Put That One On The List

What list?

The list of things that do NOT put me into labor.

And what am I referring to?

Seeing a mouse run through my living room. Twice in the same day.

I had mostly gotten over my automatic scanning of places for mice, since our mice problem in December. Dan had gotten a bunch of mouse-proof containers for the pantry and I made sure I didn't leave things sitting out that would attract them.

Yesterday morning, we were sitting down for breakfast and had just started praying. Right in the middle of the prayer, I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. Turning my head, I was shocked to see a little brown mouse running around in the living room. I gasped loudly and called for Dan (he was getting ready for work). He came out in time to see the mouse run under the door to the coat closet. Before he left for work, he set some mousetraps and then it was quiet all day.

Until yesterday evening. The kids were in bed and we were relaxing in the living room watching TV. I was stretched out on the couch, having an occasional contraction. I thought I saw movement and sure enough, the mouse had come out of the closet and was starting to run through the living room. I gasped and it changed directions and headed right under the couch (where I was resting!). You have never seen a hugely pregnant woman jump up so fast! I let out a little scream, which promptly woke up my snoozing husband, nearly giving him a heart attack in the process. The mouse then ran back out from under the couch and eventually darted down the stairs to the basement, where it disappeared somewhere.

It avoided all mousetraps overnight, so it is probably still hanging around. We think the deluge of rain lately prompted the invasion. And let's just say the mouse did not contribute to my ability to sleep last night. And to make matters worse, it did not even have the courtesy to put me into labor!

What Is More Fun Than Snow?

Melting snow that forms little streams of water and mud, mud, mud!



If you have some, they will find it. I guess that's what play clothes and washing machines are for!

You Know Mom Is Tired, #7

You know Mom is tired when she makes the sandwich for Daddy's work lunch and she forgets to take the wrapping off the cheese slice. Mmmm.

Heard At The Dinner Table Last Night

Dominic: Daddy said the baby is coming in two minutes!

Mommy: Whoa, I'd better go get ready!

(Minutes, days, weeks, it's all the same sometimes. I guess we'd better work on that concept a little more!)

Often Heard Question From Joseph These Days

Can I have some more some of dat?

Not So Amusing

I think every woman in the last few weeks of a pregnancy knows firsthand that sleep is a precious commodity that is often hard to come by. Whether it be due to an aching back, bathroom trips, contractions, baby gymnastics in your belly, or even just the usual wake-ups from children already in the house, sleep does not come easily or uninterrupted. However, last night was an "adventure" of a different sort.

The story really starts when we moved into our house 1.5 years ago. After we sold our previous house, I was able to call for the amenities, like a landline and internet. I can still remember clearly when I called to set up the landline, the guy on the other end had a few potential phone numbers I could choose from. He named one and I said that's fine, as long as it's a good one, ha ha. Unfortunately, what neither of us knew was that that particular phone number used to belong to a rather, shall we say, notorious person who had/has many people anxious to locate him.

So I have to talked to many people and over and over again I've said, Sorry, wrong number. For a while, I was getting called every day. Then the automated calls started, you know the ones where it says, Hello this message is for _________. If you are not _______, please hang up. I would always just hangup. Well, one day I wasn't here, so I got the whole message on the answering machine and realized that these calls were from collection agencies out of state. Whenever a live person called, I would explain, because it seemed to have more of an effect, that the person they were trying to reach did not live here, but that he used to have this phone number, no I did not know him, nor did I know how to get a hold of him, and PLEASE STOP CALLING THIS NUMBER! Finally, after a year or so, the calls seemed to subside and I only occasionally will get one for someone in this person's family.

Yesterday evening, however, after the kids went to bed, we were watching the Olympics when the phone rang. I picked it up and it was an automated phone call from Delta Airlines telling me my connecting flight for the next day was cancelled and it gave the rerouting plan. I listened in amusement, assuming it was meant for someone in our phone number's previous family. I was amused because I was picturing myself getting on an airplane the next day 8.5 months pregnant.

Then the phone rang again, but this time it was at about 3:00 AM! I started up, heart pounding, wondering what family emergency was happening, because who else is going to be calling in the middle of the night. I gasped out a hello and the automated phone call started, Hello this is Delta Airlines calling... I hung up the phone, told Dan in amazement, and I tried to calm down my racing heart so I could go back to sleep. A few minutes later it rang again and it was the same message! I remember crying out, How do I make this stop?! This time I let the message play to the end and then hung up. Then I lay there for I don't know how long waiting for the phone to ring again, which it never did.

So Delta Airlines, I've got a grudge against you. You owe me some lost sleep!

Box Seats!

What else are boxes good for?




Watching the Olympics in style.

An Overdue Photo

Here's our Miss Toothless! I think it was actually about 2 weeks ago when she lost the tooth. And I missed it! I had only been gone from the house for 10 minutes (on my way to the grocery store) when Dan and Catherine called with the news. She was so excited!

Happy Anniversary To Us!

Seven years ago today we said I do! Seven years and 6 children: four here, one in heaven, and our new little one arriving some time in the next few weeks!

Round Three

Well, I hope we are on the tail end of round three of the stomach virus. Round One was relatively easy. Almost 3 weeks ago, Catherine was sick to her stomach for a day. Round Two was a monster that started 2 weeks ago. Dominic and Anne got sick together, but manifested it differently. Dominic threw up for a day, then was puny for a few days. Anne complained her tummy hurt for a couple days, then seemed better for a couple days, then threw up for a day. At the same time, Joseph had a horrible cold and was up many times every night. Finally it seemed like everyone was getting better. Then this past Sunday night Round Three commenced. Joseph started vomiting during the night (2:00am, to be exact), and continued doing so every 30-60 minutes until 7:00. He seems better now, except for residual crankiness. Dan has not been feeling well the past few days as well. So we have been in survival mode around here!

Let us hope and pray that there is no Round Four in our future. Because that would be me.

Have You Ever?

Have you ever put things like "Unload the dishwasher" or "Make lunch" on your to-do-list just so you could cross something off?


At least I'm not to the point where my list includes "Get out of bed."


Not yet.

You Know You Have a Bunch of Little Ones, #17

You know you have a bunch of little ones when the first child you laboriously zipped, stuffed, and wedged into snow gear comes back in (cold, and demanding hot chocolate) before you even get the last child out the door to play in the snow.

What We Are Doing

Tractor movie on downstairs for Joseph: Check!

A different movie on upstairs for the other kids: Check!

Jello made: Check!

Sprite on hand: Check!

Puking kids (and puke buckets) on the couch: Check!

I guess our next few days are planned out for us now. They were all fine when they went to bed last night! Nothing like pregnancy and puking kids to make you feel a little queasy yourself.

Pizza Night

In the winter we like to make homemade pizza every few weeks, usually on Sunday evenings. I always make the dough and get the toppings ready, and then Dan rolls out the dough, puts on the toppings, and bakes them on our pizza stone. The kids like to watch Daddy put the pizzas together.

This last time we made pizza, we got inspired to be more creative. We have James McNair's Vegetarian Pizza cookbook and we adapted a couple of recipes from there. Pictured above is the Roman-Style Spinach Pizza. It was so good I was lucky to get a picture at all before it was gone. All of the kids but Catherine liked it. I knew I had better blog about it so I could remember what we did the next time we want to make it. This was enough to make one small pizza.

1 small bunch of spinach, stems chopped off - washed well and drained somewhat

1 clove garlic, pressed or finely minced

Some pine nuts, I think I used about 2 Tbls.

2 Tbls. unsalted butter, melted

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Ground Italian sausage, browned and drained

Shredded mozzarella cheese

Put damp spinach in skillet and cook on high, stirring often until the spinach wilts and turns bright green. This only took a few minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much liquid as possible, then mix spinach with garlic, pine nuts, and melted butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Roll out pizza dough and brush top with extra-virgin olive oil. Put on spinach mixture, then sausage, then top with cheese. Transfer pizza to pizza stone in hot oven (we bake them at 550) and bake until done. Mmmm!

This one is the Olive Paste Pizza. I adapted the recipe a lot so I could use what ingredients we had, and it tasted very good. And the smell! Heavenly! This made enough for 2 small pizzas.

1 can black olives

1-2 Tbls. capers, rinsed and well drained

1-2 tsp. basil (it called for 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, but I didn't have any)

1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped

1/8-1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1-2 Tbls. lemon juice, fresh if you have it

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Ground Italian sausage, browned and drained

Bacon, fried til well done and broken into small pieces

Mozzarella cheese

Put olives, capers, basil, and garlic in food processor and process. Add olive oil and process until smooth. Then add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Roll out pizza dough and brush top with extra-virgin olive oil. Spread olive paste on the top, then top with sausage and/or bacon, and finally the cheese. Transfer to hot pizza stone in oven (550) and bake until done. Yummy!

First Loose Tooth in the Brungardt House

Yesterday evening, Catherine came upstairs and walked over to me and said, "Mommy, my tooth is wiggling!" And sure enough, it was. I think it has been a little loose for a while and she just thought something was wrong with it. When I explained what was happening, she got really excited and could not stop talking about it. It seems like a big milestone to me for some reason. I had been wondering when she would have her first loose tooth. You can be sure I'll post a picture when it falls out!