My War With Pies

My husband LOVES pies. In his world, every holiday, birthday, or celebration of any sort is not complete without a pie. For our wedding a pie the top tier of our cake.

Me? Well, I am not so concerned with pies. They're okay. Mostly yummy, but where's the chocolate for goodness sake!?!

The saddest thing about pies in our home is that I CANNOT BAKE THEM!

I have tried and failed sooo many times. The crust is what gets me. The one he likes is not really flaky. It actually reminds me of shortbread.

Then by the crust is finished I'm so stressed about the whole thing that I mess up the filling (even when it's canned because I put the wrong amount in!). Ha, ha!

I give you Exhibit A: Mike's birthday pie



The bottom crust was not rolled out. I pressed it in the pan by hand.

Part of the top crust cracked when I place it on top. I was not about to take it off with all the filling all over it. So, I repaired it the best I could and moved on.

Why did the filling ooze out? Probably another issue with my crust making skills.

Then, to top it all off, I got the wrong filling and it wasn't what my husband was hoping for. He didn't say as much, but I know my pies are always a faint reminder of the pies he had growing up. Like a tease! A cruel and disappointing tease! Ha!



So, there you have it. That is my war on pies. Or are the pies warring on ME?

I think I just need to practice more! Anyone want to eat my practice pies???

Work-Out Buddy

When looking to add some exercise to my life I took my friend, Emily's, advice and pulled out an old workout video.

(Is it just me or do all work-out videos cross between being for the elderly or being a naughty video? Sometimes I feel like she's talking to a seventy-year-old Grandma, and other times it seems a little risque!)

The first time I popped in the DVD my three-year-old asked to participate. I was happy to let her join.

The first couple of weeks she just watched.

Now she is doing the warm-up and cool-down with me. The other parts are, "kind of tricky. I don't know this part, Mama."

So fun to have a work-out buddy!

Look at those moves!



We exercise in our pj's!

What's in a Tooth?

A canal with nerves and blood vessels.

I know this because my just-barely-sixteen-MONTH-old fell, shattered her tooth, and exposed the pulp (canal with nerve and blood vessels).

So, it's just a tooth but it was sooooooo sad. My sweet little 16 month old was doing her daily laps around the living room, dining room, and kitchen when she suddenly fell. She didn't trip over anything, like a toy or her feet. One minute she was up, and the next she was down.

When I picked her up she had little white pieces of tooth on her lip. Of course I didn't know that's what it was at first, until I brushed it away and felt it's 'chalkiness'.

"Oh my goodness! That was her tooth."

There was no blood and she only cried for a short time. I was pacing and making phone calls trying to decide if this was an emergency - almost half her tooth was gone - or something to be taken care of at home. How do you mend a broken tooth?

Suddenly I am brought out of my panic when I hear a huge crash in the kitchen. Before running to my daughter's side I had been mixing bread dough in my mixer. It causes my mixer to shake a little so I usually stand by it to keep it from knocking things off the counter.

Well, it fell and pulled some drying dishes off the counter with it. THANKFULLY, my oldest was far enough away that it didn't hurt her. And, thankfully again, she was standing right by the door and could easily exit the room.

I ran around to see if she was okay. She told me her tummy hurt. I yanked up her shirt and was relieved to see no poking glass or cuts. She was just scared, not hurt!

We made it to the dentist and he referred us to a specialist. We saw her the next day and she pulled the tooth. My poor little baby will have no tooth until she's at least 7 years old. We can have a false tooth put in when she has more teeth in her mouth, but for now she's our little toothless girl.




So, it's just a tooth. It's not a leg or an eye or a finger. Just a tooth. BUT, it was still so sad and tragic to deal with as a parent. I was beside myself. Outwardly I think I handled things pretty well - not fantastic, but well. But inside I was really panicky. I kept wondering why I am so weak when it comes to these situations. Then I realized I still did everything I needed to. I wondered if everyone felt panicky on the inside while handling similar situations?

It's been one week today since it happened, and my husband and I still look at each other and sigh for the premature loss of a baby tooth.