<p>Help GSharp! I need to wear that halo. Where did it go?</p>
<p>Between helping two of my 3 kids today (the youngest is self-sufficient fortunately) and making doctor and hospital and VNA appts etc for my mom, I think I have a life. That’s a big “I think”.</p>
<p>so exciting (but complicated BBD)</p>
<p>JC40’s D; prayinglady’s D – 8/6</p>
<p>)xoxoxoxo> Parent56’s S; SWTCAT’s D – 8/10
somewhereinga D…8/11
CheckersMidwest’ S – 8/14
Tx5’s D—8/15
BUandBC’s S, austinmtmom’s D - 8/17
Lafalum84’s D – 8/18
2education’s S1 --8/19
MaineLonghorn’s S, Twinmama D2, Shillyshally’s D, Brooklynborndad’s D – 8/20
RobD’s D; AL34’s S – 8/21
Limabeans’s BB3 – 8/22
Twinmama D1-- 8/23
BonnieNewJersey D- 8/25
CaliforniaDancer – 8/26
Coskat’s D-- 8/27
mdemvizi, PinotNoir’s S, coloradomom’s S – 8/27
DougBetsy’s S – 8/28
SLUMOM’s S – 8/28
zoosermom’s D2 – 8/28
jbehlend’s S – 8/29
psychmom’s D – 8/30
showmom858 D --8/31
sewemma’s S – 9/3
Yds’ ds – 9/4 (we leave the day before)
CountingDown’s S2, Mathmom’s S2 – 9/4
jackief’s D – 9/6
pugmadkate’s S – 9/7
aliceinw’s S – 9/9
ProudNJMom’s S; G#’s D2 – 9/10
Tx5’s S – 9/14
limabeans BB2; FindAPlace’s S – 9/18
2leashes’ D --9/19
psychmomma’s S – 9/20
mommusic’s S – 9/21
esobay’s S – 9/22</p>
<p>and for those who bet…you win if you said the dorm mountain would not move!!! son stopped by on way back…“so is it clean?” Nope!!!</p>
<p>Brooklynborndad–Glad to hear that one of the CC kids will be right here in my area. Your DD will be right across the Hudson River from us. Feel free to PM me if you want my contact information in case you need somebody to act in loco parentis.</p>
<p>Here’s mine. When I worked I assembled it all in the morning or the night before, except the chicken, and then got home, put the chicken in and cooked it for 20 minutes. Soo easy!</p>
<p>Sopa de Sabores (Soup of Many Flavors) or Tortilla Soup</p>
<p>6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in bite-size pieces
3 cans chicken broth (14.5 oz. cans)
1 can Del Monte Mexican recipe stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz. can)
1 can crushed tomatoes (14.5 oz. can)
1 can Hunts diced tomatoes and green chilies (10 oz. Can)
2 cups water
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
2 heaping tablespoons ground cumin
2 heaping tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ bundle cilantro leaves (trimmed, chopped, without stems)
juice from 1 small lime
½ cup picante sauce</p>
<p>In a large pot, mix all ingredients except chicken pieces and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat until boiling. Stir occasionally. Serve in bowls with condiments on the side so guests can add as much or as little as they like. Recipe says it makes 10-12 servings, but I think it makes more than that! </p>
<p>Condiments:
2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
4 limes, sliced
3 avocados, cubed
Corn tortillas or tortilla strips (I buy corn tortillas, cut them into strips and toast them in the oven until crunchy)</p>
<p>Thanks for the recipes ladies! I’ve printed them out. It’s not gonna happen tonight though. I may have DH pick me some up from the little restaurant down the block though. Sounds like the perfect combo of soothing chicken broth for my throat & spiciness to help my sinuses :)</p>
<p>BBD: thanks for checking in! How has your D’s “re-entry” to the states been?</p>
<p>hope you feel better soon RobD!!!</p>
<p>robD, hope you’re feeling a little better.</p>
<p>Good afternoon! Had a great day today in Tahoe rafting down the Truckee river. It is more of a float than actual rafting, but there are a few wild spots. For all those with Lake Tahoe on your Bucket list I highly recommend it. Along with Yosemite which is breathtaking. </p>
<p>ML: How about Lasagne? you can make it beforehand and it tastes better if it sits a day or so. The Tortilla soup recipes sound great!</p>
<p>I totally slacked off and went to my first Reds game last night needed the mental break. So now I gotta catch up </p>
<p>Wishing safe, uneventful launches to everyone!</p>
<p>BonnieNJ I hope that you get some relief soon. You win this weeks Perfect Storm award an award that I am sure that you would rather not receive! At least D made it safely back from N. Korea and can put on her hip clothes now a whole different set of worries!</p>
<p>Zoosermom Keeping my fingers crossed for your nieces husband!</p>
<p>Happy 5.5 x 10^1 Birthday to Mr. tx5! At some point, arent you supposed to use exponential notation to represent your age? ;)</p>
<p>Lima Is BB3 road tripping with other people? Are they friends now? Do they expect to be friends when it is done? Im glad that I talked D1 out of that last year in hindsight, she is glad too.</p>
<p>RobD Lookin good for someone who was run over by a truck. ;)</p>
<p>DB Congrats on the good news for your S. Its not every day that a letter from the Dept. of Corrections brings good news.</p>
<p>
I cant imagine anyone missing anything here. We all lead such mundane existences. ;)</p>
<p>ML Think WWJD
Wonder, Welchs, JIF, and Daiquiris. 
My vote
Curry
the longer it sits, the better it tastes! I was just telling D1 last night that when I got my first job out of college and had little $, I would make a big pot of spaghetti sauce on Sunday and make it last for the week. FWIW, my first apartment was owned by a furniture store. What they couldnt sell went in it. I had an apartment within an hour of DC with brand new furniture, all utilities included, and maid service for $600 / month.</p>
<p>To expand on 12rmh18s suggestion, you can always prepare something en-route by using the engine as a cooking surface
[How</a> To Cook Food on Your Car Engine | How To Do Things](<a href=“http://www.howtodothings.com/automotive/how-to-cook-food-on-your-car-engine]How”>http://www.howtodothings.com/automotive/how-to-cook-food-on-your-car-engine)</p>
<p>or you could just eat whatever you hit on the way there
[Roadkill</a> cuisine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadkill_cuisine]Roadkill”>Roadkill cuisine - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>OK, Ill stop being helpful now. ;)</p>
<p>
Heretofore referred to as That hussy (or worse sounds kinda like someone who uses a certain gardening implement) ;)</p>
<p>
Not me! :)</p>
<p>Somewhat related </p>
<p>D1 was delivered by a doctor who DW had never seen. Because the OB insurance became too much , her regular doctor went to GYN only. The practice brought in a new doctor, but D1 was not considerate enough to wait to be born before DW could see the new doctor. Guess who was on-call that day? ;)</p>
<p>Also somewhat related </p>
<p>Re: Doing the right thing (and paying for it) When D2 was born I received a bill from the hospital. It was literally a 3x5 card with an amount on it. Needless to say, the insurance company wanted an itemized bill no problem. The hospital provided one and I caught a charge for Infant Circumcision (anyone else see a problem with that? ;)) and had them remove it. Because of whatever bucket it came out of, I actually ended up owing more out-of-pocket than if I had left the charge in. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Bucket List: D1s apartment, if it ever materializes. Red Tape!!! Actually, she got word today that she can move in tomorrow! 
Yay! She was not real happy about having to leave her car with all of her belongings in it for the week. Again, I will believe it when I see it. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Now where did I put that halo for Lima? Oh yeah, here it is
</p>
<pre><code> Im hungry! I sure hope one of my Beanies made me some
Tortilla Soup while I was out today!
_......._ o
:_ _: o
,______ ''''''' o ______,
{_=_-=._'-. .-"""""-. .-'_.-=_=_}
{-=_- `'.\ / \ /.'` =_-=}
{-_= \\| (_((_(( |// =_-}
{-_=- \( (* *) )/ =-_=}
{_-=_=- ) ) ^ ( ( -=_=-_}
{_=_-=- (_\ '-' /_) -=-_=_}
{_-_=_ `) (` -_=_}
{_-= .-`\ /`-. -=_}
{_= / ^ \ =_}
'-/ _.=. .=._ \-'
\/_) ` (_\/
/\ Lima /\ <--- (Dooney & Bourke purse)
/ '. .' \
/ '.' \
/ \
/ \
';';';';';';';';';'
| | |
| | |
|-|-|
/ / \ \
`"` `"`
-=====- -=====-
_..._ Hey, wheres mom? _..._
.~ `~. / .~` ~.
,_ / } / Shes busy { \ _,
,_\'--, \ _.'`~~/ / being a \_ \~~`'._ / ,--'/_,
\'--,_`{_,} -( / Godsend to \ )- {,_}`_,--'/
'.`-.`\;--,___.'_ Grandma '.___,--;/`.-`.'
'._`/ |_ _{@} {@}_ _| \`_.'
/ ` |-';/ _ \;'-| ` \
/ \ / | _ {@}_ | \ / \
/ '--;_ _ {@} _Y{@} _;--' \
_\ BB1 `\ {@}\Y/_{@} Y/ /` BB2/_
/ |`-.___. / \Y/\|{@}Y/\|// \ .___,-'| \
</code></pre>
<p>^^^^^^^<code>--</code>------'<code>--</code>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^<code>--</code>'------<code>--</code>^^^^^^^</p>
<pre><code> -=====-
self-sufficient is way overrated.
_..._ o I sure hope that Moms making
.~ `~. O cobbler when she gets home!
,_ / } o Im hungry!
,_\'--, \ _.'`~~/
\'--,_`{_,} -(
'.`-.`\;--,___.'_
'._`/ |_ _{@}
/ ` |-';/ _
/ \ / | _ {@}_
/ '--;_ _ {@} _Y{@}
_\ BB3 `\ {@}\Y/_{@} Y/
/ |`-.___. / \Y/\|{@}Y/\|//
</code></pre>
<p>^^^^^^^^^<code>--</code>------'<code>--</code>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>love the soup recipes!!</p>
<p>awwww gsharp the lima tribute is so sweet (and true!!!)</p>
<p>labor stories (we appear to have something else in common besides lightening)</p>
<p>S1… we wanted one of H’s best friends to deliver baby …about 2 weeks before he was due…friend says btw going to mexico for a week, but no problem …the next week go to the guy on call for him who says no way will he come before friend gets back. well the next night, i’m in bed and start having these pains (not at all like the birthing classes described… ie started at 3 minutes apart…and there was no buildup…they just hit hard) so after about 5 of these, woke up H…“do i think i’m in labor?” “no”… 1 hour later “do you think i’m in labor?”…"geez why didnt you wake me sooner… So H gets on the phone, our friend not back, the doctor i saw 2 days prior, not on call… ended up with a doctor we had never seen… who really had no patience for a woman saying no drugs, no epidural, no episiotomy!!! But while H is on the phone getting shunted from one doctor to another…he is doubled over with stomach cramps…i honestly thought for a bit that maybe it was food poisoning! </p>
<p>S2… had no maternity benefits…OB does a test on a friday, for heart rate etc…then calls really early saturday morning saying he wasnt happy with the results…could i go to the hospital now for a more indepth study…so off we go… get there, get hooked up, OB comes in and says…well your BP is elevated, your 35, and i’m going on vacation, we better induce you!..oopss… i had called the hospital months earlier to find out how much it would cost…they gave me a price BUT had told me if i prepaid it was 50% less. So i politely told the ob i wanted a few minutes, he left the room, I asked H for my purse, wrote a check and told him run to the business office and get me a receipt… once i had receipt in hand away we went with the ptosin!</p>
<p>
That is so messed up on so many levels.</p>
<p>I love the tribute to our dear Lima!</p>
<p>^^^Ditto, Zooser!! :)</p>
<p>Love the Lima drawing, G#!</p>
<p>Oh shoot! I wanted to make a comment about DB’s dog being in Pittsburgh, but she beat me to it. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>D has begun reassembling Dorm Mountain. I get heart palpitations just looking at it - there’s no way we’re going to fit all this stuff in her car. Her BF is arriving on campus the day before we do, and she says “a lot” of her friends will be there. H and I are jumping thru hoops to help her move in, and we have a lot of shopping and organizing to do after we arrive - and I have a feeling that once we get there D’s just going to want to run off with her friends. If that happens I’ll be mighty ticked. I keep dropping hints that she can hang out with her friends AFTER we leave…</p>
<p>Bonnie, so glad your D is back in Seoul!</p>
<p>I don’t have any labor stories, because I’ve never been in labor. S was delivered 6 weeks early via C-section because I had developed sky-high blood pressure due to pre-eclampsia, but luckily they caught it before S or I suffered long-term harm. D was a scheduled c-section after a week of bedrest because my blood pressure had gone up again.</p>
<p>Lima: Sending you lots of {{{hugs}}}.</p>
<p>GSharp: I love that you gave Lima a D&B purse!!! :D</p>
<p>P56: I love the stories! Good thing you had your checkbook with you!!! ;)</p>
<p>RobD: I hope you are feeling better.</p>
<p>BBD: Thanks for the update! </p>
<p>Sending good thoughts, prayers and get well wishes to everyone that need them.</p>
<p>Going to NYC tomorrow with S2. We are meeting my sister and going to the Harry Potter/Pompeii exhibit in Times Square. I have never been to Times Square before so it should be fun. We live 20 minutes (with no traffic) from the city and I have never been to Times Square! And the kicker is that the bus to Port Authority is 2 blocks away! I can’t wait! The best thing is that the 3 of us want to see the HP exhibit and since the Pompeii one is there and S2 is a classics major he really wants to see that. I think we are going to have lunch and walk around a bit too. If we have time I might have to make a stop at the M&M’s store! :D</p>
<p>What a softie that G# is turning out to be. First, sentimental about his old truck and now cherubs. 
</p>
<p>Rob, hoping you’re feeling better.</p>
<p>Sooooo, interesting conversation with ds1 tonight about his ideas for a career. He’s narrowing ideas of what he’d like to do, but they seem to be more pre-professional and not really in line with a liberal arts degree. Rut roh. He would like to work in the admissions office at his school, though, he said.</p>
<p>ETA: There’s an M&M store?!?!?</p>
<p>S room has been a DISASTER all summer. So bad, I can’t even explain. Tonight, he came through the house with a small bag of trash. Apparently, he was rearranging his room so he could project movies onto the wall. !!! Um…how about we clean the room as it was…how about we sort that dorm mountain and move it downstairs…?! He leaves in 4 days and this is how he spends his time. I seriously think we’ll be carrying loose things from his room to the car Sunday morning on our way out the door.</p>
<p>Just took warm brownies out of the oven…</p>
<p>p56: Our hospital had “Baby Bundle” packages too. If you paid up front, then we also saved a lot. That seems so long ago…</p>
<p>mmmm brownies!!! hopefully he will clean that room checkers…i didnt even get a small bag of trash moved!! S2 is in doo doo!</p>
<p>geez laf sorry about the bp BUT not sure its a bad thing to miss labor… after 3 1/2 hours of pushing (which is why the unknown ob was not happy as pushing just wasnt moving that head of his) i think if they had opened the window i would have gladly jumped out LOL. S2 was much kinder… 5 pushes and out he popped.</p>
<p>yds S2 still keeps adding courses and degrees, and interests…he actually said the other day…hmmm this might take 5 years (ya think?? he’s at 160-170 credits he needs)</p>
<p>how exciting proudnj!!</p>
<p>BBday - Maybe Lake George or one of the little Adirondack towns. Or the Catskills - most years we’ve gone to Tannersville (North Lake) for family reunion campouts… very green and nice.</p>
<p>Thanks for the good wishes guys. The soup helped a little :)</p>
<p>G#: excellent tribute to our Lima! And great news about your D being able to move in. </p>
<p>ProudNJMom: I am stunned that you’ve never been to Times Square. I mean, DH has never been to the Statue of Liberty and the top of the Empire State Building but even he’s been to Times Square & he despises the city. I hope you have a fantastic time. It’s way more cleaned up that it was during my city years; I have oddly fond memories of celebrating the Mets World Series win while walking through Times Square. The hookers & drug dealers were so happy! Obviously that was before Giuliani started cleaning things up & Disney decided to buy the theater in Times Square. </p>
<p>YDS: M&M Store [url=<a href=“http://www.mymms.com/merchandise/locations.aspx]Locations[/url”>Personalized Gifts, Favors and More | M&M'S]Locations[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Good Morning, everyone! Coffee is ready.</p>
<p>Today is DsS’s last day of his second summer class. More work tonight, then he has to print and turn in his portfolio tomorrow. Re-launch for full time college is the 29th (holding our breath after problems last August). </p>
<p>We had an extended, repetitive power outage last night. Fortunately, DsS was over at his mother’s house for dinner. We called and let him know that if he wanted to do homework or play video games, he might want to stay where he was, since her house did not lose power.</p>