Archive for June, 2010
What did you just call me?
Jun 15th
Ever hear a person call someone a name (nickname or term of endearment) and think to yourself, “Where the heck did they come up with that?” Of course you have your standard shortened names like Chris for Christopher or Sue for Susan. Then there are the not so easy to figure out ones like Dick for Richard, Jack for John, or Peggy for Margaret (huh?). And of course there’s the lovey nicknames couples give each other like muffin, honey, cupcake or pumpkin. Weird how most of them are food related. Sometimes you even hear something that just seems to have no meaning behind it at all, or so you think.
We are no strangers to these absurd nicknames in our family. I’ll start with myself. In high school I became known as Smack which came from Smackie, which came from my last name, Mackie. I’m not sure how it started but lo and behold, I was called Smack by some of my close friends for years. I even have a few friends who still refer to me that way. I’m sure if I’m out and a stranger hears, “Hey Smack, what do you think of this shirt?”, they would probably think its a little bit odd but it’s not to me at all.
Scott has an odd nickname from high school as well, Stub or maybe it’s S Dub. I’m not sure. All I know is that when I first met some of his high school friends back when we started dating I was all, huh? Whadiju just call him? I was later informed that this nickname was derived from his initials, SW. Makes sense now, right?
Then you have the term of endearment by which Scott and I refer to each other, Weeds. Anyone care to take a guess as to where in the heck that came from? Stumped, right? Well back in the day we went with the old standard, Sweetie. We’d refer to each other lovingly and address notes and cards to our Sweetie. Somewhere along the lines, it got shortened to Sweets which eventually turned in to Weets and then Weeds. There is no real rhyme or reason why it evolved but it did and there you have it.
Another strange one is the name Scott (and sometimes I) call Nora. She’s Rooster. A stranger who hears it might think it has something to do with the little ponytail that sticks straight up on her head, but they would be wrong. It also has nothing to do with her waking us up in the morning. (You know, cock-a-doodle-do at the crack of dawn?) I don’t even think I can explain where this name came from. It has something to do with a sound (kind of like “oosh”) that she used to make when she first started “talking”. Scott mimicked her and along the way it turned in to Rooster and now that is what she is called, lovingly of course.
Brinley’s nicknames make much more sense. She’s called Brin, or B and sometimes Beast (which came from B-ster). When she was a baby she was sometimes called B-Dawg. Wait, now that I think of it, we’ve also called her Brinjamin and Brinjamin Button. Ok, we’re a little strange.
There are more that I could add to the list but that covers the core family. Again, these names might seem insane and off the wall to strangers. How could crazy names like these possibly have any meaning to them, but they do! Do you have any strange nicknames in your family? Where did they come from?
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Jun 14th
Today I’m joining LCW at Waking up Williams as she launches her new blog project, Momma’s Munchies. Please go check out her blog for details. What a great idea for sharing some of your favorite recipes! This weeks theme is “For Starters” and I’m sharing a family favorite, Spinach and Artichoke Dip.
This is a quick and easy recipe. Very yummy, but not very healthy 
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- 1/2 bag of frozen chopped spinach
- 1 can artichoke hearts, unmarinated
- 8oz grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups shredded Monteray Jack cheese
Directions:
Drain artichoke hearts completely. You will need to squeeze the excess juice out of the artichokes by putting them in a paper towel and squeezing them. Chop them up. In a medium sized bowl combine the mayo, all of the parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 cups of the monteray jack cheese, the spinach and the chopped artichoke hearts. Mix well. Put mixture into a casserole dish and top with remaining monteray jack cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
I usually serve it with Wheat Thins or Tostitos Scoops.
Enjoy!
The new baby.
Jun 10th
In the car today Brinley asked me, “Mom, when Nora is grown up what will we name the new baby?”
At first I was very confused and I said, “Huh?” She said, “You know, when Nora grows up and we get a new baby, what will we name it? Will it be a boy or a girl? I want a boy this time.”
Then I got it. And I started laughing. And then she was confused. “What’s so funny, mom?”, she asked me.
Apparently she thinks that when a child grows up (or becomes roughly two and a half) then it’s time to bring another baby into the family. So naturally when Nora grows up (turns 2.5) we’ll “get” a new baby. Right? Wrong!
I was at a complete loss as to how to explain any of this to Brinley so I simply said, “Well we’ll see what happens when Nora grows up. Maybe we’ll get a new baby but maybe we won’t.” That seemed to satisfy her for the time being. Hopefully I won’t have to get into the birds and the bees talk any time soon! Yikes.
Motherhood.
Jun 9th
I want to preface this post by saying that this is not intended to be a ::slap in the face:: to anyone who does not feel the same way. I’m simply writing this as ‘the other side to the story’ so to speak. After reading recent posts from Blair, Allison, and Katie, I felt compelled to share my feelings. I have to go ahead and agree with Emmie Bee and I just wanted to give my two cents…
I remember being a little girl and always dreaming of growing up, getting married, and becoming a mom. Whenever I thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always pictured having a house, a husband, and kids. Sure, I wanted to go to college and have a career to some extent. But even my career choice (teacher) was in line with my real life plans. I knew that becoming a teacher would allow me to be around kids even though they weren’t my own. Even when I was in college I was a part time nanny and during the summers I was a camp counselor. So, really, my life revolved around kids even before I was a mom. I know what you’re probably thinking: being around kids isn’t the same as having your own kids. And you’re 100% right.
But that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t ready for motherhood when the time came. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I am fortunate to come from a large family with lots of cousins. I’m the second oldest in the brood. I remember most of my cousins being born and I babysat almost all of them. We all lived in the same town and were all very close. I’m also eight years older than my younger sister (who just turned 21 by the way, crazy!). So, I had a lot of experience being in the presence of newborns and watching babies grow. But again, they weren’t my children.
My point, though, is that I was aware of what motherhood would bring even before I was a mother myself. I knew there would be sleepless nights, and spit up, and dirty diaper blow outs. It never deterred me from my dream. It might sound crazy, but all of those things made me want to be a mother even more. I was ready for the challenge and eager to take it on with all I had. Everyone who knows me well can tell you that throughout my late teens, college years, and in the years before I got married, I just wanted to get to the point in my life where I was a mother.
Now that I am here, I can honestly say that it is everything I had hoped for in life, and more. I love being a mother and a wife and my family is my life. Everything that I do, I do it for them. From cooking their meals to comforting them when they’re hurt; it brings me joy to provide for them and care for them. That’s not to say that there are not mornings where I wish I could sleep in a little longer or nights when I wish I could just spontaneously go out for a movie and drink, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I don’t enjoy being puked on, or pooped on but strangely, I embrace it because I know that in time, it will all be a thing of the past. I already miss the middle of the night feedings where it seemed like the baby and I were the only ones in the world awake. I cherished those moments and they’re gone now.
I don’t miss my former self. I look back on my pre-motherhood years fondly but I wouldn’t go back to them if I had the chance. I liked school and learning, but I don’t miss the partying, clubbing or any of it at all. It was just never my thing. I can honestly say that I am exactly where I want to be in life and it exceeds my expectations daily.
I’m not sure if there are a lot of other mother’s who share my feelings on this, but I am sure that there are some. I’m no June Cleaver and I don’t claim to be. I make mistakes, I get angry and frustrated like the best of you. I’m not a perfect mother and there are many things that I’ve yet to learn. There have been many and there will be plenty more unexpected situations that arise for me as a mother, but for the most part, everything is falling right in to place.
Keeping up is hard to do.
Jun 8th
I guess it’s my own fault for setting myself up. When I started to get into blogging seriously, I was posting daily. I set aside time each morning or each night and blogged. That was at a time when things were pretty uneventful in our lives. We were grounded, the girls were both sleeping through the night, the chores were under control, things were easy peasy (ha!). Well then we went ahead and moved.
Fast forward to now. The days fill up so quickly. The chores have increased (bigger house + yard = more chores). We’re in the middle (well more near the end) of a renovation project. Nora is cutting her one year molars and has an awful diaper rash which means she’s not sleeping as soundly these days. So between contractors arriving at the house bright an early at 8am and Scott and I doing some of the remodel (read: painting) ourselves at night, time for blogging has dwindled severely.
But you know what? It’s ok. I blog because I enjoy it. So if I make myself feel like it’s a chore, then what’s the point? If I don’t get to it one day (or week), no biggie. I have bigger fish to fry at times. It doesn’t mean that I don’t want you checking in to see what’s new, but I do apologize if things get stale. I’m happy to have acquired the readership that I have and I hope you don’t all leave me but keeping up is hard to do!
So I’ll be around when I can. Hopefully not sporadically.. (name that movie!)
