It's My Own Fault!

I have no right to complain when my life is as busy as it has been these past two weeks. I bring it all on myself...
Here is a brief update, as I have to get in the shower (for the first time today) before Gage wakes up from his nap:

• We spent last weekend in my hometown as I did 3 shows between Saturday and Monday. Totally worth the trip--good money and fun times!
• We went out on Saturday night with 3 other couples for dinner and drinks afterward. Lori, Kimmy, Katie, and I all went to high school together and our husbands find enough to talk about when we do this every one or two years! It was fun. (And the guys really do get along...but they all have different lives and we don't all have kids, so sometimes I worry if the guys just do it to please us?? Either way, it was all good).
• We had visitors overnight on Tuesday and spent the day at the Mall of America with them on Wednesday. Long and fun day.
• I have been working on the newsletter for my mom's group which keeps me very, very busy...
• We are headed to Hutchinson, MN for a benefit for a friends' little girl who was diagnosed with leukemia this past August. It's a drive, but we are carpooling w/ Tim's cousin Aaron, wife Gina and their kids Laila and Jake, so it should be a fun time.
• I have a long show tomorrow, but hoping it's as good as last weekend.
• I get to see my Beezatch's (minus Jaci) on Sunday, so a fabulous way to end the weekend.

That is it. Busy, busy, crazy busy.

It's a BIRD! It's a PLANE! It's......

SUPERMAN!!!!!!!!!!

Finished Product

Here are the 3 creations by the Fox fam.

(Left to Right: Mr. Whifflebrow, LMAO, and Cheeky)

Gage refused to help scoop out the pumpkin guts, so I got 2 and Tim got one.
Gage is not allowed to use a knife (really??) so after Tim carved the basic triangle-face and pe-nis looking nose, he gave Gage permanent markers, which was the highlight of the evening.

Mommy then named him Mr. Whifflebrow. Mr. Unibrow sounded better, but this pumpkin plucks.

After scooping out the remnants of #2, the pumpkin wouldn't sit upright, and kept rolling back. I then thought I'd give him a laughing face, as if he is throwing his head back in laughter, thus naming him the online version of "Laughing My A$$ Off-LMAO--(not everyone that reads my blog will know text abbreviations).

Then, the name pretty much sums up the look of #3.

Wow. I really get into this.

Pumpkin Carving

Two Steps Forward...

...one step back.

My kid wants to revert back to being a baby.

When I went to look up old pictures, I realized that both sets of these pictures were taken almost 2 years apart. The "baby" pictures were taken in November 2006, when Gage was 4 months old. The "now" pictures were taken within one week of each other...at age TWO years, 4 months.





Story behind the above picture:
Yvonne and kids were over and Gabby is successfully potty trained. Gage doesn't want much to do with it until he sees another child going on the potty. Well, we were all in the bathroom doing the group thing because Gabby had to go potty, and Gage wanted to "try". After two grunts and a toot, he took off running, pantless, down the hall.

This is what I found. Gage in the bouncy seat (that I had brought up for baby Sophie to use during lunch) with Sophie's pacifier in his mouth. Both legs up, just like he used to do as a baby.

Hilarious. And definitely blackmail material to use at age 16.

A Sad Story

There is a man in Northern New Jersey that is dying of cancer.
Right now.

This man has worked hard his entire life; he doesn't have a degree, but has been working ever since he was a young adult. He has kept a job, paid taxes, and contributed to the economy like each and every one of us. A hard worker, never asking for handouts.

A little while ago, he got a new job at Walmart, but he had only been there a little while when he found out he was very, very sick. His insurance hadn't kicked in yet, so when he went to the doctor and was told that his lung cancer had spread into other parts of his body, including his shoulder, they told him there was nothing they could do for him. He didn't have insurance, so he wasn't able to pay for any treatment. In fact, the very Doctor that diagnosed him refused to see him again, because he couldn't pay.

He applied for and received some benefits, and has been able to participate in chemotherapy. He has been able to come up with some money to pay for his medications.
His loving family organized a benefit for him, to assist with these bills.

He has a wife, and a home, and people who love him very much. But, because he is not insured, he was turned away again today because there was nothing the hospital could do for him.

I know there is more to this story than even I know. And I apologize to his family if I have incorrect information in this post. But my heart absolutely breaks for this man, and his wife, to know that because he doesn't have silver-lined pockets he isn't quite worthy of the same medical attention that I would receive tomorrow, if needed.

You see, I have health insurance right now. And the funny thing is, I'm not even employed full-time! I am "lucky" enough to be married to someone who is, and who has damn good benefits. I am "lucky" enough to live in a part of the country where the healthcare system is excellent--some of the best in the world. (i.e. Mayo) I am "lucky" enough to have a savings account that could help pay for my medical bills right now, for awhile, if I needed them.

Am I more worthy than the man in New Jersey?

Flop

Okay. Because I REALLY don't want any of my friends and readers to be overly impressed with my newfound "Martha Stewart meets Rachel Ray" attitude, I have to share my most recent story.

After my successful Sunday baking Halloween cookies and homemade applesauce, I decided that since the Kitchenaide mixer was out on the counter anyway, I'd go ahead and try another new recipe that looked good, to take to a potluck I had today. The recipe was "Spice Cookies with Pumpkin Dip".

Would you believe that I flopped them both??

I have no idea what I did wrong with the cookie dough. It said to mix it all up (and I followed step-by-step) and then put in the fridge to chill overnight. So I did. I guess I thought it was a little bit runny (maybe needed more flour??) when I was done, but I thought the "chilling" would take care of that and firm it on up! NOPE! When I went to pull it out today to "roll into 1 inch balls", it was like playing with pudding. So I just plopped spoonfuls of it down on the pan instead. Even after baking it for 5 minutes longer than suggested (6 minutes), they were still a soupy mess on the pan and all mushy inside.

Then, the pumpkin dip called for 2 Cups Confectioner's Sugar. Now I know that this fancy name is what I refer to as plain out "powdered sugar", but I was moving along too fast and ended up dumping 2 cups of granulated sugar into the bowl before I caught my mistake. I "tried" to remove most of the granulated stuff, but a lot soaked into my dip before I could remove it. I then added about 1.5 cups of powdered sugar...but to no avail. It was DISGUSTING.

So the whole thing went down the drain or into the garbage.

I contributed my usual to the potluck: Triscuits and cheese dip. Straight from Walmart.

(Beezatches: You really have to be careful how much you compliment me.
1. Garlic Bread
2. Bars soaked in cooler water
3. The above story.)