Baking

I made two dozen of these while the baby was still asleep. Oatmeal muffins with raisins, dates and walnuts. Yum! Last time I made a dozen, and the entire family ate them up (including my husband who has told me (although he says he never said any such thing) that he doesn't eat walnuts, or raisins). I use yogurt instead of buttermilk, and today I put them in these cupcake liners, bought at our local cooking store, instead of using cupcake pans. It worked quite nicely, if I do say so myself!

p.s. except that i forgot to put in the brown sugar...

What are they doing to their teeth?

New York Times article

The newest tech in dental scanners is very much a gourmet treat for dentists - it's fast, it's detailed, and the manufacturing companies are pushing it like candy. But CT-cone scanners use higher radiation levels than the best film methods, and comparable (although more time-consumptive) methods of 3D imaging with a little camera do not expose children to ANY radiation.

I think I'll have to watch out for this at the dentist (mine used film - even with the little kids) because any effects will not be seen for many years. Radiation exposure is cumulative, and i hate to think what it's doing to the rapidly growing cells in children's tooth buds. :(

(don't even get me started about the new scanners in the airports....i fully expect me and the little kids to be getting pat downs the next time we fly.)

so tired...

too tired to type much. We spent the afternoon at the local outdoor mall, and i should have had a nap, instead.

I know exactly why i wasn't this tired last time i was pregnant. Last time, the little boy was still taking naps, and i could nap with him. le sigh. not this time! Even if i get lucky enough for them to take a nap, they don't sleep at the same time.

oh well, back to the normal week tomorrow. Ta!

the car quest continues

We're getting closer. WIth the exception of Chrysler, we've looked at all the auto brands that we're interested in, and we've even taken a few for a test drive. (Today was a really long day. I truly do not like talking to auto salesman(and why are they all men??))

We know what we want. The most important part is room for 3 carseats, Little Sister and Big J and I all at the same time. That means 3 rows of seats, really. Then, there needs to be room for my Gallant dog, even if only with the seats folded up(down. depending.). We really want a rear view camera, too, because we're both paranoid about backing accidents and small children. With all that considered, the subjective factors are how easy it is for me to reach the rear-most seats(so I can unbuckle people's carseats) and how comfortable Big J and I are with the car.

The top runners are the Honda Pilot and Odyssey. I like driving the Pilot better, but the Odyssey has more room and a better interior layout. and the Odyssey minivan tends to be less expensive than the Pilot. We'll probably have a used one, whichever we finally pick out. (we're still keeping an open mind as regards Chrysler. But the other selections haven't been attractive for us.)

Oh, and while Big J and I were running around to car dealerships today, I knitted an inch on a new sock! yay me :D

last minute supper

After an unsuccessful grocery shopping expedition (amazing how much it cost), I was busily searching for something to make for supper. Something that people might like, and that used ingredients that I already have. On one of my favorite recipe blogs, had an interesting recipe for Sweet & Sour chicken, and that's what we had for supper!

It includes bell peppers, pineapple, and an interesting cornstarch coating on the chicken. My family's opinion ranged from: "Better than take-out!", to "Let's not have it again". Big J doesn't like the sour stuff (i actually didn't know this, although, that explains why he doesn't like tomatoes, too), Little J thought it was slimy ;) I liked the taste a lot, but the cornstarch was irritating my throat...i really should avoid the stuff.

Off to knitting night! bye!