Bozo - 1, Mommy - 0

Sarah loves to wear make-up. Applying make-up before we go out is one of her favorite past times. Actually applying make-up for no reason at all throughout the day is one of her favorite past times.

I have had multiple conversations with her about the amount of make-up she should wear. So she completely understands that wearing too much make-up will make her look like a clown.

I've even told her very pointedly, "You don't want to wear too much make-up because you will look like a clown."

Yet she continues to come downstairs looking like this:

Bozo -1

Mommy - 0

How Does She Do It?

I took Peter and Sarah to the Children's Museum yesterday.

One of the things I enjoy doing while the kids are involved in all sorts of imaginary play is observing the other mothers. (That and drinking Dunkin Donuts coffee, which I don't even think I'm allowed to bring into the museum, but so far, no one has had the guts to tell me I can't!)

Most of the other moms are dressed like me - khaki shorts, flip flops, and black or white t-shirts. The basic stay-at-home-mom-is-going-out-of-the-house-but-not-just-to-the-grocery-store look. We were all clean but not dressed up. Our hair was washed but not styled.

But yesterday, I spotted a mom that stood out from the crowd.

She had three kids with her. Their ages roughly 8 months, 2 and 4. And their clothes were all clean. The 4 year old was wearing a polo shirt and the collar was even turned up.

She was cute and petite with a short, sassy hair cut. And not only was her hair clean, but it had a healthy shine.

Her toe nails were pedicured and her finger nails were manicured. And it looked to be a professional job.

She was sipping from a water bottle while I was slurping down my illegal iced coffee

She was wearing a very fitted tee shirt, little shortie shorts, lipstick and a big smile.

And of course she was smiling. This woman clearly had it together.

And I have to admit. I was jealous. Not because she was cute, trim, healthy and pedicured. But because this woman was cruising through the Children's Museum, chasing after three kids, wearing....

WEDGE HEELS!

I have enough trouble wearing my wedge heels to church on Sundays. And if you own a pair of wedges, then you know what I'm talking about.

They are cute, but you pay for the cute in blisters, red marks and general uncomfortableness.

So, yes. I will admit it. I was jealous.

And I consoled myself by thinking that she probably has a team of people helping her to pull off her look -a rich husband, a stylist, a trainer, a maid, a chef, a nanny and

a really good podiatrist!

What Do You Do When Good Bananas Go Bad? Make Banana Bread, Of Course!

My kids love to help out in the kitchen - especially Sarah.

But when the kids help, there is always a huge mess so I probably don't have them "help" me as much as I should.

But I guess I shouldn't complain because when the kids are awake, there's always a huge mess somewhere.

So a couple of days ago, when I couldn't stand the endless rounds of "Mommy, what can I do?" any longer and I noticed that I had four bananas that were drawing fruit flies, Sarah and I made banana bread.

I love banana bread. But I have high banana bread standards.

I want, no, I expect banana bread to be dense and moist. If it's dry, I won't eat it.

In 2001, a coworker brought in some banana bread and it was the best banana bread I had ever tasted. It was dense and moist and flavorful. It was everything I expected out of banana bread.

I immediately asked him to get the recipe from his wife. The next day he brought in the recipe and I made it multiple times trying to get the same results.

And every single time I made it, it was the driest, blandest banana bread I have ever eaten.

I am assuming that his wife purposefully left out her secret ingredient.

So (getting back on track here) Sarah and I made banana bread.

The nice thing about banana bread is that it can be made quickly and all in one bowl so the mess we created was minor:


But the smiles I got were major:

And well, the results were wonderful:

The recipe that I used has now become my banana bread recipe.

The recipe that I will make every single time I have bananas swarming with fruit flies.

The recipe that I will pass down to my grand kids.

And I would like to thank the Queen B and her Nannie for sharing this dense, moist, flavorful banana bread recipe.

And the best thing about this recipe?

Nannie didn't leave out her secret ingredient!

Nannie's Banana Bread

1 c. sugar3 over ripe bananas

1 c oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 c flour

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

1/2 c nuts (optional, I'm guessing)

1/2 t cinnamon

1 box instant banana pudding (the small box. she said you could use vanilla if desperate. but i don't think it would make her happy.)

1 t vanilla

Combine all that stuff. Put it in a lightly sprayed loaf pan. Bake at 350 for an hour or until done.

Fun With An English Idiom

Yesterday, Peter was excitedly telling me about the neighbor's cat:

Peter: Do you know how I know Tabby is a hunter?

Me: How, honey?

Peter: Because the other day he killed two birds, (pauses slightly)

Me: With one stone?

Peter: (looks at me oddly and finishes his sentence) two bats and a mouse.

I chuckled for the rest of the day thinking about that one.

A stay-at-home mom has got to have a little fun.

The Best Green Beans Ever

I'm not a very good cook. I like to cook but I'm not that good at it.

My husband is a good man. He will eat what I put before him and normally without complaint. But because I am not a good cook, it is also normally without kudos as well.

Last night, I had a bunch of fresh green beans in the fridge and needed to use them up before they spoiled.

I threw some olive oil in a skillet and let it heat up.

Then I chopped up a shallot I had that was left over from another recipe and I chopped up a couple of cloves of fresh garlic. I threw those in the skillet and let them cook until the shallot turned translucent.

Then I threw the green beans in and added more olive oil until they were coated.

Then I tossed in some red pepper flakes and let it all cook until the green beans were tender (probably about 30 minutes or so).

When we were eating dinner, Dan declared, "These are probably the best green beans I have ever eaten!"

I almost fell off my chair.

And when I told him I just sort of threw stuff in the pan, he told me I should write down the recipe so I wouldn't forget it.

So that's what I've done. This is my recipe for The Best Green Beans Ever.

Enjoy!

PS - I would have taken a picture but before I served them, I didn't realize these were going to be deemed The Best Green Beans Ever and after dinner there were none left.

Just a little bloggy business...

Just a little bloggy business....

Do you guys see that new ad under the BlogHer ad?

That's an ad for LeapFrog toys. LeapFrog has put together a quick quiz you can take that will give you customized ideas for educational things to do with your kids based on the results.

Take the quiz. Have fun with your kid.

It's all good.

Miracle Monday

It's Miracle Monday and today I'm asking for more prayer for Gracie Jean Lockyer.

I need to give you all an update as she has had a very rough week. (The text in quotations is taken directly from Gracie's CaringBridge site.)

She was scheduled to have a heart catheterization on Thursday but they couldn't do the procedure because she took a turn for the worse on Wednesday night.

"She has had a continuous fever; there is no profusion to her hands and feet (meaning they could not get a pulse); her lactic acid has been going up; they have increased her vent and added additional heart medicine; she has needed blood and fluid but she has a tendency to fill up with the fluid quicker than she should, making her "septic"".

At one point on Thursday, they "were told that she went into shock. Her blood pressure dropped to 40/20 and she had no blood flow to her arms and legs. They added epinephrine--a heart medicine--and went up on her other heart medicines."

And while they were doing a test on her abdomen, they discovered that she has a fracture in her femur. "Because Gracie has never been able to maintain nutrition in the PICU, she has weak bones. Sometimes sick babies are as fragile as old people." So her leg is now in a little cast.

Her parents, Todd and Amanda, have become tired and weary. You can hear it in their posts on Gracie's CaringBridge site.

They continue to put their trust in God but they as well as Gracie, need our prayers.

Please pray for Gracie and Todd and Amanda.

If you would like to share a miracle, it's simple. Just post a miracle on your blog and link it back here using Mr. Linky below. Please mention "A Mom's Life" and my URL in your post. And if you want, you can use the Miracle Monday button in your post as well.

PLEASE NOTE - when linking make sure to link to your Miracle Monday post. Do not link to the front page of your blog. If you have any questions, email me and I will be glad to help you. My email address is in my profile.

Have a great Miracle Monday!

Miracle Monday is now closed. Please come back next week if you would like to post a miracle. In the meantime, please browse the Miracle Archive on the sidebar for inspiration!

Meet Bob.

My good friend Tracy wanted to see a picture of my new do - the one that I style with my trusty curling iron.

So here it is....

I got it cut about a month ago and didn't bother to post about it because basically it's just a simple bob. And to be quite honest, I'm not that thrilled with it.

I've had bobs before and well, they're just bobs. They aren't trendy or stylish or anything special.

But bobs are classic, elegant and timeless. Three adjectives I frequently use to describe myself.

Oh, I kid.

I guess I'm just not sure what to do with my hair.

I guess I keep thinking that a new hairstyle will suddenly make me look 10 pounds thinner, will suddenly make my house cleaner and more organized, will suddenly make my kids better behaved and will suddenly put a little bounce in my step.

Clearly a new hairdo isn't going to do any of that.

So, I might as well come to terms with the bob. It's just hair. And that's all.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

But for some reason, I keep looking.

So if you see someone with a timeless bob flipping through all of those over-priced hair magazines in the supermarket letting out a big long sigh, that will be me.

I'll be looking for the perfect hairstyle that not only suits my face shape and my hair type, but one that also promises weight loss, a clean house and sweet kids.

Wish me luck...

Jagged Little Pill

My daughter loves to play with her brother and the two boys that live next door. Most afternoons the little boys are pretty accommodating and don't seem to mind a 4 year old girl tagging along.

Any why would they?

Sarah may be wearing a dress and plastic heels but she can get down and dirty with the best of 'em.

She's already the kind of girl I always wished I was. She's girly, pink, soft, and glittery on one hand and tough-as-nails, let's-play-in-the-dirt, I'm-not-afraid-of-anybody-or-anything on the other hand.

So today,when the boys told her they didn't want to play with her, she took it all in stride.

She came in the house, told me what happened and started singing the following song:

Boys are mean.
I don't care.
They aren't my friends.
I only like girls.
Boys are mean but not my brother.
Because booooooys arrrrrrre meeeeeeeean!

Alanis Morissette would be so proud!

Here's a picture of Sarah, last week before her declaration of boy hate, hanging out with the boys watching a big truck .