Me and my boyfriend

I love the Vampire Diaries. And Damon. He loves me too, as you can tell in this photo we had taken together:

Be Kind

Never underestimate the power of a kind word. You never know what kind of lasting impression words have on people, the good and the bad. Wouldn't you feel good if someone told you years later that the kind things you said to them stuck with them? I know I would.

When I was in 7th grade, a boy in my class told me I had the prettiest eyes he'd ever seen. I rediscovered this friend on facebook in the last year or so and I told him that his compliment has stayed with me for the last 25 years or so. It may seem silly, but it's not a compliment I get much (really, compliments on my looks have always been few and far between), but it was also given to me during years of my life that were the hardest. Middle school sucked.

I've kept that compliment in the back of my mind and it is a reminder that you should be kind to people because you may never know how one kind thing can stay with someone for so long.

Times are tough

Oh boy. This is our house every night. If it's not one thing, it's another.

The hard part about being a parent is...being a parent. I am not here to be Carley's best friend. I am her mom and I am supposed to guide her and teach her to be a good person in life. Part of that is saying no.

Now, for some reason, everyone assumes (most likely because she's an only child) that I never tell my child 'no'. I have always been strict with Carley, but I did let her win some battles. I have never wanted my child to fear me or be submissive, so it's not my style to say no to every single thing. I let her win some battles but the important ones I always won. But since I'm not the one who is with her every single day, the discipline has been inconsistent.

Lately we have been more strict about things and it has made life hard, different. I am reluctant to take her public places. People stare at you like you are a child abuser or that you can't control your child instead of the child being a 3 year old that has yet to learn how to express herself.

Last night we had a fight about an ice cream cone. It ended up being a long night. This morning she woke up asking for that same ice cream cone. And so my day begins...I can only hope this is a quick phase. My patience is wearing thin.

The dust has settled...

...now that it has we have taken stock of the injuries. At the end of the day, Grammy ended up with 3 staples in her head. Carley, unfortuantely, was injured but I didn't see her injuries until later in the day. She has bruises and road rash from her forehead to her ankle. We took her in for xrays of her elbow (they thought it might be broken or fractured) but it's just swollen and sore. She can't or won't move her arm which makes getting dressed a bit difficult. Thankfully the weather has been cooler because the only button down shirts we own are sweaters.

After everyone went to bed last night and I made sure everyone was ok, I finally broke down. It was an awful day and emotionally traumatic for me. Today I'm sore from head to toe and some of the events after the fall are a blur so I'm starting to wonder if I physically carried both Carley and Grammy up the stairs. I don't know.

I'm glad everyone is recovering and soon Carley, who is more emotionally battered, will get past this.

911

Today was a normal day that in the blink of an eye went terribly wrong. My mother-in-law came go babysit Carley. They always come outside to say goodbye, today was no different. Except today their normal spot had a chair in the way so they stood at the front of the porch. Penny stumbled and couldn't stop gravity. She fell from the top of the porch to the cement sidewalk, all while holding Carley.

She hit her head really hard. She was knocked out for a few seconds. My neighbor, Jan, was on her porch watching the whole thing. As I was trying to see if Carley was bleeding, I was shouting to my neighbor to call 911. She didn't budge. She just stared at us. I can't even explain my anger. Maybe she didn't understand me, maybe she thought a woman in her 60's slamming her head on cement was not a big deal. I don't know but she wouldn't call help for us.

I'm not quite sure how I got everyone upstairs. Penny was bleeding like crazy, Carley was crying and I was freaking out. The medics came and just like that everything changed.

Carley has been emotional about it all as have I. It was an awful sight and I continue to worry about my mother-in-law, who is now at the doctors office getting looked at.

Tomorrow will be worse for Carley and Penny as their bumps and bruises become quite sore and I hope my guilt eases with each passing day.

Peanut Butter Pie

This is my favorite dessert. One I make well. I lose the recipe ALL THE TIME so I figured if I posted it on my blog, I'll always have it. Until Blogger gets bought out and I lose it or something.

Crust:

But Oreo cookie crust. But this weekend the store was out, so to make your own:
1 1/4 C chocolate cookie crumbs (20 cookies)
1/4 C sugar
1/4 C butter or margarine, melted

Filling:

1 package (8 ounces) of cream cheese softened
1 C peanut butter (creamy is best)
1 C sugar
1 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C heavy whipping cream (or cheat by using Cool Whip, but I like to whip my own cream)

Directions:

Crust
Combine crust ingredients, Press into a pie plate. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. let cool

Filling
Beat cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped cream (I have found that "folding" makes it grainy so I stir it fast and well). Spoon into crust and garnish with cookie crumbs, chocolate, fudge, whatever. Chill.

I freeze it because it holds up better that way. Fridge makes it softer to eat, but I find it's too soft.

Enjoy. I have never heard one person say this was bad.