Oh my gosh this is YUMMY!

I was a busy, busy girl last night! I baked 2 loaves of Pumpkin Bread and 2 loaves of Chocolate Chip Banana Bread... my family LOVES me when I bake!  :)

I tried a new recipe for Banana Bread... it is FANTASTIC!  It almost reminds me of pound cake - so rich and smooth.  I know not everyone gets as excited about banana bread as I do... but it is REALLY worth trying!  It exchanges cream cheese for about half of the butter... I used low fat whipped cream cheese and it worked perfectly (it was all I had, but I think I'll ALWAYS use it.)  I also used "I Can't Believe it's Not Butter - for Baking" and I think I'll be using it for all of my baking from now on - YUM!  SO much better than margarine!  The recipe calls for nuts... but YUCK-O - I do NOT like nuts in my bread...so I put about a cup of chocolate chips instead.  How can you go wrong with chocolate????

Cream Cheese-Banana-Nut Bread

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (1 1/2 pounds unpeeled bananas, about 4 medium)
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (or chocolate chips...untoasted!  LOL)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

BEAT butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

COMBINE flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in bananas, pecans, and vanilla.  Spoon batter into 2 grased and floured 8x4" loaf pans.

BAKE at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan, shielding with aluminum foil last 15 minutes to prevent over-browning (this is important!)  Cool bread in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.  Remove from pans, and cool 30 minutes on wire racks before slicing.

MAKES 2 loaves.

Maybe a window shade would help?

Stephen King talks to me.  Really... he does!  Not all the time (thank Goodness!) but he DOES talk to me.

In our master bathroom, the toilet is located in a tiny little room -  I guess it's called the "powder room"... all it has is the toilet, a cabinet above it and a window.  This window looks out into our side yard.  The side yard has trees.  Trees and grass.  It's a pretty view... in the day time.

I drink a lot of water.  I mean a LOT of water.. all day, every day.  This means I tinkle a lot (... I know tinkle is a silly word, but "urinate" is not in my vocabulary, ok?)  Night time is no exception.  I have to get up to tinkle AT LEAST once every night.  Sometimes twice.

Night time "out in the country"... because "out in the country" is where I live... is DARK.  There are no street lights.  There aren't any other houses in view from the windows of our home.  When you look out the windows - you see black... or a cat face staring back in, but that's a different story. 

Because I drink a lot of water, it is inevitable that I must use the "powder room" at night.  Mostly this is ok, because I am still 95% asleep.  I may run into the wall or door frame but not all the time and I seldom remember it.

Sometimes... sometimes I am more awake... and Stephen King talks to me.  Sometimes, while I am tinkling (sorry, sorry - TMI, I know!) I hear things outside the window.  Wind?  Raccoons?  It's those nights that he speaks...

SK - "Ooooh - what's making that noise?"
ME - "I don't know."
SK - "Why don't you look out the window and see?"
ME - "I don't think so."
SK - "Why not?  It's probably just a raccoon."
ME - "Probably.  But it's DARK out there - I'm still not looking."
SK - "... but you know you want to LOOK..."
ME - "No I don't."
SK - "It's not like it's the Boogeyman... or a Vampire... or a rabid wolf."
ME - "Of course not... I think."
SK - "Oh, just go ahead and look."
ME - "No."
SK - "You're probably right... I wouldn't look either.  What if it IS the Boogeyman?"
ME - "There's no such thing as the Boogeyman...???"
SK - "Of course not... but what if there IS?  What if his face is RIGHT THERE at the window?"

This is where I panic and desperately claw my way out of the bathroom and dive into bed (making sure my feet are UNDER the covers and NOT leaking over the edge of the bed)... waking up Kelly, who asks, "Stephen King again?" 

Winning Games = Happy Cox Family

All is good in the world of the Cox's when we have a good sports weekend.  No one is depressed... no one is sulking (well...not about football anyway)... no one is ranting at people who aren't here.  This is all VERY good for me, Mom...the one who ends up trying to pick up the pieces of the broken-hearted children who don't want to be cheered up after their team loses.  Oooh - did I say children? Hmmmm...how about GUYS?  Because, really, I have to include Kelly in that, too - if the 'Horns were to lose, he would NOT want cheering up, either.  Boys.

Jake started the weekend off with a bang last Thursday.  The MFHS JV Football team beat Hays Lehman 14-0.  Jake even got his name in the paper (which rarely even mentions the JV team!) when Coach Woerner said, "Outstanding blocking by Jake Cox, Herman Ortiz and Justice Ribera lead Hall into the end zone."  Yay Jake!!!

Friday night Zed and the Varsity Mustangs won big against Reagan, too - winning their game 51-6. 

Saturday started off great with Jackson's soccer team winning 5-1 against the River City Rangers.  RCR shouldn't have even had a point (officiating mistake) but that's ok.  This was the Eagles' first game of the season and they played GREAT!  It is going to be fun watching the rest of the games.

Of course the big excitement of the weekend was the UT/Tech game Saturday night.  Longhorns didn't look as strong as usual, but it turned out that 3 of them (including Colt McCoy) had the flu... but they beat Tech anyway!  Hook 'em!

We'll leave our successful sports weekend at Saturday night... because, well... then there was the Cowboy game Sunday night, and who wants to talk about THAT?   OOOOH - but I did win my game in Fantasy Football again... I'm 2-0 now.  Much to the annoyance of my husband and sons.  Hee hee...

Make it stop...

I am afraid to go downstairs.


They're waiting... at the door at the bottom of the stairs.  At the door to the porch in my bedroom.  At the window sill in the living room.  They follow me.


"Make it stop," they say.


 It started last night.  Molly-cat usually spends most of the night outside with Lewis-cat.  It started raining about 11pm.  Molly scratched on the door to be let in (I'm starting to think that the pretty French doors in my bedroom that lead to the back porch were not such a good idea...)  She came in... meowed...meowed again... I was half asleep so I shut the door and got back into bed.  She immediately scratched at the door to be let back out. 


Lewis was there - he said  "MAAAWWWWRRRRR" - Lewis doesn't "meow" - he MAWR's.  It's pathetic really.  He didn't want to come in.  He just wanted to complain about the rain.  "Make it stop, please," he said. 


Molly ran back out onto the porch - looked at me, looked at the yard and said, "meOW!"  I shut the door and went back to bed.  Impudent little wretch.


She scratched at the door again.  I ignored her for a while, but then got up and let her back in so she woudn't wake Kelly up (dangerous for all involved).  This happened at least every hour all night.  Ever have an argument with a cat at 3am?


Then, this morning, I let her in (still raining) before I took a shower.  She followed me into the bathroom, complaining loudly.  I sat on the floor to pet her - she would have NONE of it.  I went and opened the door again - she ran to the door, but just stood there looking out, looking at me, looking out...you get the idea.  Molly has a VERY large vocabulary for a cat.  I'm not sure exactly what she was saying, but I figure it started out with something like "I'm losing my patience with you - MAKE IT STOP" and went downhill from there.  I probably don't want to know what she really said.  She woudn't go out, so I shut the door and went back to take a shower.  She followed me.  I sat down again and tried to talk to her - she hissed at me.  Then, completely unprovoked, bit me on the foot, complained some more then bit me on the leg.  I jumped in the shower to protect myself.


After my shower, I put her outside...which was a little disturbing because Lewis was at the door just STARING in at me.  He didn't say anything - I guess he'd given up on that.  But I was getting the message anyway - MAKE IT STOP.  I went into the living room - and there was Molly at the window - STARING in... "Make it stop NOW."  Even now I can feel them thinking at me...and it's getting ominous.  I know that if I were to walk down the stairs, there would be mad little cat-faces staring in at me from the doors and windows... "Make it STOP..."


Kinda reminds me of "The Birds."

Thoughts on filling out forms... SCHOOL forms. Ugh.

OK - Kindergarten Registration - I get that.  I understand that you've got a fresh little five-year-old ready to start school.  You need to know everything there is to know about this child - where he lives, who his parents are, emergency contacts, allergies... a LOT of stuff.

Junior in High School... (AKA the 11th year this child has been in the SAME school district... the 3rd year this child has been at the VERY SAME school, living at the same address, with the same phone numbers, the same Social Security Number (we thought about changing it once, just to keep things interesting...), the same Siblings, the same Parents...FOREVER!) - THIS I don't get.    

By the way - I KNOW they know his name, address & my name because they MAILED ME THE FORMS the week before school started.  Ha!  Bet they didn't think I would catch onto that!  I am also pretty sure they know our phone numbers because the Principal sent out a "calling post" making sure everyone knew when school started.  I got the call on my home phone AND my cell phone.  And, amazingly enough, when he went to "register" a couple of days before school started, and had to bring all his forms with him, they already had his class schedule ready... WITH his name, I might add.  So it's not like they don't know who he is.

To add insult to injury... the Registration form is not the only one you have to fill out. Noooo - it's only the beginning... a teaser... you also have:

The Medical Form (which has the same information as the registration form, but asks if they have any strange food allergies and such.)

The Emergency Contact Form (which has the same stuff as the reg form, too - just in a different order.  See where this is going?)

The US Citizenship Form (just in case we snuck in some random child from Portugal and tried to claim him as our own - verifies address & parent's names)

The Migrant Worker Form (??? what is this - Grapes of Wrath?)

The School District Residency Form (again...verifiying address and parents' names)

The Free Lunch Form

The I-Promise-I-Won't-Look-at-Nasty-Stuff-on-the-Internet Form (kinda speaks for itself)

The I-Don't-Want-A-Copy-of-the-Handbook-but-Promise-to-Read-it-Online Form

The Yes-You-Can-Take-Photos-of-My-Child-and-Post-Them-on-the-Internet-as-Long-as-You-Don't-Post-Their-Name Form

The Bus-Rider Form, PTO Membership Form, Booster Club Form... gosh - I think I'll stop before I wear myself out!

I just wonder WHY they can't make ONE form and copy it??  Send one copy to the District Office, one copy to the Nurse, one to the School Office... you know - so everyone has the same information.  Wonder what would happen if we filled out all of the forms with different info?  Do you think they'd notice?  Do you think if you put that your child suffered from homicidal schitzophrenic episodes on one form, and not on the others, it would raise a flag?  How do they know for sure you're using the correct SSN?  What if it was just your Jr. High bike lock code?  Wonder if they'd notice if I put a different father's name on all the forms?  hmmmm???  

Multiply this all by 3 (because I have THREE children who have all been in the same School District their entire school-going lives) and you could have some fun.  BUT if they DID notice, I'm afraid they might send the men in the white coats...

Soccer and Religion

Before I get to the REAL part of this entry, I have to tell you a little "pre-story" stuff. As you probably know, I am the Registrar for our town's soccer league. This means that I make sure that all the kids are registered in the online system, blah blah blah... Anyway - yesterday we had a little issue arise in which a 12 year old boy's family wants him to play on a team with 16 year old boys. I personally think he's too small, but that's not the point here. It is totally up to the Soccer Board to make that decision, and they are working on it. However... emails started going back and forth last night that got me giggling. (Before I go any further - please know I'm absolutely NOT being sacreligious... just put yourself in my position and tell me what YOU would have been thinking!)

Oh, and I should mention that the 12 year old boy's name is Jesus. Yes, yes... I KNOW it's pronounced "Hey-Zeus"...but when you SEE it written (or typed, I guess) - admit it - it's JESUS.

First email I received last night - Subject line:

Adding Jesus temporarily to the team

I had to do a double take. Being that this was the first I'd heard of the situation - I didn't know WHAT he was talking about until I read the body of the email. As I do quite often, I assumed that the person who sent me this email might have a similar sense of humor, so I fired back, "Wow! That'll be a heck of a lineup! Surely they'll win with Jesus on their team?!"

He didn't get it. AT ALL. Sigh... such is my life at times.

I didn't think any more of it... actually had kinda forgotten about it this morning. THEN - the first email I see this morning was this... had the same subject line, then:

"We need a written letter from the parents requesting Jesus to play up that many age groups. Without the letter, I wouldn't even consider allowing Jesus to practice with the team."

Needless to say - I was off again... laughing so hard tears were pouring down my face. I had so many things to SAY... so many questions to ask... but would this man understand? I feared he would not. BUT - the Treasurer certainly would - he's a very funny guy... so I forwarded it to him and asked:

1. Won't it be unfair for Jesus to only play for one team?

2. How does one go about contacting Mary & Joseph? Do they have email? Cell phones?

3. Does anyone on the Board speak Aramaic?

4. Does He have the correct shoes? You know you can't play soccer in sandals.

5. If we decide NOT to let him play... WHO is going to tell Him?

All important questions when considering letting a Supreme Being play in your soccer league... wouldn't you think?

Worth Repeating

- a blog entry I wrote last year for a friend who was considering volunteering to be her son's room mother.

Tell me if this sounds familiar... you go to "Meet the Teacher" night with your little darling before school starts for the year, and sign your name on a piece of paper saying you'll help with class parties and such. Next thing you know, you are the Room Mother and are IN CHARGE of the class parties. "How did this happen?", you ask? I'll tell you - - You were probably the first one to sign the paper - all the other moms were just waiting for someone ELSE to sign first so they could just send cookies. Now you know. If you're the first one to sign - you get the job. I think I've always been the first to sign - it took me several years to catch on to how the system works. Now, being the control freak that I am, I WANT to be the Room Mother. And all the other mothers WANT me to be the Room Mother, too. It's works out well.

I have learned some interesting and useful things in all my years of being a room mother, though. I'm going to share some of them with you just in case you are ever the first one to sign the paper...

First and foremost is that 2nd graders DO NOT need a chocolate fountain at their Christmas Party. ( NOOOOO, it was NOT my idea - nor was it in my class - just the neighboring room.) I'm sure I don't have to explain the horrors (OR the MESS) ... but needless to say, the teacher and mothers were in a state of shock when they left that afternoon.

Second - as fun as cookie decorating SOUNDS...when you mix tubs of frosting, sprinkly-things and sugar cookies with a group of 1st graders - someone is going to throw up. Most of them are smart enough to know they shouldn't eat the mound of frosting & candy they've created... but there's always ONE LITTLE BOY who decides to go for it... and pays. Then we ALL pay.

Third - I have also learned that no matter HOW stiff the icing is, you cannot get a graham cracker "gingerbread house" to DRY COMPLETELY by the end of ANY class party... they will just collapse when it's time to go home... then there are tears...and I HATE tears.

Fourth - gift exchanges are a BAAAAAAD idea... some deranged mother always sends socks or pencils or some other "useful" present - and then the child who gets the socks, instead of the cool bubble-blowing gun that Johnny got, feels cheated and inevitably cries (remember the tears thing above?) Actually... I knew this BEFORE I became a room mom... I got socks 2 years in a row when I was in 4th and 5th grades. Now tell me... WHO sends knee socks as an Elementary School christmas present????? (yes, I'm afraid I was scarred for life by this) Stick to book exchanges if you must do a gift swap... it's safer.

Fifth - candy is GOOD! Yes, it will make them crazy-hyper (which, honestly, they were going to be anyway - it's a PARTY, remember?) But the best part is - once you have given them all the candy and cookies and sugary stuff - GUESS WHO THEY GET TO GO HOME TO??? Yes... their mothers, most of whom DID NOT help with the party. :) Vindication.

Well... I guess I've imparted enough wisdom for today (and probably scared you all away from EVER buying socks as a gift again...I hope!) Happy party-planning!!

Pole Dancing & Soccer

I want to start right now by saying... I am not and never have been a pole dancer. This is important for you to know.

(Play Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar on Me" for the best efffect while reading this post...)

Who knew that helping some little girls at soccer pratice learn to do cartwheels could turn into a career possibility? (notice I did say could - not would!) Stranger things have happened, I guess.

While we were working on cartwheels, one of the sweet, darling girls said, "I wish I could do the splits. Diana, could YOU do the splits when you were a little girl?" I should have stopped there, I guess. I should have said, "Nope, not me!" Instead I said, "I can still do the splits." (Mistake #2 - yes I know you don't know what #1 was yet. Be patient.) After which began the pleading and begging for me to actually DO the splits - right there on the soccer field for all to see. I caved. When I thought the fewest people would be looking, I did the splits for them. (Mistake #3) It was over in a few seconds - I was back on my feet acting like nothing had ever happened. Whew.

During this time, most of the other mothers who had stayed at practice were walking... being productive and exercising. (here is Mistake #1 - I SHOULD have been with them! This would have prevented this whole fiasco AND I would have burned some calories!) As soon as these mothers finished walking and sat back down - these traitorious little girls ran to them and said, "Diana can do the splits!!! She showed us!" ...much to the amusement of their mothers. After refusing to do it again for them to see, I thought it was all over...no one saw.

Flash forward to last night at soccer practice. One of the other mothers (who was not present last week) says to me, "I hear you can do the splits?" WHAT??? How did SHE know? Her son probably didn't see me - he was practicing. Oh no... maybe her husband? He's one of the coaches. Damn...forgot about the coaches. I tried to explain that I was just playing "gymnastics" with the little girls... blah blah blah. (OK - I have to say RIGHT NOW, though, that this mother is a dear friend of mine and one of the sweetest and funniest people I know... other wise you might get the wrong impression of her.) Her next comment was, "How did you learn to do the splits? Was it previous job experience?" We laughed and laughed. THEN she said, "We should take a picture of you doing the splits and post it on Facebook! That would be so fun!" Gasp... what? I replied, "Ummm... I have quite a few Fraternity guys from my college days who are my FB friends. I don't think that is such a good idea...I can just imagine what they would say." This degenerated into a whole conversation of possible comments from the frat boys... culminating with the possbility that I was a pole dancer while in college. We all laughed until our sides hurt... I LOVE soccer practices like that! It's amazing the friendships that are forged while watching your children run laps. I do want to clear one thing up, though:

I was NOT a pole dancer in college.

Although... if someone had told me I could make a lot of money doing the splits on poles and dancing to Def Leppard... I might have considered it. I was not very good at thinking about future consequences at that time of my life...so who knows what I would have done. hee hee...