The Funeral

So, with all the new Christmas toys I decided to dis-infect all the others.

BLEACH BLEACH BLEACH!!!!!!!!!!!!

The stuffed animals didn't get a break either.............

However............ one didn't make it out alive...........

So, we had a funeral............

 

Love you Teddy..........Sorry  your guts fell out in the washer!

Happy Merry-Chris-Mouse-Turkey-Giving-Pizza Holiday

So, the holidays are here.  No denying that.  I have accepted and mostly embraced this with the exception of the fact that I have not done any holiday shopping.  The early bird gets the worm?  The not-so-early bird gets the mouse, i suppose.

2 weeks ago, my sweet friend Tiff brought us some X-mas gifts and all the fixins for a X-mas dinner due to the fact that I was not sure how I was going to be able to afford anything for the holiday this year.  Bless her heart.  She is (once again) my angel.  Well, I didn't have room in my freezer for the turkey so I put in the fridge and had planned to cook it last weekend for my birthday.  Due to a chain of events I did not forsee (as always), this did not happen as planned.

The turkey thawed in the fridge for 4 days and has been there ever since.  Today would be day 8 thawed - 12 total.  After checking the internet, the general consensus was cook a turkey no more than 5 days after thawing in the fridge (9 including thaw time).  Well, obviously the math on this one puts this turkey 3+ days overdue.  ***Strike One****


My psuedo mother in law (Sasha's grandma) is in town this weekend until Monday night.  I had planned to cook an early Christmas dinner on Sunday with Grandma Johnson, JJ, Zehn, Sasha and I.  Because I had the turkey in the fridge that needed to be cooked, this seemed like the opportune time to use it.  However,  I was slightly hesitant to cook it after so much time had gone by.  I didn't want to send my mother in law home for christmas with food poisoning.

I mindlessly pulled the turkey out of the fridge to smell it (as the all knowing internet suggested).  I couldn't get a good enough smell through the bag, so stupidly I sliced the bag open with the knife.  Simultaneously as I sliced the bag, I realized that regardless of the smell, I was not going to be able to put this turkey back into the fridge once it had been opened.  ***Strike Two***

So, I wrestled with the decision to soak the turkey in brine water overnight and cook an early christmas dinner on saturday or just cook the turkey tonight.  After realizing that I may be cooking a poison turkey either way, I decided just to cook it tonight and gamble on poisoning 2 of us rather than 5 of us.

I started preparing the turkey by pulling the skin back (very gross) and rubbing butter under the skin.  As I was preparing the turkey, I saw something run across the kitchen floor out of the corner of my eyes.  I immedieately stopped what I was doing, wiped the butter on my pants (so rachel ray), crawled on the kitchen table, and screamed for Zehn... (the man of the house).

We discussed the possibility of a mouse behind the oven and what to do.  Poor Zehn, who was more scared than I, but felt it was his manly duty to take care of it, suggested we leave a trail of cheese from the oven to the back door to entice the mouse out of the house.  He also announced that if the cheese didn't work, we would move on to marshmallows because no mouse can resist a marshmallow.  He is very anti-killing.  Even if it is a disease infested rodent, so his solution was to lead it out of the house.

I scaled the wall from the kitchen table and moved to a different room to let Zehn perform his magic.  When I came back to the kitchen a short while later, one of the cheese pieces closest to the stove was missing.  We decided this meant the mouse had left the house (hahahahaha) and went on with our night.

Not really thinking (DUH!!!) I turned on the oven to cook the turkey......  (mind you, we were now cooking a possible poison turkey).  About 20 minutes into it, Zehn walked into the kitchen and immediately started gagging.  Between choking on his gags he asked me what the horrible smell was.  Now, I am aware that my kids aren't always racing to the dinner table to devour my cooking, but this was a totally different response than I had ever seen from him.  I entered the kitchen and was slapped with the sicking smell of death.

Was the turkey really this poison?  I opened the oven to smell and was welcomed with a mouth watering very delicious aroma.  Whatever the smell of death was, was not coming from inside the oven.  Then I remembered.......... the MOUSE!!!!  We had never actually seen it exit from behind the stove.

GROSSSSSSSS!!!!!!     ***STRIKE THREE****  (You're out!!!!!)

The moment I realized what the smell was, I literally almost threw up in my mouth.  Along with our (possible poison) turkey, we were now cooking a mouse.  I called my mom in a panic.  Wondering what to do......  She (so wise as always :) ) advised me to turn off the oven, throw the turkey away and order pizza.

So, that's what we did.  Thank you Papa John's for providing us with the perfect dinner minus the mouse droppings or poison salmonella.  We love you and are thankful for the greasy calories that will make it difficult to fit into that perfect christmas dress.

After all said and done, I have decided I would much rather clean up a crispy mouse from behind the oven than a fresh squished mouse in a mouse trap.  So there you go..... that is today's lemonade.  Tomorrow I will deal with our "well done" delicasy that found it's final resting place under the stove.

R.I.P MR. Mouse.  I hope your buddies got the picture.

Tomorrow

I received this email from a dear friend of mine and loved it.  Again, something that came at just the time I needed to read it.  I forwarded it to everyone in my address book (even though I rarely forward emails, this one was too good to pass up).  However there are so many people who read my blog that I don't have an email address for.  I wanted to share.  Hope you enjoy.

One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't "anymore". No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say"I love you."

So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick.. This is true for marriage.....And old cars... And children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.

Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a sister-in-law after divorce. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.

Life is important, like people we know who are special.. And so, we keep them close!

I received this from someone who thought I was a 'keeper'! Then I sent it to the people I think of in the same way... Now it's your turn to send this to all those people who are "keepers" in your life, including the person who sent it, if you feel that way..  Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends know you love them?

I was thinking....I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling or three words needing to be said.

Let every one of your friends know you love them. Even if you think they don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words and a smile can do.  And just in case I'm gone tomorrow.

I LOVE YOU!!!

Live today because tomorrow is not promised.. 


Love - Jenn

Hip Hop Christmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Betcha didn't know our family was so talented, did ya???  Happy Holidays everyone!

Christmas Spirit has come to the Klimowicz-Johnson house

As most of you know, the past couple months have been an emotional roller coaster for our family.  I have been dreading the holiday season and "Christmas Cheer" among other things.  However, the season is upon us and I can ignore it no longer.  JJ and I had a long talk about how important it is for the kids to get to fully experience their childhood and this holiday season regardless of what is going on in our adult life.  We debated back and forth if it was a good idea to take on Christmas together or start splitting time and holidays right away.  We came to the conclusion that if we can get along, it is better for the kids for us to all be together.  Here goes nothing.....

Phase 1  - The Backyard Blowup

The decorations started with Santa and the Polar Bear  This happened almost by accident and was very spontaneous.  It was starting to snow and i remembered from last year that it was impossible to put these bad boys up once the snow was already on the ground.  So, I reluctantly pulled out the decorations and set to add some festivities to our backyard.  I decided on the back yard rather than the front because we live on a very busy street and would virtually never see them if they were posted up in the front yard.  This Christmas is all about the kids, so I wanted them to enjoy the toys.  Sasha wasn't quite sure what to think when she first saw them.  She kept peeking around the corner out the back door/window and giggling.  She kept saying "Whas he doing?"

 

Phase 2 - The Jellyfish Dance

The "jellyfish" dance.  I don't know if this is some weird ritual or a new tradition Zehn is starting for decoration day.  However, it was quite funny and you can see Sasha in the background joining in the fun.  She isn't quite as into the dance as Zehn though.

 

Phase 3 - Decorating the Tree

Zehn was in charge of taking things out of boxes.  At least until the excitement overwhelmed him, at which point JJ took over that duty and Zehn just ran around as if he had lost his mind.  It was so fun to watch how excited the kids were tonight. 

Sasha didn't wait for the ornaments.  She promptly found her sticker book and started decorating the tree with stickers.  Beautiful work Sash!

Zehn was very particular about how these ornaments and decorations looked on the tree.  I fear he may have some of his mother's OCD.  Sorry kiddo.

I thought this was a sweet picture.  Sasha really didn't care about me at all the entire night.  She kept going to her dad for help and guideance.  This solidified that it was a good idea for us to pull together for them tonight.  They couldn't have been happier.  And that makes me happy.

Our "happy" little tree.  Decorated almost 100% by the kids.  As it should be.  Now we have to find something to put under and around it.......

I love this picture.  Sasha looks like an angel in the middle of a glowing heaven.

Finished product and happy faces.  I would say the night was a success.

Phase 4 - Playing in the snow with Santa

 

The night would not be complete without a family picture with our 2 newest family members.

And of course...... Zehn in his shorts snuggling up to Santa.  I think he is trying to suck up for the Wii gaming system he wants this year.  Good Luck on that one kiddo.

Overall this night turned out very pleasant.  I was happily surprised and glad that we decided to do this.  Ok, Christmas...... this mom is ready....... bring it on.

Sneaky Sasha

So, with all the transitions in our house over the past couple months, bedtime was one of the first to go out the window.  This is really sad because we had broken Sasha of the bottle habit and both kids were very good about being in bed at 8, 8:30 at the latest.  However, as I fell apart, so did bedtime routines.  Sash is back on the bottle and bedtime is pretty much whenever they pass out.  Bad Mom.

Well, as I try to piece our life back together, the time has come to un-learn these bad habits and re-teach my kids a good bedtime routine.  I thought we were doing pretty well the other night.  I put the kids to bed and only got struggles until 9:00. (which is a miracle right now)  The house was quiet and I assumed they were asleep so I crawled in my bed to do the same.

I got up around 10:00 to get a drink from the kitchen and as I walked back to my bedroom I noticed the rocking chair in the dark rocking itself.  I looked a little closer and noticed Sasha sitting quietly in the rocking chair with a stack of books in her lap.

So i grabbed the camera and captured the moment.... BUSTED!!!

Who knows how long she had been there reading quietly in the dark, but how can you get mad at something like that.  She thought she was in so much trouble.  Just look at the fear in her face.  :)  We sat down and read together for about 20 minutes and then she went to bed quietly for the night.

My kids may get in trouble for a variety of things, but reading will never be one of them.  Good Sneaky Sash.

Zehn Says..... IMAGINE.....

Today when Zehn got home from school he ran in and excitedly asked me if he could go back to meet 3 girls at the flagpole (oh man....) because they were going to build a time machine.  I walked back across the street to meet the girls and make sure that things were ok with this adventure.

As I suspected, even though the kids had great plans of building the time machine right then, the parents had different plans and that included taking the kids home for the day.  So, the 3 girls and Zehn formed a plan to meet up tomorrow morning to start planning the best time machine ever.  One girl took charge and assigned Zehn the task of finding metal.  (I'm not sure that I am going to send him to school with a backpack of metal tomorrow though..... this time machine may have to be built out of plastic).

Anyhow, when we got home Zehn said to me "Mom, imagination is SOOOO important.  Without imagination, we don't really even have a life".  I thought long and hard about what he said and about how profound this statement could be in my life and the lives of others.  Where in our life do we stop dreaming, imagining and believing that we can build a time machine out of metal (plastic) and a lightbulb.  These kids are going back to visit the dinosaurs.

I am going to take this lesson that my son has taught me and begin to apply it in my life.

"Imagination is Soooo important.  Without imagination, we don't really have a life........"

I challenge you to do the same.  Dream......Inspire....Believe......

Love - Jenn