Whew… what a week, or half a week.  Saturday night Emelia came into my room about 3 a.m. and touched my feet to wake me up, she was sick.  I had taken half a muscle relaxer because I woke up Saturday with a really bad backache (in my lower back).  I was in and out all night because medicine makes me so sleepy (I rarely take any).  So Isabelle is sick too that night.  Twice.  She had been running fever Saturday and slept all day.  Sunday we were all wiped out from no sleep etc. so we stayed home all day.  Emelia slept most of the day and Isabelle ate normally which made me realize she was just having issues with congestion.  So… Monday Emelia went to school for the afternoon and I kept Izzy home to make sure she was well.  She again slept most of the day.  Tuesday I decided to take her to school.  She slept soundly as I got dressed.  I took her anyway, thinking that she would wake up.  She slept through most of the afternoon.  At school.  Getting her in and out of her carseat was a painful experience for me.  I winced in pain and blinked away tears.  Stupid back.

Sweet Melanie ran out with a “for no special day present.”  I am so dingy I thought she was singing something about a snow day present?  I have no excuse…   She is Izzy’s teacher and at the pumpkin patch I remarked about the beauty of the white pumpkin.  The kids couldn’t choose a white pumpkin, and even if they could we would have to hike a fair distance to get one.  Anyway, we stopped at her house to see a pond that she had installed recently in her back yard (it was very pretty!) and she had a white pumpkin on her porch.  I joked that I was going to swap Izzy’s green pumpkin for that white one … I didn’t.  But she brought me this (Isn’t it cute?)!  It’s the pillow with a white pumpkin on the front.

My friend Kari sent me a Fall card (that she made) and then a Halloween card (she made it too!)  I told Amanda yesterday I need to buy a homemade card to send to her and Amanda suggested I make one.  I guess that’s an option but compared to hers I’m not sure… Haley also sent me an adorable Halloween card and Emelia looked at it and can’t remember where she put it.  So it’s not pictured.  But thank you Kari and Haley!  You guys are so talented and so thoughtful.

It’s really raining this morning.  It’s also thundering loudly!  I love it.  I am really enjoying the Fall preview with cooler weather.

When I picked Isabelle up yesterday (from school)… Camilla put her into the car for me.  So sweet.  She even emailed her cell phone number to me so that I could call her when we arrive so she could help get Izzy out and into her stroller.   Aren’t they just the best?  I am so blessed to have these friends at Izzy’s school.  I am seriously praying that my back gets better today.  I have to admit I had to fight back tears this morning when I realized it was still hurting.  But I won’t be defeated and I am speaking against the pain!  (and have an ice pack on my back as I type…)

Hope you have a great Wednesday.

p.s. I blogged on the internet cafe yesterday.  I forgot to tell you.  Sorry.

1.What is your earliest memory of a library? Who took you? Do you have any funny/odd memories of the library?

 My earliest library memories would be those walks from school to our little local library.  The only odd memory from a library was in jr. high at the school library, there was a half wall with a bean bag behind it for some reason… I walked over to find a couple making out.  I guess they found a purpose.

2. What two things are at the top of your to-do list? When do you think you’ll get around to doing those things? How good are you at crossing things off your to-do list?

Do some paperwork and get it mailed and put my pantech duo phone on ebay to get rid of it.  I have been postponing these two things for weeks.  I am usually very good at getting things done and crossed off my list. Oh and do a post for industrial knobs…

3. Where do you come in the family? Are you the oldest? Youngest? Only child? Or smack in the middle? How do you think this has affected the way you grew up? Would you agree with your birth order personality? Are you happy with your birth order, or do you wish you had been the oldest/youngest, etc.

I am the youngest.  I have two older brothers.  Mike is six years older than I am, Jody is 10 years older than me.  I think I was spoiled being the youngest and only girl.  Looking at this list of last born traits I can see some similarities.  I am happy to be the youngest.  I wish I had a sister… I used to beg mom to have one more but she didn’t.  I think I would love to have a sister and am always jealous of all those close sisters.  Mom has like nine and they are some of her closest friends.  Most of my friends have sisters except Melody.  She has two brothers just like me.

Last born children tend to be the easiest to define when it comes to the correlation between birth order and personality, this is mostly due to the fact that there is only one main type of last born.

Last Born Traits

• Risk takers
• Idealists
• Good sense of humor
• Hard working
• Immature
• Attention seeking
• Secretive
• Sensitive

Last born children are often considered the baby of the family, and live up to this role. At times it is difficult for the last born child to find his/her place in the family, as the first and middle child have already left huge footprints to follow in, and carved their own niche into the family.

Strengths V.S. Weaknesses

	Category Strengths Weaknesses Traits Outgoing, sociable, affectionate, caring, creative, empathetic, and confident. Spoiled, manipulative, immature, self-centered, and capricious. Career Careers in sales, or invention corporations work well because of their ability to sell things, including themselves, work well alone, want to be the boss, and just do their own thing at their own pace. Do not like to be tied down to committment, can be perceived as “cut throat”, try too hard at times, alternative routes in life may make them the odd man out.

Fun Facts

• Famous last born children: Howard Stern, Jay Leno, Ralph Nadar, Bill Gates, and Danny DeVito
• Tend to go against the norm
• Make the biggest stirs in life
• Know no boundaries

4. If it wasn’t for Jesus, I would be lost.

Another edition of “Fall in Flavor” hosted by  Linda @ 2nd Cup of Coffee is on. It’s all about the yummy, rich fall comfort foods that we all love. Check out her site for more recipes and add one yourself!

I’m posting the recipe I made yesterday… Jambalaya.  It has been on my menu the past few weeks and it is easy and really good.  It’s best served with garlic bread.  You can make it more soupy, or thicker.  We prefer it with less liquid… It’s probably not “authentic” jambalaya, but it is delicious and relatively healthy although Linda will be happy to know there are no rutabagas… you could pair it with nespresso.

I buy the zattarains jambalaya mix… it has the rice and seasonings inside.  Mom buys low sodium, I go for it and say “welcome salt!”

I start with olive oil.  Saute onion and green peppers in oil until onions are transluscent.

I buy Healthy Choice Polish sausage (It says best choice award on the package and is actually healthy I think…)

Slice it up and put it in with the onions…

I add 2-3 chicken breasts to saute with the mixture.  (I take them out and chop them up)

Then add 1 can of chicken broth (16 oz)

and a can of diced tomatoes…

Then pour in the package of zattarains and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for rice to cook (about 20 minutes)

Here’s where you can decide whether or not to make it more “soupy.”  By adding either water or more broth.

I don’t.  But you can.  Mom does.

That’s it.