Thankful

Thanksgiving has come and gone.

Unless you're Canadian, and celebrated ages ago - pretty much everyone knows this. I'm well aware.

But I have had my head so far up my depressed ass, I've really lost sight of some really basic things.  The Unconditional love is so important. So are the basic necessities that I tend to take for granted. Like trips to the grocery store with no hesitation swiping that debit card.  Or trips to Target (my lovah) getting what we need and what we want.

Or more importantly, teaching Big Kiss (4 1/2), that not all boys have new clothes or new toys or even all the food they need sometimes. 

We chose an 'angel' tree tag from his daycare, a 4 year old boy, who asked for bakugons and leapster and clothes. And?

He wanted new sheets.  That about broke my heart, knowing we have a closet full of plain and plaid and printed and mismatched sheets.  Who knows if he's got a bunch of new or old sheets, but the fact that he wanted some for Christmas? Well he got some. 2 sets, actually. And 3 outfits. And 12 bakugons. And a leapster game. Because Seriously? I can afford it. I can. And not everyone is in that position and I need to pay it forward. 

It was a true moment with that sweet potato of my Big Kiss, too. He really 'got it' that this boy doesn't have a lot and he was more than happy to spend my money to give to a stranger ;)

Think he's ready to help feed the homeless? We'll work on that one...

What The????

 

Zhu Zhu pets? Webkinz? Bakugan?

Why can't my kid just be happy w/ Lincoln Logs and Crayons? He's 4. FOUR!

I swear to GOD if Santa gets wind of any of these "pet" things, I'll kick him in the nuts.

It's new. It makes me smile.

So I got to thinking...maybe a facelift would make me feel better.


No. Not on ME.


On mah blog. So I found a gorgeous template, then effed around w/ it and whala - here's thew new look.

Thing is, I'm going to have to update it seasonally, huh? Well, I guess it'll give me something to do.

Thoughts? Hate it? Whatever, I'm not here for you. 


In other news, my husband has returned from his travels. I'm still feeling beaten down. I'm still busy as hell at work.

But, I have a husband, I'm healthy and I have a job. 

So - yah - there's that.

And? I've been knitting. On a loom. One of those plastic jobbers? It's so relaxing and peaceful. 

Be thankful I don't have all of y'alls addresses, or you'd be getting a MommaKiss original scarf. 

Unconditional

I’ve been having so many ups and downs recently, I can't remember if my head is up or my ass is down or if my boobs should point east and west or straight out, knowwhatimeanverne?? It's getting harder and harder to see the bright side.  To recognize the good in the day when so much “bad” seems to be on my shoulders.  I’ve been looking for a reminder of the love all around me and came upon this, which I’m sure is familiar to some:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast…


Wait.

What?

I guess I have more than that.  I have recently experienced expressions of love, the greatest of all:  The Unconditional kind. 

Here goes.

Love is…
Your 4 year old, upon finding you sobbing on the cold bathroom floor, rubbing your back and asking if you need a blanket.  Once he gets that blanket, he lays next to you, “so that you don’t get cold, Momma” and quietly sings his favorite lullaby...

Love is…
Your husband looking at you across the dinner table, as noodles fly and arguments are had about who’s juice glass is more full.  He knows you’re on auto-pilot, but still, he reaches for your hand…knowing any words spoken at that very moment would be lost in the chaos, but his warm hand is there and words aren’t needed …

Love is…
 Your mother sending you a handmade quilted tree skirt and Christmas stockings, even though her joints are gnarled and her body aches…

Love is…
Going to your baby’s crib, late at night after the deadline has been met and the laundry is folded.  Picking him up and smelling that breath and touching those warm cheeks and feeling him turn into you, into that nook in your neck that is his and only his. And he lets you rock with him. For as many minutes or hours you need… 

Love is…
Friends both near and far, somehow knowing just when you need a laugh or an ear or a hug or a teeny tiny two word text:  “I’m here.”

So yah, I guess I do know a thing or two about love…Why do the reminders seem so hard to find when they are so plain as day THERE for you?

Q: How to lose blog readers

A: Stop writing in your blog.


Seriously. I'm not doing it on purpose. I just have NO time to formulate a thought longer than 140 characters. And why can't I EVER spell that word right. It's always "charachters." Who ruined that word for me?   And Restaurant...thank God for spell check. The whole "au" vs "ua" thing.

Anyway. Maybe life needs to hand me an even BIGGER pile of slop to give me a blog story...like more "bloggable" than my 4 year old screaming this morning. From the toilet. "I got poop on my thumb! And it stinks!"

Thanks for sharing, kid, now let me and my jackhammer'd head go back to hiding under the covers...

ok. so I know I don't have much to say, but I'd rather leave these pages blank than post lame ass stuff...and hey - silver lining - it's not ME cloggin up your google reader!

I baked.

For the love of all things good and holy, Thank you for the Best Birthday - internet! And some peeps in real life, too. Turns out having my husband out of town actually worked in my favor. My girlfriend came over, made us dinner, cleaned while I put the kids to bed, "made" me a cake and stayed over - so we had some prosecco. Mmmmm.  Plus? No obligatory birthday sex.  Score (or not?).

Anyway - another week of Mr. Kiss traveling. I can't believe moms do this shit all the time. It's hard ass work.

I'm just poppin in to share some of the goodness that was Halloween. And no, it's not the costumes or the candy - but it's the cupcakes.

Yes, I said cupcakes.

My 'hood mama's husband's (follow that?) birthday is on Halloween so they always have a lil bash and then all of our kids to out and parade the neighborhood.  Of course, one friend had the nerve to birth twins this year, so she added 2 kids like *that*!  We had 10 total.

Back to the cupcakes. Yes.

By far the best I've EVER EVER made.  Best part - the cake is just from a box.

Ok - here goes. 

Make cupcakes from a box (heh).  I used chocolate, the kind w/ pudding in the mix. 


While they're baking, mix up this Raw Cookie Dough.* Heavenly. No lie.  Hold a cup aside for the frosting.  Then mix in whatever you want - I added mini choco chips. 

The frosting is on the same site...use that cup of dough you set aside and add a half cup of heavy cream, whip it up and it's pure bliss.

So once the cupcakes are cooled, cut a hole from the middle - put a ball of the choco chip cookie dough in the middle. 

Then frost.

Everyone loved these and I got more hugs, kisses and dry humps than I could have imagined.  Sweet. 

As for all else MommaKiss? Well, life's handing me an extra dose of "challenge" so yah, I'm dealing and wish I had time to write about all the fun things I want to write about. Until then? I'll be thankful all of those cupcakes were eaten (my ass is big enough, thankyouveramuch) enjoy the time w/ the kiddos and keep on keepin' on.


*www.cupcakeproject.com