Just go with it

Boys and I have been home (as in ALL DAY home) for the past couple of days. No, not sick from drinking strawberry Fanta, just colds, but I've come to realize this week~ runny noses x 3 = a ton of tissues and Boogie Wipes. This got me thinking WHAT IN THE WORLD moms did before genius inventions like Boogie Wipes and... 


Woah!


Mr. G just discovered the reverse side of our revolving bookshelf. That means my...STATIONERY!


Ok, I'm back.


nasal aspirators! Ok, pretty sure those have been around for awhile now....(my guess the 50's?) but still. 


Interruptions normal occurrences like the one above don't even phase me anymore. As I wrote about in my last post, my husband and I have surrendered our home and most of our personal belongings for the taking. It really is just easier that way. If you came to our house you'd see dashes of nice things here and there, but only on the tops of high spaces, or tucked away behind revolving bookshelves. We tell ourselves that one day we'll have nice things again, money to spend as we like, dinner dates for two, travel...


Now where was I? Oh yes, sicky sickness. All throughout the house...


But being sick doesn't have to be a miserable experience. Being sick this week has actually made me slow down to a somewhat normal* pace. For instance yesterday I sat down with my son and watched a full episode of Octonauts. Now for those of you unfamiliar, Octonauts is a cute Disney show where little aquatic creatures (8 of course, hence the octo reference) explore the sea. They go to the Octoport, perform impressive rescue missions, and run very important Creature Reports complete with a marching style song and dance. Weird to admit I kinda like this show? Probably because it's not overly annoying like "Mischa-Mouscha...Mickey Mouse!" We also re-arranged the Playroom/Grant's room (pictures to come...). It now houses a puppet show theater (okay, the loveseat is now just turned to face the door and is a bit pulled out from the wall) and a little food/chef's station (thanks for the inspiration JeAnna). Really fun.


Other random bits of news is that our home no longer feels like there is a baby in it. Yep, we're officially raising two little men. Maybe it was the day we realized we could buy them both the same size diaper (which was about two months ago now that I think about it), or today when I dis-assembled the jumparoo (I think Grant only used for about a month. What a lot of $ and space that thing was!). 


The other day I was making comments reenacting a play-by-play of a Jazz game. My friend was staring at me like this wasn't normal and after hearing myself out loud, I realized I'm not quite normal, so I said that I should really take up sports writing. Bart was quick to correct me. "You don't watch sports though Kate. You just watch the Jazz." Tru dat. While on topic with my small Jazz obsession, I got to thinking how I hope our sons appreciate their love for the Jazz as much as I do from my family. Notice how I just typed "their love." I truly do think of this as something they'll just automatically inherit. No questions asked. If they do ask, our responses are already pre-rehearsed: "Mom and dad love the Jazz, all your grandparents love the Jazz, Uncle Chris, Katie, Aunt Jenna, [insert here anybody else they find cool] love the Jazz, anybody who knows anything about basketball love the Jazz." Okay, I'll stop there. Yes, I know this all sounds nutso.


I've thought about typing out a day in our life in a blog post. I've seen it done on other blogs. I think it would be interesting for us to look back on once the kids are older, as well as let people really know what being a full-time mom is like. But then I think about how I couldn't because each day is different. Sometimes VERY different (Benjamin taking NO nap) and sometimes just a little different (Benjamin and I falling asleep together in mommydaddy's bed). And how much I like a that unpredictability. Earlier this week though, my husband and I finally sat down (no idea why we didn't do years ago...) to divvy up evening responsibilities and I'm really happy with what we were able to come up with. I've seen many of those pre-made weekly menu charts and they honestly make me nervous. :O While I know we all enjoy a good home cooked meal, I'm running a household not a restaurant! Plus, I'm a vegetarian (so far the only one in our house), Grant is still tooth-less (for the most part), so it's totally normal* for multiple meals to be going on here all at once. 


Benjamin's creativity is already paying off (literally!). Remember this Playskool Walk-n-Ride I wrote about here? Well, boy has he gotten his use out of it. Since he is so creative, some days it is a firetruck, some days a car, and others a bulldozer! His ingenuity resulted in the following parenting tip: Buy a toy once, then encourage them to think it's anything and everything they want it to be! 


Okay, that's it for today's randomness. Oh, I almost forgot a delicious cake recipe that I want to share...it's from my Grandma Marie, although I think she got it from a commercial source. It's super good, super easy, and festive for the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday. Just remember my words of wisdom "just go with it" when you come to the part about pouring actual soda pop on it. :) Oh, and yes, this is where the image at the top finally comes in. 


Strawberry Pop Cake
Ingredients:
1 white cake mix
1 lg. pkg. instant strawberry jello
1 cup boiling water
1 cup Stawberry Fanta soda pop
1 container of Cool Whip
1 small instant vanilla pudding
1 container of fresh strawberries


Directions:
Prepare cake mix according to the box. Bake in a 9 x 13 pan. While still warm, puncture cake with a fork about every 2 inches.


Combine strawberry jello and boiling water. Stir to dissolve. Add strawberry soda pop to the strawberry jello and stir. Pour over cake while warm. Cool for 1 hr, or over night in the fridge. Make the vanilla pudding according to box directions and mix with Cool Whip. Spread over cake and let chill for 4 hrs. Add fresh cut strawberries to the top just before serving.

p.s. this is how you know it's a REALLY good cake. 

We couldn't even refrain ourselves long enough to take one photo before digging in! 

*all relative when you're a parent.