Tag You're It

I was tagged by Monica of Without Filters. I've never been tagged before, so I'm excited. It's nice to be thought of!


The Rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. List 6 random things about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up!



Six Random Things About Me:

1. I think Halloween may be my very favorite holiday. I love the costumes, the candy, and coming up with ideas for celebrations. Fall is my favorite season, and I love that there's such a fun holiday in the middle of it.


2. I love waffles. I like the little divits. I think they hold syrup so very well. I'm a big fan of maple. I'm willing to try others, but I need a little maple on the side.


3. I love the 90's. Not in an ironic-cool, VH1 sort of way, but more in a does-she-remember what-year-it-is sort of way. I loved the flannel shirts, and wide belts, and baby doll dresses, and doc martens, and tights for grown women (I still have them and would wear them if they fit). I loved the grunge music. I was more a Pearl Jam girl than Nirvana, but I still respect the genre-busting. I still wear scrunchies (when I have long hair). I was convinved the 90's weren't over until it hit me the current decade is almost over. Maybe it's a love for the decade of your 20s thing, but the 90's will always have a place in my heart.


4. I have wanted to be Jasmine for Halloween since the first time I saw Alladin 16 years ago (or however long it's been). I'm not sure why I didn't do it back then, unless it was an aversion to sewing and high prices. Now, I don't think anyone really wants to see that. Maybe next year (someday, maybe I'll stop saying that).


5. I am not good at it, but I absolutely love performance. I love to be on a stage (or any arena) and perform and have people watch and clap. I used to be in chorus in middle/high school, but I didn't realize how much I loved being in front of an audience until the first time I performed in the color guard with the marching band in high school. It was an amazing feeling.


6. I've had several jobs that involved public speaking. It doesn't bother me in the slightest - as long as I don't know anyone in the audience. I prefer to speak to a room full of strangers than give a speech to a handful of people I know. Maybe I feel like I won't be judged as harshly that way - or at least that strangers won't give me feedback. I'm really not sure why.

The six people I'm tagging:

1. Stevie - Our Life


2. Jason - JPASS Music


3. Lysha - Magnolia Mom
4. Cygnet Small
   
5. Reynie - God, Do You Hear This Southern Girl Rambling?


6. Dawn - UK Lass in Us

Nursing Doll

So I was perusing the internet the other day, looking at new (to me) mommy blogs, and following links, and I came across this nursing doll. I have to say I'm not sure what to think about it. When I was a kid, my Mama and Grandma made a nursing cat stuffed toy with little kittens that snapped on to nurse, and I always thought that was cool. I can see that it's educational for kids to have a human doll that nurses (although my memory of playing with dolls is that I was usually the mommy, and I didn't necessarily need to assign that role to my doll). The intriguing part is that the doll also gives birth (make sure to click on the additional photos at the link). I had two younger brothers by the time I was five (actually, one was born the week after my fifth birthday), and I do remember being interested in birth at that age. I was more interested in the pregnancy aspect, though. I remember thinking that babies came with accessories (almost all my dolls did) and wondering what different mommies got with their new babies (different dollies come with different baby items, after all).

The doll's description states that it can be used by midwives, birthing classes, and other educational purposes. The doll was originally designed in Brasil to teach young girls about childbirth. It might even be a good way to talk about menstruation. I think the whole process would have made a lot more sense to me if I'd had, or even seen, a doll like this. It might have helped my Mama to have a prop when she was teaching me about being a woman. I've always thought that girls are expected to put down their dolls too soon. Perhaps this is a good doll to carry into puberty.

So, what are your thoughts on the nursing/birthing mama doll?

Fall To-Do List

I was reading SuperFunMama's blog and she had an autumn to-do list. This is my favorite time of year but in Kentucky I've learned to dread it. I've never liked winter, and my experience in Kentucky has been short autumns and springs sandwiching much too long winters. As I mentioned in a previous post, my recent trip to my hometown reminded me of how much I love fall, so I thought I'd try to reclaim it with my own autumn to-do list.

1. Make vegetable soup. I have a pretty constant "recipe" that I use, but since I plan to eat it a lot the next few weeks (low calorie, and I love this stuff) I'm thinking about switching it up a little.


2. Go to Huber' Farm in Starlight, IN.


3. Attend my high school reunion. I thought these were usually in the summer, but ours is taking place during our high school homecoming. I missed the 10th, so I'm looking forward to our 15th.


4. Taking a in-the-leaves portrait of our daughter. I saw a really cool photo of a baby in leaves about eight years ago, and last year I just didn't get around to staging the photo shoot. So even though Abigail is a toddler now, I'll try to get it this year.


5. Hot tea. I love hot tea, but don't drink it much. We just bought a sampler pack so I'm excited to try some new flavors.


6. Eat candy corn. Well, I'm not having any trouble there! I'm always on the hunt for fall banana candy though.


7. Make Christmas presents. We haven't discussed our Christmas giving plans with anyone we exchange with yet, but I might try to make a few gifts this year. We'll see. That's an ambitious goal unless I find a way to involve Abigail.


8. Take Zumba classes. I took my first intro Zumba class Tuesday. It was again confirmed for me that I'm completely uncoordinated, but it was a lot of fun. I am not nearly as in shape as I would like. It's basically an aerobics class using elements of latin dance. I can't shake my bootie properly, but I really enjoyed the movements.


9. Go to yard sales. I'm hoping to find more fabric stashes. We have plenty of baby clothes (and, in all honesty, probably plenty of children's books too), but I'm always interested in a good find.


10. Make Abigail's Halloween costume. The funny thing is that I already bought Abigail's Halloween costume. It's a really cute ladybug costume that I found at a consignment store that was going out of business. But then I saw what I thought was a chocolate chip cookie costume at Pottery Barn Kids (it turned out to be a giraffe costume), and I've become obsessed with making Abigail into a chocolate chip cookie. When I told the saleslady at Hancock's what I was doing, she asked Abigail if she knew that meant she was going to get eaten.


11. Go to the Zoo's Halloween party. The Lousiville Zoo has a huge Halloween party every year. We've never been because we just didn't think Abigail needed to go at 8 months old and we didn't have kids before that. But this year we think she'll have a great time. The event is specially themed to NOT be scary so it's perfect for little kids.


12. Make fall seasonal table. I've been reading about seasonal tables/displays on various blogs and in The Creative Family by Amanda Soule. I'm not sure if this will work this year. We may end up with pine cones and rocks all over the house, but it sounds like a good idea. Abigail is still little enough to try to put things in her mouth (including rocks), so I have to be careful of what I put out.


13. Make chili. My husband and I make a pretty spicy chili (by my standards, at least), and it's really too hot to make during the summer. He's already started asking for it so we may make this in the next few days. We use chili hot beans, dark red kidney beans, lean ground beef, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and Rotel. We also throw in various spices and sometimes cocoa or cinnamon.

Hopefully this list will help me get excited about fall this year. Although it will still be difficult to forget that it means another Kentucky winter is coming. Yes, I know it's not the worst place for winter, but I'm a Georgia girl, and I expect my spring to arrive my February or March. Ugh.

Things I'm loving right now

I have been reading the SouleMama blog for several months, and am inspired each time she does a Things I'm Loving post. The first time I saw one, I thought it would make a great scrapbook page every once in a while. I also thought it might be a fun blog post. So, thanks to Amanda Soule, here's what I'm loving right now:

1. Warren Sapp on Dancing With the Stars - I think now that Misty May-Trainer is out of the competition, Warren may be my pick for the season. He has the best attitude, he's versatile, and he can move. He's such a joy to watch. So often the ones that are the most fun to watch (like Steve Gutenburg) simply can't dance and don't last that long. Warren has the potential to go far, I think.



2. Fall in Georgia - I always loved fall, but since I've lived in Kentucky I've gotten sad each year around September and stayed there until March. Winter starts around late October in Kentucky, and spring doesn't come until late April (if we're lucky). Then it's heat and humidity for the rest of the summer. Being in Georgia more this fall has reminded of what I love (since fall in Georgia actually lasts more than a week or two). The air is cool and crisp, the leaves are crunchy under my feet (so what if it's because of the drought this year - at least it wasn't humid), and there were pine cones everywhere. I miss fall in the deep South.



3. Candy Corn - I'm a big fan of candy, and "seasonal" candy is so much fun. This year I've discovered Chocolate Caramel candy corn and Caramel candy corn and they're a refreshing change from the regular kind (which I still love). My favorite candy corn, though, is in the bag marked Harvest Mix from Brachs (and some other brands). It's filled with fall shapes in candy corn, chocolate, maple and banana flavors. Love that stuff and it's SO hard to find. This year is the first time I've seen it in at least 3 years.



4. Vegetable Soup - My mom and I used to make huge pots of vegetable soup and pans of cornbread and eat on it for days. And when it was all gone, we'd make another. Sometimes we'd make a batch in the summer, but we usually didn't start until fall. Today was the first time I've made veggie soup in months, and it was so good. I'm very strict about the lack of meat - it's vegetable soup after all. My secret ingredient? Rotel diced tomatoes and chilies. I like spicy soup.



5. Language Acquisition - Abigail seems to be learning several new words a day now and it's so much fun. In the past week, she's learned cow, plate, soup, swim suit, silly, and a few family names. Words are so cool!



6. Yard Sales - I'm not usually a yard sale girl, but we went to my mom's neighbor's sale over the weekend. Not only have I known the family since before I have memories, but this was that rare yard sale with fabrics and antique linens. I picked up yards of fabric for quilting and general fun and one linen pillowcase. Now I'm regretting not getting more of the pillowcases and tableclothes. There's a huge neighborhood sale this weekend that I'm really looking forward to canvasing now.

My Kitchen Helper

I've been reading in various toddler books about letting my baby help me cook. I felt guilty at first because not only do I not do most of the cooking at my house (I have a wonderful husband who is a great cook), but our kitchen is small, and Abigail is pretty busy. I have visions of vegetables and water all over my floor (one suggestion is to let the baby wash vegetables at a toddler table). One evening a couple of weeks ago, she was running around under my feet while I was trying to cook dinner, and the answer came to me. I realized all our canned green beans were in the basement, and asked Abigail to help me get them. She even got to carry one can up the stairs by herself. Once I'd opened the cans, I picked her up, and asked her if she wanted to help Mommy cook. So I let her hold the can (I held the can too as a backup) and we emptied both cans into the pot. Then I got out the seasoning (we use a roasted garlic seasoning from Tone's) and I let her help me shake that into the pot too. She was so proud of herself that she calmed down while I finished cooking everything else, and told her Daddy about her adventure when he came in. She's just getting to the stage where she tells "stories" soon after they happen (if prompted), so the whole experience was exciting for all involved.



Abigail is 20 months now, and I'm still searching for fun things to do with her that won't leave us both feeling like we weren't ready for the experience yet. Cooking with Mommy was a hit though, and Abigail just got to make her second batch of garlic green beans.