wouldn't be the first time that something nice went missing...

The next day, at dismissal, the phone rings. It's Kylie's teacher, and as I have a phone allergy, I don't answer it. This is the message he leaves on the machine:

"Hi Mrs T. Just wanted to let you know that Kylie's boots have been recovered and the perpetrator has been identified. Kylie will be bringing her boots home today."

Argh!!!!!! I friggin' knew it. So I called the teacher back, and although he couldn't tell me who stole them, he could say "check" when *I* mentioned a name.

Honestly, how does a parent NOT NOTICE when another kid comes home with suede boots that aren't hers, and that have another kid's name on the sole??? And the inside tag??? And how does said parent not notice all the other things that she has stolen from my kid: EPL library book, toys, notebooks, pens...all with KYLIE'S FRIGGIN' NAME ON THEM??? Even if the kid claims it was a gift...at some point, you would think that the parent would say, "Jeez, I've never met this Kylie person. Why is she giving you all of these things...like a library book?"

Who in the hell gives a kid a library book as a gift???

I've told Kylie that she's not allowed to gossip about the situation with her friends...and that she has to have empathy for this girl, because there could be underlying issues (so vague). But I also told her to guard her stuff with her life, and that she needs to be polite to this girl, but it's up to her if she wants to be friendly. I also asked the teacher if he could look into past instances, and possibly offer this girl some counselling. Something's not right there.

I'm trying to be understanding, but I'm so friggin' mad right now...

Lite Fried Rice Recipe!!!

I love this recipe...I think I've made it 4 times in the last month. I portion it into 1.5 cup containers and freeze it, nuke it for 5 minutes at lunch (I have a crappy microwave) and it's good to go.

From Hungry Girl (you know, that girl who's on Rachel Ray!!)

VEGGIE-RIFIC FRIED RICE

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked brown rice, fridge temperature (very important)
2 cups frozen diced carrots and peas
1 cup chopped bean sprouts
1 cup chopped mushrooms
3/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
1/4 cup chopped scallions
One packet (about 1 oz.) fried rice seasoning mix (like the kind by Kikkoman or Sun-Bird)
1 tbsp. light or low-sodium soy sauce
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a small dish, combine seasoning mix, garlic powder, and ground ginger with soy sauce and 3 tbsp. warm water. Using a fork or whisk, stir until seasoning mix has dissolved. Set aside.

Spray a wok or very large pan with nonstick spray, and bring it to medium heat on the stove. Add egg substitute and scramble until cooked, using a spatula to break it up into bite-sized pieces. Remove scrambled bits from the wok or pan and set aside.

Add mushrooms and frozen vegetables to the wok or pan, and cook and stir until mushrooms have softened and all veggies are hot. Remove veggies and set aside with the egg-y bits.

Remove your wok or pan from heat, re-spray with nonstick spray, and bring to high heat on the stove. Add rice and seasoning mixture, and stir to combine. Add bean sprouts, scallions and the previously cooked veggies and scrambled eggs, and mix thoroughly to integrate. Cook and stir until entire mixture is hot, there is no liquid left in the pan, and rice is just beginning to crisp. Season to taste with salt and pepper.


MAKES 5 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 167
Fat: 0.5g
Sodium: 630mg
Carbs: 30g
Fiber: 4g
Sugars: 4g
Protein: 8.5g

POINTS® value 3*

****NOTE: I use white rice because I don't like brown rice. Chop up the sprouts and mushrooms really small, as in rice-sized, and they just incorporate right into the rice. I throw in an extra 1/2 cup or so, and my kids don't even know that more than half of the dish they're eating is vegetables. And I use a combo of whole eggs and egg whites...I never remember to buy Egg Beaters when I'm out.

Old pics...eek, really old.

My baby boy turned 8 in October, and as I'm a crappy blogger, I'm just getting around to posting pictures now.

Pics.

Sam and Spiderbaby...I'm always sticking this doll beside her, hoping she'll play with it. *Sigh*...it's not working...

**Photobucket is being stupid this morning so my pictures are all wonky. I hope it fixes itself soon!!!