A Little on the Trashy Side

I was surfing the net and came across this reader's digest interview with Dolly Parton and this is my favorite part. She is so funny.

RD: How old were you when you developed your look?
Parton: I make jokes about it, but it's the truth that I kind of patterned my look after the town tramp. I didn't know what she was, just this woman who was blond and piled her hair up, wore high heels and tight skirts, and, boy, she was the prettiest thing I'd ever seen. Momma used to say, "Aw, she's just trash," and I thought, That's what I want to be when I grow up. Trash.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

Today has been an emotionally and physically draining, horrible day. Then we sat down for dinner and Justin says that next year he wants to tell his teacher to call him by a nickname, Dudiss. This is what Emma called him when she was about two or three. He thought it would be cool to go by a nickname like some of the kids in his class. (Joey for Joseph.) I told him that when I was younger I wanted a nickname too, but Kelly doesn't exactly have a nickname. Justin thinks for a minute and starts calling me "Kellephant." I felt like I had gained 500 pounds instantaneously. Charlie started to laugh as all the children chanted "Kellephant, Kellephant, Kellephant." I think I should just go to bed now.

My Interesting Angel...Mia

At the market Mia strikes up a conversation with an older woman. The woman tells Mia she is cute and Mia tells her about her pets and all their names. The lady tells Mia to say hi to them for her. Mia and I walk away. Mia turns to me and says "that lady is crazy, Mom." Did Mia not notice that she had done most of the talking? Not to mention, how rude!

This one is pretty nasty, so don't read while eating...

Mia- what is this?(pointing to crud on her nose)
Me- that is your boogers.
Mia- mmm, I like my boogers.

Fuzzy Wuzzy

I was cutting Justin's hair. He gathered up the cut hair and put it on his arms. Then he said "hey, now my airs look like dad's."

Epiphany

I pick Mia up from preschool at the same time Emma goes to lunch. On the way home we drive by the kindergarten yard and I always slow down to try to see her. A few weeks ago I saw Emma with a couple friends on the edge of the yard. She spun around and started to skip as fast as she could across the yard to the play structure. She held her arms straight in front of her and her hair swung back and forth. She was smiling really big. Suddenly I realized that the world was perfect. My children are happy. They have a carefree childhood. They are loved and just happy. What more could I want?

Random

There have been several things I wanted to post about this week, so I guess I will just lump them all together here.
First, I told Justin that I was taking Emma to Disneyland for her birthday, just the two of us. Justin said he thought that was cool and was just happy for her without being jealous. Wow, that is pretty good for an eight-year old. Justin was really excited and had a present ready for Emma he wanted to wrap. It was his old backpack from a few years ago. He had written his name and his friends' names on it. I was confused as to why he thought she would want it, but she was excited when she opened it. I think she just loves Justin so much that it doesn't really matter what he gives her.
A few days ago Mia gave me a flower she had picked. She had also picked off all the petals, except one. She said "it only has one feather left. It is Captain Hook." I went with Mia to the zoo for her preschool field trip. This is my favorite picture from the trip. I was trying to take a picture of her and Brianna with Mia picking the Gorilla's nose, but when I got home I realized I had cut off Brianna's head in all the photos. How did I miss that? I can only say that I was functioning on very little sleep and I am totally lame.
Emma brought Buddy Bear home from school for the weekend. She is such a kook. She wanted to do everything with him and have me take their picture. As you can see she still likes to create interesting outfits.

Here is a new recipe I tried this week that we really enjoyed. It is from allrecipes.com. I used chicken breasts instead of thighs. Reviews of the recipe said to double the sauce. I just used less chicken. For the amount of sauce in one recipe you could make four to five chicken breasts. Then I cooked it for 45 minutes. I looked just like the picture.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

Rated: Submitted By: Marian Collins Photo By: TOTOJANG Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Hour Ready In: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Servings: 6

"A spicy, homemade teriyaki of soy sauce, cider vinegar, ginger and garlic enlivens your choice of chicken cuts. Doubles easily to satisfy the hoards."

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon cold water 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 12 skinless chicken thighs

Directions:

1.	In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.
2.	Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
3.	Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Brush chicken with the sauce. Turn pieces over, and brush again.
4.	Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn pieces over, and bake for another 30 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Brush with sauce every 10 minutes during cooking.

You've Had a Birthday!

Emma is now 6. She keeps asking if she is the size of a six-year old yet. I tell her yes and she disagrees with me. Then a few minutes later she asks again. I took Emma to Disneyland for her birthday. A few days ago I cut her hair and she asked if one day we could dress like twins. I thought her birthday was a good day to grant her request. Emma has always been a beautiful little girl. Seconds after she was born I was amazed by her beauty. She is even more beautiful inside. She has some serious sass, but has mostly grown out of that. (She does need to keep some.) She always wants to be my helper/twin/shadow. She loves to make me happy and I love her so much for that. She is one of the smartest kids I know too. She makes everything look effortless. And she is the kookiest, weirdest kid I have ever met. That is one of my favorite things about her too. Some of my favorite Emma stories are: a few months ago the nurse told her she was beautiful she replied "no, I'm not. I am five, you have to be six for that." Her chamber pot in her bedroom (see first post), thinking the doctor would drink her pee and calling him an alien, kicking the doctor in the leg on purpose during her kindergarten check-up, making teenagers in the ER cry because they heard her scream while getting stitches on her first birthday, insisting her name was "Swimsuit" almost for a whole year (age 3-4), always trying to get Justin or Mia to be her prince so she can be the princess, saying Justin is her prince and Toby (the dog) has to be Mia's prince, always trying to "love" Kitty and Toby, and her countless death glares she has given everyone. She is my little Miss Em and we all love her. When I think about Emma I remember something my sister, Christy, said about her when she was one. "Emma is just so easy to love." I think that sums her up best.
Twinsies

Dancing with her favorite "prince", her Dad.

Emma in her "sleeping cap."

Random dinner.

Emma and fat Kitty.

Tagged

Several months ago Natalie tagged me for the eighth picture in the eighth album on my computer, but I didn't have that many albums and didn't know which computer Charlie stored pictures on. Now I have been downloading the pictures on one computer and now have enough albums. Then my sister, Ashley, tagged me for the fourth picture in the fourth album... so here goes.8. This is a Sunday afternoon. I was in the office and the girls came in, sat on my lap and wanted me to take pictures. I hate this picture.
4. Emma and Mia dressed as princesses and dancing. I love this picture.