Just RK

1. A typical evening meal--Usually it's something from a box (yeah, I can feel you GOOD moms cringing...I know). Most of you that have been hanging around here for long know that I have a husband who doesn't like food in general and a daughter who refuses to eat. She has a g-button, he wishes he did. And in the midst of this, I love food, and I used to love to cook, but my parade has been rained on a dozen too many times, so I go with what works. Mac n cheese (only Kraft), taquitos, nachos, tacos when I'm feeling more energetic, occasionally Hamburger Helper. (Yep, he likes it...weird, huh?). When I'm feeling like what we call a "real meal," I might do chicken breasts, rice, maybe a salad, fruit, green beans, or cottage cheese. Sometimes we do a little spaghetti (only angel hair pasta) with garlic bread and green beans. But admittedly, that's not very often. We rely on junk or less-than-healthy choices far too often. 2. A healthy meal--Well, I'm gla...

The Random Questions process ~Choose one or all of the questions to answer. ~Either respond with a comment to this post with your answer or put up a post on your own blog for a full response. ~Don't forget to include any funny or interesting story to illustrate your answer in action. ~Be sure to leave a comment on this post to let us know where to find your post so we can come check it out! Round 7--FOOD!! I've had conversations with alot of people lately about eating, food, and how what we eat differs so often from what we *should* eat. It's a hot topic in our house with a kiddo that literally refuses to eat and a husband who doesn't like to eat. So share your thoughts...who knows how much it might help someone. Maybe me! 1. What does a typical evening meal look like at your house? (Be honest!) 2. What is your idea of a "healthy meal" if you were going to aim for that specifically? 3. What food(s) do you like now that you wouldn't have believed would be i...

Today wasn't bad, but it was no yesterday. Granted, I did get to spend part of the afternoon in the back yard while Braska enjoyed her new swing. Breeze blowing, sun shining, laptop wirelessly connected, lounging in the patio furniture...can't beat it. But that's not what this post is about. I wanted to follow up on two things from yesterday . 1. I no longer have the Mustang convertible. It's gone. I'd come get you for a drive if I could. I'd loan it to you if I had it. You could use it for prom if it was still available to me. I owned it for only about 6 months, and most of those winter. It was a gift from my husband for my birthday, purchased in the Great Car Transfer of 2004 from Cory, coolest super-geek doctor scientist in Wisconsin. Now I drive the best family sport sedan out there, in my opinion, my cherished Altima. Love it! Need to borrow IT for prom? 2. We DID use our gym last night. Braska went to bed early on a new schedule trial run. M ...

Wow!! There is nothing like a truly happy day. A day when you hear good things, you see pretty things, you meet nice people, and you are greeted by many smiles. Thank you, God, for a happy day! The weather is great today, too, which is always fun this time of year. I love my car. I say that alot. We had the sunroof wide open today letting the breeze blow us to pieces, me and B. But I found myself wistfully remembering the days of this baby. *sigh* Good times. VERY good times. Someday I'll own another convertible. No doubt. I must. It's just plain too much fun. Before I forget, Random Questions is returning this week. Stay tuned. I haven't forgotten, I've just been super distracted. For those 3 of you who just wondered what I've been distracted with.... I'm having a major de-cluttering mood again, so Saturday night, it was Braska's room that got it. A total rearranging and cleaning out. (Left=before, Right=after) The shelves of a zillion panda figurines h...

My dog Belle sleeps in our bed every night. She tends to choose the 20 minutes after we turn the lights out to scratch and lick and primp in various ways. This causes the whole bed to shake and it drives me NUTS! I usually try to maintain my composure as long as possible, but then I sit up and find where she is on the bed, snap at her, or tell her to stop. Thankfully, she does mind pretty well. Easy enough. But it's never caused me to wake from sleep before........ Last night, I woke up from a good sleep (that took me a LONG time to finally get into) to some crazy shaking, and I immediatly reached out for Belle, ready to bonk her on the bum or something to get her to quit. But I found her right next to me and totally zonked out snoozing. Hmmmmm. So if she's not scratching, then why is my whole bed shaking like crazy?? I next thought of a crazy wind or something, even though it seemed stupid to think that could do it, so I stood up to head to a window. But as soon as m...

This weekend we were at my in-laws' place for a very quick visit. We went largely for a housewarming for Cheryl and Ethon, which was Sunday afternoon. They have a pretty darn cool place, so yay for you guys! Sunday morning pictures are normal, we do them alot. This week, before we left for church, Carole took a few pics of my little poonchin. They didn't all turn out great, as she kept making funny faces and moving at the last second. I stole them off her camera for my collection, and when I looked at this one I just kind of stopped. It's not any super great picture. It's cute, but hey, how could it not be? She's waving at herself, that's the reason the hand is up. But that's not what I saw. Go ahead, click on the picture. Can you see it? I don't see Down syndrome. I don't see a feeding tube. I don't even see a tough cookie, open-heart surgery survivor. It's not my favorite picture of her ever, but I can't hardly stop looking at it. This...

Here's how I spent a chunk of my morning, hands and knees, Cinderella-style. First, I did the whole floor with a corner-to-corner soapy wipe down. Then a rinse. After it dried, there was still all those dingy areas in the crevices of my super-high-end linoleum (ha!), so I just got a whim to take care of it. Out comes the scrub brush, and, after putting Braska to nap, I went after the floor again. I'm horrible at keeping up with floors. I sweep now and then, but I hate mopping. I've tried to go with the easy stick-a-soapy-pad-on-a-flimsy-handle route--they seem so popular--but it's no good. It just pushed stuff around. So I use the string-type mop that can go in the washer, but that's a whole process too. SO...I just don't. I just pretend that sweeping is enough, until I can see from 5 feet 3 inches above the floor that there are spots. And it's a light floor....*sigh* So why did I do it today? Well, someone has taken to a new favorite pastime. Here she is, c...

A little while back, my friend Amy at Larkin's Place tagged me for 5 interesting things about myself. This is obviously difficult, which you know if you read about how lame I am . But here's a go at a few more items. 1. I kind of think I'd like to be a photographer if I just all the sudden woke up in a different profession. Not like landscapes as much as people, families, babies...like that. 2. In 2006 from January to December I lost 60 pounds. I also was pregnant from March to November of that year. (20 lbs lost Jan-Mar, 13 lbs lost then gained back during pregnancy, and 40 lbs lost from Braska's birth on 11/21/06 to end of the year.) Amazing what stress can do. 3. In 2007 I gained 25 pounds. Amazing what stress can do. 4. I grew up a huge sports fan. Basketball especially, as my brother played and we all liked to watch high school, college, and NBA. 5. I married a man who hates basketball, especially the "shoe squeaking" that goes along with it. So ...

(Email sent to husband few minutes ago.) Fed baby. Got sprayed with vanilla milk. Did a work-work batch. Got puked on. Saw my sister on national news. Ate breakfast. Put up blog post about sister on national news. Began diaper change. Found that child was covered in poo. Carried her by the arms to the tub. Peeled her sleeper off her. Literally scraped poo off her from head to po. Ended up with a hand covered in poo. Threw up a little in my mouth. Did work-work batches with one hand while sitting on the bathroom floor and spraying child with other hand. Cancelled playgroup so I could work. Put child to nap after Signing Time. How's your morning going?

So, I'm watching the news this morning, eating my toasted oat cereal after feeding Braska, while she plays on the floor. I hear them do a tease for an upcoming piece about "do men really prefer blondes?" and I glance up to see a familiar face. I do a shake-your-head-to-clear-your-mind thing and look again, but they've already gone to commercial. I hit record on the DVR and wait for the segment. In a few minutes, it's back. Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com Some of you might recognize the face of that brunette, others may only know her by her shopping habits in relation to Braska Bear...that would be my younger sister, Rachel, AKA Auntie Rachel. How weird is that?! To look up and see my little sister on a national news channel?? I dialed her up right away to tell her...she had no idea. Crazy. She does look quite different now, I mean it's been like 7 or 8 years. But it's definitely her. The backstory is that several years ago, maybe a...

What a successful giveaway this has been! I'm so darn excited that so many of you will get to try them for the first time!!! And I have to admit, I had no idea there were so many of you that had never tried them. So there have been 5 more winners added to the mix, because I just couldn't resist!! 5 winners who have tried them before. One pair each, remember the idea is to pass them on! :o)(If you guys want to pass them on to someone who didn't win but entered here--as a couple of you have asked about--let me know and I'd be happy to ship them for you.) Amy Flege Jessie Melanie B ~Melissa~ Jen (of Eli, Evan, and Cal fame!) 5 winners who've never had a pair. TWO pairs, one to have and one to share, if you so choose. Rene (of Special K's) Mia Christina BoufMom9 Cole Twins 5 winners who lucked out because I couldn't resist giving a few more away! One pair each. Lesha Cate SherriKnits Sevenfries Shelley So all you winners, here's how you get your loot!! ...

Get a cup of good hot chocolate, put on your comfy clothes, and settle in with some non-rushed time to check out Dan Drinker's site . I can't even tell you how much I love watching these videos and reading what his family has written about him. I feel like I want to tune into the Dan Drinker 24-hour channel or something. Dan is a young man with DS who is living and loving life, and his younger brother Will captures much of it on video. It's priceless, in my opinion. I just love it. Check out the blog, watch some videos, tell them that you've been there. I wish this guy lived near me! The most recent post, about Breaking Up with Christine , is funny and poignant. Here's a couple of my other favorite videos so far... I've still got more to watch! His 7th Prom A Basketball Date with Sarah

What does one do with a day when there is nothing on the schedule but "regular" things like work-work and dishes and laundry? Well, of course, they go stand in line for hours for a 20-second chance at fame and a million bucks! Monday evening my new friend Jen called. She had a crazy idea and wanted to know if I was game...almost literally. Deal or No Deal was coming to a mall about 45 minutes from here for open auditions on Tuesday. Did I wanna come along?? I just had to giggle...this girl is crazy fun! I thought for a moment, realized I didn't have any truly pressing issues to handle between 1 and 4 pm the next day, so I thought, Sure, I'll come along and see what happens . First there was the application, which we printed from the online link (which is now gone or I'd link ya). The questions were about lucky moments in our lives, what made us interesting, embarrassing stories, outrageous things we've done, etc. I labored over this paper most of the evening,...

WOW!!! You guys are making my year! This is awesome! I may just have to add a few more pairs to the giveaway stash... stay tuned! I got a great email last night from my super cool contact at BL, and she was SO great. I just can't get over how generous they have been! Don't forget to put up those posts with pics of your little ones in the BL, for those of you that already love them! Make sure that you tell us that you have the post up so we can all come oooooh and ahhhh! Winners will be drawn this weekend, and they will be posted by Monday morning.

That's right! A BabyLegs Giveaway!! BUT...this giveway has an extra dose of generosity required for the participants. Can you handle it? BabyLegs has been so great to us, and they have surprised me once again! It all started back when the superb Tricia and Little Miss G sent Braska a pair many moons ago. We'd seen them on a few of our little blog friends, and I thought they were adorable. And the idea of keeping Braska warm while being able to access her g-tube without having to undress her was very appealing. So when we received our surprise pair from our friends out East, we were just plain giddy! I quickly ordered several more pairs to go with her wardrobe. It didn't take anytime at all for BabyLegs to become my standard gift at baby showers, and I especially loved sending them to moms that I found who had fresh little new babies with DS. They're perfect for everyday with a long-sleeved onesie, they are great under a little dress, and they are so helpful with thera...