Happy Halloween- 2007

Last night was our first real Halloween with Sebi where he new what the deal was, and boy was he ready. I was equally excited so you can imagine how painful it was for me to sit through my physiology class. I then drove home at 70 miles per hour. If you know me, I don't drive 70 miles an hour (and have been compared to "a grandma" on the road). I just couldn't wait to get the kids in their costumes that I had made them and to take pictures.

And on a side note,

Mom, I totally forgive you now for that traumatic memory I have of you stuffing me with tissue paper all the while I was screaming that I didn't want to be a pumpkin. I get it. You just want the kids to look cute.

Anyhoo, Sebi was so excited when I got home and Sebastian had everyone dressed. We kept the babies up, and they handed out candy with me while Sebastian took Sebi trick-or-treating.

Here are a couple of videos of the night.

No critical comments on the costume. He is walnuts. NOT brains. And they do look very similar if you happen to really compare the two...

And this is a video of Homer, WALKING! Yes, he is walking now. And it is so much fun. But now I am on double....triple duty chasing everyone down. I'll post more pics of the night, but I did have to get the obligatory post in for the NaBloMo whatcha-ma-callit.

**just a reminder, I'm not a crazy mom who decided to make her son be walnuts for Halloween. Remember, the whole family was mixed nuts. Sebastian was hazel nuts, I was chestnuts (which ended up being the easiest one to make since I just had to slap a couple of brown circles on my boobs), Sebi was walnuts, and the babies were peanuts.**

It Really Doesn't Take All That Much To Persuade Me.

Really, y'all. Just don't go jumping off any bridges...

I'm in on the National Blog Thingy for November. Can't wait!

Weird Science

Alright, I'm just gonna cut to the chase with this one. I microwaved a fly.

Not on purpose, y'all (for those of you having the frog post flashbacks). I didn't know it was in there until I opened the door. It was still alive and flew off, but I can only describe the way it flew off by likening this to a drunk trying to walk with a purpose.

I don't know if I should be on the look-out for a "super-fly". I did have a genetics lab many, many years ago where I worked solely with fruit flies- I just can't remember how long the molting stages are and when to expect progeny, but I'm thinking 8-9 days sounds familiar...

So in a little over a week, if I happen to wake up to flies pouring themselves breakfast at my kitchen table- or better yet a whole crew of them mopping my floor, I'll let y'all know.

And in Other News

I realize this subject matter is normally dealt with on the sidebar, but I had a good laugh with this one late last night and felt it was post worthy.

Before sending off an e-mail, I hit the spellcheck button because I've been known to send out some pretty jacked up spellings in the past.

I don't know if many of you are familiar with the word chankla. It is basically interchangable with the word flip-flop. Well, spellcheck isn't set to international on my computer and apparently the word chankla isn't common in the English language because it (spellcheck) suggested a surprising alternative.

I was offered as a replacement to chanklas- "Chanel's".

Damn right I'm gonna call my chanklas Chanel's now.

Coco Chanel's.

Oh, yes I did!

Today at the grocery store, Sebi eyed a strategically placed bag of candy corn (thanks marketing guys at H.E.B.) and asked if he could have them.

I decided to say yes since they were the Hill Country Fair brand (kudos, marketing guys) and were only .99c, however I wouldn't let him open them in the store.

I wasn't being a good mom, ya'll.

Well, maybe I was in a round-a-bout sordof way. You see, the moral behind me not letting him open the candy wasn't that I didn't want him to have candy before lunch. I just knew that he didn't have any milk on hand and you can't just eat a candy corn (which is like sugar intensified through hush-hush science) without a glass of milk.

Case in point. Later today, I gave Pudge a candy corn. Immediately after finishing, he reached for his sippy-cup.

**I realize this now raises issues about the "good mom" claim after admitting I gave my 16 month old a candy corn...**

You Can See How I've Been Distracted From Blogging Lately

• Mission Impossible posted quite some time ago about catching up on laundry is still incomplete and I'm thinking a laundrymat is my only hope

• I have decided that along with an ironing board, I need to purchase a blow drier- because there is no reason for bad hair AND wrinkles

• I am crunching numbers trying to figure if I still have an "A" average in physiology and am quite possibly barely squeaking by

• I'm working on this year's Halloween costumes and am currently at the "what supplies need to be bought to get started" phase.

• I went a whole weekend without internet and am slowly reestablishing my relationship with the world wide web

It's NOT Easy Being Green

O.k., I got an issue here. Everyone pretty much knows that I am back in school. Yes. I am a 31 year old student. I may not be the youngest in the bunch- but I sure as heck ain't the oldest either!


And on a side note: if anyone is considering going back to school and you are in your 30's, I would highly encourage it. Because once you get to the age where you ARE the oldest one in the class, you are usually the "talker". Noone likes the talker. We just want to get on with lecture and go home. Anyway...

For the past two weeks, we have been working with frogs in my physiology lab.


**Disclaimer: If you have a "weak" stomach, are pregnant, or have a family history of cardiovascular disease- read at your own risk.**


Well, I'm gonna give you the "dumbed up" version of what we have been doing. A couple of weeks ago, we were given frogs who had been pithed. O.k., in the lab's defense they "claimed" (and I am using the word claim very loosely- which will be explained later) they had been double-pithed.

If you don't know what it means to pith an animal. You basically scramble the central nervous system by sticking a wire through the spinal canal and/or brain (hence the double). The idea here is that it may hurt like hell when they do that, but afterwards the animal (which is still alive) will not be aware of any pain.

I know. I told you.

So, we've been given our own little live, pithed (double-pithed....ahemmm) kermit. They kindly positioned a small towlet over it's head. I guess they didn't want the frogs to put a face with the pain. Now we get to cut away the skin on the frog's leg from the groin area and pull it down all the way to the ankle- much like any woman would a stocking.

The frog is still alive.

Then we get to search through the frog's leg muscles and locate the sciatic nerve, lift it up gently, we don't want to tear it -the frog is alive. Then we get to insert a probe underneath this nerve.

A probe which will administer electrical shocks at increasing voltage. (I did not man the computer which did this). But I was in charge of repositioning the probe after each subsequent shock as it got loose from the frog jerking and all.

Oh, did I fail to mention that before all that, we had to cut the Achilles tendon so that we could raise the calf muscle up suspended, taught, and tied to a manifold? I don't know about ya'll, but even if the mob chose to cut someone's Achilles tendon I don't think they'd go the extra mile and hang it up after...

Well, the experiment was complete and after many "I'm sorry little guy" statements, we got to put him in a bag with the other 5 mutilated frogs so that they could all join one another in the freezer to finally face their deaths. Alive.

I'll spare the details and leave last week's experiment at this:

The frog's sternum was cut open, the heart was exposed, and chemicals were poured on it to either make it contract faster or slower. All so that we could watch this increase/decrease in the heart pumping with our very own eyes.

I was not in lab that day. (I had a previous engagement which I will save for another post because I'd rather not mix the good with the bad.) I couldn't be more thankful for missing that lab because it turned out, our frog wasn't completely pithed. The right side kept moving and jerking throughout the experiment I'm told.

That, and they discovered she was pregnant...

***no frogs were injured in the writing of this post***

If Only the "Apple a Day" Were Transferable *sigh*

My Gabi is sick again. Well- both Homer and Gabriel are sick, but Gabi is taking it much worse. I'm getting flashbacks of last year's cold season- and it's not pretty. We've already begun the nebulizer treatments again, and he seems to (just about) make it to 3 hours before needing another one :(

Of course they can be the equivalent of putting your child on speed, so he is restless quite a bit and though he would love to take a nap, he just can't manage getting a few minutes of shut-eye without waking.

My sweet, sweet Gabi has always handled colds roughly. He is such a trouper and usually just wants to be held, and my heart just breaks every time I know that another bout of sick is coming on. At this rate, I figure he'll be immune to the world by the age of 2.

Here's to wishful thinking, anyway. And here is to you, my sweet Gabi.

No, Really. I'm Alive.

O.k., so I took a sebatical from the blog. I was on a mission that required every bit of my attention: Home renovation.

I've been trying to make this place look like it's actually housed by a family and not a couple of bachelor roommates in their late teens/early twenties. I mean really, the walls could only stay bare for so long. I realize that I am the only female in this house.

I AM THE ONLY FEMALE IN THIS HOUSE.

So either I do something about the living quarters, or I get to live in testosterone central for the rest of my better years...Anyway, I'll be back and blogging in full force. The home project is just about complete...

And in Other News (October addition)

And In Other News...

Thursday is Sebi's turn to take snacks for his class at Mother's Day Out.

This morning I announced that we were going to the grocery store to get milk, dinner and snacks for Sebi and his friends tomorrow.

Once in the car, I said let's go and get some milk and dinner for you and daddy. And then Sebi said,

"And steak! For me and my friends tomorrow!"

That little guy is gonna be one heck of an entertainer,but I'm sticking with the ham and cheese cubes with pretzels...

And In Other News...

Tonight marks week 4 of the marriage course that Sebastian and I are taking through the church.

I think it's a bit sad that the both of us are more curious whether we will get served meat (haven't been yet) tonight rather than the very important topic to be discussed, which is "The Power of Forgiveness".

I think we'll both forgive anything for a 4 oz chicken, or maybe a meatball...

And In Other News...

I have bought supplies for this year's Halloween costumes. I'm sticking with the family theme like I did last year.

This year, we will collectively be mixed nuts:

Sebastian- Hazelnuts
Me- Chestnuts
Sebi- Walnuts
The babies- peanuts (I figured I could have two of those because we all know that mixed nuts is like 60% peanuts)

And in other news

I had one of those really great laughs today. You know the one's where you just can't manage to stop, and you are practically crying.

It happened after I asked Sebi to "Please bring mommy her "Chanel's"."


And In Other News...

Tonight's subject with the marriage course is Parents and in-laws.

If you were uncomfortable reading that, imagine my position...
All kidding aside, I have decided to walk into this with a positive attitude -and any prayers will be appreciated as well :)

And In Other News...

I know I was complaining about the lack of meat being served on Tuesday nights, and maybe that shouldn't have been the point of focus seeing how we are supposed to be there to strengthen the marriage, BUT

last night we ate, wait for it.....Chicken Marsala. With a side of pasta.

And the topic went quite well. I think we both gained insight as to why we tick the way we do. Or at least why the things we do tick each other off :)