First Timer

I have a "first" experience. It's a shocker but I am willing to expose myself for all the world(well...blog world) to see. I cooked my first turkey the other day. It was for Evan's first grade Indian/Pilgrim feast.. The Butterball turkey was about fifteen pounds. I did not stuff it per the teachers request. I did not ask why as I was just really happy to oblige the teacher. I told her I have never cooked a turkey before and she did not care. I am a good actress and reassured her I was a good cook in other areas and could handle a turkey. I mean come on I told her...look at my kids...they are not starving by any means. I asked my mother for advice on how to cook it. I read the direction that came with the Butterball Tom. I borrowed a meat thermometer and roasting pan and off to the stove I went. Following my moms advice about how to get the skin golden brown and the advice of the Butterball company about turkey temperature....my turkey came out BEAUTIFUL!!! I impressed my husband which is very hard to do with cooking. The teacher and other parents at the mini feast were very impressed with the juiciness of the Tom. The carver(the teacher's hubby) kept commenting about how the meat was tender and fell off the bone. A Julia Childs I am not but my cooking skills are getting better with age. Next year maybe I can try to cook a turkey with stuffing. Anybody want to have Thanksgiving at my house next November?

New Pets

We have some new pet additions to the family. As if three dogs and two turtles are not enough for mommy(me) to take care of. These pets are very low maintenance. They require food and water about once a week....and a plus for mommy.....no poop or pee to clean up. They take care of themselves. They are a very contained sort of pet.
They are ants!!! Trey has an ant farm. He got the present for his birthday from his favorite cousin, Haley(I love you baby girl). How did she know this is just what Trey wanted. A bonus is that the other two boys get to enjoy the pets. Fun for the entire family....to sit around and watch ants make tunnels in the white sand. So if you ever need something to do on a friday or saturday night please stop by my house and watch the ants with us. We do party it up at the Hydock house!

Oh the Noise - Oh the Smell

There are pluses and minuses to having the crib in my bedroom. Plus....I can hear my child vomit in the middle of the night and help him right away. Minus....I get woken up in the middle of the night to the smell and noises of a child vomiting. Oh joy to me! That is exactly what happened last night. I usually have a strong stomach and can handle any smell and sight from my children. But when I get woken up and I am groggy.... my system is not working at full capacity. Last night my stomach was churning and the smells were very intensified by my sleepy state. The first time it occurred I woke up to my poor child standing in his crib with throw up dribbling down his chin onto his pajamas. Oh the smell! I woke up DH(he was sleeping with the middle child) as I was getting clean pajamas and crib sheets. Hey...why should I be the only one to experience all the fun at 1am. The second time it occurred I jumped up after hearing coughing and gagging from the crib. Oh the noise! I was not yet asleep but really trying. Child was grabbed and thrust into bathroom to the toilet at the precise moment of projectile vomiting. I got lucky! DH never woke up the second time around. I was a nice wife! So the rest of the night I slept very light and fitfully waiting for the wonderful noises and smells of sickess. They never occurred again the rest of the night...thank goodness. The third time it occurred was in the morning while DH was home alone in the garage with the ill baby. Garage floors are easier to clean according to DH...lucky him! Now the child is sleeping for what is hopefully a healing and restful nap. I pray for no more noise and smells!

Playtime

My playgroup went to Granma's Hug-N-Farm on tuesday. Mainly the only kids not in school these days are the toddlers(newborns to age 3) so Zane fits right in and has many friends. The group has been several times over the years to this particular farm. The experience has always been enjoyable. A few things Zane enjoyed were the hayride, donkeys, ducks, baby chicks, bunnies, playhouse and pony swing. And of course having his buddies with him. I am glad Zane and mommy were able to have a morning to themselves. Alone time with each child is quite difficult these days.
Did I ever mention I love my playgroup. I have been part of them since Trey was about 9 months old and Evan was 2 and a half years old. There have been name changes of the group. Moms have come and gone for a variety of reason....matriculation, moves, lack of interest, not right fit of group. But the core moms of this group are my support system. I can not live without them. They are my family(my sister included) and I truely need them all. You all know who you are so no names are needed. Some of my mom family have blogs of their own. You can check them out to the right of this post. Get to know them. The blogs are awesome, witty and quite funny at times.

Swing Batter Batter

Evan is in Little League "winter baseball". This means the season is practice for the "real" season to start in spring. Evan needed the practice since this is his first time at machine pitch. I think he is doing awesome. He seems to really like playing the sport. DH was a Little League kid so Evan comes by it naturally I suppose. As a whole I like the Little League program. They require parents to volunteer four hours in the concession stand or pay an extra fee. Well most of you know me......I will volunteer in order to avoid the extra fee. I volunteered in the beginning of October for the morning shift. It was fun...I worked the grill the whole four hours. No one else wanted this spot. Uh hello....I am a mom....I cook everyday. What is the big deal?! Working in the concession stand reminded me of my teenage work days at Wendy's. That is where I began my love affair with dipping french fries in ketchup and mayonaise. Yum Yum!! I also learned to count back change
to people at Wendy's. The cash registers were not computerized back then in the "olden days". Employees actually had to use their brains and use the math they learned in school. Nowadays employees appear to only know how to count change back forward. If a mistake occurs the employee is dumbfounded how to correct the error. I am amazed at the stupidity. But I have digressed from the topic. This is typical of
me ......my brain is ADHD sometimes. Get used to my blogs...I am who I am.