Happy 3rd Birthday, Lulu!!!

Wow! I am in utter shock that my youngest baby will be turning three this coming Monday. It seems to hard to believe! My pregnancy with Olivia was far from normal. Well, far from normal for anyone else but pretty typical for me I guess. Lots of worry from the beginning with bleeding and placenta previa. I gained a ton of weight too. Everywhere. Oh well.

I was scheduled for an induction early the morning of the 27th and it couldn't come soon enough for me! But of course that wouldn't be the way it went and we ended up waiting around all day to get a room so they could start the induction. By the time the hospital called me to come in around 7 pm that evening, I would have given birth in a broom closet if they'd have let me. They started the liquid evil (otherwise known as pitocin) around 9 pm. The contractions weren't super awful, but I wasn't trying to be a hero so I told them to bring me the good stuff aka epidural. And in walks the hottest doctor I've ever seen. Seriously, he put McDreamy to shame. I felt so bad for this poor guy for having to look at my huge ass while he gave me the epidural!

With that taken care of, I thought we were all good. Not so much. Control freak + panic disorder doesn't mesh well with epidurals. The minute I couldn't feel my legs I started to freak out. I made Kevin go get Dr. McDreamy so I could tell him I was going to die. He tried not to laugh when I told him I couldn't feel my face and proceeded to pinch my own neck to the point of drawing blood. Then in true Molly fashion, my heart rate skyrocketed. People started looking worried and I swore I could see Jesus. It was bad stuff. Finally, I started to feel a little better and it was time to push.

In walks my doctor wearing a hazmat suit??? Seriously, she had on hip waders and what looked like a welding mask. Was she planning on welding something??? Whatver, she could have been Krusty the effing clown for all I cared, I just wanted this baby OUT! After a few good pushes Olivia Margaret came into the world quite beautifully. She was gorgeous and instantly won the hearts of everyone in our family and still has them!! Olivia is by far the most fiesty of my three kids, but I wouldn't have her any other way. She had a rough start in life with some underlying health issues, but she has overcome every one of them. She is my fighter and we feel so blessed and lucky she's turning three. She loves wearing dresses, dancing and anything girly. Her hair gets more curly every day. She is Lulu and we love her!!!

The song playing is by KT Tunstall and I used to sing it to her when she was tiny, if you can picture that. She used to like my singing, but now she says, "mommy, don't sing." :) Happy 3rd Birthday, Lulu!!! We love you!

New Music - No Boys Allowed

How much am I completely loving chick rocker bands these days??? So much!!! In honor of the angsty, of pms, lip gloss, high heels and of all things girly - this music post is girl bands only!! No boys allowed!



There have been some amazing chick bands in my time I have to say - The Bangles, The Go-gos, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (and of course THE original Joan Jett rocker band The Runaways), Hole, The Breeders and sooooo many more. But I don't feel like there's been a really solid selection up until recently. I made a new playlist to go with this post rather than trying to embed a bunch of youtube vids and taking up a ton of space. Waste not, want not. Here are some of my faves - I tried to pick my top three of each group. There are all girl bands and there are just girl lead singers so I guess you could say some boys are allowed. But whatever we're not getting THAT technical here!! A few of these you will know already, but hopefully you'll hear something new that you like. Some are straight up rock, there's some indie rock and then I have some trip hop (my latest obsession is trip hop) going on as well to break it up a little. It's a well rounded playlist and it's all about the ladies!!!!

Metric, a Canadian indie rock band, has been in heavy rotation on my playlist these days. Emily Haines (also performs with Broken Social Scene) leads the group with her edgy, melodic vocals.... 'Live It Out' and the latest album 'Fantasies' are both well worth buying! Top three faves of mine include:

'Soft Rock Star'
'Gimme Sympathy' I love the lyrics of this one
'Help! I'm Alive' as someone who suffers from anxiety, I can totally indentify with the entire sentiment of this song tho I'm not sure if that's what it's *really* about

I stumbled across this next little gem about a month ago and am so glad I did. Nina Kinert wouldn't exactly fall into the "rocker" genre, but she earned a spot on my blog anyways. She's from Sweden and it's hard to place her in a genre because her style differs greatly from one song to the next. These songs are from her 2008 release 'Pets & Friends.'

'Combat Lover'
'Beast' - this is a HUGE play on Gary Jules 'Mad World'!! Good stuff
'Pets and Friends' :)

Next, we move onto Ivy. 'In the Clear' is the only album I own, but I hope to change that soon. Dominique Durand's (born in Paris) voice has this whisper like quality to it that works so well with the atmospheric, meloncholy, trippyness of the whole record. Good stuff.

'Corners of Your Mind'
'Tess Don't Tell'
'Thinking About You'

Hello, stranger. Hello Stranger. Catchy name for a girl lead band with catchy songs to boot! Mark my words that this LA based band will be doing very well, very very soon.

'Take It To the Maxx'
'Her In These Lights'
'Here We Go Again'

The Action Design is another Cali band on my hit list. It's rock, it's punk, it's dance, it's HOT. Their album 'Never Say' is good all the way through, but here are the stand outs for me.

'Pale Horizon'
'Ten Feet of Snow'
'All That Night'

Esthero is the next lady on the list and she is unlike any other! Canadian born, her music features mellow bass lines, jazzy trumpets and Spanish guitar. Think Sade meets Bjork meets Dido. Super friggin cool!!

'Better Life' fun, upbeat tune!
'Wicked Lil Grrrls' featured on Sex in the City!
'Heaven Sent'

CSS (also known as Cansei de Ser Sexy) are from Brazil. Their band name was taken from a quote from Beyonce who said she was "tired of being sexy." Ha ha!!! Love their sense of humor AND their sound.

'Left Behind'
'Move' this is the album version, but there are several other good mixes as well
'Off the Hook'

Minipop is a Cali band and a quite young one as they've only been around for about five years. They're considered indie electronic or "dream pop." Whatever, they're good.

'Generator'
'Someone To Love'
'Precious'

Let's hear it for the California girls!!! I was hesitant to put Silversun Pickups on the list because they're becoming pretty popular. They're pretty great though and really remind me of the Smashing Pumpkins in female form - lots of distorted guitars.

'Lazy Eye'
'Melatonin'
'Panic Switch' played quite frequently on the radio now!!

Santogold, now known as Santigold will close out this edition of New Music - No Boys Allowed. How confusing though! Way to be like Prince and Puff Daddy and change your name like a million times so no one knows what to really call you. Anyways, she's really weird but most creative people are.

'You'll Find A Way'
'Shove It' ummm, love it!
'Lights Out' now featured on a beer commercial, I thought it was the perfect song to end the list :)

Well, that's all for now! If you weren't into chick bands before you will be now!!

Hello, Fall!!!

My poor, neglected blog!!!! Will it ever forgive me for being too busy to post on it?? I hope so. Things have been balls to the wall (pardon the term, but it just works) around here for the past couple of weeks. I started school with the kids and that's always a major adjustment for everyone. I didn't think I was ready to start, but it's been nice to have a solid schedule during the day again. So far, so good!! Ethan's doing 4th grade workbooks & readers and taking piano lessons this year, Abby's doing first grade workbooks & second grade readers and still doing gymnastics. I started doing some reading aloud with Olivia too and might work up to some 'letter of the week' if she seems interested enough. We're coming up on her third birthday next month! I can't believe it!!!

Summer went out on a good note, even though I wasn't quite ready for it to be over. We got to go to the county fair in our home town which is always the highlight of summer for me. There is nothing better than fair food!! I had a list that I was working from as far as what I wanted to eat and I pretty much made it happen - jumbo corn dog, lemonade shake up, fried oreos, red caramel corn, cotton candy, homemade vanilla saltwater taffy....... Ya. It was an amazing day. The week of the fair always signals the end of summer for me. That and the sound of the locusts in the tree out front. Those two things right there mean that fall is on its way!! Even my playlist is ready for fall. There are some good tunes about autumn and even more songs with the word "fall" in them. Who knew??

I happen to love fall - Halloween (dressing up and hello, the candy!), the cooler weather, football season (Go Bears!!), wearing jeans and cute sweaters, baking yummy treats, going to the orchard and winery, cooking in the crockpot. All of these are my favorite!! So, in celebration of the upcoming season I am posting a very delicious recipe for apple cake. And guess what, it's in a bundt pan. You know I love bundt pans - they look cool and bundt is just fun to say.



Apple Cake

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 and grease bundt pan. :) Stir all these together in mixing bowl and set aside......

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 large eggs, beaten
3 cups chopped apples

In small mixing bowl, stir together water, butter, applesauce, vanilla and eggs. Add to flour mixture. Mix well and add in chopped apples. Pour into greased bundt pan and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. Then.......

Glaze

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla

Stir ingredients into small saucepan and heat over medium heat until golden brown. Pour over cooled apple cake!!! Yay, fall!!!!

New Music Monday 8/10/2009

This week is flying by already!! One of my regular blog readers (love you, mom!!) has kindly pointed out to me that it's been awhile since I posted some new music. So here you go!! The indie band 'The Feeling' could be compared to the likes of Keane and Coldplay, but it would only be because of the piano and vocals. The similarity stops there.

'The Feeling' is a five man band from Sussex, England that met in school and played gigs in the Alps to get started. Their debut album 'Twelve Stops and Home' is one of the happiest, most upbeat and joyful albums my ears have ever heard. F-U-N! It's got this 70's vibe going on, but is still very current. I just can't imagine anyone who wouldn't love these guys!! Take a listen...

"Sewn" great love song


"Never Be Lonely" - do you feel the 70s??? LOVE!!!!


"Love It When You Call"


"Fill My Little World"


"I Want You Now"


"Rose" as in the wine, not the flower....


"Same Old Stuff"


"Helicopter"


The Feeling also put out a second album called 'Join With Us' last year. It's a lot louder and missing some of that good stuff that the first album had, but it's still got that energy and happiness that IS 'The Feeling.'

"I Thought It Was Over"


"Without You"


"Turn It Up"


All in all, I really like this band and their sound. Can't wait to see what else they come up with on the next album!!!

Ellipse

I can hardly wait for this album to be released! Imogen Heap comes out with her new album titled 'Ellipse' this August 25th and I am chomping at the bit. If you're an Immi/Frou Frou fan, check this out!!!

'First Train Home' new single!!! soooooo good!!!


'Canvas'


I can't wait to hear the whole album!!!

Peach Blueberry Crisp

This past Tuesday the kids and I went over to the farmer's market down the road to partake in some produce-y goodness. I stocked up on Michigan peaches and blueberries. While they are super delish to eat just by themselves, I couldn't resist the urge to conjure up some sort of crisp or cobbler. I found a good recipe at recipezaar.com that I thought I share!!! With 216 calories and less than 6 grams of fat per serving (minus the vanilla ice cream on top!), it's not too terrible for you either!!



Peach Blueberry Crisp - serves 8

4 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 TBsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon

topping

1 cup quick-cook rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 TBsp soft butter

Combine peaches and blueberries in a casserole dish. In small bowl, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon. Add this mixture to the casserole and mix well with fruit. In another bowl, combine oats, sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly and sprinkle over fruit. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes until bubbling and fruit is fork tender. Serve warm or cold. Yummmmmm!!!!!!!!

Fireplace Re-do

Is re-do even a real word? I'm not sure, but if it isn't I just made up a new one. This summer has been beyond weird for a lot of reasons - the weather has been weird, we've had a lot of weird health stuff... so ya, just weird. A re-do on this summer might be nice!!! Just as summer is winding down, things are starting to fall into place. I've been shopping for curriculum for the kids and have made my decisions on what we'll be doing as far as school this year. I am going to order next Monday and hopefully start the last week in August. Olivia will be doing a little school this year too! I think as much as I don't want summer to be over yet, getting back into a regular rhythym will be nice.

Last weekend we got to work on a few things inside the house that have been labeled as "in progress" for far too long. The fireplace is finally just about done! Here are the pictures of its transformation through the years.....



bare drywall.... this was our first walk through of the house in '04


'nother one


then we added some wood, tile and molding to it... looks better, but still awkward







in progress....


drywalling....


Ta Da!!!!!


I finally got some pictures in those frames above the couch too!!!


We still have to add some small molding to the fronts/side of the columns and around the wall sconce to finish it


I am on the look out for a cool mantle clock and some candlesticks too!!

Kevin of course did all of the hard work and the building and I did all of the painting. And much like all of our other home improvement endeavors, this project wasn't without its share of catastropies. Upon trying to vaccuum up the drywall dust after sanding, our beloved shop vac had a little malfunction. The filter slipped and shot all and I mean ALL of the dust out the back.... all..... over.... the house! And of course all over Kevin and me. But it's done!!! I also finally painted that bookcase Kevin made last year! It was unfinished, so I finished it!!



It feels good to be able to check some things off the list and I'm super happy with the way these latest projects turned out. Big ups to my man for being able to turn the ideas in my head into something beautiful!!!